A new series by Shelley Sheppard Gray that is captivating! She immediately draws you into the characters’ lives leaving you feeling you have known them as your personal friends.

After the death of their mother, and a father who has “checked out” emotionally, adult brother, Kurt, brings his younger brother, Sam, from West Virginia to start a new life in Ohio.

Sam is a highly intelligent student on the path to full scholarships for college, but Kurt feels he will have a better chance to receive these by going to school in a larger area. Sam’s teacher/advisor, Emily, takes a special interest in Sam’s education. She meets Kurt and interest is sparked.

Love of family, friends and relationships launch this series into one I can’t wait to read the remaining books.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing in exchange for my honest review. I highly recommend this book to those who like to read clean, contemporary romance.

This was a pretty good book. It had lots of components to it. A brother trying to do what's best for his brother. A dad who doesn't think his kid to get ahead too much. The younger brother (Sam) learns his old school (where he got straight A's) had some gaps in it's education and was struggling to keep up in the new school. The older brother (Kurt) starting to date his teacher. Lots of light drama and learning to deal with new circumstances. A good decent book

Doing the best for family can sometimes lead to unexpected romance in the most unthinkable places. Moving his brother was for his benefit to give him everything he could. And he ends up with so much more

A sweet story set in Bridgeport. We get to know Kurt and Emily as she is about break her #1 rule ... no dating a students’ parent (since he’s an older brother ... does that count?) and Sam and Kayla - two high school students who begin a romance when he moves to town. I loved how we got to see this entire family grow independently as well as a couple in this quaint town of Bridgeport. Kurt and Sam have a lot to learn about their new dynamics while Emily has to learn about opening her heart to trust men again. Kurt starts a poker game in his garage which turns into the “Social Club” and when Emily shows up to crash the “party” I found myself laughing out loud. This was my first book by Gray and it most certainly won’t be my last. I loved the depth of her characters as well as the dynamics of the families. I enjoyed reading this story from all of the characters points of view.

I was gifted an ecopy of this book from NetGalley by Blackstone Publishing for an honest review.

This was my first book by Shelley and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I was given an advanced copy but it had no bearing on my review. The characters jumped off the page and I enjoyed seeing them develop throughout the book. I really liked that I got to see the lives of more than 2 characters, the side characters added so much to this story. I'm a teacher so I could identify with Emily. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series. This was a great read.

Kurt Holland is a good man. He leaves his home, friends and business in West Virginia to move his younger brother, a senior in high school, to Bridgeport, Ohio, giving Sam a good education as well as space from their difficult father. Emily Springer, meanwhile, is a good woman. Sam Holland’s English teacher, she is a caring and compassionate member of the community, a wonderful friend and a woman worthy of Kurt’s many appealing qualities. Also, Sam Holland is a good kid, an excellent student and not one to stand by while his crush, Kayla Everett (another good kid) is victimized with a little light invasion of privacy. All these good people live in a good, if unmapped, town and it is all very, very good, because sometimes all you want is to be able to cheer for uncomplicatedly nice people who deserve to be happy. And that is exactly what this book gives us all. – Clara Shipman

This review appears in Romantic Intentions Quarterly #2, out July 3

I'm not too sure what to think about this book. There are so many things that honestly, if it happened in real life, would be handled A LOT differently than what they were in the book.

Putting those situations aside, I have to admit that I still had a hard time connecting with the characters. I'm not a fan of multiple POV's and this book has 4 of them. Some parts were cute and others had me rolling my eyes.

And for those that know me, know that one of the things I absolutely HATE is when a book just ends... which is what happened here. One minute the brother's are having a heart to heart and then I blink and all the sudden there's a preview for book 2. I had to stop reading and go back thinking I had missed a couple of pages of the book but I didn't. It. Just. Ended.

This book just wasn't for me. I don't think I'll be reading the rest of this series.

Content: Moderate swearing throughout the book. Mild innuendo. Mild violence.

This is my first time reading a book written by Shelley Shepard Gray so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was an excellent story about characters who felt real and seemed to have real problems and real emotions. The characters and setting are absolutely charming and I especially enjoyed Sam and Kayla's connection. The poker tips were also a nice touch. I will definitely be checking out the next book in the Bridgeport Social Club..

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

This was a beautiful heartwarming story that flowed so nicely. It was a fun and easy read and I really enjoyed it. The characters were so great and likable.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this story of two brothers who uproot their lives to give San, the younger one, a better chance for success in life. It is the story of their relationship as well as the growing relationship between Kurt, the older brother, and Emily, Sam's English teacher and advisor. It is also the story of young love between Sam and Kayla. Through it all, they learn more about themselves, each other, and the need to be true to themselves. A heartwarming story.

