Review: Finding Center by Katherine Locke

Series: District Ballet Book #2

Format: Ebook

Rating: 4.5 Stars

How I Got It: Purchased

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance,

Publisher: Carina Press

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

Zed and ballet are my two greatest loves

It took all of Aly's strength to get them back after a tragic accident ripped them from her six years ago. A long road to recovery led to her return, dancing full-time for the District Ballet Company and carrying Zed's child. But Aly is slipping. Each day becomes a fight to keep her career from crumbling under the weight of younger talent, the scrutiny of the public eye and the limitations of her ever-changing body. A fight she fears she's losing.

I'm scared Aly is broken to her core

Zed recognizes the signs, but he doesn't know how to fix her. The accident left him with his own demons, and while he wants nothing more than to take care of the woman he loves, it's getting harder the farther downward she spirals. When Aly's life is threatened and Zed's injuries prevent him from saving her, he's never felt so useless, so afraid he's not capable of being the man Aly and their child needs.

With new life comes new hope. And with their fractured lives already hanging by a thread, Aly and Zed must discover if they have what it takes—both together and apart—to rebuild and carry on.

 

Review

I put off reading the last book in this series for a while. In some ways I wish I had read it when I was in the high of the first book, but I’m also glad I waited. It was a great ending to a very good series I enjoyed reading. And I do plan on reading more by Katherine Locke.

Previously, I thought Aly and Zed’s relationship was a little dysfunctional. It still has some of that flavor, but this story really showed how much they have grown. Aly and Zed have to deal with their own issues and be very honest with themselves and each other.

I’ve mentioned before that I really like when an author shows how challenging a relationship can be. And this showed that. Aly and Zed have to deal with the logistical difficulties of being a couple, but also the emotional effort they need to make.

I’m so happy there are still Dr. Ham scenes. They are still some of my favorites. And they are so powerful because of the style in which they are written.

Throughout the series, Ms. Locke has dealt with some serious ballet stereotypes. Sometimes I get a little frustrated by this, because it perpetuates beliefs about dancers. But here she started pushing some of them like with the Madison character.

Really the only thing that stops me from giving this five stars is Zed. I still really love him and am very touched by his story. But I wanted a little bit more about what he did after the Rubies performance. That just felt like such an important story point for him and I wish it had been further explored.

Like I said before I do think this is a very well developed series and I would recommend it especially if you like an angsty read or dancer story. But if you do, you should definitely start with the .5 story because then you will get so much more out of it.

Thanks for reading!