Rating: 
Summary: Difficult to Put Down
Review: I found this wonderful tale of lovers who met in college, very difficult to put down. Ms. Whetstone is a wonderful writer and her prose is like poetry to me. I loved the way she weaved us (readers) into the web of addiction, strong love ties, and strength on both of the characters. I liked the secondary characters as well. This is a strong tale! You won't want to put this book down. Why? The characters get into your system, your life, and you won't want to let them go. You 'll be addicted to their trials and tribulations and you'll want them to conquer any demons that they are facing. You'll laugh, you'll cry. You'll be there in the moment for them. Ms. Whetstone, thanks for bringing this story to light for us. Blues Dancing is the NUMBER #1 book for me for 2000! I couldn't put it down. Be Blessed, and keep writing quality fiction.
Rating:
Summary: A journey worth taking
Review: I've enjoyed all of the authors writings.Diane McKinney-Whetstone is a superb storyteller. I enjoyed the weaving back and forth through time, allowing the reader to experience the past and not just be told about it. The characters were all so real and could easily be imagined. I had no sorrow in my heart for Rowe. I truly think he deserved what he got. Verdi, Johnson and Kitt exemplified great examples of true,honest love and friendship. However, I did find the relationship between and Posie and Uncle Leroy to be left unresolved, there was a hint as to whether Verdi and Kitt were actually sisters instead of cousins. Overall, a great read, I couldn't stop until the end of the story had been told. Thanks again for the Ride ! .
Rating:
Summary: A VERY BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY!
Review: I found "Blues Dancing" to be a enticing book. I had a very difficult time putting it down. Verdi and Johnson love for one another was not only beautiful, but it was dangerous. Verdi was so vulnerable in the beginning, allowing Rowe to take care of her. I could not help but cheer when she began to emerge and see her self as not helpless. I like the fact that Johnson was able to deny his own needs and put Verdi's needs ahead of his own and to see twenty years later that he was able to overcome his addiction and become a strong and successful AA man.
Rating: 
Summary: Inviting...
Review: Diane McKinney-Whetstone tells the story of Verdi who tries to settle for a relationship of convenience and predictability with Rowe and discovers that her heart still belongs to her one true love- Johnson. Walking away from what is comfortable isn't easy;however, Verdi decides to walk into what is right despite the past. When all is said and done the blues that exists between Verdi and Johnson cannot be denied and the love they share is enough to orchestrate another dance.
Rating:
Summary: Be enraptured!
Review: Maybe it was that this novel is set in my home of Philadelphia, or that the characters were familiar in the sense of blurred distant objects. Or maybe it was that the plot did not seem to have one sagging hole. Perhaps, it was the raw human emotion that was evoke through the main characters and exhibited in all of the book. Either way, I found myself not able to let go of this formidable novel. Even though I felt depressed, I couldn't let go until I knew the conclusion and (hopefully) the modicum of joy it brought. Anyone who has been in love under the most impossible of conditions or who has been captivated beyond repair by anything deadly should find a mental stopming ground between the pages of this novel, in my opinion. All I know is McKinney-Whetstone gained a fan in me. Do yourself a favor...
Rating:
Summary: tempest rising
Review: Tempest Rising was a book that i thought was very good. Johnson and Verdi were a couple of confused teenagers, that experimented with a drug that turned both of their lives upside down. Rowe and Penda were both a couple of self-righteous wanna-be's that were there to nurse verdi back to life. Rowe I thought deserved everything he got because he tried to control every aspect of verdi's life and they ended up caring for each other without having the love and respect that a couple has to have to survive. Rowe's was a love of pity and lust, Verdi's was one of dependence and a feeling of debt. The book was a great read. I will be waiting for Miss Mckenney to come out with her next book.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Book of 2000!
