Binge alert!

Holy cannoli batman! Stone & Gina are E V E R Y T H I N G!! I loved Take the Lead so much!

Take the Lead is an entertaining, sexy and swoony romance set against the backdrop of a reality dance show competition. The chemistry between the two main characters is instantaneous, and if you enjoy Dancing with the Stars or dancing in general, the rehearsals and performances are written in such detail, you will feel transported to the stage. Alexis Daria added great commentary about the stereotypes of Latin American women in the media, and I always love reading her books to gain new perspective. While this was Daria’s debut novel and originally published in 2017, this reissued edition with an updated cover comes out on Valentines Day.

Read if you love:
-Opposites attract
-Latinx Rep
-Workplace romance
-Reality dancing shows
-Guy falls first
-Open door romance
-Alaskan wilderness hero
-Peurto Rican heroine

I loved this one so much I read it in just about 24 hours! I’m so glad it was rereleased. I’ve never really watched Dancing with the Stars, but I loved reading about a similar show.

The chemistry between Stone and Gina was evident and off the charts from the beginning. I really enjoyed the two reality shows merging. Like Daria’s other books this was steamy! I think the chemistry/slow burn of Stone and Gina’s dancing was so intimate and so well written. I definitely want to check out the other two books in the series!

This was very very cute! I loved Gina and Stone, their chemistry and the ability to see each other and confide in each other. They were so sweet and they felt like the organically just fit, despite their differences. I really enjoyed this story!!

DNF at 58%
I love Alexis Daria’s other books, but this one made me realize that reality show themes aren’t for me. More than half way through and I’m still not invested and I think it’s because of the reality show nonsense.

Stone loves Alaska, but not the spotlight. Yet somehow he’s gotten roped into not one, but two reality tv shows.
This first focuses on his family and their lives “in the bush” of Alaska. Yes this strongly resembles another reality tv family, but with some key differences. Like Stone being massively attractive.
And now he’s doing a season of a dance show - the one where a professional dancer is paired with a celebrity - to make extra money to cover his mothers medical bills (and maybe pay off the student loans for the engineering degree few people realize he has).
With all the secrets he’s keeping about his true Alaskan upbringing and life, he is not looking to start an ill-advised secret relationship.

Since childhood, Gina has been working hard to get where she is in the world of dance and has plans to make it further. Currently she’s on her fifth season of the hit dance completion show, next dream show hosting and then the big one - broadway.
She’s doing the best she can to advance her career while walking the fine line between being a sexy and a sexualized Latin dancer. And with having been burned by a dance partner relationship before, she’s stayed single to avoid risking that again.

Still, when the chemistry spills over from their dancing into their feelings, Stone and Gina can’t seem to help themselves. And that’s when the fun starts.

This book is an updated version of a previous release, but I (unfortunately) never caught it the first time around. It’s super entertaining, I only wish I could actually see these dances!
The dual pov is great, I love when you can see into the heads of both MCs. Especially when there’s some pining involved!

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Thank you SMP Romance for the advance copy.

I love Alexis Daria. You Had Me At Hola? An absolute gem. A Lot Like Adios? Also a gem. So it truly pains me to DNF this one.

I just cannot get into it. I’ve tried on multiple occasions as well. I promised myself to DNF more this year instead of forcing myself to finish books. So that’s what I am going to do.

NetGalley is making me rate. Normally I would not rate at all.

4.5 stars.Thanks to Negalley and St. Martin's Press for the EARC. I dont even know where to start I stayed up waaayy past my bedtime Im talking about 1 oclock in the morning to finish reading this because I needed to know what happened and let me tell you Alexis Daria did not disappoint. I loved this story and I loved Stone and Gina #teamstonecold. I cant wait to hunt down the other books in the series and devour them

Thanks to Netgalley for this read. I enjoyed this book, I had read her other book a while back. I enjoyed the dance show theme. However about 80% through I almost DNF because the back and forth with Gina and Stone regarding their relationship just got annoying. I pushed through and the ending was to be expected. 3.5/5 on the spice factor. Overall I rate this book at 3.5

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc.

