I thought this book was great. New to me author, not a new to me subject. At least the judaism part. I grew up in an orthodox school, household, and really related to that aspect of this book. This story is not an easy one to read. Addiction, shame, being disowned by your family, there are some heavy topics here.

It's written in such a way that you can't put it down, you want to know what happens to Ely and Wyatt. I think there are some deep dives that might not have enough explanation, for instance, some words used to describe the jewish aspects of this story, if you're not familiar with them, you're going to want to look them up, as explanations aren't given. I was familiar, so it worked for me, but I feel like that could be a frustrating distraction for some.

I almost put this book down on the third page. Ely has just landed at LaGuardia airport and her bags are missing. She's waiting so long for her bags that the next flight comes in, and it's from Berlin. Nope. Not at LGA it isn't and I almost stopped right there. I am so glad I didn't. There are story lines in this book that I've never read before, and I am glad I can't say that anymore.

"A Shot in the Dark" is the kind of romance novel I am always excited to discover—one in which the main characters have some past trauma to deal with before they can reach their HEA. I like protagonists who have some rough edges and have had to go through some stuff in their lives. It just makes the ultimate destination even sweeter.

Ely Cohen definitely has a complicated past; raised in a close-knit Orthodox Jewish community in New York, her drug addiction and the way she betrayed her family in order to feed it caused her to cut ties and move to California. A few years later, Ely is sober and hoping to build a career as a photographer. She is accepted into a prestigious program in New York, and while she feels some trepidation about returning to her former home, the opportunity is too good to pass up.

Out for a night on the town with her new roommates, Ely meets and hooks up with an attractive man—who turns out to be one of her professors. Wyatt is appalled when he finds out that he's just had sex with one of his students, seeing it as an abuse of power. While at first it seemed like their one-night stand would turn into something more, their intimate relationship comes to an abrupt halt. However, Wyatt and Ely can't stay away from each other; they are so mutually supportive in a moving, beautiful way.

Like Ely, Wyatt is in recovery; he's been sober for 10 years. His father threw him out of the house when he came out as trans, which caused him to spiral into addiction. Everything in this book is just so sensitively handled—Wyatt's gender identity, Ely's desire to find a way to reconnect with Judaism, their shared sobriety and how they both have to work to maintain it. On the lighter side, I appreciated the fact that one of the barriers that stands in the way of Wyatt and Ely getting together is the fact that she lives in Queens while he's in Brooklyn. Nothing says "true love" like being willing to take 3 different trains, or a very expensive Uber ride, to get together with somebody!

I don't even know where to start.

A Lesson in Vengeance was my favourite read of 2021 and solidified both itself, as well as Victoria Lee, in my favourites list beyond just that very year. I fell in love with how they wrote, and knew as soon as I saw this book that I needed to read it and see if it was a fluke or if they just captured characters and narratives in a way that pulled me in.

I'm happy to report that it wasn't a fluke in any way, I devoured this book.

It wasn't an easy read, addiction and religion were almost their own characters in this story rather than things we got to see Ely and Wyatt struggle with, but I couldn't stop reading once I started. I was reading on the train, at a little cafe on my lunch break, and curled up in my chair until I got to the conclusion, and got to see how it all got tied together.

The book was devastating, but it was beautiful and parts felt like they were going to stick around, haunting crevices of my brain for as long as their story lingers in my mind.

The romance, while I expected it to play a bigger part, felt just right to contrast what the real narrative was trying to say. Any more and any faster and it wouldn't have been right for them. Any less and it would have been a waste of a beautiful journey for them.

I adored this book, and I mean it when I say I can't wait to see what they do next.

A SHOT IN THE DARK by victoria lee was an absolute marvel. the exploration of ely & wyatt’s characters—their addiction, their pasts, and their journeys finding where they belong within their family & the world—was just as well-written as their love story. ♡

4 stars

Both parts literary fiction and romance, A Shot in the Dark is a deeply poignant love story that examines the intersection of religion, addiction, and love amidst the photography scene of New York.

Both of our protagonists, Wyatt and Ely, are recovering addicts who have found solace in their work after having been kicked out of their homes (Wyatt for being trans and Ely for violating the strict rules of her Orthodox Jewish community). Lee does a wonderful job of demonstrating that while this pair clearly has explosive sexual chemistry, their shared trauma is a double-edged sword that bonds them emotionally while also providing an immense hurdle to jump over. There are very few easy answers to the problems being presented in this novel and Lee never forces you to take sides as the characters grapple with their past, present, and future.

While I really enjoyed the exploration of these moral questions and the examination of forgiveness throughout, I did find that the book was a bit overstuffed in terms of characters and plots to the point where certain emotional moments didn't always feel earned. I could have done with a few things getting cut so that the rest of the novel could have had a little more room to breathe. However, I still found myself immersed in and moved by this story despite a few gripes with the execution.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

This book is everything I always hope! I’m really in love with the characters and the writing. It’s a story so cute and so sharp at the same time! It’s a caress and a punch in your stomach! I love everything about it, I want to read again and again and again!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the Arc!

