Review: Star Cruise Dream Dancer by Veronica Scott

Star Cruise Dream Dancer
by Veronica Scott

My Rating: 3 stars

Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f

Blurb:
Micki Allwell is a Comettes dancer aboard the luxurious interstellar cruise liner Nebula Zephyr. She’s offered the opportunity to take part in a celebrity dance contest to be held on the ship but her partner is a billionaire without dance experience or much interest in the contest, which his powerful family has pressured him to enter for their own reasons.

Josh Benfield has a galaxy of business deals going on every hour of the day, all over the Sectors. He has no time for dancing but his professional partner is an intriguing woman who insists he take the competition seriously. He knows she has secrets and he’s intrigued.

The intimacy of partnering in dance sparks a romance between the two of them but how long can it last?

Will seven weeks of competition in close quarters aboard the ship be enough to make Micki and Josh permanent partners? Or will the stark differences in their lives and pasts lead to heartbreak? And who is going to take home the trophy?

My Review

I read this one as a buddy read with Sophia Rose. Dream Dancer follows dancer Micki and billionaire Josh as they partner up for an interstellar dance competition. I liked the dance competition set up and enjoyed this book. Although it didn’t fully managed to hook me I still had a good time reading this one.

The pacing could feel a bit off at times as there are many time skips forward with the focus on the days around the competition live dances and then the start of preparation for the next dance. Due to this the romance also felt like it developed quite quickly, while in fact they had known each other for longer than the few days it felt like.

The dance competition plot was probably my favorite part of the book, it just was very fun to read about. And I wouldn’t have minded more about the competition. Now the focus mostly stays on Micki and Josh and the dances they do, I really enjoyed reading about their dances. The other teams who participate only get brief mentions were relevant to the plot and who gets eliminated. Another part I really liked was how the AI Meave plays a role and interacts with Micki when it comes to her planning a dance. There are some fun cameo appearances of a few previous Star Cruise characters as well.

The romance felt well written, but didn’t fully win me over. I liked them together and I liked how much they obviously cared about each other, but even so I felt like there was something missing for me to full be invested. I am not a big fan of the billionaire trope, so that part wasn’t my favorite, but I did like how Josh obviously cared about the people he worked with and doing good with his money. I didn’t like the way he was portrayed at the start of the book, but as the book progressed and we get to see another side of him I began to like him more and I appreciated how he handled things later on in the book. I liked Micki and thought she was a fun character to read about.

I felt the romance went a bit fast at the start with how quickly things heat up and they get together. I would’ve liked a slightly slower build up. I didn’t really care for the steamy parts, something about the way they were written just didn’t do it for me, but luckily they weren’t very long or detailed even though they were relatively frequent. I didn’t like the drama/ conflict part that occurred, the way it all played out just didn’t work for me and I was annoyed with how the characters had handled it, although I appreciated how Josh handled things when he realized what happened. The ending was well done and I liked seeing a glimpse of their future.

To summarize: I had fun reading this one even though it didn’t fully hook me. I liked the dance competition set up and reading about the dances the couple performs. The romance progresses a bit quickly, which feels even more so due to some time jumps. While I am not a fan of the billionaire trope I liked how Josh wanted to do good with his money and cared for the people he worked with. It took me some time to warm up to him as I didn’t like how he was portrayed at first, but he grew more likable as the book progressed. Micki was a fun character to read about. I didn’t fully feel their romance, but it was clear they cared for each other. I would’ve liked a bit of a slower build up and I didn’t really care for the steamy parts, luckily the scenes were short even if they were relatively frequent. I didn’t like the conflict and how some characters acted, but did appreciate how Josh handled things when he found out what happened. I liked the AI and some characters from previous Star Cruise books who made an cameo appearance.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.