I'm so sad this didn't work out for me! This had everything I could ever want in a fun, summer-soft romance: drag cabaret, hot broody childhood crush/ex-star who fell from grace and now both MCs are tangled together in a sexy tango (literally), and most importantly the Dirty Dancing vibes!!! Come on! I've watched (read: committed Kellerman-Houseman dancey summer-love to the depths of my soul) Dirty Dancing about 753853863 times and can mouth all the lines.

Unfortunately the narrative style and tone was just not for me. At 60% the MC read significantly younger than 27, the characters were a bit stiff and there was a head scratching "hide the clothes while he's in the shower" prank that was probably what did it for me.

Maybe if the characters were 19 and finding rollercoaster love at Shady Queens (WHAT A KILLER NAME I LOVE!!!!!), this would hit more. But as much as I want the tea on Mateo, there's a disconnect between what this narrative CAN do and HOW it's been unfolding and with no real story in sight (still) i'm just gracefully bowing out and taking the L. Happy so many people vibed with this but unfortunately this was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was so sweet and fun. It was a take on a summer camp romance but for adults and they're dancers. I got annoyed with some of the characters but Mateo and Archer were everything. I was giddy every time they had an interaction. Fast paced, romantic goodness.

I hope everyone picks this book up upon its release. I want to shout about it on the rooftops.

Archer Read is 27 and desperate to find his place in life. Five months ago, he quit his soul-destroying accounting job in Ohio and moved to Manhattan with dreams of making it on Broadway. And now he has nothing to show for it but a string of rejections. Even for a ray-of-sunshine like Archer, hope can only go so far. A musical revue at Shady Queens, a queer-friendly resort in the Catskills, is his last chance to break into show biz—otherwise, it’s back to Ohio, broke and hopeless. He arrives ready to dance his heart out, only to find he’ll be working with his teenage celebrity crush, the Broadway star Mateo Dixon.

What is Mateo doing working at Shady Queens? Besides barking orders and glaring at everyone…when he’s not absolutely smoldering at Archer on the dancefloor. As Archer tries to forget his teen crush and get to know the real Mateo, he’s caught up in a romance with his hot, temperamental bunkmate, Caleb. Between Mateo’s baggage and the dance crew’s drama—partying, flirting, breaking up, getting back together, then breaking up again—it’s no surprise when the show starts to fall apart. Archer quickly discovers that when it comes to dance, sometimes you can’t leave all your problems backstage.

So much fun! I loved Archer and Mateo, and their smoking hot chemistry had me at hello! This is a light read, lots of dancing and sizzling interactions between our two main leads. More please! 5⭐

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

I think this book was simple and a good cleanser... it was giving queer dirty dancing... and honestly what is not to love with all that. 3.5 rounded to 4 stars thanks for sharing this cutie work

Flirty Dancing is a summer romance in the vein of Dirty Dancing that focuses on the cast of dancers who perform in the nightly show at Shady Queens, an LGBTQ+ camp in the Catskills. Our MC1, Archer, is trying to make it on Broadway at the ripe old age of 27 with no success. Just as he's getting ready to go back to Ohio and life as an accountant, he gets the gig at Shady Queens. Once he shows up at the camp, he finds out that his dance captain is Mateo (our MC2), his childhood crush and a Broadway star who crashed and burned.

What I enjoyed:
• the camp setting (proud summer camp staff veteran!)
• the throwback to "carrying a watermelon"
• Moffatt's writing style.

What didn't work for me:
• the late 20-something dancers acted more like teenagers away from home for the first time
• the cheating by multiple characters
• the MCs not getting together until about 75% in
• the villain getting back in everyone's good graces with ZERO groveling

Even with it's problems, it's still a quick read and may be just the beach book someone is looking for!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an eARC. Opinions are my own.

Flirty Dancing by Jennifer Moffat is a fun and energizing novel featuring professional dancers working in essentially a summer camp setting.

