Swing

Alana Albertson

Nov 2013 · Bolero Books, LLC (new account)

About this ebook

 A Marine's Promise
In another life, I'd been a ballroom champion and reality star Selena Marcil had been my partner. Our lives have gone our separate ways. Nothing left but childhood dreams and memories of first love. 
Until I received the offer. 
A letter from our former master coach bribing me with five thousand dollars a week to appear on one season of the hit show, Dancing under the Stars. My impulse is to reject it in a heartbeat. I have no desire for fame or fortune.
Except I made a promise once. 
To a dying man. My best friend. I swore to him that I'd take care of his wife and kids if he passed away on the battlefield. 
Fifty thousand dollars. For humiliating myself on national television, spending time with the woman who'd left me, losing my privacy, becoming the laughing stock of the Marine Corps. One season, ten weeks, a small sacrifice to make for the man who'd saved my life. Hand me my dance shoes. 
I'm in. SSgt Bret Lord, USMC

Love Waltzes In is a stand alone full length novel with a HEA and no cliffhanger.

Ratings and reviews

3.5 stars A good idea for a book and technically the writing is good (punctuation, grammar and flow). It's a shorter read, more of a 'longer novella', that is easy to read and follow. Unfortunately we had a hero and heroine who could only see their point of view and were totally unwilling to compromise on, or discuss, anything. It also felt like being in a revolving door of I hate you, I love you, I hate you, I love you. Selena made a terrible decision whilst Bret was in basic training, so I understand why Bret held such dislike for her. Since she was only 18 when she made that decision I could also forgive Selena for that choice. However we almost had a love triangle between Selena, Bret and Dima and, for me, Selena came across as flaky and lacking in any self-respect. Brad was just as weak. Despite all protestations and intentions otherwise, he forgave Selena not once, but twice, for her poor choices in their relationship. I've no idea why he forgave her as there were no heart felt apologies/pleas/acts to elicit it. I think perhaps the wind changed direction and his mind along with it. There were such touches of genius at times. The reality of the 'reality' show, the bitchiness, the hard work and lack of life to make it all look effortless. Unfortunately the relationship between Bret and Selena, for me, wasn't real or believable. Bret was actually quite a well written character, even if he was a narrow-minded bigot most of the time. However it almost felt as though he disappeared towards the end of the book, and all we got was Selena. Selena who had the personality of a mannequin and the depth of a piece of paper. On a positive I did read all the book. It is light, frothy, totally stress and angst-free, with good writing. Try a sample of the book, you might like it.

About the author

ALANA ALBERTSON IS the former President of Romance Writers of America Contemporary Romance chapter. She holds a Masters of Education from Harvard and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Stanford. A recovering professional ballroom dancer, she lives in San Diego, California, with her husband, two sons, and five dogs. When she’s not spending her time needlepointing, dancing, or saving dogs from high kill shelters through her dog rescue Pugs N Roses she can be found watching episodes of Homeland or Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.