I thought this book was filled with so many good things! Wine, friendship, travel, family, history.
Bente is still healing from her stint on TV and things falling apart. Her family helped bring her back and support her but she's still trying to figure out what she wants from her life.
Along comes a bottle of wine with a history and a guy to help her solve this mystery.
I liked the dynamic between them and the slowness of the romance. I also liked seeing the look back into history.
Some parts are slow, but I liked it. I really liked Bente from the start and wanted to see where her story would go.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC

It has been great but it hasn't been entirely for me. And although it was difficult for me to read it, it was entertaining and above all I loved the fact that the dynamic between the two protagonists has not been an instant and both have been growing themselves throughout the book. Furthermore, the historical line that follows has been very entertaining to read.
And I would never have imagined that two works like this would be able to be related, so that has made the book more entertaining.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this book the way I wanted to. I’ll try again when I’m in a different reading mood!

This book had a good storyline and I love a lot dual timelines. The story pace was a little bit slow for me but it was okay most parts.

A heartfelt romance about family, finding yourself, and a good meal. I liked it, and I believe many others will too!

If someone offered me a novel that mixes sommelier drama, shipwreck wine, slow-burn romance, and a French Resistance mystery, I’d say “Yes, please!” and then uncork a bottle of something red and brooding to go with it. And that’s exactly what I did while reading Dancing in the Dark; a gentle, immersive tale that’s as much about second chances as it is about what’s bottled and buried (emotionally and otherwise).

Let’s start with the FMC, Bente Hammar. She’s a disgraced TV sommelier with a career in freefall, a complicated legacy from her dreamer dad, and a knack for not giving up even when everything says she probably should. Reader, I loved her immediately. She’s prickly, passionate, a little lost, and totally relatable. And when a diver friend surfaces (pun entirely intended) with a WWII-era wine bottle bearing a mysterious Swedish inscription, you know this story is about to uncork something delicious.

Enter Didrik Holgersson, a historian with a serious case of life-upheaval. His marriage? Imploded. His confidence? Shaky. His wardrobe?

Surprisingly decent for a man in an existential funk. Bente ropes him into her wine-fuelled mystery adventure, and together they take off to Brittany to trace the bottle’s origins. What follows is a beautiful narrative that flips between the present-day sleuthing and a heartbreaking WWII romance involving resistance fighters, secret cellars, and love under siege.

What I loved:

– The atmospheric French coast: All moody sea spray and sun-dappled vineyards. It made me want to move to Brittany and drink wine by candlelight while translating old love letters.

– Bente and Didrik’s dynamic: Grown-up, a little awkward, occasionally flirty, and refreshingly non-insta-lovey. They both have baggage and boundaries, which makes their emotional arcs feel real and earned.

– The historical thread: The 1944 timeline was rich, painful, and beautifully written. I got deeply invested in the forbidden romance at the heart of it. It gave the present-day search real stakes.

Now there were a few moments where I felt the pacing stumbled, especially in the early chapters where Bente’s life is being reassembled piece by piece. But once the mystery takes hold, the momentum builds beautifully.


Dancing in the Dark is like a good vintage: It takes a little time to breathe, but when it does, it’s smooth, complex, and lingers long after the last page.

If you enjoy novels that blend mystery, romance, and personal growth with a generous pour of atmosphere, this one’s for you.

Slow pace, flat and unbelievable characters, I wasn't aged at all and hardly finished it. I hope you'll enjoy it! It just wasn't for me.

The plot was actually really interesting and I loved how there were two timelines that finally lined up. Now the cover makes a lot of sense.

What I didn’t like that much were the characters. They seemed to have a very flat personality and nothing about them was remarkable in a memorable way. Also, the romance felt a bit forced (they barely talked before getting together), as well as their arguments (they changed their minds about the relationship really quickly).

Basically I liked the story, but I think the characters were lacking personality and something that made them unique so the reader gets attached to them. It was nice but it didn’t have me hooked at all.

This was the first book I have read by this author but the cover really caught my attention. It is not the kind of book I would usually pick up, especially since it falls into the historical fiction romance genre, with elements set during World War II. However, I was curious and decided to give it a try.
The story is told through dual timelines (the present and the year 1944). The characters were well-developed and felt very real, which made it easy to connect with them. Although the pacing was a bit slow at times, the story itself stayed interesting throughout. It turned out to be a good reading experience.
I would definitely recommend this book, especially to readers who enjoy historical fiction with a touch of romance.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and review it!

This book is a very slow paced read with dual timelines that seem to take forever to get to the point. However, the characters were very well written with relatable struggles that will cause the reader to feel all the emotions. Overall a decent book if you don't mind the slowness.

This book is my new favourite historical fiction/ romance.
I was intrigued but confused but the title as it didn’t match the story but it makes sense with both Bente and Didrik and Sven and Mathias .
Both there stories were really interesting but sad . I felt so sorry for Didrik after his wife left him then she was pregnant. It was so hard for him
The story of the bottle in the shipwreck and the past story of Sven and Mathias was really interesting and fun to read but it was really heartbreaking .

I’m glad Bente was happy and Didrik too at the end .

This book offers a compelling premise, blending a modern-day mystery with a historical journey through World War II France. The character development was solid—Bente and Didrik both had depth, believable motivations, and personal struggles that gave the story emotional weight. Bente’s transition from a once-popular sommelier to a woman searching for meaning felt genuine, and Didrik’s internal conflict after his divorce added dimension to his role.

However, the pacing made it a bit of a slow burn. The narrative alternates between present day and the past, and while the dual timelines eventually connect, the shifts sometimes disrupted the flow rather than enhanced it. It took a while for the story to truly gain momentum.

That said, the subtle romance between Bente and Didrik was a nice touch—gentle and understated, but enough to help tie their journey together. Their growing bond gave the story a softer edge that balanced the historical and emotional threads well.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC and review this book.

I think that Heléne Holmström's work on the TV 24 project with Bente Hammer and Didrik Holgersson was enough to create a ranting from Bente because she wanted this to be her project and found that Didrik had already agreed to plans without her proving them. Bente was given a message from one of her long time friends that liked diving and she found a bottle of wine from a wreck off the coast of France and England that had some Swedish writing on it. She had some TV experiences which were derogatory toward her and thought this would be favorable but when she got to the TV station she was put under Didrik's control. She resigned from her present job at the restaurant as a wine sommelier and wanted to be the person in charge of a TV special on the wine which was found by Camille. Heads butted but things were changed by the crew going to Paris. Then they changed again. Then they changed again. It is a real interesting story that was told to the whole crew that makes it interesting. But who was really dancing in the dark?

I enjoyed the back story to the bottle of wine which forms the basis of the main character’s historical research but the more modern part of the story was a bit cheesy and predictable. I found the female protagonist extremely privileged and out of touch, which distracted from the plot for me. If you are interested in wine, you may enjoy this more.

Bente Hammar, una sommelier talentosa cuya carrera televisiva colapsó tras un escándalo público, trabaja ahora en un bar de vinos donde intenta reconstruir su vida profesional y recuperar su autoestima. El hallazgo de una botella de vino de un naufragio de la Segunda Guerra Mundial con una inscripción misteriosa en sueco despierta en ella no solo la pasión por el vino, sino también el deseo de contar historias con alma, de recuperar su voz y su lugar en el mundo.

Por otro lado, Didrik Holgersson, un historiador carismático de la televisión cuya vida personal se desmorona cuando su esposa le pide el divorcio. Didrik está atrapado entre la imagen pública del experto seguro y encantador, y la inseguridad que lo consume en privado. El destino los cruza cuando ambos coinciden en el bar donde trabaja Bente, lo que da pie a una colaboración inesperada… y una chispa que va más allá de lo profesional.


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Estuvo entretenido y nada más.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest.