Dance Away with Me

Dance Away with Me
by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Release Date:  June 9, 2020
Publisher: William Morrow
Standalone
Number of Pages: 400
Kindle Edition
Source:  MCL
Contemporary Romance/Chick Lit
Rating:  R
Read 11/3/20 to 11/5/20

At long last, the legendary New York Times bestselling author returns with a heartfelt novel of womanhood, a wild heart, and the healing power of love.

Run, run, as fast as you can!

When life throws her one setback too many, midwife and young widow Tess Hartsong takes off for Runaway Mountain. In this small town high in the Tennessee mountains, surrounded by nature, she hopes to outrun her heartbreak and find the solace she needs to heal.

But instead of peace and quiet, she encounters an enigmatic artist with a craving for solitude, a fairy-tale sprite with too many secrets, a helpless infant, a passel of curious teens, and a town suspicious of outsiders, especially one as headstrong as Tess. Just as headstrong, is Ian North, a difficult, gifted man with a tortured soul—a man who makes Tess question everything.

In running away to this new life, Tess wonders— Has she lost herself . . . or has she found her future?

I haven’t read a Susan Elizabeth Phillips book in two years, and that’s two years too long. If you’ve read her books before, you know what I’m saying. You know what you’re in for. If you are a first time reader of SEP, hang onto your hat.

One thing that gets me every time is this author’s skill at making me abhor the hero before I fall in love with him. And, unlike with a lot of other heroes out there, I will hate the him for a good portion of the book. The depth and truth of who Ian is was revealed slowly, bit by bit. Every time I thought I was getting to his redemption portion of the story, he’d say or do something else to annoy me. Yet, I couldn’t get enough of Ian North.

I love a heroine who knows her own mind, even if she gets a bit too headstrong. Trust me when I say Tess is headstrong. As a women’s health specialist, spending most of her adult life as a midwife, Tess can’t help but help. Be it the teenagers in town, the pregnant neighbor, or the little boy who lives off the grid. When people ask for help, she gives them help. Even when she knows it will bite her in the butt eventually. Even when some of those people aren’t so nice to her in public. She’s a caregiver to the very depth of her soul. She may not want to be that person, she may be looking for a change, but she’ can’t get away from her true self.

The way in which Tess and Ian first get to know one another sets them up to dislike each other. Not for any good reason but their misunderstanding as to who the other is and what they represent. To even forge a friendship between them is exhausting. But, once they are thrust together with not much of a choice but to be in close proximity much of the time, their similarities become more obvious.

There is a lot to this story. Many layers and a lot of depth. So as not to give too much away I’ll stop here. Just know that this story is a true SEP tale. Meaning, as much as  you want to slap the hero and heroine, you won’t be disappointed in the end result.

4.5 stars