Dance With Me by Heidi Cullinan

SYNOPSIS

Ed Maurer’s life would be fine if he could just get Laurie Parker off his back. He’s bounced back, more or less, from the neck injury that permanently benched his semi-pro football career, and he volunteers now at a local community center. It’s just that every time he turns around, that damn professional dancer is in his way, hating Ed right back. But when a bargain Ed strikes at the center lands him as an assistant in Laurie’s ballroom dancing class, their perceptions of each other turn upside down. Both Ed and Laurie have heartbreak in their pasts, but somehow dancing together eases their individual pain. For Ed, dancing with Laurie becomes a way to reconnect with his body after losing football. For Laurie, partnering with Ed has erased some of his fear of performing and brought back joy to a sport he wasn’t sure he could ever truly love again.

As Laurie and Ed lose themselves in dance, their lives continue to spin around them: Ed’s injury makes it clear he’s nowhere near recovery, Laurie feels the pressure by friends and family to perform once more, and the community center that has become such an important part of both their worlds threatens to close. Alone, they haven’t had the strength or spirit to face what life has hurled at them. But as the turns of their personal paths lead them into the arms of love, Ed and Laurie begin to think that if they dance this dance together, they might be able to succeed.

Review – 5 Stars

Jenny:   GG, what did you think of Dance with me?

Gitte:  This story made my heart melt, hurt & beat very fast. It also made me tear up and get the sniffles!

Jenny:   It was emotional and wonderful, with some of the most beautiful characters you could meet.  I just loved it and oh yes, there were definitely sniffles.

Gitte:    All of me was so invested in the journey of Ed and Laurie, I felt it; every step of the way. At times so melancholy I wanted to pick both boys out the story and put them in my pocket to keep them safe. The sexual tension jumped off the page, the man loving was HOT!!  This all comes down to the brilliant writing of this Author and I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!! Who made this rule anyway?  I shall give it 8!! Yes, I just couldn’t put it down.

Jenny:  I thought the story had  a slow build up but I think you needed it.  You needed to learn about the characters and their insecurities.  They were both so insecure although Ed’s were deeply hidden, he was just as broken and insecure as Laurie was.   The author really made us know the characters so you really connected with them and felt what they felt.  The man loving was HOT to say the least!  And yes….where did the 5 star thing come from…this definitely deserves an 8 haha.

Gitte:  I loved both Ed and Laurie. I fell in love with them from the beginning.  They came together with each their own pain, fears, denial, courage, sensuality & passion – together they were BEAUTIFUL!!!

Jenny:  These two were definitely the odd couple yet together they fit so well.  I adored these two.  Beautiful, sensitive dancer Laurie and Alpha, tender ex semipro footballer  Ed.  What a pair.  When they were together the sex and the sexual chemistry was off the charts,  yet they had so much tenderness between them that  they just melted my heart.

Gitte:  Ed this huge muscly ex-football player who has a sarcastic sense of humour…the least stereotypical gay man there is. I loved him and have to say the drunk scene in the bar, *sigh* he was so adorable; so honest, cheeky and full of it. LOVED him!!!  It made me so sad that he saw his ‘disability’ as a character fault. He had a severe inferiority complex and refused to acknowledge that this was so. It broke my heart!

Jenny:  The author did such an amazing job writing Ed’s character.  I loved Ed.  He really was the least stereotypical gay man wasn’t he GG?  I absolutely connected with Ed and loved his cheeky sense of humour.  The scene in the pub was just brilliant!  So much was revealed in that scene.  It was so subtle yet so powerful.

Gitte:  How did you feel about him unapologetically listening to Britney… that had me in stitches!!

Jenny:  The Brittney obsession cracked me up.  So not what you would expect and yet it was so perfect.  That gave me a giggle.

Gitte:  Then there’s Laurie who seems almost feminine like, despite his lithe and built dancer physique. His self-esteem and confidence has taken a huge knock and he is lost and broken. His loyalty and huge heart had me falling in love with him and even though I have 2 left feet I WANTED to dance with him!!

Jenny :  Laurie, full of self- doubt and so sensitive and beautiful.  So vulnerable.  My heart ached for Laurie.  I wanted everything to be right in Laurie’s world.  He couldn’t’ believe that someone would actually want him yet this man had so much to offer.  Yes, Laurie found his way into my heart that’s for sure. Loved how their music tastes were so different…..Laurie and his love of Barbra!

GItte:  I loved how at first sight they both adopted the assumed attitude to common stereotype. They basically kind of hated each other.  But watching them come together in a quite accidental funny way and ummm yummy too, well I swooned when as soon as they stepped into each other’s arms in dance they both found their natural place in each other’s life.

Jenny:  I loved the accidental meeting.  You “felt” it in that scene…the sexual tension, the honesty, the tenderness . They did find their natural place in the dance and how the author described this just melted me.
“Why do you stay with me”?  “Because I don’t want to dance alone”?  Wow, that line did me in.

Gitte:  To Ed, Laurie was the most beautiful man he had ever seen when he dances.

Jenny:   To read how Laurie danced.  You didn’t just read it.  The author made you see it, made you feel it.  In my head I could see Laurie and I could see Ed’s reaction to him dancing.  You can just imagine Laurie being the most beautiful man on earth when he danced and you see that through Ed’s eyes, such was the beauty of the writing..

Gitte:    They get lost in a journey of self-discovery, self-awareness, pleasure, happiness and above all LOVE. This journey did not come easy; it was riddled with bumps, but the love of a good man by their side ultimately conquered all.

Jenny: You would not expect Ed to be so right for Laurie, yet as we come to know Ed you realise he is just perfect for Laurie and has so much love to give. Just beautiful.  These two loved fiercely.
“He was male and he was beautiful and when he danced he made male beauty come alive”.

Gitte:  The way they looked out for each other. The protectiveness.  They were individually broken but together they helped rebuild each other again from life’s disappointments and cruelty; step by step through utter devotion.

Jenny:  I loved it when these two danced together.  You could feel their connection to each other.  You are so right, individually so broken, together so healed and so right.  They definitely had a lot of obstacles to face, but they did it together and grew stronger because of it.  They certainly brought out the best in each other – they also had to overcome relationship problems outside of each other as well and when they were together they both came alive.
The secondary characters were just wonderful also, especially Ed’s football buddies. They added so much to the story!

Gitte:   Together they created a beautiful dance!   5 Stars

Jenny:  Yes GG, they absolutely did.   Absolutely agree….5 stars!

Warning:  This book contains sexually explicit scenes.

DANCE WITH ME by HEIDI CULLINAN
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