He might just have to lie down in the driveway behind Lexi’s car to keep her from leaving town and pray she didn’t decide to run him over.
Kait Nolan
Dancing Away With My HEart
Format:
Audiobook. Also available as ebook
The Wishful series has been bundled into economical box sets and this book is included in Volume 4: ebook & audio.
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Reunion Prom? Is this really a thing?
In Wishful it is. Lexi Morales never imagined her life would turn into the premise for an 1980s teen movie. But when her big high school trauma hit like a ton of bricks, she spent the next decade trying to hide the truth. After years of careful avoidance, she’s back in town to care for her injured mother, just in time for the high school reunion she never planned to attend—a reunion that evokes memories she’s tried to forget.
Wishful’s friendly neighborhood photographer, Zach Warren, has no idea why he and his best friend drifted apart. But from the first, flashbulb moment he sees Lexi all grown up, she’s all he can think about—and his thoughts keep straying right out of the friendzone.
Zach’s offer of temporary employment while she’s in town should be a perfect fit, but acting like she’s never thought of him as more than a friend turns out to be harder than Lexi ever expected. All she wants to do is get through this with her secret—and her heart—intact. One thing’s for sure: Lexi is NOT going to this prom.
But what if ten years is just the right amount of time for Zach to finally get a clue?
Point of view:
3rd Person. Alternating perspectives, not always by chapter, but it’s clearly defined.
Rellim’s Thoughts:
It’s the end of an era!!! As far as I can tell – who knows if someone is screaming to be written about, you know how characters tell authors what to do and not the other way around – this novella is the last book of Kait Nolan’s Wishful series and what a wonderfully sweet way to end. While there are references to couples from other books, it’s brief and you could definitely start here to get a peek into Nolan’s style. That said, you might want to check out Dance Me a Dream (#7) as Jace & Tara’s wedding is featured.
At 3 hours, this is a short but lovely best friends-to-lovers novella. While Zach and Lexi were inseparable in high school, his cluelessness drove them apart and sent Lexi running to protect her heart. These two struggling to find their way together is punctuated with hurt and laughter as the rest of the town watches with their best “It’s about darn time!” glances. Zach and Lexi get a lovely HEA in the epilogue and I
Note: While this particular novella is Closed Door/Fade to Black – that’s not the case with most of Nolan’s writing. She has this fabulous mix of small town sweet and snarky with a dash of sexy scenes, perfect when you want some steam that doesn’t take over the rest of the plot.
Narration:
Amy McFadden does a great job with Nolan’s HUGE cast of Wishful residents. Voices, inflections, personalities from previous books are consistent and that makes this series so easy to binge.
About the author:
Kait Nolan is a RITA® Award-winning Mississippi author who calls everyone sugar, honey, or darlin’, and can wield a ‘Bless your heart’ like a Snuggie or a saber, depending on requirements. She believes in love, laughter, and that tacos are the world’s most perfect food. When she’s not writing, reading, working the evil day job, or wrangling family (both the two-legged and the four-), you can find her obsessively watching The Great British Bake Off.
You can connect with Kait Nolan here:
About the narrator:
From Amy McFadden’s website: Hi! This part is all about me. Just me. It feels weird to write a bunch of stuff about myself but I don’t like pictures of me so I’ll have to use words instead.
I live in Michigan with my fiancé, Joe Anderson. He makes me laugh so much I never have to do situps. Truthfully, I probably wouldn’t do situps anyway, but hey, it’s still a nice bonus to our love.
I’m an actress now, and I used to be a 2nd grade teacher. I loved that part of my life, but after doing it for a bunch of years, I was ready to move on to the next version of me. They’re not really very different versions-teachers and actresses both reach out and engage people through stories. I’m NOT a morning person, but waking up to tell stories makes mornings better-than-tolerable.
I love books and the Muppets and smart people and kind people (not necessarily in that order) and sleeping and chocolate and coffee and writers and learning and Oreo cookies and a bunch of other stuff-but I’m starting to make myself gag on all this love.
I hate a bunch of stuff, too, but who cares about that junk? It’s probably the same stuff you hate, so I won’t bore you. Except I REALLY hate listening to people eat bananas.
You can connect with Amy McFadden here:
My Favorite Quotes
Zach couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she was running. With luck, he’d eventually suss out why. – Dancing Away With My Heart by @kaitnolan #Audiobook narrated by @amymcnarrator #SmallTown #Romance #Wishful #SecondChance #Novella #ClosedDoor #FriendsToLovers
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“You were best friends with one of the hottest girls in school,” Jace pointed out. “We just couldn’t figure out how you didn’t notice that back then.” – Dancing Away With My Heart by @kaitnolan #Audiobook narrated by @amymcnarrator #SmallTown #Romance #Wishful #SecondChance #Novella #ClosedDoor #FriendsToLovers
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you haven’t lived until you’ve seen the Casserole Patrol doing The Whip and Nae Nae. – Dancing Away With My Heart by @kaitnolan #Audiobook narrated by @amymcnarrator #SmallTown #Romance #Wishful #SecondChance #Novella #ClosedDoor #FriendsToLovers
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I would literally rather face a firing squad than go to the class reunion prom. – Dancing Away With My Heart by @kaitnolan #Audiobook narrated by @amymcnarrator #SmallTown #Romance #Wishful #SecondChance #Novella #ClosedDoor #FriendsToLovers
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he might just have to lie down in the driveway behind Lexi’s car to keep her from leaving town and pray she didn’t decide to run him over. – Dancing Away With My Heart by @kaitnolan #Audiobook narrated by @amymcnarrator #SmallTown #Romance #Wishful #SecondChance #Novella #ClosedDoor #FriendsToLovers
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Rellim Reads 