Customer Reviews

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing: A Novel (Va Va Va Boom Series)

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This is the kind of book that just makes you feel GOOD. For me, it's the epitome of what Contemporary Christian Fiction is all about! Great characters, believable plot, fantastic story, and a message about how to live as The Savior would want us to.

I instantly fell in love with Susan,(which happens to be my best friends name - in my real life), she is a hoot, and I felt connected to her from the get-go. Add in Miss Lilly (who is the spit'n image - minus the money- of my "foster mom", Arrine), who is elegant, savvy, professional, smart, richer than rich, and secure in her faith. Then blend in Michael (Susan's husband of 25 years), the Lovely Loretta (Susan's right hand woman at the Disco Diva), and you have a foursome that would be able to handle just about any situation. With the addition of Ryan, Tina, Jackie (at the end), and Susan's online pals, Bottke has written a masterpiece!!!

I'm a mature woman. I'm a mother and grandmother. I might be older, but I'm still kick'n, and it's so wonderful to be able to pick up a book and read about other Baby Boomers. I laughed, I cried, and I laughed some more. I do my best reading soaking in our spa(oh it's so wonderful)tub. I'll get myself some munchies, a big glass of grapefruit juice, and settle in for a nice long session. Usually I'm in the tub for about an hour or an hour and a half. This time, my husband had to drag me out, when I hit over the two hour mark. YES - that's how great this story is.

YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCING, did just that! Bravo...bravo...encore! I so look forward to more from Allison Bottke.
(Review first posted at [...])

I like a good chick-lit book and Allison Bottke's new book is touted as boomer-lit because it is about the baby boomer generation ladies. This is the first of three books in the series and it should be an entertaining series. In this first book we meet Susan and her husband and friends. Susan is known as the Disco Diva and lives and works in Las Vegas as a hair dresser at her own shop. She lives for the 70's and all things 70's. The more memorablia the better! She loves it all - the fashions, the music, the furniture and the stars and she has the collection to prove it. Her dream has always been to open a Disco Hall of Fame, but that is just a dream right? Now her husband is getting ready to retire, maybe just a little sooner than Susan was prepared for... and just maybe all those years of not telling her husband what exactly happened to her in the 70's is going to catch up with her. Overall this is a good book and for fans of the 70's it is probably fantastic! My biggest complaint is just that Susan has things a little too easy in the money department, that just made it a little "yeah, right" as far as I was concerned. Not everyone has unlimited access to money, and it made me not very sympathetic to her character. Other than that, this is a wonderful addition to the chick-lit category with an emphasis in boomer-lit!

Susan is a woman who appears to have it all - a hip hair salon, Disco Diva, in Las Vagas, decorated with her collection of disco-era memorabilia who loves to dress the part in vintage designer clothing, many of her outfits from famous people. She is also on an online e-mail group called Boomer Babes Rock, where she shares with other ladies, her faith, prayer requests and life. There are many realistic story lines in this book, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing: A Novel (Va Va Va Boom Series)book, including, a husband and wife floating apart, a husband's dreams that are not hers, and dreams of what she would like to accomplish, yet fears of sharing with her husband. Just as she thinks she can leap forward with her dream of enlarging her her hair salon, someone comes unexpectedly back into her life that shatters dreams and brings back memories she was hoping to leave behind. It's a story of healing, faith, and giving and taking along with working to make a marriage survive.

I do not read many fiction books, but I found myself understanding this woman who is about the same age as I am along with realities of a difficult past. This 437 paged book seemed to drag on at times and just when I thought I'd give up on it, something would happen that would keep me reading to the end. I think some of it could have been shortened, but overall, it's a fun book for the Baby Boomer era to read! It also includes book discussion questions at the end.

This was a fun book to read. I would love to get my hair done at Susan's salon. It sounded like an awesome, hip place just to hang out and learn about history. I loved the scene where, in the middle of a hair session, the lights went off, the strobe came on, the disco ball came on and everyone got down and boogied. It's really a fascinating concept and if it doesn't already exist in real life, there's a gold mine idea for you right there. Susan's disco collection is massive and extremely valuable. It's interesting as to how much time and effort Susan put into her collection as opposed to relationships in real life as well as her faith and beliefs. The story starts off very breezy and happy go lucky and then spins off into more serious subjects as Susan is forced to dredge up old memories from the past. Her relationships are evaluated throughout the book, with her husband, her friends, her co-workers, old boyfriends, and new acquaintances.

It might be because I'm not the targeted baby-boomer audience, but there were some parts of the book that dragged a bit for me. Not that it was boring or not written well, I just felt that there were parts of the book that could have either been omitted or shortened. Also I got annoyed with Susan's husband Michael several times throughout the book because it didn't seem as he was concerned about his wife's feelings. I realize that he was at retiring age but it seemed like just because he was ready to call it quits that Susan had to as well. Also from the back of the book, I was expecting the online community to have a bigger role than they actually had in the story.

That being said, I did enjoy this book and it was fun to take a trip through disco memory lane with Susan's collection. After reading this book, I had an urge to put on some bell bottoms, grab a disco ball, and put on the Stayin Alive soundtrack and boogie in my living room. The Baby Boomer generation will get a kick of this book and younger readers will enjoy this blast from the past. I'll be looking forward to reading the next books in the series.

