- TAKE THE LEAD is a reissue of Alexis Daria's first book. You can see where her writing has improved over the years, as well as what she's always been great at: chemistry that sparks right off the page.
- To be honest, romance novels where the man is so huge and the woman is so tiny have never really been for me, and this book kept hammering their sizes home. Your mileage may vary, of course.
- I did love the dance competition show setting though. All those rehearsals of intimate dances made for excellent tension building!

I haven't read anything by Alexis Daria before, and didn't realize this is a re-release. I was delighted to receive an ARC (for this unbiased review), because I am so glad this came onto my radar! Take the Lead is sweet and funny and very steamy, and I really enjoyed the reality TV aspect and of course the fictitious Dancing with the Stars plotline. As a former ballroom dancer (though only of the amateur reality) I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the choreography! The romance is simmering with tension and heat and although I knew how it would end... I did not have any idea how Daria would resolve the very real issues the hero and heroine faced on their way to happily ever after.

This checked so many boxes for me, and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. Highly recommended, 4.5 stars!

Alexis Daria never disappoints. Another really great one that I devoured very fast. Her books are always flirty and sexy with lots of fun and great representation, this was no exception. I always love a new book from her

SO happy with another book from another one of my auto buy authors!! AND i finally got my hands on a physical copy <3 my dwts + showmance heart loved this so much !!

Foxtrot, Tango, Rumba, Jive... I'm so glad the traditional publishishing of Take the Lead is finally live!
Alexis Daria's first novel (written before the Primas of Power) was a silent nod for fans of Dancing with the Stars.

Gina Morales is the ultimate professional working towards the trophy during her 5th season and is paired up with the silent stoic wilderness survivalist Stone. The stakes are high as her producer has threatened her chances of returning and he is in need of the prize money to help pay for family expenses. Just as much as they are fighting to win, they are fighting their attraction on camera.

I loved the Alexis purposefully called out the stereotype that often plagues latino women of being oversexualized while also calling out subtle double standards we set again asking consent to touch men. There is no shortage of representation in the diversity of characters that don't feel forced. In addition, Alexis did something that could be controversial for some but felt very responsible to me, which was introduce a plan b pill to the storyline when many authors would ignore the risk. I respect and appreciate her for her fearlessness and authenticity in her writing.

While she ensures not the sexualize Gina on camera and for the benefit of social media, that didn't tamper down any adult activities shared between Stone and Gina. Their chemistry was leaping off the page and we all felt the heat. She said, "injury be damned, Stone is getting rewarded for catching Gina."

Tropes: Opposite Attract, Size difference, he falls first.

I have high hopes that we will get a traditional release of Dance with me so I can get the backstory behind Natasha and Dimitri!

I ADORED Take the Lead by Alexis Daria and know many others will as well.

Gina is a pro dancer who has been on The Dance Off reality show for multiple seasons. Her number one rule: never have a showmance, don't fall in love with a celebrity dancer. But this season she has met her match with Alaskian survivalist Stone. All is fair and love on the dance floor.

I flew through this fast paced novel and was shocked to discover this was Daria's first. As a fan of Dancing with the Stars, I enjoyed the take on reality dancing and the behind the scenes look. This dual point of view novel had equal parts spice and everything nice. I urge follow romantic readers to pick up and be delighted with Take the Lead!

For the first time in my life I'm mildly interested in watching Dancing with the Stars...

Anyway, this was very cute and fun!

Opposites attract in this freshly polished re-release from Alexis Daria.

Dancer Gina Morales wants to win on her own terms. She has big dreams, and winning a season of reality TV show The Dance Off—think Dancing with the Stars—is just the beginning. She is good, so, so good at her job, and she wants to win based on her merits. When she’s partnered up with strong but silent, giant-of-a man Stone Nielson, she realizes her producers are trying to manipulate things behind the scenes.

A showmance. They are looking for a showmance.

And Gina? She’s not interested in faking a relationship for the show. Her reputation and what she represents are too important to her.

Stone? He does not want to be on the show, but he’ll do anything to support his family. He cut ties with everything and everyone to join their survivalist show in Alaska, and now he’s dropping himself into a televised dancing competition in L.A. for them. And this attraction to Gina is unexpected.

The chemistry between Gina and Stone is palpable. Will they be able to fight it? Or can they at least keep it off camera?

I loved this one! The sparks. The sizzle. The heat. The steam. The stop-to-fan-yourself love scenes. The emotions between the two MCs. The way they open up to each other. The dances. The friendships. Gah!

I can’t wait to get my hands on Natasha’s story next and hope to see many more books in this series in the future.

I received a review copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

This was a really cute read and the chemistry between Gina and Stone was seriously off the charts. I loved the Dancing With the Stars type atmosphere and how all the dances were explained and how it wove into the story. It was all very entertaining and a quick read. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Thank you @alexisdaria, @netgalley, and @stmartinspress an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 🫶🏼 This book is out NOW!!

