Unlike other fae books I’ve read, we follow a male character Kit who enters the fae world. Just back from war, Kit deals with PTSD as he tries to figure out his place in society again.

Now that he’s back from war, it’s time for him to take up his mantle and finally marry his fiancé. However, Kit is reluctant to do so. While at his engagement ball, he witnesses his fiancé dancing with an elusive stranger.

Adelaide, his fiancé, has come down with a sudden sickness that won’t allow her to wake. Soon, Kit finds himself entering another world.

This book had a similar vibe to Midnight in Everwood.

OK, I will be perfectly honest here and say that Romantasy isn’t my go-to genre, I will read it, but I am incredibly fussy, so much so that 90% of books that I’ve read from this genre have unfortunately ended up in the DNF box. Though rather contradictory I’m always happy to give a Romantasy book a go, maybe I just haven’t found what works for me yet, in the Romantasy genre!

But that changes whenever I read one of Elisabeth Hobbes’s Romantasy books, she is the only author who writes within the genre and can keep me interested and engaged. I adored her debut Romantasy; Daughter of the Sea, I loved everything about that book and have since re-read and loved it all over again. Her second; The Promise Tree lacked something, and even though Dance with the Fae is not Daughter of the Sea (which in my humble opinion is perfect!) this book completely hooked me from the start, I read it in one weekend which is incredibly fast for a super slow reader like me.

Dance with the Fae is a lovely friends-to-lovers romance, set directly after WW1 with the addition of being in the realm of the Fae. Something that I think allowed the author to fully embrace her imaginative and creative side to story-telling, and I hope that there will be more stories within this genre from Elisabeth J Hobbes.

The opening sees our hero; Kit Arton-Price at his and childhood friend/bride-be, Adelaide’s engagement party, it’s easy to see right from the first few pages that Adelaide and Kit aren’t made for each other, they are like chalk and cheese, good friends yet, but not anything more than that. Adelaide comes across as a bit of a spoilt airhead, a little too bothered about dancing and parties and the attention she receives, she’s not too interested in the plans Kit has for the future or the fact they are both being railroaded into an arranged marriage by their families.

Right from the beginning we are introduced to the mysterious Mr Wilde and Ms Dove, who are these two strange and ethereally beautiful creatures who seem to appear out of nowhere. Then suddenly Adelaide falls into a deep sleep which she can’t be awoken from, the local doctors claim it’s a strange sleeping sickness epidemic where people of all ages, men, women and children are all suddenly falling under its spell. Unsure of what to do, Kit finds the answers and help in the most unexpected places, first, his great aunt who in my opinion is an absolute treasure, says some quite unusual, borderline bonkers things and then there is the reappearance of the mysterious Valentine in his bedroom!

What has all of these strange occurrences got to do with Adelaide? Well, Kit has to first open his eyes and his mind and then make a life-changing journey to the land of the Fae to find the answers!

To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t get behind Kit and Adelaide’s relationship, I do think Kit had a very lucky escape when the utterly charming and ridiculously beautiful Silas Wilde (sigh!) steals her away to the world of the Fae, it is the best place for her, away from the human world in a land where all attention can be on her.

I know I sound like a bit of a bitch, but nothing irritates me more than spoilt brats, whether it’s in the fictional world or in the real one I can’t be doing with spoilt, little brats who think themselves entitled and in thinking so just become spoilt adult brats who just come across as t**ts.

Hmm, went off a little there, apologies!

Though, by the last chapter Adelaide did grow on me, not enough to actually like her, but by the end, she did come across as more mature and less selfish. She still wasn’t my favourite character, that title really must belong to Kit and Silas (who btw is a fairy dish!😍). Valentine was such a sweetheart, but I felt that there should have been a bit more about her, something felt a little flat about her that I can’t quite explain. But, I loved that she instantly picked up on Kit’s bisexuality, even saying that Silas would have a better chance at luring him into the fairy world than she. Valentine accepts Kit for who he is, she allows him to be himself with both sides of her character (I won’t say too much about that, but it’s lovely!) and I really liked their blossoming romance.

I really liked the representation of quite an extensive LGBT community within the story, the fact that this is set just after the Great War in 1918 and that being gay or bisexual is illegal is a factor in Kit’s personal back story. My heart broke for him, he’s a little uncertain of who he is and trying too hard to be what others want him to be, he is certainly suffering from PTSD after the war I got the impression that he is a little lost. His story from the trenches and what happened with his friend is heartbreaking and in my opinion one of the key parts of the whole story and could have been explored a little further, but I am a WW1 girly and will always lean towards that aspect of any story.

Dance with the Fae is utterly charming, full of magic and folklore, and an extensive and quite eclectic cast of characters all of which bring either magic or grounding to the story. I guessed the little twist at the end even though it felt a little rushed it was a satisfying ending. I particularly loved the incorporation of Kit’s past as a soldier in the trenches with the Fairy World and how one affected the other.

Overall, this is a lovely, enchanting feel-good story of love, loss, guilt, acceptance and claiming who you are, highly recommended for those who love the romantasy genre, and even for those like myself who are fussy, this isn’t too fantasy heavy so an easy and enjoyable read!

Thank you Netgalley and One More Chapter for the ARC! This read is not my typical read but loved the cozy and whimsical feelings this historical fantasy is. The pacing is a bit slow which makes sense for this book
Reading the fae in this book as more cunning creatures compared to the romantasy version was a nice change of pace as well. Kit is a likable main characters and his reactions to things of the fae world was very realistic and refreshing to see. Since it was slower-paced, I had a difficult time getting into the book but once more action started, I enjoyed it more!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins & One More Chapter for this eARC. This is a historical fantasy set in England after World War Two. It is quite whimsical and often charming but I found the story a bit hard to get into. The pacing did pick up towards the end though. I liked Kit and the representation of his trauma and repressed sexuality but the relationship with Valentine felt a bit flat and I would have like to have seen more of them together and falling in love.

Thank you to NetGalley and one more chapter for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, it had a bit of a slow start for me but once the story progressed into faerie I was hooked.

What I loved:
- The fae in this book are the traditional trickster type and some that Kit encounters are on the scary side which I really enjoyed.
- The romance in the story was really well planned and I liked how the author gave it time to develop.
- Kit was a refreshing and believable main character.

What could be better:
- very little, I struggled a bit with the pacing at the start but everything introduced was relevant to the story.

I would suggest this book to those who love the regency fairytales or anyone who likes a historical romantic fantasy.

A historical romantsy - there's some magically beautiful world building that I really enjoyed. I thought the queer representation was great and done beautifully.
I did find the ending felt a little rushed compared to the pacing of the rest of the book.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc ebook.

A pleasant read - if you can get through the first half which is very slow - although very atmospheric.

A truly unique story with some great characters.

A romantic fantasy telling the story of Kit who has returned from The Great War with some scars that are more visible than others.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

"Dance with the Fae" unfortunately was not what I expected. The book description sounded so good! However, the plot and characters were not for me. I just couldn't get into this story.

This book was very promising. It started out super strong and I am on a fantasy kick so I was excited. BUT it fell flat for me pretty quickly and ended up not being a favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Dance with the fae is a set after WW1, after returning hero, Kit’s engagement party to his childhood friend Adelaide. After dancing with a mysterious stranger, Adelaide contracts a ‘sleeping sickness’ for which Kit must embark on journey to the fae realm to save her.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me. The premise was interesting, the atmosphere felt like something between Downton Abbey and Emily Wilde, which made it initially charming. That being said, I really struggled to get into the story as the pacing was very slow and the story unfolded incredibly slowly.

Kit is a likeable main character and his trauma adds layers to his story arc, however Adelaide is less well developed and hard to connect with.

The story is very unique and different to anything else out there at moment.

I may try and pick it up again at some point but it’s a DNF for me at the moment.

As always, many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book.

This was a beautiful blend of historical fiction x fantasy with gorgeous world-building and a plot so unique compared to anything I’ve ever read before. Don’t talk to me about Kit’s character development and backstory because 😭😭😭

I think the letdown for me with this was that the pacing felt so off, the ending was rushed and we didn’t spend as much time in the fae world as I would’ve liked (seriously, there were some stupidly stunning descriptions, why do I want to come back to England????)

Overall this was enjoyable, I wouldn’t reread but I would definitely recommend to others

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, One More Chapter for my arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

"Dance With the Fae" follows Charles "Kit" Arton-Price, a soldier who was wounded in and survived World War I. He has come home to marry his fiancee, Adelaide, and start a life together. This comes to a halt when the morning after their engagement party, Adelaide seems to be infected with the mysterious 'Sleeping Sickness.' It's not long before Kit is drawn into the world of the fae. If he wants to save Adelaide, Kit will have to endure this alien world.

This is such an interesting premise! I've really been enjoying a lot of the upcoming Historical Fantasies and this was no exception. I really enjoyed Hobbes' worldbuilding. Post-WWI England felt appropriate to everything I've read about the period and the fae world was so lushly crafted. I loved the inclusion of queer characters and imagery too. I also enjoyed Kit as a character. You really feel for him and his PTSD, and the kind and gentle way (from what we see) that Adelaide helps him during the engagement party was a lovely little touch for readers to understand their relationship and love.

I will say that after Kit gets to the fae realm, the pace does get a bit weird. Hobbes' writing is very readable and fun, but something about the latter half of the novel was lacking for me. I think it was the pace but, I don't know, it felt like something was just lacking. I wish I could verbalize it better.

That said, I would still recommend this for anyone who enjoys historical fantasy!

