REVIEW: The Dance Off by Ally Blake

The Dance Off by Ally Blake: Sam wants her brother, Ryder Fitzgerald to walk her down the aisle. He’s always been there for her, when their father wasn’t – so he was the logical choice. But of course that means they have a dance together at the reception. Ryder simply can’t go to a group lesson every week, but Sam manages to set up solo lessons on another night – and he just can’t find an excuse to get out of it.

Nadia took to Sam right away. When she was contracted to give her wedding party dance lessons, they became fast friends. So when she’s asked to make special accommodations for Sam’s big brother, she has no trouble saying yes. She’s not sure she did the right thing by agreeing to the arrangement when Ryder stalks through the door.

Ryder was expecting some rose-water smelling old woman to be waiting for him at the dance studio. When Nadia Kent steps out from the shadows, he gets the shock of his life. The electricity is palpable. But she’s as cool as a cucumber around him – relatively of course, since the heat is oppressive. Bossing him around and asking him to wear tights… Ha!

Managing to stay calm around Ryder isn’t the easiest thing for Nadia, especially since he’s just about the hottest guy she’s ever seen. But her mother’s example is too strong. She won’t let another guy derail her life’s ambition. She’s very close to getting back in the show that she left back in the states, and Ryder can’t get in the way of that.

Between their constant body contact, banter that reads like foreplay, and Sam’s overt matchmaking – they end up getting closer than they wanted to. Ryder knows there’s a time-limit on their relationship, but can he encourage Nadia to follow her dreams when it will end up taking her to the other side of the world?

This story was so descriptive I could imagine the building that housed the dance studio, the way the heat radiated around the characters, I swear I could even hear the beat of the music sometimes. The sexitiemz (sorry, geekspeak intrudes) weren’t quite as hot as some of the other KISS titles, but plenty of steam between Nadia and Ryder. I wasn’t sure how they were going to end up together, but it was smoothed out rather well. I kinda root for the guy to make sacrifices – but they resolved Nadia and Ryder’s relationship in a satisfying and slightly unexpected way. I won’t spoil it for you. 🙂

Book Info:

Published December 17th 2013 by Harlequin KISS (Book 45)

“Where are your leg warmers?”

Dancing lessons…? Architect Ryder Fitzgerald can’t think of anything worse! But when he spots smoking-hot Nadia Kent, who’ll be teaching him his steps for his sister’s wedding, he decides this might not be so torturous after all….

Nadia is staying well clear of Ryder, however jaw-droppingly hot he is–she let a guy get in the way of her ambition once, but never again. (No matter how well he swivels his hips!)

But as electricity crackles in the studio, restricting their chemistry to the dance floor becomes a challenge. Only question is, who’s going to make the first move?