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Dancing with Death (Dancing #1)

by Andrea Heltsley (Goodreads Author)

3.42 of 5 stars 3.42 · rating details · 43 ratings · 31 reviews

Murders have plagued the woods in the past, making them a place of fear. Eighteen year old Wendy and her friends become worried when a new string of murders come to their high school.

After a horrible car accident, Wendy returns to school, going from wallflower to popular overnight. Suddenly she is the center of attention, paying more attention to guys and clothes. Things a...more

ebook, 2nd edition- enhanced version, 420 pages

Published April 2013 (first published August 10th 2012)

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Sep 04, 2012 Gold Grino rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Initially posted here:
www.wefancybooks.blogspot.com

Wendy is just the average girl, she even thought of herself as invisible or wallflower… Her world consists of her absentee parents and her two very close friends, Halle and Jackson. But one incident changed her fate… It changed her: she got bolder, she got swooned by boys and got wanted by a killer!

The story started with Wendy discussing with her two close friends Halle and Jackson the killings that have been happening in the woods. Nobody coul...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Paula rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: r2r

R2R: Dancing with Death

(I received a free copy, for a review)

Wendy is your typical teenager, who minds to herself and her 2 best friends. Murders in the local woods are making the student body nervous, since it is their own, that are being murdered. Wendy somehow gets into a severe car accident, but is saved by a fellow classmate, who's nice on the eyes too. After this experience though, Wendy is changing, becoming more daring in dress and slight changes with her looks. All of this leads to a sh...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Ellen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-tours

Wendy is a senior in high school. For most of her life, she remained invisible, that is until everything changes after she is saved from a horrible car accident one night near the woods where a string of murders have occurred. Wendy, along with her best friends Hallie and Jackson, try to make sense of all that is going on. Suddenly Wendy finds herself pulled between to guys, having and acting upon thoughts she shouldn't be, and having nightmares warning her of impending doom. When her absentee m...more Wendy is a senior in high school. For most of her life, she remained invisible, that is until everything changes after she is saved from a horrible car accident one night near the woods where a string of murders have occurred. Wendy, along with her best friends Hallie and Jackson, try to make sense of all that is going on. Suddenly Wendy finds herself pulled between to guys, having and acting upon thoughts she shouldn't be, and having nightmares warning her of impending doom. When her absentee mom asks her to find something for her in the attic, the things she finds are more than she bargained for. Can she handle the truth about who she is and what is happening to her, or will it be more than she can bear?

Wendy is the lead character in this story. I had a hard time liking her. Despite the seriousness of what was going on, she was more caught up in what she was going to wear than the fact she could be in danger. She also kept jumping back and forth between these two hot guys, making out with them both, and I didn't like that either. Of course as the story progresses and toward the latter part, it is revealed why and what is the reason behind this, and that helped explain some of her behavior. As far as the other characters, Hallie and Jackson are her best friends, and I did like both of them, though Hallie could tend to be just as superficial as Wendy at times. Jackson, however, was pretty cool. Her two love interests were Brad and Matt, one of which was considered "forbidden fruit."

The story line itself was interesting, but I felt that more time was spent on details, such as describing the clothes she was wearing, the way she did her hair and nails, food descriptions, and the like. If more time was spent on the actual story, rather than so much focus on these types of details, I feel that this book would have been a lot better and more appealing. As I said earlier, once you find out the story behind everything, things come into place much better and make more sense. Overall this was a likable book, personally it just didn't overwhelm me, though it was a good story. Heltsley has other books out, one of which I really enjoyed entitled Dreamwalker, which is excellent. This YA paranormal romance has a different supernatural twist, and if you enjoy that type of story, you might want to check this out. (less)

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Sep 16, 2012 Erika rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, dac-2012

Title: Dancing with Death
Author: Andrea Heltsley
Date of Release: August 10th, 2012
Number of Pages: 410
Source: ATOMR
Summary from Goodreads:
Murders have plagued the woods in the past, making them a place of fear. Eighteen year old Wendy and her friends become worried when a new string of murders come to their high school. After a horrible car accident, Wendy returns to school, going from wallflower to popular overnight. As the murderer edges closer to Wendy she realizes things are changing. She is...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Tee loves Kyle Jacobson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-must-reads, arc-books, atomr-book-tours, sep-2012

I had the pleasure of reading an ARC copy of Dancing with Death. I am so excited to be a part of this blog tour for this book. I have to say that I love the cover of this book. It is so eye catching and the blurb really screams read me!

