Outside The Limelight by Terez Mertes Rose

Dena Lindgren is a petite dancer and three years younger than sister, Rebecca. Dena is asked to be a soloist but knows it'll hurt her sister as they both deal with their dad's divorce.

Now in their early twenties as the story flashes forwards in time, Dena has had a relationship with fellow dancer Nicholas, her best friends are Lana and Sylvie, her dad has remarried and Rebecca seems bitter towards her still at times as does her boyfriend, Boyd.

There's also the fact that she's having a battle with fatigue and dizziness and it's beginning to affect her performance. Pretty swiftly we discover the cause is a brain tumour and her dance teacher Anders suspected so secretly all along. As she undergoes hours of horrendous surgery, her sister and parents wait anxiously tension between them all after Rebecca tricked her father into telling her what was wrong with Dena and not allowing Dena time to inform everyone at the dance school as she passes on the news.

As Dena recovers, we watch her torment at not being allowed to perform again yet and watch as we find her sister in a love triangle of wanting to break up with Boyd, date Anders and not seeing how her college teacher of science, Misha feels towards her. Though, as the novel goes on Misha and Dene become close friends as she learns he left behind medical training to teach and he understands her emotional frustrations at how her body is back and forth with healing and then needing more procedures again.

Meanwhile, her sister goes through a rollercoaster of friendship and relationship problems although she does try more with Dena to repair the cracks in their rocky relationship. Especially with Rebecca being offered a bigger role and able to dance, whilst Dena is not able to at the standard the company takes people on for performance's.

The book is alike to Lurlene McDaniels books of which also tackle young love and medical problems combined and alike E4 show Stage School in the ballet setting. It's a very touching book and is actually the second in a series I have discovered of which both are available on Amazon to buy and read. I highly recommend you read them for yourselves but read them the right way round too, I'm sure going to read the first one too myself now after enjoying this one so much.

Thanks to the publishers allowing me to review this book for you!