Review: Set in Philadelphia ...Blues Dancing (BD) unfolds and is told. BD is the story of Verdi and Johnson, Verdi and Rowe, Verdi and extended family poetically and lyrically told in a breathtaking manner! I finished this book in a day and was saturated with so many feelings that it was over two weeks before I was able to pick up another book. In fact, Blues Dancing is by far the best book that I've read this year and the only book that I've read twice in a VERY LONG TIME. Blue's Dancing is vividly and lyrically written and is an unforgettable story about love, betrayal and faith. For the last twenty years, Verdi has composed a quite life with her former professor, Rowe. He takes care of her and makes her feel good albeit over time the relationship becomes increasingly stifling and controlling at times. All appears fine until Johnson returns to town. Johnson, the boy from the streets of Philadelphia who captured Verdi's heart when the two of them were in college. Johnson the boy who taught Verdi to love heroin and then wanted out of the relationship when the heroin consumed Verdi. With Johnson's reappearance, the ground beneath Verdi begins to shift, and Verdi must discover the only person who can save her-herself. I like Ms. Whetstone's ability to tell an engrossing and provocative story. Even thought the story spanned the 70's and 90's and switched back and forth one barely noticed because of Ms. Whetstone's excellent writing skills and writing style. The characters were well developed and had depth including the youngest cast member Sage. You cheered for Posie and one wanted the best for her; Rowe was the character that everyone loved to hate. Blues Dancing touches all of ones senses as it is alive with scent, sound, sight, taste and touch. Whetstone wraps us in emotions so acute that we can almost taste Johnson's sadness, smell Verdi's innocence, and touch Rowe's manipulation. Whetstone's descriptions are rich with imagery so vivid that one can readily visualize the scenery and the characters lives as they stand on the brink of crumbling. Once you've read Blues Dancing you'll change your mind about some of the current genre out there by AA authors and say wow...CAN WE HAVE MORE WRITING LIKE THIS...no broken English, mature and educated AAs, characters with depth, substantial storyline, plots that build and get better, excellent writing skills, and the list goes on but read it for yourself and form your own opinions. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't say that this book is for serious readers only...if you're looking for something light and mindless...this might not be the book for you. If you're still interested, please read this poignant and memorable novel from Ms. Whetstone.
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Summary: Diane does it again! Blues Dancing is supreme!
Review: If you haven't read this one yet...what are you waiting for? Diane McKinney-Whetsone has a way of placing you in the center of the story, along the line of the characters, that locks you into their joys, fears, desires, and their strengths. Blues Dancing hits the heart of many of us who have ever needed to change our lives around, and needed the right inspiration to do it. Verdi Mae is forced to reach out of her shell of un-assurance to go for what's best in her life. She suddenly leave the familiar for the unfamiliar and takes the chance on love, love that one wrapped her in a sheet of fear, anxiety, and emotional trauma. Taking the hand of her true love [Johnson], she finds her self worth again! Once you read it, don't put it down, seeing this book through to the end will bring about certainty in your own life.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost didn't make it through this one
Review: I try to give every book I start a fare shake and I had to fight myself to finish this one. I found the story interesting (once I was done) but slow, and I could tell what was going to happen before it did.
Rating:
Summary: Gotta Shake Those Boring Blues!
Review: This was one of the saddest books I've ever read and by sad I mean that the storyline was pitiful, dull and seemingly neverending. BLUES DANCING by Diane McKinney-Whetstone is about a dead romance between Verdi and Johnson, who are long-lost lovers that were broken apart by their intense addiction to heroin and by Verdi's jealous college professor, Rowe. The storyline interchanges between the 1970's and modern times. The characters were extrmely one-dimensional. There was Rowe, the typical over-powering, older man. There was Johnson, the college radical who finally got his life back on track. Then last and worst of all, there was Verdi; a-needy-for-a-man, always confused, childish forty-year old woman. I thought that the author would have at least made Verdi grow in some way by the end of the novel, but no, she remained an annoying dependent female (I can't call her a woman because she doesn't deserve that title). What the author attempts to make a "happy ending" fails because the only character that experiences any type of growth is Sage, Verdi's little cousin, but the sad part is that compared to the other characters, Sage isn't even a main character. It took all of me to finish this book and I was deeply ticked off when I finished it because I felt like I had wasted my time. This book was not worth reading.
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