This was a fast, fun, cheesy, sweet romance! I've read Daria's first 2 in her "Primas of Power" series, and according to her intro here, this one, "Take the Lead" is actually her debut novel, that she wrote back in 2017 and is now being re-released. It doesn't disappoint & definitely serves up more of what readers enjoyed in "You Had me at Hola" and "A lot like Adios".

The premise is pretty cheesy & super hollywood -- two reality shows collide when Stone, a back-woods Alaskan goes from his family-survival-in-the-bush reality show to be a contestant on a dance-competition show with Gina the career-driven Puerto Rican professional dancer as his partner. It's really fast paced, light and spicy.

There are a few points where the dialogue doesn't sound quite like spoken chat, and maybe Stone's character could have had a little more depth. But I liked the way the plot clipped on at a good pace; the 'evil' people aren't TOO bad - there's not much angst, just a fun, zippy read.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am in love with this book. Everything from the concept to the writing to the characters was perfect.

I have been a lifelong fan of Dancing With the Stars ever since I was a kid. This book felt so nostalgic to me for that reason. The rehearsal scenes and the show scenes were really well written and they had the perfect balance with the rest of the plot. While the entire plot line revolves around the show, I appreciated that there were scenes outside of dancing.

This book is so ridiculously well written. The characters leapt off the pages. I could see the costumes shimmering. I can't visualize dances at all but I almost could with this book. The emotions were affecting me. Everything was perfect.

I have formed emotional attachments to these characters. Since they were so well written I felt like they were real. There were multiple moments when I thought I could turn on my TV and watch them dance. They had insane chemistry and their struggles felt real. Additionally, their emotions felt raw. Their conversations were natural (or natural for a professional dancer and a guy on wilderness reality TV show). These characters came alive.

I could keep writing about how much I love this book but I think everyone should just read it and see for themselves.

I loved this! I've read two other books by Alexis Daria and this is my favorite. It was really cute and I loved the main characters!

Did your grandma force you to watch dancing with the stars religiously ten years ago? Just me? I think that is why I loved this book so much, it brought that same comfort and had a unique hook. Alexis’s books are so vibrant and funny and romantic, this one is no exception. Highly recommend!!

Unfortunately, this book fell strongly into the "not for me" category. I was so-so on Daria's "You Had Me at Hola" but the premise of this was intriguing enough (I love reality TV and I love dancing) that I picked this up. However, it was not my vibe, the reasons being:

1) Wow, the angst. There was so much "We WANT to be together but we CAN'T because of REASONS" that I stopped caring. And it wasn't limited to the protagonists. The secondary characters all contributed with the Everything Is High Stakes feeling, with quotes like "Your father and I just want to remind you how important it is that you not say anything that could jeopardize our show. We're relying on this, and we've all worked hard to build this image." I mean, come on. First of all, who talks like that, second, can we be a bit more subtle, just in general?

2) The bad guys were hit you over the head obvious. A producer blatantly ignoring the wishes and comfort levels of a cast member, not to mention openly threatening them? A cutthroat Olympian who says things like "Only one of us here has spent her whole life learning to dance on ice skates. This show is going to be a breeze" and is trying to sleep with the male protagonist? Ease up a bit here, please.

3) I didn't really like the main characters. Like, they were fine, but they were either lusty or angsty the entire time. I don't know why they fell for each other, besides the fact that they're both Super Hot.

4) SPOILERS -- The cause for the inevitable third act fight/break up was so laughably obvious and avoidable I kind of wanted to scream.

So... yeah. I will say, I appreciated that this had a diverse cast with a Puerto Rican woman as the protagonist, and the "So you Think you can Dance" style show was a fun setting. I can see why other people enjoyed it, but this was not the book for me.

Thank you St. Martins Press, for allowing me to read Take the Lead early.

Aw, a dancing competition, just what I needed! A smile grew on my face while reading this story and I really loved the writing. A perfect comfort read when you're feeling down or just want to feel happy!

This book was such a joy! I love Alexis Daria's books and it was so cool to go back and read her first book and see the seeds of the common themes (strong Latinx women, family, excellent chemistry).

I was rooting for Gina and Stone to win the competition, but also for them to figure out how they could be together. Their chemistry was excellent and the dance competition provided the necessary forced proximity.

Contemporary romance has not always been working for me this year, but this book had everything I love about the subgenre.

I also love reality tv books and always feel like the producers get such a pass, but here it was refreshing (and true to life) to see them be manipulative and a bit evil.

Another Alexis Daria book that I ate up!

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I started dancing salsa when I was 17 years old and it became a huge part of my life; meeting new people, making friends, building relationships! So I absolutely loved the dance aspects of this book and could totally relate. 🫶🏼

Dance connects people in a way that’s unique but could be very intimate, and I loved to see that chemistry building between Gina and Stone! 🔥

💃🏻 Opposites Attract
💃🏻 Close Proximity
💃🏻 Biracial Relationship
💃🏻 Strangers to Lovers

Fun, sexy and swoony, I highly recommend this one!

Thank you for the Arc - i love Alexis Daria and thought this was the best book in her series. I didn’t realize this was a re-release of an existing book I’d already read and reviewed.

recieved an arc of this from netgalley AND IT DIDN'T DISAPPOINT you know? I missed romances that make you feel like something (mostly because I'm having the worst time ever) and ANYWAY take the lead definitely hit the spot. made me want to watch a romcom 😩. Anyway it's soft, and THE NEW COVER IS SO SO GOOD OH MY GOD

This book has every type of catnip for me. It's steamy, fun, full of dancing, with very relatable and complex characters, Daria's writing is just so expressive. When she describes the dance numbers or the settings, it's so easy to visualize exactly what she means. There's a wonderful and empowering theme, too, about the difference between sexualizing and sexuality. LOVED it

This was such a fun read. I tore through it.

I’m in awe of dancers and have been a DWTS fan from the start. I loved how we see the characters grow individually and together through dance. If I’m right that this was Alexis Daria’s debut…wow! I’ve read her latest books but will now go back and get this whole series…glad it’s being rereleased. It’s everything you want in a celeb romance, but somehow more relatable.

I’ve read a few books with a reality TV plot and always seem to enjoy them. That was the case again with “Take the Lead”. I enjoyed the Dance Off plot with Gina and Stone. This was definitely an opposites attract story that brought the reader along with their journey. I liked that most of the drama in this book was external and it wasn’t until close to the end that we had to deal with conflict between the two main characters. I don’t want to spoil anything but I liked the way things were left in the epilogue. Goodreads lists this as book 1 in a series so I’m interested to see whose story will be next. Natasha?!
*Thanks to St. Martin’s and NetGalley for this advance copy for review.

LOVE LOVE LOVE. If you’re looking for an irresistible, heart skipping romance involving dance this is the book for you.

I didn't know if I would like this. Unfortunately I was right. It was well wrote however it was to romantic for my tastes and I struggled to push through. I felt as if some parts were a little predictable.

Take the Lead by Alexis Daria
As a huge fan of the reality TV show ‘Dancing with The Stars’, this book was my jam. This was a very well written book, it was easy to read and I was hooked from the start. I felt the characters were very realistic, as well as their actions. I definitely recommend.
Many thanks to Alexis Daria, NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and St. Martin’s Griffin for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

the culture, the diversity, everything in this book was perfect! but what i did not really enjoy was the reality tv and the lack of tension between the character that i was hoping for. especially with the side character that should of gotten karma…. but this book overall was enjoyable 🤎

3 1/2 stars.

This story is set on a reality TV show like DWTS but called something else. Gina is the professional dancer who's been on the show for some seasons but has never made it to the finals. She's paired with Stone, an Alaskan lumberjack of a man, who's in a reality show with his whole family. They couldn't be more different.

I really liked Stone and his quiet, generous, loyal personality. Gina was a take-no-prisoners kind of character but also learned by the end.
I like the cover! It's like Chris Hemsworth dancing with Selena Gomez. :)

Docked a whole star for all the explicit language and on-page sex.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This was Alexis Daria's debut and she re-released it this year. Usually, a writer's debut isn't as strong as their current work, or their writing isn't as great, but I feel with Alexis Daria that's not the case. I can't even tell this is her debut I feel like it's written now. I wish I would've have discovered her back then however I discovered her with Primas of Power series and that's when I first felt seen in the romance world of books as a Latina.

This book was so beautiful. It took you behind the scenes of what could be Dancing with the Stars which is a show I love but of course I identified with the pro dancer being Latina as she fell in love with her partner. There were so many obstacles to navigate in the Latinx culture that are ingrained in us, and I love how Alexis Daria always includes that in her stories.

There's also the story of Stone who also comes from a reality show background and a huge family in the sense who is feeling a bit lost, and the show helps him find himself. They both find their "home" and their love which in the end is beautiful.

Alexis Daria is an auto-buy author for me, so this book and review was a no brainer for me but thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy as always, all words are my own.

This was my first time reading one of Alexis Daria's Books, and let's just say I ate this book up! I absolutely loved Stone & Gina's relationship and all the challenges they faced throughout the book. I'd definitely say it's a forbidden/opposites attract romance. Not to mention the SMUT in this book is A tier. If you are looking for an easy and fun romance/Rom-com this is the book for you! I will for sure be reading more off Alexis Daria's books!

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc in exchange for an honest review.