TROPES:
Disaster meet
Enemies to lovers
Career transition

This is the 2nd book in a series focusing on Carly and Nick. Both MCs are at a crossroads in their ballet/post ballet careers, and use one another to advance their career goals.
Their disaster cute starts in the airport and goes all the way into the house of their mutual friends, Heather and Marcus.

Their character flaws are a heavy focus alongside the plot of being best man and maid of honor. The story is paced well and I enjoyed it. I wasn’t entirely invested in their relationship because I didn’t really feel the attraction build. It was not love at first sight, and the attraction switched on quickly.

Carly being painted as angry, impatient, rudely honest made it difficult for me to want to root for her… and juvenile. How many times can a 31 year old role her eyes? Nick easily looks past this and focuses on his physical attraction. The third act breakup was a bit expected, especially with Carly’s reaction and involvement in events.

Heather is way too forgiving. I don’t want to spoil the third act here, but if Carly was my MOH, I don’t think I’d ever talk to her again.

Thank you NetGalley and Amberjack Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Carly Montgomery is determined to be the best bridesmaid to her friend, Heather. When she arrives in Sydney, she finds herself confronted by the rudest man. After an altercation, she is stunned to find he is the best man to Marcus, Heather’s fiancée. Thrown together to help organise the wedding, they begin to enjoy each other’s company and reveal their concerns with their future. Carly is unsure whether she will be anything more than a secondary character in the corp de ballet. Nick having retired from ballet, is uncertain whether his new career as a photographer will be successful. When Carly asks Nick to help her with gaining a promotion, he wonders if his career might get the start it needed.
Having loved Pas de Don’t, this book always had a lot to live up to. The main characters were two strong personalities who took a third of the story to overcome their dislike for each other. I enjoyed the next third of the book as their relationship develops. However, the breakup in the third section seemed to feel a bit over reactive. In this, it felt a bit forced. Overall, a good read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Carly and Nick are in Sydney, Australia to be the maid of honor and best man at the wedding of Heather and Marcus (from the book, Pas de Don't). Their relationship starts off rocky from the moment they arrive at the airport. I instantly liked Carly, who is fiery and speaks her mind. I appreciate that she isn't afraid to talk about her severe pelvic floor pain and the long term treatment she is working through in order to alleviate her pain. We live in a world that seems to be afraid to talk about anything that has to do with a vagina when it doesn't involve sex, so to have pelvic floor pain discussed in a romance book, let alone introduced very early in the book, is very impressive! Don't let this topic make you think there isn't sex in this book, because there is. Incredibly hot, steamy sex and plenty of it. Oh my, thank you Chloe Angyal! But I digress. The photography work that Nick and Carly work on sounds incredible and had me googling the locations they visited for their shoots. I liked the way their relationship progressed and I was impressed with Nick's maturity. The book ends on a happy note, of course it does, it is romance after all. But I wasn't prepared for it to have such a happy ending. Wink wink. The note to readers at the end of the book was very informative. Thank you for including this information!

Thank you NetGalley and Amberjack Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Chloe Angyal is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance authors. I devoured Pas de Don't earlier this year and I just did the same with Pointe of Pride. It's clear from the first few pages that Angyal knows the world of ballet and honors it beautifully with her stories. At the same time, she does an excellent job of writing about Australia in such a picturesque way that it feels like we're right there with the characters. Readers don't have to read Pas de Don't to understand Pointe of Pride but it makes it so much sweeter when you do.

Now, as far as the romance goes, Carly and Nick are straight up fire. The white-hot bickering that later leads to some of the most tender moments of intimacy is so gorgeously written that it left me speechless. Angyal incorporates so many important beats of character development throughout, making Pointe of Pride a story that touches on relatable struggles for people in their early 30s and those struggling with their careers. How the story progresses and all the moments we get play out like a stunning film. Angyal's writing is so descriptive and sharp that once you start, you won't want to put the book down. For fans of The Unhoneymooners, Pointe of Pride is a must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy -- all opinions are my own.

FULL REVIEW: https://marvelousgeeksmedia.com/2024/05/20/pointe-of-pride-by-chloe-angyal-review/

A lovely continuation of Pas De Don’t.

You don’t have to read the first in the series to enjoy this one, but as someone who has read Pas de Don’t, I loved seeing the romance continue to grow in this novel.

Pointe of Pride pairs Carly, Heather’s best friend from Pas de Don’t, with Nick, Marcus’s best friend.

