This is a 'weird' one to review. I love Beer's books for the most part, and this was no exception, but there were a few issues.

The MCs here are Scottie, a hair stylist who is living with her grandmother after breaking up with her ex, and Marisa, a single mom raising her nephew who just happens to also have the same ex as Scottie. The ex, Pen, left Marisa for Scottie, although because this is told in first person and only from Scottie's POV, we never hear how/why this happened.

Scottie and Marisa meet at dance classes Scottie agrees to take to help out her friend Bash, who is about to get married. Through a series of circumstances, Marisa and Scottie end up spending dance classes dancing together, and since they each know who the other is, this is 'weird' for them. Now, I understood this at first, because the whole ex thing is awkward, but given that they continue to seek each other out and deliberately spend time together, the way they kept referring to their growing relationship as 'weird' got annoying.

Both characters are lovely and caring towards friends and family. And they both have normal jobs, and normal worries (no super rich or famous characters here). They're also a super sweet couple and I enjoyed their interactions. <spoiler>(although I did have a minor quibble with Scottie saying she didn't know about Marisa when she started seeing Pen, but doesn't address when she did find out. It's made clear that Pen broke up with Scottie, so obviously she did find out at some point and didn't care) </spoiler>

The secondary characters abound, but aren't particularly fleshed out. Marisa's nephew Jaden was a delight, and I enjoyed Scottie's grandmother and her BF Adley (whose story I now need to read), and Scottie's large extended family also features. There's a side plot with Scottie and her two hair stylist friends starting their own salon that I thought was going somewhere, but doesn't, and they function largely so that Scottie can process her feelings about Marisa through them. Pen also features, and I thought the book would have been better without her, she had enough of a presence just by virtue of how they met.

Overall, this is a pretty sweet romance, and although the requisite drama at the end felt a bit contrived, it was thankfully short lived. I enjoyed the HEA and felt the characters deserved it. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

When Scottie agrees to help her friend by taking dance lessons with him she never could have predicted the string of events that would lead her into the arms of a smoking hot dancer. Not just any dancer but the woman her ex left her for! This is a fun, sexy read filled with chemistry, lots of ice cream and sweet moments.

This is the second time I’ve come across a Scottie in sapphic fiction. It gave me a laugh because I don’t think I’ve ever heard that as an actual name in anyone in real life.

Scottie is coasting through life when she’s strong armed into taking dance classes by her best friend. Scottie agrees but she’s not aware it’s where she’ll be meeting Marisa as her dancing instructor. Marisa happens to be the woman Scottie’s ex-girlfriend dumped when she met Scottie.

Sounds kind of crazy, right? To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel going in because I’m not big on dancing and the blurb didn’t do much for me. But somehow, by the end I was really rooting for Scottie and Marisa and I ended up really enjoying this. I think this could be called a low-angst, low stakes romance and it was nice to curl up and read this cute and fluffy romance. It was especially nice after reading two high stakes romances back-to-back.

Scottie and Marisa were a super sweet couple. They had fun chemistry and I loved all the time they spent together. We only get Scottie’s first-person point of view and I think that’s why I loved Marisa so much. She’s on the mysterious side and I had a bit of a crush on her. While I thought Scottie was okay, I didn’t necessarily love her as the narrator all the time. There wasn’t anything wrong with her, she just wasn’t my favorite.

I had two issues that took this down to 4 stars for me. Everything being magically solved in the end was one. The other was that it was outside forces that brought Scottie and Marisa together in the end, which felt a bit like emotional manipulation. I prefer when the characters actively work to get together so that left me a little disappointed.

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Running into your ex's ex is one thing, having to dance with them is a whole other thing. Especially when that ex turns out to be smoking hot and the one who was dumped because of you.

Scottie finds herself in this situation and needless to say finds it weird, like hella weird. But her attraction to Marisa is so strong she is willing to endure the weird. Also, not one to let down her friend by quitting dance lessons, she pulls through.

I enjoyed this light and quick read. By now I know I can expect a great book by this author and I can just go with the flow of the book.

An ARC was sent to me via Netgalley in return of an honest review.

I really loved this book! Georgia Beers is now a guarantee for me.

I really enjoyed the story, Scottie and Marisa had great chemistry, and the setting of the dance school was really cute.

The only criticism I have is that Scottie's issues seemed quite serious and were mentioned several times. Problems with her family and with herself. These are problems that shape her as a person, with her people-pleasing tendencies (so not trivial problems). And these problems also resurface in her relationship with Marisa, where she feels like she's not a priority. This part was interesting, but it felt like everything magically resolved itself.