Wendy is a senior in high school and is not very popular. She is just going day by day to class. Then she is in a near fatal accident and things change for her. She starts having these dreams that seem real and she is not sure why she is having dreams of death. Th...more

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Dec 07, 2012 Regan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was perplexed in how to write a review for this book. I read it, all the way through, because it was well written.

In reading the description of the book, I thought I was in for a good murder mystery/crime solving plot line. However, it did not get into the killings in the story until about the 3/4 mark. The first three quarters of the book revolved around a teenager girl and her two love affairs. I was disappointed to have to wait that long to reach the point where the author finally starting...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, paranormal, received-to-review

Wendy is 18 and a senior in high school. Her life changes drastically when she is in a near fatal accident. Suddenly she has two love interests. Both are new to the school and very attractive. She is wondering what happened and how did the inconspicuous girl become desirable overnight?

I liked the book. At times I wondered if it was going to be a horror book because of her dreams of death. She was warned that death was coming for her. There have been a string of murders recently in her area. She...more

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Oct 31, 2012 Alannah Clarke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, reviewed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 19, 2012 Christina Madison rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: demons-devils, ebooks, 2011-2012, incubi-succubi

Full review here: http://zodiacbookreviews.blogspot.com...

In Dancing with Death, Wendy is a senior in high school, living in a town plagued by murder after murder. The "Witchy Woods" where the murders took place is a place of fear, so when Wendy is hit by an oncoming car on a road alongside the woods, left in the ditch in her mangled car, she fears that that is how she will die. But before her car can explode she's saved by a stranger who pulls her out and takes her to the hospital. This car acc...more Full review here: http://zodiacbookreviews.blogspot.com...

In Dancing with Death, Wendy is a senior in high school, living in a town plagued by murder after murder. The "Witchy Woods" where the murders took place is a place of fear, so when Wendy is hit by an oncoming car on a road alongside the woods, left in the ditch in her mangled car, she fears that that is how she will die. But before her car can explode she's saved by a stranger who pulls her out and takes her to the hospital. This car accident is only the beginning as Wendy's life changes forever.

There is a very good reason why I gave Dancing with Death only a 3.5. More than half of the book is just intense makeout scenes and finding the perfect outfit. I started to wonder if that was all this story was going to be about. What saved this book was the strange nightmares and messages from beyond the grave. This piqued my curiosity enough to find out what was really going on. Don't get me wrong, I like action but not when all of it is in the romantic sense. The story really picked up when Wendy and Halle found the locked chest in the attic filled with her family's secrets. Then there were the multiple murder attempts against Wendy's life. Basically I'm saying that, even if they are small, I would have liked more events to add suspense and intrigue within the first half.

I definitely wasn't expecting Wendy's secret family history to be what it was, though. I don't want to say too much about it since I want to leave that part for readers to find out, but I will say that she is a demon and the type of demon she is really explains the changes she undergoes. I thought the story would have had something to do with Death himself from looking at the title, Dancing with Death, but it really only refers to death itself.

I mentioned intense makeout scenes and, boy, are the INTENSE. Wendy finds herself with two guys vying for her attention--Brandt Summers, the new guy from California and Matt Geyer, the new school librarian. Maybe it's my bookish ways, but I loved Matt from the very beginning. Now that is perfect--a smokin' hot male librarian. But he's also genuine, loving, and respectful. I never really liked Brandt. That's all I can really say about him--I just didn't like him at all.

