Dance with Me [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Luanne Rice (Author), Karen Ziemba (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 2006

Acclaimed for her insightful depiction of the magic and mystery in everyday life and relationships, Luanne Rice is one of today’s most gifted novelists. Now the author of eight consecutive New York Times bestsellers delivers her most powerful book yet—the story of a man and woman forced to choose between the past that haunts them and the love that won’t let them go.

Jane Porter left the apple orchards of rural Twin Rivers, Rhode Island, years ago, fleeing memories that could tear two families apart. Now she has been unexpectedly drawn home to her mother and only sister. Dylan Chadwick has come back, too, shedding the steely exterior he wore as a federal agent in order to follow in the footsteps of his apple-farming father and forget the life he once lived. Amid this landscape of loss and renewal, a haunting story of converging lives, small-town secrets—and the magical sway of unexpected miracles—unfolds. Deeply moving and richly told, Dance with Me explores emotional connections at their very core, with keen insights into the lives of mothers and daughters, sisters and lovers that will resonate long after the final page is turned.


From the Hardcover edition.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Heartbreak gives way to love and reconciliation in this poignant tale by veteran romance writer Rice (The Perfect Summer, etc.). After more than a decade as the owner of a trendy New York City bakery, Calamity Jane's, 35-year-old Jane Porter returns to her native rural Rhode Island to help her sister, Sylvie, care for their ailing mother, Margaret. Neighbor Dylan Chadwick has recently moved back to the Twin Rivers area, too, after abandoning his career as a federal law enforcement agent in New York. Both Jane and Dylan are badly scarred by life's blows: Dylan is still mourning the death of his wife and daughter in a shootout, and Jane can't forget the outcome of a doomed college romance. As Dylan embarks on the daunting task of restoring his father's beloved apple orchard, Jane takes an avid interest in Dylan's 15-year-old niece, Chloe, baking apple tarts for the orchard roadside stand where Chloe works. Sparks fly between Dylan and Jane, but the novel's plot hinges on Jane and Chloe's growing friendship. Rice relies heavily on coincidence and contrivance, concocting a tear-jerking mix of family strife, juvenile impetuosity and misunderstood motives, but her sympathetic protagonists keep readers engaged. Even secondary characters like Sylvie, a tightly wound school librarian, and Mona, Chloe's eccentric best friend, make an impression, and readers will breathe sighs of relief when the long-awaited happy ending comes for Dylan, Jane and Chloe.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Jane Porter is traveling back to her hometown of Twin Rivers, Rhode Island, with a heavy heart. She has stayed away as much as possible for the last 15 years, while her sister, Sylvie, has remained in town and taken care of their ill mother. The girls' mother was once a proud school principal who raised her brilliant daughters alone after her husband deserted them and then, because of her pride and fear of abandonment, convinced young Jane to give her newborn child up for adoption when the father wanted nothing to do with them. Jane has always regretted that decision and now wants to see her daughter. The opportunity arises when she meets her daughter's uncle, Dylan, who has lost his wife and daughter. Dylan and Jane both have an aura of tragedy about them. He and Jane become involved, and through him she develops a relationship with her daughter, Chloe, without revealing the fact that she is Chloe's birth mother. Once again, Rice captures the wonder of life, warts and all, and puts in a bid for hope. Her latest is a stellar example of why Rice continues to gain popularity. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Abridged edition (December 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743565355
• ISBN-13: 978-0743565356
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,197,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

LUANNE RICE is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, most recently The Silver Boat. Her books, including Cloud Nine and Dream Country, often center on love, family, nature and the sea, and have been translated into twenty-four languages. A number of Rice's novels have been adapted for television, including Crazy in Love for TNT, Blue Moon for CBS, the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations of Follow the Stars Home and Silver Bells, and Beach Girls as a summer drama series for Lifetime Television. She has contributed a theatrical piece to the new off Broadway play Motherhood Out Loud. Rice loves nature and frequently writes about it. Born in New Britain, Connecticut, Rice divides her time between New York City and Old Lyme, Connecticut, in the house where she spent all her childhood summers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A return to a hometown, and a search..., October 18, 2004

By 

J. a Locke "Book Hugger" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dance with Me (Hardcover)

Author Luanne Rice is known for her writings of life and relationships. In Dance With Me, main character Jane Porter returns to her hometown of Twin Rivers, Rhode Island, to be with her sister and ill mother. Jane has been away from RI for years, escaping her past, living in New York City's Greenwich Village and founding a successful bakery business. Her motives to return aren't just for her mother and sister, but also to search out a teenager named Chloe, whom she gave up to adoption at the time of the baby's birth. Not a day has gone by that she hasn't thought of her daughter. She meets Chloe under secret circumstances, hiding the fact that she is her birth mother. Jane unexpectedly finds love with Chloe's uncle... but when she reveals that she is Chloe's birth mother, the news is not welcomed but vehemently rejected. After assisting her sister in settling mother in a much needed constant-care nursing home, Jane reluctantly returns to New York to reopen her bakery to escape the pain of Chloe's and the uncle's rejection. Does forgiveness come out of love lost, to be regained? Rice's book has a realistic premise, but soft on character development and depth of the plot lost in the repetitiveness of 'will she love me?', 'will she accept me?' "will he understand?' If you are a reader who enjoys a no nonsense, light romantic read, then Dance With Me is for you. (Recommended Reading: The Pearl Diver by Jeff Talarigo)

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another success, March 16, 2004

By 

Theresa W (mi, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dance with Me (Hardcover)

I always look forward to a Luanne Rice book. Inside the covers, they each hold something special, magical- a tale of love, family and redemption. And they always keep me coming back for more!

Dance with me is about two sisters, Sylvie and Jane and their ailing mother. Even though they are both about 30 years old, in so many ways they've never grown up. But now is the time to face the past and start anew. For Sylvie it's dealing with a mother who has Alzheimers, who she's built her whole life around- but now it's time to start a life of her own. For Jane, it's about forgiving her mother for encouraging her to give up a baby she had when she was 20 and finding a way to make up for lost time. And then we get to know the family of the little girl Jane put up for adoption, Chloe, and her family- who have their own secrets and problems.

Again, Luanne Rice takes topics we've read about a million times before and some how still manages to hold our interest. And she never gives us a cheesy ending, anything forced or fake. It's as real as real life can get. I'd recommend this book for anyone who enjoys romance or family stories. The story keeps you interested and the characters endear themselves to you. Also- read any of her other books, they're all wonderful!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing second chance love story, October 24, 2005

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dance with Me (Mass Market Paperback)

Jane Porter returns to her Rhode Island hometown to help her sister care for their ailing mother. Jane rarely makes the trip due to the painful memories that have scarred her even into adulthood. When she was a sophomore in college, her mother forced her to give up her child for adoption, and it was handled privately, with the baby girl going to a local family.

Dylan Chadwick has also returned home. After his wife and daughter were killed in a crossfire while he was a US Marshall, he has returned to the family apple orchard, determined to bring it back to life. He has forged a loving and protective relationship with his niece, who it turns out, is the child that Jane gave birth to 15 years earlier.

Coming home affords Jane with the opportunity to meet the child she could never forget. Soon, she is spending time with Dylan, who has suddenly come out of his shell, and has fallen for her. She too is smitten with Dylan, but worries that her motivations for being with him will be misconstrued once he finds out about her relationship to Chloe.

Dance with Me is an absorbing story about two lost souls who manage to find each other, only to find themselves at odds. The icy relationship between the sisters and the mother is believable and engrossing.