The Dancing Master

I give most of Klassen's books a 4-5. I didn't care for this book at all. Not the usual plot twists, very tedious read. Sorry Julie love love love the rest of your books. If you like Julie's books try Liz Curtis Higgs. ( )

Good but a little forgettable. Literally spent ten minutes trying to remember what book I had just finished reading an hour earlier. ( )

I think this was another good book by Ms. Klassen. It took me awhile longer to read it due to my work schedule, but it was worth it! I have no experience in dancing, so I admit that I'm rather curious to know if I would like it if I ever had the opportunity to take lessons.

Julia sounds like a typical teenager of her era--tired of her life as it is because it seems frightfully dull and boring. Her relationship with her overprotective mother sounds hit-and-miss, but you don't fully grasp the reasons behind it until you're further into the book.

Alec sounds like a man who knows what he wants to achieve, but he's in the wrong location to achieve. Not his fault, of course. Circumstances beyond his control forced him and his family to relocate. Meeting a flirt like Julia promises to keep things interesting in his world, but he has to be careful because she is high-class and he is not.

All in all, it's a good book. ( )

It all started with a romance reading challenge. I doubt I ever would have checked this book out of the library otherwise. And I liked it, because I am a sucker for a HEA.

Alec is a dancing and fencing master. I guess those go together because they both take grace and rhythm. He moves with his family to the Regency England version of the town from Footloose. Not kidding. Dancing is not allowed, and Alec is blackballed, beaten, and harassed at every turn. Julia, the rebellious, beautiful Julia, is the Ariel in this story. It's about the small-mindedness of small towns, and God, and change. And everybody cuts Footloose at the end, so it made me happy. 3 stars. ( )

I find myself wishing that John Desmond was a real live person so I could give the man the big hug I felt he deserved from the time I read his first conversation with Julia & onward. I know he wasn't the lead hero in the story but my goodness I do believe he was mine! ( )