Book Review: Dancing in the Moonlight By Lynne Shelby

The latest offering from Lynne Shelby, the doyenne of the gentle location-based romance, is a show-stopping high-kicking extravaganza set in the ritz and glitz of a West End stage show. Book review below...

Those dancing feet! Toe-tapping romance from Lynne Shelby

Our heroine, Nell, is a professional stage dancer nearing the end of her performance career (at the grand old age of 35!). Her professional dream comes true when she finally makes it into the cast of a fabulous new West End musical, Speakeasy, set in prohibition era New York. But when she meets an old flame what will it mean for her and her ten-year-old dance-mad daughter, Savannah?

I really loved the showtime atmosphere of this book - you could really feel "the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd"! I know nothing about this industry so all the details about how the auditions work, the rehearsal schedules, the way new dances are created by choreographers and the sheer amount of work that goes into a show like this was fascinating and really made it real and drew me in. I wish Speakeasy was really on at the Nightingale Playhouse right now – I’d rush and see it.

The camaraderie and tangled relationships between the dancers made great sub-plots. And who doesn’t love a good villain? The wonderfully bitchy Marisa fulfilled the role admirably! I also enjoyed the portrait of the theatre's founder which all the dancers would go and chat to for good luck.

Lynne is brilliant at bringing her fictional worlds to life, so I’m looking forward to finding out where Lynne she will take us next – the opera? A symphony orchestra? An end-of-pier show? Whatever is next, I'm sure it'll be a great read.