Pas de Don't

by Chloe Angyal

Heather Hays finally has everything she’s worked for—she’s a principal dancer at New York Ballet Theater, has the best friend a girl could ask for, and is engaged to her forever crush, fellow principal Jack Andersen. They’ve been dubbed “American ballet royalty” . . . but when Heather’s best friend Carly catches Jack with a corps ballet dancer, the castle comes crashing down. Determined to prove that she rose to the top on her own merits—and not, as the press has always implied, because of her relationship with Jack—she accepts a guest position from the only company that will hire her without him: the Australian National Ballet.

Marcus Campbell has had the most hellish year imaginable. He shredded his Achilles tendon during a performance, destroying any chance of his dad seeing him dance before lung cancer ended his life. He’s spent a year in physical therapy, getting his strength back and determined to honor his father’s memory by getting back on stage before he’s too old to dance anymore. Now Marcus’s boss wants him to play tour guide for the company’s new arrival.

When Marcus realizes who the new arrival is, and that she’s even more gorgeous in person than she is on the cover of Barre magazine, he also finds she’s opinionated and funny. And for Heather, Marcus is everything Jack wasn’t: kind, consistent, and interested in what she has to say. For once in her life, she wants to rebel a little. But Heather’s in Sydney to dance, and it’s not like she can act on her attraction: ANB has a strict no-dating policy, an anti-harassment measure that the reform-minded artistic director takes very seriously.

But as their Sydney sightseeing time turns to much more, Heather and Marcus find even the best-kept secrets have a way of coming out.
 

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Sports Romance, Sports, Australia

336 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2023

About the author

Chloe Angyal, PhD, is the author of the non-fiction book Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers is Saving Ballet From Itself and the romance novels Pas de Don’t and Pointe of Pride. When she's not writing, you can find her reading, cooking for her friends and family, or rubbing the tummy of her extremely cute dog. She's from Sydney, Australia and lives in the Iowa City area.

Reviews

[b.andherbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

New York Ballet principal dancer Heather Hays has it all, until discovering her fiancee and golden boy dancer who claims to have brought her up from nothing is caught cheating by Heather's bff. Heather wants to escape the shadow of Jack, who she increasingly recognizes as controlling and manipulative, and takes a temporary position at The Australian National Ballet.

Heather is scared, but excited to explore Sydney and her new home, and especially excited that the head of the company has progressive views about dancers' rights. Heather is less enthused about being assigned injured Australian dancer Marcus Campbell as her guide to the city, since from the moment they met sparks have flown, and the company's rules make dancer relationships forbidden.

As for Marcus, slowly recovering from a traumatic Achilles tendon injury, he is both thrilled and scared at the feelings for the determined and beautiful dancer that Heather is.

What follows is a lyrically beautiful romance about two hurt lovers who find healing together, even if they might have to risk it all to keep it.

I super appreciated the content warnings for this prior to jumping in (see front matter from the author) AND from the back copy. While dealing with heavier subject matter, the author makes the romance shine as the main plot while also filling your imagination with ballet moves and song (even if you've never been to a ballet).

I especially appreciated how Heather confronts the no-exceptions policy on relationships; her previous employer and her new employer both were handling things in not the best way, and ultimately both were hurting their dancers. Also, as someone who is sensitive to food // dieting this story does a great job of not glorifying unhealthy eating disorders OR diet culture, which is wonderful to see in a ballet romance.

PLUS, Sydney and Australia are wonderful characters in their own right in this story, and I loved the camping 'glamping' chapters so much (no thank you to hard camp mattresses) ahahh.

Thank you to the author and edelweiss for the arc.

CW: Cancer (in the past-secondary character died of); injuries (ballet injuries on page, marcus's injury described in the past * surgery mention), domestic abuse (gas lighting, controlling, scary encounters but no physical violence) - cw'ed by author.

[Sam I AMNreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was quite lovely. Deeply entrenched in ballet, with solid external conflict about the power dynamic, dancer exploitation & abuse, and the dance world in general.