I really enjoyed Daria’s other books and was so, so excited when I got this arc!! I also love a quasi-Dancing With The Stars moment! 🤩

This book follows dance pro, Gina Morales, as she fights to win her first championship on The Dance Off show with her Alaskan wilderness reality tv star partner Stone Nielson.

I really enjoyed this book! I think Daria has this somewhat formula that she uses for her books that makes them so enjoyable. That being said, they’re all different which is really great! They have their own unique style that works for the characters. I love the yearning, the spice, and the family drama. I love that Gina has high standards for herself and that she won’t settle for downgrading her view of herself and how that’s viewed for her family. I also really liked that Stone and Gina both had important things to learn in the book.

Take the Lead
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


A book about a dancing competition very much like DTWS? Yes please! I am a huge DWTS fan and I think that played into me LOVING this book.

Gina Morales knows what she wants. And that is to dance and be taken seriously in an industry where Latinas as viewed as promiscuous & sexual. She is wants her talent to speak for itself. When she’s paired with the gruff Alaskan Stone, her strength will be tested. He’s hot. He’s strong and he makes her want to break her own rules.

I absolutely loved this story. The spice. The pining. The forced proximity. The overall feel was something I was drawn to nonstop.

I absolutely love the cover of this book. The cover was one of the main reasons I requested to read this book. I thought this book had a slow start but it picked up around chapter 8-9. I enjoy reading! Thank you for allowing me to read this as an ARC!

Two things before I get into my thoughts on this book. First I want to thank St Martin's Griffin and the author for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This was originally released in 2017 and it was the authors debut novel. They did a rerelease of it that includes a new cover, updated text and bonus material. This was my first time ever reading it so I can't comment on the differences between them, all I can comment on is how I enjoyed this version.

Being a fan of Dancing with the Stars when I read the synopsis for this book I was immediately interested. I was curious about how a dance show would be brought to life on page. I think the author did a great job of making a reality tv show come to life in book form but there were also aspects that didn't work for me. Even though I watch Dancing with the Stars I am not well versed in all the different dance styles so I couldn't really visualize each of the dances and I feel like talking about pretty much every dance was a little bit much for a book. It made the book drag a little for me. Also I know reality TV isn't all it's cracked up to be and I am sure that a lot of what the author does in this book actually happens in real life but it felt like every horrible thing/person was thrown in just for the dramatics. It would have been nice if there were some good things (besides the romance) included as well. If you've read this then you know what I am talking about.

What really hooked me was the romance. Gina and Stone had amazing chemistry from the very beginning and I loved watching that develop more throughout the book. Gina is a woman of color in a brutal industry and I understand why she had all of her rules but I wish she could have been a little more confident in herself and not cared so much about what everybody else thought of her. I loved seeing Stone grow in confidence throughout the book as well. The romance between these 2 is what I was invested in. I didn't really care about the reality show side and plus it was pretty obvious how that was going to end anyways. Each of the characters made very obvious stupid decisions but I loved them.

This season on The Dance Off, Love will dance its way into your heart. On the set of the celebrity dance competition show, the sexual tension is palpable between Stone, Alaskan survivalist reality show star, and Gina, his professional dance partner. When the two are clearly marked as this season’s “showmance”(completely against Gina’s wishes), neither can hold for long as just dance partners.

This was such a fun read!! I loved the description of dance in this novel, and really enjoyed the behind the scenes look at shows like this. I often enjoy behind the scenes stories rather than the shows themselves (though I will get sucked in if someone is watching one 🙈)

Stone and Gina were HAWT and I loved how in tune with each other they became as they continued to progress on the show. This spicy romance will have you wanting to get up and dance(at least, that’s what it made me want to do!)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for allowing me to read this book. This one was cute! It was tense, steamy, loving, romantic, and personable in all ways. I always love a good Hollywood setting with romance so this was right up my alley and I was not disappointed. A solid 4 ⭐️stars.

Anyone who reads my reviews knows I don’t watch much television and I have a huge disdain for reality television with the exception of Dancing with the Stars until about 4 years ago when IMHO it “jumped the shark” and if you don’t know that term Google it. However, the minute I read the synopsis for this book I knew I had to read it and I am so glad I did despite being bleary eyed for staying up way too late to finish it. This story was complex with many layers and each one proved to be equally interesting and while at times I got frustrated with the characters for different reasons, I could also understand where they coming from and how incidents in their past caused them to react the way they did. Take The Lead was thoroughly entertaining, completely engrossing, and a simply wonderful romance between two people who seemed so different, yet they complemented each other perfectly.