Tropes:
Forced Proximity
Workplace Romance
Touch her and you die
Grumpy/Sunshine
Reality Show
Competition

This is a re-editing of Take the Lead that was originally published in 2017. Honestly, i'm sad i missed this when it first came out. I love reality show based Rom coms. Gina is a wonderful main character and Stone is a big Rugged Alaska man with heart. The secondary characters added to this book.

Short review - its just fun. Read it

4.5/5

AHHH THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!!! I will truly shout from the roof tops about how much I love Alexis Daria and how her writing stories have completely stolen my heart. She and her writing are everythinggggg! ❤️

I know this technically isn’t a new book (as it’s Alexis’ debut work republished) but I’m so glad I have the chance to help promote it like it is. This story had all the perfect pieces: great characters, believable drama, and extra spicy scenes. 🔥 I absolutely loved the concept of this story and Gina and Stone were the perfect MCs for it.

Big thanks go out to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this ebook! Take the Lead drops everywhere on February 14 (a perfect romance to pick up for Valentine’s Day!)

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. This was originally released in 2017 and is getting a re-release in paperback with a lovely new illustrated cover.

She's a dancer on a dancing competition show. He's the reality star cast as her partner. She is adamantly against the "showmance" the producers are pushing for, but he's proving hard to resist...

This was enjoyable enough, but I don't feel like it will stick with me. I've previously read and loved two other books by Alexis Daria (You Had Me at Hola and A Lot Like Adios), so my expectations may have been a little too high going in. I also think I'm learning that while the premise of a romance set around a reality show always sounds really fun to me, I don't often love the execution of it.

The characters had a nice, easygoing chemistry, something that I've enjoyed in Daria's other books. The sex scenes were fun, although sometimes felt a bit too rushed. I would have liked to have more time with and focus on some of the supporting characters. I think if you're more into Dancing with the Stars or dancing in general you will probably enjoy that aspect of it all more than I did.

Ultimately what really didn't work for me is that most of the drama and stakes just...weren't that interesting to me. I never really cared about them winning the show, for one. Part of his drama is that he feels guilty for keeping this big "secret" from her, but like, it's so mild and not something any rational person would be all that upset about. Meanwhile, her deal is that she's extremely paranoid about anyone finding out that she's sleeping with a co-star because she doesn't want that to effect her reputation and future career prospects, especially being Latina, which is 100% a valid concern! But it never felt like he ever actually *got* why she had those concerns, which was disappointing.

A fun romance that nevertheless touches on some serious issues, Take the Lead is immediately engaging. The female main character, Gina, is a professional dancer who has ambitions beyond the reality dance competition show she currently stars in. Stone, the male main character, is an unwilling participant both as Gina's new dance partner and as part of his own family's reality show, Living Wild, which features them as survivalists in the Alaskan wilderness. The origin of Gina's commitment phobia has to do with discrimination in her chosen field: as a Puerto Rican female she has been judged before for her involvement with a costar, and she struggles with determination to advance as a performer despite the obstacles in her path. Stone, on the other hand, is hiding a secret of his own that his devotion to his family has made necessary. I liked both the characters and found their struggles and the development of their relationship believable. The romance built nicely, though the third-act breakup scene could have been stronger. The secondary characters, the family and friends of the pair, provided some humor and nicely balanced the lead characters. All in all, I really enjoyed the story, especially the strong protagonists.
Tropes:
Grumpy/Sunshine
Forced Proximity
Commitment-phobic main characters
Secrets
Family Issues

Amazong! Alexis Daria never disappoints me! I can’t believe this is actually her debut novel! All the magic and feelings of her beautiful storytelling is encapsulated in this beautiful book. And the steam🔥🔥🔥🔥dear Lord it was to die for! 100% recommended!

Take the Lead gave me strong Dancing with the Stars and Strictly Come Dancing vibes. From the partner meet and greet to the in studio training sessions, it is an easy comparison. Gina and Stone make a nice couple who have a lot of chemistry. Gina is hard working and determined. She is a professional dancer and an amazing choreographer. Stone is part of a reality series with his family. Usually quiet and reserved, it will be up to Gina to get him out of his shell and dance.

This is a nice story and the author has an engaging writing style. I became invested in Gina and Stone easily.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Griffin and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I received an eARC from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. Gina Morales has been a pro dancer on The Dance Off for 4 seasons. She's flying to Alaska to meet her celebrity partner for season 5, hopeful it'll be a winter Olympian. She is dropped off in the middle of nowhere to find a big, bearded, shirtless, wilderness reality star, Stone Nielsen. It quickly becomes obvious the producer wants to stage a fauxmance between the two. Gina has a very clear "no showmance" policy as well as a "don't get involved with dance partners" rule. But when the two are in a room together, and Gina is working on getting Stone express emotions through dance, and Stone is listening to Gina with respect, and the physical attraction is undeniable... Is it worth it? Should they even try since they live worlds away when they're not dancing on tv?

I was hooked from the start of this book. Did not want to put it down! The emotion, the tension, the steam! I love strong Latina characters and Gina is just that. She is an amazing performer who is constantly striving to meet her goals. And Stone is the sweetest cinnamon roll. He has the role everyone sees on his show, the strong silent protector, but with Gina's help and the distance from his family he comes into his own. This book will make you want to ballroom dance! I was looking up a lot of the dances just to get a visual taste of what they were doing week to week. It is absolutely going on my reread list. I recommend this to fans of reality show tropes, forced proximity, Latinx representation, and steamy romance.

2 Stars

This one fell flat for me. I always love a good reality TV trope but the execution on this one was lacking. The book is from two POVs but the male character doesn't have a distinctly different voice from the female character which was frustrating to read at times. In my opinion, if you are going to write duel POVs, they need to be unique. However, my understanding is this is a reprint of the author's debut novel. With that being said, she has potential and I wouldn't write off her other works that have published since this one first came out.

I love dance competition shows so when I saw the description of Take the Lead, I knew I had to read it.
Gina Morales, the professional dancer has spent years fighting Latina stereotypes and wants to win with her talent alone. Her partner this season is Stone Nielson, an off-the-grid, wilderness survivalist who has a reality show with his entire family. From their first dance their chemistry is off the charts.
They don't want to be in a forced showmance and as their connection grows it gets harder to hide their feelings and secrets they have. Their dances provides lots of steam to the show and gives the producer plenty to work with to create a showmance.

It's a classic opposites attract set in a reality tv world. I've read a few books by Alexis Daria and they are always entertaining and quick reads. I give Take the Lead 3.5 stars.

This was unexpectedly fun and I really enjoyed this story. Take The Lead follows Gina and Stone, each from a very different background, now partners on a celebrity dancing reality show.

SO MUCH about this book worked for me. Overall, the novel is paced nicely and I never felt like it was dragging or needed to get a move on. Gina and Stone have a clear and immediate chemistry and physical attraction, but the emotional side of their relationship grows in a way that feels authentic. No instant unbelievable emotions here. I also loved the added dynamic of constantly being followed by cameras/mics - it added interesting layers to how characters interact and communicate (someone is always watching) without feeling creepy.

The one thing that fell short for me was that once the actual dancing part of the show began, the story lost some of the interpersonal dynamics that were set up early on. I would have loved to read more of the friendships, rivalries and eliminations all the way through. With such a large cast, this would have made it easier to remember who was who.

Overall this was a fun and flirty read that I really enjoyed!

Published on
Goodreads 2/1/23
Instagram ashlie_overbooked 2/1/23

This one was really cute! There’s so much chemistry and I loved the dancing aspect of the story. This one is perfect for Valentine’s Day