The writing here is excellent, the characters well drawn, and the Hollywood setting adds a touch of glamour. I admired Grace and liked that as the main character in this book she was an older woman.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this book but unfortunately it was just OK to me. Might be great fit someone else but it wasn’t really for me.

"Anything But Graceful" tells the story of Grace Fuller, a 50-year-old woman who is an amateur ballerina.

In 1991, Grace attended Long Beach State to study Theater Arts in hopes of becoming a Broadway star. There, she met Tyler Andrews, a boy with raw talent. Their attraction was instantaneous, but Grace felt unsure of what to make of their relationship. She was torn between awe and jealousy for how easily things came to him.

Their connection is short-lived when Tyler decides to change schools and end things with Grace.

With a broken heart, Grace forgets about her acting dreams and focuses on the business side of her studies.

Now in her 50s, Grace is a real estate agent, enjoying her single life or so she thinks. But fate works in mysterious ways because Grace's college flame has returned.

Grace will have to decide if dating Tyler is worth reliving the past and facing her unresolved issues.

✨Thoughts✨
Thank you, NetGalley and Satin Romance Books for providing me with the ARC of Anything But Graceful.

Let me begin by saying how pleasantly surprised I am with this story. Grace defied the constraints of age and remained devoted to her passion for dancing, even when she had so much self-doubt and was unsatisfied with the way her life turned out. She found a way to keep something in her life to motivate her.

Tyler, on the other hand, was driven and had only one objective: to be successful. He did come off as selfish, but he was a 19-year-old with big ambitions. You couldn't blame him for wanting more.

Based on the blurb, I was expecting romance, yet the book read more like women's fiction. Romance was very much a subplot, but Grace's life was interesting enough to keep me entertained.

If you enjoy women's fiction and love ballet, this is the perfect book for you.

Why did I rate the book 3 stars? I found it kept my attention and I wanted to continue to read to see where the story led. I found the main character Grace interesting and her journey as well. After reading the description of the book and the initial interactions between Grace and Tyler I was excited to keep reading to see how things played out between them.

Why didn’t I rate the book higher than that? After reading the description of the book as a “second chance romance” with heavy emphasis on Grace and Tyler’s relationship, I was disappointed that 1) this was BARELY a romance, I felt the connections, desire, chemistry and romantic situations were a secondary storyline to Grace’s main storyline of finding her life motivation 2) I found Tyler incredibly unlikeable and 3) SHE SLEEPS WITH A GUY THAT ISN’T TYLER!

While entertained I did not get what was promised from this book description, I found it difficult to connect with the character’s motivations and in the end I didn’t feel like there was very much character growth and I was left unsatisfied with the romantic storyline especially.

Anything but Graceful by D. G. Driver

I loved that Grace started ballet as an adult and is still dancing at 50.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

2.5 stars

Grace Fuller is fifty years old and disillusioned with her life. She's existing, but not really LIVING. She's got a lot of talent and passion, but is settling for a career that doesn't excite her and a nonexistent love life. She does have her hobby of dancing, supportive parents, and a great best friend, but is it enough? When Tyler, her ex from thirty years ago, blows back into her life, she begins questioning everything. Tyler is a working actor. And she has a second chance to be with him, and pursue the dreams she gave up on in college. This story follows Grace at important points in her life. It ultimately attempts to answer the question: "What does it truly mean to be successful and fulfilled?"

I would categorize this as women's fiction over a romance novel. Though her relationship with Tyler is featured periodically throughout the story, Grace's relationship to dance (and theater) is the primary focus. Anyone who has a strong connection to musical theater, ballet, and/or acting is likely to really enjoy this story.

I had some difficulty rooting for Grace. She is a kind person, but sometimes comes across as shallow and self-absorbed. I also didn't agree with some of her choices, but, I'm just one person, so take that with a grain of salt. I found this to be an interesting story but lacked some of the optimism and fun for which I was hoping. Overall, it was pretty realistic and left readers with a happy ending.

Trigger warnings: death of a character, rheumatoid arthritis, body weight/fitness/eating habit-related issues

I'd like to thank Satin Romance Books and Netgalley for the e-ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I honestly don't know what this book was. It paints itself out to be a romance but it feels more like womens fiction. Although I don't feel like I can call it that either because it doesn't have a satisfying ending. I wanted it to be her realizing that she was happy working at the dance studio and being a teacher and it kind of was but it also wasn't. She also definitely shouldn't hav ended up with Tyler. He did not have her best interests at heart. I'm not usually a fan of endings where people end up alone but Grace definitely should have.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Grace is 51 years of age and participates in adult dance, ballet classes and has done for the last 20+ years. As a child she wanted to continue with ballet but her mother couldn't afford it. Finding herself overweight during college and early adulthood spurred her on to the classes. During college she met Tyler who became an actor. Alas Grace was never chosen to act and gave up on her dream of acting and professional dance.
What I loved about this book was that it is a second chances story about a more mature woman who becomes happy and content with her life dancing and teaching classes. She has everything she needs.
When Tyler comes back in to her life he tries to spur her on to be an actress again then Grace realises through another man, Art that actually her life is complete.
Grace is a strong minded woman which I liked yet normal in such that she has her own insecurities. I would have loved to read her being more confident in herself but she does get there eventually.
This is a well written book by Driver who clearly has her own experience with dance and life. Her characters are well defined and very likeable, except for me, Tyler. I really didn't get on with him. Yet Grace liked him and wanted to rekindle her earlier passion.
The story at the end left me happy, it was refreshing to read about a more middle aged woman than teenager angst.
It reflects life perfectly, work, commitment and struggles that all of us can relate to in one way or another and of course there is romance.
I would definitely read this author again because simply put, it was warm hearted book with a lot of emotion and that in itself was powerful. Besides everything else, Grace is undeniably likeable and natural.
Kerry Kennedy Author

I was so excited to see a main character who was someone who went back to dance later in life who also danced as a child. I related to Grace and her commentary throughout the book, as I danced when I was younger but quit before I went en pointe, but restarted later in life and went en pointe at that time. My ballet teacher when I restarted said a lot of the same comments that Debbie said to Grace (but mine was much nicer than Debbie). Even though I am much younger than Grace, I was still able to relate to her love and appreciation for dance as a passion and love. I love reading about people who also love ballet, and I really liked Grace's character. I enjoyed her friends as well.

SPOILERS BELOW
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I do wish that Grace believed in herself more. She had so many opportunities of people trying to help her along the way but she always listened to the doubt or heard only what she wanted to hear. I kept waiting for her to have her moment where she decided that she was good enough and for something to really work out for her. I was always rooting for her to stand up for herself more than she did. I was also rather frustrated with Tyler…and the ending made me a little sad that she went back to her college fling instead of someone else. I was honestly rooting for her to be with Art, someone who I feel truly appreciated everything she had to offer. I was glad that she was able to have a full career in the arts, which sounded like what she wanted from a young age, but she never fully put herself out there when she was younger and kind of took the easy way out.

I picked this book because I used to be a dancer and I love to read romances that are set in the world of my hobbies or interests. This book was labeled a second chance romance (and it was) but honestly for me, this was more about a second chance at a childhood dream. The nostalgia hit hard on this one. I found myself transported back to my dancing days and I loved every bit of it. The main characters weren't exactly my cup of tea, as I found myself struggling to see why they would make some of their decisions. But the nostalgia totally had me devouring this book! I recommend for any little girl who dreamed of being a ballerina!

I posted this review to Instagram on 7/17.

UGH. I have mixed feelings about this book. For the most part, I actually really enjoyed it. So much stuff I loved about this.

I really enjoyed reading about Grace and her journey in this book. I love seeing a more mature protagonist, and I found her very relatable. I really enjoyed the relationships with friends and family (especially Spencer, Art, and Debbie).

I went into this book after reading the blurb thinking I was going to read a romance book. People who come to this looking for a romance are probably going to be disappointed.

However, [if you rip out the last page, sorry,] this is an excellent book for people who enjoy women's fiction.

[Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!]

I loved this book! I can’t say enough good things. It was so nice to see a protagonist over the age of 30 for once. I loved how she was still pursuing ballet and I was so intrigued to get the backstory as well especially with her love interest. It had a nice Hollywood aspect to it as well. The characters were interesting, writing and storyline flowed well, and I was definitely drawn to keep going and reading as many chapters as I could squeeze in a day! I’ve never read a D.G. Driver book, but will definitely be on the lookout from another book by this author! Highly Recommend!