Well what a beauty this was! I've always been a fan of Anton du Beke on Strictly over the years, and heard him talking about his venture into becoming a novelist on Heart Breakfast with Amanda Holden at the back end of last year. I can't say if I hadn't received this in a subscription box from A Box of Stories that I would have ever picked this up off a shelf whilst shopping. It just wouldn't occur to me that a celebrity dancer would be such a damn good writer!
I'm so pleased I got this in my box. I had heard good reviews from others, but didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It's very much a Downton Abbey vibe but in a glamorous London hotel setting at an interesting time in British history. The characters, whilst recognisable, all have unique aspects to their personalities/backgrounds that just make this novel so vivid a read and set it apart for me from falling into stereotypical story telling. Anton gives enough attention to detail and weaves the lives of these characters so smoothly that you can't help but be swept away and not notice the time passing as you read. And it's not a soppy love story with lots of ballroom dance lingo as some may expect, it's a very well thought through plot of scandal, intrigue, the pitfalls of being a human being and daring to live your dreams.
A resounding 5/5 stars.
I'm so pleased I got this in my box. I had heard good reviews from others, but didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It's very much a Downton Abbey vibe but in a glamorous London hotel setting at an interesting time in British history. The characters, whilst recognisable, all have unique aspects to their personalities/backgrounds that just make this novel so vivid a read and set it apart for me from falling into stereotypical story telling. Anton gives enough attention to detail and weaves the lives of these characters so smoothly that you can't help but be swept away and not notice the time passing as you read. And it's not a soppy love story with lots of ballroom dance lingo as some may expect, it's a very well thought through plot of scandal, intrigue, the pitfalls of being a human being and daring to live your dreams.
A resounding 5/5 stars.