Every body can be a dancer’s body!All her life, Fiona has dreamed of becoming a dancer but she was always told that dancing was not for “fat girls” like her. Now, at age thirty-five, Fiona is again confronted with her weight issues when the HR department kindly encourages her and a co-worker, Stu, to attend a support group for people with “health” issues. When quilting is suggested as a hobby to … suggested as a hobby to help with their total opposite eating disorders (Fiona loves everything calorie, Stu tries to avoid any), Stu insanely suggests they enter a local version of Dancing With the Stars instead…
What follows is a fantastic journey with a lot of ups and downs, sore feet, self-doubt, sweat and tears mixed in with ghosts from the past.
Dancing Queen is a warmhearted and humorous story about self-doubt, dancing, friendship, and the courage to follow your dreams no matter what size you are.
“If you love fast-paced, feel-good books, with snappy dialogue, lots of humor and heart, this is the book for you.”
“Dance your heartbreak away with Dancing Queen.
Flagged by a new program at their mutual workplace for weight issues, co-workers Fiona and Stu are thrown together as an unlikely pair of unwilling participants. When quilting is suggested as a hobby to replace their total opposite eating disorders, they come up with their own plan to enter a dancing contest, a local version of Dancing With the Stars. Fiona, dubbed Fat Fiona nearly all her life, has long given up her ‘closet dream’ of dancing, thanks to her mother, whose bias towards Fiona’s older, thinner, more successful sister, Violet, is as obvious as Fiona’s big butt. Stu, on the other hand, is a calorie-counting, veggie-crunching skinny man with his own set of self-esteem issues, also thanks to sibling bias from a cruel-tongued parent–his father.
The transformation of Fi and Stu’s unlikely friendship into two skilled dance partners is a marvelous story! Charlotte Roth uses stories from both characters’ pasts to deal with life-altering self-image and self-worth issues. It’s a joy to watch them slowly work through feelings of disappointment and heartbreak for ones of self-acceptance and finally hope, eventually leading to forgiveness and much more. With superb character development and a well-executed storyline, Dancing Queen was a joy to read, from start to up-lifting finish. There were several typos but none that took me out of the story, so I’m not deducting for them. I give this highly recommended read a solid five stars! Well done, Ms. Roth!” ~ L. Leger.
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Dancing Queen
By: Charlotte Roth
5 out of 5 stars
The story Dancing Queen by Charlotte Roth is an amazing book that I loved reading. It is a story that will warm your heart and has inspirational characters. It is a book that drew me in from the very beginning and I found myself getting lost in its pages. I loved reading about Fiona. She is a woman who has always had a love of dancing. She is someone who is confronted with her “weight issues” by those in her workplace. Along with her co-worker Stu she is encouraged to attend a support group to help with “health” issues. Instead of taking a suggestion to try quilting, Fiona and Stu enter a dance competition. Read this story to find out what happens next! This is a story that will bring a smile to your face and at times have you laughing out loud. My emotions went up and down with the characters. There are heartbreaking and heartwarming moments in this book. There is both intense and humorous dialogue. Fiona is a character that I could really identify with how she felt judged about her weight. As I have personally struggled with my weight all of my life, she is someone that I could both empathize and sympathize with. Fiona is a character that I grew to love with each chapter that I read and I wanted her to feel happy with her life. This is a story that will hook you in from the very beginning and won’t let go until you have read the final page. Don’t miss out on a book with a wonderful story to tell and amazing characters. I would highly recommend reading it.
Dancing Queen is a fun, humorous , uplifting story. The message is to live your life, follow your childhood dreams and never give up. Fiona is comfortable being known as Fat Fiona. Her whole world is turned upside down, when Skinny Stu talks her into a Dancing competition. He shows her who she really is inside, pulls her out of her comfort zone, encourages her to be herself. Stu and Fiona are on a journey of self discovery together.
Stefanie Kay is an entertaining storyteller .She brings the characters to life, gives each their own voice and personality. It has fun,, humorous , laugh out loud moments. AudiobookObsessionReviewer
What a refreshing story, no sex just pure entertainment with a plot that has a meaningful agenda.
