Overall, I enjoyed Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance. It was a very sweet story about finding yourself, choosing love, and recognizing where you are isn’t where you have to be.

I loved the side characters in this story. Zoe, Kitty
and the residents of Sunnyvale are incredibly funny. I also loved Reeve and how obsessed he was. The relationship between Reeve and Jules did feel a little flat to me at times. Jules also was not my favorite character.

Thank you to Kate Robb and NetGalley!!

4.5⭐️ This is a second chance, magical realism story about Jules who inherits a closed down dance hall from Kitty St Clair, a resident at the nursing home where Jules works. When Reeve (a guy Jules hooked up with and never heard from) shows up to buy the building, he and Jules reconnect. This had some fun moments with the nursing home residents and some heartfelt moments. An overall enjoyable read.

What a fun and fast read! Super cute and a cozy, good time. Highly recommend Kitty St. Claire’s Last Dance. While nothing earth-shattering, this was a great palette cleanser book and just what I needed.

In this opposites attract, dual-time line story about finding love, making hard choices, and loving yourself.
Kitty St. Clair and Jules lives are briefly crossed and then cross again later in a magical way when Jules is bequeathed a dance hall that Kitty frequented in her youth and subsequently later owned. Jules discovers Kitty's diary along the way and is transported back in time to Kitty's teenage youth, and the era of dance halls along the Lake Ontario shoreline. Jules and Kitty find that they both had/have difficult decisions in life. Loving and loving themselves.
I loved this book! I feel like dual time lines can be difficult, but Kate Robb executed this beautifully. I had a hard time putting this book down because I wanted to know what happened next with each of the women.

I liked the premise of this book and overall did end up enjoying the story. It took me a little bit to get into and the storylines were predictable, but l liked the way it ended up and I liked that Jules didn't end up compromising her morals despite many opportunities to do so. I wish we got more about Kitty in the book.
She fell flat as a character to me and felt like just a plot device. With Jules working at the local nursing home I would've loved to see more of her residents either show up in the past or talk about the dance hall in the present, but instead the dance hall felt entirely disconnected from the present day story.
Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jules works in a nursing home in the small seaside town she's lived her whole life. Two years back she applied to medical school and hooked up with a well to do out-of-towner named Reece.... Which she never did but she was smitten and thought he was too. However, med school didn't work out as she discovered her mom borrowed and defaulted on a bunch of lines using her identity. And Reeve never called.

She's fulfilled working at the nursing home as she pays down her mom's debt. Then one day a lawyer let's her know that a recently deceased resident, Kitty St. James, has left her an old dance hall with waterfront access. Reeve also shows back up and it turns out she accidentally put the wrong number into his phone yet years prior.

She helps to move Kitty's stuff out one day when she discovers her old journal. That night she reads the first bit and dreams she's Kitty's best friend. Or was it a dream?

Book Review: Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance by Kate Robb

Jules has spent most of her life in the quiet town of West Lake. Her dream of attending medical school has always felt just out of reach—especially with her narcissistic mother standing in the way. So she tucks that dream deep inside, settling into the life she’s come to know.

One summer night on the dock, a game of spin-the-bottle brings her face-to-face with Reeve, a seasonal visitor. What begins as a lighthearted evening soon becomes something more intimate—full of shared hopes, whispered dreams, and undeniable chemistry. But after their one unforgettable night, Reeve vanishes without a word.

Two years later, Jules is still in West Lake, now working at a local retirement home. When one of her favorite residents, Kitty St. Clair, passes away and unexpectedly leaves Jules an old, crumbling dance hall, everything changes. As Jules explores the building—and the diary Kitty left behind—she’s pulled into Kitty’s past and begins to see parallels between their lives. Through dreamlike encounters with a younger Kitty, Jules is challenged to consider whether she must choose between love and ambition… or if she can find a way to have both.

Just as she’s beginning to put the pieces together, Reeve returns for Kitty’s funeral—reawakening all the feelings Jules tried to bury. But there’s a catch: Reeve now works for a developer set on turning the dance hall into luxury condos. Can Jules trust him again? And more importantly, can she find the courage to chase her dreams before it’s too late?

Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance is a charming, wistful story about missed chances, found dreams, and the legacies we leave behind. With a clever blend of past and present, Kate Robb crafts a tale that’s equal parts heartwarming and thought-provoking. I loved the magical realism of the time-shifted moments and the emotional depth of both Jules and Kitty’s stories.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the opportunity to read this heartfelt and imaginative novel.

This charming Canadian novel was engaging and romantic, without being saccharine. The author delves into real issues of the women in both (intertwining) timelines. Kate Robb is great re. a thoughtful romcom with a dash of magical realism, and she doesn’t disappoint here.

Thanks to Dial Press & NetGalley for the ARC!

There were so many layers to this story, and you keep unveiling them until the end. I loved the dream scenes, and the Canadian setting. A cute read!

*Published on Goodreads and Fable on July 23, 2025*

I had a really hard time getting into this one. I didn’t love any of the characters and the time hops felt forced just so it could be considered magical realism.

After reading this author’s previous book, I was beyond excited to start this. It did NOT disappoint. This book pulled at the heartstrings, had a great mix of romance and the main character finding herself (and a bit of magic thrown in). It follows Jules, a woman whose mother’s decisions has forced her to put her dreams on hold, a man she met one beautiful night, and a woman’s final wish changing the trajectory of Jules’ future.

