Today’s review is about PAS DE DON’T by Chloe Angyal. It’s a standalone contemporary romance set in the world of professional ballet. After Heather discovers her fiance’s infidelity, she moves to Australia after signing as a guest dancer. However, the company policy is doesn’t allow dating between colleagues, which becomes a bit of an issue.
Author: Chloe Angyal
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Amberjack Publishing
Publish Date: May 02, 2023
Print Length: 336
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Pas De Don’t Synopsis
Synopsis
Heather Hays finally has everything she’s worked for–she was promoted principal dancer and is engaged to her forever crush, ballet royalty Jack Andersen. But after Jack is caught cheating, Heather’s near-perfect life comes crashing down. Determined to prove that she rose to the top on her own merits, she accepts a guest position from the only company that will hire her without Jack: the Australian National Ballet.
There she meets Marcus Campbell, who has had the most hellish year imaginable. When he shredded his Achilles tendon onstage, he lost every chance of his dad seeing him perform before he passed away. Marcus has spent the months since in physical therapy, worrying he’ll be too old to dance by the time he’s fully recovered. Now he’s supposed to play tour guide for the company’s new arrival.
But as they tour Sydney together, Heather and Marcus discover an immediate mutual attraction–one they absolutely cannot act on. ANB has a strict no-dating policy, and even a hint of romance could cost them both their jobs.
Still, Heather has followed the rules her whole life . . . maybe it’s time to break one.
Pas De Don’t Review
First of all, the official synopsis is spot on for what to expect in PAS DE DON’T. Heather Hays is living the dream life after her promotion to principal dancer and recent engagement to ballet star Jack Andersen. However, it all falls down after someone tips her off about Jack’s infidelity. To escape a toxic work environment, Heather joins the Australian National Ballet as a guest dancer. She doesn’t expect to start falling for ANB’s Marcus Campbell, whose last year included recovery from a debilitating dance injury. She also doesn’t expect to have to hide their relationship due to ANB’s string no-dating policy.
Given that I’d restarted ballet as an adult relatively recently, the title and book cover immediately captivated my attention. Contemporary romance might be ubiquitous and well loved, but I don’t think it’s very common to see a ballet-focused one. That alone was refreshing. Not to mention the author wrote a nonfiction book about ballet and is thus informed about the culture of this sport and art.
Although the synopsis indicates this is a romance, also contains a variety of other topics. It highlights how toxic and demanding the world of ballet is, not just physically, but also emotionally. The ballet workplace has historically been rife with inappropriate power dynamics, sexism, and favoritism. PAS DE DON’T includes all of these aspects, primarily in Heather’s toxic relationship with Jack and with management at New York Ballet. When Heather temporarily moves to Sydney to dance at the ANB, she gets a taste of a more balanced work culture thanks to progressive and open-minded management.
However, the kicker is that dancers at the ANB cannot date each other. Management believes workplace dating creates too much tension, especially if it doesn’t work out between two dancers. This raises the question of whether a well-meaning attempt to provide a safe work environment should extend into someone’s personal life. Moreover, it also brings up whether this infantilizes a dancer’s autonomy, particularly when it comes to female dancers that the industry historically infantilized.
Workplace culture aside, I thought Angyal wrote some convincing characters in Heather and Marcus. Heather is a gracious and talented dancer who learns to put herself first and rediscovers what she wants. She slowly rebuilds her confidence when it comes to relationships. I loved her best friend, who helps keep her spirits up and encourages Heather to live a little. Marcus is sensitive and attentive and respectful of Heather. There is no miscommunication trope (thank goodness). Not to mention the writing style was great and easy to get into.
Finally, PAS DE DON’T does have a climax in which certain characters get their comeuppance. The only reason I didn’t rate this book higher is because I personally didn’t like how Marcus’s storyline ended. Don’t worry, it’s a happy ending, I just would’ve preferred a slightly different resolution. Overall I thought PAS DE DON’T was a fantastic contemporary romance. I may have a slight bias because I love finding a good ballet-centered story.
Rating: 4.25
Content warnings: infidelity, death of a parent (historical), emotional abuse, bullying, sexism
Reading format: Kindle e-book
If you liked this book, you may also enjoy MAYA & NATASHA by Elyse Durham.
I don’t think I’ve seen very many romances with ballet at the center either. This sounds really good!