This story follows Kit after he returns from the WWI trenches and his struggle to assimilate back into everyday life. On the day after his engagement ceremony to his best friend/cousin, Addie, he finds that his fiancée has fallen into a deep sleep that she cannot awake from. Thus the journey to the realm of the fae begins with a fantastical setting and plot to follow.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but something about it just didn't mesh well with me. I loved the romance between Kit and Valentine. The journey they went on both physically and emotionally was so beautiful to read. However, I really did not like the characters of Silas and Addie. I thought they actively detracted from the story and made it feel quite disjointed in places.

Some of the plot points seemed especially rushed, and really could have done with some more focus. This book felt like it was trying to do too many things within such a small page count.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read for those that like whimsical fae romances, I just felt the plot needed a bit more refinement.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF at 25% for me. I’m not entirely sure why I didn’t vibe with this Benoit, because on paper, this is absolutely my kind of thing. Far realms, post was, fantasy realism etc. but I just felt like the start was ever so slow, and I just struggled to get the full feel of the book.

I did, however, really like the main male character, and I feel that more romantasy books should have a male lead.

Part historical romance, part fantasy. The premise was different - Kit has just returned home from WWI, The Great War where he experience both inward and outward trauma. He is now engaged to his childhood best pal/cousin. When she gets stolen by the fae, he must find his way to rescue her. It was an interesting concept with themes involving grief, heavy expectations, shame and acceptance.

I found the pacing a bit uneven and as much as I love a historical, it took a bit to get into. I liked the different premise and the sort of old school, more historical take on the fae. I enjoyed having a male lead in a romantasy and also a gender fluid character, we need more of that. The ending was quite unexpected and bittersweet. This wasn’t a favorite, but I enjoyed it.

3.5/5

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Part historical, part romantasy, Dance With The Fae follows Kit as he grapples with trauma after being wounded in WWI and combines that with mysterious fae kidnapping his fiancée. Think Downton Abbey meets An Enchantment of Ravens. While the prose was a little dry at times, I really enjoyed the portrayal of the fae realm, the careful descriptions of Kit's PTSD and the LGBTQ+ representation in Kit, Valentine and others too. I would say it felt a little rushed and would have maybe benefitted from spending more time in each phase of the story to further develop it, but overall an easy and quietly magical read.

Set in post WWI England, our MMC Kit is set to marry his childhood friend Addie after returning from the war, both physically and mentally traumatised. After Addie falls into an enchanted sleep, Kit finds himself on a journey to the fae realm to rescue her.

I enjoyed this one. I did find the pacing quite slow especially in the first half. It really took a while to get going and once it had, I wouldn't say it did anything particularly unique. The plot and the world all felt a little bit simple and aside from Kit, all the characters felt a little two dimensional.

That being said I really liked Kit as a character. The poor boy has been through a lot and is really grappling with his guilt around events that happened during the war and his own feelings of shame towards his attraction to men. He felt like a well rounded, interesting man who, in a better story, really could have shone.

Another thing I really liked was the exploration of Kit's pansexuality especially in conjunction with Valentine's gender fluidity. Watching Kit undo his own internalised homophobia was a really satisfying journey to go on.

Valentine as a character was fine. She was let down a little by the lack of detail in the story (this was my main issue with this book overall) and thus, felt a little flat. I would have liked more of her backstory and more of her relationship with the villain to have been explored.

As I said above my main issue with this book is it's simplicity. Nothing was really explored in a huge amount of detail, the characters felt very surface level (bar Kit) and the plot was basic.

This is by no means a bad book and I am sure it will find its audience, I just wanted more detail and intruige to keep me gripped!

Based in post-WWI Britain, this book was an excellent blend of romantasy and historical fiction. The plot focuses on the interaction between the human and fae worlds, following rules that are akin to that of old British Folklore which I absolutely adored. This book weaves together beautiful threads of romance, grief and lgbt+ representation to create a unique fantasy tapestry blended with a cast of compellingly mysterious characters.

I did find that the pacing was not as balanced as I would have liked, as the start of the book built quite slowly whereas the end section of the book passed rather quickly, though I did still thoroughly enjoy the journey. The world building was atmospheric and presented very well, and though I would have happily read double the amount to see more of the fae world and of some of the characters origins this just shows me that there is a lot of scope to hopefully continue developing into this world in potential future works.

Thank you to Elisabeth J. Hobbes and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to give an advance review of this book. Dance With The Fae was such a fascinating adventure and I felt it had similarities to novels such as Stardust and the works of Holly Black which I really enjoyed, so I happily bestow a 4/5 star rating and would love to see more!

Thank you for sharing this ARC with me in exchange of an honest review. Unfortunately, this style of writing felt simplistic and not engaging. It was a hard DNF at 15%.

Really enjoyed this. Liked the way the fae are portrayed, the way of travelling from one realm to the other and the adventure that the mmc embarks on