It’s happened. The worst thing I could have imagined. The fourth emotional book of the series from six-time USA Today bestselling author Deanna RoyDespite how hard we tried, the world has discovered my secret child. Everyone is against us. Her adopted mother, my friends at the Dreamcatcher Dance Academy. Even Blitz seems at a loss at how to handle my grief at losing my tender relationship with my … grief at losing my tender relationship with my little girl.
When a small ballet troupe asks me to join their ranks as a dancer, I wonder if it’s time to start over.
Leave everything behind.
Make a life for myself.
But Blitz Craven has one more plan for me.
And when he holds out his hand, I have to decide for the first time, what is it that I have always wanted?
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Tender Dance is book four of the Lovers Dance series, which ends with book five, Final Dance. Each book is full length and stands alone, but should be read in series order to avoid spoilers.
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I love this series and this book is one of my favorites so far! This story was about Livia finding herself and learning to stand on her own two feet without Blitz. It was inspiring to see Livia realize that she holds the power to make the changes in her life, to be who she wants, to live her dreams and play by her own rules. So beautiful to see Blitz take a step back from the limelight to support Livia, to be her comfort, the person to lean on but encourage her to meet new friends, to be normal as much as she could while chasing her dream. This ending had all the feels so excited to see what the future holds for Livia and Blitz!
CAPTIVATING !!!
Title: The Tempest (Originally titled Tender Dance)
Series: Blitzed (Lovers Dance)
Author: Deanna Roy writing as J.J. Knight
Designation: Book 4 of 4 Book Series, Short Novel(175 pages)
Reading Platform: Kindle Edition
My Rating: FIVE CAPTIVATING STARS*****
**This book was originally published as Tender Dance by Deanna Roy, the fourth and final release in a four-book series entitled Lovers Dance. It has since been re-released as The Tempest, the final book in the newly re-titled Blitzed Series. There have been no changes to the content. Although this book could probably be read as a standalone, I highly recommend reading the entire series since all four books chronicle the relationship journey of beautiful newbie ballerina Livia Mason and handsome, charismatic reality television dance star Blitz Craven aka Benjamin Castillo.
Oh my, oh my, oh my! I LOVE this series! I adore contemporary romance and completely infatuated with stories featuring dance, but combine the two and I’m in heaven, and Deanna Roy/J.J. Knight just delivered the perfect combination of both – AGAIN! And folks, these books do contain dancing! Our hero, Benjamin Castillo aka Blitz Craven is a talented bad boy dancer with a womanizing reputation, a long list of indiscretions, and his own reality show called Dance Blitz, and our heroine is nineteen-year-old newbie ballerina Livia Mason with stars in her eyes for our hero. I’ll discuss Blitz and Livia in more detail later but just know they do actually dance – a lot, together and separately! And the way Knight writes their scenes is so vivid, so detailed, so natural, and so moving! In my mind, I could actually see the couple dancing as I read their story, and it was enthralling! Sigh… It’s just so romantic.
But I digress, as I so often do when talking about books and authors I enjoy, and I did love this entire series! Now let me tell you why! The Tempest is a captivating, fast-paced, exceptionally well-crafted and edited contemporary romance that probably could be read as a standalone. All four books in the series follow the progression of Blitz and Livia’s love story and for that reason, I highly recommend reading the books in order of their release. The first three books all end with a happy for now ending. The fourth and final book gives us the conclusion of Blitz and Livia’s story, so NO cliffhanger. The narrative is beautifully written in the first person with a single perspective from the female protagonist, Livia Mason. Honestly, I usually prefer dual his and her points of view but this is Livia’s story to tell and for this series, it works perfectly. I don’t feel like I missed anything by not having a perspective from Blitz. The dialogue is smart, natural, realistic, well-executed, at times humorous, and flows effortlessly. I loved the premise and world Roy created for this story. It was truly extraordinary, but it’s the cast of relatable, engaging, and endearing characters that completely steal the show along with my heart. I was immediately drawn into the story by the sweet, innocent and very naive Livia Mason, and I nearly swooned for our hero, handsome, cocky, professional celebrity dancer Blitz Craven aka Benjamin Castillo. These two characters could not have been more different, yet they’re perfect for each other. Although Blitz was several years older than Livia and much more worldly and experienced, he’s still quite immature. Well, immature may not be the right word, so let’s just say he was wild, less than thrifty, and accustomed to women falling at his feet in adoration, and you better believe he enjoyed the perks of his stardom. lol… Livia lived a fairly normal life until age 15, but for the last four years had been isolated, closely monitored by her parents, and cut off from the world. The transformation of Blitz and Livia’s characters and their personal growth through the entire series is masterfully done. But there’s never any doubt these two characters are madly in love. It’s pretty much love at first sight. Their attraction is immediate, their chemistry electric, their passion explosive, and their love undeniable! *sigh* It’s just so dreamy! Knight skillfully combines every one of these elements to craft a heartwarming story filled to the brim with heartbreaking drama, agonizing angst, sweet romance, and steamy sex. This is not erotic romance, but it is sensual, passionate, and super sexy yet tastefully done. If I were asked to describe the writing style of Deanna Roy/J.J Knight in one word, it would definitely be classy!
The Stranger(Book 1):
Nineteen-year-old Livia Mason loves two things in life. The first is dance which she started only two years ago, and the second is a secret, one so dark only her parents know, or at least they know part of it. But even they don’t know everything and if they did, they’d never allow her to continue her ballet lessons at Dreamcatcher’s Dance Academy. It’s the reason Livia lost everything, and the reason her father felt compelled to leave his job, uproot his family, and relocate them four years ago, moving away from everyone they knew… and it was all her fault. Livia is literally a prisoner in her own home. She’s no longer allowed to have any friends nor any kind of social life. Her parents won’t even allow her to attend public school. She isn’t even allowed to have a phone. But despite Livia’s past mistake, her life is finally beginning to fall into place… until he shows up at the Dreamcatcher’s Dance Academy… Benjamin Castillo aka Blitz Craven, playboy, womanizer, man-whore extraordinaire, and star of his very own reality TV dance show Dance Blitz. He’s only at Dreamcatcher’s to garner some good publicity, repair his damaged reputation, get his career back on track, and reclaim his show. But with one kiss and one simple dance, everything changes in the blink of an eye. He claims he wants her to be with him, but does he love her? Why would a handsome celebrity like Blitz with a reputation for being quite a Don Juan with the ladies want someone like her, a sheltered, plain naive nineteen-year-old woman with no worldly experience, who is slowly being suffocated by her overbearing parents? A man like Blitz Craven could have any woman he desired, and has, so is this just another ploy to add her name to his long list of conquests and public indiscretions? Can Livia afford to trust Blitz with her heart? But more importantly, can she trust him with her secret? We’ll see!
The Enemy (Book 2):
Our story for The Enemy resumes shortly after Livia’s dramatic rescue of Blitz on the live season finale of Dance Blitz. Livia sacrificed much to save Blitz from himself, but it appears the lovestruck couple may have weathered the storm and will finally get their happy ending… until Livia’s past comes back to haunt her. A ghost from Livia’s former life makes an unexpected and very unwelcome appearance, wreaking havoc and revealing long-buried secrets and sadly, it may cost her everything, including her happy new life and the people she loves most. Will Blitz stand by Livia once he knows her darkest secret? We’ll see! Oh my! Better get a box of tissues, folks; this one is a real tearjerker as Knight finally reveals Livia’s darkest secret.
The Wicked(Book 3):
Dancing at Dreamcatcher’s and teaching the wheelchair ballerinas has been a dream come true for Livia Mason, especially now that she has the handsome Benjamin Castello aka Blitz Craven by her side. But just when Blitz and Livia think they have a chance at a normal life, the mean girls descend on the happy couple, determined to exact their revenge for not being chosen in the season finale, and they want payback against BLitz and Livia. They’re demanding a dance-off rematch but is sweet, newbie ballerina Livia up to the challenge. Will she fight for her man? We’ll see!
The Tempest(Book 4):
Livia has been thrust into a new life-a very public life where enemies are plentiful and friends few. In six short months, shy Livia Mason has undergone quite a metamorphosis, leaving the safety of her cocoon and morphing into a beautiful butterfly. She’s gained fame, fortune, her freedom, and the love of a man adored by millions of fans, reality dance star Blitz Craven. But she’s also lost much – her home, family, church, friends, her position at Dreamcatcher’s, and most grievous of all, access to the daughter she was forced to give up at age fifteen. When Livia is offered the chance to dance as a professional ballerina with a ballet company on tour, she must decide what she truly wants for her future. Will her glamorous new life be enough to ease the ache in her heart or will she fight to keep her life with Blitz and reclaim everything she’s lost? We’ll see!
Did I like this book? No, I loved it! Would I recommend it? You bet and I am but only for adult readers. Will I read this author again? Absolutely! I’ve already ordered the remaining books in this series. And finally, was I entertained? Completely! I snickered, snorted, snuffled, sniffed and sobbed throughout the entire book but by the end, I was happy, satisfied and well entertained! Fabulous entertainment and an awesome read!
With every book in this series, I love the characters more and more. Tender Dance picks up where Wicked Dance left off.
What I loved so much about Tender Dance was how much Livvie comes into her own. She joins a small ballet troupe and goes on tour. For the first time she met Blitz, she’s leaving him behind to chase her dream. Blitz is so unbelievably supportive of Livvie that every scene he was in was like instant swoon. It’s been amazing watching both of these characters grow and build their relationship. I can’t wait to see how this series ends.