The romance was definitely swoony and charming, and I appreciated the setting(s). The ballet education was good without being too much, but definitely let me down a little ballet video spree.

It was well-written and I hope to see more from this author!

[Nev · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple years ago I read and loved Chloe Angyal’s nonfiction book about ballet, Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers Is Saving Ballet from Itself. So I was really intrigued when I saw that she was writing a romance set in the ballet world. I feel like Pas de Don’t was excellent at creating chemistry between the two main characters, but also bringing in commentary about ballet and how people are working to change the status quo in that industry.

Heather has to get away from New York after her fiancé Jack, and fellow ballet star, was caught cheating on her. Taking a guest position at the Australian National Ballet leads her to meet Marcus, a man working on coming back from a serious Achilles injury. Heather soon finds out that ANB is more modern in a lot of ways, emphasizing using choreography from women and giving the dancers opportunities to teach classes… But also that dancers are forbidden to to be romantically or sexually involved with one another. It’s a policy set up with good intentions, to try and stop sexual harassment, but it causes issues when Heather and Marcus are super attracted to one another. Is it worth sneaking around if the outcome would be both of them getting fired?

I really enjoyed Heather’s development and seeing her realize that her relationship with Jack was controlling and then seeing what a healthy, supportive relationship was like with Marcus. Also, Marcus’ feelings about his family and what returning to ballet meant to him were well explored. The chemistry between Heather and Marcus was great, the push and pull of them wanting to be together but also not wanting to risk their jobs felt real. I think it’s easy to predict what the 3rd act conflict will be, but the way everything played out made sense and it wasn’t things blowing up for no reason.

Definitely check this out if you like romances that fully put you in the world of the characters, have a bit of a forbidden element, and also feature great development for both main characters. I’m excited to see what Chloe Angyal writes next. I don’t think I’ve ever had a 5 star nonfiction and a 5 star romance from the same author before.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Liralen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Heather takes a monthlong guest position at the Australian National Ballet, she's only seeking to escape the fallout from the end of her very public relationship with a fellow dancer—and to remind herself that her worth as a dancer isn't tied to her ex. What she doesn't expect is that a dancer at ANB will stir up feelings...or that they won't be able to act on those feelings without falling afoul of the company 'pas de don't' policy: no dating within the company, on penalty of job termination.

I read Angyal's Turning Pointe not too long ago, so I knew immediately when I saw this book that I'd be getting 1) a writer who knows ballet and 2) a writer who knows how poorly the ballet world treats so many, and who wants to see something better. The books aren't written for the same audience, exactly (there's overlap for sure—ahem—but the Venn diagram is not a circle), but Pas de Don't makes many of the same point(e)s, just in romance-novel form: that dancers, and woman dancers in particular, are trained to shut up and obey; that the major dance companies still disproportionately spotlight male choreographers; that men turn a blind eye when other men abuse power; that boys often get special treatment because dance schools are afraid they'll be scared off. (Let me be clear for the romance lovers—there is plenty of romance here, and plenty of, ah, pas de deux. There's just also a lot of smart context going on...and it's funny to boot.)

Angyal pulls some of her material directly from recent events in the ballet world—to avoid spoilers, I won't go into tutu much detail, but...well, this was one case where I thought I was going to be grumbling about the overuse of evil exes in romance, until it started to click that ohhh, there was a point(e) to the evil ex. (So props to Angyal for making me eat my words before I even had a chance to write them down.) There are some other things that I suspect she must have come across as a dancer herself ("stage face" was a new term for me), and I am quietly praying that she got the term "ex-future-mother-in-law" from the song "When It Rains It Pours," just because I would find that hilarious.

I try to be fairly targeted about the romance novels I read—sometimes I'm looking for mindless fluff, but sometimes I'm looking for something smart and up to date, and I'm delighted to have gotten the latter here. Definitely a genre pivot from Turning Pointe, but if Angyal can work within both these genres, I'm very curious about where she'll go next.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

[Sydney | sydneys.books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like my romances like I like eating fajitas in bed with my weighted blanket: a little spicy, heavy at times, and lots of comfy familiar tropes.

