DANCE WITH ME
Series: Dance Off #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Alexis Daria
Release Date: December 12, 2017
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.
She’s not going to want you because she needs you to make her life good, but because her life is already good and you make it better.
Alexis Daria is a new-to-me author, and after reading and enjoying Dance With Me, she’s definitely one that I would watch out for in the future. Dance With Me is a sexy, character-driven, romance that will tug at your heart.
Natasha is pro dancer in a reality show called Dance Off, and is in an on-and-off again relationship with one of the judges in the show, Dimitri. Tash is stuck in a rut. Not just professionally but also with her non-relationship with Dimitri. Then disaster struck forcing her to spend time with Dimitri in his own turf.
Their arrangement would be temporary, just long enough for Tasha to get back on her feet and find a more permanent place to live until her apartment gets fixed. Complicating matters is the new rule imposed by their production discouraging fraternization among dancers & judges.
I personally love character driven romances, and Dance With Me fits within that category to a tee. I really enjoyed the conflict in this book. Tasha is a very complex and flawed heroine who is adamant on doing it on her own. I loved how Ms. Daria was able to really flesh her character that even though you might not agree with some of her decisions, you still get her because her motivations were explored in the book.
Same goes for Dimitri. His fear of failure and rejection drove him to take Tasha for granted for three years. Wanting her and yet not really pushing for something more permanent with her, which he’s paying for dearly.
The push and pull between them, the asserting and acquiescing, and the physical and metaphorical dance off happening between Dimitri and Tasha are what made this book work for me. It’s fascinating and had me glued to its pages from beginning to end.
I cannot wait to read more from this author, and based on this book alone, she’s going to keep on delivering solid romantic stories with interesting and complex characters.
