First Position

First Position by Melissa Brayden

Age: Adult
Category: LGBTQIA+ / Romance / Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars

Rosie Thinks: If you’re at all familiar with our site, you know there’s one thing we ADoR gals love: cliches. Everyone has their favourite cliches and this story contains a weakness of mine. Rivals to lovers. Is there anything better?

This is set in the world of the New York City Ballet, a beautiful backdrop to a beautiful story. Ana Mikhelson has been working her whole life to get out of the shadow of her famous father, and this is her year. She’s finally made principal dancer, the highest position in the company. She’s known as the Ice Queen, but she doesn’t let petty things like jealousy or lonliness bother her. Until Natalie enters the scene. Hailed as a dance protege since she was young, Natalie has never liked the strict world of ballet. When she’s offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the NYC Ballet, she can’t say no. And so starts a fierce rivalry between the two, that soon gives way to a wary friendship.

I have a confession to make - I rarely read f/f books. The few I’ve read haven’t been very well-written, so I while I was hesitant to start this, the summary and glowing reviews urged me on. It doesn’t disappoint. It switches between both Ana and Natalie, but I never got confused between the two. It served to craft both their characters well and not make them into stereotypes. Ana’s a workaholic and reserved, while Natalie is the complete opposite - outgoing, loves to party, is continually late. But they were both more than this and that’s what truly brought this story to life for me.

The plot was riveting throughout. While it does go the way of a cliche, it’s more than that. There’s a solid storyline the whole way through, making it not boring for a moment. I’ve always had a fascination for ballet, so it was near-magical to read about it. Brayden writes in a way that flows like a picture in my mind. My only concern was it did feel a bit disjointed at the climax, but that’s only nitpicking.