I picked this one up for the Black Swan vibes and my lifelong interest in anything dance related but I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect beyond that. The one that tells me to stay scared because I will fail and who tells me not to take a risk because I’ll fall. Sylvie and Jocelyn have their own chapters where they tell their story to the reader on their own terms. I was expecting so much more from this book, and while there were aspects I did like, it was overshadowed by the many problems this story has. A dancer’s fall from grace ignites a dark ambition in this propulsive novel about the seductive, cutthroat world of professional ballet by debut author Melanie Hamrick.

Melanie Hamrick’s Erotic - SheKnows Is Mick Jagger’s GF Melanie Hamrick’s Erotic - SheKnows

Also there was a character I really wanted to dig deeper into who was very important to the story, and I felt this could have been teased out more.

Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. Hamrick was in the corps de ballet at ABT for 16 years (incidentally, she’s also Mick Jagger’s partner, which doesn’t do the book marketing any harm). I waver, suddenly aware that he has not asked for an autobiography and I’m sounding like a babbling fool. For all ebook purchases, you will be prompted to create an account or login with your existing HarperCollins username and password. First Position’ is Melanie Hamrick’s debut novel and you can just tell she was a ballerina for ABT for sixteen years - the novel, although spicy here and there, is more of a glimpse into the ballet world and the turmoil that comes with it, rather than an erotica story.

First Position by Melanie Hamrick: 9780593638149

L’Wren took her own life less than a month later, reportedly because of debts and business difficulties. So, so edgy, so different, with a constant undercurrent of tension whether on the stage or in the bedroom. My expectations were higher after reading the interesting plot line that gave off Black Swan vibes and a promising, dark introduction to the world of ballerinas. In Hamrick’s book, Sylvie is “chosen” by Sebastian Alvarez, the company’s assistant director, for private lessons that turn into a secretive affair. But when she meets renowned Italian dancer Alessandro Russo, an electrifying encounter has her throwing out the rulebook.The one upside to this is at least Jocelyn's sections had a bit more energy and punch, although she's just as unlikable as Sylvie, if not moreso. I did however feel sympathy and heartbreak for Sylvie’s self-destruction as she lost her way, enabled by those in powerful positions. I think this is a case of Melanie Hamrick being a debut author, and she needs to work on character development and making her characters more multi-dimensional so they don’t come across as flat and one-dimensional. Honestly, I can only think of a handful yet this latest release from Berkley is hoping to change the conversation. Pas de Don’t (a play on “pas de deux”, a term for a duet) by Australian journalist Chloe Angyal centres on New York dancer Heather Hays, who after being dumped by her fiance takes up a job at the Australian National Ballet and gets into a forbidden romance with a colleague.

First Position by Melanie Hamrick | Waterstones First Position by Melanie Hamrick | Waterstones

He tells her what to do, what to wear, what to drink, what kind of dancer to be, and humiliates her when he’s done with her. One of the best scenes early on has a window into the blood and pain that the audience never sees, and it degenerates into a gratuitous and silly sex scene. NEW YORK (AP) — Melanie Hamrick, who knows her way around a quick pirouette, had to move fast when her 6-year-old son Deveraux recently picked up a copy of her new novel, “First Position,” as she was signing books. Mick Jagger’s girlfriend shows off the new ring he gave her but insists she and her precious Stone have no plans to marry. There’s not a lot here that you can’t find in other ballet books of this sort and a lot of them are better written, but this one gets points for pacing and likable characters.

Melanie Hamrick (left) with Frederic Franklin and Hee Seo in the American Ballet Theatre’s Swan Lake at the London Coliseum in 2009. This book is marketed as Colleen Hoover meets black swan, and I think if you’re a fan of Colleen Hoover, this may be up your alley and something you might want to try. The book definitely got me out of a reading slump, but I felt like the ending was a bit rushed, I wanted more of Sylvie taking back her power and succeeding in life. If Diana wants to see Jocelyn’s solo again it will be to merely applaud her perfection and only because she liked it so much.