Love
Waltzes In
By: Alana Albertson
Blurb
To her
millions of fans, ballroom champion Selena Marcil seems to have the perfect
life: a great dance partner, a hit reality show, and celebrity perks. But underneath
the glamorous ball gowns, Selena longs to find someone to share her life with
when the stage lights dim.
Selena’s
childhood sweetheart, Bret Lord, hung up his dance shoes after winning two
national titles with her as a teenager, and enlisted in the United States
Marine Corps. He never saw his former fiancée again, except on television and
on the cover of men’s magazines. Ten years and three deployments later, Bret
gets an offer to audition for Selena’s dance show. When the Marine Corps gives
him temporary leave to appear on the series, Bret can’t refuse the quick cash
that will enable him to provide financially for the widow of his buddy, even if
it does mean coming face to face with his past.
When Bret
shows up at her national championship, Selena is shocked. For years she
searched for him to no avail. After spending time with Bret, Selena realizes
despite their past romance, they have no future. He has no desire to live under
a spotlight and she has no desire to leave it. Can Selena and Bret recognize
when Love Waltzes In?
Review by
Marlene Engel
Selena
Marcil has been dancing since she was a small child. It has been her dream to win the dance
competition in Blackpool, England. But
currently, she is one of the dance stars on the popular show, Dancing Under the
Stars. She likes that being on the show
helps to pay the bills and gives her the chance to stay in top competitive
shape, but her hopes were that she’d be in a relationship and have a family by
now. She questions if pursuing her dream
of dance hindered her chance at what she really desires in life.
Bret Lord is
a former dancer turned Marine. In the
past, he was engaged to Selena. He had
thought that their relationship was strong enough to last through his change of
career, but Selena’s hurt feelings caused her to break off their
relationship.
When Bret
gets offered a chance to represent the Marines, and be a contestant on Dancing
Under the Stars, he knows that this is the chance for him to make some good
money that can help out his deceased friend’s family. What he didn’t expect was to be partnered
with his former fiancĂ© who he hasn’t seen for ten years now.
As a fan of
the popular show, Dancing With The Stars, I knew I’d enjoy this book. I liked how the author gave the readers a
behind the scenes look at the world of dance and made you feel like you were
right there dancing along with them. The connection that Selena and Bret had was
palpable and had me rooting for them to get back together. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of
Dancing With The Stars … or just romance in general!
Excerpt
Staff Sergeant
Bret Lord sat on the dirty floor of his tent, going through the day’s mail: the
latest Men’s Fitness magazine from his sister, a care package from his mom. He
ripped open the package—socks, lip balm, sunflower seeds, and a thin letter
that contained an old magazine clipping.
Dear Bret,
I miss you very much. Benny asked me to send you this
article. I really wish you would consider his offer. Please stay safe.
Love, Mom
He swallowed hard. A neon sticky pressed on the
wrinkled page had a note scrawled on it from his former master dance coach.
Bret, m’boy,
We’ll make it worth your time.
Cheers, Benny.
Thumbing the edge of the article, Bret stared at the
sixteen-year-old boy in the picture and could barely recognize himself. His
shoulder length, wavy blond hair was slicked back, not shorn in a “high and
tight” like his current haircut. No signs of the tattoos or muscles that
currently defined his body. Golden skin stained from a bottle, not the harsh
sun of Iraq. His arms were wrapped around a gorgeous, curvy young girl with
long jet-black hair. The jade Latin gown she wore matched the color of her
almond-shaped eyes.
Bret tossed the article aside and removed his nine-mil
pistol from his holster to clean it.
Lance Corporal Hernandez walked by Bret and snatched
the article off his cot. After staring at it, Hernandez’s face brightened.
“Hey, Staff Sergeant, this you?”
“No, it’s my clone who’s also named Bret Lord.” Bret
slid the rail back on his weapon and began disassembling it.
“Staff Sergeant, you know Selena Marcil? Did you hit
that?”
“Shut up, Hernandez, or the one getting hit will be
you—with the butt stock of my rifle.” Bret grabbed the paper out of Hernandez’s
hands, and smacked him on the side of the head. The kid didn’t flinch.
“Staff Sergeant Twinkle Toes. Hey—can you hook me up
with Selena? I’ll be her boy toy. I love her. Man, she’s smoking. Has the
nicest ass. Not like all those skinny, Russian chicks on that show.” He nodded
to himself with an eyebrow dancing. “Selena’s on my list. She’s Latina, too.
We’d be perfect together. What was she doing with a gringo like you?”
“Hernandez, you’re way out of line.” Bret reassembled
his pistol.
“My bad, Staff Sergeant.”
Bret grabbed the article, his pack, and his rifle. It
was impossible to get some privacy in the tent. His only option was to sit
outside in a sandstorm but even that sounded like a welcome retreat from his
immature men. He walked about five hundred feet, then plopped down in the hot
sand.
The red sky hung above him, thick from smoke from the
nearby town. Bret struggled to catch a glimpse of the distant mountains. Sand
seemed to pelt down from the heavens, blinding him and settling into every
crevice in his body. He closed his eyes against the sting of the sand, and
turned his thoughts to Selena. Was she the diva the tabloids made her out to
be? Even after ten years, he could almost smell her buttery-coconut scent. A
welcome change from the overflowing shitters, toxic diesel, and stench of his
fellow Marines who hadn’t bathed in three weeks.
Link to
Follow Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/08/now-booking-tasty-virtual-book-tour-for_28.html
Alana
Albertson is the former President of both Romance Writers of Americas’s Young
Adult and Chick Lit chapters and the founder of Academe Advantage, a college
admissions & test preparation company. Alana Albertson holds a Masters of
Education from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from
Stanford University. A recovering professional ballroom dancer, Alana currently
writes contemporary romance and young adult fiction. She lives in San Diego,
California, with her husband, two young sons, and four dogs. When she’s not
spending her time needlepointing, dancing, or saving dogs from high kill
shelters through Pugs N Roses, the rescue she founded, she can be found
watching episodes of House Hunters, Homeland, or Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders:
Making the Team.
Connect with the author at: