After the Last Dance: Two women. Two love affairs. One unforgettable story 0th Edition

Really enjoyed this book. I had not read any from the author before.

A well balanced story.

Wonderful story!!!!

The story is told in two timelines - Rose from the 1940s and Jane from the present day and they are woven together very wellRose runs away from her family in Durham to come to London and has always been obsessed with the idea of going to Rainbow Corner. Rainbow Corner is a dance Hall in Piccadilly run by the American Red Cross for GIs on leave in London. Obtaining a volunteer position there Rose has the time of her life dancing every night with the servicemen and her three best friends that she shares a house with, until tragedy strikes.In the present day Jane walks into a bar in Las Vegas in a wedding dress and marries Leo the first man she comes across. It is obvious from the beginning that Jane has some disturbing secrets from her past but Leo also is a man that runs away from problems.When Leo gets called back to London because his great aunt is dying Jane meets the now very old Rose who recalls her stories of worn torn London and although they don't always see eye to eye there is an odd sort of bond between them.A great story that had me hooked from the first chapter, especially the historical sections, and I will certainly be looking for more books from this writer

Author: Sarra ManningTitle: After The Last DanceGenre: Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical, Chick lit, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Adult, Contemporary Fiction,Book Dedication: To all the men and women who passed through the doors of rainbow corner. Thank you for your inspiration, Your courage and your sacrifice.This book l got for free as part of a goodreads giveaway and firstread l never won any thing before but l want to say thank you to goodreads for having a great site and l want to say thank you to the person who hosted the giveaway and picking me as a winner.I am glad this book is on my bookshelf. I would tell people that you should step outside your comfort zone with books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your reading portfolio even if you do not read books like this. I normally read book of this genre but l also stepped outside my comfort zone with authors and genres l am so glad l did because l have read so many great books. I highly recommend this book. The author is really nice.Synopsis: Two women, Two love affairs, One unforgettable story. Kings cross station, 1943. Rose arrives in London hoping to swap the drudgery of wartime for romance, Glamour and jiving with gls at rainbow corner, the famous dance hall in Piccadilly circus. As the bombs fall, Rose loses her heart to a pilot but will lose so much more before the war has done its worst. Las Vegas, present day, A beautiful woman in a wedding dress walks in to a seedy bar and asks the first man she sees to marry her. When Leo slips a ring on to Jane's finger, He has no idea that his new wife will stop at nothing to get what she wants. So when Jane meets Rose, now a formidable older lady, there is no love lost between them. But with time running out, Can Rose and Jane come together to make peace with the tragic secrets that have always haunted their lives? After the last dance is an extraordinary story of two women, Separated by time but connected by fate, That will make you believe in the redemptive power of unexpected love.Review: I found this book really easy to get in to l was hooked after reading the first few pages. It was horrible to read that Jane's fiancee left her on their wedding day to do work. Jane wants to find somebody to marry her before her birthday she will be 27 she goes to the bar in her wedding dress. I enjoyed reading this book and about Jane and Rose. I would like to read more from this author. I got a arc of this book. This book has 421 pages and 38 chapters in it. Jane's fiancee did not leave her on their wedding day like she told Leo. She was the one who left Andrew on their wedding day. Andrew was heartbroken. Leo took most of the money they won leaving Jane only a bit. I was sad to read that Jane left her fiancee on their wedding day. this is a great storyline. I can not put in to words how great this book really is l would tell people to read it for themselves to know how great it really is. Leo and Jane know they can not stay married. Leo does drugs and like drinking and Jane does not do drugs or drinks. Jane wants Andrew to make a fresh start without her. Rose wants to join american red cross but she is not twenty one but Sylvia is going to help her get papers saying she is twenty one. Being part of american red cross is one of Rose's dreams. I was sad to read that Leo's great auntie was ill but Leo wanted to take Jane home to London with him so he could see his great auntie and let Jane meet his great auntie and maybe the rest of his family which l think is nice but Jane told him they could not stay married. It was nice that Jane agreed to go with Leo to see his great auntie who was very poorly and he wanted them to act like a happily married couple. Jane went along with the plan to act like a devoted wife for his great auntie. Leo's great auntie was called Rose. His great auntie made Jane and Leo stay for dinner and get to know Jane more. It was sad that Leo's great auntie has cancer. Leo's great auntie Rose loved Jane and was happy Leo had married Jane. She thought Jane was beautiful. Rose was working as a american red cross lady and she meet a bomber named Danny. Her friends tried to keep Danny and Rose apart. It was hard to put this book down once l started reading it. I Love reading books about war and the olden days. I can not get enough of this book. There is a bit of sex,drugs and drink in it but id is a great book. I hope Leo gets off the drugs and drink because he and Jane makes a great couple. It was sad that Danny's friend Phil died when his plane went down in flames. Rose was heartbroken by the news of Phil's death. Leo's mother was in