Never have I ever enjoyed reading a summertime romance so much! Flirty Dancing is filled with drama
in the very best way; all centered around performing, queer community and sweet, slow burn love.

Archer Read is a down and out dancer who took the plunge and moved and New York from Ohio to pursue his dream of becoming a professional dancer. As a theatre kid myself, I was inexplicably drawn to this second chance at your dreams story and it did not disappoint.

The romance is the very definition of slow burn but it delivered in more ways than one. We were gifted with instant chemistry and a seemingly grumpy/sunshine dynamic on the surface but very clear attraction underneath. Lingering touches and long, drawn out glances over flowed. This is a sweet, tender and deeply affectionate story of queer love and queer joy within a relationship and outside of it. It was established early on in the story that the two MMC’s were destined for each other but had to jump over some hurdles and weather a few storms before that could happen. And the storms? Came in the form of some of the messiest and best drama one could ask for.

The side characters were all so bright and vivid and contributed equally to the story and the drama. In fact, I loved the drama. It was so realistic. Gather together a group of performers for a summer and let the passion and creativity flow; of course there will be drama. It helped Archer and Mateo find each other. In the midst of stress and tricky performance dynamics they discovered how well they work together and how easily it is to trust their feelings and act on them when the time was right.

Moffatt has given readers intimacy and trust and fun! The dance sequences, whether it be rehearsals or performances, were detailed and fun and let us in on the growing dynamics between the characters; especially Mateo and Archer. I really enjoyed this story and I think so many readers will as well once it’s in their hands.

Thank you to Jennifer Moffatt, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book... spoilers

It is about Archer a hopeful Broadway dancer and his summer job. He dances in the Catskills over the summer at Shady Queens. He finds his love of dancing and performing cabaret, friends and the love of his life.

I really enjoyed the overall plot. I felt the story was very sweet and you got to experience something new for a love story. I always enjoy going on different adventure.

Thank you so much for the arc and the chance to read this book.

A great feel good story for the LGBTQ+ community. There was strong emotions from all the characters, as well as drama and some betrayal. The story follows Archer with his sudden career change to pursue his dance dreams and ends up booking his for gig with his childhood star crush. You see so much of other characters which show cases more storylines and more emotions, however I felt you missed out on the main characters story. I think there was still so much we could have learned about Mateo. I will say Caleb annoyed me, I was not happy with how he spoke or his actions sometimes. But his breakdown started the shift in the story. This was bit of a slower read. I wasn't alway eager to picked the story back up and finished it.

While the cover, title, and setting invoke thoughts of the movie Dirty Dancing, this book is a uniquely wonderful story all of its own. It is a slow burn, closed-door romance between two male dancers working as part of the entertainment staff at an LGBTQ+ resort in the Catskills.

The author does an exquisite job of setting the stage for the chemistry between the main characters from the beginning and slowly building that tension until it's almost unbearable. The descriptions of their gazes, touches, and words, both while dancing and outside the theatre make you feel like you're right there seeing it happen. In addition, the foils of all of the other couples throughout the book, really show you the building of trust and emotional intimacy between Archer and Mateo. There's even a lesbian fairy godmother who sprinkles her magic throughout the story. And of course, it ends in a sweet, heart-warming happily ever after for the main characters.

I'd never read anything by this author and chose this advanced reader copy on a whim based on the title and cover - and I'm so glad I did. Highly recommend checking this out when it comes out later this year!

Thank you so much to Jennifer Moffatt, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I truly wanted to like this book and I am so sad that I did not enjoy it more. I grew up watching Dirty Dancing, I danced for years. This book seemed like it would be a great fun book that I would enjoy. However, I just ended up being disappointed. The writing felt stilted and it did a lot of telling not showing. I felt strung along the book just waiting for chapters to be over. The plot was forced and predictable a mile away - not always a bad thing, but this one had me holding my head and sighing. I also was so frustrated by the passive tone used throughout the entire book. Kudos to you if you enjoy this - it just didn’t capture my interest or attention like I hoped it would. Thank you though to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. This review is my own thoughts and feelings, no one else’s - and hopefully you will enjoy it more than I did.

Dirty dancing but make it queer with a background of celebrity crushes. I think contemporary romances just aren’t for me right now but it was a quick read and the characters were likable. I’ma huge dirty dancing fan but I’m glad these characters had a different path than those in the original film. I do wish we had more scenes with Archer and Mateo, it felt abrupt at times, but overall enjoyable. Would definitely recommend to fans of the genre.

