Love transforms ... I really love this book, it’s Susan Elizabeth Phillips (how could I not like) ?! She has a way of creating a story that is so entwined that you can’t help but get wrapped up. Once I started reading about Tess and Ian, I couldn’t put it down. This book made my heart sing! Dance Away with Me is up there with Heaven, Texas as a forever fave.

3.5 stars

Tess has gone to stay in a cabin in the Tennessee mountains to try to escape the devastating death of her husband. Nothing makes her feel better except for dancing outside the cabin in the rain, but her new neighbor, famous graffiti artist Ian, is angered by the loud music because it disrupts his creative process. Not only is his girlfriend, Bianca, not angry, she is happy to have another woman to talk to as she enters the last two months of her pregnancy. When Bianca goes into early labor, the events that follow throw Tess and Ian together in ways neither of them planned or expected. Dance Away with Me can't be called a fun read, but both of the main characters are well developed, leaving the impression that they are real people. Even though the book is filled with sadness and loss, the sarcastic dialogue is sometimes funny, showing a little ray of hope in this story filled with sorrow. The quirky characters who inhabit the town add even more to this enjoyable book. Overall, Dance Away with Me is a story of characters living with despair, who manage to rise above their situation.