Dance For Me: New Adult Romance (Fenbrook Academy, #1)

by Helena Newbury

• ISBN10: 1490402713
• ISBN13: 9781490402710
• Publish Date: 24 June 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 260
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Dance For Me was a lot darker, but also a lot better than I had anticipated! It opens up with Natasha cutting. She feels like her world is off balance, and it's the one thing that steadies her. She's very careful about it though: alcohol wipes, fresh blades each time, bandages, and high up enough on her thigh that no one can see. She's on her way to her biggest dance audition, and she's feeling confident now that she's calm. But then, Darrell comes barging into the audition and throws her off. She doesn't get the part, but Darrell makes her an offer that's hard to refuse.

I actually loved Dance For Me once Darrell was introduced. He's a mad scientist! Well, he's an engineer who gets so focused on his work that he looses track of time. He spends more time in his underground workshop than in his plush mansion. It's his latest project that brings him to Natasha. He can't get it to do what he wants, but then he sees a woman dancing on TV and is enrapture by her movements. So Darrell tracks down the soonest ballet audition to find a muse. I loved how he looked at dance scientifically. His problems involves aerodynamics, so watching how a ballerina moves in the air makes total sense.

I also really liked how Natasha didn't just show up at his place. He could be a total psycho! I mean, he's offering to her $500 an hour to dance for him! Luckily, she has friends who look him up, and decide he seems legit. But even still, one of them goes with her just in case. That is smart! Of course, Darrell isn't a serial killer, so Natasha was fine. But he does have his own demons which drive him into throwing himself into his work. He does realize that what he's doing is wrong, but at that point, he couldn't help it.

Yes, this is one of those stories about damaged people coming together and "fixing" each other, and I adored it! Dance For Me is definitely one of the better ones. I believed Natasha and Darrell fully! Things have happened to them, and they can't let go. They're coping in ways that they think are helping, even though they know they aren't really helping. It was kind of heartbreaking, but I loved watching them come together and give the other what they really needed.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Linda]

This was very different from the 2nd book, which I read first.

Full review to come soon.

All my reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

[Berls]

This Review appeared first at Fantasy is More Fun
I received this book for free from IFB Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

My Initial Reaction...

Dance For Me was more complex than I had expected. Helena Newbury wrote some beautifully complex characters and put them together in a heartwarming, but troubled romance.

The Characters...

It took me minutes to realize I was going to love this book and Natasha was the reason. Within just the first few pages we realize that she's much more than a ballet dancer - she's a young woman with some deep emotional scars that are leading her to scar herself on a daily basis. Natasha is a cutter. Newbury writes this very complex aspect of Natasha's character so well; she captures the guilt and frustration and need perfectly. My heart broke for Natasha, because she's a gifted, kind, beautiful young lady who is dealing with so much hurt that she doesn't believe that she can be loved. A great deal of the story revolves around this mystery of why she hurts herself and feels so unworthy.

But Natasha is not the only damaged character in Dance For Me. Darrell, who literally comes crashing into her life, carries as much emotional baggage on his shoulders as she does. He's just dealt with a very different way: by throwing himself into his work as an engineer. Darrell is your typical dream guy with a dark secret. He's gorgeous, kind, gentle, a genius, filthy rich and he rides a motorcycle. What more could you want? I found myself comparing him to Christian Grey from Fifty Shades. He's the wealthy, sexy man who falls for this girl who he needs because, whether he knew it or not, there's something about her that can fix him. I should note, however, that this is where the similarities stop - he is not a secret Dom and his wealth is a bit more reasonable.

While there are some other characters that have semi-frequent appearances in Dance For Me, none of them is really that fully developed. I got a sense that I liked some of them and would like to know them better, but this really is a story about Natasha and Darrell. The other characters are more like decoration than support beams; nice to have but not really crucial to the story itself.

The Story...

Natasha is a ballerina with modest dreams. She knows she got into the game too late to be a bigshot, but she does hope she can make a living dancing because she really is a talented dancer. She attends Fenbrook Academy (which happens to be a real academy in New York, setup exactly as Newbury describes), which is dedicated to dance, acting, and music. The day of the biggest audition of her career thus far she's doing fairly well when some hot idiot (who we later learn is Darrell) comes crashing in and throws her off. She doesn't make the cut, but she does get an offer she wasn't expecting. Darrell asks her to dance for him; when she learns he's an engineer she finds the request immediately creepy (who wouldn't?) and turns him down. She can't help but wonder if it was a big mistake.

As the story progresses Natasha and Darrell meet again and the sparks are undeniable. It's clear that Newbury has some knowledge of dance because you can really see and feel the dances; I especially love the way she uses dance to spark and heighten the sexual tension.  I've always been a fan of movies with lots of dancing or musicals, which is what drew me to this series in the first place. I think the dance aspect is beautifully balanced with the story and character development - it's not forgotten but it doesn't overwhelm if dance isn't your thing.

As for the romance, mostly it's pretty great. Newbury supplies a good amount of tension before bringing us to the climax and there's some moments of banter between Natasha and Darrel via Facebook and text message that I found really enjoyable (although it did, once again, remind me of Fifty Shades). My one complaint was that the feelings came a bit too fast for me. I can get behind feeling an insatiable curiosity and pull towards someone, but insta-love doesn't really work for me and Dance For Me definitely had a bit of that. Otherwise the romance was enjoyable.

Concluding Sentiments...

Dance For Me pulled me in and wouldn't let me go until I was finished. The characters are well written and complex; I couldn't help but love Natasha. Looking forward to reading In Harmony (coming September 21st!).

Get it on Amazon