Series: Seraph's Burlesque Club #4
Read time: <1 Day
Rating: 4/5 Stars
The Quote: Oh. This kiss was the outcome of years of teasing. He’d brought this drama on himself by forever taunting Jack with his desire, always holding himself back. The anticipation and never the act. Just like a Burlesque dance. — Ace
Warnings: references to homophobia
Show Dance is a predictable and short but nonetheless lovely story. Honestly, I can't say much about this it's just enjoyable and a great way to spend a few minutes. Show Dance has a fairly simple friends-to-lovers plot, You get an idea of the only angst in the book in the blurb, ie they have a communication issue. It's that whole can't lose the best friend thing, which I get and I quite like as a trope. I like Ace and Jack. Ace is flamboyant and coming to terms with his own form of creativity apart from his famous acting parents. A highly religious single mother raised Jack which lead to him having to suppress his true self for years and her struggling to accept him now. There is a brilliant contrast between Jack's admittedly trying family and Ace's. Ace has famous parents and was raised by his grandmother. Everyone whole heartedly accepts his sexuality and has welcomed Jack too. “Teasing by night, serious in the day job.”
“Isn’t that both of us?” (Jack and Ace) I really like the character choices both Ace and Jack are using their respective aspect of burlesque as creative outlets for serious day jobs. Dancer Jack is a sports teacher while costume designer Ace is a lawyer, a prosecutor reading between the lines.
Some quotes I liked
“Take off your shirt. I want to test these wings.”
“Wings?” Jack hadn’t agreed to wings.
“Yes. I want to see you fly.” — Honestly this is on the first or second page. The outfit Ace has created for Jack is freaking stunning. I want to see what Renée was envisioning when she wrote this. (Ace and Jack)
“What truth is that?” Grace Wu made a grand entrance, as only an actress of her calibre could. Her silk dark blue dress floated around her tall slender frame. “Don’t tell me you two have finally admitted you are love with each other.” She brushed her hand over her forehead. “Fuck, if I could manufacture a tenth of the chemistry you two have with my current co-star, this movie would be going a lot better.” — This quote had to make it into the review. But it felt wrong in something so short to make it one of the main quotes. I love Grace. She made me laugh, basically, she is the reader and damn does she know how to make an enterance. (Grace)
It caught in his throat, almost like he needed to laugh and cry at the same time; melodramatic like one of Ma’s movies. And all the while Jack kissed him, keeping him grounded on this earth while his brain spiralled out of control. This was why he loved the law¬–it was solid, detailed, and he could hunt through the words to find the answer he wanted. He could control the outcome. — There is something deeply appealing about this sentiment. Ace bringing his serious side the table with the man who is usually where his teasing size is. (Ace)
“Anyone who can envisage how a fabric will move against a body and how it makes a dance better isn’t uncoordinated. You might not move your body like a dancer, but you move your brain and your vision in a way that makes the dance better. Your ideas and your skill create the atmosphere. I’m only the conduit.” — I love this line. The vision of a designer is so underrated. (Jack)
One thing that might be offputting to some readers is given by Renée Dahlia in an author's note: "This book is written in Australian English and some spelling and phrases may be unfamiliar to American readers." Personally, I find this to be a bit of an add choice given the London setting of the book and the nationalities of the characters. But Australian and British English are fairly close in spelling, we just have some Americanisations the Brits don't. I didn't see anything in here that shouldn't be broadly understandable by context if nothing else. Show Dance is I think perpetually free so if you want to try it out, I think it's worth it. The characters are cute and there are no nasty surprises.