Archer started his dance career late after quitting his job, now at 27 he is desperate to book a show and make it big on Broadway. He is starting to feel down about his string of rejections when he books a summer gig at Shady Queens, a queer-friendly resort. He plans on spending the summer dancing his heart out and hope he will catch the attention of someone who can help him book more shows. When he arrives he realizes he will be working closely with his teen celebrity crush, Matteo. Matteo and Archer must dance together and the director wants them to be as sexy as possible. The show starts to fall apart as the casts personal life gets intertwined. Will they be able to pull through so the show can go on?

I thought this book was super cute. I liked that there was a big cast of characters and all had their own thing going on that all gets intertwined together. I loved Matteo and Archer together and the setting of both doing a show and being stuck at a resort together was interesting and caused lots of drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for access to this eARC. I was hooked on this story from the first mention of the succulent named Spot Conlon.

Archer’s desire and drive to make something of himself through dance was beautifully described and heartfelt. It was easy to empathize with his self-doubt, focus on wanting to do his best, and his struggles to get there. The dancing descriptions were masterful; it was like being in the stage wings watching the rehearsals and performances.

The tension between Archer and Mateo was smoldering. The pages turned themselves as I wanted to see those two resolve their feelings. And the overall cast of characters brought excellent humor, dialogue, and angst.

A must-read for anyone who loves Dirty Dancing. Overall 4.5 stars.

You can tell that the author absolutely loves dance. That rolls of the page. However, that can only take a book so far when the characters fall flat. I didn't care about Archer, I couldn't stand Caleb, and Mateo never actually had to face how much of an asshole he'd been the entire summer. The most interesting characters stayed in Manhattan. I didn't dnf it but I also consistently forgot i was reading it and would pick up another book i enjoyed more. This just wasn't it for me.

let me tell you this has been one of the more fun books i feel like i’ve read in a while. i didn’t really feel like their were any dull moments, the characters were messy and hilarious and iconic and it had everything i love in an lgbtq book. like genuinely slay the house down boots.

thank you st. martin’s press and netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review!!

A queer retelling of Dirty Dancing? Yes please! Sign me up! A quick and sweet read that is hard to put down!

This was cute! I have never seen the movie Dirty Dancing ( I KNOW I KNOW) so I am not sure how closely this relates to the movie. But I really enjoyed this one.

Super cute queer reimagining of Dirty Dancing. Fun, fluffy, and yes - flirty. I loved the banter, especially with the side characters.

I really enjoyed this! And think it’s the perfect book to pick up for the summer.

Set in a resort in upstate NY, a group of broadway-aspiring dancers get together to put on 6 performances a week for the vacationers.

As you might expect from pulling a group of broadway performers into a couple of cabins together, there is lots of drama.

This book is messy, it’s chaotic, but it’s a lot of fun! A quick read for the summer.

I wanted to love this--Dirty Dancing is one of my favorite movies of all time and I loved the idea of a romance at a resort like that. Ultimately, this just missed the mark for me--the dialog was a little stilted, the side characters never felt fleshed out and the main character getting into a relationship with someone else when he so clearly had feelings for Mateo and didn't really like Caleb that much just seemed off. The book shines when Archer is dancing, particularly with Mateo and the theater director provides some comic relief.

Thank you so much Jennifer Moffatt, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This story hooked me right from the beginning and I LOVED their romance! It's a beautiful slow burn and when they finally get together it is so worth it and your heart just melts! The only thing I didn't like was the love triangle aspect, I felt like it took away from the two MMCs story.

Spice was a one chili pepper, but it was still good!

This was my first book by this author and it definitely will not be my last!! These two were perfect! My inner theater kid was living her best life with this one, and so was I!

A group of dancers stuck together trying to put together a cabaret show over a summer- sparks fly, relationships spark, drama ensues, and jealousy roams.
This book was so much fun! Reading about a group of dancers, which is already dramatic as is, stuck together for months on end while still needing to put a show together. I mean, it’s drama all across the board and it was so so so much fun to read. Reading Archer’s experience as a banker from Ohio turned dancer, and having this as his first professional gig was so much fun. Also his relationship with Mateo, as well as the other dancers was just so much fun to read. Personally loved the game night scenes.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martin’s Griffin for an eARC of this book!

This story got me diving into it. It has mess written all over it in a good way. There’s tea and drama throughout, like watching a movie just unfold. I caught myself reacting verbally to what I was reading multiple times. This books has so much summer vibes and each time they’re lakeside, I wish I were where they were.

The chemistry between the MMCs was electric from the beginning but this story has the slow burn trope and will keep you reading until you get there. I enjoyed this book so much and it kept me in the same spot in our house for hours just reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.