Toe to Toe by. Falon Ballard | ARC Review – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Toe to Toe

Author: Falon Ballard

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 3/10/26

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Ballet and Dance, Sports Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

It takes two to tango.

Allegra Hart has been working her whole life to achieve one goal: become a principal ballerina. When her director starts holding auditions for the lead role in the company’s latest production, Allegra sees this as her chance—maybe her last chance.

The catch? The director wants someone with sex appeal, and he doesn’t think she’s up to the task. Determined to prove him wrong, Allegra enlists the help of the lead dancer of an all-male revue, Cord Donovan, a classically trained dancer who is also the sexiest man she’s ever met. In exchange for lessons on how to ramp up her sex appeal, she promises to help Cord choreograph a new partner piece for his show.

As they practice their moves on and off the stage, Allegra and Cord find themselves battling a growing attraction, all the more illicit because Cord has sworn to never partner with a ballerina. Allegra is determined not to let a man derail her career, but what if she could have both love and success? Or will her involvement with Cord jeopardize everything she’s worked for?

Content Warning: sexual harassment, mental health

+ This book has Center Stage x Magic Mike vibes which I thought was really fun. Allegra is a ballerina who is trying so hard to become a principal dancer in her company – but the next show calls for a leading lady who is sexy and her technique is perfect but the director doesn’t feel she has sex appeal. When she sees Cord Donovan dance in a male-revue show, she knows what she has to do – ask him for help so she can learn how to be sexy.

+ I loved the whole ballerina falling for a male-revue dancer. Now, Cord is not a stripper – he has a whole male revue show that includes handsome men removing some of their clothing and doing lap dances but it’s all about dance too. Cord has a history with ballet he doesn’t want to ever remember again, but Allegra being a ballerina makes him face his conflicting feelings about ballet. I loved everything about the dances in both genres, and how Allegra finally learns to appreciate herself and her body. The story does touch on issues that people in the dance world deal with like eating habits, discipline, drive, pushing their bodies, being treated abusively by the director of a company, and sexual harassment.

+ The romance was full of chemistry between Cord and Allegra. We have two dancers doing different kinds of dance and Cord pushes Allegra in many ways to help her be sexy so there are some very tense moments between them and some spicy ones too but I was surprised how there wasn’t more spice – but I think the dances and training between them was the teasing and foreplay.

~ The conflict between Allegra and Cord was tough. Cord cannot support ballet because of what he and his sister went through when they were younger in the world of ballet. He saw the sexual harassment and knew how toxic the ballet world could be – he even sees it in Allegra who is very focused on getting the role and being principal. I could totally understand why he didn’t support ballet. But I could also understand Allegra who worked all her life since she was 3 years old and gave her life to this career path. She had to choose between Cord and ballet, because he wouldn’t support ballet. I just wanted her to do something about the sexual harassment she was receiving from her director though – but that’s just me, I know realistically many people don’t report it because they are afraid of repercussions with their job, so I had to let it go, and wish the best for her.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed this one, I just didn’t enjoy how Allegra couldn’t do much about the sexual harassment she was enduring to get the role of her life. But outside of that, I love the Center Stage x Magic Mike vibes, since I’m a big fan of Center Stage and I could see the different elements from the movie. I love the chemistry and tension between Cord and Allegra from start to finish and I was rooting hard for their happily ever after. They had to work through some things but eventually get there.