Take the Lead: A Dance Off Novel (A Dance Off Novel, 1)

This was well-written and I loved the WOC rep, but it didn't grab me. It was only occasionally​ exciting. I could've done without it

Love a bit of 'Strictly' and this is Strictly stateside with a latin flavour. And it allowed me to indulge my disregard of reality shows but it helped me realise that as with everything, what we see is never the true story. I was drawn into the story and it is not always as it seems and how much gets distorted. I fell in love with Stone and Gina and was swept up in their romance. It was so relatable and believable. I look forward to reading more from this writer.

this book is gorgeous! this review will be short because i want to read the next one and ir's barely midnight! this book is every fantasy and daydream about dance shows anyone has ever had! as well as inventing in a throw away line a movie i would die to see and the totally-not-j-lo musical we all deserve, ms daria has broken my heart at least three times and nended it with wholesome perfection that, even now with the world all dystopian and my body in constant pain, i feel like maybe the world is doing ok... also, the sex is stupendous!

SERIES: Dance Off #1 ROMANCE: Opposites Attract. In Secret. QUICK REVIEW This was absolutely amazing and I read it in one sitting! I'm a sucker for music/dance themed books and this did not let me down. I loved both Gina and Stone as individual characters and as a couple. They had so much personality, chemistry, and some serious dance moves. Their emotional connection had me on a roller coaster of emotion and Alexis Daria does a fantastic job conveying it all through their dancing. -------------------------------- CHARACTERS Gina Morales: Winning The Dance Off has been Gina's sole focus, but she refuses to compromise her integrity just to get ahead in her career. So when she meet Stone she knows she has to keep him at arm's length before he interferes with all her goals and dreams. But working with Stone is testing her limits and her will power. Stone Nielson: Helping his family has always been important to Stone, but it's also what got him into this predicament to begin with. He's used to being "the quiet one" on his family's reality TV show and now he's front and center, learning to dance. He might be attracted to Gina but he knows he has to keep things together -- for himself and to protect his family. POSITIVES -- Stone was probably my favorite thing about this book; he was such a perfect hero! He might be big and muscular, but he's also a bit of a beta hero. I love this because I'm all for betas but it was also fun to watch as he grew confident in his dancing and really embraced taking the lead when needed. He was a perfect blend of sweet and strong while also being completely drool worthy. I adored his more romantic side that really came out as he got comfortable with dancing and with Gina. -- The intimacy outside the bedroom was really well written! You could tell these two had more than just lust because they shared so many small moments of holding hands, little touches, leaning on each other for support, etc. Really beautiful and well done. That being said, holy cow, these two were on fire in the bedroom! -- I love a strong and dedicated heroine so Gina was a joy to read. I loved her passion for dancing, her fire to succeed, and her determination to be the best version of herself without compromising on her self respect. This does lead her to hold onto her pride and fear a little too tightly, but it also makes her a heroine I can really respect. -- I truly appreciated how emotional Stone and Gina's connection was and how much Alexis Daria was tugging at my heart strings in the last quarter of the book. I truly felt how deep their relationship had gotten and how hard it was for them to go through the ups and downs the show put them through. NEGATIVES -- Only a small thing: several months go by in the book, but I barely noticed the passage of time. We know each of ...

This is by a new author and she is talent-loaded. I absolutely love the TV show “Dancing With The Stars” and quite frankly, I enjoyed the similar program content in this novel. If you’re not familiar with the show, it does not matter at all. The TV dance world is described very well here. “Dance Off” is in its fourteenth season when “celebrity survivalist” Stone, and professional dancer Gina are paired up as one of the teams vying for prize money (for Stone) and glory (for Gina). Gina’s a feisty Puerto Rican Bronx New York native with serious dance/choreography/acting/singing aspirations. Stone’s from wild, natural and clean Alaska. You feel the fresh wholesome living coming out of his pores, but he’s not as ambitious for a TV life. They are worlds apart. From the moment they meet, every move, every feeling is recorded on microphones and by a film crew during “work time.” They have instant chemistry and Stone shows a natural ability to learn dancing and showmanship quite different from that required in his reality TV show, “Living Wild.” They are both stunningly beautiful, single people and unbeknownst to them at first, have been set up for a “showmance.” Gina’s all about succeeding in her career by keeping her integrity, morality and career focus in strict check. She wants to succeed using her talent - she is a successful dancer, choreographer, great person and a quadruple threat in her showbusiness world. Her focus is on a prize greater than “Dance Off.” A cheap trick like a fabricated showmance to increase scores is unacceptable. Stone has made personal sacrifices not of his choosing to be the “celebrity” his family demand him to be. He’s all about keeping his family secret, and he’s tasked with the responsibility of providing financial freedom for them all. Pressure, much? A lot rides on him succeeding in this competition in more ways than one. She can’t afford the distraction of attraction to her partner. He can’t afford to have his secrets revealed, and he struggles with lying. He despises the lie his life has become. As their attraction and trust grow, keeping his secrets adds pressure during the competition and to his personal life. I’ve read lots of books by authors who receive hundreds of rave reviews for what I find to be “meh” romances. This isn’t one of them. Alexis Daria is new, but she can write. This book is for you if you love a really great build-up and then hot, hot, hot steam that’s backed up by great non-bedroom foundations for the love. It’s not just lust - the feelings and chemistry are glorious. The writing is excellent, the characters are very well developed, and the romance is hot. This heroine is sexually sophisticated. Depending on your preferences you may find some of the sex explicit but it’s not gratuitous, just the natural, inevitable result of people who touch each o...