The conclusion was a little anti-climatic, but the question of whether Wendy will live to see the next year leaves me wanting for the next book, Dancing with Demons.(less)

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Nov 23, 2012 Danielle (Dannie) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: r2r-books-read

Dancing With Death is a mystery, within a mystery, within a paranormal murder mystery. The first mystery is what is occurring in Wendy's life. The second mystery has to do with Wendy's family. As Wendy is trying to deal with and understand the things that are happening in her life, her best
friends Halle and Jackson are with her every step of the way. Two new guys come into the picture, Brandt and Matt. The question is which one is the one that Wendy really wants to be with? Add to that the myste...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Tiana Lemons rated it 4 of 5 stars

The beginning was a bit boring and moved slowly. When it finally got to the exciting and chilly part, I was engulfed with this novel so quickly...till it ended. I was hoping to finally see some action but that ended pretty quickly. The relationship between Matt and Wendy started developing quickly as the book went by, which really satisfied me. I kind of disliked her from the beginning because she just seemed to care too much about fashion, etc. even though she was so close to dying. Although th...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Helena Ferrell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 05-r2r, nov2012, para-demon

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Note: I recieved this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Now, I came into this book with a bit of a bias. This is my second book by Ms Heltsley, and I really disliked the first book. I was a little concerned about reading this because I loathe writing a bad review, and I was concerned that I might have to do it again.

I'm so glad that's not the case!!!

Now, I did find the dialogue fairly adult in many circumstances, but in this case, I can really chalk that up to the fact that t...more Note: I recieved this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Now, I came into this book with a bit of a bias. This is my second book by Ms Heltsley, and I really disliked the first book. I was a little concerned about reading this because I loathe writing a bad review, and I was concerned that I might have to do it again.

I'm so glad that's not the case!!!

Now, I did find the dialogue fairly adult in many circumstances, but in this case, I can really chalk that up to the fact that there were no parents really around in this book. Well, not until the very end when Wendy's mother comes into play. Perhaps they grew up more quickly being alone, they were drinking, afterall. Not that I would say that drinking makes you adult, but yeah, there were some adult themes. I have to say, though, that Wendy being more concerned about her boots after being in a car accident than actually getting to safety cracked me up. Reminded me so much of my 18 year old neice. I just wanted to roll my eyes and ask, "What's wrong with you?"

Now, Mr. Pervy Matt the librarian really creeped me out at first, but I was able to adequately decide at I believe around 25% that Brandt was the killer. I wouldn't say that this book is predictable, even though I was able to pinpoint the killer so quickly, I actually think I had a pretty lucky guess. At that point in the book there wasn't anything in particular about him that would foreshadow his role, I just had a feeling about him. I guess I'mol fashioned or my librarian in high school wasn't hot enough, but dating a faculty member? Ick. Maybe I'm old fashioned.

Now there was a point at around 30%-50% where I temporarily stopped liking where the story was going. Overall, it honestly just seemed to me (at the time) that Wendy was just turning into a skank. I could probably word that better, but it's midnight. So yeah. She was skankifying herself. I normally am into YA and Christian books because, well, I'm a prude. I really don't dig the sex scenes, and although there were no sex in this book, I was just starting to wonder if there was going to be, and whether or not I'd be comfortable with it. Granted there's a warning in the blurb, I just kinda ignored that, so I can't really blame the author for that, but since those 20% dragged by (well not really dragged, but was slower than the rest) I knocked my score from a 5 to a 4. Sorry!

I was also kinda perturbed at first about the lack of paranormal. I went into this book expecting some awesomeness immediately, and it didn't show up until about maybe 60% or so? It did come with a reckoning though. VERY well done introduction the the paranormal. Dead girl voicemails, a murderer in the home, and who doesn't want to suddenly get hot overnight? I mean, I know I do. Bring it on! So although the paranormal aspect was really slow to come into play, I feel that it's acceptable, because it really gave the author plenty of time to create their cast. The characters were well developed and easily likeable, so I can understand wanting to have a solid foundation before you start building your walls.

So, I don't know if it's just a bias I have against teenagers, but sometimes their relationships are just soooooo annoying. This is how I felt about Wendy's relationship with Matt. So sugary sweet, I love yous within a week. BLAH. Although I thought it was annoying, it unfortunately is realistic in modern society. Crazy teenagers and their craziness.

So in my rambly sort of way (apologies, I stayed up later than normal because I couldn't sleep without finishing this book) what I'm basically saying is I liked this book. It was fun, it was exciting, there were points where I was so into what was going on that I was holding off on going to the bathroom, because I just HAD TO KNOW what was going on. (Not great for my bladder, I know.)

I would recommend this book to someone that likes an interesting story. I mean, seriously? Who's ever read a succubus story that wasn't erotica? I mean, I've not read one at all, but I'm willing to bet most of them are pretty smutty!(less)

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Nov 15, 2012 Denice rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: special-challenge, countdown-challenge

Thank you to the Young Adults Reads and the author herself for providing a copy of this book...

I have read and loved Dreamwalker by Ms. Heltsley, that's why I was really excited to be a part of the r2r challenge... But I did not expect my reactions with this book...

Cover: It's attractive... It's mysterious actually...

Characters:

The lines of the characters were too straight forward for me... Some lines were also very "cheesy"... Their lines were like told by a robot... There were no emotions at a...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Sam Kasbrick rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, review-request

Dancing with Death was not a very enjoyable novel to me. I feel bad whenever I give books bad reviews, because the author must have put so much effort into trying to make it a good book. However, keep in mind that these are merely my personal opinions and that others may enjoy the book, even though I didn't.

The character development is okay, but I didn't feel that there was enough. I felt like I didn't really know very much about Wendy's character and she is the narrator. The majority of the boo...more Dancing with Death was not a very enjoyable novel to me. I feel bad whenever I give books bad reviews, because the author must have put so much effort into trying to make it a good book. However, keep in mind that these are merely my personal opinions and that others may enjoy the book, even though I didn't.

The character development is okay, but I didn't feel that there was enough. I felt like I didn't really know very much about Wendy's character and she is the narrator. The majority of the book deals with her feelings for Brandt and Matt; they are all she can think or talk about for a long time and I found that that was getting in the way of any real information about her as a person. I don't think that any of the characters were developed well enough to connect with and, after completing the novel, I don't feel that I really know the true characters, only certain aspects of each of them.

The story was also only okay. I didn't care for it. I didn't feel that it was a very creative storyline and I found a lot of things to seem very unrealistic. One aspect that seemed unrealistic, to me, was when Wendy received a strange phone call from a voice that sounded familiar. All of a sudden, she figured out that the call was from a dead girl named Julie Feldman. She tells her friend, Halle, about her discovery and Halle simply hops on board with almost no hesitation and says, "Okay, that is very creepy. I recognize her voice and you are right, it was Julie Feldman." Wendy's friends all just simply agree that she is being contacted by someone that is dead and there is no other explanation -- it's just a fact -- and they move on. What?! This would never happen in real life! A first reaction would most likely be Hell no, that can't be Julie, she's dead! and try to find a different explanation until there is no other explanation...and even then, wouldn't there still be some hesitation??

Another unrealistic aspect was when Wendy was trying to choose between the two men in her life. This is what she said: The worst part of it was that I don't know if I could even choose if I wanted to. They both brought so much to the table and I was more confused than ever. At this point in the novel, Wendy barely even knows Matt. They only had one date and all they did was make out and talked about cheating on Brandt and keeping their relationship a secret. As a reader, I did not witness any real relationship building between Wendy and Matt at this point. So, I don't get why she is struggling so much.

The writing...oh my...I don't want to be a book-basher and my review, so far, seems like I am being one. I hope that if the author reads this review, she will take it as constructive criticism and try to become a better writer. I do not intend to offend anyone or to be known as a book-basher. But, the writing in this novel is very weak. There are inconsistencies in tense, many errors in sentence structure, typos, the conversations seem forced, and there are not enough contractions used during the conversations. There were so many obvious mistakes that I found myself shaking my head a lot throughout reading this book. The writing was the major contributing factor to me not enjoying Dancing with Death, as it was constantly jarring me out of the story.

I'm sorry and I feel that I may have been a bit harsh in this review, but I actually held back quite a bit. I sincerely hope that the author can take constructive criticism and move forward. I will say that I love the cover. Also, I was able to finish the novel, so there was some level of interest on my part.

This review also published on SIK Book Reviews (less)

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Dec 02, 2012 Yaz rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: r2r

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review via Lovers of Paranormal group R2R discussion.

