Charlie Wong, a dishwasher, lands a job as a receptionist in a dance studio. She’s a terrible receptionist but appears to have a natural talent for dancing (inherited from her late mother who was a ballerina). After teaching a beginner teaser lesson, the studio owners decide to hire her as a dance instructor. Since Charlie’s dad is very strict and traditional, she keeps her new job from him. As she begins to excel in her new career, her baby sister Lisa becomes very ill.
Charlie enters a competition with her favourite pupil, Ryan, a landscaper who is learning to dance for his sister’s wedding. Charlie is told multiple times by one of the other dancers not to fall for Ryan because relationships between the dance instructors and the pupils are frowned upon.
As they practice, Charlie and Ryan become closer. However, Charlie is under the impression that he has a girlfriend who lives in another town. Ryan has broken off his relationship with the girlfriend because he’s smitten with Charlie.
Charlie’s dad learns about her new job and as expected he is not very pleased about it. But on the day of the big competition, Lisa and Mr Wong come to see Charlie and Ryan dance.
I really loved this book! I re-read it for this challenge and loved it as much this time as I did previously. The romance is cute, but it’s not the main plot line of the story. There’s a #metoo plot line as well as the main character blossoming in her new career.
Read for the Read Between the Lines Reading Challenge 2026
Prompt 11: A Book About a Dancer
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
