I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I very much enjoyed this book. This is a steamy romance book. If you are fans of dancing with the stars this book is for you. It’s a ton of fun and dancing is front and center.

DNF-ed at 25%. I've decided that insta-lust will forever be my least favorite trope. I firmly believe that only the (very very few) talented authors are able to pull of insta-lust without making it weirdly predatory or creepy. Unfortunately, I don't think Alexis Daria hit the mark in this book.

I wanted to like this book because I love a Dancing with the Stars spinoff and I love reading about ballroom dancing and such. However, I feel like the relationship development in this book just made me really dislike it, The little nods towards dancing were really fun, and I really enjoyed reading the parts where they were dancing together. However, I really disliked how lusty and repressed the two were. The way Daria kept on emphasizing that any sexual liaisons would be a huge violation of their professional relationship made me strongly dislike anything between them. And the amount of times the two would just lust after each other's bodies AT THE WORPLACE (while I understand is non-traditional and meant to develop chemistry) still just made me uncomfortable.

Originally published as an ebook in 2017, I was able to grab this new version through Netgally. Our author is republishing as a paperback and I’m so glad that I was able to find this story! Dancing with the Stars like show has our main character Stone and Gina thrown into a partnership. He’s from rural rugged Alaska and she’s a fiesty city girl. They quickly form and friendship and despite their differences and obstacles, dancing together for the show brings them closer together. Love is in the air. Secrets are being shared. Paparazzi threaten their relationship. It’s quite a roller coaster ride but I very much enjoyed their relationship. Cute banter, emotional plots, and a great cast of characters. If you love reality tv, dancing competitions, and a sizzling love story I would recommend this book.

This book left me thirsty for all the right reasons.

Gina's life is full of glitter, glam, and grueling dance rehearsal's as she competes with her celebrity partners for the coveted Dance Off trophy. Unfortunately, she's won. Enter Stone Neilson, the reality TV star from Alaska. Can she turn this muscled mountain man into a dancing machine? Can they make their way into the viewer's hearts as well as their own?

Give me a five, six, seven, eight...more books in the world of Dance Off because I have here for it all. This was Alexis Daria's debut and now they are releasing it in paperback with a brand-new cover!!! The cover is so glamorous and it's the initial reason I picked this book up. But I stayed for the characters and Daria's sense of connection in her plots. (Not to mention the spicy sexy times)

If you're a fan of Dancing with the Stars, or Strictly Come Ballroom in any way shape or form: THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

Gina and Stone are contestants on a “Dancing with the Stars” kind of competition. Stone and his family are reality TV stars from Alaska, and Gina is the professional dancer who needs to teach him how to dance.

I’m not a fan of reality TV or dancing competitions, but I still really enjoyed this storyline. Gina and Stone really clicked, and it was fun to hear about the dances they had to do each week.

I also enjoyed the secondary characters. Gina’s best friend, Natasha, as well as the other contestants really pulled the story together.

Thanks to NetGalley for this book in exchange for my honest review. It appears it was originally published in 2017 but has been re-released with a new cover (perhaps to have the same look/feel as her newer books?)

A new cover revamp for an old book? Count me in. I was completely drawn in by this beautiful cartoon cover. After reading the premise, I knew I had to read this Dancing with the Stars-esque book.

Gina and Stone were a fun couple to read! I enjoyed their obvious chemistry and it felt believable, even though it was pretty immediate. Reading them go through hours of rehearsal, as well as their time spent outside of rehearsal, made for solid relationship building. There were bits that I felt were repetitive, but it was all part of both Gina and Stone's hesitancy to be together.

I also enjoyed reading the ins and out of the production of dance show! The author did a great job of painting a behind the scenes look at what a reality show like this is like.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

I loved Stone and Gina pretty much immediately. Both characters were so dynamic in their own ways and I loved that we got both POVs throughout this Dancing with the Stars-like competition. If you were ever a fan of the show, you will LOVE this!

I love this book so much! I think anybody who watches Dancing with the Stars has dreamt about what goes on behind the scenes, especially when a couple has amazing chemistry. And this is exactly what I've always wanted - hot and sexy and surprisingly sweet, with main characters that I am totally obsessed with. Alexis Daria is crazy talented and I'm going to go and download everything else she's ever written ...

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book by Alexis Daria is cute. Gina is a professional dancer needs to win. Stone is a survivalist who owns his own adventure company. The story is fun and the romance between the two is fun the read about the writing and story were very good.
If you like the dancing shows this one is for you. I liked the chemistry between them. I recommend this cute story

First I’d like to thank the author, Alexis Daria for allowing me the privilege of reading this arc. That being said; I absolutely adored the chemistry between the two main characters Gina and Stone. Without giving too much away, the story of stones family reminded me of the “Alaskan Bush people” very similar story to the real people in terms of larger family, the show and little details like mom being sick. I loved Ginas best friend and roommate as well. Overall it was such a cute read!

A fun, frothy, sexy and entertaining read - as fun to read as watching an episode of any dance competition. This opposites-attract story features Gina, a professional dancer, determined not to be boxed in by stereotypes, and Stone, a shy engineer who is forced to play up the idea of the strong, muscley woodsman for his family's reality show.

Sparks fly as they throw themselves into the competition, maneuvering their way through both dance choreographs and the social media dance of getting enough likes to stay on tv. For all the lightweight fun of the story, there was an element of 'Hunger Games' to it as we see what takes place behind the scenes in order to win, reminding the reader that contestants on reality shows are very much seen as a disposable thing by the producers.

A very fun story with lots of steam and sex and a great HEA!

Gina Morales is a professional dancer and one of the stars of the dance competition show,The Dance Off. After four seasons Gina wants desperately to win. She hopes her new partner will be the one to help her finally snag the trophy.

Her partner for season five is an Alaskan reality tv survivalist, Stone Nielsen. Stone and his family star in a show about living in the Alaska bush called Living Wild. He joins the cast of the dance show in hopes of snagging the grand prize so he can help with his mother's mounting medical bills. All Stone has to do is dance, win and not spill his family's secrets.

Gina and Stone turn out to be a great match. Her passion for dance and Stone's rugged good looks are a perfect combination. It doesn't hurt they are both nursing a budding attraction that shows up in their dancing.... except it does. Gina has a strict rule about fraternizing with her partners and Stone is afraid he might share everything.

As the weeks drag on Gina and Stone dance closer to each other all while fighting their building attraction. Will Gina put her rules to the side and listen to her heart? Will Stone forget about his family obligations and finally let someone in?

Overall quite an enjoyable read. Quick and easy with just enough will they or won't they to keep me interested.

I went into this book not sure if I would like it, because I am not really a fan of Dancing with the Stars (more of a SYTYCD person myself) and of the Duck Dynasty type of reality show. But the writing is good and the characters are really well developed, and most importantly, the romance takes some time to build. Yes, they are attracted to each other physically from day one and resist it, but then they take time to get to know each other and to learn about each other. The dancing helps because they have to spend so much time together. I didn't really get surprised by anything that happened and the complications that arose, but the whole mystery around Stone's TV show kept me intrigued. There was a point where I thought I had missed the reveal, only to discover that I had not when the big secret unfurled.

All in all, this was a fun read, with likeable characters, including all of the other dance couples - I loved that Stone made friends with some of the others on the show who were his biggest competition - and didn't require me to know too much about Dancing with the Stars to catch the gist of how it all worked.

I love Alexis Daria's work so this was a great read. It appears to be a republished version so I'm not certain of the changes that were made (if any). DWTS is not my favourite thing on TV, but reading about a version of it (the Dance Off) is kind of fun. I also adore the new cover!!! So cute.

“Take the Lead” is the first in a series by Alexis Daria. Ms. Daria makes it clear in the opening pages that this is a republished book that some might’ve read online. I’m going to be honest - this book wouldn’t normally be my jam as I’ve only a tiny bit of knowledge of “Dancing with the Stars” and, in general, don’t watch scripted reality shows. But something about the Publisher’s Summary caught my eye - in addition to that fantastic cover. So - here’s what I liked about the book - that Ms. Daria combined enough humor about the competition, behind the scenes editing manipulation, and living in a fishbowl but also enough seriousness about how dang hard the pros on those shows work. I also liked how the two main characters pretty much from the beginning actually seemed to care about each other. What I was meh about was my least favourite tropes - insta-lust and miscommunication. What I wasn’t too thrilled by was that the pacing felt off (or uneven) and I don’t feel any of the side characters were really given depth. There was also a bit of rehashed issues that - honestly - communicate with each other, please! There’s a lot of steamy “sexy time” for those who like reading that … but sometimes it was rather awkward reading. This was a quick read that held my attention, but I wish that it hadn’t been quite as predictable and set to the stereotypical romance book formula.

One of the easiest 5-stars ever. And while the cover is cute and it is technically called a slow-burn romance, the sexual tension is everything.. This is a hidden gem for me. My first read from Alexis Daria. And I am already looking forward for her next book.Overall, a wonderful, wonderful read.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Loved this romance and loved that dance was apart of it. I enjoyed the reality show aspect and the romance between the two. I enjoyed her friends and finding love .

Ahhhhhhh this was just such a wonderful book and I just thoroughly enjoyed myself. I didn’t want to put this book down. I just fell in love with this wonderful story and it’s wonderful characters. I will most definitely be reading more stories from this wonderful author.

Gina has been one of the professional dancers on the show The Dance Off for four years now, and though she's never won, she's had a great time-- until this year, when the producers make it clear they're setting her up for a showmance, which is explicitly against her contract. But Stone, her partner for the season, is gorgeous. And despite the fact that she would NEVER get involved with someone she works with, she finds him hard to resist.
For the past few years, Stone has been on his family's reality tv show pretending to live a much more rural and self-sustaining lifestyle than they really do. He hates every minute of it-- and now he's on another reality show. With his attraction (and increasing feelings) toward Gina, Stone is once again struggling to find the line between reality and reality tv,

Take the Lead is sweet, and steamy, and everything I wanted it to be. I loved that it covered the stereotypes Gina faces as a Puerto Rican dancer, and how that informed so much of her approach toward her work.
Gina, Stone, and Gina's friend Natasha were all such great characters, and loved the dynamics between them. This was my first Alexis Daria book and I can't wait to read more.

I loved Alexis Daria’s other novels and when I read the synopsis of this one, I knew I wanted to read it!

Gina and Stone are opposites in almost every way but they have physical chemistry right off the bat and when forced into dancing with each other…it definitely shows. I actually really loved how much Stone grew into himself in this book, as opposed to a female “finding her voice/self.” I think The Dance Off and Gina really help him find out exactly who he wants to be. It actually made me want a little more for Stone in the end/maybe even a little more build up to what choices he makes. But overall I really enjoyed this story!

Read if you like:
💃opposites attract
💃celebrity x celebrity romance (kinda)
💃forced proximity
💃man buns
💃sexy dances

While this book isn’t new, it’s a getting a cute new illustrated cover (out February 14). Thank you to St. Martins Press for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Now can you please give the other books in this series a cute cover-lift?