Review: Dance of Desire by Christopher Rice

Note: This ARC was provided by InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review.

“Caleb—”

“I love you, Amber Watson. I’ve always loved you. Even when I believed we could never be together, even when it hurt so bad to love you I couldn’t see straight, I never stopped. I couldn’t even try to make myself stop. It was true then, and it’s true now. I’d rather spend the rest of my life feeling the pain of not having you, than spend one moment of it not loving you.”

“You won’t have to,” she whispers. “You won’t have to know what it’s like to not have me ever again.”

I so needed a book like Dance of Desire to provide the pick-me-up that I saw wanted after a not-too-great read the day before. This was my first experience reading a Christopher Rice-penned book and I wasn't just very much impressed but I was left hoping we haven't seen the last of these Texas natives. I've read a few step-sibling romances before, but this novella was several notches above anything I've come across before because the situation between Caleb Eckhart and Amber Watson had nothing to do with their one of their parents marrying each other. Their forbidden romance didn't even start as anything taboo when they were young and innocent at fifteen, but fate and circumstances--and a well-meaning, protective father--intervened, and for twelve years, they had became the one thing they wish they weren't: siblings.

Finding out how Caleb and Amber became siblings is something I'm going to remain mum about since I would prefer you discover how that all happened by reading the book. Suffice it to say that it wasn't like anything else I've come across in any books I've ever read. Yep, it was a first and that's a rarity in the overall romance genre, what with the insane influx of books each and every day. What I will say is that Caleb and Amber's situation was painfully difficult for both of them, and I absolutely understood why there was such a resistance--not just plain hesitation--on either one's part to even think about pursuing their long-held feelings for one another. There's a particular scene where Caleb asks Amber to not push through with her plans that had my breath catching because of how Caleb desperately pleaded with her.

Christopher Rice does a fantastic job combining both heart and heat in this novella. I sympathized with Caleb and Amber because they were so torn by their sense of familial loyalty and by their still very much present love for each other. And when these two are together and they allow their eyes to meet and acknowledge the pull between them, the chemistry is palpable and hot--as in sizzling! But I need to point out that there's also a lot of humor in the book, a lot of them courtesy of Amber's boss, Belinda Baxter, and Amber's mom, Tina Watson. Throw in Tina's friends at the Haven Creek Inn and the no-nonsense sassiness is amped up, Texas-style. So, you've got a bit of drama and angst, swoon-worthy romantic and naughty moments, and lighthearted exchanges and situations but they all work well together in this novella that I am more than happy to recommend. Dance of Desire is a 2016 top five-plus-starred read. ♥

Date Read: 26 February 2016

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