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My Review:Title: Dance with Me
Author: Alexis Daria
Series: Dance Off,
Published by: Swerve
Release Date: December 12th 2017
Format: eARC
Genres: Contemporary
Source: NetGalley
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My rating:
Blurb:The second book in Alexis Daria's dancing duology finds one playboy charmer falling for his new roommate.
Natasha Díaz is having a day. She’s trying to prove she can make it as a professional dancer, but she’s overworked, out of cash, and her roommate has just moved out. When she comes home to find a hole in her ceiling and her bedroom flooded, she’s desperate enough to crash with the one guy she can’t quit. She accepts his offer with one condition: no sleeping together while she’s living with him.
Dimitri Kovalenko has never lived with a woman before. But when Tasha’s in need of a place to stay, he suggests she move in without a second thought. He accepts her condition, hoping she won’t stick to it. They’re good together, both in the ballroom and the bedroom. Since their first dance, she’s never been far from his thoughts. Sure, she’s a pro and he’s one of her show’s judges, but they’re not currently filming, so no one needs to know.
Living in close quarters shows Dimitri a side of Natasha he’s never seen before, and he likes it. A lot. Too bad she’s doing everything in her power to keep him at arm’s length. When an injury forces Natasha to take it easy or risk her ability to dance, it’s his chance to show her that the rules have changed, and she can trust him with her heart.
I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.
4 stars — Well this was a fun sequel! I loved being back in the Dance Off world and finding out what was happening with Natasha, but the fun thing was that this was a completely different story to the first one! It may have been set in the same world, but it wasn’t during the competition this time. And I found I didn’t mind that, because there was still a lot of great dancing scenes, and still some drama surrounding the show.
Natasha and Dimitri were also very different main characters than Gina and Stone! Like, completely different. But I LOVED the two of them together. They were so very different from each other as well, but they complemented each other well. They were both very damaged from their pasts, and even their damage had both similarities and differences that meshed. It helped them to understand each other when they eventually let down their guards and let the other in. They both had so much growing to do, and they were both so afraid of taking the risk for love, even though they both so desperately sought it out. Their love story was one that had me wanting to bang my head on a wall a lot of times, b/c they were both so slow to trust, and it could get frustrating…but it did make it so that when they finally let each other in, I was cheering for them!
And it wasn’t just about learning to accept love and to give love, it was also about taking risks in their professional lives as well…and finding their passion and following it. I loved that it had that aspect to the story as well.
Dimitri was so freaking adorable. I loved that in this story you were certain of his feelings right from the start. And I LOVED the way he was all in with Natasha, even though he had no idea how to make it work. And he was so oblivious to how he was doing everything wrong, and what she really needed. But I loved how earnest he was, if that makes any sense. Seriously, he made me shake my head so many times, but I still adored him.
I loved Tasha too. I mean, she was frustrating as all get out, but I could understand how she became so damaged, and I could SEE the roadblocks in her way from understanding how she was already a success, and how asking for help wasn’t a failure. That was something I actually loved about Dimitri, how he actually understood the importance of a support network and how he kept trying to get her to reach out to Gina.
The true strength in this book lie in their adorable, if reluctant romance. They were so sexy together, I LOVED the dancing scenes. I loved all those little moments they had together. I LOVED how Dimitri cared for her, even if it wasn’t always what she needed. I LOVED the way they opened up to each other, and let each other in to parts that they hadn’t shown anyone else.
And I LOVED the potential I could see for more stories! I want Lori’s story and Kevin’s story! And is it odd that at the very end, despite Fucking Donna earning her name, I felt a bit bad for her. Like, I almost saw some depth to her, like maybe she wasn’t just stereotypically evil, but had reasons for her meddling. I don’t necessarily want her as a heroine or anything, but I wouldn’t mind seeing her be better, learn or something.
The diversity in this one was fantastic as well — probably b/c the author is latina, so the heroine feels very realistic. And I even appreciated what Dimitri being from Ukraine brought to the story, with an immigrant perspective.
So yeah, another great dance book in the bag! I look forward to more from this world!
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