I loved the found family aspect of this book. Archer is in his 20s when he moves from Ohio to New York City to chase his dreams of becoming a professional dancer. He thinks he’s too old to make the transition, but throughout the book, he finds friends that uplift him and encourage him to keep pushing. All of the charaters at the Shady Queens resort were also hilarious, and made the novel feel like I was reading an episode of reality television (which I thoroughly enjoyed).

This was a closed-door romance, which I actually really appreciated. I’m never one to care if a book has spice, but recently I’ve read too many romance books where the romance was only physical, so this was a great change of pace. I will say this novel does have a love triangle, which is never one of my favorite tropes; however, it was clear from the start who the real love interest was, and the love triangle was done in a way that was decent.

At times, the book did feel unserious and almost childish; considering the age of the characters, this made parts feel unnatural. But I genuinely did enjoy this book. It was quick-paced and fun, which made it a fast summer read. I highly recommend for anyone who loves dancing, the theatre, and a fun summer romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute, and I really liked Archer and Mateo together. However, they didn't get nearly as much page time together as I would have liked.

The biggest drawback is that the story dragged a bit in the middle and I feel like too long was spent on Archer and Caleb's relationship (such as it was). It seemed more real to Archer than to Caleb, and Caleb was definitely not a good boyfriend. It just left me wanting to shake Archer and say "Hello? Mateo is *right there*??" I understand why the author included it, I just feel like it should have taken up a way smaller part of the book than it did.

Also too much time was spent on the other annoying side characters and not enough time on the interesting ones. If I could have just reached through the "screen" and shifted the camera focus, I would have enjoyed it more. It felt like a bunch of high school drama but that's just because of who the book was focused on.

The dancing scenes were great, but there were far too few of them and they were too short. It's a book about dancers - I wanted dancing. I also felt like a had a pretty good mental image of the Shady Queens resort, so the worldbuilding worked to set the scene.

I enjoyed the audiobook but did speed it up as I felt like the narrator was too slow. I feel that way about most audiobooks though, so ymmv. The narrator did a good job with most of the characters, although the annoying ones had kind of annoying voices, which, while it makes sense, just made them more annoying to listen to.

Overall it was enjoyable but I would have enjoyed it more with some changes.

*Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy for review.

The premise of Flirty Dancing is what initially caught my eye, and it was clearly reminiscent of Dirty Dancing, a favorite movie of mine. However, I found myself often distracted while reading since the characters did not particularly draw me in nor did the love interest. I am unsure if it is the writing style or the way the characters were (under)developed that made the book seem more YA than adult. Archer and friends read more like mid-teenagers than 20-somethings, and while I understand the setting was at a dance camp, it just did not translate well onto the page. I also did not like that the majority of the book was Archer pining for Mateo but still being in a situationship with Caleb (who I absolutely loathed).

Overall, this is a quick read perfect for the beach or lakeside getaway. It's not my favorite queer romance, but I can see why others may enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who has been watching "Dirty Dancing" since I was 7 when the movie first came out, I was so excited to start this book. I was hoping it stuck a little closer to the original story line, but it was mostly just the Catskills resort that these had in common. But, there were a couple Easter eggs that were fun to find.

In this LGBTQ kind of retelling, we meet our first MMC, who is trying to make it as a dancer in New York. He left his small town in Ohio where he was an accountant to pursue his dreams, but is finding that 27 is ancient in terms of Broadway and even off, off, off Broadway. But, he finally gets a call back and it is to be part of the summer entertainment crew at an LGBT resort. When he arrives, former Broadway dancer (this story's Johnny) is there even though he's been off the scene for years. And, our first MMC has been obsessed with him for years.

Sparks fly, friendships form, drama and fun ensures and this is such a fun read if you like dancing and want a fun little story to get lost in.

DNF @ 46%.

