Reviews

Dance Away with Me by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

evethingiread's review against another edition

5.0

This was funny, dramatic, romantic, a little far-fetched but enjoyable nonetheless. I have nothing bad to say about it. The characters are a bit much, and Tess and Ian's romance was really good. The baby drama was intense but it fit the story. I really enjoyed this book.

nickigar's review against another edition

5.0

lo que lloré en la parte en donde le quería sacar la bebe a Tess, me partió el alma como ella se quiso escapar con ella y después hizo lo que puso para que no las separen

gkelch's review against another edition

4.0

This was a sweet and heartfelt story about the power of new beginnings and the beauty that can be found in the seemingly darkest situations. I'm a sucker for a good "starting over" story, so I enjoyed this one set in the mountains of Tennessee. It did get pretty sad at times but there were quirky characters and steamy scenes to balance it out. The dialogue and the pacing of the romance sporadically felt silly but the story kept me reading, rooting for a happy ending.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

penguins_save_lives's review against another edition

2.0

A fine enough book, but not up to the usual standard for Susan Elizabeth Phillips. It's missing the usual pizzazz that her work usually has - the characters aren't quite as vibrant and lovable as usual. Plus, the plot is usually contrived, with coincidences and conveniences that are hard to ignore. I'm usually able to acknowledge these types of things and then let them go, but something about this plot never quite landed. It's fine for anyone who reads everything by this author, but this one isn't one I'd give to a new reader. I'd recommend her earlier books if I was trying to get someone hooked on Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

saistewart's review

3.0

It wasn’t as entertaining as her other books

rebroxannape's review against another edition

5.0

“Just to make sure I understand . . . We’re not only running a clinic here, but you’re now teaching sex education classes in my house?” “Write down any questions you have. It’s important for boys to be as well informed as girls. And I didn’t invite them. They showed up. And before you go into your whole Prince of Darkness routine, you should know that two of those girls are teenage pregnancies waiting to happen.” “That’s not your problem.” She touched Wren’s cheek. “Don’t worry about that bad man, sweetheart. I’ll slip some garlic in your blankie.”

The first sentence of this book, "Tess danced in the rain." and the subsequent "meet-cute" gets this book off to a very corny start. Luckily, it got much much better. Although SEP’s worst books are still very entertaining and have a lot to admire in them, I was disappointed a little bit in her last 3 novels. This one, I think, pulls her out of the little tiny rut she was in. Some of the reviewers comment that this was a rather dark book. I didn’t find it dark at all. It is not a comedic romp and there was one tragic and horrific happening, true. But there was a lot of humor, snark, and wit as well. All of SEP’s heroes and heroines have issues. Some of them have very serious issues. A few of her early books have a lot of darkness despite the happy endings. [b:Dream a Little Dream|73095|Dream a Little Dream (Chicago Stars, #4)|Susan Elizabeth Phillips|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1308818689l/73095._SY75_.jpg|2548] anybody?

Tess has come to the small mountain town of Tempest, Tennessee to recover and heal from the death of her young husband. Of course, she finds love and healing both with a difficult sexy artist and a newborn baby. She runs roughshod over the townspeople with all of her big-city judgements. And she eventually finds love and healing with them too. Fair warning: if you believe in abstinence-based sex education and disapprove of birth control for teens, you will find a lot to get offended with in this book. Or, heck, you might find yourself questioning your point of view.

A lot of the humor arises from the good citizens of Tempest and Tess’s interaction with them. And there is some really nice character development there as well. The antagonists either change and grow or are handily dispatched. There is an interesting survivalist family we get to know. You can’t say that about most “chick-lit”. I liked the development of the romance: neither too much or too little, for me, anyway. There is an interesting little switch up at the end. Usually, the heroine gets all twisted up because the hero has never told her he loved her in so many words and she rejects him even though they have a great relationship. This happened in [b:First Star I See Tonight|24948069|First Star I See Tonight (Chicago Stars, #8)|Susan Elizabeth Phillips|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455454019l/24948069._SY75_.jpg|44607233] and it annoyed the heck out of me. In this one, it’s the hero who gets all boo-de-hoo-hoo, and I’m pretty sure this was a deliberate wink from the author at romance fans.

It was an excellent comeback for one of my top 5 automatic-buy authors. And the big fat ole happy ending epilogue was truly the icing on the cake. Whether she goes back to her romantic comedies or continues along the more women’s fiction path a la Kristan Higgins, I will be there along for the ride.**4 1/2 stars**

rmarcin's review against another edition

3.0

I was really hoping to like this book as it had been on several lists of highly anticipated novels, but I thought it was just OK. I think the story had a lot of promise, but it was a bit preachy (telling customers that you won't sell them something, setting up info on sex education against the store owner's wishes). I also thought it was predictable that Ian and Tess would end up together from the moment they met. Tess was a whirlwind in the town, and an outsider, so I was a bit surprised of her takeover of the town in many ways. I expected more from this novel.

zia_t's review against another edition

inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

jkn303's review against another edition

3.0

I’m usually a huge SEP fan but I just didn’t love this one. I think I’m over the brooding hero and the premise was depressing.

dwm_1040's review against another edition

4.0

I received this as a Goodreads giveaway/Advance copy. I really think this is one her best books.