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A Strictly Come Dancing Novel #1
Strictly Shimmer
Strictly Shimmer (Strictly Come Dancing Novels) [Paperback] Roberts, Amanda
- GenresChick Lit
299 pages, Paperback
First published December 20, 2010
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 17, 2012
Not nearly as bad as it could have been. The setting, and presumably the restrictions of the show connection, make this a simple to read book with some interesting asides and characters.
Some of the show research is wedged in inelegantly, but was good to have all the same.
Most intriguing character...Allegra, the Italian feminist flat-mate.
I get the impression this was a written to formula romance and the author slid in her own sneaky ideas because she could :D
Strangely the brother in law sticks with me also..Lance was he called?..and his culinary fight against the Sunday night blues.
Most unintentionally hilarious moment? Getting the fabulous job was as good as her very own Jim'll fix it badge.
Conspiracy theorists take note :D
Some of the show research is wedged in inelegantly, but was good to have all the same.
Most intriguing character...Allegra, the Italian feminist flat-mate.
I get the impression this was a written to formula romance and the author slid in her own sneaky ideas because she could :D
Strangely the brother in law sticks with me also..Lance was he called?..and his culinary fight against the Sunday night blues.
Most unintentionally hilarious moment? Getting the fabulous job was as good as her very own Jim'll fix it badge.
Conspiracy theorists take note :D
December 17, 2024
Enjoyable romantic novel filled with plenty of Strictly sparkle.
As noted in other reviews, there is the odd spelling error and the character of Chloe randomly becomes Sarah at one point but it distract too much.
The back of the book promotes a sequel 'Strictly Glitter' and the continuing story of Amanda, but this appears to have been replaced by the poorer second novel 'Chance'.
As noted in other reviews, there is the odd spelling error and the character of Chloe randomly becomes Sarah at one point but it distract too much.
The back of the book promotes a sequel 'Strictly Glitter' and the continuing story of Amanda, but this appears to have been replaced by the poorer second novel 'Chance'.
December 4, 2018
I was just hoping for more. This was just a story that took place with Strictly in the background, with meh writing and bad dialogue.
I wanted a story ABOUT Strictly. Deeply entwined with Strictly. With better writing and for sure more mature and less stilted dialogue.
Shame. 2.5*
I wanted a story ABOUT Strictly. Deeply entwined with Strictly. With better writing and for sure more mature and less stilted dialogue.
Shame. 2.5*
January 25, 2026
Delightful book and easy to read.
September 10, 2011
This review was written for The Review Diaries: http://reviewdiaries.blogspot.com/201...
There is something strangely compelling about this book, and I’m in two minds about it. I love Strictly Come Dancing, so it was for that reason only that against my better judgement I picked up a copy of this earlier today.
I knew there was a potential that it could be very bad, after all, a novel surrounding a TV show? We saw the Heroes and Torchwood books, we will so be judging.
I was right. This reads more like a first draft than anything at a publishable standard. There are typos, grammatical errors, and dialogue that is unbearably awkward. This reeks of the first draft of a book you wrote when you were sixteen and should have put back under the bed where it belongs. But instead of putting it down like I ought to have done, I kept reading.
None of the above problems got any better, although there is a distinct improvement about halfway through as Roberts begins to settle into writing. It feels rushed though, and I was shocked to discover that it was about this season of Strictly – which has barely even finished. How on earth did it get out so quickly?! The answer is simple, she wrote this long before the series finished, as the little details that were dotted throughout and pertained to each week, quickly stop before the semi-finals. Everything becomes increasingly vague, and it was in some ways a relief for her to step away from the truth and completely fictionalise the end. It became increasingly frustrating reading a book that made very vague efforts to hide the real names of the involved parties – in some cases the real names have slipped in and it’s quite irritating for Amanda’s boss to go from being ‘Chloe’ to ‘Sarah’ for a couple of pages.
Whilst I understand she had to fictionalise parts of it, having so much real life being written out with the odd bits of random fiction thrown in for good measure actually made this more irritating than enjoyable. There is an entirely new celebrity and professional dancer put in, just for the sake of a romantic entanglement – and it just drags everything else down. (Or at least I presume they’re fictional, and not a real life scandal trying to be hidden…) Either completely fictionalise, whilst using real experiences, or don’t, but this is a lesson in how not to mash up the too.
