This is a perfect summer read! It felt just light enough but also had enough drama to keep me reading. I love a "I hate to love you" trope and this executed it perfectly. Gina and Stone had wonderful chemistry. I am not a fan of reality tv at all so I was worried it would play too large of a role in the book but honestly I didn't struggle to read it at all. I will say I was slightly annoyed how long their inability to tell each other what they were feeling lasted but once all said and done I really enjoyed this Alexis Daria book and would recommend it for anyone that wants a steamy light read.

A hot, steamy romance. Great chemistry between Gina and Stone. If you’re a fan of Dancing With the Stars, you will love this book. A good romance, and even though it was a tad predictable, it was very enjoyable and entertaining.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

“You saw me. You’re the first person who has in a long time.”

As a fan of Dancing With The Stars, I was super excited to read this book! It was really interesting to get to see a pseudo "behind the scenes" of what goes on in the reality TV world!

Even though it took me way too long to finish this book (because sick baby), I did really love it! The main characters are both well-developed, and there's PLENTY of spice!

It really felt like I was reading a season of one of my favorite shows!

Thank you Alexis, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review!

When I read the premise for Take the Lead I knew I had to give it a chance after the disappointment that was DWTS. 😂 And Alexis Daria, THANK YOU for making me believe in two people falling in love on the dance floor again. Gina & Stone were the perfect characters and had the sweetest of love stories that of course came with it’s slight ups and downs. But! These two characters though complete opposites managed to make me believe that they had to work it out no matter what… and they did. 😭

Thank you to the Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy. This honest review was based off my experience reading this eARC, which in no way biased me. All opinions are my own.

I’m not going to lie, I saw the cute cover and the author and that’s all that I needed to request this ARC. I am only now realizing this is a rerelease of a self published book from 2017.

This has a very unique take for a romance book, I do believe this is my first reality TV romance, but specifically a Dancing with the Stars type of show.

This book has insta-attraction/insta-love/insta-lust, and i know this is a very polarizing trope, you either love it or you hate it, just putting it out there.

I loved the Latina Rep in this.

This book had a lot of things going for it, but I cannot put my finger on why it didn’t resonate more with me.

Overall a cute fun read. 3 stars.

This love story was cute and spicy and I enjoy this immensely. The writing and storytelling was superb and it felt like I was watching a movie! I will be looking for more books from this author.

Really enjoyed this book. Though this book is fiction, it provided insight into the ins and outs of a televised dance show, ala "Dancing with the Stars", and all the drama and politics that abound. I love the evolution of Stone, who eventually lets his hair done and embraces dancing, and Gina (who I guess is chanelling Jennifer Lopez, NOT my favorite person), who does a great job embracing her culture and maintaining her pride. A good story all-together.

This book was pretty good. This is my first time reading this author. This book was interesting, fun, held my attention and had a good story line.. It was well written. Gina and Stone had great chemistry. I can't wait to go back and read more from this author. Huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is my first time ever reading a book by this author, and it definitely won’t be my last. I really enjoyed her writing style and the overall storyline. This book was incredibly fun and interesting to read. I mostly read darker themed books, however, I need a palate cleanser every once in a while, and this was the perfect book for that. If you’ve ever seen or heard of the TV show Dancing With The Stars, this is basically that but in a book. Now, I’ve never watched that show personally but I know the way the book spins it, no pun intended, what clips I have seen of the show

This book was incredibly written, and unbelievably entertaining. I can’t wait to read more by the author!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a solid read, and I appreciated the discussions around sexism and racist stereotyping especially in the entertainment industry. Stone and Gina had some good moments, and the spicy scenes were great. But I wasn’t sold on the pacing. I definitely think Daria’s improved in her storytelling with her newer books (tbh, even in the Primas of Power series, I loved A Lot like Adiós much more than You Had Me at Hola and thought the writing and characterization were a lot stronger in the former), and this republished version of one of her earlier works didn’t fully work for me. I’ll still be keeping an eye out for more of her works, though.

