They were my whole world—four boys who morphed from best friends to lovers. They were my biggest fans, and my quiet strength. Until they left me.What I once gave freely became my weakness. Judged, shamed, alone, and with no one to count on, I found I’d do anything to survive. I never bared my soul, but my body was my ticket to success. And fame. Burlesque might not have been the type of dance I … the type of dance I dreamed of, but it rocketed me to the top. My body was mine to own. If people wanted to see me, they had to pay for a ticket.
But all my carefully laid plans and rebuilt dreams crash when the spotlight lands on the boys who used to be mine.
Josh, Brant, Wes, and Landry are back, standing at the edge of the stage and holding the pieces of my heart.
They want forgiveness. A second chance.
But when I handed them my heart once, they shattered it. And I might not survive giving it to them again.
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Betty/Betsy is such a strong, resilient character. I felt her joy, sorrow, anger, hurt, and heartbreak right along with her. I liked that she did not instantly forgive the guys, their betrayal was real and heart breaking, but I also liked seeing their growth and realization of how their actions impact Betsy and what they lost out on. This is a standalone, complete RH.
I had the chance to read this book early. Trust me, you want to preorder it. It is a totally unique, incredibly created contemporary romance. The author has developed these complicated, strong characters who’s romance will leave you sighing and in love. This is a must read.
First book by Ripley Proserpina and it was really good. I loved the whole small town feel along with 4 hot country boys and a sweet ballerina turned burlesque dancer. I would definitely read another book by this author.
Wow, what a book. I read it in one day and it kept me hooked the whole time. I loved the story! Betsy was such a strong character.
She was abandoned by her boys and had to make her own way in the world and is now a successful burlesque dancer. Then the boys come back on the scene and she has to decide if she can forgive them.
The only thing missing was a longer epilogue, it just wasn’t enough!
Boys and Burlesque Kindle Edition
by Ripley Proserpina (Author)
I borrowed this book via the Kindle Unlimited program and am voluntarily leaving a fair and honest review.
This is a dangerous book. The day I started it, I had to drive to a town an hour away. My mind kept wandering back to the book, wanting to get back to the important and vital work of reading this story.
Reviewers say “This is my favorite book of the year” and many other superlatives. In this case they are all true. Ms. Proserpina is one of the founding members of the genre and with B&B, she is at the height of her career with a story that is drenched in romance and tension and mystery.
I had an intense reaction to all the characters, whether it was falling madly in love with our four heroes or wanting to smack the various Patriarchs upside the head, I was all in. The only thing I would have liked from the Patriarchs is a full explanation for the rancor for Betsy.
Truthfully, the mysteries of why the fathers of her boys and her stalker really didn’t need to be explained. I would happily stayed with Brant, Josh, West and Lander and Betsy for several more books. The characters their stories and their love was so amazing. I can’t wait to read this all over again.
I enjoyed the writing, including subtle ‘Easter Eggs’ like the name of another writer of RH romance are there if you can find them. They gave me a kind of warm fuzzy that Ms. Proserpina knows her audience just that well.
The description of ballet, of other forms of dance and what dancers put their bodies through was excellent. I’ve a sister who danced for a local drama company one summer. The same could be said about the military information.
Betsy’s men were each unique. Clearly, all four when through BUDS and Teams training even if they didn’t stick in the field. That only makes them sexier. They are the perfect argument for the “WHYCHOOSE motto and hashtag. If only there existed a magical spell or 3D printer that would allow me to bring them out of the story to real life.
Betsy is more than your average Southern Belle (yeah, I got that reference). She never relies on the kindness of strangers, but even Tennessee Williams would love the spine, gumption and strength in the character. She is willing to swim ever against the rushing river of what we call normal in order to live her life as she pleases, whether it be openly loving the boys she adored from kindergarten or dancing burlesque and making a killing.
I was so torn reading, I wasn’t sure if I wanted the book to end or if I wanted to keep turning pages! I just couldn’t get enough.
Well played, Ms. Proserpina, well played
5 stars out of 5
https://www.amazon.com/Boys-Burlesque-Ripley-Proserpina-ebook/dp/B081K9FJJL
Small southern towns are brutal if you find yourself on the outside of accepted. I understand this having come from one myself. Elizabeth Lauren Belle Bartlett, “Betsy” grew up with four very best friends, Josh, Wes, Landry and Brant. They grew up and things changed to an intimate relationship that they kept private until people noticed and those who think they know what’s best for everyone took exception in a big way. On the cusp of starting their lives, things start to go very wrong. The loss of Betsy’s grandmother sets in motion a landslide of bad things and the boys left town without a word. Heartbreaking and cowardly. I loved that Betsy and her guys had a long history to remember fondly when they were able to again.
