ISBN 0373107692 - Every now and then, I come across a book so poorly proofread that I wonder why they bothered to publish it - they obviously didn't care much about the book, so it must be just to feed the money making machine. This book falls into that category, with a stunning 24 typos that I found (and probably more that I just skimmed right past). Some typos are funny: on page 52, it says "dancers were suspicious" and it clearly should have read "superstitious". 100 pages later, an "uh-uh" was obviously meant to be an "uh-huh".
Marta's a dancer. Marta isn't much else. She's sacrificed her entire life for dancing. So when the company's star takes time off to give birth, it's an exciting opportunity for her to shine. Dancing with Casmir, the romantic Russian playboy of ballet, Marta does shine, too. They dance well together and when his fling with her understudy comes to an end, Marta gets worried that his depression will ruin their magic. She volunteers to sleep with him - literally, sleep - so that the understudy won't come back to stir things up.
They enjoy each other's company, cuddling and talking late at night, while the rest of the world is certain their affair is real. The pair have each lost a spouse and find they have more in common, building a real friendship on a lie they're telling the world. By the time she realizes she's in love with Casmir, they've crossed a line and possibly ruined their friendship forever.
Pretty standard romance stuff, except the sex doesn't come in until page 139 - and that's a long wait for a genre in which writers get more creative (and weirder) trying to say heaving, pulsing and throbbing in new ways. If only the editor and proofreader had cared a little more, I'd be more inclined to at least give it 3 stars. As it is, I'm not a fan of romance and really not a fan of romance novels where the guy is a hairdresser, an interior decorator or a dancer.
- AnnaLovesBooks
Marta's a dancer. Marta isn't much else. She's sacrificed her entire life for dancing. So when the company's star takes time off to give birth, it's an exciting opportunity for her to shine. Dancing with Casmir, the romantic Russian playboy of ballet, Marta does shine, too. They dance well together and when his fling with her understudy comes to an end, Marta gets worried that his depression will ruin their magic. She volunteers to sleep with him - literally, sleep - so that the understudy won't come back to stir things up.
They enjoy each other's company, cuddling and talking late at night, while the rest of the world is certain their affair is real. The pair have each lost a spouse and find they have more in common, building a real friendship on a lie they're telling the world. By the time she realizes she's in love with Casmir, they've crossed a line and possibly ruined their friendship forever.
Pretty standard romance stuff, except the sex doesn't come in until page 139 - and that's a long wait for a genre in which writers get more creative (and weirder) trying to say heaving, pulsing and throbbing in new ways. If only the editor and proofreader had cared a little more, I'd be more inclined to at least give it 3 stars. As it is, I'm not a fan of romance and really not a fan of romance novels where the guy is a hairdresser, an interior decorator or a dancer.
- AnnaLovesBooks
