Fire Dancer

by Micheala Lynn

Still naïve in many ways from her sheltered upbringing, Sarah wants to shed her goodie-two-shoes image. She wants to live life, not let it pass her by. That’s why she enjoys the company of her cousin Skye so much. Skye lives life to the absolute fullest and Sarah wants to be more like her. Even the fact that Skye is gay is fascinating, albeit frightening as well.
Sarah has never found any man attractive. But she’s pretty sure that’s because her family is constantly attempting to fix her up with every eligible single man in the church in the hopes of making an honest woman of her. The family pressure is building and at the age of twenty-eight, it’s getting harder and harder to reject each new suitor. But what is she to do? There doesn’t seem to be anyone who can even remotely light a spark in her heart. That is until she meets Jewel Black, a fire dancer who goes by the stage name, Enigma…

220 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2017

About the author

Micheala Lynn divides her passions between writing, playing a wide variety of music, mountain biking, snuggling with her partner of many years on cold Michigan nights and home schooling their daughter. When not at her desk, she can be spotted on the local mountain biking trails or at a Renaissance faire speaking Old English and performing on the Scottish smallpipes. Her degrees include English Literature and Language, Anthropology and a master’s in Creative Writing, all from Central Michigan University.

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realized this is the first book I have read by Lynn. I did buy one or two of hers, just have not had a chance to read them yet. I didn't know what to expect when it comes to her writing style. This is a decent romance, but not the easiest book to read. I would not put this in the category of a feel good romance.

The story revolves around Sarah, a very sheltered women, and Jewel, a professional fire dancer. They meet at a renaissance fair, and the attraction is instant. The problem is Sarah's family and church will never accept that she is gay. Will she follow her heart, or her religious beliefs?

I really enjoyed the setting of the renaissance fair, and of course the fire dancing. This is not a little juggling with fire, this is full on and really interesting. Lynn did an excellent job of describing it, and I could absolutely picture it in my mind.

I thought the romance was pretty sweet. Sarah is a 28, and has never been with a women or in love. I thought the gradual progression was well done. The intimate scenes were enjoyable too. Overall, pretty solid on the romance.

I had two complaints about the book, one small, and one pretty big. The small, sometimes I did not care for the dialog. At times it seemed almost too simplistic. Almost like it was written by a debut author. Luckily, I only really noticed this a few times, and the rest of the book flowed better.

My bigger complaint or issue what have you, was Sarah's family. She did not come from a religious family that would have trouble accepting her. She came from like an alt-right religious family. It was almost cult like in ways. The kind that would love to see us gays exterminated from this earth. I know this kind of hate exists, anyone who has been watching the news this past week does, it is just hard to read about it in a romance book. It was tough to read about something nice and sweet, than something so awful. It made the reading experience a bit jarring for me.

Like I said above, there was absolutely parts I enjoyed, other parts were hard to stomach. I guess I prefer my pure romances a little easier to read. That's why I don't think I can give this more than 3 stars. I do think some people will enjoy this. But if you are a person who doesn't like many "bad feels" this might not be the best book for you. I'm still looking forward to reading Lynn's other books I have. Hopefully they will agree with my stomach a little more.

An ARC was given to me from Bella, for a honest review.

[Pin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth romance novel by Micheala Lynn, and the third I have read. She has a steady line of pretty solid romance novels with different themes and settings. I find Fire Dancer enjoyable primarily for its interesting setting of a Renaissance faire, as well as interesting and very likable main character Jewel the fire dancer and her family. They are very nice people with great family dynamics, and a unique family history. On the other hand, the main character Sarah and her family are rather difficult to swallow. They carry a lot of disturbing religious stuff and deep-rooted bigotry with them. Sarah is confused and sometimes quite irritating in her naivety and obedience. That changes once she slowly discovers herself by falling in love for the first time in her twenty-eight years, but we have to suffer through a lot up to that point.
Overall, this is a good book, although not re-reading material for me -- too much bigotry in my romances makes me feel bad, sad and mad.

3.25 stars

Aug 12, 2017

*A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.*

[Heinerway · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a rather standard lesbian romance, but with the addition of religious hate and bigotry. All in all, I liked the story.

[Nolly Frances Sepulveda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Story