I adored the opportunity to read this fiction dancing with the stars feel book! Gina is a beautiful dancer on the show The Dance Off when she gets paired with Stone, who is famous for his families Alaskan survival show. The pair is an unlikely match and while both have a lot going on outside of the show, Gina is attracted to him right from the start however, she knows that only a bad reputation can come from a relationship with her partner.

This was just a fun read! As a huge fan of the show Dancing with the Stars, I knew I wanted a chance to read this book! I am also a fan of Alexis Daria and this book was sooo good! I loved the dance descriptions that really brought the book to life and the chemistry because Gina and Stone is electric.

Don't sleep on this one!

I loved the dance competition show part of this book! Gina and Stone are a PHYSICAL couple, and I don’t just mean the sex. A lot of their emotional work was through dance and I think it was done really well. Alexis Daria also had a great way of changing up the monotony of weekly reality shows that not every book can get away from. I definitely want to read the next book in this dance romance series!

I have always been a fan of reality tv dancing competitions. So when I saw Take the Lead, I thought it would be a great story of mixing some reality and fiction. This did not disappoint!

I thought the story threw the drama in at the right times. The characters show us how they evolve within the story. Then you have the heart of the story which is the dancing. There are so many reasons why folks do these things, but this story goes beyond that. I enjoyed reading Take the Lead in a couple of days. At the end, I was smiling from ear to ear.

The “ reality” in reality tv

If you love dancing with the stars, behind the scenes in reality tv, dirty dancing, step up, and maybe the wilderness this book if for you.
This was such a cute, sexy, and fun debut. I love Alex Daria’s writing and boy she can write sexual tension. This book is about Stone a tv celebrity survivalist living in Alaska with his family and Gina a dancer and choreographer on the show Dance off. I appreciate authenticity. It was clear that Daria has a background in Dance or she did her research!! I learned a lot. I loved the emotional connection and it was seen through their dance moves. My only issue was the pacing, but it was a great debut!
Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have loved Daria's writing since I read Take the Lead for the first time in February of 2018 and I was so excited when she first announced that St. Martin's was going to re-publish her debut novel with updates! And if all of y'all would kindly read and rave about this book, I would be so appreciative because Dance with Me is book two in this series and my personal favorite. So I really need St. Martin's to get with the program and go ahead and agree that they'll publish it too. (I am begging.)

Essentially, Take the Lead follows Puerto Rican professional dancer Gina who is one of the stars The Dance Off (think DWTS) and her producer is a bit of a nightmare who decides to push a showmance on Gina with her new partner, Stone. Now, Stone is the "strong and silent type" on his family's show about living off the grid in Alaska. The two of them have an immediate electric connection, but Gina refuses to get slotted into the sexy Latina stereotype so she is extremely resistant to giving into the connection between them. Stone is struggling with his own stuff too about how much he can share about the truth of his life.

What I love about this book is the way Daria describes the dancing and the connection between Stone and Gina. What I struggled with a little bit this time around is that I really, really don't know how I feel about the third act conflict through to the resolution of this book. And to be clear, there's nothing wrong with the way the third act of this book is handled, but for my personal preferences, it didn't work for me as much this time as it did when I was pretty early in my romance reading journey back in 2018. That said, my excitement for the future of this series knows no bounds and I repeat, I am begging St. Martin's to please, please publish Dance with Me because Natasha and Dimitri are everything. Okay, that is all.

Take the Lead is Alexis Daria’s debut novel from 2017, being released in paperback with updated text. I gobbled this one right up! If you are a fan of reality tv, especially Dancing with the Stars, I think you’ll enjoy this romance that follows the pair of veteran pro dancer Gina and Stone, the 2nd oldest of seven siblings living with their parents off the grid in remote Alaska while being televised on their show Living Wild. Gina needs to be in the finals in order to keep her job, and Stone wants to do everything he can to help her, even though the show is pushing them as the new season’s “showmance” and wanting them to bring all the drama. I grew up dancing, although I have never done any ballroom dancing, and I do not miss all of the time and effort needed to practice, even for a 30-second routine. I loved reading about it, though!
I saw this one out early on display at B&N, but I read a NetGalley early copy from the publisher, St Martin's Griffin from St Martin's Press, in exchange for my honest opinion. It will be available Tuesday 2/14 everywhere!

This was a fun romance! I really enjoyed the dancing competition aspect. The chemistry between Stone and Gina was perfect. I kept imagining stone as Chris Hemsworth and it made reading that more enjoyable 😉

Take a beautiful Latina professional dancer on a reality dance tv show. Combine with a tall, muscular mountain man from a survivalist reality show. What do you think will happen next? Gina has been adamant that she will absolutely not be in the "showmance" pairing for this season of Dance Off. She believes it will undermine everything she has worked to earn in the business. Stone only agreed to this so there would be more money to help cover the cost of his mom's recent hip surgery. What does he know about dancing? He's more at home with a axe in the woods... shirtless... sweaty.... moving on!
Stone's got some secrets he needs to keep under wraps, a whole slew of talented competitors to dance against, and an attraction to Gina that is really inconvenient, since she is anti-showmance, and they are on camera all the time. Will they give in to the chemistry, despite the problems it may cause for them and for the show?

Gina is a serious dancer, who prides herself on earning what she has through hard work and dedication. She is principled, and has no interest in using her sexuality to win a competition to the detriment of her hard won reputation.

Stone, too, is principled. He doesn't feel comfortable with lying and deception, so he remains quiet, even though quiet is not who he is. It has become his persona on his family's reality show, and he is coming to realize that he doesn't want to be that person.

I don't watch a lot of reality tv, but both naturalist and dance shows would be on the list if I did. I liked the characters, their integrity, and the behind-the-scenes of it all. I would definitely recommend this to fans who like reality tv, spicy romance, and happy ever afters.

Favorite quotes:

"It was like trying to hide a time-traveling Viking in a kindergarten class"

"The spotlight of fame is always harsher on women, isn't it?"

Alexis Daria shines through at her brightest in this re-write and re-launch of her first romance Take the Lead. Embracing both the celebrity and reality television tropes, this Dance Off themed romance was fun, flirty, and a slow burn in just the right way as the characters figured out whether their happily ever after was possible.

The story centers Gina, a Latina dance expert on the show dedicated to winning yet also avoiding flirty stereotypes, and Stone, a tall, blonde white man who had been "Living Wild" with his family's reality tv show i. Alaska. Gina and Stone were both well fleshed out and their decisions and regrets made sense even when they were aggravating.

I hope the rest of the series is re-released too because the other characters deserve their HEAs too.

Thank you to the author Alexis Daria, publishers St. Martin's Griffin and St. Martin's Press, and as always NetGalley, for an advance audio copy of TAKE THE LEAD.

Gina is a professional dancer on a Dance Off style show, who treks to the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, <i>facing death</i>, to snag her sexy dancing costar-- Stone, who oh so humbly only lives on ice mountain in order to help out his backward family, otherwise he'd definitely be in LA. Stone drives Gina crazy with his lack of polish, and she, with her curt one liners and ice-queen maneuvers dialed up, never gives him a chance to charm her with his towering beard and fourteen and a half pack..
.
.
Until she does and he accidentally impales her. Honestly, is he having sex with her or competing in a one man track meet and she'sthe discus, shotput, hurdle, and pole vault? Bowling ball?

I probably would have liked this book better if it focused more on these antics, honestly. They were funny. The sex scenes were pretty funny too, though I don't think that's what the writer was shooting for.

Unfortunately, for a book about dancers, there aren't too many dancing descriptions, like what dancing looks like, or feels like in the body. Or how the dancers sync to music, how the audience responds. Whatever. Most of the details about dancing are super dry and technical, tons of jargon, and I couldn't connect with any of it. And it makes up a huge portion of the storyline.

I'm not always in favor of the character driven story, but in this case, I would have liked to see less focus on the dance competition plot, and more focus on developing the two characters, and then their romance.

Rating: 🩰🩰🩰 / 5 dancing shoes
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶 / 4 (for gymnastics)
Recommend? Sure, it's not bad
Finished: February 22 2023
Read this if you like:
🌶 Spicy romance
💃 Stories about dancing
🎥 Stories about TV shows
❤️‍🩹 Enemies to lovers trope