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The Ballerina Academy #5
The Fullback and his Best Friend
He was my best friend until...he kissed me.
Olivia
To say that I'm excited to have my best friend come live with me is an understatement. Even though he's not my boyfriend and I would never look at him as such, I'm excited that with him around, I'm no longer the ninth wheel.
Plus, having a movie buddy to watch my favorite movie Dirty Dancing is a plus. Even if he rolls his eyes everytime we watch it.
Derek
I have one semester of freedom until my parents force me to persure a relationship with a girl who is beneficial to our family. Sure, I come from a rich family with loads of connections, but I'm trapped. I want to love who I want to love and not who my parents want me to marry.
I want to love Olivia.
But I'll settle for being her friend and spending the rest of my senior year feeling free.
And I was fine, until my feelings became to hard to ignore.
She's the one girl who can make me smile. The one girl who understands me. And the one girl who doesn't use me for my family.
I just hope that when this is all over, I haven't lost my best friend in the process.
If you love best friends to lovers stories with carefree female leads and strong heroes, you'll love The Fullback and his Best Friend. The FINAL installment of The Ballerina Academy series.
Grab your copy today!
Olivia
To say that I'm excited to have my best friend come live with me is an understatement. Even though he's not my boyfriend and I would never look at him as such, I'm excited that with him around, I'm no longer the ninth wheel.
Plus, having a movie buddy to watch my favorite movie Dirty Dancing is a plus. Even if he rolls his eyes everytime we watch it.
Derek
I have one semester of freedom until my parents force me to persure a relationship with a girl who is beneficial to our family. Sure, I come from a rich family with loads of connections, but I'm trapped. I want to love who I want to love and not who my parents want me to marry.
I want to love Olivia.
But I'll settle for being her friend and spending the rest of my senior year feeling free.
And I was fine, until my feelings became to hard to ignore.
She's the one girl who can make me smile. The one girl who understands me. And the one girl who doesn't use me for my family.
I just hope that when this is all over, I haven't lost my best friend in the process.
If you love best friends to lovers stories with carefree female leads and strong heroes, you'll love The Fullback and his Best Friend. The FINAL installment of The Ballerina Academy series.
Grab your copy today!
138 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 29, 2021
155 people are currently reading
1845 people want to read
About the author
Anne-Marie Meyer
102 books3,588 followersAnne-Marie Meyer is a USA Today Bestselling author who lives south of the Twin Cities in MN. She spends her days with her knight in shining armor, four princes, and a baby princess.
When she's not running after her kids, she's dreaming up romantic stories. She loves to take her favorite moments in the books and movies she loves and tries to figure out a way to make them new and fresh.
Join her newsletter at anne-mariemeyer.com
When she's not running after her kids, she's dreaming up romantic stories. She loves to take her favorite moments in the books and movies she loves and tries to figure out a way to make them new and fresh.
Join her newsletter at anne-mariemeyer.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
January 16, 2025
Cute and fast paced reading that allows anyone to get out of a slump!
September 24, 2024
I loved this book! It was a very cute friends to lovers story. Olivia and Derek are perfect together. Their story was absolutely charming. And this whole series was so sweet, I highly recommend it!
June 21, 2021
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐
This is my first novel by Anne Marie Meyer and I can’t believe that I didn’t find her earlier on. This story was such a cute one. I just watched Dirty Dancing recently and loved the small details about it. Anyways, the whole story, concept, and characters were a lot of fun. I loved Olivia. She was such an energetic person. She was sweet and understanding. I truly enjoyed her role in the story. Derek was a little more complex. He had stressing issues but wasn’t able to come out to Olivia truthfully. I think I liked him more than Olivia though. Derek seemed real. He messed up and made mistakes but felt remorse and guilt for it. He only wanted the best for Olivia. They were an adorable couple and the ending was amazing.
I received a review copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is my first novel by Anne Marie Meyer and I can’t believe that I didn’t find her earlier on. This story was such a cute one. I just watched Dirty Dancing recently and loved the small details about it. Anyways, the whole story, concept, and characters were a lot of fun. I loved Olivia. She was such an energetic person. She was sweet and understanding. I truly enjoyed her role in the story. Derek was a little more complex. He had stressing issues but wasn’t able to come out to Olivia truthfully. I think I liked him more than Olivia though. Derek seemed real. He messed up and made mistakes but felt remorse and guilt for it. He only wanted the best for Olivia. They were an adorable couple and the ending was amazing.
