I give this Kate Robb novel 3.5 stars. Her previous novel Prime Time Romance, which I loved was a 4 star for me! For rom com fans who want to read a story that hasn't been done before this delivers. This is my second Kate Robb book & both involved an aspect of the character leaving their reality. This one involves some time travel, falling into another characters diary. The story had a bit of a slow start for me. It felt a little disjointed at times on how she fell into the diary & how often. I did like that she fell into a character that she was related to. However, that wasn't really explored in terms of Kitty ever mentioning she knew her great grandma. Also it sounded like a very small town where everyone knew everyone, so it would make sense that Kitty knew someone in Jules' family. I was waiting for that loop to be closed, for example on how Dot made an impact on Kitty's life and vice versa.

I did enjoy the fresh setting of Ontario's lake district & learning about the region. I definitley want to try a butter tart next time I visit Canada! The story had a nice ending, perdictible at times, but an easy read. Overall I liked it, just wasn't my favorite of the author's novels.

This book took me on an emotional roller-coaster and in a good way. I got allll the feels and kept coming back for more.

Jules is living a life she is not sure she wants, and when she is handed a solution to all her problems, she doesn't know what to do. She was content with living her life in her small town, working at a local nursing home. With life-long aspirations of becoming a doctor, always out of reach. Kitty St Clair is a resident at the nursing home Jules is working at. When she passes away and leaves Jules a dance hall she is left to figure out why and in the process she meets young Kitty and gets a glimpse of kitty's past life and learn some life advice of her own.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was fun, the characters are all really funny and very relatable. I loved the duel timeline flashbacks and small-town vibes.

Thank you, NetGally and Dial Press, for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this one!
This was my first book by Kate Robb. Thank you for the ebook ARC of 'Kitty St. Clair's Last Dance' Random House & NetGalley!
I enjoyed the writing, humor, friendship, romance and magical realism in the book. It was done so perfectly. The dual timeline was done so well. I enjoyed the small town and connections as well.
The romance with Reeve had its swoony moments, even though I side-eyed him at first. But the chemistry was real, and he actually grows on you. It’s not a love story that feels rushed—it’s earned.
Overall, this is a heartwarming, slightly magical read about second chances, both in love and life. I did not want to put it down once I started reading.
Will definitely recommend!

I will start by saying I started this book and had to put it down for a bit. It definitely was a me mood thing. Once I picked it back up, I couldn't put it down. I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the magic realism that the story presented, I loved Reeve WHAT AN AMAZING BOOK BOYFRIEND (yelling for those in the back).

We follow Jules as she goes on a journey of discovering who she is, allowing herself to be selfish and chase dreams. Kitt St. Clair is one of Jules residents. Jules is shocked to find out that Kitty has left her an abandoned dance hall. The magical realism takes us back to learn more about Kitty.

I really enjoyed this story and EVERYONE should have this on their TBR, releasing October 7

I LOVED this book. I received the opportunity to read the book before the publishing date and I devoured the book in 1 day. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. Jules is a great main character. I found myself rooting for her and her happy ending. Reeve is adorable and a great love interest. Their story is very real and relatable, not cheesy. There are a few twists and surprises along the way that make things fun and interesting. I will be looking to read other books by this author. Thank you for sharing this great book with me.

Sweethearts and Butter Tarts

Jules is a small town girl who dreams of med school. When she inherits an old dance hall that could pay for it, she's torn between her roots and her dreams. Dreams of which have been filled with the ghosts of the dance hall's past.

Reeve is a big city guy who never forgot the night he spent with Jules years ago. When work brings him back into her small town, he can't believe his luck. But his future depends on her choice, in more ways than one.

I enjoyed the storyline with Kitty and Dotty so much, I wish we could have stayed there a little longer. I felt such angst as Kitty's story unfolded, I was definitely invested.

The romance was sweet and I loved Reeve, although I felt we could have scratched the surface a little deeper with him.

The ending was nice and I was glad to see new dreams develop and take shape. Time jumps aren't always my cup of tea, but by the middle of this book I was reluctant to put it down. All in all an enjoyable read.

3.75 stars, rounded up

Thank you Dial Press and NetGalley for the arc!

Magical realism is always a favorite of mine in books and I enjoyed that aspect of the story. This one took me a long time to get into and I felt like the story was pretty slow and found myself not really connecting with the romance or the characters. I liked Kitty tho and her parts in the story were my favorite to read.. this had some sweet moments too!

Thank you so much Dial Press for the arc.

Although I struggled to connect with the characters, this book felt both sad and lighthearted, like cozy like a hallmark romcom at the same time. I enjoyed the magical realism element and second chance romance trope. The vibe of the retirement home added some humor. I did read Prime Time Romance and felt similar about that one. Just not my cup of tea.

Thank you for letting me read this advanced story! It was so good! It was fantastic! I adored the characters and the glimpse back into history. I told my followers to take a screenshot of my review and pre-order the book. I can't wait to see more by this wonderful author - thank you!

this one was tough for me to get into - it was pretty slow moving and i didn't really love the romantic relationship. i think the thing that saved it was kitty and jules relationship. loved that it tied back to her grandma.

