The New York Times Bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series and Play On returns to the world of the arts in this sexy and emotional standalone romance about love, sacrifice, and surviving both.Once upon a time Skylar Finch was the lead singer of a hugely successful American pop-rock band. But fame made her miserable. When years of living a lie suddenly ended in tragedy, Skylar fell off … suddenly ended in tragedy, Skylar fell off the map.
Killian O’Dea works at Skyscraper Records, Scotland’s most successful record label. Raised by his uncle and owner of the label, Killian’s upbringing would have been devoid of affection entirely if it wasn’t for his loving sister. Killian is unflinchingly determined to bring the label more success than ever, and the young homeless woman who busks on Buchanan Street is going to help him do that. Her music speaks to him in a way he refuses to over-analyze. All he knows is that if it can touch his dark soul, it’ll set everyone else’s alight.
Skylar makes it clear that she doesn’t want to sign with him. But when she experiences the dangerous reality of a woman sleeping rough, Skylar has no one else but Killian to turn to. An undeniable connection forms between them. But Skylar doesn’t want the career Killian is trying to forge for her, and when her past comes back to haunt her Killian will be faced with a decision that could ruin him. He must either free Skylar from his selfish machinations and destroy everything he’s ever worked for, or lose a woman who has come to mean more to him than he ever thought possible.more
Samantha Young always delivers a fantastic read.
Loved this book…the plot was original and the dialogue was so romantic…beautiful 5 stars
The synopsis already explains well as it is the story nor can I say much more to not release a great spoiler, but I swear that I never imagined myself to be as stuck to a plot as I was with As Dust Dances. As soon as I started reading I could not buy much of Skylar’s drama, I had a feeling she was just a spoiled girl who could not handle a bad moment in life. But Samantha Young knew how to conquer me by presenting moments from the past with moments from the present so that little by little I could understand the real reasons for the girl’s crisis.
Skylar has a brilliant creative mind to compose songs that touch people’s hearts and ends up attracting attention from Killian but she does not want this attention, she just wants to remain anonymous because she has not yet recovered from some unresolved issues of the past.
Killian is a beautiful and determined guy who does not accept NO as an answer and ends up leading the confused and withdrawn Skylar to resume her music career to her despair. Skylar sees no alternative and agrees to record her new pieces of music with some conditions. From this unlikely partnership, many things will change in their lives.
The music of Skylar ends up achieving a result that she never imagined as much for her as for Killian. I loved the way the connection between the two gradually grew, as they both lowered their guard and indulged in the feelings they had for each other and in the end I could not help but give a shout that even scared my poor husband, because never I imagined that everything would end up in that way.
Wonderful.
I loved the cover too much and I’m already praising Micah’s book and one for Killian’s sister, after all she’s so cute that she deserves a love story of her.
As Dust Dances by Samantha Young is an intriguing contemporary romance. Skylar Finch had it all, or at least that’s what it had seemed from the outside. She was the successful singer for a hit band. But things came crashing down and for Skylar that was way further down than could have been imagined.
Busking on the street in Glasgow she is noticed by a record exec Killian O’Dea and she is pulled back into a world she hated. Will it be different this time?
I liked the real-ness of this book. Both Killian and Skylar had a rawness to them. That Killian saw and noticed Skylar at her worst makes their journey even better. Their connect is something more that just superficial.
Overall I enjoyed As Dust Dances by Samantha Young and very much recommend it. The story hit on many levels. What is success? How do we find love and connections that make us happy and the best people we can be.
(I voluntarily reviewed an advance review copy of this book I received for free from the publisher in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)
Ahhh…this is one of those romances that makes my toes tingle and leaves my heart warm. It is full of romance with a bit mystery…I wondered why Skylar was now in the position she was in. I asked myself if Killian really knew who she was or what his real motivations were. Those questions and the romance is what kept this book interesting to me. It was the perfect balance.