This was the first time reading from this author and I enjoyed this book a lot. I can't wait till her next book comes out. Emily is a teacher and has a rule about no dating students parents. Enter Kurt, one of her students older brother. He isn't a parent so there shouldn't be a problem? Right? Kurt and his younger brother Sam are more a like than they think. Situations come up that they handle about the same ways...will Emily get hurt my these brothers? The only thing I didn't like was it seemed like the book ended super abrupt and I needed more! I hope that the next book can pick up where it left off and continue to see these characters.

Kurt Holland (age 31) wants a better life for his younger brother, Sam (age 17). Kurt and Sam's father is dealing with depression after losing his wife to cancer and being laid off from his job. Sam scores amazingly high on standardized test scores and longs to attend college on a full-ride scholarship, but Kurt knows Sam's high school isn't equipped to prepare Sam for college. Kurt and Sam move to a new community where Kurt begins his own business and where Sam attends a college-prep high school. Kurt and Sam navigate life and relationships as they become involved in their new community and school. The book is a great read on life and relationships - both romance and friendship-based.

If "Take a Chance" is any indication of what the entire Bridgeport series is going to be like, it will be well worth your time to read every book. Shelley Shepard Gray portrayed two different love stories in a very innocent, but engaging, way. The brother story line was also endearing. The ending could have had more closure but, overall, it was an enjoyable, quick Summer read.

I love this author’s books and was delightful when I received this book. I have only read Amish books by Ms. Gray in the past but found the same caliber of writing in this book. Loved the plot and well developed characters. I highly recommend this book.

Loved the plot of this story, and the relationship between brothers Kurt & Sam. The author introduced a lot of additional characters, which suggests this will be a series. I’d definitely ready the next installment.

I have read all of Shelley Shepard Gray's Amish books and all of her western series which are in the Christian category. When I saw Take a Chance the first book in the Bridgeport Social Club series on Netgalley I knew I wanted to read it because of the author. It was not listed in the Christian category and the reason was the book had quite a bit of profanity in it by the main male hero in the story. The heroine did not curse any. Normally I would give this book a four star rating but because of the profanity I will have to ding it and give the rating a 3 star. I was at least happy that the hero did not take God's name in vain or use the F word.

This story involved two love stories. There is recently moved to town landscaper Kurt Holland and school teacher Emily Springer. Also there is the story of Kurt's teen brother Sam and his girlfriend Kayla. I really like Sam and Kayla's story. I love how he stood up for her and protected her when some bullies tooks some pictures of her in the locker room and spread them all over the school. I loved how she was able to cry on his shoulder.

I really enjoyed this story but would have enjoyed it better had it not been for the cussing that was not necessary in this story. Thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishers for allowing me to read the digital copy of this book. The opinions are my own and I was not compensated at all. This book will be released September 18, 2018.

This is a well told story about how far a big brother will go to help his younger brother. Thank you #NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

Take a Chance by Shelley Sheppard Gray. Blackstone. Sept 18
Kurt coming to high school for his brother Sam,two months here and still didn’t feel welcome. An incident, which he didn’t start, still gave him a day suspension. Emily didn’t like the results, and wanted to be there for him, he was someone who made teachers glad to him in a class. Things are tense between them, he hovers too much over Sam, but doesn’t want him to miss getting a scholarship for college. Old memories of his, don’t get involved with a girl and have her dump you, by saying you won’t amount to anything. This story was different then other books I have read by her and especially young readers will find a lot of meaningful insight here. Having friends, and doing things together, those that watch out for you and want you to be a success and happy in life. The plot flowed, and easy, enjoyable read.
Given ARC by Net Galley and Blackstone for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.

Such a beautiful story about the depths you'll go for your family and yourself. That it's okay to be who you are and don't compromise on your values.

This appears to be a new series and its one I liked a lot and I cannot wait for more. It features three main characters and we actually get in their head with this story.
Kurt, main lead and brother to Sam
Sam, very intelligent, teenager who is in like/lust with Kayla and his brother is Kurt and teacher is
Emily, the other lead and this is her romance with Kurt, she has lived in the small town her entire life and while she cant date a dad at the school, brothers are okay

This was a fun story, it features a poker club that Kurt forms in his new town and its a great premise for the series. That is the Social Club.

There are two romances here Kayle/Sam and Kurt/Emily. I loved reading both and I loved all the characters in the story.