Carly and Nick genuinely dislike each other to start. It’s believable and also understandable how they come to form a relationship from the initial dislike.

Both Carly and Nick have their own issues the are working on, which I appreciated reading about. The way everything comes together is perfect!

Australia is its own character in the novel, and reading it really makes me want to go there!

I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good romance in a unique setting (ballet)

The banter between Nick and Carly was so good. I was in love from their first meeting in the airport. They both just have these preconceived notions about each other and it takes them a while to get over them. She is worried that no one will be able to love her if they can't get what they want out of it. Nick shows her that it is possible for a partner to care about you and give you pleasure without penetration. The fact that he googled her issue so that he could learn all about it was everything.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I enjoyed this book very much!
I have never read a book about ballet or dance before, so I am not very familiar with the terms, but it wasn't a problem to understand the book. I love an enemies-to-lovers book, and that was the case in this book.

The meet-up was a bit predictable, like when her cart crashed into a guy, I knew immediatly that he would be the male main character (MMC). I loved how their relationship was building, it had many ups and downs before they gave in to their feelings.

I felt like the ending was a bit of chaos. Carly, the FMC, was a girl who felt a lot of emotions and showed her emotions very clearly. Sometimes it felt a little bit like overreacting. She was a very extraverted character. So at the end, when Nick revealed that he wasn't a big photographer like everbody thought, Carly was very pissed and dumped him. I found this a bit extra. If they just would have talked everything would be fine. There was a bit of miscommunication and overreacting.

I loved the ending, how they still got back together and worked everything out. Eventually he adapted his lifestyle to be with him and she became less hard on herself.

What a masterpiece. I was invested from start to end and the writing was so beautiful and easy to follow. I loved the characters, the setting, the relationships, the story itself, EVERYTHING. This is one of my favorite books that I’ve read so far this year 🥹. I’m really excited to read the first book in this series now and I hope that there will be many more!
‘Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final’
Thank you Netgalley and Independent Publisher Group for this wonderful arc.

I loved Angyal’s romance debut, Pas de Don’t, and my only point of contention there was that I needed more of Heather’s ball-busting best friend, Carly. I got exactly what I wanted with the follow up title, Pointe of Pride, which holds the amazing distinction of being my favorite Australian ballet-based Pride and Prejudice enemies-to-lovers romance. That may be an oddly specific distinction, but it also ranks as one of my most anticipated titles in 2024. Brava to Angyal, and I can’t wait for the encore.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

4 stars.

Just like my last ARC, this took me a bit longer than I intended to finish (finals will do that to you), but I thoroughly enjoyed reading Pointe of Pride! This novel is an interconnected stand-alone to Pas de Don't, which I haven't yet read, but will be reading soon (hopefully!).

The main characters-Carly and Nick-get off on the wrong foot with a bit of a meet-ugly, but have to put their differences aside when they realize they are the maid of honor and the best man in the wedding of their respective best friends. Carly is a dancer in the corps de ballet at New York Ballet hoping this upcoming season will finally lead to a promotion, while Nick is a retired dancer struggling to make it as a dance photographer. While they run errands around Sydney before their best friends' wedding, they manage to find some common ground: Carly needs to boost her online image to help convince admin that a promotion would be worth the company's time, and Nick needs to boost his photography career. And as it turns out, they don't really hate each other after all!

As a dancer, I adored this book. I've gotten to a point where I don't really want to read books about dance because if the author didn't dance themselves, there's bound to be details they get wrong. But that wasn't a problem in Pointe of Pride. In fact, a good majority of my highlights and notes are just lines that I was able to relate to. Angyal paints a realistic picture of what it's like to be a dancer-and a woman-in today's society. Additionally, Carly struggles with a pelvic floor disorder, and Angyal doesn't shy away from portraying how that affects Carly's life and relationships.

Slight spoiler: [there is a third act breakup, and I initially thought it was pointless, but then I realized it made perfect sense for where the Carly and Nick are at in that moment. (hide spoiler)] Throughout the book, Carly struggles with what the next stage of her career might look like and what that means for her as someone who has only ever known dance. Part of this is related to her professional success and dancing in the corps for a decade. Meanwhile, Nick is grappling with what home means for him when he feels like he's drifting in a career change that hasn't panned out the way he hoped. When Nick gets that pivotal phone call, I feel like Carly lashes out in part because Nick is becoming someone else in her life who is "succeeding and leaving her behind." (I made myself think critically while reading for once, and I'm so glad I did!)