I received a review copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 5, 2021
Full of Feelings & Heart
Derek and Olivia’s road from childhood friends to more is the most angsty out of all the Ballerina books. While They were both excited to spend the last half of their senior year together, these two had a dark cloud over them in the form of Derek’s parents. Unknown to Olivia, Derek had to agree to some steep terms to get his parents to allow him to go. These two share such a deep friendship and bond. They’re loyal, protective and believe the best of each other. There’s also lots of fun moments and catching up with the other Ballerina Academy couples. Read this one for all the awesome Dirty Dancing references and girl knights in shining armour! The perfect ending to this sweet YA series!
Derek and Olivia’s road from childhood friends to more is the most angsty out of all the Ballerina books. While They were both excited to spend the last half of their senior year together, these two had a dark cloud over them in the form of Derek’s parents. Unknown to Olivia, Derek had to agree to some steep terms to get his parents to allow him to go. These two share such a deep friendship and bond. They’re loyal, protective and believe the best of each other. There’s also lots of fun moments and catching up with the other Ballerina Academy couples. Read this one for all the awesome Dirty Dancing references and girl knights in shining armour! The perfect ending to this sweet YA series!
February 11, 2026
After convincing his ambitious, well-connected parents to let him transfer to Oakwood High School for his last semester in high school to beef up his football credentials, Derek is on his way to live with his best friend Olivia for the next several months. And he's really looking forward to it, even though it means putting his ability to ignore his lifelong crush on her to the test for several months. He knows that nothing can ever happen between them, even if she miraculously felt the same way. After all, the only reason his parents agreed to this transfer at all was because of what he's agreed to do afterwards...
Olivia is ridiculously excited to be reunited with her childhood best friend. After all, they've only corresponded by email, text, and phone call for the past several years and they'll have months to catch up while he stays with her family. But when Derek shows up on her doorstep as a fully grown hottie rather than the dorky friend she remembers, things start to get confusing. As she begins to realize that what had been pure friendship might have the potential to blossom into something more, she has to decide if she even wants to take a chance. After all, could their friendship survive if he doesn't feel the same way?
This is a clean, friends to dating romance (since "lovers" doesn't apply). As I noted in my reviews of the first four books, I'm not really the target market for this book, but I still gave this book 3 stars because as a younger reader I would have given it that rating.
Book club style musings with some spoilers marked with tags:
1. This book wasn't as good as the first four, but I was glad that Olivia got her own book and romance.
2. One of the things I've liked about these books is that the teenagers seem like teenagers. My stepdaughter graduated from high school two years ago and there are a lot of things that looked familiar. A big part of the familiarity was that everything feels so overwhelming and immediate and final to the characters. With a small number of years of life and limited experiences to look back on, it's no wonder. Life can be overwhelming at any age, but when you are that young you haven't seen how things can get better with time or that something you think is the end of the world could turn out to be a good thing.
3. The intervention scene at the end was pretty over the top and the main reason I went with 3 stars. I would have thought it was too much when I was a teenager and thought that there had to be a more realistic way to handle the situation. I also thought that Olivia's actions gave Derek's parents a legitimate reason to dislike her forever.
4. I thought that the internal turmoil over the Avery Queen school situation on the part of both Derek and Olivia was interesting. They both had some valid concerns.
5. I found the transfer timing very confusing. In Indiana, high school football is over in the fall. Transferring into a new school in the spring semester of his senior year wouldn't have given him any chance to even train or practice with the football team, let alone play in a game. So, clearly the state they're in (New York?) must have a different high school football calendar.
Olivia is ridiculously excited to be reunited with her childhood best friend. After all, they've only corresponded by email, text, and phone call for the past several years and they'll have months to catch up while he stays with her family. But when Derek shows up on her doorstep as a fully grown hottie rather than the dorky friend she remembers, things start to get confusing. As she begins to realize that what had been pure friendship might have the potential to blossom into something more, she has to decide if she even wants to take a chance. After all, could their friendship survive if he doesn't feel the same way?
This is a clean, friends to dating romance (since "lovers" doesn't apply). As I noted in my reviews of the first four books, I'm not really the target market for this book, but I still gave this book 3 stars because as a younger reader I would have given it that rating.
Book club style musings with some spoilers marked with tags:
1. This book wasn't as good as the first four, but I was glad that Olivia got her own book and romance.
2. One of the things I've liked about these books is that the teenagers seem like teenagers. My stepdaughter graduated from high school two years ago and there are a lot of things that looked familiar. A big part of the familiarity was that everything feels so overwhelming and immediate and final to the characters. With a small number of years of life and limited experiences to look back on, it's no wonder. Life can be overwhelming at any age, but when you are that young you haven't seen how things can get better with time or that something you think is the end of the world could turn out to be a good thing.
3. The intervention scene at the end was pretty over the top and the main reason I went with 3 stars. I would have thought it was too much when I was a teenager and thought that there had to be a more realistic way to handle the situation. I also thought that Olivia's actions gave Derek's parents a legitimate reason to dislike her forever.
4. I thought that the internal turmoil over the Avery Queen school situation on the part of both Derek and Olivia was interesting. They both had some valid concerns.
5. I found the transfer timing very confusing. In Indiana, high school football is over in the fall. Transferring into a new school in the spring semester of his senior year wouldn't have given him any chance to even train or practice with the football team, let alone play in a game. So, clearly the state they're in (New York?) must have a different high school football calendar.
July 18, 2021
Last in the series and excellent
This was the last in the series and I’m sad about that but this book was excellent. Olivia has been around and a bit in the spotlight since book 1. Now it’s her turn for romance when she least suspects it. “Dorky Derek,” her best friend for ever is the son of an actor with political ambitions and a cousin of European royalty (who is also a model). He set a deal with his parents to go to New York and spend time with his best friend and study football under an excellent coach. The other side is that he has to come back and start seriously dating the girl they have hand picked for him. “Dorky Derek” turns out to not be as dorky as Olivia remembered him as (she stays away from Googling him and hasn’t seen a picture of him in a few years). Derek, as it turns out, grew a lot and developed some muscles when he was busy pining over her (who had previously solidly put him in the friend zone). Olivia realizes when she watches her favorite movie, Dirty Dancing, for the zillionth time with him after he first arrives that things are starting to feel a bit funny between them.
This is a fun short read and a great sweet romance with plenty of slow burn. This whole series is fun, especially if you like dancing or are a bit familiar with it or just want to read about fun YA characters.
This was the last in the series and I’m sad about that but this book was excellent. Olivia has been around and a bit in the spotlight since book 1. Now it’s her turn for romance when she least suspects it. “Dorky Derek,” her best friend for ever is the son of an actor with political ambitions and a cousin of European royalty (who is also a model). He set a deal with his parents to go to New York and spend time with his best friend and study football under an excellent coach. The other side is that he has to come back and start seriously dating the girl they have hand picked for him. “Dorky Derek” turns out to not be as dorky as Olivia remembered him as (she stays away from Googling him and hasn’t seen a picture of him in a few years). Derek, as it turns out, grew a lot and developed some muscles when he was busy pining over her (who had previously solidly put him in the friend zone). Olivia realizes when she watches her favorite movie, Dirty Dancing, for the zillionth time with him after he first arrives that things are starting to feel a bit funny between them.
This is a fun short read and a great sweet romance with plenty of slow burn. This whole series is fun, especially if you like dancing or are a bit familiar with it or just want to read about fun YA characters.
May 30, 2021
Finally, we get Olivia's story and it sure did not disappoint. Olivia has been friends with Derek for a long time and for the past three years they haven't seen each other, Olivia still thinks of her best friend as Dorky Derek but a lot has changed in three years except for his feelings. Derek has one semester of freedom to be with his best friend and secret crush but one kiss and a visit to the mall changes all that. Derek's parents were terrible, trying to run his life and future but and with no other support, it was so hard for him to find his own way. Olivia always saw Derek as her best friend but he has gone through some major changes and with that comes the realization that she might want something more, she was so brave to not cut and run and instead speak her mind and communicate how she felt with a great set of friends to back her up after taking her off the ledge. Great end to a series, you even get a little bit of all the other couples from past books.
Voluntarily read and reviewed an arc of this book.
Voluntarily read and reviewed an arc of this book.
June 16, 2021
*spoilers? There’s a possibility of a few**
https://ladiikeiii.wordpress.com/2021...
So I was definitely curious about Olivia and Derek book. Especially while reading Cora and Austin book. Glad that I gotten around to “actually” reading it and not taking forever to read it.
Since I haven’t been so busy “as much” I liked their story plus I knew that she was going to end up liking him once she saw how he looked verses his old look. He got hotter and wasn’t the nerdy guy she knew once she she left to go to the academy and he moved to DC. I was a bit surprised that she never saw a picture of him.
