Book Review: “Pas De Deux: A Dance For Two” by Lynn Turner

“Pas De Deux: A Dance For Two” by Lynn Turner

Genre:

Publishing Date:

Page Length:

Synopsis:

“It’s said the artist is born of a damaged soul…

Wilhelmina Allende is a prima ballerina. When tragedy turns her beloved Paris into a gilded cage, she jumps at the chance to work with one of the most prolific choreographers she’s ever seen. But Zack’s style is way out of her comfort zone. So is his teaching method. And his humor. And his everything. He’s a charming little connard. It’s hard not to like him. Merde. What has she gotten herself into?

Zachary Coen’s first musical is opening on Broadway. Much like his life, it’s anything but conventional, so hiring Mina is simply out of the question. She’s too…classical. Too perfect. She’s all wrong for the role. Then he meets her in person and sees her cracks. Her broken pieces. How unique and beautiful each one is. And he can’t help but notice how her edges seem to fit his…perfectly.

Just when teaming up seems to be working, the monsters they’ve kept hidden threaten to rip it all apart.” (description from Goodreads)

Review:

*See my Q&A session with Lynn here!

Pas De Deux is a romance novel set in the world of dance! I was intrigued immediately by the synopsis and couldn’t wait to read it once I got my hands on it. The story follows Mina, a French-American prima ballerina (who gave me Misty Copeland vibes throughout the entire story) who has spent most of her time in France performing in the Paris Ballet. Zachary Cohen, a dancer, director, and playwright has been working hard his whole career and finally gets a chance for is own show. He sets his sights on Mina for the female lead and Mina agrees to take the role.

I also felt that Mina and Zack’s romance felt real and believable from the start. It still takes a long time for them to break down their walls around each other but dance helps to bring them closer to one another. They show their vulnerabilities, passion, and emotion through dance. They have complex backgrounds as Mina built adversity growing up Black ballerina where many other girls did not look like her and Zack is grew stronger as fought his way through the foster care system as a child. Seeing them overcome their obstacles added to their character development.

The attraction between the two sets off l like sparks as soon as they meet face to face. There is so much sexual tension between them when they dance. (Plus the romance scenes are pretty steamy!) Both are from different dance worlds so they struggle to adapt each others styles all while battling their pasts.

Lynn is a master of words. Her writing style is lyrical and pulls the reader into the story. She also gives great attention to detail for the landscapes and character’s. When Mina and Zack dance together it’s as if the reader is right there. I love the dance/theatre aspect of this story since I participated in and have an immense love for the dance arts. You get to experience all of the work that goes into creating a show, see how hard the dancers train. and the entire creation process.

Some of my favorite parts of the book were the scenes with Zack’s family. It felt warm & homey, plus all of his aunts had me constantly cracking up. The novel had a good balance of action and comedy elements overall. I also loved the suspense/mystery aspect that added to the entertainment factor of the book. It caught me off guard!

I highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading more from Turner!

*Trigger warning: mentions of sexual abuse

Final Verdict: