Arkady is a rising star, the bad boy of ballet until a freak accident destroys his leg; ending his career. His physical therapist, Prisha, recommends he befriend Cade, an artist with a handicapped arm. Their attraction quickly becomes more than friendship but the freak accident wasn't an accident at all and whoever tried to kill Arkady hasn't given up.

When I read the description from the book, I did not expect a killer. I expected Arkady's struggles to recover from his injuries and face his vastly altered life. Even so, that struggle is there and given its short length, perhaps going with a killer as the main plot was a good idea.

That being said, I liked main leads who aren't perfect, chiseled gods among men and they have real human flaws and scars. They are normal people just different. Their relationship is still instalove but that's alright. They work even if Cade is a little too chill with someone trying to kill his new boyfriend. A quick fun read. 3.8 out of 5.

*~~*ARC kindly provided to me for an honest review *~~*

- Review to come

Review originally posted on my blog with added content on Mikku-chan / A world full of words

The word ballet on the summary was what got my attention. I was a little disappointed for not being able to learn more about the ballet world at the beginning, but I ended with a lovely story of rising against the things that pull us down.

Arkady is known as the bad boy of ballet. He is great at what he does but he's known for being a little troublemaker. In a sudden turn of events, Arkady is forced to face the possibility of not doing what he loves the most. Friends, family and a new love interest might make the difference to heal his broken heart and help him to rise again.

I liked the book very much. I loved Arkady. For a moment I thought I wasn't going to like him because I really didn't liked his attitude at the beginning, but I gave him a change and he proved it was worth it. I think I liked him the most while he was recovering, that's when his emotions were more honest. I didn't mind him being angry, it seemed a realistic emotion considering his situation.

I didn't realized there would be a romance involved. I kind of hope for it, but re-reading the summary really didn't say much about it, but for the ones who love romance, me among them, it had some lovely moments between Arkady and his love interest. I'm not really a big fan of insta-love kind of stories, and this one started a lot faster than I generally like, but it worked perfectly; I really got to care a lot for them as a couple.

The plot is ok, but I'll have to say the story felt a little fragmented. I see it as the first third show us Arkady's tragedy, the second one show us love and the third one solved a mystery I wasn't aware was part of the story. The first ones were really good but the last part I felt was lacking development. I felt the mystery was somehow forced and not entirely well made, there were too much mistakes and I really don't think it was necessary for the plot. I would love it so much more if the time given to it was spend more on Arkady's love life.

Overall I liked it a lot, it had a great message and some really nice characters. I think readers who like M/M romance would like it.

It’s not always easy to put together a good suspenseful story in a novella but LJ Hamlin has managed to do exactly that in Rise Again.
Arkady is a ballet dancer who lives for his art. He is not always easy to get along with and is known for being difficult to get along with and even fight bullies from time to time. When he is chosen to be the model for a photo shoot that requires him to hang suspended from wires he’s not at all concerned. Now comes the suspenseful part. The reader knows immediately that there is an attempt on Arkady’s life as the wires are cut causing Arkady to fall to the stage. However, Arkady remembers nothing about the accident and no one else saw the man in the red scarf who cut the wires so it is put down to being a freak accident. Arkady is left badly injured and no longer able to be a dancer.
Arkady’s physical therapist later introduces him to another patient, Cade, who is an artist with a paralyzed arm. The quickly find attraction to each other and a romance is born.
The secondary characters are beautifully written – Arkady’s Russian-born parents, Prisha the therapist, Lou the heroic pit bull, and others we meet briefly are strong characters with critical roles to play in the story. I loved the story and read it in one sitting. A great epilogue brings us the HEA of love and a new life for Arkady.

Not rating as dnf'd at 10%. The style of writing for this one just wasn't for me.

Arkady, a beautiful ballet dancer.....and then...his dance career is suddenly over and out..taken away from him...he is heavily injured....

He will never dance again....his knee is disabled. He is so lost and his social circle is very small...real friends are rare....
His physical therapist ask him a reachable goal..his answer... to walk again with his best friend Lou...his dog...
He makes progression and in this progress his therapist Prisha is becoming a very good friend.
She thinks Arkady should talk to Cade, a sweet artist, he has a disability with his arm and been through a lot of the same struggles as Arkady is now...

They meet and are very compatible, something sweet and nice is blooming between them...
The way they act around each other is sweet and positive, they see each other.

Beside this all you should almost forget HOW his dance career was taken away....
Well...there is a very sharp addition to this story.....a dangerous one.

Very well written story, at some points a bit narrow developed, but not in a wrong way... other parts surprised me by its innovative mentality. The suspense was really good done.
Overall an enjoyable read with a good vibe (yes.. even with the suspense)

I kindly received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

This book dealt with a panifully familiar scenario, which is why I requested it from NetGalley: the character is a dancer who experiences a major injury, and as a result loses his career, his sense of purpose, and also most of his social life, and has to figure out his entire worldview all over again. Although music (and writing, and all the other things that you need functional hands to do) was never going to be my career, this still echoes how I felt throughout most of 2013, and a fair bit since, so I knew this would hit a few personal spots.

And it did -- there was one passage in particular about being afraid to seek out new dreams because losing them and going through all this AGAIN would be too much, since it was bad enough the first time. I have DEFINITELY felt that, and I teared up a little while reading it. So with that aspect, the book didn't let me down. I also enjoyed reading about Arkady's relationship with his parents, because to be honest, it sounded like a slightly exaggerated version of mine. We're not demonstrative about emotions, but that doesn't mean we don't feel stuff or care about each other, and it was nice to see a family in a book that was neither rubbish/uncaring nor cloyingly affectionate.

However, I felt in some other ways I was a little bit let down. I wasn't a big fan of the prose style, as I felt it was a little unpolished. I also thought the overall plot was a little implausible and melodramatic. I would have been perfectly content with a story of recovery after a mundane accident -- or even a dramatic attack or injury. However, the somewhat convoluted series of attacks (I won't spoil the motivations and therefore the ending) strained my credulity somewhat, and I felt it took away from the gravity and depth of the characters' experiences.

Mostly, though, I just felt that this was a big topic, with some interesting characters and some major emotions, so it needed more than 40,000 words (which is what the NetGalley page lists as the length) to do it justice. The book is really a novella, but it feels a bit hurried. There were a couple of major jumps forward in time which I felt weakened it the narrative of gradual recovery. The romantic plotline, too, felt a bit rushed -- not because it wasn't convincing, but just because it would have been nice to see it develop in more depth.

So all in all, although this book did touch on a few personal issues and as a result I connected with it on an emotional level, I was mostly disappointed, which was a shame. My rating would probably be 2.5 stars (PLEASE give me a half stars option, NetGalley). My review currently appears on Goodreads, and will hopefully be cross-posted to my blog in future.