I was highly anticipating this book and am always grateful for the opportunity to read and promote LGBTQIA+ novels to my audience. However, Flirty Dancing did not work for me. The cover is gorgeous and led me to believe that I was in for a swoon-worthy romance between our two MCs, but once I hit about the halfway point and one of our leads (Archer) was still with someone else (Caleb), I decided that the payoff would simply just not be worth it to me in the end. I am aware that it is a personal preference, but I read a lot of romance novels and one of my least favorite tropes is when an ex or other third party is such a huge component of the story, especially with a story that is on the shorter side. I also think on a technical note, the formatting of this story on Kindle was distracting and made it difficult to want to continue. I will be interested to pick up this audiobook after it is published, because I think having narrators bring these characters to life might make it more of an enjoyable experience overall.

I do want to highlight the positives of this story, which is that I am fundamentally thankful for and appreciate of any book that contains a diverse cast of characters and highlights queer joy like we saw at Shady Queens. This book absolutely has and should have an audience even if it did not personally hit with me and I will still be curious to return to it in a different format to try again later on.

So I was able to get an early E-Arc for Flirty Dancing from NetGalley. As someone who watched Dirty Dancing and loves queer romances, the title and cover art drew me in immediately. It definitely gives off the same vibes as the movie, and made me laugh hysterically at times where I had to call my best friend to talk about what just happened. It’s a sweet romance. There is alittle bit of a love triangle, and….cheating. Those were not my favorite parts. One character really kinda sucked and sorry but the redemption was not earned in my opinion. However the only thing that I actively was not a huge fan of was the drama in this book. It was ALOT. Like I felt like I was back in high school. And to be fair the characters say much of the same thing. However I would recommend this book if you’re looking for something fun and cute to read.

This was MESSY! However I’m a sucker for drama so this was definitely a hit for me! This had everything a book needs in it. Great characters, loads of drama and even more love!

ALC Review: Flirty Dancing by Jennifer Moffatt
Pub Date: May 27
Narrator: Mark Sanderlin

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and i am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was super excited for this book - I love Dirty Dancing and I can definitely see the inspiration even though the plot is quite quite different.

Unfortunately this just really didn't work for me in a number of different ways - the primary one being that Archer is with another character (not the other MC) for 60% of the book. I'm not really sure that a romance is really a romance if one of the main characters is in a full on relationship with someone else for more than half of the book. This wasn't a preexisting relationship either, he meets this other guy at the same time he meets Mateo.

There's also on page cheating (not with the MCs) which isn't it y'all. The characters in this book aren't that young but BOY do they act young - it's just a little too messy for me (and I usually like mess!)

This book was an absolute joy to read. As someone who loves a good love story, lives in NY, and goes to Broadway shows often, this was tailor made for me.

Archer is an accountant-turned-dancer that’s at a crossroads in his life, trying to make it in Broadway, but is having trouble getting a job. He luckily gets a summer-long gig performing at a resort in the Catskills, where he meets a whole cast of characters, including Mateo, who earned fame at a very young age, and who Archer happened to have a huge crush on.

I had a huge smile on my face reading this one. The words flow pretty effortlessly, and it’s very easy to get lost in the story, everything is so perfectly described that you feel like you’re right there in the resort with them!

This is a closed door romance, but you don’t really need the steam in that way, the book more than makes it up in the dancing and the chemistry between Archer and Mateo. I would LOVE to see this made into a movie one day. Jennifer Moffatt, please never stop writing these stories!

Flirty Dancing was cute, but honestly nothing to write home about. I think my expectations going in were a bit too high, and the romance was a bit too slow of a burn. Overall though, was a quick read just didn't blow me away.

DNF at 36%. Why is Archer spending so much time romancing someone else? Mateo is barely there, yet he’s pitched as the endgame love interest.

thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the audiobook and eARC

this was an overall fun and quick read but i did feel that some parts were a bit too drawn out and unnecessary

i love dirty dancing and i think that just put my expectations too high

but i also think all the characters, especially archer, got over caleb being a shit person too quickly. ben and caleb in the epilogue???? PLEASE LIKE 🤨

this was also a very very slow burn read (90% ish) but nonetheless, still a fun read

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a sweet romantic MM love story between dancers at a summer resort in the Catskills. Major Dirty Dancing vibes!

