Waiting for the day to turn to stars: FLIRTY DANCING.

Flirty Dancing: A Novel by Jennifer Moffatt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

At 27, Archer has left his safe accounting job in Ohio and moved to NYC to try to fulfill his dreams of dancing on Broadway. But it's been five months of rejections. When he finally gets a callback--and then a spot--to sing at Shady Queens, a gay-friendly resort in the Catskills, he jumps at the chance. It's not Broadway, but it's his last shot. Imagine Archer's surprise when he finds the rehearsals being led by Mateo Dixon, former Broadway star, and Archer's teen crush. Archer's thrilled at the opportunity to work with Mateo, but finds him closed off and rude. Instead, he starts up a romance with another dancer, Caleb. But he can't deny that there's *something* between him and Mateo.

This is a sweet gay romance filled with tons of dancing and so much drama. (So much.) It certainly lags in the middle thanks to said drama, as combative Caleb and surly workaholic Mateo battle it out, while Archer hides in the wings, unable to stand up for himself. (His cluelessness can drive you crazy sometimes!) Overall, there's just a lot of dancing drama in general. Dancing, fighting, partying: repeat. That gets old after a while.

There's no major character development here, but the story tries in its backstories for Mateo and Archer, attempting to reveal why Mateo is such a grump and Archer is so scared to give things a shot. The pair have strong chemistry (their tango!) and slow burn tension, but unfortunately, a lot of the book's romantic focus is on Archer and the irascible Caleb.

There are a few cute Dirty Dancing references here, a couple of fun side characters, and a sweet romance at the story's heart. If you like dancing, you'll love it. 3.25 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin in return for an unbiased review.

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