SPOILERS!!! Was Very Disappointed!

What disappointed you about Pretending to Dance?

It had such high ratings, I was expecting more. The book description eludes to a lot of mystery. A mysterious death (I'm thinking a terrible murder, yes!). A dead mother (another yes! How'd she die?). A birth mother's mysterious presence? (Ooo, is she stalking the family? Does she want the child she gave up back?). All of this sounds so good! Molly ran away 20 years ago. For these reasons, I'm thinking awesome! The makings of an amazing story! I was ready to dive in! It revolved around a 14 year girl who was "coming of age". She was unsure of herself and naive. She is surrounded by family on family land (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmother, parents) on a mountain ridge in NC. Her father has extremely advanced multiple sclerosis and is confined to wheelchair, paralysed from the neck down. She was adopted by her stepmother but her biological mother lives within walking distance. She has a friend who is the total opposite of her, Stacey. Stacey is lacking parental supervision, does drugs, drinks and has a 17 year old boyfriend. She immediately introduces these things to Molly. She falls hard for the older boy who uses her and breaks her heart. I was fine with all of this. Like I said it part of it was a coming of age story. (This sounds awful and I hate to even say it, considering I'm the mother of 3 daughters, but the teen sex "coming of age" part of the book was the most interesting and realistic part of the book.) This book was terribly slow. It flips between 14 year old Molly in NC to 38 year old Molly in San Diego. I don't know who is more annoying, the 14 year old or the 38 year old. On a plus note, while most of the characters in "Pretending to Dance" were very annoying/boring, there were a few who were really great, stand out characters. Russell, (Molly's father's aid) was my favorite. He was loving, kind, and very good to Molly and her family. Danielle was an amazing cousin, Molly was just too blind to see it. Nora and Amalea (Molly's adopted and birth mother) were both wonderful, once again, Molly was too blind and unforgiving to see it.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I'll probably stick with Joshilyn Jackson. Or any book that has characters with actual personalities. Molly, her husband Aiden and Sienna, the girl they want an open adoption with, all have the personalities of sticks or pine combs.

How could the performance have been better?

I'm sure Susan Bennett did the best she could with what she had to work with. That being said, her voice was way to old for a 14 year girl.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Annoyance, I wanted to slap Molly.

Any additional comments?

This book is boring, falls short on all expectations. It just drones on and on and on. I stopped listening several times and only finished because I was on a long trip and had nothing else loaded on my iPhone. Molly is selfish, annoying, unforgiving and wastes 20 years of her life having no family, not because she doesn't have family, but because she cut them from her life. Also like I mentioned already, the overview eludes to a murder, a dead mother, the mysterious presence of Molly's birth mother. Wrong, wrong, wrong. If only ANY of this plot line would have existed, the book may have been good. There was no murder (simply a requested mercy death), no dead mother (Molly just told everyone her everyone she was dead) and lastly, "mysterious presence"? Oh we could only wish...instead, both Molly's birth mother and her adoptive mother coexist quite peacefully next door to each other. Boring.

17 people found this helpful

Skip this.

Liked the adoption aspect. Not a fan of teenaged sex, so I can't recommend the book.

13 people found this helpful

Very Disappointed-choppy narration, lame story

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Nobody

If you’ve listened to books by Diane Chamberlain before, how does this one compare?

Worst of all that I have listened to.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Absolutely horrible. Choppy, inflections in wrong place, bad accents, male voices ridiculous

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Pretending to Dance?

The entire thing should not be published

Any additional comments?

This book had a main character about whom you just don't care. The plot is silly, there were no surprises, and the ending insipid. Horrible book

3 people found this helpful

Another Good Book by Diane!

As always with Diane Chamberlain books, it was very easy and enjoyable read. She always keeps the story moving forward with very few slow spots. It was a great story and I would recommend this book to others, as always. So happy she has her books on Audio for the long hours in the car. Waiting on the next one!

6 people found this helpful

Enjoyable .... 2 minor issues

Overall I thought the book was enjoyable BUT the main character came across as incredibly selfish for a large part of the novel. Which is fine you don't have to love the characters but it amazed me that none of her family said "grow up everything isn't about you". Only other thing was the narrator doing the male voice was annoying at times.

12 people found this helpful

Worst book she ever wrote

Would you try another book from Diane Chamberlain and/or Susan Bennett?

Yes, I've read other Chamberlain books and was never disappointed. This one couldn't keep we awake, and when I was, all I could do was rant to myself about the self-involved, spoiled brat the protagonist was. Not a likable character in the bunch. Actually, never even finished listening because I kept falling asleep.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something with a little more depth.

What three words best describe Susan Bennett’s performance?

Well done, but not riveting.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Boredom.

5 people found this helpful

Too much Sex!

The author had a good story, but spent entirely too much time describing in detail the act of lovemaking. Readers have enough imagination without such graphic detail.

13 people found this helpful

Diane Chamberlain ALWAYS delivers!

Once again, Diane chamberlain delivers an amazing story that kept me listening obsessively! I hate to see it end! Susan Bennett is quickly becoming a favorite narrator on audible too!

7 people found this helpful

Amazing!!!

Diane Chamberlain never disappoints, and this is (in my opinion) one of her finest books to date!

1 person found this helpful

Best audio listen ever!!!!

This a wonderful book by Diane Chamberlain I cried and
Laughed through continuous audio listen Love this !

1 person found this helpful