TW: loss of a parent (off-page, lung cancer), injury (on-page), abusive & cheating ex (on-page), grief, body-shaming (contested)

My friend Carrington recommended this book to me because I am named Sydney and also visiting Sydney in a few weeks. I ended up connecting with the author before reading, and she sent me a list of things to help my trip planning AND an arc of book two. Thank god I loved this book or that'd be awkward. I am so glad I loved this book!!

I don't read many forbidden romances because they tend to veer into taboo territory, but wow I forgot how fun and stressful they can be. Marcus is a dancer at the Australia National Ballet, but he's recovering from a year-long injury to his Achilles tendon. Heather found out her ballet star fiance had been cheating on her, so she takes up a guest dancer position at ANB for a month to regroup. The company has a very strict no-dating policy nicknamed Pas De Don't, so even though Heather is leaving in 4 weeks anyway, she and Marcus definitely should not have incredible nights together and then take separate buses back to the studio to avoid raising suspicion, right?

Right.

This book is surprisingly steamy, with a vivid setting and many memorable scenes. I cannot WAIT to visit some of these places IRL, because this book made me feel about one hundred times more excited for my trip, even to the point where I've forgotten about how long the flight is to get there. *eye twitches*

There is some heavy subject matter, which I didn't know beforehand. Heather's cheating ex is abusive and Marcus is dealing with some grief and an aging, stubborn mother. His injury is on-page and is a bit intense. This is balanced out with great chemistry, fierce characters you will root for passionately, and delightful side characters.

The author clearly knows the ballet world, so this is a book I'd feel comfortable recommending to any dancer (which is really hard to come by; publishing does the dance world dirty usually). Both leads are dancers as well, so we see the industry from both their perspectives.

My only critique would be to speed up the pacing to like 1.2x speed, but that's so minor it doesn't lower my rating at all. I also think it should've been in first person POV, but that's just because I am not a third person dual POV romance girlie. GIVE ME ACCESS TO THEIR EVERY THOUGHT!!!

A full 5 out of 5 stars for Angyal's debut. So excited to start the sequel, a feeling I haven't had in awhile!

Rep: Chinese side character in a wlw relationship

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded up

I have some very mixed feelings when it comes to this book.

I absolutely loved the ballet moments and my favorite part was the Australian setting (complete with koalas!). The author did an excellent job bringing the setting to life. Heather did a lot of exploration of the city of Sydney and it was a lot of fun to explore with her. I also really loved the Australian slang and language that was used throughout.

I was also very impressed by the way the author actually differentiated her writing depending on whether the story was following Marcus (an Australian) or Heather (an American). In the segments following Marcus, for example, the author used the British spellings of words (colour, apologise, theatre, etc) but would used the American spellings of those words for the segments following Heather. It was done seamlessly and I was honestly impressed by the effort that must have taken. It made for a very immersive reading experience.

However, I didn’t really like the romance. It felt very low stakes, with the main characters finding out they’re not allowed to date since they work together at the ballet one minute, only to start up a secret relationship just a few pages later. It was also VERY instalovey, especially on Marcus’s end.

If the book had focused more on the ballet aspects and the friendships between women (I really liked Heather’s friendship with Carly) I would have liked it more. The romance aspects were lackluster for me.

[Felicia Grossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so I got to read this as an ARC, from the author (who is fabulous), and I literally read it in one sitting without stopping. It was was EVERYTHING I could have possibly wanted. First, the romance between Heather and Marcus is topnotch and swoony and lovely, with both their arcs masterfully done, and the TENSION of the fobidden-ness but the clear attraction, and how his respect for her grows and how she finds herself, and the scene in the fitting room--it's just all wonderful.

The side characters are well drawn and unique and real but don't detract and only add to the story, even as you crow to love them (I'm looking at you, Carly). The writing is excellent and the pacing is perfect and the nods to Giselle and getting justice for one of the most wronged ballet characters ever, were an absolute delight.

