"Heartwrenching and heartwarming portrait of everyday life."

Jane Porter and Dylan Chadwick have each returned to their childhood homes in the apple orchards of Twin Rivers, Rhode Island. Jane, a successful New York chef, comes home to help her sister, Sylvie, care for their mother feebled with age. Facing the secrets whispering in the leaves of her past, Jane must also help free Sylvie from her duty, so that she can build a life with the man she loves.

Meanwhile, Dylan has shed his life as a federal agent. Seeking to resurrect the once fruitful family orchard, he goes against his brother, Eli's, wishes to sell the land for residential development. He tries to bury the hurtful memories of his wife and beloved daughter, lost in the line of duty, by creating life where it once lay fallow. Helping him is Chloe, his unusual, spirited niece. Adopted at birth, she longs to untangle the mystery surrounding the woman who gave her up, with her name as her only birthright. Together these people will touch each other's lives, in ways they never thought possible.

Once again, Ms. Rice awakens everyday life with magic. This story of life, love and loss is heart-wrenching and heartwarming. The reader can almost smell the apples in the orchard with each stroke of her pen. She beautifully emotes the characters, making them so realistic it's hard to believe they are fictional. A good book to curl up with, but be sure to keep the tissues nearby.

Reviewed by Anne Barringer
Courtesy Old Book Barn Gazette
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.