The concept of the story was great and different. I was intrigued as to what was going on. I wanted to find out why the girls were murdered, who was behind such crimes.

The cover is gorgeous even though it doesn't quite give anything away about the main character.

The plot could have been developed a little more around those murders. In my opinion, the story steered too f...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, paranormal

"Dancing with Death" is dark, brooding and gives just the right does of ominous things to come. Wendy's friendships and relationships are what keeps the pages turning, the inevitable what if and the taboo. All this and more is delivered in Heltsley's "Dancing with Death." While better than "Dissolve," the dialogue was at times too formal for a group of high school students, I thought. Besides this, the story was well executed and the characters compelling. A good light, albeit gloomy read, I was...more

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Dec 18, 2012 Mallory Anne-Marie Forbes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Mallory Anne-Marie by: Lovers of Paranormal

Shelves: december-2012-reads, great-fall-challenge-lp-2012

Review of Dancing with Death
4 stars

Confronted suddenly with two incredibly hot new males at her high school, eighteen-year-old Wendy thinks she’s at a romantic smorgasbord. A seldom-dater, she considers herself mostly invisible, and sticks close to her best friends, Halle and Jackson. But when first one of the new guys, transfer student Brandt, wants to date her, she thinks she really might be falling for him. Then the sexy new librarian, Matt, confesses his interest in her, and despite the fact...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Lindsay marked it as kindle-i-own-to-read · review of another edition

Amazon Freebie 01/01/2013

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Oct 06, 2012 Laura Hartley rated it 2 of 5 stars

I absolutely love the cover of this book and that's the main reason that I signed up to be part of its book tour; however, I'm not really sure relevance it has to the book. Nonetheless, it is beautiful. The cover; however, is the only thing that I really liked about this book as I was thoroughly unimpressed by the rest of it and here's why:

This book started out great, but as time went on I began to lose interest. The dialogue between the characters was really formal at times and I didn't really...more I absolutely love the cover of this book and that's the main reason that I signed up to be part of its book tour; however, I'm not really sure relevance it has to the book. Nonetheless, it is beautiful. The cover; however, is the only thing that I really liked about this book as I was thoroughly unimpressed by the rest of it and here's why:

This book started out great, but as time went on I began to lose interest. The dialogue between the characters was really formal at times and I didn't really feel any emotional connection between them. I thought that the conversations also went round and round in circles repeating the same things over and over again even when the characters were presented with different scenarios. The plot got into a groove quite early on and in the latter part of the book the only thing that really happened was mindless and repetitive kissing scenes and discussions about what outfit to wear to school next day. At the end of the book you find out that there was kind of a purpose to all of this - but not really.

I didn't feel that much emotion whilst reading this book to be honest, and that is why I'm not giving this book a particularly high rating because I read books for the emotional intensity that they bring. At the beginning of the book I felt the usual excitement about which guy she was going to pick and which literary character I would fall in love with, but this feeling did not last. The only other point in the book where I felt anything was when Wendy had a creepy nightmare and I literally felt a shiver down my spine. That for me was the best part, but again, this feeling did not last.

I found the protagonist, Wendy, incredibly irritating as a character because cheating is fundamentally wrong, no matter what the circumstances, and she didn't really seem to feel as much remorse or guilt as much I would've thought one should. Again, the main focus of her day was her wardrobe choice and complaining about her guy issues which just made me really annoyed. The novel climaxes at the end of the book and whilst something (kinda) dramatic was going on, Wendy's decision making and train of thought were just bizarre and incomprehensible.

The guys in this book start out hot. Then they just turn into sappy, repetitive weeds that fall over backwards for Wendy, though I couldn't see why. As I didn't like Wendy much either it meant that the central plot didn't appeal to me much at all. I was much more interested in the love story between Jackson and Hallie which really wasn't part of the plot at all.

Whilst this book had potential, it was ultimately a disappointment. As the book approached the climax, I didn't feel any sense of excitement or anticipation and the characters themselves seemed to glance over major events in their lives. All in all, I wasn't particularly fond of the characters or the plot, but maybe this just wasn't the book for me.

