Sarah Bird's insightful, funny novels about love have won her high praise from critics and a loyal following. Booklist says she writes with "a voice that will resonate like a fine guitar." Rae's life falls apart when her father dies of cancer and her mother joins a religious cult. The only person who understands Rae is local bad girl Didi, who is experiencing a similar loss. Both girls fall in love with handsome flamenco guitarist TomAs Montenegro, whose aunt teaches at the university's flamenco academy. Rae and Didi take the class and become obsessed with the dance. In time, their love triangle plays out on an international stage, when Rae, Didi, and TomAs becoming the rising stars of flamenco. Bird's passionate and touching story will win her many new fans. Alyssa Bresnahan's narration, as fluid as the flamenco dancing it chronicles, beautifully captures the nuances of this tale. "Bird delivers a story brimming with romance and visceral details of flamenco, its music and its history."-Publishers Weekly
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""He led me down a street where conquistadors ruled coffee shops and whiskey grew in a garden of green bottles. A secret park appeared in the middle of a sleeping neighborhood. He played falsetas so beautiful that the leaves on the trees turned into hearts and rained down on me. And, on a giant's swing, we sailed so high that the stars blurred into streaks of silver next to our heads.""
— Yvonne (5 out of 5 stars)
Bird delivers a story brimming with romance and visceral details of flamenco, its music and its history.
— Publishers Weekly" liked this book. modern and informative. i feel like i know a little about the history of flamenco. "
— Rachal, 2/18/2014" This book wasn't hard to read, or incredibly memorable, or amazingly deep, but the writing is lovely without ever drawing attention to itself, the characterization of the two best friends and their relationship is fabulous, and the plot moves along well. Plus, yes, I learned a lot about flamenco. "
— Jenya, 2/6/2014" I'm a little over half way through and the book is really dragging. I'm going to try to get myself through it and see if it actually comes together. "
— Nina, 1/28/2014" I enjoyed this book. The two main characters were very vivid. The story was interesting and led me to a quick read. I learned a lot about flamenco culture and ended up checking out some flamenco CDs from the library. The only part I didnt like was the gypsy tales which were interwoen into the plot tended to be a little too long. "
— Sandi, 1/24/2014" The passion and danger attached to flamenco flows through this compelling new novel--a story of two young American women caught up in the fevered excitement of the flamenco revival sweeping the Southwest. "
— JoAnne, 1/21/2014" I really liked this book. Easy to read. Some charaters hard to sympathize with but still very satisfying. "
— Danica, 1/21/2014" A little too much detail about "Flamenco" for me but I guess that is to be expected - given the title. "
— Garron, 1/13/2014" nice easy read...a book that I found at the library while in Tokyo "
— Kyri, 1/4/2014" If you love flamenco, you'll like this book. If you don't, you won't. "
— Emily, 11/9/2013" Bravo!!! I loved the history presented in this book. I loved the descriptions of music, local, dance, guitar . . Sarah Bird obviously has a passion for her subject matter. The love story was absorbing .. and brave. "
— Cheryl, 9/23/2013" This is a very sensual book. I loved learning about flamenco, the Gypsies, and visualizing Tomas. "
— Rebecca, 8/4/2013" Well, I always love Sarah Bird. Great love story, great woman's story, great mystery, and you learn a lot about Gypsies, flamenco and New Mexico! "
— cmeiers, 7/14/2013" I really liked this book, but I think people who don't dance will enjoy it less "
— Vanessa, 7/3/2013" I have mixed feelings about this book so I can only give it 2 stars and I wish I knew more Spanish! "
— Mie, 4/13/2013" I loved this book! There is a lot of detail about the flamenco culture and gypsy life. "
— Peterfam, 2/10/2013" A compelling love story, butI liked the history about flamenco the best. "
— Mandora, 10/20/2012" I loved the vivid stories about Flamenco, the Gypsies and of course the references to Lorca, but the juvenile infatuation aspect was a drag. "
— Janice, 10/20/2012" I like her writing, but don't love Flamenco. I like other books by her better. "
— Liz, 8/24/2012" Great story but a little disappointed with the ending. "
— Lindsay, 5/31/2012" Although well-written in parts, this novel went on way too long for me. "
— Marsha, 4/19/2012" Read it in Cancun and then heard Flamenco music in jazz club. "
— Kathy, 3/31/2012" The book pulsates with rhythm and romance. Takes place in Albuquerque where I knew every place that was mentioned in the book. Took me back to when I lived there. One of my favorites of Sarah Bird who lives in Austin , by the way. "
— Elaine, 3/15/2012" I love this book because it captures a culture and a history that I am slightly obsessed with. I hate this book because at every turn I felt like it was telling me the story of my life complete with betrayal and loss of love. "
— Erin, 2/18/2012" Sarah Bird's style is intense and internal. It's a novel, but it reads like a memoir, so intimately personal is the reader's relationship with the narrator. "
— Joan, 12/13/2011" Loved learning about gypsy culture. It was a great story, with a sad but courageous ending. "
— Janice, 9/19/2011" Bird's most ambitious novel to date; explores the world of New Mexico flamenco and gypsy culture. "
— Marie, 8/13/2011" A very good, enjoyed it very much. A great story about friendship and betrayal. An interesting look into the world of Flamenco. "
— Lorri, 6/30/2011" Great story but a little disappointed with the ending. "
— Lindsay, 4/13/2011" The passion and danger attached to flamenco flows through this compelling new novel--a story of two young American women caught up in the fevered excitement of the flamenco revival sweeping the Southwest. <br/> "
— JoAnne, 4/8/2011" Loved learning about gypsy culture. It was a great story, with a sad but courageous ending. "
— Janice, 2/2/2011" nice easy read...a book that I found at the library while in Tokyo "
— Kyri, 9/6/2010" The book pulsates with rhythm and romance. Takes place in Albuquerque where I knew every place that was mentioned in the book. Took me back to when I lived there. One of my favorites of Sarah Bird who lives in Austin , by the way. "
— Elaine, 8/7/2010" Read it in Cancun and then heard Flamenco music in jazz club. "
— Kathy, 5/9/2010" I wanted to like this. I really did. It started off so compelling, just great, but it fizzled fast. The story went on and on and ON about their childhood. As a teenager there was nothing likable or even very interesting about the main character. Or her best friend. Bummer. "
— Relyn, 4/2/2010" Bravo!!! I loved the history presented in this book. I loved the descriptions of music, local, dance, guitar . . Sarah Bird obviously has a passion for her subject matter. The love story was absorbing .. and brave. "
— Cheryl, 2/27/2010" I took me 75 pages to get going, but once I did I couldn't stop. This book totally makes you want to run off to New Mexico and become a gypsy. Truly enjoyable. "
— Erin, 11/12/2009" I have mixed feelings about this book so I can only give it 2 stars and I wish I knew more Spanish! "
— Mie, 10/30/2009Sarah Bird is the author of several novels. She is a columnist for Texas Monthly and has written for the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Glamour, and Mademoiselle, among other publications. Her novel Above the East China Sea was long-listed for the Dublin International Literary Award.
Alyssa Bresnahan is a dynamic dancer, actor, and audiobook narrator. She has narrated over two hundred audiobooks, has earned twenty Earphones Awards, and was named one of AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voices. In 2009 she was a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best fiction narration.