A Season to Dance (Seasons of Northridge #1) by Rebecca Heflin REVIEW– I’m a sucker for dance things!

A Season to Dance (Seasons of Northridge #1) by Rebecca Heflin

Rating: 4/5

Publication Date: December 13th, 2018

Olivia James and Zach Ryder were high school sweethearts, but at age eighteen, she left small-town Georgia for the bright lights and satin pointe shoes of Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet. Seventeen years later, Olivia’s come home for her mother’s funeral, nursing an injury that could likely end her meteoric dance career. Being back home stirs up old heartache, and seeing Zach again is not on her to-do list. Her best bet is get in, get out—a week at most. Then she’ll return to Chicago to rehabilitate her injury and salvage her career. But best laid plans often go astray . . .

Zach has never really recovered from Olivia’s departure, even though he always knew she was destined for fame, while he was destined for small-town life. Now Olivia’s back and he’s determined to protect his heart. But when he learns she’s staying in town longer than originally planned, Zach knows they are going to have to face the past to move on. He’s just not prepared for the beautiful woman she’s become or the effect she still has on his heart.

Small towns being what they are, Zach and Olivia are constantly thrown into one another’s paths, and it soon becomes apparent they still love each other. Will they give in to their rekindled desire and seize a second chance at happiness?

Fun Fact: I actually won this ebook in a Goodreads giveaway, which is pretty cool!

Okay, first of all let me tell you I’m a sucker for dance related stories. I’ve watched almost all the dance movies, and I love reading books that are centered around it! It’s just so fun to read and dance adds this extra emotional layer to the story. It’s such a cool way to express emotions and tell stories!

I’m usually not a fan of the whole high school sweethearts trope, but this was such a fun read! It starts off with Olivia in the shower getting rudely interrupted by two (totally handsome) police officers (one of whom is Zach Ryder, her old flame). It was so random but such a funny opening scene that i was glad I picked it up!

The romance was oh-so-wonderful (and got a bit steamy at times) and I loved both the lead characters so much! The way the author incorporated ballet into the story was really nice! I could really feel the frustration that Olivia felt when trying to recover from her dance injury.

Of course, the tension between the two characters was the real fun part of the story, and the main reason I kept reading! Their chemistry and the bits and pieces of backstory/daydreaming really created a fun slow-burn type of romance!

The main plot with Olivia and Zach was very entertaining, but there was also a secondary plot in which Olivia deals with her own family issues (after all, her mother just died… and she had always been curious about her father who she had never learned the identity of). Even though the whole missing father plot felt a bit strange, I liked the way that it helped create a stronger character (and you know me… I LOOOOVVVEEE character development!).

Another thing I loved was the whole “small town, big gossip” vibe. I honestly love that trope and it made the story extra fun with the drama! ALSO!!!! This book took place in Georgia! I haven’t read a book that took place in GA in soooo long (I live there so…)! And since I live in a somewhat suburban area, I could relate all too much to the setting!

The only complaint I really had was that at some points, the writing sort of got cringe-y (like the words hashtag relatable (or some variation of that) were actually used in the book… It was definitely strange, but easy to look past because the story was fun! That was mostly just a personal preference for me to be honest! It just didn’t feel like something the characters would be saying in that situation.

Overall, this book was really cute and fun to read! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys dance related stories (or ballet), slow-burn (JUST KISS ALREADY) romance, high school sweethearts, small towns and their intense gossip, really dramatic hospital scenes, sexy police officers that will save you from BEES, and stories that take place in my state (Georgia!)!

.