More on http://whats--hot.com (less)

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Sep 22, 2012 Krista rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, bffs, book-tour, cover-love, indie-author, horror, paranormal, upper-ya, young-adult, dreams-nightmares, romance

"Run Wendy. Run as fast as you can. Death is coming and he is coming for you."

Wendy, a regular high school girl, is in a terrible car accident. If not for the mysterious stranger that rescued her - and her new boots - from the car, she would be a goner. But should she have died? After being plagued by nightmares and receiving cryptic messages from someone - or something - Wendy starts to think so. Not to mention that there is a murderer on the loose who just might have his sights on her. Wendy h...more "Run Wendy. Run as fast as you can. Death is coming and he is coming for you."

Wendy, a regular high school girl, is in a terrible car accident. If not for the mysterious stranger that rescued her - and her new boots - from the car, she would be a goner. But should she have died? After being plagued by nightmares and receiving cryptic messages from someone - or something - Wendy starts to think so. Not to mention that there is a murderer on the loose who just might have his sights on her. Wendy has to figure out what is going on and fast.

This is the third book that I have read by author Andrea Heltsley and I have to say she has a great imagination! When I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I had to read it. While this is not my favorite novel from her, there are some things I really like about Ms. Heltsley's writing. For example, there is constant theme in all her books of the strength of friendship how every main character has a BFF sidekick that never waivers from their side. Also, all of her characters are strong females and use their individuality to their advantage.

In general, I am getting a little wary of the love triangle aspect in all of YA fiction. In Dancing with Death, the triangle is between a new kid that Wendy is immediately drawn to and the hot new school librarian. And even though Wendy is 18, I felt uneasy about the latter match - too student/teacher. But, I can't deny that the scenes between Wendy and her men weren't steamy. Some other things that I did not like was that the dialogue was forced in some places, and the characters, while fun, didn't have much depth. They were stereotypical teenagers and the girls spent a lot of time thinking and talking about what to wear.

What I love about Dancing with Death is the paranormal twists and the mystery woven throughout the book. Who is the murderer? Why do they want Wendy dead? And what about her dreams, what do they mean? And the revealing of Wendy's family's secret history is a surprise and I am looking forward to seeing how that is expanded upon in the next book. Overall, I would say that this is a good start to a new series and those who like YA/Upper YA Paranormal Romance should add it to their shelves. (less)

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Sep 19, 2012 Stephanie Ward marked it as to-read

Shelves: owned, for-review, ebook

The woods surrounding Wendy's school and town have a violent history of murders in the past and everyone knows to stay away from them. However, a new series of murders is happening in the woods now. Wendy is in a hit and run accident, which she barely manages to make it out of unscathed. She returns to school to find that the hot new guy, Brandt, wants to date her and there's a weird chemistry between her and the new school librarian. Wendy soon realizes that things around her are changing quick...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Katrina (Kindred Dreamheart) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, blog-tour, blog-review, e-reader

Life gets very interesting for High school senior, Wendy, after she almost die in a car accident:

❤ For starters, she feels as if she's being watched;

❤ She's having nightmares of dead girls;

❤ and two hot guys are suddenly competing for her affection.

Just Think....last week she was invisible!

Dancing with Death is a NEW ADULT novel sure to gain more than a few thumb ups. I offer up a very strong nod to this title.

The author pushes the envelope while still toeing the gray area on a particular taboo...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Multimemo rated it 3 of 5 stars

*This review was originally posted on my blog, Book-A-Holic*

Honestly, I started this book not knowing what to expect. I was a bit disappointed to be honest, about half of this book was just really normal - as in reference to the story itself -I was actually beginning to think that this book was just some type of a Contemporary novel or something. Not until the end of the book that I found what made it for me. And so I'm not going to give away any details about the paranormal part of the story be...more *This review was originally posted on my blog, Book-A-Holic*

Honestly, I started this book not knowing what to expect. I was a bit disappointed to be honest, about half of this book was just really normal - as in reference to the story itself -I was actually beginning to think that this book was just some type of a Contemporary novel or something. Not until the end of the book that I found what made it for me. And so I'm not going to give away any details about the paranormal part of the story because that would spoil the book for you so I will keep at that.

