Tag: ballet

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The Sugar Plum Rebellion: An Enemies to Lovers Nutcracker Christmas Romance

288 pages Publication date December 3, 2025

ABOUT THE BOOK

Clara Winters has one rule: never let anyone see the ADHD-fueled chaos underneath her ballet perfection.

As the adopted daughter of a ballet legend, she’s spent her entire life proving she belongs by forcing her neurodivergent brain into the Porcelain Princess mold everyone expects. This Christmas Eve Nutcracker is her final audition. One flawless Sugar Plum Fairy performance will land her a prestigious contract and prove she deserves her legacy.

Then, her dance partner snaps his ankle. His only replacement? Trevor Williams, a tattooed, recovering addict from the county arts program next door.

Their partnership should fail. But between heated arguments and hotter stolen glances, their forced proximity turns into late-night rehearsals and vulnerable confessions. Trevor sees the scattered, brilliant woman she’s been hiding. Clara reawakens the joy he shut down to stay sober.

Now, with the curtain about to rise on Christmas Eve, Clara must decide: perform the flawless lie that will secure her future, or risk everything for the messy, beautiful truth she found hiding beneath the porcelain.

The Sugar Plum Rebellion is a witty & heartwarming Christmas dance romance with a touch of angst and a happily ever after. Take the explosive banter of The Hating Game with the dance floor chemistry of Step Up, all wrapped up in a cozy, festive bow. This is an open-door romance with medium heat and tons of simmering tension.

MY THOUGHTS

I would have never known this was a debut author. I enjoyed the subject matter and the characters.
In this enemies to lover’s book Trevor is absolutely my favorite character.
Clara is the daughter of a famous renowned dancer, and she’s been dancing a long time.
She feels the pressure to measure up, to achieve perfection and dance despite an injury to her foot.
Trevor gets mad at her when he sees her pushing herself despite her injury, but he only has her best interest at heart. There were some pretty deep conversations that you may not expect just by looking at the books cover. Trevor is a recovered addict, and his love language is trying to keep her safe, so she won’t follow the same road he has.
I enjoyed the author’s writing style and will look for more in the future she writes.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

I write messy people and messier kisses.

The Sugar Plum Rebellion is my debut contemporary Christmas romance featuring a perfectionist ballerina, a tattooed dancer in recovery, and one very chaotic Nutcracker rehearsal. Expect found family, second chances, and guaranteed happily ever afters.

Hope you’ve enjoyed a pleasant day.

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Murder Checks Out (A Blue Ridge Library Mystery) 

262 pages Crooked Lane Book November 13,2023 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

It’s not all snowflakes and sugarplums when murder crashes Taylorsford’s first Winterfest in the eighth installment of the Blue Ridge Library series, perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Ellery Adams.

Returning to her role as an amateur detective is the last thing library director Amy Muir wants. She’s already buried under an avalanche of responsibilities, including sharing the directorship of the local public library, parenting her holiday-obsessed five-year-old twins, and helping her choreographer husband, Richard, present The Nutcracker as part of the town’s festivities. With her frosty mother-in-law, Fiona, visiting for the holidays, Amy definitely has enough on her Christmas cookie plate.

But when the chair of the festival committee is found as dead as Dickens’s proverbial doornail at the town’s ice rink, Amy is determined to uncover the real perpetrator to protect her brother-in-law, Ethan Payne, who was placed at the scene. The clock is ticking down as Sheriff Brad Tucker is equally sure that Ethan is guilty.

Photo by Polina Kovaleva: https://www.pexels.com

MY THOUGHTS

I thought I had read more books by this author than I had but this is only my second read by the author. Despite that I fully enjoyed the book and don’t feel as though I wasn’t able to keep up with what is going on.


Amy Muir is the library director at the Blue Ridge Library in charming and beautiful North Carolina, mother of 5-year-old boy and girl twins, wife of a dance choreographer and her not so friendly mother-in-law is coming to stay for the holidays, and she’s tasked for entertaining her.

With the sugar cookie plate overflowing she now needs to return to her role as amateur detective when her brother-in-law is found to have been at the scene of a murder. She must avoid sliding down the slippery slope of exhaustion as she deals with the holidays, her extra responsibilities and helping to find the real perpetrator who did away with the chair of the festival committee which her twins are practicing for the festival. I enjoyed the twins characters a lot.

Children usually are always a bonus in books like this and they are here. The plot was entertaining and kept me guessing right til the end. The ballet aspect of the story was fun and entertaining and of course books about books, libraries and librarians are go to reads for me.

Pub Date 14 Nov 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Victoria Gilbert, raised in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, turned her early obsession with reading into a dual career as an author and librarian.

Her mysteries — the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series, the Book Lover’s B&B series, and the Hunter and Clewe Mysteries — are published by Crooked Lane Books. They are available in hardback, eBook, and audio book, with some also available in paperback. Victoria has also written speculative fiction.

Victoria is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America. When not writing or reading, she likes to spend her time watching TV and films, listening to music, gardening, or traveling. She lives in North Carolina.

Find out more at her website: victoriagilbertmysteries.com.

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