Skylar was quite the character. She was living a life most of us would dream of and now she was homeless, facing danger as a single woman on the streets. As I read in the synopsis, I knew something drastic happened to Skylar for her to now be homeless and sleeping in a cemetery halfway across the world. This girl had guts!!!! She left everything familiar to her and went on a journey to figure out who she was and what direction she needed to take. I really admired that kind of strength.
Killian was a complex character himself. I wasn’t always sure what he was wanting from Skylar. However, Young does a great job of revealing to us who he really is. Oh man, could he make me swoon, especially towards the end when he tells Skylar how deeply he loves her. WOW!
As good as the romance was, the storyline itself was just as good. Even though this was Skylar’s story to tell, Young told us Killian’s too. The pacing was perfection, especially in the way she revealed more of her story in the States!
As usual, Young does such a fabulous job of describing her setting wherever it is. I saw that clearly in her YA novel, The Fragile Ordinary. She did it again here in Glasgow. I have now added another place on my bucket list to visit.
I love when a romance has a deeper meaning for me. This one definitely did. Oftentimes, life is unpredictable and throws some major curveballs. It’s not necessarily those curveballs that determine our fate and happiness, but it’s how we deal with those. Skylar and Killian both proved that. Another excellent read from Samantha Young!
Broken heroine. Broken and brooding hero. Looks like something you have read? I’m glad to say you’ll be wrong if you said yes. As Dust Dances is so much more than what its protagonists are made of. It’s a tale of love, yes, but it’s also a tale of choices, family, friendship, selfishness and broken people. It’s the kind of book that you be with you for a long long time. Where you think about it, about the consequences of your choices and what could have been different.
It’s my first book by Samantha, but will not be the last. She has a gift with words and emotions. I cried more than one time while reading this book and think you should read it without any kind of spoiler or profound information about this story, so my review is really vague on purpose. Read it, you won’t regret.
Wow, this book. I needed a few days to contemplate and take it in after finishing. It caused all the feels. Skylar and Killian were both such powerful characters and their love story really packed a punch. It was a slow burn story of which I’m usually not the biggest fan. In this case, it was necessary to the story for their relationship to go slow. Skylar has a lot of serious issues to deal with as she slowly puts herself back together. Their relationship starts as a antagonistic friendship of sorts but Skylar quickly learns to lean on Killian for support.
Skylar is homeless when she and Killian first meet. She’s had a traumatic past and events have led her to choosing that life. Killian pulls her back into the world when a horrible event forces her to turn to Killian for help. Skylar uses her music to help cope with the tragedies of her past. The songs in this book are beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. The lyrics have a way of touching your soul. This was just such a pure love story that I couldn’t put the book down. I spent every page rooting for Skylar as she heals and then for Killian and Skylar as a couple as they help each other to overcome their pasts. Simply put, this book is beautiful.
And As DUST DANCES Samantha comes back…. For me, oridinary reader and big Samantha’s fan THIS book is the best I’VE ever read from this author.
I loved Samantha since I read On the Dublin Street a while ago till todat ! After As DUST DANCES my head is empty or maybe overwhelmed with too much feelings inside ???? I feel… USED because this story wasn’t easy for me to read.
Sam always try to write something more than love, and even I knew about that… OMG !!!! As DUST DANCES is a really big, BIG rollercoster to survive, and can made cry.
Skylar, Dear Skylar I loved You from the very first sight…
But that’s why I saw very clearly how much You suffering, because You are young woman, who’s lost sense of her life. That’s what makes me really sad… Skylar… You’re one of these people who have only emptiness to hugging You by night.
Dear Skylar You are who You are because life can be full of cruel suprises. When You lost everyone who should loved You no matter what, it can’t be nothing good.
I tottaly understand why are You so… lost. It’s imposible to love someone else when You don’t love and respect Yourself.
Forgive that write like that about her, I was just soo deep in this story that I can’t do this another way.
Killian sees in Skylar everything what she doesn’t see for a long time. And even if he is very cocky and not nice to much, from the begining I knew that his story also has other side.
