TYPE OF NOVEL: Historical Romance, Regency RomanceSETTING: 1815, Beaworthy, Devonshire, England MAIN CHARACTERS: Julia Midwinter (wealthy and beautiful heiress), Alec Valcourt (a fencing and dancing master from London), Lady Amelia Midwinter (Julia's strict mother who dislikes dancing), John Desmond (a mysterious man who seems to have had quite a scandalous past in Beaworthy) SYNOPSIS:For the last twenty years the citizens of Beaworthy have not engaged in dancing, assemblies, or balls. Due to a

I think, of all Julie Klassen's books, this was probably my second favorite next to "The Secret of Pembrooke Park." The mischievous, wild heroine was a lot of fun ... but the story is told from the point of view of our hero, Alec Valcourt, which was nice because Julia could be, in my opinion, a little bit annoying. Even if that was understandable.Full of mystery, excitement, and romance, The Dancing Master is sure to catch your attention of page one and keep it until "The End."

This book is a masterpiece, really. Klassen takes a spoiled, pettish miss Julia and shows how she turns into a true woman over the course of a single year. And Lady Amelia learning to face her fears and live again... Alec is the perfect hero, doing his best to be a gentleman and do the right thing toward Julia despite his desires and her flirting. And Desmond! I wanted more Desmond!It's hard to classify what I liked about this book, other than that. The character growth is simply astounding, bui...

I’ve long been a fan of Julie Klassen, so I may be a little biased when I say THE DANCING MASTER is a must read. Not that her previous titles are wimpy by any stretch of the imagination, but this one is my all-time favorite thus far (and no, I don’t say that for every book she releases).What’s so great about this one? The intrigue. I didn’t figure out the twisty-turny plot until towards the end. Every time I was sure that I had, the story would take another turn and prove me wrong. I love that!

This book is so JUICY. Like, there was tea & it was being spilled. Past scandals, secrets, & everyone is in love with someone beyond their reach. I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews for this book & I’m happy to say I really enjoyed it! I never got bored, there was always something interesting going on. I will say that the lead female is not the typical likable heroine. She is flawed & realistic to some degree. I did find myself wishing I liked her more, but her flawed character kept things interest...

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the setting, and could understand the pain that came to quite a few, in this story, on being betrayed. There is a lot of lying and deceit. Julia, one of the main characters, is a flirt, and very spoiled. She thinks mainly of her self, and doesn't seem to care about what happens to others. Another main male character, Alec, is the Dance Master Saber Instructor. I cringed when he was beaten up, I thought surely some of his fast on his feet trai...

I remember trying to read this one when it first came out. I either didn't finish it or didn't like it at all. Well, years have passed and my tastes have changed. I really liked it! Julia definitely has to grow on you. She acts far younger than her 19 years, and it just drove me crazy at some points. That being said, she is one of those characters that you just have to root for, even though she was kind of a brat to her friends and family. Her vulnerability elevated her in my mind. I enjoyed wat...

This was a very beautiful story of healing, forgiveness, and grace!It was very different then what I originally expected because I didn't realize that a fairly good amount of the book is from Alec's point of view! I would say their was probably an equal amount of Alec and Julia's story combined, which surprised me initially! I don't mean to say this in a bad way because in the end I was very grateful that Mrs. Klassen included his story with such depth! Alec's life as a trying dancing master was...

First of all I LOVE this cover. I found myself at times just turning to the cover and staring at it, I love her dress!I sooo wanted to like this book more than I did. It just was a little too much story-line and not enough romance in it. - The one stolen kiss was just not enough for me. :o) The whole book you are trying to figure out why dancing is banned, and the story/mystery behind it. A lot of drama...The main character Julia did a lot of growing up in this novel. Now that I think about it,

3.5 stars The Dancing Master is a gently-moving story about a young woman coming face-to-face with the secrets of her past and a young man who has to put his past behind him in order to move forward. Although categorised as “Christian” fiction, the religious message is not at all heavy-handed; indeed, the characters behave in a manner that feels very realistic for the time in which the novel is set. Alec Valcourt, together with his mother and sister, had to leave their lives in London following