Betty is strong and determined. I admire her. When life turned upside down and stripped away her dreams, she found a way to succeed on her terms. Eight years later she’s on the brink of really big things and the boys reappear as men wanting her back. What’s a girl to do?
I enjoyed this big story with large life arcs and lots of mistakes made mostly by the guys. I had a hard time with Betsy’s relatives deplorable treatment of her after her grandmothers passing. It moved the story but it didn’t really work for me. The guys are grown and changed from the immature boys who cruelly left Betsy high and dry with nothing. I feel like I know Josh and Westin much better than Landry and Brant. I got my HEA in the end.
3.5 stars
I am a huge fan of Ripley Proserpina and her amazing books and this book, as usual, did not disappoint! The storyline was original, I truly hadn’t read anything like it before and I loved every second of it. The story, the characters, and every single thing about it was so good, I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough. I highly recommend it!
There’s nothing quite like the thrill of first love or the devastation of losing it, and this book made me feel it all. I laughed, cried, swooned, and waited with bated breath for the happy ending I knew Ripley Proserpina would deliver.
Boys and Burlesque is an extra-long standalone contemporary reverse harem (RH) – about double the length of a lot of the RH’s I have read in the last couple of years. Since I love long books and am getting burned out on series this was a huge plus for me. The story is one of my favorite tropes – second chance – and the heroine and her heroes are already in love when the book opens. Normally this would bother me as I like to see and experience the relationship development on page but it worked fine – I felt the angst of their situation and even though parts of the first half were difficult to read (I hate injustices done to good people!) I flew through it and really felt emotional for Betsy and her boys. A lot of the typical elements of this type of second chance romance trope were present so I knew they were coming but still enjoyed them. I didn’t enjoy the second half quite as much as the first – the heroes melded into one character for me, and I felt a little underwhelmed by the forgiveness and romance following it compared to the emotions of the first half. I did love that Betsy was a strong heroine (typical for this author) and what she had done with her life – she was as inspiring as all of this author’s heroines. I hope she feels inspired to write more long books like this in the future.
In this book Ripley takes us from high school to the present as the unconventional relationship between Betsy aka Betty and the four boys she loved navigate through the sometimes devastating curves life throws at them.
The first curve was when Josh, Brant, Wes, and Landry ghosted after graduation. They really thought they were doing the right thing, but never gave an explanation, they just vanished.
A successful Burlesque dancer with her own show, crew and employees she gets blind-sided at a USO show at Coronado, seeing two of them in the audience has her realizing she hasn’t stopped loving them but she just can’t let them in again.
However they weren’t going to give up and all four of them show up in Vegas. Where Betty finally agrees to meet with them.
Their explanation hurt and confused her even as she delivered bombshells of her own.
This is really only the beginning as things in her world start changing yet again, this time with the men in the background instead of the forefront.
Very emotional, with suspense, drama, intrigue and some sizzling heat.
Amazing and Sweet!
This was another amazing and sweet story by one phenomenal author. I absolutely loved this book! The story was suspenseful, intriguing, sweet and sexy. It had a little bit of everything you want in a love story. It had me hooked right from the start. The characters and the storyline were captivating, entertaining and intense. All around fantastic story.
I highly recommend this book!
This book is fantastic!! I couldn’t put it down and was hooked from the start. My heart broke for our girl and I was so protective of her in my head. So proud of how she took control of her life. I loved those boys, but, they really ticked me off. This book has it all. Such a treat.
I thought that this was a excellent read. I felt that this story was quite compelling and if I am 100% honest, that was kind of a nice surprise. In my opinion, all too often this trope is simply used as a vehicle for heat and steam. I love a steamy read as much as anyone but I love it more when there is an actual story to sink your teeth into and plenty of emotions to enrich the experience and that is exactly what this book delivers. Heartbreak, anger, regrets, friendship, passion and romance all must be addressed and worked through as the story line unfolds. I found the characters to be complex and well written. It was very easy to become engaged in this book and be invested in these characters.