Take the Lead

Alexis Daria

2017 • 250 pages

Ratings6

Average rating3.2

Named one of the Best Romances of 2017 by Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post! A 2018 RITA® winner for Best First Book! “A sparkling debut.” —Entertainment Weekly “Vibrantly written.” —The Washington Post The first in a sizzling new series about finding love on and off the dance floor from #OwnVoices author Alexis Daria. Gina Morales wants to win. It’s her fifth season on The Dance Off, a top-rated network TV celebrity dance competition, and she’s never even made it to the finals. When she meets her latest partner, she sees her chance. He's handsome, rippling with muscles, and he stars on the popular Alaskan wilderness reality show Living Wild. With his sexy physique and name recognition, she thinks he’s her ticket to the finals—until she realizes they’re being set up. Stone Nielson hates Los Angeles, he hates reality TV, and he hates that fact that he had to join the cast of the The Dance Off because of family obligations. He can’t wait to get back to Alaska, but he also can’t deny his growing attraction to his bubbly Puerto Rican dance partner. Neither of them are looking for romantic entanglements, and Stone can’t risk revealing his secrets, but as they heat up the dance floor, it’s only a matter of time until he feels an overwhelming urge to take the lead. When the tabloids catch on to their developing romance, the spotlight threatens to ruin not just their relationship, but their careers and their shot at the trophy. Gina and Stone will have to decide if their priorities lie with fame, fortune, or the chance at a future together. The second Dance Off novel, Dance With Me, is available now!

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Jess

I received an advanced e-galley of this book from NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book! My thoughts are in no way influenced by this early preview.

Latinx Dancing with the Stars-inspired contemporary romance? Sign me up. I thoroughly enjoyed this fun, fresh plot that explored the complicated nature of being in the public eye, burgeoning careers, and deep-rooted emotions about honesty, family, and love. (Prepare yourself for a bit of steaminess too!)

The book starts with Gina flying to Alaska to meet her new dancing partner, producers and camera people in tow. When she meets Stone – not at all who she had been expecting – an undercurrent of attraction begins to build. Once Stone meets her in L.A. to begin rehearsals and live performances, their chemistry picks up steam. Their attraction is not without some hurdles and hiccups, and at times I found myself frustrated with characters' responses to things, it came together really well.

Gina is a strong, focused woman who is looking to break down stereotypes about Latinas and become a star, and I thought Daria did a wonderful job portraying her as a three-dimensional heroine that you could root for. Stone is a quiet, honest guy with a complicated relationship with his family, but very likable and altogether more beta than I would have expected.

The one thing I didn't love was the focus on the physicality of the characters, which is so common in romance novels. It made sense given that this book was about dancing, but I'm appreciating romance plots that are more subtle with the imagery these days.

I'm looking forward reading Daria's writing in the future, especially since the next book will focus on Gina's best friend Natasha. I'm so happy to see more Latinx representation in contemporary romance and would highly recommend this to readers of Alice Clayton and Alisha Rai.