Overall, I really, really enjoyed Pointe of Pride. My only regret is that this is the first time I've gotten around to reading Angyal's work. Turning Pointe and Pas de Don't have been on my tbr for years, and I only wish I had read them sooner!

Thank you to the author and the publisher for providing a copy of this book!

Carly is indeed a human hurricane and Nick is sooo smug and stubborn, but I kinda fell for them, I thought the story was really interesting, it had me stressed a few times, and I would be lying if i said i didn't stay up late to finish it. The 3rd act breakup although expected was foul and I almost cried
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to see more books by the author ^^

Short review: Layered, sexy enemies-to-lovers romance deeply imbued with art (ballet, photography) whose Australian setting makes it feel like a getaway without it being insubstantial.

Longer review:
The axiom “don’t judge a book by its cover” has gotten a bit of a rethink in this Very Online era of reading (Storygraph collages, booktok, etc), though I still not to let cover art influence me TOO much as I’m picking, then reading, a book. But whew, Carly and Nick look kinda terrifying on the cover of Chloe Angyal’s follow-up romance, Pointe of Pride, set, like its predecessor and Angyal’s fiction debut Pas de Don’t in the cutthroat world of professional ballet, but also, Sydney.

As she ages, Carly is desperate to get promoted out of the corps at New York Ballet so she can retire a principal, and when the director accelerates the promotion announcement schedule, just as Carly sets off Australia for several weeks to be the maid of honor at her best friend’s wedding (Pas de Don’t’s Heather and Marcus, natch), she scrambles to figure out how she can raise her profile and improve her odds of landing the principal company spot. Marcus’ best friend Nick, recently retired from a successful career in Munich and Paris ballets, is struggling to make a go as a ballet photographer, so when he lands home in Australia for the first time in years, ashamed to admit his struggles to his family and friends, he’s already not in a great space when Carly (or her luggage cart) literally mows him down. As the two reluctantly pair off to help with wedding prep, Carly realizes Nick might be able to help her with his camera skills – (and he realizes it might help his anemic career too) – if they can stop fighting long enough to work together.

How often are female romance leads described as “hurricanes” when really they’re a bit scattered and messy, maybe loud and a bit brash? Carly might be the first I’ve read in a while to truly live up to the description: bold, mad as hell, and as fiery as her bright red hair (yeah, she knows), Carly was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and promptly spit it out. Nick is more of an ass than he needs to be to Carly - the two just can’t stop getting under one another’s skin. This is the rare insta-hate that doesn’t make the leads seem unbearable not only to each other but the reader too, as though they really show love and hate can be just a millimeter apart.

In Pas de Don’t, Anygal goes after the sexism and harassment rampant in professional ballet. In Pointe of Pride, she takes on a less insidious but no less challenging facet of the art: the need for dancers to do more than just dance. There’s the company politics as always (can Carly really be sure she’s earned her place so long as NYB thinks her uberwealthy parents might donate a new building?) but also the quite modern need for dancers to create public (social media) presences that are a draw for new audiences perhaps not already inclined to spend for a ticket to what they think as a stuffy art form.

As in her previous novel (Angyal has also published the nonfiction Turning Pointe), there’s much more than “just” romance on offer here. The characters face complex challenges and their relationships are multidimensional. Carly’s relationship with Heather (and to a lesser extent, Nick’s with Marcus) and both their relationships to their families, are richly layered.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5 stars rounded up

Thanks to NetGalley and Amberjack Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked Pas de Don't, Angyal's debut novel With Pointe of Pride, she's elevated her craft. This book is a delight, and it's largely due to Carly and Nick, who start arguing early on and never fully stop. This book crackles with energy. Carly is a frenetic member of the Corps in New York. She's traveled down to Sydney to help her best friend Heather get married. She's loud and opinionated and she's traveling with a whole bunch of dilators because she has a "broken vagina," as she calls it. She's also trying to become a soloist and terrified of what her career means if she doesn't.
Nick is a former ballet star at the Paris Opera Ballet. Now he's trying to make it as a photographer. He left home and Australia at seventeen and has a one-way ticket back, to help out with his friend's Marcus's wedding and also figure out what the hell he's going to do with his life.
Carly and Nick have several meet not-cutes before they realize that they've been paired up to plan a wedding for their friends. Plot ensues.
One of the most satisfying parts of this book is that you can easily see why Carly and Nick fall for each other, and you can also see why they're not going to have an easy time of it. And so when there's the third act misunderstanding and break-up, even though it's frustrating, it also feels true to the characters. They have shit they need to figure out in order to be together, and we get to see them wrestle with their attraction as well as their baggage (literally).
I loved that there are sexy love scenes with no penetrative sex, and we learn about Carly's condition but Angyal manages to make it not feel didactic. I love getting to see more of Sydney through the Australian author's eyes. I even like Heather and Marcus from PDD more after reading Pointe of Pride. What a joy of a book to read. Can't wait to read what Angyal has planned next.

I received an ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Chloe Angyal knocked it out of the park again with her second romance novel. In both her books, I have loved the perfectly imperfect characters, and their individual growth as well as growth as a couple. In Pointe of Pride, Nick and Carly - both professional ballet dancers - are dealing with career transitions and figuring out what comes after their ballet career. I enjoyed the fact that the characters had a lot of depth to them, and each had space to figure themselves out individually. A true pleasure to read - highly recommend!

I was very late to the pas de don't game...as in I read it a few weeks ago and then couldn't wait to dive into Carly's story!

I feel like all the enemies to lovers I've read recently were down right cruel but this story had the tension and the chemistry and the longing glances and the banter and the who's going to claim feelings first and it was such a fun read to watch Carly and Nick fall in love.

It was fun to revisit the friend group, but it felt like almost more of a continuation of the first book and so much of the plot was spent on wedding that we missed out on other parts of seeing Nick and Carly's relationship grow. The third act break was a little too extra but the resolution was perfect and felt appropriate for their story.

All in all though, this was a fun rainy day read to escape to Australia!!


Thank you Netgalley and Independent Publishers Group | Amberjack Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Carly and Nick both had complicated internal issues that they needed to go through in order to develop as a couple. My favorite part of a romance book is definitely when two people become closer, and Angyal executed that so well! I enjoyed seeing them work through their individual issues as well as those they shared with one another. I thought Nick and Carly's relationship was beautiful, and I thought their character growth was great. I had never read a book where ballet was the main focus, so I was particularly intrigued by this story. I was expecting more, especially from the enemies to lovers part.

Thank you Netgalley, IPG and Chloe Angyal for this book ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this ballet world Chloe Angyal has created and I loved being back in it, this time with Carly and Nick. I enjoyed their adventures and photoshoots. However, I despised the 3rd act break up. The real star of this book was pelvic pain representation and the absolute care it was treated with.

I enjoyed this, although not quite as much as the first in the series (Pas de Don't). We're once again in Sydney but not quite as enmeshed in the world of ballet, as the FMC Carly is on break and helping to plan her best friend's wedding. The MMC, Nick, has retired from dancing and is trying to make it as a dance photographer, but is also in Australia to help plan *his* best friend's wedding. The book starts with a pretty amusing meet-not-so-cute, where Carly accidentally maims Nick at the airport as they both arrive in Sydney, not realizing they're about to be thrust together as maid of honor and best man.

Nick and Carly had excellent chemistry, and the push/pull was really fun to watch as they both realized they may have misjudged each other. Additionally, Carly suffers from a pelvic floor condition that makes PIV intercourse painful, and seeing how they were able to *satisfy* each other anyway was spicy and fun.

My main complaint is that the *big misunderstanding* leads to a long break between the couple, and I prefer a bit of a quicker resolution. Like, what do you mean you can go months without seeing her and not lose your mind? Overall though, it was a great reading experience and I look forward to more from the author.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3.5 stars!
🌶 - 1 spicy pepper!

Chloe Angyal does ballet rom-coms like nobody else and I'm here for it. So, I loved her previous book, highly recommend it, which is why my expectations were through the roof for this one.

Both the plot and her writing are really good, but I had a bit of trouble with the overall flow and sometimes with Carly. While I loooove her character, she sometimes had reactions that felt a bit abrupt to me or hard to relate to. However, I am soooo here for her health journey and really loved seeing a FMC that has, as she puts it, "a broken vagina". I very much enjoyed seeing that in a book and felt like it makes it much more real.

Overall, a sweet enemies-to-lovers that hits the spot, especially if you enjoy the ballet component like me 😁💜

I'm disappointed to find that this book has been archived WELL ahead of it's publication date. I was really excited to read this book and almost always get to book within two weeks or so of their pub date. Thanks for the opportunity to read - sorry I missed out!

I was expecting a five star read :(