A fun, frothy, sexy and entertaining read - as fun to read as watching an episode of any dance competition. This opposites-attract story features Gina, a professional dancer, determined not to be boxed in by stereotypes, and Stone, a shy engineer who is forced to play up the idea of the strong, muscley woodsman for his family's reality show.

Sparks fly as they throw themselves into the competition, maneuvering their way through both dance choreographs and the social media dance of getting enough likes to stay on tv. For all the lightweight fun of the story, there was an element of 'Hunger Games' to it as we see what takes place behind the scenes in order to win, reminding the reader that contestants on reality shows are very much seen as a disposable thing by the producers.

A very fun story with lots of steam and sex and a great HEA!

Gina Morales is a professional dancer and one of the stars of the dance competition show,The Dance Off. After four seasons Gina wants desperately to win. She hopes her new partner will be the one to help her finally snag the trophy.

Her partner for season five is an Alaskan reality tv survivalist, Stone Nielsen. Stone and his family star in a show about living in the Alaska bush called Living Wild. He joins the cast of the dance show in hopes of snagging the grand prize so he can help with his mother's mounting medical bills. All Stone has to do is dance, win and not spill his family's secrets.

Gina and Stone turn out to be a great match. Her passion for dance and Stone's rugged good looks are a perfect combination. It doesn't hurt they are both nursing a budding attraction that shows up in their dancing.... except it does. Gina has a strict rule about fraternizing with her partners and Stone is afraid he might share everything.

As the weeks drag on Gina and Stone dance closer to each other all while fighting their building attraction. Will Gina put her rules to the side and listen to her heart? Will Stone forget about his family obligations and finally let someone in?

Overall quite an enjoyable read. Quick and easy with just enough will they or won't they to keep me interested.

I went into this book not sure if I would like it, because I am not really a fan of Dancing with the Stars (more of a SYTYCD person myself) and of the Duck Dynasty type of reality show. But the writing is good and the characters are really well developed, and most importantly, the romance takes some time to build. Yes, they are attracted to each other physically from day one and resist it, but then they take time to get to know each other and to learn about each other. The dancing helps because they have to spend so much time together. I didn't really get surprised by anything that happened and the complications that arose, but the whole mystery around Stone's TV show kept me intrigued. There was a point where I thought I had missed the reveal, only to discover that I had not when the big secret unfurled.

All in all, this was a fun read, with likeable characters, including all of the other dance couples - I loved that Stone made friends with some of the others on the show who were his biggest competition - and didn't require me to know too much about Dancing with the Stars to catch the gist of how it all worked.

I love Alexis Daria's work so this was a great read. It appears to be a republished version so I'm not certain of the changes that were made (if any). DWTS is not my favourite thing on TV, but reading about a version of it (the Dance Off) is kind of fun. I also adore the new cover!!! So cute.

“Take the Lead” is the first in a series by Alexis Daria. Ms. Daria makes it clear in the opening pages that this is a republished book that some might’ve read online. I’m going to be honest - this book wouldn’t normally be my jam as I’ve only a tiny bit of knowledge of “Dancing with the Stars” and, in general, don’t watch scripted reality shows. But something about the Publisher’s Summary caught my eye - in addition to that fantastic cover. So - here’s what I liked about the book - that Ms. Daria combined enough humor about the competition, behind the scenes editing manipulation, and living in a fishbowl but also enough seriousness about how dang hard the pros on those shows work. I also liked how the two main characters pretty much from the beginning actually seemed to care about each other. What I was meh about was my least favourite tropes - insta-lust and miscommunication. What I wasn’t too thrilled by was that the pacing felt off (or uneven) and I don’t feel any of the side characters were really given depth. There was also a bit of rehashed issues that - honestly - communicate with each other, please! There’s a lot of steamy “sexy time” for those who like reading that … but sometimes it was rather awkward reading. This was a quick read that held my attention, but I wish that it hadn’t been quite as predictable and set to the stereotypical romance book formula.

One of the easiest 5-stars ever. And while the cover is cute and it is technically called a slow-burn romance, the sexual tension is everything.. This is a hidden gem for me. My first read from Alexis Daria. And I am already looking forward for her next book.Overall, a wonderful, wonderful read.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Loved this romance and loved that dance was apart of it. I enjoyed the reality show aspect and the romance between the two. I enjoyed her friends and finding love .

Ahhhhhhh this was just such a wonderful book and I just thoroughly enjoyed myself. I didn’t want to put this book down. I just fell in love with this wonderful story and it’s wonderful characters. I will most definitely be reading more stories from this wonderful author.

Gina has been one of the professional dancers on the show The Dance Off for four years now, and though she's never won, she's had a great time-- until this year, when the producers make it clear they're setting her up for a showmance, which is explicitly against her contract. But Stone, her partner for the season, is gorgeous. And despite the fact that she would NEVER get involved with someone she works with, she finds him hard to resist.
For the past few years, Stone has been on his family's reality tv show pretending to live a much more rural and self-sustaining lifestyle than they really do. He hates every minute of it-- and now he's on another reality show. With his attraction (and increasing feelings) toward Gina, Stone is once again struggling to find the line between reality and reality tv,

Take the Lead is sweet, and steamy, and everything I wanted it to be. I loved that it covered the stereotypes Gina faces as a Puerto Rican dancer, and how that informed so much of her approach toward her work.
Gina, Stone, and Gina's friend Natasha were all such great characters, and loved the dynamics between them. This was my first Alexis Daria book and I can't wait to read more.

