Two 5 Stars for Spirit Of The Dance by Mardi Alexander #F/F #Romance

This is a beautifully related extremely emotionally filled novel. It begins very gently and has you completely entranced from the sympathetic beginning  to the passion filled ending.

The author guides you through the passionate love affair which covers such an emotive range of feelings. Feelings of anger, terror, anxiety and trepidation to love, understanding, compassion and empathy. Both women have their own personal demons to understand, to acknowledge and to respect, then how to accept themselves and each other.

I was totally entranced by this fascinating tale which at times made me smile and at other times brought me to tears.

The author also brings out the psychological problems associated with life after war and coping with personal trauma. Obviously a well researched novel which has made it all the more authentic and credible.

I can’t recommend this novel highly enough, if you are looking for a modern love story full of true life drama, a well executed and believable plot which is full of compassion, tenderness and warmth then this book has it all in abundance.

~Chris

I have a bit of an issue, I suppose, with the descriptions I was given for this book. This is not exactly what I think of when I hear the terms “western” or “military.” I think, for western, it conjures up tales of the American Wild West, which has nothing to do with this story. And while the characters had been in the military, they were all out by the time this story takes place. It describes some of the issues that the characters are dealing with but not the focus of the story. This book takes place in Australia, in a small town, and the characters are focused on lives that include horses, cattle, and rodeos. And so I suppose that I can’t exactly argue with western, but that description usually would turn me off of a book, so I’m glad I read this one anyway.

The story of Sorla and Riley is a contemporary romance, and the setting influences the dance of how they find each other, and how they come to terms with what being together means for each of them. Both characters have issues from the past that they need to find a way to deal with in order to be able to open themselves up to the other person. The best part of this, is that their issues aren’t simply miraculously solved by the end of the book, and each of them isn’t somehow the solution to the other’s issues. No, the issues are on-going, but by the end of the book, each of them feels better about facing their issues with the other by their side.

I’ll also say a little about why I simply had to give this book a 5 star rating. There is an extremely tense scene that happens in this book. Not only was I unable to put the book down until I read all the way through it, but I actually got myself in trouble by my reactions to getting interrupted what seemed like endlessly while I was voraciously trying to find out what happened. My emotions were all over the place while reading; it was intense, gripping, sickening, horrifying, and a lot of other reactions that I really had to get a grip on after. Any book that can grip me that hard and not let go, I have to applaud. Wow.

Although that particular scene probably wasn’t exactly something that engendered a lot of positive feelings, the rest of the book made up for it. I liked the dance between Sorla and Riley, as each made overtures, then tried to back away, only to find the feelings wouldn’t let them go. I’d definitely recommend this book to anybody who’s looking for a good story to sink into.

~Amy P