A Ballet Romance

Hi everyone! Happy Monday and I hope you all have a terrific week laid out ahead of you. I haven't done this before yet but I wanted to start mentioning some of the books that I have read and enjoyed recently so that, if you are so inclined, you might have a look and find something new to read yourself. As the weather grows colder, I think of this as a great time for curling up with a good book someplace warm.
 I had the chance to read Under Midnight Lights by Bree M. Lewandowski and loved it. As you may know, by now, I've spent most of my life in the ballet world, first as dancer and then as a teacher/choreographer, so when I saw this book with its amazingly beautiful cover with dancers on it, I had to have a second look. I did that and I read the book, which is the first in a series that follows the careers and burgeoning romance between professional dancers Martina Mariposa and Maraav Levondovska, "the wolf of the Mariinsky Ballet." Are we intrigued yet? I was. Then, as I read on, I was swept up into the world of a beautiful, cutting edge ballet company in Chicago. This story shows the hard life of an up and coming ballerina for sure but the initial interest and then beginnings of romance that spark between Martina and Maraav from page to stage is breathtaking. Author Bree M. Lewandowski did a truly fantastic job of showcasing the magic as well as the, sometimes darker underbelly of the behind the curtains ballet world. 
Under Midnight Lights shows the start of a romance between the two protagonists that is sweet and young and, at the same time intense enough to make you fall in love with them both. I love the way Marraav battles with his desire for Martina because he respects her so much - yum! I mean, what's not to love there. Plus hot guy in tights with a dark past - hello! :)
Anyway, as I am working on my own fantastical ballet love story, Snow Maiden, and thinking about the romance of some of the world's greatest love stories, this book really struck a chord with me so I hope you will check it out. Here's the info:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1547178914
https://barnesandnoble.com/w/2940154964385


(Just a little note here about Snow Maiden - there aren't any ballet references in the winter fairytale romance as it is set in a very ancient, very magical Northern Russia but it was inspired by my imagined backstory for the Snow Queen and King of the classic Nutcracker Ballet as well as the Russian folktale The Snow Maiden - of which there was also a ballet made. But I just thought that Under Winter Lights was a very romantic peek inside the dance world that I love so well and I can't wait to follow Martina and Maraav's story through to the end of the series.)

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