However, the writing style was just primitive and unprofessional which was really frustrating and took a lot from enjoying this story. And 'Wendy'...... not a good choice for a main character's name, I personally didn't like it. The excessive and unnecessary details, at some point I was able to enjoy it - there was the part towards the end of the book that I enjoyed and so the details helped me visualise the whole thing much more - but at sometime it was plain ......

I didn't warm toward any of the characters actually, I did like Matt at some point, he was sweet but mostly plain epic. Most of the characters and their attitudes had this creepiness and weirdness to them so that kept at distance. And the events of the story were illogically and annoyingly set up together, forcing you to always remember that all of it is just fictional, a book and stings you out of the story. Nonetheless, I really do like the original take that the author has takes on the story, the paranormal idea on which on this story was based on was unique yet I do need more which I believe I can get more in it's sequel so I'm looking forward to it.

Overall, Dancing with was an okay read. I didn't really enjoy the whole book because it had it's flaws and some really cliched moments but it did have a unique idea that got me interested enough and I'm looking forward to reading the next book. But hey, you have to try it because I can somewhat be a bit picky so you might end up loving it and I have some high expectations about the next book ;) (less)

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Dec 13, 2012 Heather Goolsby rated it 3 of 5 stars

*I received this book for free for an honest review.*

This book reminded me of talking to blonde bubbly cheerleaders, which made it really hard for me to get through it. With that said I did love the story line and how it keep you guessing on who the killer was. I was in fact shocked to see that the main character was a succubus. That totally came out of the blue for me. It was very different, but in a good way. I would recommend this book to someone younger definitely since they would most likel...more

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Nov 22, 2012 Toni rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-release, nook-books-i-own, r2r, series

First of all I must say I LOVED the cover... and but thats about as far as it got with me! I am sorry to say that the book just didnt catch me like I thought it would! The characters to me were boring and alot of the things said were really cheesy. It had no feeling to it! I hate to write bad reviews, but I got the book for my honest review and so here it is! For me emotion makes a book and Dancing with Death was lacking it for me! All in all the book wasnt for me!

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Nov 06, 2012 Jacquelyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Murders have plagued the woods in past making this a place of fear, eighteen year old Wendy car accident makes her center of attention overnight. She is afficted with nightmares and can't keep her mind off two young men in her school.

First, I wanted to know more about her than her boyfriends and clothes.
And a little more in the beginning about her family, would have made her a little more likable in the end. If she turn to Miss America, please give her the brains to with it.

I like this book and...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Britt Gotay rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-to-review

Truthfully, I would rate this book a 3.5. I did like this book and would read the next book. However, I felt like this book did not start until halfway through. Wendy is 18 and is a senior in high school. She gets into a car accident and her life changes. She went from being invisible to having 2 guys in love with her. The first half of the book is about her love affairs between the two guys. The second half of the book is so jammed full of information that it feels rushed. Like I said, I do wan...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Wendy's life was going fine till a near fatal car crash. Girls in her town are being killed and she's starting to change and become popular. Some strange things are happening to her. Her mom drops a major bombshell on her that changes her future.

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Sep 12, 2012 Carrie Ardoin added it

Shelves: tour, couldn-t-finish-it

DNF... Just boring. Too many paragraphs on what the chick is wearing, and not enough use of contractions.

1 like · like · see review

Jul 17, 2012 Mahz marked it as to-read

AHHH I can't wait to read this book :D

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Lovers of Paranor...: R2R{88} Dancing with Death- FULL (Avg 3.1)	47	106	Dec 18, 2012 01:15pm

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About Andrea Heltsley

I am a biology nerd who decided it was more fun writing than dissecting. I have written three novels and four more will be out in 2013. I live on coffee and read like a robot. My husband and two italian greyhounds usually have to tear me away from the computer...imagine that. :)

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Dreamwalker (Persephone's League of Immortals, #1)

Divinity (Persephone's League of Immortals, #2)

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Quotes from Dancing with Death

“Death is coming and he's coming for me.” — 3 people liked it

“What, do I look like an alien? I don’t think aliens wear sexy dresses that make their boyfriends want to hide them from other men.”
Wendy in Dancing with Death” — 1 person liked it

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Dancing with Death (Dancing #1)

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