Named one of the Best Romances of 2017 by Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post! A 2018 RITA® winner for Best First Book! “A sparkling debut.” –Entertainment Weekly “Vibrantly written.” –The Washington Post The first in a sizzling new series about finding love on and off the dance floor from #OwnVoices author Alexis Daria. Gina Morales wants to win. It’s her fifth season on The … author Alexis Daria.
Gina Morales wants to win. It’s her fifth season on The Dance Off, a top-rated network TV celebrity dance competition, and she’s never even made it to the finals. When she meets her latest partner, she sees her chance. He’s handsome, rippling with muscles, and he stars on the popular Alaskan wilderness reality show Living Wild. With his sexy physique and name recognition, she thinks he’s her ticket to the finals–until she realizes they’re being set up.
Stone Nielson hates Los Angeles, he hates reality TV, and he hates the fact that he had to join the cast of The Dance Off because of family obligations. He can’t wait to get back to Alaska, but he also can’t deny his growing attraction to his bubbly Puerto Rican dance partner. Neither of them are looking for romantic entanglements, and Stone can’t risk revealing his secrets, but as they heat up the dance floor, it’s only a matter of time until he feels an overwhelming urge to take the lead.
When the tabloids catch on to their developing romance, the spotlight threatens to ruin not just their relationship, but their careers and their shot at the trophy. Gina and Stone will have to decide if their priorities lie with fame, fortune, or the chance at a future together.
The second Dance Off novel, Dance With Me, is available now!
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Gina and Stone danced their way into my heart. Fun read. The two characters came off the page. The dance competition and the “competing” interests of the reality shows made a great background for these two to find each other and have some sparks fly. Gina and Stone are two lovable characters who make you want them to get each step right.
If you’ve enjoyed watching Dancing with the Stars (or the drama of reality TV in general), this romance is perfect for you! As soon as I finished this book, I ordered the next one in the series (Dance with Me). 🙂
If you love an opposites attract romance, this is the one for you–professional dancer Gina is a hilarious city girl, and stoic mountain man Stone is straight out of the Alaskan wilderness. They’re thrust (!) together for a Dancing With the Stars-style show, where they discover they have chemistry for days. Delicious.
If you love Dancing with the Stars, this series is an absolute must-read. It hit all of my reality-TV-loving buttons.
Take the Lead is a hot, sweet romance. When passionate, vibrant dancer Gina pairs up with sweet, stoic mountain man Stone, the sparks fly as Gina teaches him how to dance for reality dance competition, The Dance Off.
I loved Gina and Stone together. She’s an ambitious dancer determined to achieve her dream of dancing and singing professionally and he’s the stoic, quiet man who’s always taken on his family’s problems on his own shoulders. When he agrees to be on The Dance Off as yet another way to alleviate some of his family’s debts, he never dreamed he’d not only learn to dance and dance well, but that he’d fall in love with the beautiful city girl who teaches him how to dance and how to love.
Stone is the perfect BBF. He’s sweet, he’s hot and he’s absolutely selfless. Pair him with sweet, spicy Gina and you’ve got romance gold. I can’t quite believe that Take the Lead is Alexis Daria’s debut novel. It’s so well-written and the characters and their intense connection is so well drawn and engaging. I give Ms. Daria so many props for this sexy, sweet debut! And now I can’t wait to read her next story in this series – Dance with Me.
I tend to stay away from reality tv in general and the same for reading and sub-genres in CR. The only reality TV I watch is Dancing With the Stars, so when I read the concept of this duology, I was hooked.
I’m happy to say that Take the Lead was quite an enjoyable read. Daria did a great job of building a relationship and great chemistry between Gina and the DELICIOUS Stone. I loved the behind the scenes details of training each week for the show, the creation of choreography and the politics of the show itself.
Stone the Alaskan mountain man has been added to my Book Boyfriend list. He’s caring and selfless, does so much for his family and eventually, for Gina. How could you not love that? And the man can dance!!! I love that the gruff mountain men showed his vulnerability for and with Gina, through his dancing. I loved Gina, she is driven, successful, funny, and very talented. She knows what she wants professionally and is determined to not be derailed by complications or scandals… like a relationship with her irresistible partner, Stone.
After reading Take the Lead, I cannot wait for Dance With Me and whatever else Ms. Daria releases after that.
*Copy for review provided by publisher.