To him not sending her once EVER. But at least they worked it out in the end. Even through all the crap with their parents...
But I will say this I want to know who the guy that Camberia or whatever her name is spelled like. The guy she liked and wanted to date. I would love to read a book at least to learn about who he is or something!!! I need details.
https://ladiikeiii.wordpress.com/2021...
So I was definitely curious about Olivia and Derek book. Especially while reading Cora and Austin book. Glad that I gotten around to “actually” reading it and not taking forever to read it.
Since I haven’t been so busy “as much” I liked their story plus I knew that she was going to end up liking him once she saw how he looked verses his old look. He got hotter and wasn’t the nerdy guy she knew once she she left to go to the academy and he moved to DC. I was a bit surprised that she never saw a picture of him.
To him not sending her once EVER. But at least they worked it out in the end. Even through all the crap with their parents...
But I will say this I want to know who the guy that Camberia or whatever her name is spelled like. The guy she liked and wanted to date. I would love to read a book at least to learn about who he is or something!!! I need details.
June 9, 2022
I love this trope
I love the best friends to lovers trope so much. You know they have a connection even before they are in a relationship. But why did Bianca Google Derek when Olivia specifically told her not to? That was not cool. And what complex do Derek's parents have? He was just having fun with the masks. I loved how both of them were so in love and I loved the dual pov cause I knew how much they liked each other. But people in stories like this are always so oblivious and clueless when it comes to knowing If the other likes them . I don't know if it's about being scared to get their hopes up. Anyways I found it really entertaining that Cambriea also had someone at home and didn't want to be with Derek. Overall three stars I'll miss this series I bonded with the characters sm. I love them all
I love the best friends to lovers trope so much. You know they have a connection even before they are in a relationship. But why did Bianca Google Derek when Olivia specifically told her not to? That was not cool. And what complex do Derek's parents have? He was just having fun with the masks. I loved how both of them were so in love and I loved the dual pov cause I knew how much they liked each other. But people in stories like this are always so oblivious and clueless when it comes to knowing If the other likes them . I don't know if it's about being scared to get their hopes up. Anyways I found it really entertaining that Cambriea also had someone at home and didn't want to be with Derek. Overall three stars I'll miss this series I bonded with the characters sm. I love them all
June 13, 2021
I loved this book - a great ending to a fab, well written, easy read series. This is my personal favourite with friendship, laughter and first love…. that seems an impossible ask. Dorky Derek and Olivia have been friends forever and see each other for the first time in years. Olivia realises that ‘dorky’ little Derek is not the little boy she left behind when her family moved away - he’s now a hottie and the attraction is mutual. The downside….. Derek’s future has been mapped out by his famous and overbearing parents and it doesn’t include Olivia…… or does it??!!
Well written high school romance - I wish I’d have found a Dorky Derek when I was in high school ;)
Well written high school romance - I wish I’d have found a Dorky Derek when I was in high school ;)
June 7, 2021
What if the scrawny, dorky best friend you haven't seen in ages (but missed horribly!) suddenly stands before you, all grown up and buff and hot (but still dorky)? And he's been crushing on you all that time? But his snobbish parents have plans for him that certainly don't include the daughter of the hired help?
Drama and swoony kisses ensue - and dancing, of course! And with a little help from her ballerina friends (and their non-ballerina boyfriends ;) ), Olivia and Derek finally get their well-deserved HEA, too.
Drama and swoony kisses ensue - and dancing, of course! And with a little help from her ballerina friends (and their non-ballerina boyfriends ;) ), Olivia and Derek finally get their well-deserved HEA, too.
June 3, 2021
Olivia and Dereck have been best friends for years, even after he moved away. Then when fate has him living with her family for one semester during their Senior year of high school, they both realize that they want to be more then just bff's! Unfortunately it's not meant to due to a deal that he made with his parents before he left, a deal that leaves them both broken hearted! Great read YA read!
April 17, 2024
This whole series was super sweet. I loved the friendships of all the ballerinas and the football players. But I feel like they should have put a tiny bit more emphasis on football. As it is, it seems that the fact that the guys are football players isn't as important as the title suggests. The authors did a fantastic job of creating that love for the characters where when they face their trials, your heart aches for them.
November 25, 2025
🎀tropes: friends to lovers, childhood friends, sports romance
3⭐️ ahhh i loved the cover on mine it was so pretty for some reason looks way different then the one here, but the actually book i just felt like it was lacking and it could’ve been longer and had more to it
~favorite quotes~
“Honestly, I was pretty sure I would do absolutely anything this girl asked right now.
Anything to make her smile.
Anything to make this moment last” {page 115}
3⭐️ ahhh i loved the cover on mine it was so pretty for some reason looks way different then the one here, but the actually book i just felt like it was lacking and it could’ve been longer and had more to it
~favorite quotes~
“Honestly, I was pretty sure I would do absolutely anything this girl asked right now.
Anything to make her smile.
Anything to make this moment last” {page 115}
June 1, 2021
I love best friends to in love books. Derek's parents were awful. Do parents really still do this? Olivia and Derek get to spend their last semester of their senior year together after three years apart. They have the best friendship but can there be more? An absolutely adorable grand gesture near the end.
June 2, 2021
Maggie Dallen's usual great YA Romance with great dialogue and plenty of angst with a happy ending as Derek was reminded by his football team buds at his new school! The four of them were the first stories with the ballerinas and had lived through the angst to get to their happy place. Recommend all five Ballerina Academy books!
June 30, 2021
Cute romance with maybe a bit more teen drama than the previous ones. This time we have Olivia and Derek's story. Best friends to lovers. Olivia hasn't seen Derek for awhile. He is definitely not 'dorky Derek' anymore.
Catch up with the previous couples. What a fitting end to the series.
Read in KU.
Catch up with the previous couples. What a fitting end to the series.
Read in KU.
February 3, 2025
Ok so of all the books this was my favorite couple. The books themselves are cute and sweet and I think my younger self would have loved them. Right now they are just not entirely my cup of tea. The relationships seem a little rushed by the endings, but they are cute little palette cleaners and I am glad I gave them a shot.
March 12, 2025
To be young and in love
This was such an easy-heartfelt story to read. I’m normally reading more adult books or dark romance but the story was a much needed break.
I really enjoyed the fact that the FMC wasn’t your typical teen who pines away waiting for her guy. She was strong and assertive, while still being vulnerable.
This was such an easy-heartfelt story to read. I’m normally reading more adult books or dark romance but the story was a much needed break.
I really enjoyed the fact that the FMC wasn’t your typical teen who pines away waiting for her guy. She was strong and assertive, while still being vulnerable.
July 26, 2021
Great story
I was really fearing that Derek was going to cave to his parents and basically hand his life over to them. He finally picked his life up and got back to Olivia I do recommend this book.
I was really fearing that Derek was going to cave to his parents and basically hand his life over to them. He finally picked his life up and got back to Olivia I do recommend this book.
September 1, 2021
Read this cute series!
Okay now I’m finished with The Ballerina Academy girls and I’m just sad that’s it’s over. Thank you Ann-Marie and Maggie for a great little epilogue wrap up for all the couples. Now onto my next Covid read!
Okay now I’m finished with The Ballerina Academy girls and I’m just sad that’s it’s over. Thank you Ann-Marie and Maggie for a great little epilogue wrap up for all the couples. Now onto my next Covid read!
June 1, 2024
Such a cute book!! I started it early afternoon and finished it at 2:30AM cause I was hooked! I think I liked some of the other ballerina academy books better than this one but it was definitely worth reading!!
January 2, 2025
Such a cute story, I love the dirty dancing references, that’s my all-time fav movie. I know I’m reading these out of order, but I love this series and Derek and Olivia are an amazing addition to the group.
February 27, 2025
I really liked this YA series. It was full of drama, teenage angst, love and most of all it had friendship that could stand all the ups and downs of being a teen with high goals and even higher expectations.
So far I have really enjoyed all of Anne-Marie's work
So far I have really enjoyed all of Anne-Marie's work
May 23, 2025
Seriously loved this book! Anne has a special way of making you feel giddy and fall in love with the characters. I made the mistake of grabbing this book first….but couldn’t put it down to actually read the series in order!
July 15, 2021
If you love the series, you will love this book.
Read
July 23, 2022I just read the first 4 books on Kindle and I went to download this book and its not there. now all of a sudden none of this series is on kindle?? what the heck happened?? does anyone know anywhere else I can read this?
December 7, 2022
AAAAA
March 2, 2023
best book out of the series. love the ending and how it links to all of the books. they r so perfect together and had me laughing a lot.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews