Home :: Books :: Audiocassettes  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes

Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
The Dancing Floor

The Dancing Floor

List Price: $18.00
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 >>

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not bad at all
Review: I started reading the Dancing Floor with no expectations, after finding it in a second hand book store. It was much better than I expected, though there were certain annoying parts of the book.

I found the story to be very interesting and entirely unique. The setting was beautifully described. There were many references to art, and garden history which were quite interesting - though sometimes pointless. The main female protagonist, Heather, is not your usual run of the mill herroine. Heather loved to eat, was confident (to the point of being rude), and definitely had her bad points as well as her good (like any normal human being).

The story seemed to go downhill in the last quarter. I felt that it was a hurried finish, and a bit of an anticlimax. The name of the book is a part mentioned slightly, and is not really relevant to the story, so a strange name for the book. The big 'mystery' which at the end is revealed, is not as dramatic as it could have been.

All this aside, I sometimes found Michael's writing style to be quite tedious. There were sections that were very annoying to read , for example in a tense, action packed scene Michael's would write conversations in a style that did not capture the mood ie. "Oh no! It's" Heather exclaimed while thinking of how lovely Lindsay looked in her new sweater "hard to believe you saw him!". That quote was made up, but her style is simlar. As you can see, it's easy to forget the first part of the sentence and have to re-read it in order for it to make sense. Confusing?

There are also references to 'She', 'He', 'Her', 'Him' and often I had no idea who she was talking about.

Overall, The Dancing Floor is certainly entertaining - and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an unusual setting, original set of characters with quirky conversations, and mildly mysterious plot.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Well worth losing sleep over.
Review: I'll confess right up front that I'm a big fan of Barbara Michaels. I really enjoyed this book -- I think that these are some of Michaels' best characters yet. Heather is great; she's smart, she's tough, and she loves food. Although the witchcraft angle may be a little cliched, I was actually surprised by the "whodunnit" at the end. The love interests are believable, interesting, and have very real character flaws. I was sorry the book ended, even if I did stay up far too late trying to finish it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: An unbelieveable heroine and just plain awful prose.
Review: I'm a big fan of Barbara Michaels (and her Elizabeth Peters mysteries too), but this book was a major disappointment. I read it twice, several months apart, to determine whether I might have been mistaken the first time, but it was just as awful the second time. I applaud her sentiments in creating a heroine who is not gorgeous, but she goes too far--Heather is portrayed as genuinely unattractive, making the subsequent romantic stuff unbelievable. And the prose is leaden; the plot dull and warmed over (how many times do we want to read this witchery stuff rehashed?); the premise (Heather being welcomed into the family for no other reason than her name)implausible.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I loved it!
Review: I'm a tremendous Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters fan, and absolutely loved Heather Tradescant. How refreshing to have a heroine who actually loves her food! It was exciting, although not as eerily suspenseful as some of her others. Her characters were likeable, and I loved the ending.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Absolutely the most invigorating book yet!
Review: I'm not one to normally read mysterys, but when my aunt sent me this book I was hooked. If you enjoyed The Dancing Floor you might want to try Michaels' The Crying Child.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Another good one from Barbara MIchaels
Review: Ms. Michaels is one of my favorite authors. This is not her best, but I did enjoy it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Absolutely wonderfull and invigorating!
Review: Normally mysterys aren't my type, but when I recieved this book form my aunt I was hooked. I have also read Michaels' The Crying Child. If you enjoyed The Dancing Floor this is a book for you.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not so spellbinding
Review: Ok I really didn't like this one. I thought I would by the writing on the back but I should have just rented it. It is supposed to be a romance but I didn't figure out the romance part until the end.

There is intrigue and a lot of interesting information about Wicca and how it effects this one town in England. But, I found the whole story to be a bit far fetched.

Maybe the abridged version of the story was just a bit to abridged!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Wicca, England and a large living Maze
Review: Ok I really didn't like this one. I thought I would by the writing on the back but I should have just rented it. It is supposed to be a romance but I didn't figure out the romance part until the end.

There is intrigue and a lot of interesting information about Wicca and how it effects this one town in England. But, I found the whole story to be a bit far fetched.

Maybe the abridged version of the story was just a bit to abridged!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Refreshing Read
Review: Our heroine, Heather was a breath of fresh air. If we could all be so "undelicate" and not be considered "crass", it would be wonderful. Heather's attitude and appetite made me laugh out loud. Jordan, rumpled and stodgy was my pick from the beginning over the polite and correct Giles. Ms. Michaels did not disappoint me with this book.


<< 1 2 3 4 5 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates