Nick Freeman works hard as the star of the weekly karaoke night at his bar, hoping his singing talent, quick wit, and winning smile will distract from his cerebral palsy. But one night at the bar, watching a professional dancer light up the dance floor with her boyfriend, he realizes that entertaining strangers will never give him a fraction of the joy he sees in this woman’s eyes.

When Hayley Burke notices Nick’s reaction to her dancing, she urges him to acknowledge his passion and try a few moves himself—only to be mortified when she realizes Nick can only walk with the aid of a metal walker.

As Nick and Hayley fumble through misunderstanding into friendship, Hayley begins to enjoy Nick’s company more than that of her self-centered boyfriend. Nick tries to fight his attraction to Hayley, believing she deserves a dance partner who can move like her boyfriend does—but as Hayley and Nick continue to find their rhythm together, she shows him that “dancing” is about so much more than moving your feet.

I love to dance and this book touched on how life is a sort of dance. A lot can be learned from this author and this story. I enjoyed the relationship.

Great representation of cerebral palsy and the frustrations that come with disease and limitations. I liked the depth of Nick, and how he used his snarky sense of humor to keep others at bay. Hayley confused me at the beginning, and I didn’t feel emotionally connected to her until later in the story. This story had me by the emotional heartstrings overall.

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

I love that this is an #OwnVoices story and written by a man - not my typical experience in contemporary romance. The author wrote Nick to be much snarkier (and meaner?) than I would have expected from a MMC, but that allowed his story to be so much sweeter. None of these characters are perfect, they each make poor choices, and the story resonates so much more because of that.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

I don't know if this book just wasn't my style of book to read... A book about dancing. Because I felt it was kind of boring and didn't keep my interest up. I don't have so much to say, I think others would like it, but for me it was a miss.

This was not a book for me. The plot was uninspired, there was too much dialogue, way too many characters, and the main characters were just bad. There was no real chemistry and it was really not good to get through. 1⭐️, 1🌶

This is the story of Nick an adult male who teaches high school math, has a great singing voice and has cerebral palsy and Haley who is a professional dancer. As Nick and Haley become friends and develop feelings for each other, Haley is already in relationship with Kevin so that was a little cringe. But I kept reading past that and this ends up being a story with so many emotional connections between friends and coworkers and the way someone with CP navigates in the world and how the world treats him. I laughed and cried and believe this is a book everyone should read.

This was an okay read, like some others said it was hard for me to get past one of the main characters being in a committed relationship while getting involved emotionally for the other main character. It has personal ties to me and I had I known that I may have passed this title.

Otherwise, it was a good read, and if you can get past what I and some others listed you would probably enjoy it!


Thank you to NetGalley, Jason B. Dutton, and the publisher for providing me with the ARC.

The rep in this book was great, and the author has a great knack for character development. Some romance readers may be hesitant because one character is in a committed relationship for much of the book and Nick pursued even knowing that there was a relationship. However, for those who aren't concerned with that plotpoint, this was a lovely read.

This one was not for me. I didn't like that Hayley is still with her boyfriend while she and Nick are flirting, but more than that, I had very mixed feelings about the disability narrative. Nick says in the book that he doesn't want to be "inspirational," but I feel like a disabled character being inspirational is exactly the underlying message of this book. It didn't help matters that Nick feels like a fairly flat character; all of his personality traits and how the romance develops revolve around his disability.

As a side note, why couldn't the bar where everyone supposedly loves him so much just put in a ramp instead of forcing him to rely on people helping him up and down the stairs? And did I read that right that Nick regularly hits on girls a decade younger than him?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

How to Dance features a hero that has cerebral palsy, and that is something I wanted to read about so much. After reading, I learned that the author himself incorporated his real-life experience into Nick, and that made it even more meaningful.

Hayley and Nick have the opposite of a meet-cute, but they both rebound and form a true friendship. Although, it’s clear to the reader that both start to have deeper feelings. Nick was an interesting character; essentially using his disability as a wall to keep anyone out of his heart. Like he puts on a show to be the “fun guy,” yet he doesn’t form meaningful relationships…until Hayley.

I don’t like that their relationship forms emotionally while she is still dating Kevin. While there is no physical cheating, it feels too much like a slippery slope to an emotional affair. It’s the one thing that really detracted from my enjoyment of How to Dance, as I truly loved the rest of it.

A solid debut offering from a new-to-me author.

Thank you to Alcove Press for the review copy.

Just a good one.
Read it in one sitting. Four stars read.
I deeply enjoyed it.
Thanks to netgalley for this book

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with the ARC.

What an incredible debut novel! I loved the characters, the way the art of dance is talked about, and the flow of the story. There are times that this just tugs on your heartstrings and times when it makes you laugh.
It's in dual pov, which helps you understand where the characters are coming from.

An upbeat, utterly delightful read, the perfect balance of light-hearted comedy and sizzling romance, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a delicious escape from the mundanity of everyday life.

This book was not for me. Nick was rude and just wanted one night stands, This is not one I wanted to continue as I could not get past that no matter his circumstances, I will not be posting a review.

How To Dance is one of the sweetest and most moving books I've ever read.
Hayley and Nick are two of the most complex, deep, and lovable characters ever written. Witnessing them ripping apart each other's armor was so touching! It was impossibile for me not to love them from the very start and want them to succeed and live their best life. I loved every single minute of their story: the disastrous meet cute, the truce, the building of their friendship, the banter, the dancing, the romance. To me, the way in which the author narrated their friendship and the way in which it turned into love is pure perfection.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this arc.

What an interesting love story with characters who are a breath of fresh air. The story is full of hope and I definitely enjoyed the read.

One of the unique novels I've read, not just because it has a disabled character, but because the struggles addressed in the story is very profound. It felt close to home, how Nick and Hayley had not accepted themselves fully, despite everything. How they put up a show to everyone just to hide the darkness within. But once those darkness was unveiled, that's when they could understand themselves and others better.

I loved the intricacies and the constant conflict of feelings depicted by the author by these two imperfectly perfect characters. It was raw, passionate and heart-touching. I relished the novel! I'd love to read more books by the author.

REVIEW
cw: ableism, anxiety, emotional cheating
When professional dancer Hayley Burke meets charismatic karaoke singer Nick Freeman and asks him to dance, she doesn't immediately realise he has cerebral palsy, or that he requires the aid of a walker, and she's mortified. Nick doesn't want people's pity. He wants to be seen. But as they find their rhythm with each other, they discover they're more alike than either knew.
I wanted to love this book so much, and it was very much a story of two halves. The premise was cute, and the representation of everyday life for someone with cerebral palsy using a walker was sensitively but also accurately written, especially Nick's frustrations with how some people reacted to or treated him. I loved his snarky sense of humour, and he was an absolute cinnamon roll to the people he loved. Hayley was an interesting character, but I sometimes felt like she was talking in riddles, rather than really saying what was on her mind, so I struggled to connect with her until halfway through. There were some fun supporting characters. I particularly liked Gavin and Mel (who actually gave great advice), and Cal was adorable.
While I loved Nick and Hayley's chemistry, I didn’t enjoy the emotional cheating, even though we only really discovered what Kevin was like halfway through, and I wish he hadn't played as big a part in the overall story. That said, once Hayley and Nick started to really share their emotional conversations, I began to love her more. I particularly loved how both were there for each other in their most vulnerable moments, and I loved the dance analogies throughout, as well as their more tender moments. I also loved the moment Nick realised what Hayley actually needed from him, and I ADORED Nick's speech at the end as well as the epilogue.
A solid debut that flourished in the second half.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️.5
Heat Rating: 🔥
Emotional Rating: 😬💓😬💓😂😕🥰💓👏🏻🤔💓🥰💓😬💓👏🏻😊😂💓😏💓🤔💓👏🏻💓😊🙄🤔😒💓🥰😢💓🥰💓😂😊💓😍😂💓🥰😂😊💓🥰😢💓😂💓🥰😍😏💓🙄😉😒👏🏻😬🤬🤦🏻‍♀️👏🏻💓🥰👏🏻💓🥰

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review. How To Dance is published on 6th February in the UK*

Favourite Quotes:

"I can always choose where to look. I don’t always look in the right place, but there’s always beauty and there’s always pain, and it’s always up to me."

“Do I help you look at the sky?”
“You are the sky,” he said.

"...when you really needed someone, I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have a plan or a charming story. I was just me.” He smiled. “And it turns out when I stop trying to be someone else, being there for you is easier than breathing. So as long as I’m not taking someone else’s job, you can lean on me all you want.”

“He tries so hard to be charming, but honest to God, all he has to do is be himself.”