This was mystical and magical!! I loved the subplot with Kitty's store, and I was routing for Jules to follow her dreams the whole time. HOWEVER, I simply could not get on board with Reeves. Jules may have warmed up to him but I was suspicious of him throughout the entire book. I was waiting for the moment that he would win me over but it just never came. However, Kitty St. Clair's own romance makes up for his failures.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I have read 3 of Kate’s books now, and this one unfortunately fell a little flat for me. I think it was the MMC this time. Reeve just wasn’t it for me. His family was pretentious and I know that is part of the point but I don’t know. I just didn’t enjoy him. I was more concerned about Jules and her interactions with Kitty and the other residents at the assisted living facility. Overall, a cute enough book, but sadly not my favorite of hers.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was so wonderful. It’s a beautiful romance. The characters are great people. They are intentional, intelligent, and kind. This book delves into generational identity and responsibility to your community. It is both loving to the main characters, but also to those who were there before them. It’s a lovely story. The magical realism is subtle, but adds so much depth to the book. I absolutely love this book.

Jules DeMarco loves her life in West Lake. Or, at least she is trying to convince herself she does. That is, until a surprise inheritance and a surprise reunion with a former flame turns her world upside down. Jules had dreamed of going to medical school, but financial troubles prevented her from being able to attend. After inheriting an abandoned dance hall after a resident, Kitty St. Clair, of the retirement home Jules' works at passes, it may be the answer to Jules financial troubles. Enter Reeve Baldwin, a real estate developer and the man who ghosted Jules two years ago. With their reunion, Jules is left struggling with the decision of what to do with the abandoned dance hall. Should she sell it to Reeve's company to fund her medical school dreams, knowing that it could make the life harder for the West Lake residents that she loves. She is also left wondering why Kitty left her the dance hall at all. With so many decisions to make and people to consider, what will Jules do?

Kitty St. Clair's Last Dance had me hooked from the beginning. Kate Robb is absolutely amazing at weaving elements of magical realism throughout her romance books, and it was one of my favorite parts of this novel. I absolutely loved Kitty St. Clair's story, and wish we could've got more of it. The parallels between Kitty and Jules really enhanced the story and allowed the readers to get a bit understanding of why Jules and Kitty decided to do what they did in similar circumstances. I really enjoyed the romance between Jules and Reeve. I normally don't love miscommunication between the two main characters, but the situations between our two main characters felt so real and believable that it actually made sense.

Overall, I really enjoyed Kitty St. Clair's Last Dance, and can't wait to read Kate Robb's next novel. If you love a second chance romance with elements of magical realism, this book is perfect for you. If you enjoy Ashley Poston's novels, this would be perfect for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

I really wanted to love this one, and while it didn’t quite hit the pace I prefer, I still found a lot to appreciate. The story centers on Jules, who unexpectedly inherits an old dance hall from a spirited nursing home resident named Kitty. As Jules navigates the challenges of this inheritance, she reconnects with Reeve, a man from her past, and gradually opens herself to new possibilities in life and love.
The magical realism woven through Kitty’s journal and Jules’s vivid dreams added a unique and nostalgic layer that reminded me of other charming time-slip stories. I especially loved the quirky, sassy spirit of Kitty, who truly stole the show and added warmth to the narrative.

While I wished the romance between Jules and Reeve had been more fully developed—sometimes feeling a bit surface-level—and the pacing slowed down in places, the characters were well drawn, and the small-town setting felt cozy and authentic. Jules’s struggles with her past and her uncertain future gave the story emotional weight.

Overall, a quietly charming read with a magical heart that’s perfect for fans of slow-burn romances mixed with a touch of whimsy and nostalgia. I’m curious to see more from this author and would definitely recommend this for a gentle, thoughtful fall read.

This book was so unexpectedly boring. I had really high hopes and it started out strong but after the prologue I was just BORED. I felt no chemistry from the main characters at all. He told her he loved her and I could kind of get that but then she said it back and I was like HUH? And no idc that’s not a spoiler because it’s a “romance” even though the romance was severely lacking. It was just written so…almost surface level? The first person perspective of the MC only explored her feelings about her “inheritance”….again and again and again. Not her feelings about the love interest. I was more interested in Kitty’s storyline, even knowing (again, as the main character said repeatedly) how it ends. Honestly I probably would’ve DNFed if I didn’t have this as a free arc from Netgalley (thanks by the way!) and I never DNF. That being said, I’ll give it two stars for the prologue and Kitty story

Second chance romance, small town, and self discovery. Jules inherited an old dance hall from a nursing home resident and comes face to face with the man she never thought she’d see again. It was a very feel-good story.

Jules DeMarco works at a retirement center in the city she has lived her whole life. She dreams of going to medical school but cannot afford it. But when Kitty St. Clair, a resident at the retirement home, passes away, she leaves an old dance hall to Jules that just might be her ticket to financial freedom.

Jules considers selling it to a developer, Reeve Baldwin - a man she had a memorable encounter with years ago. As he re-enters her life, Jules explores a relationship with him. However, it is muddied by the real estate deal.

When cleaning out Kitty’s room, Jules took her diary and starts reading it. As she does, she experiences vivid dreams of the dance hall in its heyday (50 years ago), and sees how Kitty’s story is reflected in her own & helps Jules determine her path.

I really enjoyed this book! It was such a unique story! The plot was great. The characters were well developed and I loved the quirkiness of the retirement residents!

This book is a win for Kate Robb! Thank you author, Net Galley, & publisher for the eARC of this book!

A magnificent opposites-attract romance! Whimsical and a little magical with small-town charm and real life concerns. I truly felt like I was a part of this story and didn’t want it to end. I will definitely be reading more of this authors books!