Dancing is forbidden in Beaworthy. It has been twenty years since the last dance and, though there is not a written law, everybody obeys to Lady Amelia Midwinter’s orders, probably too scared to stand up against that threatening woman. But one day Alec Valcourt, a young dancing master, arrives in town and everything starts to slowly change...It seems I cannot give less than a five to Julie Klassen’s books. And I am quite content with it! “The Dancing Master” was not as engrossing as my personal

I told a friend, once, that I will often give a book 5 stars if I would love to see it made into a movie; a good movie that followed the book perfectly. ( I know, that never happens, but, this was one of those books:) I loved it because it was unique. I mean, how many books have you read about dancing masters? I also enjoyed how it wasn't so much a romance story between the hero and heroine, it was about a mother and child finding grace and respect for one another and a town being redeemed, lear...

When Alec Valcourt, famed dancing master of London, arrives in the little berg of Beaworthy after his father's death, he never anticipated that he would be moving to the only town in England that had an unspoken rule against dancing. This is the height of the Regency era, and Alec's sole expertise is as a dancing and fencing master. His mother and sister fall under his care and Alec needs his livelihood in order to provide for them. He cannot always rely upon his uncle to care for them. Enters t...

As someone who thoroughly enjoys "old time" dances, this book looked quite intriguing to me. Plus, the cover is SO pretty! <3What I Liked: This book was a very interesting, fun read. The two main characters were completely opposite of each other, which made for some fun dynamics. I will be honest, Julia got on my last nerve. I get it, her mother is strict and controlling, but Julia lived a privileged life with her every want and desire was fulfilled. (Within reason.) And to read of Julia's disre...

This was on my wishlist years ago and I forgot all about it till recently... originally, I was going to wait until next month but I saw it and could not resist starting on it straightaway :).----My friend got me another of Julie Klassen's books for christmas in 2014 but at the time I wasn't in the mood for it and put it aside. Once I started it again in earnest, I did enjoy it but not "in love with it." It did light a fire in me for more Regency-themed books though.I enjoyed this one more than h...

A complex plot and an intriguing air of mystery kept me fairly hooked into this one. My interest did wane a few times, due to content issues as well as a significant theme. The writing was as lovely as the mind-pictures painted by the dancing characters upon the pages. I was quite surprised to see a bit of profanity in this one, as that has not been a trademark of Mrs. Klassen's in prior books, that I recall. Overall, an entertaining story was conveyed in (mostly) exquisite wording, but it was n...

I always look forward to a new Julie Klassen novel. She’s one of those authors that are on my “Automatically Read” list. However, The Dancing Master didn’t quite live up to my expectations.The story is a little Footloose meets Jane Austen. We know that there is an unofficial law that prohibits dancing, but don’t find out why until about 2/3 of the way through – and it’s wildly overdramatic and a little ridiculous. Then there’s still so much more to get through. The book was long. The book clocks...

Generally I pay attention to the lowest reviews to see why a book is not well liked. Although there were mixed reviews on The Dancing Master, I had a good feeling about it primarily because I've enjoyed so many Julie Klassen books before. Well, I loved it. I thought the theme was a good one and kept my interest all the way through. I looked forward to picking it up in the evenings.Alec Valcourt had been a dancing and fencing master in London. After moving to a country village following the loss

Footloose in Regency England? Heck yes!

This is the first book this year to which I give a full five stars. I've had a lot of great reads so far in 2016, lots of 4 stars ratings and a few 4.5 stars that nearly made it to a full 5, but I hadn't yet found a new favourite like I've found with The Dancing Master. I LOVED this book. And it highly surprised me, because it was a very quiet, English-countryside-not-much-happens kind of book (for the most part). I was quite taken aback with the slow pace and the gentleness of the writing when