Skylar and Killian are broken souls, with 2 different stories.
Thanks to Sam’s book You can find out that loneliness isn’t good for any of us but LOVE can heal everything when it’s good time for that.
I’m oridinary woman who loved to read. so in my review You won’t find literary language. BUT for sure As the DUST DANCES is very, very good book to read.
Don’t hate me when I admit this but….I haven’t read a Samantha Young book in a long time, for no other reason than my TBR is huge. In fact I am almost certain the last Samantha Young book I read was her Paranormal Series, gasp! All that to say that while I loved that series, I will admit to being a little hesitant about this book because I had been away from this author for so long and I had not read Play On, the book released prior to As Dust Dances that is part of the same world. I have also recently had a little disillusionment with the Contemporary Romance world because it has all started to blend together, but As Dust Dances is a gem in the middle of this mine field of romance.
As Dust Dances is a emotional story of love and loss. It is heartbreaking more often than not, but is such a beautiful story of forgiveness and love you can sort of accept all the pain that it comes with. I truly felt for ALL the characters in this book and while Killian and Skylar are the main characters there are several others that have such a pivotal role to the story it is hard to see them as secondary characters. I loved that aspect. I loved that this book was focused on more than just the main couple, that lost love, lost parents, and lost childhood has such a huge impact on the story. There is such depth to this story that the romance itself plays as the main secondary character and that’s truly a beautiful thing.
I loved Killian and Skylar together, I loved the fact that while they both fell pretty fast they didn’t let that take over their story. I loved that their story is about friendship, growth, strength, health, happiness, and then love. That’s not to say that they don’t eventually have those steamy scenes we all love in a good romance, oh they are there, but they fit seamlessly into the story. No awkward, wait, they’re gonna do that right now, they hate each other (etc) *whaaa* scenes, lol.
I will say that I kind of want the stories of ALL the band now, particularly Skylar’s best friend. He is a complete ass (though she wasn’t a shining star in that relationship either) but there is so much pain in his soul that I think his would make an amazing story.
I really just loved this story from beginning to end, even in the middle with all the hard parts. I adored the lyrics and even managed to read them all the way through with out skipping like you might think I would, those lyrics are just as much a part of the make up of this story as the communication between the characters. I would love to hear the songs played though since it is often hard for me to pick up on the rhythm of a song just though it’s written words. I am really looking forward and going back to the beginning of this series and also into the next book. I like that it is stepping out of Scotland while I am sure keeping the same feel and hopefully we will see Killian and Skylar again in that book! This is a great read, but does take a bit of an emotional toll on your heart so just be ready with a comfy reading spot, a tissue or two, and a good cuppa tea.
~ HAPPY READING ~
Maybe 3.5 stars. This is a really hard review for me to write. I have loved every other book I’ve read by Samantha Young. I mean, couldn’t put it down, laughed, cried, gushed over to everyone everywhere as I read it and after I finished it. And it wasn’t that it wasn’t a good story. It had a lot of great things about it. While there was the end that definitely had me crying in a way that only this author can make me cry. I think that these were characters that maybe I just didn’t connect with? I also was never quite sure how these characters connected to the characters in the first book, which I loved. The reason that probably bothered me is that as I read each book in the On Dublin Street series, I had an idea who that character was, or I got to see the characters that I’d already met and fit them into the story. I also don’t feel like maybe there was the humor in this one that I feel was in the other books?
Honestly, it wasn’t a bad book. It just wasn’t that great for me. However, I’ll still be eagerly awaiting the next book from this author, I have no doubt in my mind about that.
This was a beautiful story full of romance. Samantha Young takes you on an emotional rollercoaster full of emotion. I loved every minute of this story.
Skylar was in a band in America and always dreamed of making it big. She had everything she could ever want and was living her dream. Now she is living in a cemetery in a tent and busking on the streets. She is brave and on her on in Glasgow.
Killian knows talent when he hears it. Not long after hearing her voice on the street he knew he needed to meet with her. It takes a lot for him to convince Skylar to meet with him. After realizing how hard life on the streets can be for a female she decides she needs his help.
