Tutus & Cowboy Boots (Part 1‪)‬

The title of this book fascinated me because we have a ballerina in the family. The writing was wonderful and the development of the characters great. It takes a snob and makes her a likable caring human. I would highly recommend this book.

I absolutely love all of Casey's work!

What happens when a true city girl is forced to go back to her mom's family farm in the south because her dad is an a$$hat? We find out in Tutu's and Cowboy Boots which is the story of Cadence Lewis and Barrick Carpenter. Talk about oil and water!

When Cadence and her mom first arrive in Delight, a true tiny Southern town Cadence doesn't know what to make of it. She does know she doesn't want to be there, thinks everyone are country bumpkins and resents the fact that she's had to uproot her life because of actions she had no control over. Cadence and her mom are living with her Gran, who I absolutely loved! She doesn't take lip from anyone, but especially Cadence.

It's expected that she work on the farm. Which of course is a foreign word to Cadence as she's never had to work a day in her life. Her entire life has centered around dance and furthering her career in dance. This is where things get interesting because Barrick Carpenter works on Gran's farm. The way these two interact with each other was funny. He gave her chores to do that he knew would drive her crazy and make her get dirtier than necessary. She gave him attitude galore! And Gran just stood back and made Cadence do these things because it's about time she think about someone other than herself and she needs to learn to be respectful.

According to Cadence the entire town of Delight isn't good enough for her, especially when she goes to the local place everyone hangs out at. This is where she meets Jade. A girl who seems to be unlike some of the other girls in town and who Cadence becomes friends with. Although it takes them some time to get to be close friends. What I especially loved about these two girls as friends is that they both learned from each other. Cadence learns that Delight isn't as bad as she thought it was, the dance school there that Cadence fought against attending, is somewhere that she can learn from and Jade learns to stand up for herself and realize she's beautiful inside and out....

"You're the first person she's actually herself around....It's like the girl I've known my entire life is finally around for the world to see."

To watch Cadence change was quite moving. She really started to see people for who they were and realized that life in Delight isn't as bad as she thought it was when they first get there. Along with this, is the growing attraction between Cadence and Barrick. She begins to rely on him especially when Cadence goes back to NYC for a visit. To say it was a less than fabulous trip is putting it mildly. Cadence learns a lot on that trip and it somewhat broke my heart. When she learns what's been going on while she's been away, her first reaction is to go "home" and to Barrick. I had a big smile on my face when this happened because it seems like Cadence is finally growing up.

There's so much more to this story than I can write about. But there are a lot of unanswered questions too. What happens between Cadence and Barrick? Will Jade and Cadence become dance partners and compete together? Will Cadence begI in to be the woman her Gran and Mom know she can be? I certainly don't know the answers but I hope to find them all in Book 2 of this series.