Forest Dancer set in beautiful Sintra, Portugal “work to impress, dance to express”

The author obviously enjoys a jive or two (not forgetting a foxtrot) as her enthusiasm is clear on every page. But don't expect it to be all sparkles and ballroom dresses, the novel has just the right number of questions to keep the reader on tenterhooks about whether Gina's ex-husband will cause havoc and just what is the secret that Chris is keeping

There‘s a book in my handbag

Alice Castle deftly juggles serious social concerns (teenage angst, bullying) with her light-hearted observations of the Dulwich well-to-do community. Her prose flows beautifully and kept me reading The Girl in the Gallery in almost one go. By the way, what the author doesn't know about the art world, just isn't worth knowing. On top of the mystery, red-herrings, social issues, and wit, The Girl in the Gallery is also an education.

I thoroughly recommend this novel with its combination of humour and hard-hitting subjects of bullying and loneliness.

London classical ballerina, Flora Gatehouse, has just recently lost her father, but she has also suffered a devastating blow in her career: her failed audition that sees her moving to a small cottage in a village in the forests near Lisbon. Follow her story as she embraces the life of the village with its dark secrets and forest ranger, Marco - at one with his beloved trees? Will she ever reconnect with her dream to become a principal ballerina?

Where do we go when we die? The Soulweaver touched me and my soul.