"Contemporary romantic family drama"

In Twin Rivers, Rhode Island, former high school Principal Margaret Porter slides in and out of senility. Her youngest daughter Sylvie takes a leave of absence from her job as the local high school librarian to care for her mom. Margaret's oldest daughter Jane, a successful New York baker, comes home to help, but brings with her a very sweet cake that her mom the diabetic should not eat.

Though her mother seems to have forgotten the secret they shared, Jane feels guilt over the hush-hush that drove her out of town. Jane meets and befriends young Chloe, the child she gave up at birth under pressure from her own mother. The Chadwick brood adopted Chloe and love her as if she was biologically one of their own. Soon Jane and Dylan Chadwick, a former US Marshal whose wife and child died in a shootout, fall in love. However, she has the Chloe secret and he still feels guilt over what happened to his previous family making anything permanent seem impossible.

Fans of contemporary romantic family dramas with deep relationships will appreciate the latest Luanne Rice entry. The story line is solid due to a realistic cast struggling with interrelating with one another. The two siblings and the Chadwick crew seem so genuine while Margaret's condition comes across so real and adds depth as to what is best for an aging parent and for their caretaker. Though the reconciliation ending seems to easily done even if Chloe "named" herself, fans will enjoy this delightful novel.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted February 1, 2004

Summary

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.