I loved Alexis Daria’s other novels and when I read the synopsis of this one, I knew I wanted to read it!

Gina and Stone are opposites in almost every way but they have physical chemistry right off the bat and when forced into dancing with each other…it definitely shows. I actually really loved how much Stone grew into himself in this book, as opposed to a female “finding her voice/self.” I think The Dance Off and Gina really help him find out exactly who he wants to be. It actually made me want a little more for Stone in the end/maybe even a little more build up to what choices he makes. But overall I really enjoyed this story!

Read if you like:
💃opposites attract
💃celebrity x celebrity romance (kinda)
💃forced proximity
💃man buns
💃sexy dances

While this book isn’t new, it’s a getting a cute new illustrated cover (out February 14). Thank you to St. Martins Press for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Now can you please give the other books in this series a cute cover-lift?

I do not know how I slept on this during its initial release, but when St. Martin’s Publishing reached out for the chance to read this now, I jumped at the opportunity. This will be releasing in paperback in February for the first time. I am very excited about reading more from this author - I truly enjoyed her writing, voice and characters!

This was such a fun, sexy book. A reality dance competition judge who is trying to break down barriers and win the competition gets paired with one of the stars of a wilderness reality show. From the first meeting, sparks seem to be flying but Gina wants to be taken seriously, and not be involved in a showmance. Gina has aspirations of success and fame on her own terms. Stone is on the show for family reasons but being in Los Angeles instead of Juneau is making it hard for him to feel like himself. As Gina teaches him to dance, they also open up to each other and their friendship and relationship was a joy to read about. I couldn’t put this book down. Take the Lead had so many of my favorite things - lots of fun secondary characters, reality/celebrity behind the scenes gossip and the food. Highly recommend!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from St. Martin’s Press and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Fun, romantic and just enough tension to make it interesting.

Take the Lead by A. Daria, published by St. Martin's Press, was originally published in 2017 as ebook and is now available in paperback too.
This is a beautiful opposites attract story.
Gina is a dancer and dances in a televised competiotion. Her partner is Stone, a Survivalist with his own tv show.
They simply fit like two peas in a pot. The story is set in Alaska, yay, one of my fav places to take place in a novel. A sweet story that mmade me laugh, swoon, gave all the feels, a witty and fun read.

I went into this book with no expectations as I had never heard of the author. Dancing isn’t a big interest to me unless it’s K-pop related, but I do love reality television so I was excited to read about what it’s like being the scenes, even if it is fictional. I’m happy to say that I was very satisfied with this book.

First a little warning - it is ghost pepper levels of spicy.

All of the characters are incredible, but I particularly loved the two main characters. Gina is a feisty Puerto Rican who is extremely talented and very focused on her career and goals. Stone resembles a cross between a Greek god and a Viking, and is basically living a lie. The way the characters are thrown together is really cool, and even through words their chemistry was sizzling.

The story itself is really intriguing. I found myself staying up way too late to read, wanting to see what happened next. I definitely loved the reality tv parts, and the darker side of the industry gave the story the conflict to keep it interesting.

I really enjoyed this book, and will definitely look more into this author!

'Take the Lead’ is a everything I want in a novel. There’s brilliant character development, a beautiful, steamy love story, and a portrayal of the characters’ world that is an accurate window to real life. Add in the fact that it takes place with the backdrop of a reality TV dance show? I already know it’s going to be fantastic.

Professional dancer Gina Morales is determined that this year will be her year to finally win it all on ‘The Dance Off.’ When she’s partnered with Stone Nielson, the sexy star of a wilderness show, she thinks that she might do just that. Stone doesn’t want to be on a celebrity dance show, but he will do anything for his family, including keep their secrets. When the producers machinations place them both in a precarious position, do they play along, or do they follow their own lead?

I found this book when I was new to contemporary romance, and it set the bar impossibly high. There’s meticulous plotting, great moments of humor, and chemistry that is so sizzling it burns up the page. Consent and communication are also at the forefront of this story, and I’m all the way here for it.

I also appreciate how Alexis Daria gives readers a no-holds barred depiction of what it’s like to be a Latinx woman in the entertainment industry, and all of the impossible barriers and standards that are placed in the way. This novel doesn’t shy away from the very real systems of oppression that are in place in real life, which I appreciated. After all, that is an integral part of Gina’s story.

If you’re looking for a book that will make you laugh, smile, smirk, and cheer, ‘Take the Lead’ will deliver all of that and more.

Thank you to St. Martin’s and NetGalley for generously providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

love me some Alexia Daria stories and this was one that i was old on. Plus look at the cover. Yum yum and they dancing. i was there for it all.

This was everything I signed up for!
Interesting, fun, diverse characters thrown into a reality TV show ! Romance between our MCs was lovely and steamy. It was cute and I was really rooting for these two. So, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good contemporary romance!

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.