Reviewed by Danielle
TITLE: The Storm Before The Calm
AUTHOR: Cate Ashwood
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 200 pages
BLURB:
Charlie has one passion in life: dancing. It’s his salvation when it feels like the world is swallowing him whole. When his mom secretly secures him a spot in the summer intensive at the Free Rein Dance Company in New York, he is thrilled. He knows that once the summer ends, he’ll have to return to Beacon to get a job and help support his family, but for those two months, he can spread his wings.
In New York he meets Max, a junior instructor who is everything Charlie wishes he could be. Bold and self-assured, Max radiates pride in who he is. As they spend time together, Max shows Charlie what life can be like past the walls of his closed-minded home town. But Charlie doesn’t know if he’s ready to show the world who he truly is when standing in the spotlight is the last thing he wants.
REVIEW:
I have been following author Cate Ashwood from the beginning, ever since my eyes landed on “Keeping Sweets”. I like her stories, her way of writing and the way she can tell me a satisfying story no matter the subject. I like that I am able to connect with her characters and in this story it wasn’t any different .
In The Storm Before The Calm we follow Charlie who lives his life in a small town village, living with his mum, going to school and waiting until he can leave the bullying at school behind. His only outlet is his dancing and Charlie loves to dance.
When his mum surprises him with a ticket to a dance company in New York for a summer dance course, Charlie is extremly happy to get out of town for a bit. He knows he needs to come back for him mum who gave up so much for him so he decides to take this time, as the blurb says, to spread his wings.
Feeling like a stranger in a big city, Charlie slowly adjusts to the rythem of the school and the life in New York, mostly because of the relaxed way of his aunt Ginny with whom he lives and meeting Max, one of the junior instructors. And meeting Andy, a nice girl who also stays with the company, helps as well.
Although not spoken out loud. you sense the chemistry between Max and Charlie immediately. As a reader you can feel it and it gave me butterflies because I was so excited to see what would come.
When Max asks Charlie to help him with his dance for an LGTB event, the sparks fly and both men find their way together in a lovely way. I am not going to tell you the process or how it follows through as you have to read it for yourself to be able to feel the sweet, ever-present tension and chemistry there.
Their relationship moves pretty fast seeing as Charlie’s time in NY is limited. I love the built up in trust and how Cate Ashwood added the new adult parts into this story. I like that she did add some sexual innuendo to make it stand out from a young adult book, which is not my prefered genre, but I noticed I really am fond of the new adult theme.
Yes, there are some things that bothered me in a bit. Aunt Ginny, who Charlie is unexpectedly outed to, is very caring and understanding but I cannot understand Charlie’s struggle with telling his mum, who comes across through the story as all sorts of reasonable and supportive. Also the end seems a bit rushed with0ut going in details. It goes like BOOM and it is done! I would have loved to have that seen it more expanded to include more down the line .
Overall I can only say I think this story is adorable. There is little-to-no angst and makes a wonderful read. The characters are likable, the reading is easy, flowing nicely and keeping you drawn into the story. I hope Max and Charlie have a wonderful (dancing) life together and I wish I could have seen them dance but the visual I made up in my mind was magical, I am glad I got to meet them both 🙂
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