But I realize that this wasn't the book to delve into those self-esteem dynamics, so it still gets 5 stars from me!

Beers is one of my favorite les fic authors. She does it again with her latest work. Can't recommend this sexy, story of redemptive love and self discovery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing an eARC for a honest review.

I have read a few books by Georgia Beers now and this is definitely my new favorite! She did a wonderful job with both character building and making the mc’s likable, which created an immersive read. Both mc’s had family issues that I (and I bet a lot of other people) could personally relate to and I’ll admit I teared up a couple times as I was reading.

The “third act conflict” was completely believable and tied in very nicely with Scottie’s emotional growth throughout the story. Yeah it’s a romance so I was fairly confident there would be a HEA, but I still found myself misty eyed and smiling by the epilogue.

Overall I have to say very well done to Georgia Beers for a very sweet but still surprising poignant read. I’m very much looking forward to the sequel! 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This is the second book that I've read from Beers recently which I really enjoyed. Scottie is a bit of a mess, which I absolutely loved. There's nothing like a messy character to keep me engaged throughout. After she breaks up with Pen, a long term girlfriend, she's been a bit lost. When her friend suggests dancing lessons, Scottie gets thrown into the world of salsa dancing and super intense chemistry with her stand-in teacher, Marisa. Weirdly, Marisa also happens to be the ex of Pen, and both women struggle with sharing a toxic ex but having undeniable chemistry together.

I liked that although this novel is predominantly about the romance development between Marisa and Scottie, there is a lot more depth to the storyline through the side characters as well as Scottie's turbulent childhood. I'd love to see Adley's book at some point too.

A great novel - I'm looking forward to reading what's next from Beers.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed the quick easy read from all of Georgia Beers books and Dance with me is no different. I could relate to her characters and the book was a really fast read. I will continue to look for new titles by this author. Thanks Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this title early!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher's for the opportunity of reading Dance With Me, this latest novel by Georgia Beers.

The storyline is predictably seamless, with a decent introduction, main characters established quickly, and a plausible reason for the connection between Scottie and Marisa. The reader sees the storyline through Scottie's eyes. This saves the back and forth which can happen when its a dual perspective. However in this case it's a bit underwhelming. The dancing aspects provided a good vehicle for the connection between Scottie and Marisa and added a good dimension to their story.

I enjoyed this novel. It was an easy comfortable and quick read, the characters were well-defined and their interactions helped the storyline flow. Less so was Scottie's seemingly blind spots. Her ex's frequent interruptions and why she tolerated it, her oblivious understanding on how that would surely impact on her new relationship given it's complications of a shared Ex partner, and her inability to step in and support/help her best friend who had confesssed to having major concerns over her ice cream business didn't help her credibility. I thought more could have been made of these aspects and shown Scottie's character in greater depth. 3.5-4*

Enjoyable read with a wonderful story to tell. Marisa Reyes, financial planner/dance instructor, caring for her nephew and dealing with loss. Scottie Templeton, hairdresser, dealing with loss, as a result living with her grandmother. Dance and specifically, sexy dance is at the center of this read. Scottie seems a bit uncertain as she lives her day-to-day life which could be viewed as immature. Marisa, appears to have it all together but upon looking closely she has quite a bit she is dealing with. Neither woman is looking for a relationship.

As the story unfolds, the secondary characters play an important role of support and encouragement in the life of both characters. Scottie has her grandmother, her good friend/ice cream shop owner Adley, and fellow hairdressers Sebastian and Demi. Marisa has her parents, Aunt Tina and nephew Jaden. There is not much Marisa backstory since the story is told from Scottie's perspective. It would have been interesting to hear more from and about Marisa other than she is beautiful and sexy with an awesome head of hair. I enjoyed the dance classes and how the author write about the dance steps and couple in the dance class. Who not to like, Penelope.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

well i am blown away by this author... its my first book by this author and it wont be the last

scottie and one of her friends starting dance classes so that when he gets married bash doesnt show himself up but he accidently breaks his foot and scottie continues with the lessons, now when you dont have a partner you get to dance with the instructor....

and thats where the fun begins....

brilliant characters and fell into the storyline right from the beginning... a quick read that keeps you reading right to the end just so you can find out what happens

Everything a Beers fan expects from a Beers romance. Likeable and interesting characters that the reader instantly connects with? check.
A fun set up and storyline that kept the pages turning, check. Georgia Beers romances are like cotton candy, readers know what they are getting, lots of sweetness and and an escape from the everyday diet.