Also, just to add more confusion to the mix, it seems that the excerpts available on the official site http://strictlyshimmer.wordpress.com/...
do not entirely tally with the book that has been published... Some aren't included and appear to have been written after the events have happened. I'm sorry but if you're going to write a book, don't list some thing that isn't included in the finished product as an excerpt. Either it's a bonus or a deleted scene - but this is taking the whole thing to new lows. Changing things that have already been written so that they tally with what happened after this has been published? It just makes a mockery of the entire process.
Mostly out of morbid curiosity I will be trying out the sequel ‘Strictly Glitter’ which will be gracing our shelves in summer 2011.
If you can suspend disbelief and aren’t as picky as I am about spelling and grammar, and are most importantly a strictly fan, then this is worth a read. But don’t expect anything particularly brilliant, as you’ll be sorely disappointed.
There is something strangely compelling about this book, and I’m in two minds about it. I love Strictly Come Dancing, so it was for that reason only that against my better judgement I picked up a copy of this earlier today.
I knew there was a potential that it could be very bad, after all, a novel surrounding a TV show? We saw the Heroes and Torchwood books, we will so be judging.
I was right. This reads more like a first draft than anything at a publishable standard. There are typos, grammatical errors, and dialogue that is unbearably awkward. This reeks of the first draft of a book you wrote when you were sixteen and should have put back under the bed where it belongs. But instead of putting it down like I ought to have done, I kept reading.
None of the above problems got any better, although there is a distinct improvement about halfway through as Roberts begins to settle into writing. It feels rushed though, and I was shocked to discover that it was about this season of Strictly – which has barely even finished. How on earth did it get out so quickly?! The answer is simple, she wrote this long before the series finished, as the little details that were dotted throughout and pertained to each week, quickly stop before the semi-finals. Everything becomes increasingly vague, and it was in some ways a relief for her to step away from the truth and completely fictionalise the end. It became increasingly frustrating reading a book that made very vague efforts to hide the real names of the involved parties – in some cases the real names have slipped in and it’s quite irritating for Amanda’s boss to go from being ‘Chloe’ to ‘Sarah’ for a couple of pages.
Whilst I understand she had to fictionalise parts of it, having so much real life being written out with the odd bits of random fiction thrown in for good measure actually made this more irritating than enjoyable. There is an entirely new celebrity and professional dancer put in, just for the sake of a romantic entanglement – and it just drags everything else down. (Or at least I presume they’re fictional, and not a real life scandal trying to be hidden…) Either completely fictionalise, whilst using real experiences, or don’t, but this is a lesson in how not to mash up the too.
Also, just to add more confusion to the mix, it seems that the excerpts available on the official site http://strictlyshimmer.wordpress.com/...
do not entirely tally with the book that has been published... Some aren't included and appear to have been written after the events have happened. I'm sorry but if you're going to write a book, don't list some thing that isn't included in the finished product as an excerpt. Either it's a bonus or a deleted scene - but this is taking the whole thing to new lows. Changing things that have already been written so that they tally with what happened after this has been published? It just makes a mockery of the entire process.
Mostly out of morbid curiosity I will be trying out the sequel ‘Strictly Glitter’ which will be gracing our shelves in summer 2011.
If you can suspend disbelief and aren’t as picky as I am about spelling and grammar, and are most importantly a strictly fan, then this is worth a read. But don’t expect anything particularly brilliant, as you’ll be sorely disappointed.
August 16, 2011
It was ok, but I was left feeling slighty disappointed by it, especially as being such a fan of the show. I will probably read the next one in the series to see if it improves, as it was a light-hearted easy read for dancing enthusiasts with a similar dream!
April 4, 2014
Eminently readable if you're a Strictly fan, as I am. Amanda Roberts, who is also a Strictly fan, gets the job as a production runner on the series. She is one of those accident prone girls who are mildly irritating, but despite that she is a likeable character.
August 10, 2011
Wasn't a great read but not a bad one either.. The fact that the characters names changed for a couple of paragraphs explained why it was only £2...
April 23, 2011
Couldnt finish it, just hated it to be honest and got really bored of it :/
September 2, 2011
Well I liked it even if the other reviewers didn't, looking forward to her next 1
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews