Review + Book Tour: Forbidden Dance

Welcome to the Forbidden Dance Blog Tour, hosted by Xpresso Book Tours!~

Title: Forbidden Dance [Lover’s Dance #1]
Author: Deanna Roy
Publication Date: March 28, 2017
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
GoodReads

Synopsis:

She was hidden from the world. Then he arrived.
An emotional new novel from six-time USA Today bestselling author Deanna Roy

For four years, I’ve lived in almost total seclusion. Homeschooled, forbidden from social media, seeing no one other than the dancers at Dreamcatcher Academy, where I teach ballet to little girls in wheelchairs.

Then Blitz arrives.

He’s the disgraced host of Dance Blitz, a bawdy reality show where Blitz sleeps with as many dancers as possible while looking for his perfect partner.

At least he was. A few weeks ago, he got kicked off his own show.

He’s at my academy for a publicity stunt, and my wheelchair ballerinas are his ticket back into the public’s good graces.

I intend to hate him and stay as far away as possible. But when he looks at me, I can’t resist. Before I realize what’s happened, we’re sneaking into back rooms, dancing, kissing, planning dates away from the cameras and the wrath of my family.

But I’m afraid. I have a secret at the academy, a small, wonderful, terrible secret, and if I stay with Blitz, the world will find out.

Buy Links:

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Review:

I will admit, there are some aspects of this book I didn’t love – there was some insta-love going on there, and honestly the relationship moved a little faster than I thought it should have. I mean, this girl was hidden away ’cause she made some huge mistake and then she just jumps down the rabbit hole the first chance she gets. It was a little unrealistic and too fast.

That being said, I did really like the characters and the overall premise of the book – the accessible ballerina class was adorable, as was the grandma jazz class, and the overall premise of the book was cute. There are a lot of funny, awkward, and cute moments, as well as a couple steamy moments throughout the book. To be honest, it’s those steamy moments that I just felt like shouldn’t have been in this book – I mean it’s be 45 seconds, put your hormones away.

Admittedly, Livia is a sweet girl who made a mistake at a young age – her parents’ over-protectiveness is understandable to some extent. But this girl is 19 now and she’s still restricted from most things, like cell phones, Internet, closing her bedroom door, and it’s like… okay time to release the reigns a little. Then those steamy moments come in and I’m like girl, this is why there are still tight reigns on ya. In contrast, Blitz has been kicked off his show for being a cheeseball – he’s seen too much of the world – but as he goes back to his roots you get to see the real him. He’s sweet, thoughtful, and not an absolute idiot when you think he COULD be, and it’s much appreciated.

Of the characters in this book though, I think most of my pity went out to Livia’s mom and brother – because of Livia’s mistakes, they’re caught in the crossfire, in the rules, the restrictions, and it sucks. Similar to the book The Truth She Knew though, this may be a social commentary on the concept of “the man of the house”… Or maybe I’ve been analysing way too many English books for my degree…

As a whole, this book was sweet and nice, but it was rushed. There are sequels to the novel, but this book can stand alone if you want it to (just don’t read the teaser for the second book and you’ll be fine) (In other words, I read the except and now I want to read the second one ’cause I have some questions I want answers to). All in all, a light, easy read.

Plot: 3.5/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 4/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 3.5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.0/5

eARC obtained via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

Buy Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

About the Author:

Deanna Roy is the six-time USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction.

She is a passionate advocate for women who have lost babies. She has several books on the subject, including her bestseller FOREVER INNOCENT, a romance about a couple whose baby is taken off life support at seven days old.

She has run the website PregnancyLoss.Info for fifteen years, including many large spin-off support groups both online and in person.

To learn about new releases, sign up for her subscriber list. She has regular giveaways in conjunction with major pregnancy loss events.

Author Links:

Website | GoodReads | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway:

Tour-wide giveaway | Open USA and CAN

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