This book was exactly right for me. I love a romance that puts my through it and makes me feel all my feelings. Such a heavy but great book!

It always feels like a gamble to me, to pick up a book from an author you love. What if they don’t live up to that initial book? What if this new genre doesn’t work for them?
Reader, I’m beginning to suspect that Victoria Lee can write whatever the hell they want to and it’ll be a banger every time.
A Shot in the Dark is a contemporary romance story between two queer, recovering addicts set in NYC. Ely is ex-Orthodox, having been kicked out of her family for her addiction and since having complicated feelings of her Judaism, but back in New York to attend a prestigious photography summer program. She meets a hot trans man in a club her first night back, but the next day she realizes that the guy she had amazing sex with is actually, Wyatt, a famous photographer and her professor. The book follows the two of them trying to balance professionalism and the chemistry between them.
Lee, as always, excels with their characters. Ely truly steals the show here. Her journey with finding her feet again after so many years adrift and especially her religious arc had me near tears. I wanted a little more from Wyatt, but I still loved him and his journey (and his introduction scene? Woof!). And the side characters! They were all so good!
I rated this book 3.75 stars! Wyatt and Ely’s love story is a little heavier than perhaps your “standard” romance, but there are more than enough sweet scenes to balance everything out. I’m really pleased with this book and I hope Lee writes more romance in the future!

A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee is an academic romance that addresses multiple deep topics in a balanced and effective way. Ely is our main character who has gone through a lot to be where she is. She has been sober for four years after some traumatic events in her past sent her on four years of partying and suffering on the west coast. She discovered photography during that time and has returned to New York to begin her art school dream. There she has a one night stand with a man whom she can't stop thinking about, only to find out that he's her professor, the man she has traveled across the country to study under.
Despite the premise of this book and its promise of forbidden romance and student/teacher romance, this book ended up being a lot more than that. Usually those are tropes that make me run far far away from a book, but I did power through, knowing that deeper themes were at play.
This book does deliver, and not just on the romance. There's a lot of discussion about sobriety and what that means for a person and the struggles that lead one to use. There are critiques of religion as well and how fundamentalism is not a good pairing with it, but also how they can exist separately. I definitely want to talk more about these, but want to keep this review spoiler free.
If any of these parts appeal to you, I recommend that you check this book out!

Eally is excited and nervous about going back to New York she’s going to go to school and her professor is Wyatt Cole a man whose work she admires. Her pictures are her voice and even through her years of addiction and after leaving her orthodox religion, she took pictures but now she is clean and ready to focus on what’s important. She is so excited when she meets her two roommates and instantly feels a connection that night they go out to a club and she meets a handsome guy at first she is confused because the club they are at is not one you would find such a handsome straight guy in but once he explains with the southern twang she totally understands and is in love. The night they spend at a luxury hotel is one of the best nights of her life and when she wakes up and finds a note from the guy whose name she never did catch she is excited but must rush because she will be late for her first class. When Wyatt Cole walks in the classroom Eally is floored it’s her handsome one night stand. After the class is over he asked her to stay and then tells her he cannot possibly be her teacher or any position of power due to their recent history she feels devastated because she came all the way to New York just to be taught by him it due to no fault of her own it may be over before it begins he offers her a compromise and although it’s not what she wanted she takes it because something is always better than nothing right? Are usually I’m not a big fan of Artist or books about Artist but I loved these two and loved how they really got to know each other the good the bad and the ugly I loved Wyatts character and Eally’s. The topics the book touches on or important ones such as allowing women to walk whatever path they choose whether you agree with it or not because how can you expect freedom when you’re not willing to give it I love how they both find acceptance I just love love love this book and if you love real love you will love it as well. This book has some of the most lovable characters I’ve ever found in a book I absolutely would definitely read a book about her roommates I just love this whole slice of New York heaven. Don’t get me wrong they had hard hitting topics in the book but it will leave you with such a wonderful feeling. This is definitely a five star read only because I cannot give it any more than that. I want to thank random house and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Ely has returned to Brooklyn after leaving her family and then getting sober. She has burned bridges with her family but is determined to succeed in her new art program. She is surprised to find out her professor is the man she had a one night stand with once she moved.

This was my first of Victoria Lee’s books and I’m very glad I tried it. It was a romance but has some additional tropes that really interested me: addiction recovery, lgbtqia romance, and religious identity. I enjoyed the information about the Orthodox Jewish community and Ely’s cognitive dissonance after leaving. The parallels between this and Wyatt’s conflict with his family well very well done.

“I wonder what it’s like to exist in the world as someone who didn’t ruin their life when they were eighteen.”

A Shot in the Dark comes out 9/5.

This one was REAL good. The story felt extremely immersive -- I'm not an artist nor an art lover by any means, but the way art was portrayed in this story drew me in from the first chapter. Both characters were so gritty and I was rooting for them so hard, both as a couple and as individuals. Addiction is such an evil disease, and it takes so much strength to be in recovery, and I thought the other captured this with exceptional detail and care. Read the TW beforehand, but otherwise, give this one a read!!