These two have such strong personalities and chemistry. This book broke my heart, put it back together, and pulled me in. Samantha Young has a way with words and can’t wait for more of her work.
As Dust Dances by Samantha Young is the second book in her Play On Series. Every book in the series is a full length, standalone novel. The previous book is Play On and tells Nora and Aiden’s story.
Anyway, back to As Dust Dances. I started reading and I wasn’t hooked, I was so Hooked, I had to read the book in one sitting it was that good and who needs sleep – .
Skylar Finch is the former lead singer of a pop-rock band. She was at the top of her world, very successful, but she was very miserable. She left everything behind and backpacked through Europe. And when she gets stranded in Glasgow, she hits rock bottom. She’s busking on the streets and lives a anonymous, but dangerous life. Until she meets Killian.
Killian O’Dea is a 30 year old career driven executive at a record label. He’s a cold and business only , ruthless man. He sees her busking and recognizes Skylar. Yes, he helps her out, but every time when he does something good and I was like, yes, now he shows his sensitive side, he knocks her down with his words and actions. He builds her up and then knocks her down. Only Skylar is in no place to take his …..
As Dust Dances is a wonderful read, excellent written and I was captivated from page one. I couldn’t put the book down and read it in one sitting. Skylar’s story touched me deeply and I can’t get it out of my head. It’s a story about finding yourself and second chances in love and life.
I highly, highly recommend this fantastic read and wish I could give more than 5 stars.
Stunning, stellar, captivating and breathtaking. A true reminder that you may have everything in life but everything is perception and each person is different. Tragedy can take even the most successful and send them spiraling into the land of the lost.
This is a story of grief, a story of dealing and a tale of rebuilding and finding where your dream fits into your existence. A beautiful journey with love and so much awe!
Feels, swoon, push and pull and realizing what is truly important in life.
I received an eARC of this book from the author in an exchange for an honest review.
“You’re mine and I’m yours.”
Skylar Finch
This book is amazing. It is the first book that I read two times in a row, because it made me feel so much. The first reading was fast because I was impatient and wanted to know how it ends.
The second reading was more thorough and slowly because I enjoyed every word of the book.
Samantha did her job very well, again. I love all the tension, suspence and their every encounter was full of emotions.
Skylar is amazing. She goes through a rough patch of feelings about her band, mother and Brian. It is all at once and it is too much for her. I will never understand the situation she was in, but I am aware that the situation of famous people is not all glamour.
Killian is very hard to read and he is the brooding Scott that we all love. He did his part very well.
“But that morning, when you sang ‘In the Wind’ to me, no guitar, no music, just your voice, you sung it like your fucking heart was breaking… My heart broke too. I was stunned because I realised I wanted to piece you back together again, hoping that maybe you would be able to piece me back together too.”
Killian O’Dea
Samantha has done it again! She has a way with words that when you read one of her stories, you get pulled into and feel like you are there and experiencing the journey of the characters as they are happening. I absolutely fell in love with Skylar’s journey, she was someone trying to forget the past, yet move by herself. Skylar felt she was better off alone and away from all that she once knew, until Killian O’Dea walks into her life. The chemistry between these two was on fire. Killian also experience some hardships in his past that has shaped who he is, until he meets Skylar, he starts to unlock the guard he has put in place. The journey that Skylar and Killian go on is emotional and pulls on the heart strings. I could not get enough of these two and their story.
I’ll admit when I started As Dust Dances I was a little concerned I would have a tough time getting into it. Not because I wasn’t intrigued by the story or anything like that, but because I never read Play On. I wasn’t sure how the story was linked and I’ve been known to have a hard time getting into a series partway through it. Turns out I worried for absolutely nothing because I couldn’t — and wouldn’t — put As Dust Dances down until I finished it. I was sucked into the story from the first few pages and just had to know what happened with Skylar. There were moments where I was legit on the edge of my seat, which was fairly unexpected. But, I’m getting ahead of myself and I don’t want to risk spoiling the story for you.
