Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Dancing Lessons
AUTHOR: R. Cooper
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 129 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 20, 2016
BLURB:
Two years of living with his controlling boyfriend left Chico worn down long before that boyfriend revealed he’d been seeing someone else. With no other choice, Chico moves in above his cousin’s garage in a small town in the redwoods, where he merely goes through the motions. To get him out of the house, his cousin pushes him to volunteer at a local dance studio to help with their annual show.
He’s not expecting to end up in a dance class, or to start feeling alive again in the arms of his dance instructor. Rafael is the studio owners’ son and was once a well-known dancer in his own right, but now enjoys being a teacher. Although Chico likes him, he’s afraid of taking a chance. But Rafael is determined, and it only takes one dance for Chico to start to realize he might still have something to learn.
REVIEW:
This is a new-to-me author and, if this is any kind of an accurate example of their work, I believe that they will soon become a favorite. I must have become somewhat “jaded” by the rash of insta-romance/sex books I have been reading of late because, at first, I was thinking “why are they moving so slow?” Then I realized my self-fault and was like “Wow…an author is actually writing a complete plot with full character development and not rush to sex and instant gratification and love!” I have to say, for me at least, this has been fairly rare lately and I loved this. In real life, a person who has been so “wronged” and hurt by their significant other as Chico was, would not normally let it roll of their backs and dive into their next relationship. I was so pleased that the author let him experience his hurt and react to it accordingly. It was refreshing to see a character who wasn’t “perfect” and to forge on through their problem along side them. Add in Rafael, a world-class dancer, who had come back to his small town in the California Redwoods to teach at his family’s dance studio. His caring and flirtation with Chico was wonderful. I also loved Chico’s cousin Davi. His concern for Chico and prodding of his dear cousin to get out of bed and return to life was fabulous. I saw it, not only as a caring family member, but in some ways, a way to pay it forward to Chico and his parents for the love that they gave to Davi when he needed it earlier in life.
I love dance in all forms so this ballet, that the dance studio students preform, was quite intriguing to me. The story that unfolds in the ballet is explained to Chico, who is volunteering to redo previous costumes to be used for the ballet, by Rafael. It was a very touching and poignant story within a story. I searched the Internet to see if it was a real ballet based on a real story. Although it is a type of ballet that was preformed during the AIDS pandemic of the 1980’s, to try to demolish homophobia, I could not locate either the ballet or the story. I could, however, see this leading to a ballet to be written and preformed.
This was a wonderful story with believable characters that engages you and has you hoping and cheering for their Happily Ever After that they so completely deserve.
RATING: 
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