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A review by bookandcoffeeaddict
Danced Close by Annabeth Albert
5.0
Kendall is a wedding planner who’s yet to meet that special someone who wholeheartedly accepts his love of pretty things and his genderqueer identity. Todd is a tattooed, bearded, flannel-wearing bakery assistant just getting his life on track after battling addiction. Both guys are very attracted to each other, but they’re also both coming off of relationships with people who didn’t treat them with the respect they deserve so they’re a little (re: very) skittish at the idea of starting up something new. The fact that each is also very aware that they aren’t the other’s usual type also causes some hitches in the road to romance.
When Kendall’s partner for a charity dance falls through at the last minute, he takes the opportunity to rope Todd into substituting – not that he has to try very hard; Todd is very receptive to following Kendall’s lead as he proves time and again (on the dance floor and in the bedroom later on 😉).
For two people who aren’t looking for anything serious, they just can’t seem to fight the connection they feel physically, emotionally, mentally. It’s like each is what the other has been missing from their life without even realizing it – it’s all very romantic 😍. And the way tough-looking Todd gets all blushing and tongue-tied in the presence of elegantly confident Kendall is just completely adorable as well.
Danced Close is such a well-written romance. I was rooting for Kendall and Todd’s relationship from the very start and found myself wishing their love story was more drawn out and in-depth, not that it wasn’t great they way the story played out, but I just liked it so much I wanted to get more into it. The angst was low, the love scenes were intimate (way more intimate than should result from a dance partners with benefits relationship like they both try to fool themselves into thinking they have), and the way the two just clicked together like completely different but complementary puzzle pieces was lovely.
The Portland Heat series is turning out to be a must-read for me and I highly recommend checking it out. Each of the novellas in the series is a standalone and features surprisingly deep and well-fleshed out romances for the relatively short lengths of the books. I enjoyed Danced Close as much as I did the last book I read in the series (Knit Tight, Portland Heat #4) and I will definitely be checking out the rest of the books in the Portland Heat series as soon as possible.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Merged review:
Kendall is a wedding planner who’s yet to meet that special someone who wholeheartedly accepts his love of pretty things and his genderqueer identity. Todd is a tattooed, bearded, flannel-wearing bakery assistant just getting his life on track after battling addiction. Both guys are very attracted to each other, but they’re also both coming off of relationships with people who didn’t treat them with the respect they deserve so they’re a little (re: very) skittish at the idea of starting up something new. The fact that each is also very aware that they aren’t the other’s usual type also causes some hitches in the road to romance.
When Kendall’s partner for a charity dance falls through at the last minute, he takes the opportunity to rope Todd into substituting – not that he has to try very hard; Todd is very receptive to following Kendall’s lead as he proves time and again (on the dance floor and in the bedroom later on
When Kendall’s partner for a charity dance falls through at the last minute, he takes the opportunity to rope Todd into substituting – not that he has to try very hard; Todd is very receptive to following Kendall’s lead as he proves time and again (on the dance floor and in the bedroom later on 😉).
For two people who aren’t looking for anything serious, they just can’t seem to fight the connection they feel physically, emotionally, mentally. It’s like each is what the other has been missing from their life without even realizing it – it’s all very romantic 😍. And the way tough-looking Todd gets all blushing and tongue-tied in the presence of elegantly confident Kendall is just completely adorable as well.
Danced Close is such a well-written romance. I was rooting for Kendall and Todd’s relationship from the very start and found myself wishing their love story was more drawn out and in-depth, not that it wasn’t great they way the story played out, but I just liked it so much I wanted to get more into it. The angst was low, the love scenes were intimate (way more intimate than should result from a dance partners with benefits relationship like they both try to fool themselves into thinking they have), and the way the two just clicked together like completely different but complementary puzzle pieces was lovely.
The Portland Heat series is turning out to be a must-read for me and I highly recommend checking it out. Each of the novellas in the series is a standalone and features surprisingly deep and well-fleshed out romances for the relatively short lengths of the books. I enjoyed Danced Close as much as I did the last book I read in the series (Knit Tight, Portland Heat #4) and I will definitely be checking out the rest of the books in the Portland Heat series as soon as possible.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Merged review:
Kendall is a wedding planner who’s yet to meet that special someone who wholeheartedly accepts his love of pretty things and his genderqueer identity. Todd is a tattooed, bearded, flannel-wearing bakery assistant just getting his life on track after battling addiction. Both guys are very attracted to each other, but they’re also both coming off of relationships with people who didn’t treat them with the respect they deserve so they’re a little (re: very) skittish at the idea of starting up something new. The fact that each is also very aware that they aren’t the other’s usual type also causes some hitches in the road to romance.
When Kendall’s partner for a charity dance falls through at the last minute, he takes the opportunity to rope Todd into substituting – not that he has to try very hard; Todd is very receptive to following Kendall’s lead as he proves time and again (on the dance floor and in the bedroom later on