Georgia Beers has created another delightful romantic couple in her newest love story Dance With Me. Ms. Beers has always given us characters that are easy to relate to, but she has excelled with the folks in this book, especially the main character, Scottie Templeton.

The narrative is told in first person through Scottie’s eyes so obviously she’s going to be the woman readers will know and understand the best. Her character is nuanced and complicated. Each chapter, and sometimes every few pages, seems to reveal another layer of her personality. Her romantic interest, Marisa Reyes is equally interesting and intriguing as are the secondary characters.

The plot of this book caught my attention from the start. I love to watch dancing. I can’t dance a step myself, but I enjoy watching others strut their stuff on the dance floor. Knowing Scottie and Marisa would be teaming up in a dance class and even training for a dance competition, I couldn’t wait to see how it turned out for them. Then to find out that both share an ex-girlfriend only added to the suspense for me.

This book is full of laughs, love, uncertainty, sadness and joy. The ending might even bring a tear or two to your eyes, in a good way of course. If you love dancing and romance, you don’t want to miss this novel. It’s another hit from Georgia Beers.

I received an ARC from NetGally and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Georgia Beers continues to be one of my favorite lesbian romance authors, despite the fact that I've been less than impressed with her last few novels. Unfortunately, I count this book among those. As another reviewer mentioned, this was a perfectly average book. Was it interesting? Yes. Was it a page-turner? No. I miss the days when I would read one of Beers' books and be in tears, hoping and praying the main characters would find their way back to each other. This book just missed that oomph.

Having said that, the characters were likable and charming. Scottie's grandma was adorable and was a nice addition to the story. I liked that the book dealt with the responsibilities of being a parent, and despite Scottie's sometimes lack of maturity, she never shied away from entering a relationship with a woman who has custody of her nephew.

Overall, I'd give this a B - great plot idea, but it needed some fine-tuning.

4 stars. Scottie Templeton agrees to take dance lessons with her work friend who is getting married. Scottie is just getting over her girlfriend breaking up with her for not wanting to commit but then getting engaged to someone else. When the instructor's niece takes over the class, Scottie recognizes her.. Marisa Reyes is the woman Scottie's commit-phobic girlfriend left to be with her. Marisa is someone Scottie is not sure how to feel about, but as she spends more time with her, she can't help but wonder why her last girlfriend would ever break up with her.

I love Georgia Beers and I really enjoyed this novel. I like the drama and the tension throughout the novel. There was a good build of the characters coming into feelings for one another. They both developed at a good speed and I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. I would highly recommend this one and I think it was a pretty solid read. I thought this book was well written and was something that made me want to keep reading to find out what happens next.

𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅.

This is a beautifully written novel about two women, Scottie and Marisa, who fall in love with each other despite the fact that they have both been in relationships with the same woman, Pen. It is written entirely in Scottie's POV. Scottie is introduced to Marisa at a dance class that Marisa teaches and their chemistry is undeniable right from the start. But at the same time, the situation is also supposedly equally awkward because they are tunnel buddies.

I thought Georgia Beers did a good job with the characters, especially Scottie, who was likable and easy to root for. We don't get Marisa's POV but we sense her attraction towards Scottie in little ways throughout the book. And while Marisa and Scottie claimed repeatedly that their situation was awkward, as a reader, I didn't think so. Their relationship was extremely sweet and tender and the way they got together felt very organic. The love scenes were tastefully written too.

Overall, a great romantic read that had other important issues like family carefully weaved in.

Oh how I love Georgia Beers books! This novel was no exception. I loved both MC, the drama wasn’t overly dramatic and you could feel the passion coming off the pages!
I read this book in one sitting and could happily have read more!
Also - what a cutie Jaden is 🥰

Dance With Me by Georgia Beers itches the I-want-to-read-a-sapphic-romance-book-and-not-think-about-anything part of your brain.

It was a perfectly average book, I don't have any crazy likes or dislikes, I just happened to not enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed other books. It's a quick read and it is written in a stream-of-thought style, a good book for those who want to start and finish a book on their beach day-trip.

Usually love Georgia Beers books but this one felt a little slow to me. I felt like it took way too long for the actual story to start. Once it did, I was hooked!