The Christmas Dance

A Second Chance, Small-Town Romance

By: River Ford

Narrated by: Jenn Lee

Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Thirty years ago, Val Blanchard met the love of her life over Christmas break. But after the dancing, the kisses under the mistletoe, and the gingerbread houses were all eaten, he walked out of her life. She never forgot him, and that made it hard to move on.

Richard Cook didn't forget either. He lived a good life with the mother of his children until she passed away. Years later, he's wondering about his first love. The girl he gave up to pursue his dream of becoming a ballroom champion. Christmas is in the air as he returns to the small town he last saw her. He's relieved to find her still running the family ballroom until she locks herself in the bathroom and refuses to talk to him.

Can a little dancing and fresh gingerbread give them a second chance?

©2020, 2021 Charity Bradford (P)2021 Charity Bradford

Christmas Dance

What a fabulous beginning to this series. We are introduced to Eureka in love series with a. Christmas Dance Young love that was lost , after a lifetime they find themselves back in the same small town to rekindle their love. The narration is fabulous

A very sweet and clean romance.

A very sweet and clean second chance romance. Val and Rick meet up again after 30 years. Christmastime. Gingerbread. Dancing. Hot kisses. Forgiveness? Family. Friends.
The narration is also sweet and a fun listen. 5 stars there, too.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this audiobook from Story Origin.

Holiday read

Sweet story for the holiday season. Never too late to rekindle first love. Narrator's warm tone made the story a very enjoyable listen. Engaging storytelling!

Val and Rick

A sweet story of love rekindled. Val is a local kid, who dances, comes for middle income family. Richard visits Eureka Springs, also dances, but comes from money. The two hit it off. Rick’s family wants him to compete in professional ballroom dancing and keeps him away from Val. Years later Rick marries and has kids. His wife dies, and his adult daughter encourages him to find Val. This brings him back to Eureka Springs, and his attempt to reunite with Val. Rick was a good family man, who loved his first wife. One or two mentions of this would have been sufficient.
Overall, the story is well written and characters are well developed. I used the audio version; the narrator did a great job.

I received a free copy of the audiobook and am voluntarily leaving my review.

sweet and hopeful

As a 45 yo single woman (divorced, but same difference), I found this second chance at love story sweet and hopeful.
I would have loved to learn more of the characters, see their daily effort to be together, but the overall story was well-written and interesting.
The narrator did a great job narrating this story.
I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Delightful!

I loved this story with only one reservation. I was somewhat disappointed in what felt like a weakness of character in the MMC, Richard/Rick. Val Blanchard was a young woman, a dancer who grew up in Eureka Springs AR. Her family wasn't wealthy, but they were loving and focused on growing their dance studio. Richard Cook and his family were championship dancers and his parents had one great expectation for him and it was to become the best dancer he could be with a partner they found acceptable. Thirty years ago, Rick and Val had a Christmas for the ages when his family stayed in Eureka Springs. They were drawn together by sight, but found that they shared a love of dance and that they were perfect partners. But after a week, their time was up and Richard very coldly told her they were through. He didn't fight for her as a love interest nor as a dance partner. He caved to his parents who didn't think she was good enough for him. Along the line, he married another dancer named Kim, had a family and danced professionally until she died. Now it's Christmas, and he's thinking about Val. His wife's been gone almost two years and he thinks of Val almost every day. He makes an attempt to find her and Val can't believe that he's returned. Appropriately, she's hurt and mad that he never tried to find her, never so much as made a phone call and yet, here he is, wanting to restart something? I'm not a great fan of second chances, because the reason for the split is usually annoying, and Rick was definitely annoying. He never did give her a clear reason why he left. How could he not know that he broke her heart? He does redeem himself and he and Val begin to find what could have been. All along, Rick's pregnant daughter, Cami, has been playing the romantic matchmaker and encouraged her father to go after his first love. It seemed that everybody was on the same page in the hopes that Rick and Val could make a go of it. I was taken out of the story a number of times with the numerous references made to his love for Kim. How he dearly loved Kim. What a wonderful family he and Kim had together. How Cami knew that Kim was with her during childbirth and that Rick cloaked himself in Kim's love. Enough, already! I seriously didn't want to hear about Kim one more time. It lessened the emotion I would have liked to feel for Val and Rick's happily ever after....30 years too late. It's a testament to how well River Ford writes if I can still feel so much emotion, well after I've finished the book. Thankfully, it was a beautiful HEA and perfect epilogue.
Jenn Lee does a wonderful job with the narration. She has a clear, well-modulated voice with just the right intonation and pacing to bring each of the characters to life.

A LOVE FOUND

A LOVE OF YOUTH ONCE LOST IS FOUND AGAIN AND JUST IN TIME FOR THE CHRISTMAS DANCE.
THE NARRATOR IS GOOD AND EASY TO FOLLOW

Lost Love

This was my first experience with River Ford's writing and I enjoyed the story a lot. Two young people meet over one week at Christmas and then life pulls them apart. Thirty years later, they meet. This is the tale of that meeting and the subsequent things that happen once they spend time together again. I found the novella to be entertaining and sweet. I recommend it to others who like this genre. Jenn Lee's narration is good and her voice is pleasing. I was given a free copy of the audiobook and I have voluntarily left this review.

Sweet Romance!

This was my first River Ford's book, and won't be my last. This is a beautiful second chance to love and small town romance. Val and Richard's story is sweet (a little bittersweet), and heartwarming. Val is lovely, smart, and caring. Richard is enigmatic and egocentric. My heart broke for Val, because all those years she obviously missed Richard more than he missed her. The back and forth, past to present, is well done, and helped to understand how they met. I loved the happy ending. Jenn Lee did a good job narrating this book.

CHRISTMAS DANCE

A WONDERFUL CLEAN STORY, THE NARRATOR DID A WONDERFUL JOB WITH TH3LE NARRATION OFNTHE STORY.
I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE FROM BOTH AUTHOR AND NARRATOR!