{"id":29898,"date":"2023-02-14T08:51:24","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T12:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=29898"},"modified":"2023-02-14T08:51:31","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T12:51:31","slug":"review-take-the-lead-by-alexis-daris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2023\/02\/14\/review-take-the-lead-by-alexis-daris\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Take the Lead by Alexis Daris"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-29898\" data-postid=\"29898\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-29898 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_q6k4430 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top gutter-narrow tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_8xeo430 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_hdl0430 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"326\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/take-the-lead-alexis-daria.jpg?resize=326%2C500&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-29899\" title=\"take-the-lead-alexis-daria\" alt=\"take-the-lead-alexis-daria\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/take-the-lead-alexis-daria.jpg?w=326&amp;ssl=1 326w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/take-the-lead-alexis-daria.jpg?resize=196%2C300&amp;ssl=1 196w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/take-the-lead-alexis-daria.jpg?resize=400%2C613&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 326px) 100vw, 326px\" \/>\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_52bl430 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Gina Morales wants to make it big. In her four seasons on\u00a0<span class=\"a-text-italic\">The Dance Off<\/span>, she\u2019s never even made it to the finals. But her latest partner, the sexy star of an Alaskan wilderness show, could be her chance. Who knew the strong, silent, survivalist-type had moves like that? She thinks Stone Nielson is her ticket to win it all\u2014until her producer makes it clear they\u2019re being set up for a showmance.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Joining a celebrity dance competition is the last thing Stone wants. However, he\u2019ll endure anything to help his family, even as he fears revealing their secrets. While the fast pace of Los Angeles makes him long for the peace and privacy of home, he can\u2019t hide his growing attraction for his dance partner. Neither wants to fake a romance for the cameras, but the explosive chemistry that flares between them is undeniable.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">As Stone and Gina heat up the dance floor, the tabloids catch on to their developing romance. With the spotlight threatening to ruin everything, will they choose fame and fortune, or let love take the lead?<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_ep6j430 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_trc1430  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16466 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3-hearts-1.jpg?resize=135%2C44&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Feb 14, 2023<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Dance Off<br \/><\/em><strong>Book: <\/strong>1<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual\/Hot<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Macmillan<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0St. Martin&#8217;s Press<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $12.99<\/p><hr \/><blockquote><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><em>\u201cThis. This is what she adored about dance. To dance like this with a man as handsome and compelling as stone, to be this close and intimate without words, to let their bodies do the talking\u2026 It was the most perfect thing in the world. Time lost its meaning. The beat changed, and she used her own body to communicate the shift to him. After a week of dancing in hold together, he figured it out without her having to say it. God, she loved that.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Gina Morales<\/strong> has what it takes to win The Dance Off, but she has never gotten the partner that would boost her to the top. When she is flown to Alaska to meet her new partner, she is hoping and praying that it\u2019s an Olympic figure skater, but instead she gets <strong>Stone Nielsen<\/strong>. He is a sexy star of an Alaskan wilderness show, but underneath his strong and silent demeaner, he just might be what Gina needs to secure her position on The Dance Off for good.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Alexis Daria\u2019s<\/strong> debut novel is getting a shiny new cover, updated text, and bonus material before being re-released into the world a second time. I have been a fan of Alexis Daria\u2019s for a few years now. She writes tough, feisty, and intelligent heroines, which I appreciate. Gina was all these things, and she was also determined to make her way in the industry without sleeping her way to the top. Stone was the strong silent type, but he also had a sweet and caring side. He protected Gina a lot throughout the book, even when she didn\u2019t want him to. They had great chemistry, and I was rooting for them the entire book. I think my issue is that this feels like a debut novel because the flow and ease I have come to expect from Alexis Daria\u2019s writing was missing, and I think that\u2019s because she hadn\u2019t found it when she wrote this book. There was a heavy focus on the dancing side of the story, and less of a focus on the romantic connection between Gina and Stone. Of course, it got there in the end, but I wish it had started focusing on their emotional connection earlier instead of just their insane physical chemistry.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">If you\u2019re a fan of authors such as <strong>Lucy Parker<\/strong> or <strong>Mia Sosa<\/strong> then I think you wouldn\u2019t regret picking this one up.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Michelle<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_725q430 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3IoDkWs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3E5zVJM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/take-the-lead-alexis-daria\/1126839734?ean=9781250848703\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/take-the-lead-16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Alexis_Daria_Take_the_Lead?id=TXh-EAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gina Morales wants to make it big. In her four seasons on\u00a0The Dance Off, she\u2019s never even made it to the finals. But her latest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,122,48,59],"tags":[146,216,217,238,324],"class_list":["post-29898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-macmillan","category-michelle","category-reviews","category-st-martins-press","tag-3-stars","tag-contemporary","tag-contemporary-romance","tag-diverse-romance","tag-interracial-romance"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \u2764\ufe0f Take the Lead by Alexis Daris - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2023\/02\/14\/review-take-the-lead-by-alexis-daris\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Take the Lead by Alexis Daris - Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gina Morales wants to make it big. 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In her four seasons on\u00a0The Dance Off, she\u2019s never even made it to the finals. But her latest partner, the sexy star of an Alaskan wilderness show, could be her chance. Who knew the strong, silent, survivalist-type had moves like that? She thinks Stone Nielson is her ticket to win it all\u2014until her producer makes it clear they\u2019re being set up for a showmance.<br \/><br \/>Joining a celebrity dance competition is the last thing Stone wants. However, he\u2019ll endure anything to help his family, even as he fears revealing their secrets. While the fast pace of Los Angeles makes him long for the peace and privacy of home, he can\u2019t hide his growing attraction for his dance partner. Neither wants to fake a romance for the cameras, but the explosive chemistry that flares between them is undeniable.<br \/><br \/>As Stone and Gina heat up the dance floor, the tabloids catch on to their developing romance. With the spotlight threatening to ruin everything, will they choose fame and fortune, or let love take the lead?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3-hearts-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Feb 14, 2023<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Dance Off<br \/><\/em><strong>Book: <\/strong>1<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual\/Hot<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Macmillan<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0St. Martin's Press<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $12.99<\/p><hr \/><blockquote><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><em>\u201cThis. This is what she adored about dance. To dance like this with a man as handsome and compelling as stone, to be this close and intimate without words, to let their bodies do the talking\u2026 It was the most perfect thing in the world. Time lost its meaning. The beat changed, and she used her own body to communicate the shift to him. After a week of dancing in hold together, he figured it out without her having to say it. God, she loved that.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Gina Morales<\/strong> has what it takes to win The Dance Off, but she has never gotten the partner that would boost her to the top. When she is flown to Alaska to meet her new partner, she is hoping and praying that it\u2019s an Olympic figure skater, but instead she gets <strong>Stone Nielsen<\/strong>. He is a sexy star of an Alaskan wilderness show, but underneath his strong and silent demeaner, he just might be what Gina needs to secure her position on The Dance Off for good.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Alexis Daria\u2019s<\/strong> debut novel is getting a shiny new cover, updated text, and bonus material before being re-released into the world a second time. I have been a fan of Alexis Daria\u2019s for a few years now. She writes tough, feisty, and intelligent heroines, which I appreciate. Gina was all these things, and she was also determined to make her way in the industry without sleeping her way to the top. Stone was the strong silent type, but he also had a sweet and caring side. He protected Gina a lot throughout the book, even when she didn\u2019t want him to. They had great chemistry, and I was rooting for them the entire book. I think my issue is that this feels like a debut novel because the flow and ease I have come to expect from Alexis Daria\u2019s writing was missing, and I think that\u2019s because she hadn\u2019t found it when she wrote this book. There was a heavy focus on the dancing side of the story, and less of a focus on the romantic connection between Gina and Stone. Of course, it got there in the end, but I wish it had started focusing on their emotional connection earlier instead of just their insane physical chemistry.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">If you\u2019re a fan of authors such as <strong>Lucy Parker<\/strong> or <strong>Mia Sosa<\/strong> then I think you wouldn\u2019t regret picking this one up.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Michelle<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3IoDkWs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3E5zVJM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/take-the-lead-alexis-daria\/1126839734?ean=9781250848703\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/take-the-lead-16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Alexis_Daria_Take_the_Lead?id=TXh-EAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29898"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29905,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29898\/revisions\/29905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}