Ely and Wyatt are both recovering addicts and theirs is an unusual love story. She left her Orthodox community to get clean and she's come back to NY to study photography with Wyatt, who as it turns out, she unknowingly hooks up with the night before class starts. Wyatt is trans and he's still coping with the fact that he lost his job and his family when he came out. This is one of those love stories where nothing happens and everything happens. It's a bit slow in spots but it's got a huge heart. And, it's good to see a novel that represents. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This book did nothing for me. It was very corny and lackluster. The synopsis was much more interesting than the actual novel. I also think the author didn't handle the transgender character with care. Felt very forced and undeveloped. The love story was silly and rushed. Such a paper-thin plot. Forgettable fluff.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨⬜
Title: A Shot in the Dark
Author: Victoria Lee
Genre: LGBTQIA+ Romance
Setting: New York, New York
Month Read: August 2023
Book Type: E-Arc
Publication: September 2023
Publisher: Dell
Pages: 320
*Thank you to Netgalley and Dell for the E-Arc, this in no way influences my review, which is completely my own.


TRIGGER WARNING-
Addiction / OD / Homophobia / Transphobia / Drug & Alcohol Use / Sex / Religion / Family Desertion


Review:
I really loved the cover of this book on Netgalley, and was so hyped when I scored an ARC of this. Not my typical romance book, this featured an Ex-Orthodox Jewish woman and a trans man as the leads! I've been trying to read more books that go across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, and thought the sex scenes in this (in particular) were really well written and respectful. The love story, which could have been gross (professor/student, but not really???) but was actually really well-done and handled in a way that isn't gross at all. It did help that Ely was not a teenager, though I don't know how old she actually was except old enough to drink at a bar but I'm assuming a little older than 21? It also helped that Wyatt was 32 and not like 50.

I don't know much about any religion, I'm not religious at all- but learning about different forms of Judaism through Ely's project was really cool. I thought that the traditions and holidays seemed really beautiful, and I liked how Victoria also weaved in Ely's past (and familial trauma) into her art. I do think Wyatt telling her that art can be painful, and it's about what you do with that pain was super real, and I'm glad it forced her to face some of the burdens she had been carrying with her, all while reconnecting with her faith (or lackthereof) and starting new.

I don't like reading about addition, it gives me a ton of anxiety and really stresses me out, but this book handled it all with such car, and I feel like even the missteps seemed so real and true. Wyatt has a lot of really beautiful insight and I am glad no one was a perfect recovering addict. I would be careful if you struggle with addiction (drugs or alcohol) as this book does not tiptoe around descriptions of both. There is a scene with an overdose as well, so just be aware.

I do think part of this book were boring, and wish the pacing were a bit more sped up in the beginning/middle section. I loved the beginning and loved the past like 1/3 of the book, but I felt there was too much back and forth with Wyatt and Ely, and also that we spent too much time with Ely being sort of all over the place. Definite parts of the book I think could have been edited and taken out, and maybe add in more of Wyatt's backstory. I would have loved to see more about his transition, specifically. Overall I liked it, and can't wait to see what Victoria Lee does next. I'm also interested in reading their other books, even though they're a completely different genre! Have you read anything else by them? Let me know!

This was soooooooo good, student x teacher romances will always be loved by me. I know he isn't her teacher after the first day but it still counts. Wyatt and Ely have such good chemistry and it was so funny watching them become friends while trying to hide that they want to be together. They did stuff together all the time and were basically dating but didn't want to actually give in to it. They are so cute and I want more content of the two of them.

TW: both characters are recovering addicts and the book talks about it in detail multiple times

I received an arc through netgalley.

DNF @52%

The character's feel underdeveloped and hard to connect to and the story feels emotionless and detached.

This is a really wonderful story. It is the emotional journey of two people to finding inner peace. Ely is a young lady who is a recovering addict returning to where the worst of her addictions took place. Wyatt is a transgender man and a recovering addict attempting to live a great life. The story is told from the point of view of both characters as they explore the events in their past that have brought them to where they are. Their relationship is tested throughout the story and is cemented and strengthened in the the end. The author really has created beautiful and realistic characters that I believe readers will identify with.

Something about the synopsis made me think I might not like this. I was so wrong. About 80% through, there were so many open threads that I didn't know how the author was going to land it. I shouldn't have worried, it wrapped up gracefully, but with room for the characters to keep living after this book.

So many things are done well—the characters, the place, the pacing, the way the backstory is integrated—but I'll especially call out the way the traditions of Shabbos work in the story. Constant explanation of the Hebrew terms would have killed the momentum, so there is precisely enough explanation, context, and care with them. I have slight familiarity with them, enough to get the humor in "We'd be happy to have you tonight, even if you spend the whole evening turning light switches on and off."

This is a wonderful book. Read it.

This one just wasn't for me. I tried more than once, but had trouble staying engaged in the story, both on audio and on kindle. Thank you so much for letting me try. (beautiful cover!)