First Position: A feel-good small-town women’s fiction novel about adult beginner ballet, friendship, and starting over with heart and humor.

by Katherine L. Evans

Burned out. Back home. And about to plié her way into something real.

When high-achieving attorney Maddie Collins crashes from burnout, she returns to her quirky hometown of Willow Glen—hoping for a breather, not a breakdown. In a moment of whimsy (or desperation), she joins a beginner ballet class at Arabesque Academy.

What starts as sore muscles and social awkwardness turns into something friendship, healing, and a glitter-splashed sisterhood that just might change everything.

As Maddie rebuilds her life one plié at a time, she begins to wonder if joy was never in the corner office—but in the people, and the place, she’d nearly forgotten.

A heartwarming small-town novel about second chances, found family, and the courage to show up exactly as you are.

Perfect for fans of Katherine Center and Emily Henry, The Barre Sisters is an uplifting debut full of laughter, longing, and lavender-scented life lessons.

98 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 29, 2025

About the author

Katherine L. Evans is an author of contemporary romance that’s shamelessly sweet, sexy, and guaranteed to bring all the feels. Known as simply KLE by people who know all her dirty secrets, her 20+ books are notorious for making readers fan their faces and then reach for the tissues. When she’s not magically transforming coffee into angsty books, KLE can be found endlessly searching Netflix with her husband for their next show to binge, or running around the backyard chasing her other two favorite boys, her son and their yellow lab, Dave.

KLE lives in Houston, TX.

Find KLE in the wild by visiting the following places:

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/KLENewsletter
Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/KLEBooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkather...
Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/ShamelessReaders
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/romancebykle/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/romancebykle
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kathe...

Reviews

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Corporate America took its toll and Maddie has returned home to her aunt's house in a small town to lick her wounds and find herself once more. Her Aunt Bev pushes her gently towards healing activities, and Maddie takes up a beginner ballet class in the local dance studio. Suddenly she's surrounded by other women who also need a new beginning - and she's both terrified and hopeful for these new friends. As the women bond over turnout struggles and new choreography, they form a friendship that helps each of them overcome their own personal demons. Maddie is no exception, and she gently makes her way towards recovery and acceptance - of herself, of a quieter life, and of human interaction.

Some inconsistencies brought me out of the story, but overall I loved the bonding between the women, the focus on friendship over romance, and the idea that we're all just one unicorn legging away from a brand-new outlook on life.