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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
The book cover is undeniably adorable, adding an enticing element to the overall charm of the story. Although I generally lean towards first-person narratives, the choice of dual POVs and third-person storytelling in this novel appears to strike an excellent balance, offering a comprehensive understanding of the characters' inner worlds while maintaining a broader perspective on their unfolding romance.
A very entertaining story with an interesting plotline and featuring fresh characters, “How to Dance”, by Jason B. Dutton (Alcove Press), presents a captivating, extrovert hero, able to charm a rock.
Nick Freeman’s authenticity as a very affectionate, outgoing person, but a bit guarded, and also dealing with serious mobility issues, make this wounded hero fascinating.
The friendship and romance between Nick and Hayley is slow, although their connection is instantaneous and powerful.
This book is an excellent read for someone looking for an emotionally involved book with great representation.
A very entertaining story with an interesting plotline and featuring fresh characters, “How to Dance”, by Jason B. Dutton (Alcove Press), presents a captivating, extrovert hero, able to charm a rock.
Nick Freeman’s authenticity as a very affectionate, outgoing person, but a bit guarded, and also dealing with serious mobility issues, make this wounded hero fascinating.
The friendship and romance between Nick and Hayley is slow, although their connection is instantaneous and powerful.
This book is an excellent read for someone looking for an emotionally involved book with great representation.
How to Dance by Jason B. Dutton was a good #ownvoice novel for the main character, Nick, who has cerebral palsy. I wanted to get into this romance to have more inclusive examples in the genre, but the female main character bugged me too much. I really liked Nick.
Thank you, Dreamscape Media, for this ALC.
Thank you, Dreamscape Media, for this ALC.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you so much to the publisher for gifting me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I was really excited to read this book but unfortunately, it didn't work for me as much as I wanted it to. I had a lot of issues with both the characters and the plot. The characters were very unlikable to me and I had a hard time believing their romance. The biggest issue I had with this book is that there is a cheating aspect involved in the plot. For the first half of the book, Hayley is in a relationship with another man and is essentially emotionally cheating on her boyfriend with the Nick. I do not condone cheating of any kind and find it very hard to enjoy or feel comfortable reading a romance story that begins with cheating. This story did have some good elements though. The writing was good and there is a lot of interesting commentary about being disabled as Nick does have cerebral palsy. The disability representation was great. But, I was unfortunately let down in the end and did not enjoy this one as much as I wanted.
I was really excited to read this book but unfortunately, it didn't work for me as much as I wanted it to. I had a lot of issues with both the characters and the plot. The characters were very unlikable to me and I had a hard time believing their romance. The biggest issue I had with this book is that there is a cheating aspect involved in the plot. For the first half of the book, Hayley is in a relationship with another man and is essentially emotionally cheating on her boyfriend with the Nick. I do not condone cheating of any kind and find it very hard to enjoy or feel comfortable reading a romance story that begins with cheating. This story did have some good elements though. The writing was good and there is a lot of interesting commentary about being disabled as Nick does have cerebral palsy. The disability representation was great. But, I was unfortunately let down in the end and did not enjoy this one as much as I wanted.
This is a opposite attracts a girl who loves to move and dance and a guy who loves to sing but getting around is a challenge since he has cerebral palsy. They had a rocky start which turned into a fun friendship but once he starts having feelings towards her things start to get dicey since she has a boyfriend who is kind of garbage but she's loyal to him and there dreams. When he try's to go back to his old life and tells her pack your bags your coming to. But she doesn't want her old life they break u[ and now is Nicks time to act on his feelings towards Hayley. Then DARMA happens.
I think what docked this for me was the characters she didn't know what she wanted and Nicks was kinda asshole. I know he feels like hes down on his luck but they things he ends up saying and doing was a big RED flag and wsn't rooting for him.
Thank You NetGally for this Audio-Arc in exchange for my honest review.
I think what docked this for me was the characters she didn't know what she wanted and Nicks was kinda asshole. I know he feels like hes down on his luck but they things he ends up saying and doing was a big RED flag and wsn't rooting for him.
Thank You NetGally for this Audio-Arc in exchange for my honest review.
Individually a lot of elements worked, Nick was smart and quick-witted and how he was written to deal with both his walker and interacting with others, how he somewhat had to handle their reactions to and interactions with him, this disability representation was very interesting to read, especially from an able-bodied perspective.
That being said, Nick's masking and putting on a front with everyone was both relatable and annoying. Also if Nick realizes towards the end how angry he is, with many of the situations he's going through and with various people in his life. This anger was something I could feel burning in him throughout the book, and it was not a quality that endeared him to me. In fact it made me wary of him and I leaned away from liking him.
Haley was likable enough, though I never felt like I knew why she wanted to leave her last job to come to Ohio? And I also struggled to see what her personal individual baggage was too. It seemed like dance was her primary personality trait.
Haley was flirty with Nick during her relationship with Kevin, in my opinion there was emotional infidelity happening for sure, even if there was nothing physical happening.
The side characters felt underdone as well, Kevin was a cardboard cutout which was no big deal, but Nick's friends had more potential that felt missed to me. Though it is hard to pack in 15 plus years of friendship into a background of a book.
The relationship between our two main characters was weird / not fun to me? They are constantly saying the wrong thing to each other and then needing to apologize-- yay for communication, but boo for connection.
The writing overall felt polished to me, there was conversation between people in a way that felt authentic at times. HOWEVER, there were multiple times when there would be an interaction and then at the end of that scene, the character would say this is how I feel or this is what happened and I often felt like I had missed some important subtext? There were multiple conversations we're at the end a character was having feelings and I would be confused as to why they were feeling that way.
