Rating: 
Summary: A nice Story, but...
Review: I have recommended Ms. Whetstone work to all of my friends. I love her work in Tumbling and Tempest Rising. I couldn't wait until I got my hands on Blues Dancing. I enjoyed the story, but it just didn't get my attention like the first one. The first two books were page turners for me this one was just a lil' slower. I was very glad that Verna Mae found what she needed all along... Ms. Whetstone is still one of my "A-List" authors.
Rating: 
Summary: DEPRESSING BUT MAGNIFICIENT!
Review: WHILE READING THIS BOOK, I NEVER SEEMED ABLE TO EXIT TOTALLY FROM THE MODE OF DEPRESSION.THE SUBJECT MATTER OF "BLUES DANCING" AFFECTS US ALL, WHETHER IT BE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY. DRUG ADDICTION IS A VERY DEPRESSING PART OF NUMEROUS LIVES. I TOTALLY ENJOYED ANY CHAPTER IN WHICH POSIE WAS FEATURED. SHE WAS ONE OF THE REDEEMING LIGHT FIGURES IN THIS STORY. I TOTALLY ENJOYED HER FUN NATURE AND ABUNDANT WISDOM EVEN THOUGH IT WAS CAREULLY CAMOUFLAGED BENEATH HER HIGHLY CHARGED LIBIDO. I FEEL THAT VERDI WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER EQUIPPED TO FACE LIFE WITHOUT PARENTERAL AUTHORITY, WHILE AWAY AT COLLEGE, IF SHE HAD BEEN THE OFFSPRING OF POSIE RATHER THAN HORTENSE. VERDI'S CHOICES WOULD THEN HAVE BEEN TEMPERED BY POSIE'S WISE, HANDS-ON, ALBEIT PECULAIR, TYPE OF WISDOM; ESPECIALLY PERTAINING TO MATTERS OF THE HEART (AND IN POSIE'S CASE, OF THE BODY). IF THIS HAD BEN THE CASE, I DON'T THINK VERDI WOULD HAVE BEEN SO READILY SUSCEPTIBLE TO PARTICIPATION IN THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL JOHNSON INITIATED. PERTAINING TO ROWE, YES, HE DID SAVE VERDI'S LIFE, BUT THEN HE TURNED AROUND AND STOLE IT BACK FROM HER WITH HIS DESTRUCTION OF HER OWN SELF-WELL. ALTHOUGH ANGER WAS MY DOMINANT EMOTION ASSOCIATED INITIALLY WITH JOHNSON, I EXPERIENCED RESPECT FOR HIM BECAUSE HE DID TRY TO SAVE VERDI, DURING HIS PERIOD OF PERSONAL DEGRADATION. THE ENDING WAS WONDERFUL AND MORE THAN MADE UP FOR THE DEPRESSION I EXPERIENCED. THANK YOU DIANE FOR A GREAT STORY. LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR FUTURE WORKS.
Rating:
Summary: Best of 1999! A Must Read
Review: Ms. Whetstone you've done it again, this story is so involved that you can feel the very emotions the characters are going thru, the symbolism used with words are precise and make you think and feel on a whole other level. This is a book not to be rushed thru, but you wont' want to put it down, these characters are with you in your dreams,and if you don't have a copy of Louis Armstrong's version You Go To My Head, purchase it I gurantee you will be Blues Dancing throughout this wonderful Love Story
Rating: 
Summary: A good book
Review: I have enjoyed each of Ms McKinney-Whetstone's books. Each have been good and this one as well. The thing I have a problem with is Rowe. He was TOO possessive. Ok. So, you helped her get over her addiction, you made sure that she didn't get kicked out of college, but did you have to fall in love with Verdi, leave your wife, move in with Verdi, and basically treat her as though she was your possession for over 20 years? So much so that she had to lie to see her own flesh and blood? I have a serious problem with that. The book itself is great. I loved Kitt. I didn't share Rowe's opinion of her at all. She worked and had a side gig. Her mother,though flaky, you can't help but love her. Johnson seem kind of weak in the beginning, but as time moved on, I was down with him.Verdi was good, but I don't know how she could have stood for that man's behavior. It was just too much. Initially, I thought that her addiction was more longer than I anticipated. But I was glad that she overcomed it. I was a bit ticked when she started do it again after being off of it for so long. A good read.
Rating: 
Summary: From Essence Magazine; November 1999
Review: Diane McKinney Whetstone is back with her third novel Blues Dancing and her way with a lush phrase and a striking image has not changed a bit...McKinney-Whetstone uses her gift for language to weave a love story that spans more than 20 years and three lives...Blues Dancing is a novel well worth curling up with on a long winter's night."
Rating:
Summary: From Publisher's Weekly, *starred review*
Review: "Delving into the Philadelphia she claimed in her first two novels (Tumbling; Tempest Rising), McKinney-Whetstone gives a rhapsodic performance in this story of self-discovery that moves seamlessly between the early 1970's and early '90's...Pitch-perfect dialogue and a keen eye capture the spirit and cadences of the early 70's...Flashbacks to the early days of the erstwhile lovers' relationship shimmer with the intoxication of first love, while their later encounters powerfully reveal their vulnerability to old desires...readers (become) passionately involved in the fates of these winning characters."
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL, EXCELLENT
Review: While Tumbling and Tempest Rising were very good, Blues Dancing has to be the best work of Ms Whetstone. She very smoothly takes us back and forth from the 70's and 90's and the relationship of Verdi and Johnson and Verdi and Rowe. Her writing is very descriptive and you could just imagine yourself in the midst of the story. Sage, Penda and Kitt lends a very nice touch to the story. This book will keep you intrigued.
Rating:
Summary: good, but not quite as good as the other 2 books
Review: I LOVE Ms Whetstone writing, but I was a little disappointed in this one, but still give 3 stars
Rating:
Summary: Diane Mckinney-Whestone has done it again.
Review: I loved Tempest Rising and Tumbling so I knew that I would love this book too. Blues Dancing was a wonderful book and Mckinney-Whestone is incredibly talented. When I was finished with this book I felt fulfilled. I recommend it to everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Passionate and Breathtaking!
Review: Diane McKinney-Whetstone has done it again... taken her readers to Philly, evoked every sensory organ, and personally introduced us to vivid characters with personality. Mrs. McKinney-Whetstone is such an excellent storyteller! Blues Dancing is a beautifully written novel of passionate relationships between friends and family. By passionate, I'm referring to the deep and loving heartfelt emotions... and a bit of physical intimacy. Verdi and Johnson display such strong passion for one another during a time when the major focus of the Movement was violence. During their college years, they become friends and inevitably lovers. I enjoyed reading how they were so much a part of one another that you couldn't tell where one ended and the other began... that's some DEEP love. While swimming (and nearly drowning) in the depths of this passionate love story, I had to put the book down a few times to literally catch my breath. Blues Dancing took me back to a place I never wanted to leave... who knows, maybe I'll smell the sweetness of butter!
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