Skylar is undoubtedly the star of the show here. She was amazing, as was her journey. I’m also not entirely sure it would’ve been possible without Killian. I don’t want to be all “she needed a man to save her,” because I think that’s the furthest thing from the truth. But, I think she needed someone to believe in her, someone to push her. To say things were angsty and rocky between them would be a massive understatement. I mean, a former star who doesn’t want to live life in the spotlight anymore and someone in the music biz who is looking for his big break don’t exactly scream “dream match!” do they? They really were though. I loved watching things develop slowly between them. I loved watching both of them let go and become stronger together.
Romance plays a big part in As Dust Dances, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about second chances and finding yourself and letting go of the guilt that weighs you down. As much as I enjoyed the pairing between Killian and Skylar, what really made this book special was Skylar’s journey. She experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows. I swear, I was right there with her the entire time for the good and the bad. This book was about rebuilding and figuring out who you are when you can’t be who you once were any longer. It’s about taking a look at your life and, for the first time, making choices for yourself. Deciding where you want to be and pushing for it. I think everyone can relate to that — even just a little — if they can’t necessarily relate to her exact experiences.
Loving As Dust Dances as much as I did made me realize how much I need to make time to go back and read Play On. If it’s even halfway as gorgeous and emotional as this book, I’m going to have another new favorite Samantha Young book.
FAVORITE QUOTES
People want songs that make them feel good, but they also just want songs that make them feel, even if it breaks their fucking heart.
“Your songs… there’s so much pain in them. These things can turn to poison if you leave them inside to fester.”
“I’m yours. I’ve never been anyone’s until now. Do you understand?”
“Love isn’t tearing someone down to bring them to your level. Love is seeing in the person you love the best possible version of who they can be.”
I wanted to be stronger. I wanted to be braver. And most of all, I wanted to own myself again.
See my review in French here
Will Samantha Young ever write a story I won’t LOVE?
Nope!
AS DUST DANCE is at the top of all her books, as good as On Dublin Street.
You will love Skylar’s journey, and fall in love with Killian and his grumpiness.
This book is just PHENOMENAL.
I loved how we get to know what happened in Skylar’s past, being a little in the dark for a while really worked for me.
And the lyrics… they are so beautiful and heartbreaking!
Another love story perfectly balanced: tragic events, angsty and broken characters, the hate/love tension between those two, their sexual tension (oh yes), and of course, so many “swoony” and steamy moments.
And always a touch of humor.
That’s why I love Samantha Young’s stories so much. They’re beautiful, deep, heartbreaking, but also panty melting and funny.
I read it in one day, and the next day, I re-read the most emotional and steamy parts.
Their story is amazing like that!
I just couldn’t leave Killian and Skylar!!
So, Samantha Young’s fans, not reading this baby is not an option!
Grab it and enjoy it. Again. And again!
***ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review***
Visit my French blog: https://isalacroqueusedelivres.wordpress.com
Heartbreak, hope, hurt, and healing. As Dust Dances was rife with a litany of emotions, those four being at the top of that list. After reading the blurb, I knew this book was going to be uniquely spectacular, and I was not mistaken. Samantha Young has consistently blown me away with her stories, and this one reinforced how special a storyteller she is.
My heart broke for Skylar from the off. Regardless of what had led her to a life of homelessness, her life was difficult. Learning about how she had arrived at that point was a different kind of devastating. Skylar’s story shone a light on the side of fame we like to pretend doesn’t exist in horrifying relief. Ms. Young gave us a small glimpse of what it might be like to not have a modicum of privacy and just how arduous that life would be, how deeply it would scar you, and how costly the complete lack of privacy would be.
I loved Skylar and Killian’s connection; it went beyond physical chemistry into something transcendent. From the moment Skylar let her guard down an inch I could feel how important their bond would be. Though neither of them wanted to admit it, they were both searching for something to fix their broken pieces and when he found her, saved her, cared for her at her weakest point you could almost feel their souls call out to one another as if they recognized each other and knew they were destined. The music they made together only further strengthened that feeling for me and I was in love with how deeply they were both connected to each other and their music.
Family was a huge theme in As Dust Dances. I adored how Ms. Young demonstrated time and again that family is less about sharing DNA with a person and more about finding the people who love you, care for you, support you regardless of what you can give to them. There is a purity in the love of family that isn’t found in any other kind of relationship and the familial relationships, the ones built on those foundations of love, care, and support, in this book were beautifully illustrated.
As Dust Dances is the second book in Samantha Young’s Play On series. These books are complete standalones and do not need to be read in order. As Dust Dances is written in first-person perspective, narrated by Skylar.
Samantha Young showed not only her storytelling chops but also her lyrical skills in this novel. While the storytelling in As Dust Dances was fabulous, I was utterly enamored with the lyrics she wrote. They were raw and provocative and, even without melody, I could feel how profoundly emotional the songs would be.
“I know I don’t yet, but I’ll do everything in my power to try to deserve you.”
Wow! Wow! Wow! What an INCREDIBLE ROMANCE! While I’m writing this review, I’m a mess. I’m not gonna lie, but I have to get through it so please bare with me and my ramblings. A Dust Dances is such a special love story with so much meaning, and so much heart buried within each page. Samantha Young’s amazing and flawless writing brought me to tears on many occasions, with this book and the ones before. But there was something about Skylar and Killian’s story that struck a chord with me. It resonated deep within my soul and brought out every single emotion you could think of. Heartbreak, happiness, tragedy, and joy…you name it, I felt it ten-fold. This beautiful and captivating story about love, sacrifice, friendship, and redemption absolutely took my breath away. These unforgettable characters will forever have a place in my heart and their journey…a place in my soul.
The intensity of Skylar and Killian’s love and connection was so powerful and so beautiful, there is no way that I could have looked away. Their journey to rebuild trust, to sacrifice their hearts, to give in to the inevitable pull that is between them…it was so AMAZING to experience. Samantha Young has penned a stunning love story, written with such class, grace, grit, and raw emotion. An emotional page-turner for sure, A Dust Dances is one of my FAVORITE READS of the year and one of my all time favorite books by Ms. Young.
I don’t get tire of saying that Samantha Young is one of my favorite authors, and each book I get to read her prove me the reason. Your writing captured my attention since Dublin Street and from there to here just got better and better.I simply couldn’t put it down damage this story because I was addicted and utterly captivated by this wonderful story.By the way let me tell you that her ability to make me feel like a part of your story is one of the reasons that make me love your books, and once again it happened here.
Skylar is a complex character and I’ve been through a lot. At the beginning of the book I was trying to figure out what happened to her to get where she was. I must say that crossed my mind a thousand chances but none correct.And gradually, their reasons and motivations became more clear to me as a reader I myself try my heartbreak for her.If she was right or not, I can’t judge because as the saying goes unless I have dressed her shoes, I can’t give an opinion and say that I would have done the same thing or not, and neither do you.The fact is that she did what she had to survive and this is what she was doing until the arrival of Killian in your life.I think one of my main things of this book was the trajectory of her, how much she has matured during this journey. I couldn’t help but get emotional with her for the book.
Killian, ain’t no Prince charming. He had his reasons for helping Skylar and your credit has been honest with her since the beginning.He was a character that intrigued me. He was cold, but at the same time we had glimpses of small gestures that made me see how much he spent to care with Skylar.Their relationship was complex, complicated and all happened slowly, but when it happened it was worth all the wait and anticipation.
The Dust dance was devastating, intense and sweet. Samantha Young led me the emotional roller coaster arousing in me all the emotions: I laughed, I cried and I fell along with those characters.A book which, in addition to a beautiful love story brings the story of Skylar to forgive herself and return to live. As I said at the beginning, a simply wonderful book from first to last page.