Overall, I just didn't love these two together. They seemed to not be ready for a relationship yet-- it was near the start of one, but neither should have felt in love.
One reviewer points out that it was very repetitive that Nick struggled with accepting love, help, or any advice or support and that the author was somewhat self-inserting here, which I agree with.
Another reviewer complained that the two main characters essentially break up / separate at the third act drama and each go to learn a lesson from a parent or a friend in order to individually grow. But that individual growth at the time of coming back together would not automatically fix a relationship, and we did not get to see enough of these two hash things out.
That being said, Nick's masking and putting on a front with everyone was both relatable and annoying. Also if Nick realizes towards the end how angry he is, with many of the situations he's going through and with various people in his life. This anger was something I could feel burning in him throughout the book, and it was not a quality that endeared him to me. In fact it made me wary of him and I leaned away from liking him.
Haley was likable enough, though I never felt like I knew why she wanted to leave her last job to come to Ohio? And I also struggled to see what her personal individual baggage was too. It seemed like dance was her primary personality trait.
Haley was flirty with Nick during her relationship with Kevin, in my opinion there was emotional infidelity happening for sure, even if there was nothing physical happening.
The side characters felt underdone as well, Kevin was a cardboard cutout which was no big deal, but Nick's friends had more potential that felt missed to me. Though it is hard to pack in 15 plus years of friendship into a background of a book.
The relationship between our two main characters was weird / not fun to me? They are constantly saying the wrong thing to each other and then needing to apologize-- yay for communication, but boo for connection.
The writing overall felt polished to me, there was conversation between people in a way that felt authentic at times. HOWEVER, there were multiple times when there would be an interaction and then at the end of that scene, the character would say this is how I feel or this is what happened and I often felt like I had missed some important subtext? There were multiple conversations we're at the end a character was having feelings and I would be confused as to why they were feeling that way.
Overall, I just didn't love these two together. They seemed to not be ready for a relationship yet-- it was near the start of one, but neither should have felt in love.
One reviewer points out that it was very repetitive that Nick struggled with accepting love, help, or any advice or support and that the author was somewhat self-inserting here, which I agree with.
Another reviewer complained that the two main characters essentially break up / separate at the third act drama and each go to learn a lesson from a parent or a friend in order to individually grow. But that individual growth at the time of coming back together would not automatically fix a relationship, and we did not get to see enough of these two hash things out.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Alcohol
HOW TO DANCE was a sweet and charming story of finding love while learning to love yourself more deeply. I enjoyed the disability representation and hope we see more of it in contemporary romance in the future.
REVIEW
cw: ableism, anxiety, emotional cheating
When professional dancer Hayley Burke meets charismatic karaoke singer Nick Freeman and asks him to dance, she doesn't immediately realise he has cerebral palsy, or that he requires the aid of a walker, and she's mortified. Nick doesn't want people's pity. He wants to be seen. But as they find their rhythm with each other, they discover they're more alike than either knew.
I wanted to love this book so much, and it was very much a story of two halves. The premise was cute, and the representation of everyday life for someone with cerebral palsy using a walker was sensitively but also accurately written, especially Nick's frustrations with how some people reacted to or treated him. I loved his snarky sense of humour, and he was an absolute cinnamon roll to the people he loved. Hayley was an interesting character, but I sometimes felt like she was talking in riddles, rather than really saying what was on her mind, so I struggled to connect with her until halfway through. There were some fun supporting characters. I particularly liked Gavin and Mel (who actually gave great advice), and Cal was adorable.
While I loved Nick and Hayley's chemistry, I didn’t enjoy the emotional cheating, even though we only really discovered what Kevin was like halfway through, and I wish he hadn't played as big a part in the overall story. That said, once Hayley and Nick started to really share their emotional conversations, I began to love her more. I particularly loved how both were there for each other in their most vulnerable moments, and I loved the dance analogies throughout, as well as their more tender moments. I also loved the moment Nick realised what Hayley actually needed from him, and I ADORED Nick's speech at the end as well as the epilogue.
A solid debut that flourished in the second half.
Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️.5
Heat Rating:
cw: ableism, anxiety, emotional cheating
When professional dancer Hayley Burke meets charismatic karaoke singer Nick Freeman and asks him to dance, she doesn't immediately realise he has cerebral palsy, or that he requires the aid of a walker, and she's mortified. Nick doesn't want people's pity. He wants to be seen. But as they find their rhythm with each other, they discover they're more alike than either knew.
I wanted to love this book so much, and it was very much a story of two halves. The premise was cute, and the representation of everyday life for someone with cerebral palsy using a walker was sensitively but also accurately written, especially Nick's frustrations with how some people reacted to or treated him. I loved his snarky sense of humour, and he was an absolute cinnamon roll to the people he loved. Hayley was an interesting character, but I sometimes felt like she was talking in riddles, rather than really saying what was on her mind, so I struggled to connect with her until halfway through. There were some fun supporting characters. I particularly liked Gavin and Mel (who actually gave great advice), and Cal was adorable.
While I loved Nick and Hayley's chemistry, I didn’t enjoy the emotional cheating, even though we only really discovered what Kevin was like halfway through, and I wish he hadn't played as big a part in the overall story. That said, once Hayley and Nick started to really share their emotional conversations, I began to love her more. I particularly loved how both were there for each other in their most vulnerable moments, and I loved the dance analogies throughout, as well as their more tender moments. I also loved the moment Nick realised what Hayley actually needed from him, and I ADORED Nick's speech at the end as well as the epilogue.
A solid debut that flourished in the second half.
Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️.5
Heat Rating: