ARC Review: Kitty Sinclair’s Last Dance by Kate Robb

Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance by Kate Robb is a delightful contemporary romance with elements of magical realism.

Set in a small town in Ontario, Canada, the story is told in first person from the point of view of Jules, a young woman who has had some disappointments in life and has decided to just accept the path her life is on, until she receives an unexpected inheritance and the dreams she has been suppressing for years begin to surface. Reeve, a former one night stand, is one of those dreams and when he also resurfaces, Jules has to re-examine her feelings about him.

For the most part, Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance is a light contemporary romance, what makes it special is the touch of magical realism that Kate Robb adds to each of her stories, and in this case allows us a glimpse of the past and insight into the life of a young Kitty St. Clair.

The story started out a bit slow, and it took me a bit of time to engage with the characters and the story, but once I did I found the book hard to put down.

I really enjoyed the characters, and the way the author used magical realism to allow us to view Kitty’s past life, rather than give us flashbacks from her point of view. I think the way it was done allowed for more internal conflict for the Jules and made the story more interesting for me. Some of the revelations at the end of the book made certain parts feel bittersweet, but that feeling added to my enjoyment of the story.

Having grown up in a small town in Ontario, I felt author did a great job showing small town Canada, and I felt for Jules and her desire to keep her hometown from succumbing to the downfalls other small communities have experienced over the years. The conflict between her desire to see her own dreams come true, and her desire to protect her community felt very real, and I’m not sure I would want to know what my own decision would have been were I in her position.

I have read and enjoyed all of Kate Robb’s books so far, so I think I can call myself a fan of her work now, and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance will be available on September 30 2025.