Stephanie did a wonderful job narrating.
Reviewed for Audiobook Obsession
Uplifting, fulfilling, and fun women’s fiction
This is the first book by Charlotte Roth that I have experienced, and she is now on my list of favorite authors. I highly recommend this audiobook to any woman who wants some feel-good fiction. Men might like it to, but this novel really touched and inspired me as a woman. It is not preachy and there is very little angst. Don’t expect romance, but the growing friendships and the reconnecting with family were very emotionally satisfying. The audiobook was rather funny as well. The narrator Stephanie Kay was perfect! She did such a wonderful job expressing the humor, emotions, dancing scenes, all the characters, and everything. Her voice also was pleasing to my ear.
Trigger Warning: There was a short description of a sexual assault that happened to one of the characters years before. It was not very graphic.
Fiona is a very overweight 38-year-old accountant who had always had a secret dream to dance. Her mother really tried to squash her dream when she was a child. Now, fate conspires to get Fiona to join a dance competition, and she is tempted to really live life.
For the first two hours, I thought that it would just be a 4-star review from me. The characters were introduced, and there were some slightly amusing moments. At the time, I thought that the story was very nice but too sedate, without zing. However, the audiobook changed into a marvelously wonderful audiobook for the remaining six hours. Once the dance competition started, it became very charming, sweet, and addictive. Now, I really love Fiona, Stu, and their friends; I plan to listen to this again in the near future. The writer has such a lovely flowing style with funny dialogue and cool movie and music references. I love how the reader really gets into Fiona’s head (the entire story is told from her perspective). It is the first book by Charlotte Roth that I have experienced, and I was very impressed. I plan to read or listen to more of this author’s work ASAP.
I received a free audiobook copy as an #AudiobookObsession Reviewer. I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
Overall, I really liked the audiobook and would recommend it. I’d like to give it 4.5 stars.
At times it was difficult to tell what was spoken dialogue vs. just thoughts. I also didn’t love some of the character’s voices, but I still thought overall it was a really good performance.
I also liked the story. Yes, there was stuff that was a little unbelievable, but I read to be entertained and it was definitely that. I would have preferred the motivation for dieting to be personal (“I want to be healthier”), and I thought it a little strange that the group mentioned at the beginning didn’t continue throughout the book, but I still enjoyed listening to the story.
#audiobookobsession
Amazing story
I honestly don’t know where to start. I was blown away by Charlotte Roth’s Dancing Queen. Stephanie Kay did a fabulous job of bringing the book alive with her on point narration. I loved that Fiona and Stu were such believable engaging characters as were the secondary characters. The story made me laugh and at times cry with all its twists and turns. And the ending… just wow. I was fortunate to receive this audio via Audiobook Obsession.
I enjoyed Stefanie Kay’s narration of this book, though the way she pronounced a couple of the words alternated between grating on my ears and making me chuckle.
This is a really sweet and enjoyable story. The characters are great and very well rounded. You can see that the way both Fiona and Stu think is due to their upbringing. And I’m so glad they found each other. The book didn’t end up where I thought it would and I didn’t guess the big twist (I went down a completely different pathway, lol) but I really enjoyed it. It’s lift and sweet and a lovely listen.
Finally a book with a heroine that is not a model. It is easy to relate to Fiona with her being overweight. Her insecurities and lost dreams are realistic. Stu is a complete opposite, but still has his own issues that are realistic. When these two get together, the laughter begins. This is a heart warming story about overcoming obstacles to find your dream. Sometimes all it takes is that one person to love to change everything.
This is my first audiobook narrated by Stephanie Kay and I really enjoyed it. Ms Kay was able to narrate Fiona to bring all of her emotions and insecurities to life. Ms. Kay enhanced the humor and the sweetness of this book through her narration.
Awesome Story & Audible Listen IFiona & Stu!
Dancing Queen
By: Charlotte Roth
Narrated by: Stefanie Kay
Wow, what a great book, the story is heartfelt, fun and inspirational. I enjoyed Charlotte Roth’s writing style, the natural flow of the story and how her descriptive details brought me along side the characters. I just adored Fiona and Stu, how easy and natural they were together and the bond they formed. Some may say and unlikely pair but they were perfect for each other. They helped each other become better selves and I could not help but root for them. There were some real laugh out loud moments in this book and some sad ones and others that made me angry, especially her sister. I was happy for Fiona when some things get resolved, I was also heartbroken to learn what she went thru. And Stu was just a hoot, a quirky walking calorie counter and such a nice guy. Diane was fun too as were some of the other secondary characters. This story is the type that will stay with you for a long time, it shows you that it is never to late to follow your dreams. Also don’t let others stop you, if you want something go for it. WTG Fiona & Stu, WTG Charlotte Roth! Thank you for this awesome and inspiring story!
I listened to the Audible edition, Stefanie Kay is a wonderful narrator and voice performer. She brings the characters to life, gives each their own voice and personality. She projects the emotions of the characters and drama of the story in her performance. She is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. Thanks for the great listen
Thank you @AudiobookObsession #AudiobookObsession #AudiobookObsessionReviewer
OMG what a fun story about believing in yourself, Dancing Queen was a brilliant, refreshing story about two co-workers on the opposite ends of the dietary spectrum who enter a dancing competition and end up finding so much more than just a dance partner. This is not a romance, it is a story about friendship, courage and perseverance. It was hilarious but also emotional as well. You will love these likable and relatable characters. Fiona and Stu were amazing and they brought out the best in each other. There was a range of extended characters who added hilarity to the story and provided balance and support to Stu and Fiona. I absolutely loved this story.
The audible version of this novel was narrated by Stefanie Kay who did a fantastic job with the characters. She brought the story to life and I enjoyed listening to her.
Dancing Queen was my first Charlotte Roth novel and it won’t be my last. I loved it and would highly recommend it to everyone.
#AudiobookObsessionReviewer
This book shows so much strength within the main characters with daily challenges that they have to overcome. The support that they have found with friends is wonderful and the inner strength grows more each day. I loved listening to this book as there were many emotions that it pulls out of you while listening and has you routing for the underdogs. Narration was done beautifully as well.
In this novel we meet Fiona Madsen who all her life has dreamed of becoming a dancer – dream that is shattered on her 7th Birthday when her mom told her dancing was not for fat girls like her. Now at age 35 Fiona is again confronted on her weight issues when her Hr Department at work kindly encourages her to attend a support group for people with health problems. A unlikely friendship develops between Fiona & skinny Stew from Accounting dept. who becomes marvellously skilled dance partners.
Dancing Queen was a joy to read from the beginning till the uplifting ending. This is the first book I have read from this author & it’s impressively written & well executed on both characters dealing with life-altering, self-improvement & self worth issues. An intriguing plot with dreams, & challenges. Characters were splendidly developed with real emotions and flaws. The character’s come through alive. This novel is done with with warmth & humour & with plot twists that you won’t see coming. A Iaugh out load novel that is encouraging & entertaining at the same time.
5 Star
Dancing Queen By Charlotte Roth is very heartwarming yet inspirational story that I loved reading. I couldn’t put it down till the end. Some parts had my emotions all over the place. Fiona and Stu had me feeling like I was on an emotional rollercoaster ride with up and downs and a twist or two.i can relate to Fiona and her struggles and its definitely hard.But Stugives her hope.What happens when she’s talked into entering a dance competition? I highly recommend reading this book especially if you want to know what happens next. I can’t wait to read more from this Author.
Dancing Queen by Charlotte Roth. I love reading and I’ve read tons of books but I’ll have to say I’ve never felt a connection with a story as much as I did this story. From page one I was completely transfixed on this story, with characters I just couldn’t get enough of. This story is inspirational and really just hit me in all the feels. I laughed until I cried in parts and I’ll honestly never forget this story. The author does a wonderful job I believe of writing not only characters you’ll love but also a story that will have you up late repeatedly saying “just one more page”. I’m giving this story a five star review and highly recommend it.
Dancing Queen By Charlotte Roth
Four Stars
I like fun books where people build themselves up. This story start off wrong for me. The fact that they thought it was ok to nominate someone to get help because of their weight was mean and judgmental. The lady could have a medical issue that causes her to be heavy. It could be anything. But the story does have a ok message. Be who you wish to be. Dance even when someone is watching. Build your confidence so high that even the most vile person couldn’t bring you down. Fiona was strong in many ways and you could feel her emotions when it came to her insecurities. I dislike how it’s mostly your family tearing you down instead of building you up. The book was fun and sassy and made me have a little hope that dreams can come true you just have to have the right people in your corner.
Dancing Queen by Charlotte Roth is a five star novel. This book was a fantastic, quick read. I loved the pace of this book and how life for Fiona changes. I love that the job she has has a program to try to help people with their health issues. Whether that is being too heavy or to thin, they have a support group for both at the same time. When Fiona decides to go to group, she is told she needs to find a hobby and that quilting is a great one. After another coworker is encouraged to go to group too, he decides they should join a dancing competition. Fiona just laughs. How could she possibly join a dancing competition when she looks the way she does? She’s been told her whole life that she was too fat to follow her dream of becoming a dancer. Now that she is thirty-five, she really knows she isn’t qualified but skinny Stu is relentless and insists she join with him.
Dancing Queen was a good 4 star read.
Size is just a number, not a reason.
Fiona is obese and finds herself being told by her boss that she has to go to a support group for people with health problems, she is also encouraged to pick up a hobby. She is also joined by a co-worker named Stu, who is too skinny. He finds the perfect hobby for them, a dancing competition.
Dancing brings up memories for Fiona, some sad some happy. Things take a twist when she finds out her sister is also competing in the competition.
I really enjoyed this book, I had several LOL moments. All of the secondary characters added a great element to the story, although I didn’t care to much for mom or sister. I enjoyed the memories that Fiona had about her grandma. This is an inspirational book on getting past your insecurities and moving forward with being happy as you are. This is my first read from Charlotte Roth and I look forward to reading more from her.
“Dancing Queen” by Charlotte Roth is a wonderful story about Fiona, a stuck in a rut, overweight 30 something who makes a fast friend out of Stu, a scary skinny man in her office that she meets through some awkward circumstances. Together, this unlikely pair help each other come alive again as they take on a new hobby. I don’t know what I was expecting while I was reading this book, but Charlotte Roth really caught me off guard! I was expecting your generic fat girl finds love story (Not that there is anything wrong with that, those stories make me feel better about my round shape!) but this story is so much more. I loved reading about Fiona’s journey with food and the friends that help build her up. The characters in this story are (mostly) amazing characters that I would love to have as real life friends! The ones that aren’t amazing, felt exactly like people I have in my own life, which broke my heart a little for Fiona. However, this brave woman is no punching bag! Fiona is such a strong, loveable character whom anyone can admire. There is a bit of a twist at the end that literally made me immediately start crying and make a weird emotional noise when I read it because it was so beautiful! So, I give “Dancing Queen” an obvious five stars! Charlotte Roth truly earned them, so do yourself a favor and read this book already!!
Dancing Queen
By Charlotte Roth
5 stars
I loved this book!! This was such a wonderful, easy to read story and I absolutely fell in love with the characters Fiona and Stu! I felt like I could really connect with Fiona, the way in which the author write about her made her feel like she was real. I really felt like I wanted to be there on the side lines cheering her along every step of the way. I was truly inspired by Fiona, her story and her outlook on life. The author cleverly intertwined funny with emotion and explored situations that made you think about how society view and judge people all the time based on what they look like.
I have read a few books by this author now and I do love her fun and quirky writing style. Her stories are entertaining to read and I 100 % recommend them!
This is a heartwarming story about a woman’s dream of becoming a dancer and her journey to over come her past and her weight to make that dream a reality.
With the help of her friends, including her dance partner Stu they start a course that not only allows her to accomplish her dream but in the process brings her family back together.
It will make you laugh and it will make you cry but it will leave you feeling and knowing anything is possible if you have the courage to follow your dreams.