This is probably one of the best representations of ballet and the ballet world I have read in a fiction book.’ I can tell you have passion,” he said easily, clearly unaware of—or undeterred by—the turmoil of reactivity thirteen inches away from him. “I watched you for only a little while up there, not even alone, and I know you can be much better than you are. Even better, I should say.” nothing. That might be everyone else’s problem with it, but it’s exactly what I appreciate about it. The dual narrative of Sylvie and Jocelyn was fantastic, with incredible pacing! I so badly wanted to know what happened between all the characters and how Sylvie’s fall from grace came to be. I had moments of both fiercely loving and hating both the FMC’s and wanted so badly to be proud of where they ended up. This is definitely more of Sylvie’s story but it is ultimately about their relationship and what happened to and between them.

First Position is your debut novel – how have you found your publishing experience so far? Any highlights? The ballet world is glamorous, artistic, beautiful and fascinating. But it’s also dark and cruel. It’s competitive. One day you’re it, the next one you’re not. I like to be as engaging as possible. If I don’t have to work, I put my phone away and focus fully on Dev. Playing games is a big one for us! We’re very competitive and I definitely will not let him win a game of Uno! So I would like to say I’m a ‘cool mom’ but I do establish boundaries. He looks like Robert Graham in his younger days, but with a better hairline. He has a mischievousness to him. A playfulness in his eyes.This book was flat out entertaining! I could not stop listening to it and finished it in a day! I was obsessed, I devoured all the details that made up the behind the scenes of the fictional North American Ballet Theatre knowing it was written by a former Prima Ballerina.

I went into this mainly blindly. I had no expectations. I can’t judge how realistic this really was, but it gave me the vibes of how it could be behind the scenes? It turns out that it was written by a former Prima Ballerina. I won’t judge this on the level of realistic expectations. I take it as a fictional novel. As that, I enjoyed it immensely. I can get lost in a fantasy/illusion. So edgy, so different, with a constant undercurrent of tension whether on the stage or in the bedroom… Raw and addictive. I loved it.’ I read them carefully, though my eyes are seeing double. Maybe it’s less reading and more viscerally, instantly remembering each and every one. When I dance I feel like a vessel. I don’t experience hunger or thirst. Pain and exhaustion take on a different sort of tolerable life. Carnal desire is set aside from the dance itself. The hands on you don’t feel the same as they would off the stage. But tonight, it is something different. I am deeply aware of the heat from his body as it touches my skin … I am unable to feel nothing.”I take my position and repeat the phrase for the hundredth time. Sweat is running down my forehead from the exertion under the hot stage lights. I can feel a blister beginning to swell and bloom on my heel. I know that’s going to mean pain, and that the more I ignore it – and I will ignore it – the longer it will take to heal.

As a story about professional ballerinas, there is no one setting. Instead, the characters and readers with them find themselves in some of the most beautiful cities in the world. I loved this world tour and how it makes ballet seem that much more exotic. Well, I don’t know—how am I supposed to read that? In my head? Whose head should I be in?” He doesn’t answer before I rail on. “Maybe it’s just that she hates me, and it’s really that simple.” What I didn't expect, however, was the aforementioned overabundance of spicy sexual scenes that took up SO much of the book that I often had a hard time remembering what else in the plot was supposed to be relevant. Between this and Sylvie's constant drug abuse (often for no reason at all) I got pretty frustrated trying to stay invested in her journey. The dialogue also at times felt very clunky and fake... one such scene had the 'alluring' older man watching Sylvie and best frenemy Jocelyn and urging them: "Have fun, girls-do not forget to have fun! For god's sake, you're on drugs!" One hundred percent! I was a professional ballerina for sixteen year’s so the book is definitely influenced by that time from my own experience to my friends and just being a witness to the world itself. Every child in school is always advised to write what they know – there is nothing I know more about than the world of the dancer.Never-ending torture, too. It has taken me twenty years and counting to hold my hands correctly, and every single day I am still told that a finger is out of place. Usually it’s my thumb, jutting out just a bit too much. I catch a glimpse of it on a rare moment when I am not thinking about the stage and my body, and the relationship between them. I hate my thumb. I hate it like it’s out to get me. And in a way, it is. I’m supposed to have control of it and yet…I don’t. The pacing was slow and dragging, but the conclusion was well crafted. Nevertheless, I still had a hard time getting into the main story and connecting with any of the characters, which is why I decided to give a flat, uneventful, solid three stars. I wish I had enjoyed the book more than its alluring cover! Jocelyn joins the North American Ballet Company at the same time as Sylvie. She is a much different dancer, though – not blond or classically trained from when she could walk. Jocelyn's talent shows through her ability to emote rather than her unfailing technique. Sometimes rivals with Sylvie, and sometimes friends; she is always present in Sylvie's life.

When did the idea for the novel first strike, was First Position something you’d had the plan to write for some time? He stops a few seats from me and watches the stage. Maybe he isn’t actually joining me. Maybe he just wants a better view.On the eve of First Position's publication. Grazia caught up with Melanie to chat all things creativity, parenting and the reality of growing up in the world of ballet. This timeline also bops around to THREE different points in time for absolutely no reason, and also has narratives from Sylvie AND occasionally Jocelyn: so unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. 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. To give you a bit more insight into the bulk of her personality, here's how Jocelyn's mind works: "He pushes his hips into mine and I remember again why I'm having this fling. He's got no personality but he's an amazing dancer with a huge d***" (Yep, this is ACTUALLY Jocelyn's inner monologue...such as it is.) Befriend the staff without being a brown-noser. Just be above all the pettiness, they’ll eat that shit up.