As a teenager I once saw a live performance of Dirty Dancing, it was so much fun and I enjoyed it much more than the movie so I was excited to be chosen to review an ARC of Flirty Dancing.

While Flirty Dancing is not Dirty Dancing, there are of course elements that lead to comparisons between the two. I went into this story with an open mind, knowing that comparisons were likely and not allowing it to compromise my thoughts on the book. I was happy to discover that it wasn’t a copy paste idea but with LGBTQ+ characters.

The messiness of the relationships within the story feels like something off of a reality tv show. The summer flings and the drama of long term relationships and cheating, really made the story believable. When that many people gather in small quarters, there is always bound to be drama and problems.

I loathed Caleb’s character from the beginning, and while the relationship between him and Archer was frustratingly in the way of Archer and Matteo, it was the perfect blend of summer fling drama. Caleb’s frustratingly shitty behaviour shows that he needs to grow up, or at least find a way to talk to his partners before investing in a relationship.

My heart broke for Matteo numerous times, poor sweet man who made mistakes. While he said some awful things to his co-star before our story takes place, it’s not unreasonable to understand why he did it. His hateful words and actions are not excusable and clearly haunt him but it defines his character and the growing that he has had to do. I love that he was able to reconcile with the person he hurt and that she was able to forgive him.

Archer’s parents are also a source if ire for me, they’re dismissive and don’t support him while pretending that they have his best interests in mind. The fact that they are pushing him to take a job that wouldn’t make him happy is sad, but allows Archer’s perseverance to really shine. He’s trying to do what makes him happy, even though he could take the easy route.

Overall I loved this book. While the Matteo/ Archer relationship didn’t come until near the end, the pace of their relationship worked. The Calebs of the world are needed so we can find the Matteos.

Final note: the names given to the leaks in the Lynn’s apartment were hilarious! Such a really thing that people would do. It’s me, I’m people.

I rate this 4.5 out of 5.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet and heartwarming read. The drama with all of the cast at Shady Queen's was fantastic and enjoyable. It felt like a season of Glee and I was entirely here for it and invested in everything. The villain arc in the book is one of the best arcs of the book because as the reader you go through so many feelings about them throughout a la Rachel Barry or Santana Lopez.

I do want to say that I struggled a bit with the premise that following your dream of being a professional in the arts at 27 is too old. However, many people did not break out in the arts until their 30s, (e.g., Harrison Ford). So, it was a bit hard to buy into the premise of Archer panicking about being too old or that his parents are continuing to point this out to him. Now not having enough funds to live in New York and pursue a career in the arts where you haven't broken through was a struggle that made more sense to me.

My favorite part of the book was the friendships that Archer had throughout. His fellow performers and the guests at the resort were a fabulously written cast of characters each with their own distinct, well-rounded personalities. Archer's interactions with them also made him so relatable and endearing. From the Betty and Archie bit to calling his roommates/castmates "the Bs" because they are a couple who both have B names and he can't tell them apart at first. Archer's interactions with Mateo also helped to highlight multiple aspects of Archer's character. Particularly how clueless Archer is about certain aspects of their relationship throughout.

I did struggle with feeling the passion between Archer and Mateo. The closed-door nature of the romance is completely fine, but I did feel that a lot throughout the book the chemistry between Mateo and Archer was stated by other characters, but rarely clearly articulated by Archer. When Mateo and Archer begin dancing together Archer does spend some time articulating to the reader how he feels and where they are touching so the tension between the two of them is clear. However, as the tension builds between them we seem to step away from Archer's point of view and hear from the other performers about how steamy they are. I just wish there had been a bit more focus on Archer's point of view.

I would highly recommend this book. It has friendship, the arts, personal growth, and romance. It's a fun, lighthearted read, and the drama will keep you turning pages.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Sexual content

One of the side characters is briefly hospitalized and is taken in an ambulance.