I enjoyed this book. Well written with some twists and turns that were surprising. The setting of Las Vegas was up-to-date and the visual descriptions perfect. Since I am a boomer myself, I could empathisize with some of the heroine's (Susan) thought processes, ideas, and experiences. Christian without being preachy. It should be a very interesting series. The series will be about Susan and her on-lines friends. A very close knit group that cares deeply about each other and their problems and successes. Susan is a dancer turned hairdresser who cares deeply for her chorus line customers, helping them in their personal lives, and encouraging them in their Christian walk by her own example. Susan is also a disco fanatic and because she was one of the Studio 54 regulars, she has a past that rises up to bite her at an unexpected moment.

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing: A Novel (Va Va Va Boom Series)

This is Allison Bottke's third fiction book and the first in the Va Va Va Boom! Series. She really shines as an author with YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCING. I have enjoyed reading this book several times and enjoy each time as much as the first. The characters are fun and real. I enjoy "spending time" with them through the pages of this story.

I laugh, cry, and remember the days of disco -- and the fashion that went along with it. I recommend watching the book trailer too. Fun, fashion, disco, and dancing. A great combination! Watch now at [...]

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
VaVaVa Boom Series
Allison Bottke
2009
David C. Cook
Fiction/Christian/Women

Reviewed by Cindy Loven

Susan Anderson is the Disco Queen, the owner of the famous hair salon Disco Diva. However she is hiding, from her past. A past that was soon to catch up to her. Busy, busy, busy is the only way to
describe how Susan lives. Her salon is extremely successful, she is in love with her husband. She just never had opened up to him. He is nearing retirement and ready for his turn and a startling
announcement from him, concerning his retirement and plans for after retirement, drive a wedge between them.
Susan has a plan is in place to enlarge her existing salon, when a rich friend decides to find out what Susan's dreams are, and then she places into motion, a plan to make that dream come true. Thus the new Disco Diva Salon and DaySpa, The Disco Hall of Fame Museum, and the dancing and non alcoholic dinner club, are birthed and planned. Michael's retirement plans threaten all of this. Follow the story to find out how it is all resolved.
The entrance of a person from the past, brings Susan to a point of facing her past, and to a breakdown, her family and friends surround her with love and caring. Her healing process is slow and painful, but successful.
A wonderful ending to a lovely story, Allison Bottke, has brought us a book that will make us laugh, cry and bite our nails in anticipation of what will happen next. Get to know, Susan and Michael Anderson, Lily Peyton, Loretta, Tina, Ryan and Patricia in this heart stirring novel. A definite must read book!! The back of the book has discussion questions for a book club. 437 pages [...]

Michael and Susan have been happily married for many, many years. They live in Las Vegas. Susan is the proud owner of the Disco Diva, a hair salon. She has lots of loves like her collectibles, her friends...The Boomer Babes Rock Group, which is comprised of Patricia Davies, Mary Johnson, Lisa Taylor, Linda Jones, and Sharon Wilson, and her husband but her top love will always be her shop.

As much as Michael is proud of his wife, he is ready to retire and her wants Susan there by his side. He has been working at The Silver Spur casino for thirty years. Michael has a big surprise for Susan. Unfortunately, Susan is less then thrilled with Michael's surprise. In fact it causes tensions between husband and wife. As if Susan wasn't stressed enough. How will she react when a blast from her past comes back.

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing is part of the VaVaVa Boom series. What I liked about this book is that the characters were in their mid forties, fifties and older. Susan, Michael and the rest of the Boomer Babes Rock Group. They shows that age is just a number and you are only as young as you feel. As much as I did like this book, I wished I could have gotten into it more. I stuck with the whole story till the end but the last third of the story, I started to drift off for some reason. The energy just wasn't there the whole way for me. Though I do think author, Allison Bottke did a well done job on You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.

This Christian fiction is a good story with sweet characters who confront some ups and downs of everyday life. As one character states, popular "reality TV shows ... got nothin' on us." Written in third person, every character's thoughts are easily followed.

Although they supposedly have a good marriage with good communication, Michael keeps a secret for twenty-five years from his wife, Susan, and she makes major plans without consulting him. Clearly, something's gotta give, and it sure does. Communication is a theme in this book which celebrates "God-cidences" rather than coincidences. If I could change anything, I'd change the ending; it's too predictable, but happy endings are what good chick lit is all about. Discussion questions included.

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing by Allison Bottke is the first in the Va Va Va Boom series about a set of Baby Boomer girlfriends. This story stars Susan Anderson who has built a life she loves in Las Vegas. As the owner of Disco Diva salons, she collects disco-era memorabilia and dresses the part in vintage designer clothing. Her marriage to Michael isn't going quite as well. After years of working opposite shifts, they discover that their dreams for their future are completely different. He's ready to retire and build them a mansion in the desert after selling off many of her treasures. Susan wants to expand her salon to showcase her collection and continue ministering to the young women who frequent her beautician's chair. The two dreams collide when a blast from Susan's past shatters her future, and they both have to decide where to go from here. I had a hard time getting into this novel at first, but once Susan started expanding her vision, the story really took off. The various themes of forgiveness, letting go of the past, and communication were entwined with the story without ever being preachy. I especially loved Susan's sacrificial stance of submission to her husband. The only complaint I have with the book is that the series aspect seemed tacked on. The only other Boomer girl we meet is Pat, and it's a brief, forgettable appearance. The portions tying this book into a series could be removed without affecting this terrific story. Don't let that stop you from reading this fun and fantastic book. The solid themes of friendship and faith mixed with disco music make this a book that's hard to put down.