Flirty Dancing blends elements of Dirty Dancing with messy relationships, camp, and chaotic humor. This bringing together a cast of dancers at Shady Queens resort for a summer of drama, dreams, and unexpected romance. Archer, a 27-year-old former accountant, dreams of making it big as a dancer in New York but finds himself working at the resort alongside his childhood crush, Mateo Dixon was a once-rising Broadway star whose career crashed hard. While Mateo is emotionally closed off, there’s undeniable chemistry between him and Archer, leading to a slow-burn romance filled with tension, longing, and complicated feelings. The supporting cast, including Archer’s hilarious roommate Lynn and the ever-present storyteller Eileen, add charm and personality to the story, though some characters, like Caleb, feel more like plot devices than fully developed roles. At times, the book struggles to balance its slice-of-life, friend-group dynamics with its romance plot, leaving some parts feeling rushed especially in the final chapters, where things wrap up a little too cleanly. Despite that, the emotional depth, the struggle of aging dancers, and the sizzling tension between Archer and Mateo make this an engaging read. If you’re into messy, campy MM romance with theater kid chaos and a resort full of drama, this one’s worth picking up!

This was a quick read with likeable characters. I was hoping for a little more depth. The characters come across more like teenagers then mid to late 20s. The happy ending was never in doubt, with even the troublemaker character being totally redeemed.

I loved this fun and sexy closed door remaining of Dirty dancing! The characters were funny, and interesting. The drama was hot and the creativity was amazing. I finished it in 2 days, and it only took that long because I had to go to work.

I was lucky to receive an ARC for Flirty Dancing, this has a cute story and the setting reminds me so much of Kellermans from, you guessed it, Dirty Dancing.
Archer is in his late twenties and is pursuing his dream of being a dancer, after many misses, he finally gets the chance to perform in a show at a local resort. While there, he meets none other than Mateo Dixon, a former Broadway star; with a reputation that precedes him. I thought I knew how this would play out but there’s a good amount of time focused on another character that I took away from getting to know the two main characters better.
While there is a connection made early on with our main MCs, I wish there was more interaction between them along the way. I will say though, once the focus shifts to our main guys, the chemistry is there, I loved the stolen glances and how they complimented each other. Their dance scenes sounded so good and that tension was fire, I’d watch this routine!
There’s a good mix of characters that you’ll either love or hate, lots of drama but also some cute and tender moments. I absolutely loved Lynn and was invested in her storyline as well! The last couple of chapters felt a tad rushed and ended abruptly; it left me wanting just a tiny bit more after so much build up. This was a quick and fun read and while it does have its flaws, it’s a great reminder of summer camps and crushes.

Thank you to NetGalley, and St Martins Griffin for providing me with this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Flirty Dancing is a cute closed door romance with Dirty Dancing vibes. The premise is adorable, but the pacing led this novel to falling flat for me. Unfortunately, I don’t feel the romance got enough time to develop. Over half the book was focused on a side relationship clearly going nowhere at the cost of main relationship. I almost think this would have worked better if everyone had been aged down.

This is perfect for anyone looking for a quick fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Words can not describe how adorable and heartwarming this book was. If you know me, you KNOW that, ‘Dirty Dancing’ is my favorite movie of all time (and yes, its literally my number 1 movie). I was a tad hesitant when I saw the title, thinking that, do I really neeeeed a Dirty Dancing retelling? The answer was YES!
The story centers around our lead, Archer, who left his life in Ohio as an accountant at the age of 27 to pursue his big dream of being a dancer on Broadway. He feels lie he is too old to be a dancer and is at that point of giving up when he books a gig for the summer at a LGBTQIA+ resort called Shady Queens. When he arrives he meets the cast and is star struck when Mateo Dixon, a former Broadway star, and his childhood crush, happens to be working on the same show. Things get heated on and off stage and everyone needs to navigate their show but also their relationships.
This book is filled with so many musical references and a ton of Dirty Dancing references… even a watermelon one, IYKYK. Archer and Mateo we the perfect substitute for Baby and Johnny, and still gave that feeling of nostalgia and tension I needed. Overall, I highly recommend this book, its fun and will make you smile a lot.
4.5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for an ARC copy for an honest review!

3.5⭐️
Why did a round up? I think it’ll have its audience, I just wasn’t it.

I really enjoy Achillean (MM) as well as Sapphic (FF) romances despite not being in the LGTBQ community other than being an ally. However, this one felt like a YA book but the characters were in their late 20’s! Had it been a YA book I could have wrapped my head around it a lot easier but when grown adults act like 12 year olds it’s really off putting.

I did like the dance references and the unique chapter setups as it was different from the typical. On the other hand , and yes I know it is fiction, it was really far fetched. 27 years old is well past when you would get your foot in as a professional dancer. Making a go on Broadway could be conceivable but not in this circumstance. It was things like this that made it hard to stick with the story.

What drew me to the book was the Dirty Dancing parallels and there were some that were done well. But there were others that missed the mark. You know what it felt like? Like the TV show, Riverdale where the line was blurred of the time period when you have it modern day but gave characteristics from the 1950’s. It didn’t work.

That being said I think I there are some that may really like this, particularly teenagers looking for queer fiction. I am thankful to have gotten the eARC for free from St Martins Press through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Thanks to the author and St. Martin’s for the ARC! This was a cute queer reimagining of Dirty Dancing. Not life changing but enjoyable. There were a couple strange turns of phrase like “Mateo’s jaw flapped.” I’m not sure what that supposed to mean but it sounds physically impossible?

Archer is passionate about dance. He comes to dance camp, expecting a dream experience--just to find Matteo, sultry, too perfect, and a transphobe. (Or so he assumes because of an awful remark Matteo made once.). Matteo is also very, very attractive as well as gay...and we see what's coming!

The dance setting was terrific. The author absolutely nailed the crazy, inspiring, tiring, drama-injected fizz of summer theater for teens, in this case a summer dance camp. In fact, the setting was so very well done that it kind of detracted from the character development that such a complicated plot needed (Archer is dating someone else while totally eyeing Matteo).

But that's a small creeb. It's fast-paced, with some great scenes when Archer and Matteo do start coming together. Add in the filmic wish-fulfillment ending, and you get a gay-friendly feel-good romance for teens, with an emphasis on dance!

If you’re looking for ideas for your summer reads already, this is a great recommendation for you.

Archer has moved to Manhattan after quitting his accounting job in Ohio to pursue his dream of dancing on Broadway. Five months later, his savings is rapidly becoming depleted and he’s been turned down from every audition, losing out to younger competitors (Archer is 27). His one last hope is an audition for a summer position at an LGBT resort in the Catskills named Shady Queens (fairly certain the author is a Golden Girls fan, lol, at one point someone even refers to it as Shady Pines).

Miraculously, he gets the job. Once at Shady Queens, he discovers that his teenage idol, Broadway Star Mateo Dixon is also in the show. Why is he here of all places?

There seem to be some initial sparks between Archer and Mateo, but then Archer begins a relationship with one of his roommates, Caleb.

What follows is a lot of drama and a really great romcom story, with a lot of dancing in the nightly floor show.

I loved Archer’s character and his determination to follow his dream and change his life. He has a summer he will never forget at Shady Queens. His friend and roommate in Manhattan, Lynn, is an amazing side character, and I’d like to see a story featuring her now.

As I said at the beginning of my review, this is a great summer romcom that I wholeheartedly recommend you add to your TBR for this summer.

The main POV character and love interest and the setting of Flirty Dancing were highlights of this cute, lighthearted romantic romp. Any one who is looking for a gayer take on Dirty Dancing should check this out.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t resist a book that has this as its title! Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy of this fun book.

Archer was an accountant in Ohio who quit his job to move to NYC and pursue his dream of being on Broadway. But the auditioning isn’t going well, and maybe his mother is right: 27 is too old to chase your dreams. Still, he goes on one more audition, vowing to head back to Ohio if he doesn’t succeed.

He lands a job as a performer at Shady Queens, an LGBTQ-friendly resort in the Catskills. It’s not quite what he was hoping for, but you never know where your big break can come from. Much to his surprise, he learns that one of his co-stars is Mateo Dixon, once a Broadway star and Archer’s teenage crush.

After Mateo’s time on Broadway flamed out in spectacular fashion, Shady Queens is one of the only jobs he can get. He’s not thrilled to have been the target of Archer’s teenage worship (which has maybe carried over into his 20s), but all he wants to do is dance. Maybe he’s a little standoffish, but he’s still sexy as hell in Archer’s eyes.

Archer tries to build a friendship with Mateo but always seems to say and do the wrong things. And when a relationship with Caleb, one of his castmates, turns sour, it adds to the drama and tension among the performers. The show starts to suffer, and it’s up to the performers to buckle down and try to leave their emotional issues offstage.

As a huge fan of musical theater and romance, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were fun, emotional, and overly dramatic, much like you’d imagine performers to be. I loved the chemistry between Archer and Mateo, and at times it felt like Shady Queens reminded me of Kellerman’s from Dirty Dancing.

The book will publish 5/27/2025.

I absolutely LOVED "Flirty Dancing" and recommend it highly. It had me up into the early morning hours to finish because I was so drawn into the storyline and the characters. I thought this would be a queer remake of Dirty Dancing and while i was down for that, I was happily mistaken. I loved the main character arc, how their respect for and knowledge of each other grew slowly as we got to know them. I can't wait to read what comes next from Jennifer Moffatt!

Archer is a very … go with the flow kind of guy. When a fellow dancer at Shady Pines starts flirting, he’s fine, accepting the attention and giving some very lukewarm responses. When Mateo, one of his first crushes and dance inspirations invites him to extra practice, he breathlessly accepts. But he never takes either advantage of or responsibility for either of these situations. Soon he finds himself dating Caleb without actually wanting to, simply because he couldn’t be bothered to say no, all while mooning over Mateo who flirts with Archer, knowing he’s hooking up with Caleb. Who hates Mateo.

And it’s a mess. Caleb keeps trying harder and harder to keep Archer, who doesn’t really seem to care. Mateo keeps flirting with Archer, who enjoys the attention and seems confused as to why Caleb might not be delighted with Mateo.

The thing is, Caleb has a point. Mateo was truly awful to someone, saying the only reason they got a job was because they were transgender, and has never apologized for it. He now comes to work at the camp Caleb has been working at for years, acting as if he knows everything, as if he has the right to critique, and to judge just because he was on Broadway. As far as Caleb knows, Mateo is a transphobe who flirts with someone else’s boyfriend, and Caleb wants nothing to do with him. And, while all this is going on, the guy Caleb is sleeping with has the hots for Mateo, and then chooses to be with this transphobe over him.

From there it’s a messy tying up of lose strings, of everyone getting a moment for a tearful apology and a feel good ending, including the “famous director in the audience” bit and a picture perfect epilogue. The writing is solid, the pace lingers a bit and I think could have been a little tighter in places, but overall the book is fine. A decent summer read. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

This BOOK!!! I LOVED everything about this book and more. The way the characters connected and interacted was truly something else. I can't wait to read more by this author.


Archer Read is 27 and desperate to find his place in life. Five months ago, he quit his soul-destroying accounting job in Ohio and moved to Manhattan with dreams of making it on Broadway. And now he has nothing to show for it but a string of rejections. Even for a ray-of-sunshine like Archer, hope can only go so far. A musical revue at Shady Queens, a queer-friendly resort in the Catskills, is his last chance to break into show biz—otherwise, it’s back to Ohio, broke and hopeless. He arrives ready to dance his heart out, only to find he’ll be working with his teenage celebrity crush, the Broadway star Mateo Dixon.

Am I a bad bisexual if I've only ever seen Dirty Dancing once?

Once was enough for me, to be honest, but this book? I'm definitely planning on going back for a reread. Flirty Dancing by Jennifer Moffatt is pure freaking chaos and I loved every second of it. Archer is a 27 year old dancer who is just trying to make it in New York City. His parents want him to come back to Ohio and become an accountant but he is determined to do what he loves. His best friend Lynn is a lawyer and she's a delight. But when Archer gets a job and sent to Shady Queens LGBTQ+ resort for the summer to star in their showcase (can we talk about that name? I love it LOL) he meets his idol: disgraced Broadway star Mateo Dixon.

There is a myriad of side characters, as well as a love triangle. Sort of. I hate Caleb and we shan't speak his name from this point onward. But the build up for Mateo and Archer was so delicious. The tension that was built up between them through every dance and small interaction was perfect. And the birthday gift Mateo got for Archer... STOP IT SO SWEET. I read this book over two days and it was honestly great. I just wish it would have been in dual POV because I am DYING for Mateo's side.

This is another one I’m conflicted on. Though I’m mostly leaning on the not great side. On one hand, I often try not to read too many MlM books written by cis women. So I was weary going into this.

One the other hand, it had such a fun premise, and I was excited for a Dirty Dancing-inspired romance, but overall, the execution didn’t quite work for me. Instead of focusing on Archer and Matteo’s relationship, most of the book was about backstage drama, which made it hard to get invested in the romance. Plus, Archer was dating someone else for a huge chunk of the book while clearly crushing on Matteo, which made things feel messy in a way that wasn’t fun to read.

That said, the dance setting was great, and I liked how it captured the chaotic, drama-filled energy of a summer dance camp. There were some cute moments between Archer and Matteo, but their relationship lacked depth, and a dual POV might have helped. The ending wasn’t super realistic, but it had that “love is love” feel-good vibe, which I suppose was nice. Overall, this was fine, fun in some ways, frustrating in others. If you like messy love stories with lots of drama, you might enjoy it more than I did.

Flirty Dancing is the gay contemporary romance twist on Dirty Dancing that you didn't know you needed. I personally wish there were many more Dirty Dancing retellings (or Dirty Dancing-inspired stories), so if you're the same, you're going to have to add this to your summer TBR.

I think this book struck a great balance in drawing its inspiration from Dirty Dancing, but then really making it into its own thing, with a contemporary setting. I had a lot of fun reading this, and thought the writing was really engaging, making me fly through it.

This is quite a messy story, though, so I know it won't be for everyone because of that. I have to admit I enjoyed the drama, but I did feel a little disappointed that we waste so much time in this book on the antagonist of the story, even seeing our main character date him for a good chunk of the book. I personally felt fed up with him very early on, so this did annoy me a little.

Such a cute book, it had its moments where I was like..... what? but other than that it had a good flow to it.

When I first saw Flirty Dancing and learned that it was loosely inspired by Dirty Dancing, I was extremely excited because that's my favorite movie of all time. Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I was expecting a cute romance story but instead this felt more like a general fiction book with a subplot of romance.

Rather than focusing on the relationship between the main character, Archer, and the love interest, Matteo, the book mostly centered around backstage drama among the dancers at the resort. In fact, for more than half the book, Archer was seeing Caleb, one of the other dancers. This is where my main issue comes in. I did not like that Archer was dating one guy while clearly lusting after another one. It was incredibly obvious from the start that Archer had a crush on Matteo and yet he continued to string Caleb along with little remorse which made it difficult to root for them. This kind of behavior also made it hard to care for Archer because he seemed so selfish. As for Matteo's character, he lacked depth and switched between being broody and stand-offish to being sweet and thoughtful at random intervals.

Despite those issues, there was definitely chemistry between Archer and Matteo and they did share some cute moments. However, I just couldn't get invested in their relationship knowing that most of the lead-up to it happened while Archer was dating someone else.

This wasn't a bad book. The writing was solid and I can see how other people might enjoy the plot even if the romance isn't the best. If you're looking for a story that features drama reminiscent of high school theater kids and a messy romance subplot, you might really love this. If you want a sweet romance and well-developed characters, on the other hand, this might not be the book for you.