Our heroine Gina is a Puerto Rican dance pro who has been with the show for 5 years. She has never won the competition and is known for her wonderful choreography. She is the consummate professional refusing to play in to the producers tricks of “showmances” and sleeping with other crew members or the stars brought in for the show. She is a New York City native, the Bronx, and loves her hometown but resides in Los Angeles for the show with a childhood friend also a Latina. She is shocked to find out her “star” for this season is Stone, the star of a reality star about living “off grid” in Alaska.

Stone was opposed to doing the Dance Off but his family needs the money to pay off his mother’s medical bills and hopefully make a dent in his student loans. Yes, you read that right, Stone’s family’s show Living Wild is a bit of smoke and mirrors and not all it’s made out to be (big surprise a reality show that isn’t all that real). Stone hate the limelight, he hates lying and he’s bad at it, and he fears he’ll say something that will cause his family’s sole source of income to come tumbling down. He isn’t a big talker, think strong, silent type and you’ve got Stone.

From the first meeting between Gina and Stone I could feel the fire between them. Stone was protective of Gina but also he felt calm around her and that continued throughout this book. Gina was bubbly and fun and Stone was reserved mainly because he worried about saying to doing something wrong. I loved watching Stone’s tough exterior being to crumble as this book went on, it was subtle and because he came from a reality show background he understood the absolute audacity the producers sometimes asked of them yet at times he was also blindsided by them. I appreciated that this author showed a big man like Stone (he’s 6’7”) be sexually harassed by another contestant and he wasn’t shy about letting on that he didn’t like it or appreciate it. As the show progresses and Stone as the underdog keeps going forward we really begin to see a difference in him and the chemistry between Stone and Gina boils over into more which creates an even bigger problem. Gina wants it kept on the down low which bothers Stone but he goes along with it because they both know that when the show is over they go back to leading very different lives.

I felt this author did a great job of showing the ins and outs of reality television and how hard it can be on the people who participate in them. I loved the varied cast of the show and how competition brings out the worst in some people. I didn’t care for the drama towards the end that in all honesty made Gina look like an irrational shrew, I was happy with the outcome.

Take The Lead featured a wonderful cast of characters, a full and rich plot, and a slow burn romance that sizzled; I not only loved this book but I highly recommend it.

I’m a huge fan of Alexis Daria romances, and TAKE THE LEAD is no exception. It has all the hallmarks of a classic Daria book, and shows how her more recent books were developed from an already incredibly enjoyable debut. While I didn’t read the original version of TAKE THE LEAD, I certainly enjoyed this new version, and I would definitely recommend it to romance lovers.

In the world of reality TV, reality is anything but. Our MC, Gina, wants to be beloved for her dance skills, not for some fake showmance cooked up by a pushy producer. But when they pair her with an Alaskan reality TV survivalist, it doesn’t have to be faked, but Gina still doesn’t want it to be in the spotlight.

Through the development of Gina and Stone’s romance, their character development and the tension between truth and lies is central, which just made the fact that it’s dual-POV all the better. I rooted for the two of them throughout, and definitely appreciated the smidgen of slowburn before everything really heated up. While the somewhat cliche third-act-breakup didn’t feel as well written as the rest of this book, it still fit well in the pacing. And most of all, I appreciated how mutual responsibility plays a role in their relationship, instead of one character being completely at fault.

While its clear the book’s faux reality dance show is based off a real one, I still felt as if the world was its own. The book may focus on Gina and Stone, but their lives and those around them are still developed outside of that, even if some of the characters are a bit reality tv cliche (those cliches do exist for a reason).

One thing I wish had been developed more were some of the dances and the relationship-building of Gina and Stone outside of the very first and last few dances of the season. There were dances or episodes that felt like they could’ve truly added something but were mostly mentioned as an introduction to what was happening next. Some of it just comes down to the length of the book overall, but I think it might have helped steam up the dance floor just a little bit more.

As a whole, I’m glad I picked up this book and it’s just made me more excited for more of Daria’s books in the future. And while the Primas of Power still hold the first place spot in my heart, TAKE THE LEAD has a well-deserved honorable mention.

Think Dancing with the Stars meets Yukon Men. While I really enjoyed Stone's and Gina's chemistry it was more fascinating to read about the seedy side of reality shows. I know there was a lot of playing up the villain narrative and sometimes exaggerating storylines but having no boundaries to what can be used for ratings was truly ick. Gina's desire to not be stereotyped made the stakes even higher. I really felt for her.

I really enjoyed this book! It's now one of my favorites by Alexis Daria! There were times when it felt like the main characters did things that were out of character for them and some of the book felt repetitive but it was so fun to read! I loved the heart of the novel and the relationship between the two main characters.

Not my favorite Alexis Daria book but still fun nonetheless. This was fun and flirty and I liked the dancing aspect though I wish there was more of it in the book. It was kind of put downable at times. and took me awhile to read, but the spice was good and kind of funny. I don't regret reading it and looking forward to more books from this author.