Friday, June 7, 2024

Book Review: "The Last Dance" by J. Mackenzie

What a lovely book this was! Having read lots of romances, I kept waiting for things to take a melodramatic turn. I’m grateful to J. Mackenzie for letting the characters and their story shine on its own.

Achilles has been a professional ballet dancer for a number of years, performing all over the world. He’s excited to return to NYC for the first time in 10 years to star in Romeo and Juliet, and inherently, he knows this will be his last show.

The last time Achilles was in NYC, he was a glorious dancer but a nightmare otherwise, driven by his ego and feeling like everything was owed to him. He drank and did drugs, and treated everyone horribly. It’s taken him 10 years and a lot of therapy to be able to reflect on his journey and those he hurt.

He’s utterly shocked when he realizes that Patroclus is the stage manager of the show. Patroclus was the person Achilles hurt the most, and seeing him again throws Achilles for a loop. But while he’s been thinking of how horrible he was to people and how much he hurt them, it doesn’t appear Patroclus has been suffering. He’s doing what he always wanted to, and seems to have his life together.

How difficult will it be to work with Patroclus and be consumed by guilt and regret? Can they be friends, or perhaps have a second chance at happiness? At the same time, Achilles must figure out what’s next for him if this really is his last show. What will his life be without dancing, the one thing he’s done since he was a child?

I really enjoyed this romantic, sexy, sweet book, full of glimpses into the world of ballet. Achilles and Patroclus had terrific chemistry and I loved the way their relationship developed, as well as Achilles’ friendship with his dance partner. (Interestingly enough, while the MCs have names from mythology, everyone else’s names are normal.) I’d love a second book within this world!

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