The Dance Deception drew me in simply because I love DWTS. I wanted the same excitement but with spice. It definitely did not disappoint. The story is fast paced but in a good way. The story had some twists and turns I did not see coming but made for a good story. Becky Ward did a good job with the chemistry felt by Kate with both pro dancers, Merle and Aleksis. 
Thank you NetGalley and Avon for sending this book for review consideration.

I could tell from the very beginning that Merle was the scum of the earth. I wish he had gotten a bit more of what he deserved at the end. Overall I really enjoyed this story and the plot. I’m glad that Kate and Aleksis don’t have a third act breakup. They stuck together through all the crap. I do feel like there were a few plot holes left, which I wish we could have gotten some closure on. Again, the writing was amazing and I loved the FMC and MMC together. Once they put their differences aside they were unstoppable. 3.5 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A quick thank you to Netgalley and Avon for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

With tropes such as fake dating and enemies to lovers, I was convinced this was going to be an cozy and quick read that I was sure to enjoy. Unfortunately, this one just did not deliver for me.

Kate is entered into a dance competition (think Dancing with the Stars, but with regular people) and is paired with Merle, a sexy trained dancer. During rehearsals, Merle's methods quickly turn unconventional but effective. This is where things started to go downhill for me. The problems began when Merle films Kate dancing naked without her consent and she essentially let's it go. I understand this is just the beginning of Merle's true colors, but my issue lay with Kate ignoring that huge red flag.

Kate continues to put herself in compromising positions throughout the book, and whines when things don't turn out great. We find out Merle was married, and he refuses to continue dancing with Kate. When Kate is then paired with Aleksis, they decide to fake date in order to steal all the attention from Merle and his new partner.

This really could've been great, however there was just too much wrong with it for me to really enjoy reading.

I’m going to try and read this again sometime in the future, because I unfortunately couldn’t get into it this time.

Which sucks because I was really looking forward to this book. But don’t let this stop you! You should read it for yourself and see what you think.

I'm seeing a lot of negative reviews for this book, which had I stopped before the 40% mark I could have understood. But after making it all the way through, I genuinely appreciate what the author did here.

To start - the main character is a bit pathetic. But c'mon, it's realistic. Just because the story line begins as she's in the middle of poor decisions doesn't make her any less valid than other beloved heroines whose mistakes happen before the first page (Feyre Darling, is that hay in your hair?)

Does she make the decisions I'd like to think I'd make given her situation? No. But cut the girl some slack. From the offset you know that she's reeling after finding out her partner of 2 years was cheating on her with a coworker.

Despite the main character's poor decision making skills, the story really was interesting to me. The author doesn't go with convention, surprising the reader left and right (I died when I found out who sold ~the picture~ to the press).

Overall, while this isn't my favorite book, I had a nice appreciation for it. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360 for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Romance centered around a reality dance competition sounded intriguing to me. I really wanted to adore this book, being a dancer and all but in reality I didn’t enjoy this read. The idea of antagonists becoming lovers and pretending to date was a brilliant one and that’s why I was excited for this book. However, it could’ve been done a lot better. The book was largely devoted to Kate's inability to live without a guy. There was sadly absolutely no depth to Kate. I was unable to identify with the character or support it. With that being said, this book might be loved by other readers due to the tropes that are within it (fake dating, enemies to lovers, and love triangle). This book had so much potential, but don’t let my review stop you from reading this for yourself.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This book was fine, to put it simply. In the beginning, I genuinely thought I would have to stop reading. The pacing was weird, I didn't like anyone and I felt the plot was lacking. I felt that way through most of the book, but I have to admit it grew on me a little bit in the middle. I know it was a short book, but I felt like all the characters were bland and the plot was lacking. It seemed like at least half of the book was smut which I know some people will like, but I thought it was just unnecessary.

The idea was fun and the action picked up for me towards the middle of the book. I love a fake dating trope and I liked how they weren't necessarily on the verge of real dating right away. The dancing was fun but I wish there were more visuals, though I understand how tough it might have been. Other than that, I wasn't a huge fan.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper360 for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Kate lands a place in a televised dance competition and learns that she will be paired with a professional dancer to compete for a life-changing cash prize. To top it all off she is matched with the handsome French dancer Merle and can't believe her luck when things start to spice up between them. But when the competition is rocked by a scandal, Kate must switch to a new partner, Aleksis, who seems to hate her.

With animosity between them, Kate and Aleksis attempt a showmance to try and win over the public. However, soon, Kate starts to have feelings for her fake boyfriend. But how far will Merle go to sabotage Kate's chances in the competition and her chance for love?

I really wanted to love this book but it felt like there were a couple of things missing for me in regards to the plot and character dimensions. I wish that I would have known more about Kate other than her just wishing to jump Merle and Aleksis' bones. I felt like the majority of the plot was about Kate wanting to get it on with the men she kept meeting. The dancing and competition portion of the book was so cute and I did enjoy it when Kate and Aleksis started to develop a relationship. They were cute! There were also a couple of things that just made me mad but didn't affect my rating of the book. See my Goodreads for the spoilers.

If you want a cute little steamy romance with not a lot of plot then this book is for you!

Getting through this book was pretty rough. I was excited for dance and romance, but couldn't get past the terrible start and was turned off.

Kate's character is annoying and whiny. It starts with a bunch of smut even on the first few pages and the main character doesn't have self respect. Apparently she likes bum grabbing because it is mentioned over and over. The dialog is not sexy and I didn't need all the inner thoughts.

More dance competition drama would have been better than the inner character dialog with sex on the brain. May be other reader's cup of tea, but wasn't mine.

Thank you to Harper 360 and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
This is the first time I’ve seen a romcom book with the reality show theme that was dance-focused rather than something else like the bachelor or a makeover show. I loved it! As someone who dances, it added an extra element of relatability to me.
The characters and chemistry were good, plenty of steam, and a quick fun read.

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and I was super excited about this book. This book was ok. I didn't connect to Kate very well and that was my biggest problem with the book. Merle is trash and all his antics. Aleksis is the saving grace in this book.

This fell a little flat for me. The descriptions of the dances were to me the best thing about this book. I found Kate to be immature and flighty. The flitting from man to man with little time in between was what made me dislike her so much. The competition had some twists and turns that made the story believable. I know authors put a lot of time in writing so I hate to criticize but this one just didn’t quite do it for me. I’m leaving my honest opinions in exchange for this free advanced copy from NetGalley

Had me guessing about Merle the whole book...was he going to redeem himself or not. Cute romance set in the world of dance competition. the part about dancing naked with a blindfold was a little "stupid" for the character to do...and then not to make sure he deleted it. But made for good blackmail later.

This one was a hard one for me. I love a good cute, steamy romance. This one was cute-ish, it was steamy-ish. It made me want to keep reading it. But, there wasn't a lot of tension, or will they-won't they that is often in these types of books. Also, Kate, the main character. is just really dumb. It's hard to relate to her when she's making ridiculous decisions that make her situation worse. I read it quickly and enjoyed it enough, but my thoughts after finishing the book: that was kind of boring.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 out of 5 stars)
🌶 (1 out of 5 spice)

The Dance Deception was a cute romance, centered around Kate who finds herself on an "average persons" version of Dancing with the Stars called Fire on the Dance Floor. There were some cute moments throughout the book, and I did feel like I could really envision the dancing, practices, etc. but the characters were pretty flat. Kate made horrible decisions and seemed unrelatable in a "how can you be so dumb" kind of way. Aleksis was certainly the star of the book and the best character, but the overall book fell flat. The writing here felt amateurish and the plot was predictable with a very basic ending. This was cute enough for a quick romance read, but not anything I'll really think of again!

This honest review is in exchange for an ARC of The Dance Deception through NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy reader.
This is a cute and fast read. Starts off with a lot of spice. I didn’t like the FMC. Kate seems a bit too desperate for attention and she doesn’t make the best decisions.
If you like DWTS and reality shows with a sprinkle of drama and spice then you’re going to like this book.

I was surprised I liked this book. I recommend this book to those that like the drama of reality tv. I appreciated how quickly some of the characters got over themselves when they were being unreasonable and I appreciated that the two love interests fell hard and fast.

A fun premise - romance at a reality dance competition - but the characters just can't seem to get out of their own way. Our romantic lead, Kate, gets paired off with the clearly sleazy Merle. She makes one ridiculous decision after another, then becomes the victim of revenge p*rn. Somehow, we as readers are supposed to blame her for all of this, then root for her to get her happily ever after with her new dance partner. The plot strains credulity, even with a premise that has you suspending disbelief. None of these characters are particularly likeable, and I can't find much in this one to recommend to any reader. Some may enjoy it, but it is, unfortunately, not likely to win many fans.

The premise of this book sounded interesting and then I started reading it. In the immortal words of Randy Jackson, this is gonna be a no for me dawg. I hate not finishing a book, but this was a DNF for me. Two stars because I already feel bad not finishing it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I unfortunately couldn't finish this book, but did read enough to form an opinion. I did not feel as though I knew anything at all about the characters to feel any kind of attachment or excitement or sadness for them, particularly Kate. I mostly felt myself cringing the whole time as she kept falling for Merle's lines. While I enjoy spicy scenes in books, these felt misplaced and as though it was being written to satisfy those who like spice, but not for story/character development. I would have loved to see more background for how Kate ended up where she was, more about her relationship with her friends, and more relationship building (even if its a bad relationship) between her and Merle to understand why she keeps falling for him (apart from him being hot.)