Take the Lead

I loved every second of reading this. It wasn't perfect (some of the Reasons We Can't Be Together got a little repetitive, as did the Reasons We Should Be Together later), but the premise of being on a Dancing With The Stars-style reality show was so fun, and most of the characters were fantastically drawn (with the exception of Lauren - never really got what her deal was supposed to be other than Mean Girl Who Wants to Win, which ended up being kind of a caricature). Stone and Gina were HOT, lots of open door sexy times. Will definitely be checking out more of Daria's books.

CW: sexual assault (groping), language

Two things before I get into my thoughts on this book. First I want to thank St Martin's Griffin and the author for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This was originally released in 2017 and it was the authors debut novel. They did a rerelease of it that includes a new cover, updated text and bonus material. This was my first time ever reading it so I can't comment on the differences between them, all I can comment on is how I enjoyed this version.

Being a fan of Dancing with the Stars when I read the synopsis for this book I was immediately interested. I was curious about how a dance show would be brought to life on page. I think the author did a great job of making a reality tv show come to life in book form but there were also aspects that didn't work for me. Even though I watch Dancing with the Stars I am not well versed in all the different dance styles so I couldn't really visualize each of the dances and I feel like talking about pretty much every dance was a little bit much for a book. It made the book drag a little for me. Also I know reality TV isn't all it's cracked up to be and I am sure that a lot of what the author does in this book actually happens in real life but it felt like every horrible thing/person was thrown in just for the dramatics. It would have been nice if there were some good things (besides the romance) included as well. If you've read this then you know what I am talking about. 

What really hooked me was the romance. Gina and Stone had amazing chemistry from the very beginning and I loved watching that develop more throughout the book. Gina is a woman of color in a brutal industry and I understand why she had all of her rules but I wish she could have been a little more confident in herself and not cared so much about what everybody else thought of her. I loved seeing Stone grow in confidence throughout the book as well. The romance between these 2 is what I was invested in. I didn't really care about the reality show side and plus it was pretty obvious how that was going to end anyways. Each of the characters made very obvious stupid decisions but I loved them. 

This was a cheese fest. The characters were bland and the romance between them was not believable at all. I skimmed the last 20% just to finish.

I received an advanced e-galley of this book from NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book! My thoughts are in no way influenced by this early preview.

Latinx Dancing with the Stars-inspired contemporary romance? Sign me up. I thoroughly enjoyed this fun, fresh plot that explored the complicated nature of being in the public eye, burgeoning careers, and deep-rooted emotions about honesty, family, and love. (Prepare yourself for a bit of steaminess too!)

The book starts with Gina flying to Alaska to meet her new dancing partner, producers and camera people in tow. When she meets Stone – not at all who she had been expecting – an undercurrent of attraction begins to build. Once Stone meets her in L.A. to begin rehearsals and live performances, their chemistry picks up steam. Their attraction is not without some hurdles and hiccups, and at times I found myself frustrated with characters' responses to things, it came together really well.

Gina is a strong, focused woman who is looking to break down stereotypes about Latinas and become a star, and I thought Daria did a wonderful job portraying her as a three-dimensional heroine that you could root for. Stone is a quiet, honest guy with a complicated relationship with his family, but very likable and altogether more beta than I would have expected.

The one thing I didn't love was the focus on the physicality of the characters, which is so common in romance novels. It made sense given that this book was about dancing, but I'm appreciating romance plots that are more subtle with the imagery these days.

I'm looking forward reading Daria's writing in the future, especially since the next book will focus on Gina's best friend Natasha. I'm so happy to see more Latinx representation in contemporary romance and would highly recommend this to readers of Alice Clayton and Alisha Rai.