What was really extra special was the exploration of the ballet world, drawing it so well in all its complexities, both of what it is and what it could be if it properly moves forward. Angyal explores how it fits into the modern world and how its structures and even well-meaning policies to fix some of its issues can go awry, in really excellent, nuanced ways, making the book just that much better and more satisfying. The ending felt RIGHT and earned but the book also left you thinking.

Anyway, the book was such amazing treat. I highly recommend and feel so, so, so, lucky I got to read it early!

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I absolutely loved the specificity surrounding work in this romance--my feeling is that if work is going to be central to your book then it NEEDS to actually matter and it absolutely did in this book. Will absolutely give this author another try down the road.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pas de Don't is a fun ballet romance featuring Heather, the famous principal from New York who is escaping a broken engagement to a fellow ballet star, and Marcus, the Sydney-based ballet dancer recovering from a significant injury. The two meet during Heather's first day as a guest principal at the Australian National Ballet—in a memorable meet-cute—and they have instant chemistry. There's only one problem: the ANB, which has made many recent and positive reforms, has a strict rule against dancers in the company dating. Anyone caught breaking it is instantly fired.

I enjoyed reading Pas de Don't for many reasons, including the fact that Chloe Angyal infuses the book with her ballet expertise. The world here is vivid and lived-in, and the sections that discussed classes or the ballet rumor mill were particularly delightful. I was rooting for Heather and Marcus the whole time and loved, especially, how impressed and adoring Marcus was about everything Heather did on the dance floor and off. There's also a very satisfying twist at the end as Heather and her friends claim their space within the industry.

One thing I did want to point out was the lack of LGBTQ and POC representation for much of the book. There's a section where we learn about many of the specific reforms that the ANB has made, which seem to be aimed particularly at Black, indigenous, and Latinx dancers. However, we never see dancers who identify as part of any of these communities on the page. Similarly, there are a few mentions of same-sex relationships, but they are very much minimized. I understand that the central romance between a white man and a white woman only allows for so much page time for other identities, but these felt like missed opportunities given the themes of the book.

Overall, this was a fun romance, and I recommend it. Reading Pas de Don't, you will feel as if you've snuck backstage at the ballet in all the best ways.

Thank you to Amberjack Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of Pas de Don't. All opinions are my own.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm kicking myself for waiting on this great dual pov ballet romance set in Sydney Australia and New York City. Star ballerina Heather Hays catches her long time boyfriend and ballet partner cheating on her and takes a job working with the Australia National Ballet. While there she ends up falling for Marcus, who is still recovering from an injury but helps show Heather around his city.

Relationships between company members is strictly forbidden and when the two get caught, Marcus loses his place while Heather is able to escape without consequences. Great on audio and highly recommended for fans of the movie Centre Stage or the tv show Dance Academy. I can't wait to read the sequel featuring Heather's best friend.

[Deepankita · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

“We should get you out of this skirt,” he murmured. Heather nodded, unable to form coherent words. Yes, she thought. Get me out of this skirt, out of this leotard, out of this skin if you have to.

She couldn’t blame the wine; she’d only had a few sips. It was him. He was intoxicating. And kind, and easy to confide in, and quick to apologize when he made a mistake. And absolutely off limits to her.

Despite every wretched thing he had been through in the last year, Marcus had found the space in his heart to care about her. He had seen her panicked and frozen, and he hadn’t written her off as childish, or damaged, or disappointingly human. He’d brushed against her prickles, her skeptical and untrusting spikes, and had only pulled her in closer. She’d spent months feeling foolish and humiliated, but he had decided she was brave. And so he had been brave for her, had sneaked around and kept secrets for her, because he thought she was worth it. He had decided the risk was worth whatever small pieces of her he could have, for however long he could have them. And despite everything she had been through in the last few months, she loved him for it.

For almost 70%, I kept the book under 4 stars. That doesn't mean there was anything wrong with it. Heather Hays was exceptionally talented and it showed (even though she didn't believe it), Marcus was the cutest cinnamon roll MC I've read about in a while, the contrast between New York and Sydney is so stark and so warm, the characters pretty well written, and really good descriptions in general. Even with all of it, I couldn't find something that reeaallly stood out to me.

And that's when the heartbreak happened. I usually don't like conflicts in books and just chalk them up to being unnecessary. The times I do think that they fit well with the storyline, I just feel sad for the characters. But Chloe Angyal made heartbreak look so fucking beautifully tragic. I find it to be the best part of this book. It was executed with perfection. I haven't really begun to understand what I feel about it personally, but in a literary sense, it was the climax that this book NEEDED.

Carly was the cherry on top. Funny, unapologetic, a little psychotic but so fucking brilliant. Of course she was my favourite character.

Thank you Netgalley and Chicago Review Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[CM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! When I heard Chloe Angyal was writing a romance novel that included her expertise and knowledge on the ballet world I knew I had to read it. As a former bun-head myself these experiences rang true, and I think she did an amazing job weaving in critiques of the state of ballet into this romance novel.

The book starts with Heather Hays, a soloist at a NYC ballet company, getting both promoted and proposed to by her principal-dancer boyfriend at the end of a performance. But two months later, her fianceé is revealed to be a serial cheater, and she needs an escape. She takes a guest-artist contract from the Australia National Ballet to escape, and that's where she meets Marcus. Marcus was SUCH a good character. He's also a dancer in the company, though recently injured and recuperating. Marcus is tasked with showing Heather around Sydney, and they confront their growing attraction to each other which is at odds with their company's very strict no dating policy ("Pas de don't").

One of the things I was most impressed with in this book was how fleshed out and realistic the characters felt. While this isn't Chloe Angyal's first book, I believe it's her first novel, but the plot and dialogue read so naturally. I really appreciated that while we can see the conflict coming the characters communicate SO well with each other, and it's not a conflict that could be fixed if they just communicated like adults. I also appreciated the way the book dealt with the nuance of the current era. There are understandably some well-intentioned policies to try to prevent harassment and exploitation, but these can also have unintended consequences.

Finally, I loved the romance aspect of this book. It was believable and hot, and I loved that everyone acted like -- and communicated as! -- adults. The characters and relationships read very real to me.

I immediately had to re-read this book because I liked it so much, and I'm sure I'll keep revisiting it in the months to come. I really hope there's a follow-up book in this world! Maybe for Carly? I'd read it immediately if so.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! I can't wait till it's published so I can recommend it to all my friends.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't hate this, but the writing style just really did not work for me. It had cute moments and overall I enjoyed the plot, but yeah. Could not look past the frankly almost childish writing, especially in dialogue. Also, signficant chunks of the first half read like a tourist guide to Sydney and I get that this book's American audience might appreciate this, but personally I found it ridiculous.

Sidenote: it's extremely funny to me that I found this book on one of these lists compiled by goodreads editors, specifically in the YA category. This book is not YA. The characters are literally 30 years old, which is mentioned about 5 pages into the book. It also should be pretty obvious from the summary that it's not YA – but I guess not everyone who works on these lists does their work as diligently as they should.

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Really decent story. I’m no prude, I’ll read the smuttiest smut in fan fiction, but for some reason really couldn’t get into the sex scenes here- I wound up skipping over them entirely just to get back to the actual story. I do love a happily ever after, though it would have been nice to know if Jack had been relegated to dance retail for the rest of his days!

[The Reading Mitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I’m scared of not being the person you helped me become. Because I really like her. Stage face and all.”

Pas de Don’t by Chloe Angyal
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Forbidden/Work Place Romance
Dual POV
Self Discovery

I wish I had proper words to express the beauty I found within the pages of this book. As a mood reader I find that I fall in and out of love with books, even in the middle. That started happening with this book even though I was LOVING Heather and Marcus. But, I wanted to come back to these pages and each word, sentence and chapter brought me further into the deeply emotional journey inside this pretty cover.

The chemistry beftween the two was perfect from their meet cute to the epilogue. They also had the greatest friends they could ask for- Carly and Alice only added to the sweetness of this book!

Chloe’s mindset after an emotionally manipulative relationship was extremely realistic. She was written in such a relatable way that whether you have or haven’t experienced an abusive relationship, you could understand her pain, her struggles and her healing. Her path to healing and forgiveness was full of joy, heart break an understanding. I loved how carefully she set aside her hurt to help another dancer remove herself from a toxic situation and how bravely and positively she approached the inadequacies and unfairness in the ballet world!!

Marcus was the perfect breath of fresh air for Chloe. He was kind, patient and I felt that his thoughts and emotions were the perfect blend of intense fictional romance and beautiful realistic love and pain. I loved that he was not just a character for Heather but he had his own growth and plot along side of hers- making him just as relatable as Heather was. I found a lot of joy in the ups and downs with his family relationships and I was really proud of his character for making his own decisions on his dance career. I think we all expected his choice to go one way but it was really exciting to read what he actually chose.

If you’ve ever wanted to experience the world of ballet without taking a class then check out this book! Angyals writing will drag you right into it!

[Farrah | Hello, Darkness Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

| Pas de Don’t ARC Review |

“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬?” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤��𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘙𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰.

Pas de Don’t was a delightful read set in the ballet world and follows principal dancer, Heather Hays, on her journey to rediscover herself after a traumatic breakup. When she finds herself on the other side of the world at a new company with a fresh start, she blossoms into her true self and is pleasantly surprised to meet someone who adores all of her just how she is… ANB soloist, Marcus. However, the company has a strict ‘No Dating’ policy amongst dancers, known as the dreaded ‘Pas de Don’t’ clause in their contracts. Enter: tonsssss of tension, spicy sneaking around, and forbidden romance. I’m still not over the fitting room scene.😮‍💨

Heather and Marcus are electrically charged from their very first (and hilarious) meeting - their adorable romance was a joy to read. After all Heather had been through, it was so nice to see her cherished by someone wonderful like Marcus.

I am in awe of how Chloe immerses the reader into the professional ballet realm in such a vivid way. I was instantly transported back to my days in the ballet world and left with such a strong sense of nostalgia, that I was very deep in my feels. I really appreciate how Chloe also demonstrated the ugly side of ballet by showing the disparities in treatment of both women and minority groups. That said, while touching on these disparities and going as far as to introduce a more progressive company making moves to become more inclusive, we weren’t really shown many characters representing these marginalized groups on page. There were nods to it in passing, but it would’ve been fantastic to see Heather walk into company class at ANB and notice a difference between the dancers in this room in contrast to those back in NYC. Other than this though, the book was a wonderfully written romance sure to be enjoyed by dancers and non-dancers alike. Highly recommend! 🩰🖤✨

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘭𝘰𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘦-𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this ballet romance set mostly in Australia. I liked the characters well enough but really loved the ballet details and the setting.
I have great sympathy for the male MC who has had a rough year, recovering from a serious injury. overcoming the loss of his father. He was caring and passionate and kind and really the best boyfriend anyone could ask for.
The female character had her own drama, dealing with a very public and painful break-up. She was really in a really toxic relationship, and I could see how lost she felt, how much of her faith in herself she had lost. Her new relationship was the total opposite of her previous one and it really made her shine and bloom.
Now, I hated the cause of the conflict. I see why the rule was set up but it really brought more harm than good. It infantalized the dancers and it made me mad that no one even tried to dsipute it (at least initially).
Overall, I liked this book and would read more in the series.

CW: injuries, death of a parent (in the past), grief, abusive ex, toxic relationship (past)

[Brandece · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me all of one season of ballet to know I'd never be a ballerina, but I sure do still love to read and watch movies/shows about them! I was so hooked right from the start that I loved everything about Heather and Marcus. Their banter was so much fun, I really enjoyed the sneaking around plot, and I thought you could really see how much they respected and cared for each other right away. This one managed to be not only very emotional (check trigger warnings) but also steamy and so sweet. I adored the plot, the Australian setting, Heather's best friend Carley and Marcus best friend Alice, Marcus' family, and all of the ballet. This one is perfect for fans of golden retriever heroes! Pas de Don't was such a wonderful debut, it kept and smile on my face throughout the whole book and I could not have picked a better book to finish out the year! I'm really looking forward to Carly's book next year!

[Hannah Mullan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the message of combatting sexual misconduct in the workplace and gender equality. I also loved the platform of ballet and dance and the hardships people face in that career field. I loved that majority of the book was in Australia.

My only personal qualm was there were too many spicy scenes for my liking and they were lengthy🤣

I am happy to support an Iowan author and intend to read her next book.
3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

[Janelle Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so fun! I loved the strong female lead character and the concept of a forbidden romance in the ballet world setting. As a dancer, it was really cool to read the author’s genuine perspective and description of the life of a dancer. The story was also very well-written and engaging throughout - I couldn’t put it down!

[Melaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved it for so many reasons! But especially for the healthy relationship portrayed here

[Yuliia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 out of 5

[Kaitlyn]

DNF @ 50%

With the default kindle font settings, it took 9 painfully slow swipes to make 1% progress in this book that was so well intentioned but so so dull. Goodbye.

[AnneMarie Roscoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

very much enjoyed this book! so cute and some good themes and lessons.

[moira · Rating 4 out of 5]

30 march

So here's the review finally. Waiting for iftar makes you want to do something. Anyway. So.

Pas De Don't was a delightful read. Ballet society in a book is a something new to me, especially in a romance book and with both of main characters as ballet dancers, I literally have never met a book like this. This book would take us to the journey of Heather, a NYC ballet dancer prodigy and her cheating good for nothing ex, to her new job as dancer in Sydney, Australia where she met Marcus, the one dancer that's been resting because of accident in stage when he performed a year prior. Their first meeting sort of meet cute y'know? And they have this sort of gravitational pull to each others despite the rules that forbid them—being co-workers and all—to pursue romantic relationship with each others. But Marcus and Heather aren't nothing if not smart. Anyway! That's thw TL;DR before spoiling everything. Onto the next, you know sometimes when one or both party in a romance novel is kind of childish and all? You won't meet this problem with Heather and Marcus because they're both level headed people and they solved their problem real smooth. I love me some misunderstanding in romances but it's so fresh too seeing adults being adults. It was a solid 4 stars to me. Thank you Amberjack Publishing and Netgalley for the e-arc.

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15 march
oh (italicized). rtc

[Sari · Rating 3 out of 5]

*ARC received from NetGalley with thanks*

3,5⭐️

Chloe Angyal’s debut romance Pas de Don’t (this is what the dancers refer to when they talk about the new non-fraternisation rule at the National Ballet of Australia in Sydney that provides the external conflict to the story) is a lovely, competent fairytale set in the world of professional ballet. I don’t think I’ve visited this world since - gosh, reading Gelsey Kirkland’s troubled memoirs as a teen - and whilst some of the similar challenges make an appearance, we get a more progressive and healthier if not perfect look into the rarefied world of dance. The author provides good content warnings about coercive control and emotional abuse.

The book starts in a more grayscale, slightly less engaging place as Prima Ballerina Heather Hays’ fairytale relationship with a dancing douchebag comes crashing down in their New York company. Unable to tolerate the tense atmosphere and the training room gossip, she accepts a one month contract to visit ANB in Sydney. Once under the Australian sun, the narrative starts getting livelier and gathers pace, with Heather being shown around by Marcus Campbell of the impressive glutes, ready smile, and a healing Achilles tendon and a heart from the loss of his dad.

The main couple fall for each other pretty fast, and are not as troubled by the idea of getting into bother what with relationships between colleagues being frowned upon and leading to loss of jobs as I would be. Terrifying stuff! The story relies a fair bit on the restoring power of supportive, consent and respect as well as decent sex based relationship with a man. Marcus is an enthusiastic advocate of female pleasure, though as things get going safe PIV sex is kind of the order of the day. Which is no bad thing if that’s the main thing you’re into, though can feel a bit predictable/middle of the road. However, there’s a sweet touch of optimistic feminism in the Aussie segments and overall a nice group of supportive female friends and family. I don’t know the state of play really, to comment on whether this is an effort to rehabilitate the reputation of ballet or a wish for a better future. But it was hard not to root for the ladies as well as Marcus once things come to bite his delectable bum.