town visiting Leo's great auntie Rose. She was coming for dinner Rose knew it would be the last time she sees her. Leo's great auntie Rose had stage four secondary liver cancer she was on painkillers she had months maybe weeks to live. Danny has not written to Rose she fears the worse. It was nice of Jane to go and talk to Leo's mother. Leo sounds horrible for not going to hug or talk to his mother he should have talked or hugged her because she give him life he would not be alive if it was not for his mother. Leo's great auntie Rose was Rose who was a american red cross worker. This book is full of surprises. Jane thinks Leo come back for his auntie's money Leo come back for his great auntie's. Leo said it is not the case he come because he loves and cares about her not her money. It was nice of Edward to be building a house to help people who lost everything due to the war. I fall more in love with this book as l get through more pages. This book gets better and better. Jane loves how friendly Leo's great auntie and mother is. They both sound like great women. Edward sounds like a great guy who wants to help people after the war which is a really nice thing. It was sad to read that because Danny put a ring on Rose's finger that he thought he could take anything he wanted from Rose. Danny raped Rose and she wanted nothing to do with Danny. Jane wants to stay married to Leo . There is 424 pages and 38 chapters in this book. it is good that Leo is trying to change his life around hope he stays off the drugs. I feel for Rose after what she been through l hope she does not get pregnant by Danny. Danny sounds like he thinks he can take whatever he wants from women. I hope Rose does not get together with Danny and she founds someone who loves her and won't hurt her and she she finds a guy she will happily marry and have kids with him. I would love to read more about Jane,Leo,Rose And Leo's mother. I can not get enough of this book. I have enjoyed reading this story. I like that Jane and Leo told Rose she needed stronger pain relief. Jane wanted to hear all about Rose's past which Rose happily told her. It was nice that Rose knitted a teddy for the children who Edward was helping and took them chocolate bars. It was horrible to read that the 4 adults and 3 children was so skinny and scared and they was hidden in a cellar for two years because they was Jewish. Jewish people who do not hide are sent concentration camps some of the Jewish people would die in in the camps and some of them would be rescued. Rose helped the adults to chairs while Edward made them a drink and got them something to eat. It was sad to read that there was a bombing in London and Rose's house was left in rumble and Rose did not know if her friends are alive or dead. Edward was there to support Rose and to help her. I feel for Rose having lost all her belongings and maybe her friends too. Rose was heartbroken. All Rose's friends died and Rose went to identified Maggie's body because she had no family. Rose was full of soot but she had no clothes to change in to. Rose went to all her friends funerals. Edward was there to say goodbye to Rose's friends. Rose and Edward loved each other but Rose was scared of being raped again. Edward would not hurt Rose in any way. It is really horrible to read that Rose is in so much pain. I hope Leo and Jane stay together as husband and wife as they make a great couple. This is a great book and storyline. It was sad to read about Rose's death and she wanting to be back with her friends. Leo and Jane took Rose's death hard they was heartbroken. Jane hide under the bed after Rose's passing away. Rose told everybody want she wanted to wear in her coffin and she did not want a open coffin. They was going to ask Rose's hairdresser to do Rose's hair the way she liked it. I would love to know what secrets Jane is hiding. I hope Leo and Jane have a baby together if they have a girl they should name her Rose. Leo made peace with his mother. It was sad that Jane was made to do things no child should do and she was raped by many men. Jane killed a man who raped her and she ran away from home and she meet Charles on the train he paid for her ticket. I am glad everybody stay in touch after Rose's death. Jane and Leo stay together as a married couple and Rose was reunited with all of her friends after her death she was also back in the arms of her one true love Edward they was all dancing on the dance floor in rainbow corner where their journey started. Rose seen Danny from time to time but she was safe in Edward's arms. Danny lied to Rose when they meet he said he loved her and would marry her but he was already married with two children and Edward told Rose that Danny was back with his wife and two children.Star Rating: Five out of Five starsAbout The Author: Sarra Manning is an author and journalist. She has written for the guardian, Elle, Grazia, Red and you magazine, and is the author of several best selling young adult novels including guitar girl, The diary of a crush trilogy and adorkable. After the last dance is her fifth adult novel. Sarra lives in north London with her staffordshire bull terrier miss Betsy, And prides herself on her unique ability to accessories.

Despite the fact that I've been a fan of Sarra Manning's books for a while, I struggled with this book. Dual storylines usually work for me -- but whilst I enjoyed the tales of Rose in the war period, I found that there wasn't as much depth to her in her later characterisations. I didn't warm to either Leo or Jane - unsurprisingly - but I did read through to the end to give the book a chance.It was interesting to learn about Rainbow Corner, and the experiences of the GIs which I haven't come across in many other books about this period.Whilst I did really enjoy the last few chapters - the tales of Sussex were well crafted with good imagery - this didn't do enough for me to bring it up from a 3.5* read.However others seem to have loved the book so perhaps it just wasn't the right time for me to read the book (sigh).

