I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips. As with all of her books, this one follows the relationship between two people and the romance that develops. Overall I enjoyed it. I liked the characters, that they were flawed and human. I did not feel like there was a lot of passion between the main characters though....the relationship developed pretty naturally I guess, but I missed the passion when comparing it with some of her other books. I guess that is how it is in the real world though....people like each other and get together, and there it is. One of the reasons I read her books is for the escapism of a love so strong and passionate, the characters can't live without eachother.

There was a lot going on in the story. Again, I suppose that is how it is in real life. There are interruptions and complications. Most of the time nothing is seamless and completely easy. Despite that, the author focused on the main characters and their journeys throughout the book.

I loved the descriptions of the scenery and the town, and could see it as I read.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. The opinions are my own.

It’s complicated. SEP usually writes light warm hearted stories and this book was not that. This book was complex, emotional and beautiful. Tess has escaped her busy life and settled in a small town where she spends her days working in a coffee shop and her nights dancing in the rain. When her path first crosses with Ian an unfriendly arrogant Artis Tess has no idea how much he will change her life. This story is a romance but more than that it is a story of these 2 characters finding their way out of grief. Tess was a smart strong female Who stood up for what she believed. Ian was a good guy, with a big heart, wrapped up in a lot of emotional armor. I loved watching the relationship between these two develop. There’s so much more to the story that I am not going to mention because I don’t want to spoil it for you. This was a compelling emotional read that hit me right in the heart. Nicole Poole narrates the audio and does a remarkable job of bringing the perfect voice to this stunning story.

This book in emojis 🌿 ⛈ 🤰🏻 ☕️ 🎨

*** Big thank you to William Morrow and Harper Audio for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

A mark of a good book in my opinion is my inability to put the book down. With Dance Away with Me, I couldn't put the book down. I had to know what was going to happen in this wild and romantic story. I've been patiently waiting for a new Susan Elizabeth Phillips story and it finally happened. Dance Away with Me was a touching story of two lost souls uniting.

I highly recommend this book!

Once again Susan Elizabeth Phillips proves why she’s an auto-read author for me. I love getting swept away in her settings (yeah, I definitely want to visit Runaway Mountain) and stories (I found myself moved to tears by the sorrow and heartbreak faced by Tess, then joy as she finds love with the Ian the surly artist. Phillips is a master at making me feel all the feels, and it never gets old.

I read this book in one sitting. It was what I like to call brain candy. It was fun and easy to read.

Far from her best book. I was looking forward to it but found it very hard to want to keep reading. There was no character I could root for.

Fantastical, wild, woodsy setting illustrating how mental anguish changes us. This was a little out of my comfort zone, but ultimately I loved this story of the many kinds of love - between friends, lovers, sisters, and parents & their babies.

Robyn Carr's email recommended this book
sounded like an escape and a good read.
I love Tennessee Mountains! I love Knoxville!!

Escape to a perfect retreat!

No apologies, past grief, personal space, room for anger.
Escape to a story you can escape to and in another world
feel like living in for awhile, leaving reality behind.

Robyn and I are in agreement - this is a good read!!

When I first started reading this I was a little concerned that SEP was taking me somewhere I wasn’t really sure I wanted to go. I should have known better. This is classic SEP with a few twists. A heroine you can definitely root for and a hero to make you swoon. Both are classic SEP and take bit of prodding to figure out what is right in front of them the whole time.

A fine enough book, but not up to the usual standard for Susan Elizabeth Phillips. It's missing the usual pizzazz that her work usually has - the characters aren't quite as vibrant and lovable as usual. Plus, the plot is usually contrived, with coincidences and conveniences that are hard to ignore. I'm usually able to acknowledge these types of things and then let them go, but something about this plot never quite landed. It's fine for anyone who reads everything by this author, but this one isn't one I'd give to a new reader. I'd recommend her earlier books if I was trying to get someone hooked on Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

When a new book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips comes out, I know that I will be reading it immediately. This did not disappoint. Ian and Tess are both escaping their old lives and hiding out on the same mountain in a very small town. This story was exactly what I wanted right now. Such a comfortable tone and I was able to really invest in these characters, particularly Tess. I will be recommending it often in my library.

So happy to FINALLY have a new SEP book to read! I immediately became immersed in the story of the grieving widow Tess & couldn’t stop reading once she met the mysterious artist Ian! The perfect SEP formula of a handsome and surly hero, a plucky heroine, and modge podge of comedic characters from the small town of Runaway Mountain (like the Grateful Dead loving Fish!!!) makes this book a must read!

I'm a huge fan of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and love her Chicago series as well as her stand alone books.
I found Dance Away with Me to be a bittersweet romance.. These and Ian are both grieving trying to find peace in the mountains. They form a unlikely friendship that simmers with need and want for more however their past is keeping them healing.
Despite this, they put their energy towards their charge and worked out their differences by finding themselves.
I enjoyed the book but there were a lot of plots and sub plots that I didn't think the book needed.
I feel that a book isn't complete without an epilogue and this one hooked me . It was the perfect ending to their story.

I wasn’t a big fan of the author’s last novel, but <i>Dance Away with Me</i> was much better, in my opinion.

Tess is a widow who is still mired in grief at the beginning of the story, having fled her home and her midwifery practice to hide herself away in the mountains of Tennessee. Her isolation is interrupted when her pregnant neighbor Bianca goes into premature labor and dies after Tess delivers her baby. Tess then takes on the newborn’s care rather than leave the baby to the not-so-tender mercies of Ian North, the reclusive artist who lived with Bianca. Tess finds herself coming alive again as she cares for baby Wren, becomes entrenched in the lives of the other people in her new community, and spars with the aggravating (and aggravatingly attractive) Ian.

I don’t want to give away much more about the storyline, but I will say this—only in a romance novel would Ian take the course of action that he does when Tess begs him for help at a pivotal moment. That part of the plot is OTT, for sure. But it does set up the development of Ian and Tess’s relationship, so I guess I can’t quarrel with it too hard.

Fans of SEP’s lighter romances may struggle with this one, but I mostly prefer her more serious books, so I enjoyed it. The tone is very dark through much of the early part of the story, where Tess is still in mourning for her husband and then shellshocked by Bianca’s death, and Ian has his own demons that contribute to a grim outlook on life. The banter between Ian and Tess (one of the author’s strengths as a writer) adds some humor, though, as do Tess’s run-ins with some of the more colorful townsfolk. And Tess, Ian, and Wren get a suitably happy ending, of course.

Recommended for romance readers who don’t mind wading through some heavy emotions before the happily ever after.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Tess came to Runaway, TN after she lost her husband. She never thought that her grief would go away but then she encountered her pregnant neighbor. ARC from NetGalley.

This was a wonderful read! Ian and Tess both are wonderful characters that you can relate to with their personal journeys. Tess has been through such a heartbreaking experience and has come to Tennessee to heal, and dance. Ian and Bianca find themselves in Tennessee to slow down and take care of themselves emotionally. Once Wren is born Ian and Tess both are find themselves relying on each other, and soon feelings begin to grow for Wren and each other. This is such a fabulous book! Another great story from Susan Elizabeth Phillips! Happy Reading!

I enjoyed the book not what this author usually writes. The story starts out slow but does captivates you. The topics that the book touches on can be a bit heavy but don’t let that stop you from reading it. Tess Hartstrong escapes to Runaway mountain after her husband passes away. She was tired of the pitying looks around her, Tess meets Ian an artist and Bianca. The secondary characters are an interesting bunch and weaved into the story wonderfully. . As I mentioned before the topics are heavy dealing with death, grief and abuse and how the characters handle it. But it also has its sweet and sassy moments. You root for these Tess and Ian. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the E-ARC. This is my own opinion.

Nineteen years ago, I went into a little used book shop up the road from my house. Besides used paperbacks, she had new hardcovers that you could take for a week for a dollar. She recommended This Heart of Mine which started me on my SEP ( Susan Elizabeth Phillips) love affair. I was anxiously awaiting Dance Away with Me and I was not disappointed.
Widowed Tess Hartsong has moved to a very rustic cabin in Tempest, TN. She feels driven to dance to loud music outdoors to try and sooth her broken heart. One morning while dancing in the rain in her undies, a craggy mountain man comes down and shuts off the music and yells at her to have some consideration for others. In mid rant, a dainty pregnant woman comes down and shoos him away. She explains that he is Ian North, a world famous street artist and her husband. She is famous model Bianca and is about 7 months pregnant. Tess is a midwife but she can't bring herself to practice her specialty because of her depression.
Ian is determined to get Tess out of the neighborhood because he is aware of Bianca's quirky personality and he sees trouble ahead. Tess, however takes a job at the local general store/luncheonette. She gradually learns all is not what it seems with Ian and Bianca (not really his wife). She also runs afoul of local folk when she pushes safe sex, smoking cessation, and some other health initiatives that the very conservative townfolk aren't happy about.
When a tragedy happens, Tess and Ian are thrown together to raise a baby. This leads to all kinds of complications including a growing attraction between the two. In the meantime, trouble is brewing in the town and possibly around the baby's custody.
I loved all of the characters in this book and how their relationships grow and develop. I also loved the quirky town folk and their gradual acceptance of Tess and her ideas. Like her earlier books, the romance is always there and percolating but the character development is also so important. You can just picture these people by reading SEP's words and she never does anything that doesn't feel true to their character. We know Ian and Tess will get their HEA but it isn't easy and we don't want it to be.
All those years ago, I was so excited to find out that SEP had already written 12 books that I could read. She became an automatic buy for me both her written books and the audio versions. This book is a great addition to any SEPPIE's collection. I've read it twice and tomorrow I'll start listening to it with great enjoyment!

I haven't read much SEP, but I think her fans will be pleased with this latest work! Tess's story is very emotional and at times even difficult to read, but it's also a story of hope and starting over, filled with lovely characters and a vivid, cozy setting. There's also a good mix of humor and levity to balance out the heavier explorations of grief. Overall an enjoyable, romantic read!

There are a few things I’ve come to expect when I crack open a SEP book.
A gruff hero, a spirited heroine, humor and enough conflict to build some angst—usually brought by the hero acting like a total jerk, all of it packaged in a heartwarming romance.

Dance Away With Me offers all of the above and more, however it was positively different from what I’m used to from this author. For instance, I didn’t expect the story to hit me in the feels and make me cry ugly tears 15% in. It's a definite somber take, some could even describe one particular scene gruesome, especially coming from SEP. It’s downright tragic, but trust Susan Elizabeth Phillips to balance heartbreak with heartfelt and heartwarming feels. She does it brilliantly.

(I can’t help but feel some readers would need a content warning, so I’ll drop a spoiler at the end of this review, be aware that this is also a huge spoiler for the rest of the story.)

I’m sure some reviews will let you in about what links the character together, but my advice is that you’re better off discovering this for yourself. It's a real challenge not to tell about it in this review, considering how such a MAJOR factor it plays in the book. Please forgive me for this vague review but I don't want to spoil the book!

Let me tell you a little bit more about the characters then!

You like your heroes toeing the line of assholes? You’ll be in fine company with Ian North. It took me a good quart of the book to determine if he was worth redeeming, fortunately he does. The jerk. Still, I was now counting on some major growth of character from him, hoping for a nice good grovel even—which he kinda delivers. His level of irascibility was intense, he sure owned his role of tortured hero!

“You don't strike me as a callous heartbreaker. You're fairly decent. when you're not being a jerk.”

Tess made the book for me. She’s a lot to take in, presented as a broken woman, a widow, I wasn’t expecting her to be the image of fierceness and resilience. She has the distinct trademark personality all SEP heroines share: temper, snark, stubborness and a little bit of crazy. Tess Hartsong was fanciful alright!

“-Do you have any personality—other than the dark and mysterious part?
-I have lots of personality.
-Aloof? Foreboding?”

Along the way, Tess uplifting snark helping, SEP guides us into more familiar territory, humor and banter break through, the grouchy hero reveals cracks in his armor and all pieces of this incredible puzzle SEP has laid out for us start to come together. The somber feels from the beginning recedes only to let room for the most excruciating slow burn between Tess and Ian.
Or should I say Tess, Ian... and the rest of the town.

I love a small town setting so I wasn’t disappointed by all the side characters popping in here and there but I would have loved to see more development in the romance between Tess and Ian. ALONE. It needs acknowledging that this wasn’t a lovestory about two characters. The whole town is in on it!
The many intrusions from side characters played a good part in the almost intolerable tension growing between Tess and Ian, so when they finally get TOGETHER… the sense of gratification and the feeling of urgency that comes alive on the pages is reward enough.

I adored seeing the teens dropping by the house for their sex-ed talks with Tess, Ian in the background trying not to laugh. I loved how Tess, retired midwife was such a disturbance in this secluded small town, especially at her job at the Broken Chimney, serving coffees, ice cream, pies, refusing to sell cigarettes but advocating for condoms on the counter to the folklore of people of Tempest, Tennessee.

I absolutely loved Dance Away With Me, Susan Elizabeth Phillips offers here what every romance reader want: Laughter, tears and love... only a little backward. ;)

“Tess Hartsong was a woman who offered her heart too freely. The worst thing she could do would be to give it away to a man who couldn't treasure it.
He intended to make sure that didn't happen.”