I enjoyed being taken round Sydney, meeting the to be expected critters, and could pretty well see myself there. Walking alongside a romantic couple with good communication about needs and consent and mostly an external conflict providing tension is always lovely. I found the characterisation fairly rich, and enjoyed reading about training and performing and the tutus etc. The conflict point did not feel forced though we knew it was of course coming. The resolution brings with it a certain satisfaction, though it unfolds pretty easily for a complex situation. Much like the effortless and elegant looking dance, the movement into love at the start and out of conflict at the resolution point that bookended this story were equally easy, flowy, flawless. I tend to enjoy a bit more complexity, angst, sweat and work in progress maybe? But as said, this has a sweet fairytale feel to it.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - “But life is long and strange and full of things that will make you happy. People, too.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Amberjack Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Heather is finally the principal dancer for the New York Ballet and she seemingly has it all. Then her life comes crashing down and in an effort to save her career, she accepts a position with the Australian National Ballet. She meets Marcus, a fellow dancer who’s struggling through the loss of his father and an Achilles injury, and he becomes her Australia tour guide. Their chemistry is instant, but the ANB has a strict no dating policy, Pas de Don’t. They know they can’t act on their feelings, but they can’t help wanting to rebel.

I wanted to love this, especially considering all of the great reviews. While the romance between Heather and Marcus is portrayed really well, I felt that this book really suffered from trying to do too much. We never get too deep into any of the underlying issues the characters have and it felt lacking. For me, it felt too surface-level. I really love when, especially in a romance, we dive deeper into the characters and explore more difficult issues. Here, we get an overview of the characters issues and things are resolved too neatly.

However, I did love Heather and Marcus. Their chemistry is excellent and the development of their relationship is lovely. He is everything her ex, Jack, wasn’t: caring, kind, and proud of her. There is this beautiful moment where Marcus laughs at her seemingly lame joke and makes one of his own, and it’s significant Jack always made her feel inferior. I did appreciate her growth and how different she is by the end. There is also a great author’s not with content warnings and resources for those experiencing coercive control. It’s so important for books with these difficult subjects to include these note, so I was happy to see it there.

Overall, this wasn’t my favorite romance I’ve read recently, but I do think there are those who would love this. I’ve seen a lot of great reviews, so I would recommend checking it out if you think it’s something you’d enjoy.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Do what you came here to do. Dance. If I've learned anything in the last year, it's that if you can dance, you should dance. Because you never know when it's your last time."

What a delight. Angyal's knowledge of ballet shines through and makes me want to go see a ballet performance? But only if Heather Hays is in it (kidding of course).

[Tehya Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️s. We read this for our romance book club this month. The author is local to our area and actually came to the book club meeting. We had the best conversation and she was the sweetest angel. Like truly so incredibly kind. And the book was equally as sweet. I truly loved this book. It was so incredibly heart warming. I cried real tears at the end, but not sad tears. Happy, so full of warm and fuzzy feelings you just kind of overflow tears. As a person who knows NOTHING about ballet, there were some technical things that I had to look up (just because I like to keep the movie in my mind accurate) but I didn’t even mind because the characters and the writing in general didn’t make it necessary. I also learned a lot about the ballet industry in general from the book (and our conversation), it did a great job of explaining it to the people who don’t know how it works. I appreciated the fact the third break up wasn’t just another miscommunication. It was a truly necessary. The ending was not what I expected, but I actually like how it turned out better than I would have expected. I did wish they got the dance to actually dance together on the stage though. All in all, it was so so so good. Highly recommend.

[Pallavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4/5 STARS

PAS DE DON’T was everything I could have wanted in a ballet book. This was my first reading experience where BOTH main characters were ballet dancers - and I loved it! Chloe Angyal understands the dance world, and I appreciated that she highlighted the sexism, stigma, and mistreatment dancers have faced in this high stakes environment. This book was modern, fresh, and so endearing. Can’t wait to read about Carly in the next novel of the series.