Review: Captivating!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 8, 2013
“Time doesn’t exist; the four walls of the room mean nothing. All that matters is the two of us, dancing together as one. One heartbeat, one will, one soul…”Annalise has been a ballet dancer all her life. From a very young age it was ingrained in her that she was to follow in her mothers footsteps and become a prima ballerina. Her mother was one so everyone thinks that she is destined to be one too. Her entire life is dedicated to dance. For her this is the one thing that brings her happiness.“….I feel it, a power like no other, beating through my body, like I could take flight, right there on the stage. It’s like a drug, a shot of pure joy, and the longer I go between hits, the more I crave it, need it…..”That was until she met Raphael. As much as Annalise is a dancer, Raphael is too but in an entirely different form. The dedication to their respective arts is one the most important things that bring this couple together but it is their emotional connection, their passion and the chemistry that keeps them together.“When I’m with him, it feels so right, like the only place in the world I belong is in his arms. I feel more myself than ever in my life before: happier, bolder, stronger. How can that be wrong?’Annalise has never felt this way before. She thought that her life was always going to be centered into becoming a ballerina…everything that her mother wanted her to be but because of these new emotions she finds that dance isn’t everything.“I don’t understand it, how I could have gone my whole life without feeling a hint of this desire. Not it threatens to consume me…”Raphael knows how important her life work is to her. He would never put her career at risk even if it would cause them both heartbreak. He would have been willing to sacrifice his own goals so she would obtain hers.“…you would have regretted it, and then, neither of us could have lived with a mistake.”But what if dance wasn’t what SHE wanted after all ? Can she give up something that she’s worked her entire life for something so new yet so real?_______________________I’ve always found dancing intriguing. The dedication and commitment that it takes is this art is very awe-inspiring and the way that the author described each sacrifice and the countless other things that these ballerinas have to endure read so original.I also loved that it was set in Rome. I thought the way the scenery, ambiance and the culture itself was portrayed and I appreciated how the author put so much detail in the description of these places.What I loved most about it was the characters of course! Annalise was terrific. She was always dedicated to her craft but when she found that there was more important things in life she didn’t hesitate to follow her heart.Raphael was the perfect counterpart for Annalise. He was just as motivated as she was. He too gave up his whole life to pursue the one thing that made him happy. I loved that he was self sacrificing and how attentive and caring he was for Annalise.The passion between the two was outstanding. The scenes where they were just dancing alone was unbelievably sensual. When these two finally decide to pursue a relationship and come together their emotions were so intense… so raw…so real . It just wasn’t about achieving physical satisfaction but obtaining that soul deep connection was what made them remarkable.I’m going to tell you something so ridiculous it’s practically inconceivable from an Indie bloggers perspective. I don’t know how this happened… that this is the very first Melody Grace book that I’ve ever read. And after reading this one there is no way that I will ever be able to ignore her work ever again because the writing , the story, the characters and everything else about this book was just simply amazing.Loved it! Loved it! Loved it and I can’t wait to read more of this series.liezelsbookblog.net