2.5⭐️
Thanks NetGalley for recommending another Kate Robb book. The whole diary and dreams helping try to explain Kitty, was hard to follow in some parts for me. Jules bothered me for a fmc, I tried to like her but couldn’t, which made it hard for me to enjoy most of this book. I did enjoy Zoe and how her friendship was.

Jules just received news that one of the residents who lived at the retirement home she works at has left a rundown, abandoned dance hall to her in her will. She can’t possibly fathom why, until she happens upon an old diary from Kitty herself and starts to find some answers. Somehow, after everytime she picks up Kitty’s diary she is thrust back in time to act as Kitty’s best friend when she was eighteen.

Back in the real world, Jules struggles with whether she wants to sell the dance hall to pay for school and watch condos take over her small hometown, or preserve Kitty’s property and lose out on her dream. But as she learns more and more about Kitty’s past, things with her new relationship and the life she wants becomes more tangled.

Kate Robb does magic realism SO well! The setting, the character growth and the intrigue of it all was completely captivating. I cried, I laughed, I never wanted it to end.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.
I also read Prime Time Romance from this author, which was heavy on magical realism and this one isn’t as much so which I enjoyed more (as that’s not really my type of genre). The jumps from her “dreams” after reading Kitty’s diary weren’t too long IMO and added a cute touch to the story.
Very light on the spice, and not until nearly 70% in. I could use a little more :).
I really hoped that Reeve wasn’t using her, and that the hall would get turned into a medical center or something useful for the town, so I enjoyed the ending. I would recommend it!

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. Jules works at a retirement home and when a resident, Kitty St. Clair, passes on, she leaves Jules a run down dance hall. Reeve, a former one night fling of Jules, enters the picture when he comes to town looking to develop the property into luxury condos. The price of the sale would allow Jules to follow her educational dreams, but create a burden on the town with rising real estate prices. Reeve would like another chance with Jules and wants her to trust him, but Jules wonders if she is capable of discerning between his need for a sale and her. To try to get some answers, Jules reads Kitty's diary, and when she wakes up, she is fifty years into the past tagging along with Kitty to the dance hall. Jules notices her current dilemmas mirror the world of Kitty's, and wonders if that is how she will obtain her answers.

I loved the dose of magical realism in this book. Though readers are initially presented Reeve in a negative light, he turns out to be a decent guy. This was a fun read for the blending of the old and new world, and a good reminder that even though time goes on, the problems and circumstances tend to stay the same for each generation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Dial Press Trade Paperback for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A delightfully refreshing take on choosing your life's path! I loved the overall message and the retirement home crew added a humorous layer. The dream sequences were so easy to visualize and I love how they furthered the story and gave us a mirror to Jules and her dilemma.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I wanted too! It was a slow read for me and I had a hard time relating to Jules and Reeves. I loved the relationship between Kitty and Jules and the ties to Kitty and Jules’s Gigi.

Fun summer read! Magical realism is a perfect fit for the season. When Jules and Reeves meet you can almost hear the click. Lots of twists and turns from there. It was fun to consider possibilities and day dream with the characters. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy which brought me to my first Kate Robb book.

Books have always been my “happy place.” The genre that I can never get enough of is romance. That’s why I was excited to get a chance to read this one. I didn’t really know what to expect from the book description, so I admit I was a bit nervous going in.

I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. I really liked the two main characters, and I also adored the supporting characters as well. I am a huge fan of small town romance, so that definitely helped hook me on this book as well.

There was a bit of a mystery with this one, and I loved how all of the pieces lined up. One of them I expected, but one I was really surprised in a good way.

I’m a sucker for a good epilogue, and this delivered. I wish it would have been a little further in advance; however, I still enjoyed this one just the same, and it did not take away from my enjoyment of the book.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance is the kind of book that wraps you in a warm hug while also asking some big, meaningful questions about love, ambition and the choices that shape our lives.

Jules is a relatable and root-worthy protagonist, torn between doing what’s practical (selling the dance hall to fund medical school) and what’s right for her community and herself. The return of Reeve--a charming, complicated love interest with some baggage--adds just the right amount of romantic tension. Their chemistry is great, and I appreciated that the story didn’t rush into happily-ever-after territory. Jules makes him work for it, and rightfully so.

What really sets this book apart, though, is the dreamy, almost magical realism of Jules slipping into the past through Kitty’s diary. Those moments gave the story a lush, nostalgic feel and added so much depth to both Kitty’s character and the lessons Jules needed to learn in the present. The past/present interplay was handled beautifully, even if it occasionally slowed the pace.

The only reason it’s not a five-star for me is that a few plot threads felt a bit too tidy by the end -- but honestly, I still closed the book with a full heart and a happy sigh. If you love stories that blend romance, small-town charm, a dash of magic, and strong female friendship across generations, this one’s a gem. Thank you so much to Kate Robb, NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

This book really grew on me. It had a bit of a slow start so it really surprised me how fast I got through the story. At first, I wasn’t sure I liked the writing style but I kept going and got sucked into both Jules’ and Kitty’s stories.

Don’t be fooled by the cute cartoon cover, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. It felt quite depressing at times but thankfully, the ending felt satisfying and worth the heartache. I enjoyed the magical realism aspect to it and happy to say it joins only a couple other MR books I’ve read that have done it well.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Robb, and the publisher for an ARC of this book!