After the Last Dance is a tale of two women and two love stories set some 70 years apart. The novel begins in 1943 when young Rose, having run away from home, arrives at London's King Cross. She has only one goal – to get entrance to the glamorous Rainbow Corner, the heaven on earth where homesick American soldiers drink coca-cola and eat doughnuts, while dancing the night away with pretty English girls.The second thread of the story is set in present day Las Vegas and features a runaway bride. Leo, a struggling artist is nursing a hangover with a beer when the most beautiful woman he's ever seen walks into the bar, wearing a white dress and a tiara on top of her honey-blonde hair.While we see Rose settle into war-time London, dodging bombs and falling in love, her story is intertwined with a budding romance between Leo and the mysterious English beauty. After they drunkenly get hitched, in tried and tested Las Vegas style, Leo gets a message from London that his aunt is dying. Though realizing the marriage was a terrible – alcohol induced – mistake, they decide to travel together back to Britain.I couldn't put this book down. The two stories, which are intertwined in the book, are both engaging. You're almost sorry when you realize the next chapter is returning to the other strand – until you again get involved with that story. I did, however, prefer Rose's tale, which is set during the war. Descriptions of Rainbow Corner; the bombings during the Blitz, the rationing and lack of foodstuffs, stockings and almost everything; the soldiers who come and go in and out of Rose's and her friend's lives seemed very well researched and paint vivid images of wartime London. If I had one criticism of After the Last Dance, I would say that the present day tale lacked some of the passion and enthusiasm of the wartime story, although the modern strand gives the novel a balance and an insightful comparison to the life we lead now to the one lived more than 70 years ago.Sarra Manning has revealed that the inspiration for this book was Rainbow Corner, a social club run by American Red Cross for US servicemen stranded alone in London during WW2. They were described as 'overpaid, oversexed and over here' by the Brits at the time. Manning says that she saw a Pathe film clip about the club and was fascinated by the place. She imaged how a young girl, in the 1940s, would have seen the same images and wanted immediately to have a slice of that glamour and fun. In one of my blog posts, I talk about how we writers find our stories. This is such a good example!

I have read all of this authors books and enjoyed them although I much preferred her earlier work (You don't have to say you love me, Unsticky) to her more recent (It felt like a kiss).I struggled to get into this book, as many other reviewers have said the historical story of Rose was much easier to lose yourself in than the modern day story. Overall it felt like not enough of either story, they didn't sit side by side well and I rushed through the modern day text to get back to Rose at Rainbow Corner. I would have much preferred to continue with her story, without the need for crudely adding in the modern-day characters, I don't feel like that tool worked well in this book.

At first because the characters are not particularly likeable and I was too busy to read more than a chapter a night, I couldn't get into this book. The alternating of time periods and stories was too confusing. Then I had a holiday and read it in big chunks. It was a totally different experience . I loved the WW2 story and the insight into lives on the home front. The characters became fully rounded and layered. I cared about their happiness and found the ending really satisfying.

I read the reviews for this book which were very good, but I can honestly say this was a bit of a disappointment in my opinion the first 50% of this book was dreary, I had no empathy for any of the characters, I couldn't warm to them and it just dragged on and on. I never give up once I start a book but I nearly did with this one. However from halfway this story got a lot more interesting and by the end it became a really great read. It is a shame that it took so long to get going but the author for me did a wonderful job at the end. I've only given 3* as I think she left it too late in the story to warm to the characters and understand why they were like they were.

If you’ve never heard of the Rainbow Corner in London, then put on your dancing shoes as you are in for the treat of your literary life. On these pages, the club comes back to life with every beat of every word as if it were the music itself.The Rainbow CornerThe famous Rainbow Corner was a social club during WW2, (opened in 1942) and run by the American Red Cross.It was a piece of home for the American soldiers far away on leave from their homeland and their families. In fact this was a real piece of Americana. These soldiers were issued every possession by the American government but it was the music, the dancing and the social activities they missed the most. This is where the Rainbow Corner came in.The novels is extremely evocative and you can taste the coke, coffee and doughnuts which Rose is very keen to taste for herself. The sugar on her lips makes for a bitter sweet moment however as she then meets the solider who will change her life and not necessarily for the best. Sarra mentions in her author note that every detail she evokes is as it was – including Dunker’s Den and the fact that it was the first place in Britain to stock the now very widely available and famous drink coca Cola. The Where Am I room really existed too and English women really did come here to dance and meet American soldiers. There is another, modern day story which ties in with the WW2 one at the end but I really feel that the novel could have been built on the WW2 thread alone - I got so lost in it!This was not just a dance hall however it was a home from home – boxing matches, dinners, hair cuts and chat – everything was available here.In present day London, the Rainbow Corner is no more, but this book captures it as if you were there with your Mary Janes ready to jive yourself. Ah, let the dancing begin…..