Take the Lead

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.

I loved every second of reading this. It wasn't perfect (some of the Reasons We Can't Be Together got a little repetitive, as did the Reasons We Should Be Together later), but the premise of being on a Dancing With The Stars-style reality show was so fun, and most of the characters were fantastically drawn (with the exception of Lauren - never really got what her deal was supposed to be other than Mean Girl Who Wants to Win, which ended up being kind of a caricature). Stone and Gina were HOT, lots of open door sexy times. Will definitely be checking out more of Daria's books.

CW: sexual assault (groping), language