Rachel Reid does not miss. The way in which I screamed when I got this ARC.

The Shots You Take is what happens when you start the book off with the third act breakup, let it simmer for over a decade and then bring it to a boil. The result? DELICIOUSNESS. This is a love story between two people who truly hurt each other and are given proper time to come to the terms with both the hurt they've felt and the hurt they've caused. There is nothing easy about the resolution. They are forced to build back trust, friendship and eventually love out of the ashes of the dumpster fire that was their first attempt. They both make selfish and hurtful decisions, but neither of them are bad people. It's messy, it's hard, but the end result is all the more beautiful for how real everything felt.

If you're someone who gets frustrated by quick and easy resolutions to third act breakups this is the book you've been dreaming of. Yes, it's very heavy at times, but there is also banter, playfulness and true romance.

This is not a novel about perfect book boyfriends. This is a novel about two men perfect (after a lot of work and self-reflection) for each other.

Pros:
Love in your 40s!
Mental health rep!
Coming out later in life rep!
A cute dog!

Cons:
None. Read it.
Okay, fine. There is a (past) cheating storyline so heads up.

CW: parental death

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars

Rachel Reid has such a gift for writing beautiful, queer love stories, and The Shots You Take was another example of her skill when it comes to this genre.

The book follows Adam and Riley, former teammates and "friends-with-benefits" (but only when drunk), who haven't spoken in over ten years, after their friendship imploded. Most of the book takes place in the present, but many flashbacks help to give context to the beginning of their friendship and what went wrong all those years ago.

Seeing a relationship with older characters, in their 40s, made this book even more special. They had both lived complex lives, matured, and had the experience and growth that was necessary to give their relationship a real chance.

I also have to mention that I adored the Nova Scotian setting, it was beautifully written and full of details, down to conversations about fish chowder, that made me feel like I was there!

This story was full of heartache and obstacles, but it was all worth it in the end. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harlequin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much! This was one of the most accurate representations I have ever read about grief. It felt very real and for me healing to read. Plus some beautiful romance as well!

I really enjoyed this one. I often find that second chance romances are difficult to get right, but I loved that this was set so far in the future after they're initial relationship. I always love seeing queer stories with older characters (not that early 40s is old, in the grand scheme of things). I also loved how Adam had to prove to Riley that he was worth a second chance.

The characters aren't as funny/cheeky as the couples in books like Time to Shine and the Love Game, but the characters are still very loveable, and the angst hits hard (and I do love some good angst).

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. 5 stars and 4 chili peppers for spice. Another amazing book by Rachel Reid!!! I loved Riley and Adam! I really how they were both fighting personal battles and actively working to better themselves. These character were real and relatable. You just wanted them to end up with each other so bad. Glad they both got their HEA together.

What a beautiful story on love and loss. The characters of Adam and Riley were so well written: they were profoundly complex and felt like real people who had been through a lot together. I loved Adam’s progression of getting to know himself and becoming comfortable with who he truly is. I loved how Riley knew who he was and accepted himself, but he was still that insecure twenty-something sometimes. I thought this was a really well-done second-chance romance. It went so much further than just miscommunication, which you often see with this trope, and I really enjoyed and appreciated that. I thought this book took great care of the grief and handled that with such love and light. Adam and Riley are such a beautiful couple and this was such a beautiful book.

I genuinely think this might be my new favorite book by Rachel Reid. Two retired hockey players, former best friends (with benefits?)— reunite later in life after the death of one of their fathers. A small town in Nova Scotia becomes the perfect backdrop for these men to catch up on lost time and come to terms with their feelings for each other. “The Shots You Take” is a stunning story of grief, love, heartache, and second chances. I absolutely loved this one and I can’t wait to have a physical copy.
Absolutely beautiful

I was curious how a second M/M hockey romance could differ enough from Time to Shine to stand out. This is an excellent romance, but the hockey is less important. It's still very present, but both characters are retired. While their second-chance storyline is based on their history as roommates, teammates, and a one-sided romantic desire, fewer scenes, historical or contemporary, take place on the ice or in training. Readers who don't know anything about hockey don't have anything to worry about: the sport is just the setting, you don't need to know the terminology or mechanics of the game.

This book is heartbreaking-- it actually had me tearing up throughout! If you're a reader who likes to occasionally have a good cry, put this on your shelf for the next time you need something to help you start.

Since both characters are retired, this story follows older protagonists ("older" being early 40s, but hey, if you're tired of New Adult problem arcs, this is a lovely change of pace).

Recommended for all contemporary romance readers. eARC from NetGalley.

4.25 stars, 3 peppers. Thanks so much NetGalley for approving me for this ARC.

This was a great read! The Shots You Take was my first book ever by Rachel Reid, and based on the premise and cover I decided to take my own shot. For all you romance lovers, this book doesn't disappoint with its dizzyingly maddening slow burn and the tense second chance romance. This story follows former hockey teammates (MMC Riley and MMC Adam) who have reconnected after 12 years of being apart.

TSYT deals with some heavier themes (death, depression, sobriety, coming out), but it also had so many cute and genuinely funny moments. I think Rachel Reid's sense of humor is delightful and it really shines through with some of the banter we get to see between the MMCs.

I feel like one of my biggest and truest gripes was with the MMC Adam who honestly was kind of awful (back then!!! We love him now, but seriously DON'T do that again, Adam).

Riley and Adam's story has a lot of heartache from their past and obstacles they now face in their present...but will it all be worth it for the promise of their future??? Who knows??? ME I DO I JUST FINISHED THIS BOOK AND IT WAS GREAT.

This was a cute hockey romance about former NHL players. Riley had quit hockey some time ago and is back home helping to run a sports equipment store. Adam is recently retired and a big hockey hero. The two had a friends with benefits arrangement when they were teammates but that ended when Adam married a woman and the two lost touch. The two reconnect at Riley's dad's funeral. Adam is now divorced and out to his family. He regrets pushing Riley away so many years ago and realizes he has always loved Riley but was just not ready. This is a cute second chance romance and it's easy to fall in love with both Riley and Adam and their very different journeys.

Basically, when I got this ARC, everything else was immediately pushed to the side so that I could prioritize reading it. I have absolutely no regrets. This was sad and sweet and angsty and lovely. It is a wonderful book that I devoured and enjoyed during a not-so-wonderful time.

Overall, this felt like both a new direction for Reid and a fresh take on a second-chance romance. Much of the story takes place in the present, but intermittent flashbacks help fill in the back story instead of the main characters having to rehash everything. I loved the mature ages of the main characters and how much personal growth they each had to do before their HEA was even possible. All of Reid's books critique the toxicity of hockey culture, and I feel that this book was the most successful in demonstrating exactly what the sport had taken from these men and how much it had cost them mentally and physically.

Even though the themes explored are heavy, this is still a lovely hockey romance set in a small town on the Canadian coast. What more could you want to curl up with on a gloomy day? Can't recommend this one enough!

This book switches back and forth between two time periods, when Adam Sheppard and Riley Tuck were best friends playing hockey together and winning the stanley cup (when their relationship comes to a devastating end) and several years later after they are both retired from the league. This book is about grief, and mental health, second chances, and the struggle that many have in accepting their own queer identity.

I should say that I'm a huge fan of Rachel Reid but that until now, none of her books inspired me to be anywhere close as obsessed as I am to Heated Rivalry and The Long Game. So, you should know that when I say I may already love Adam and Riles almost as much as I love Shane and Ilya, its a really big deal. :)

I would 100% recommend this book to everyone.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harlequin/Carina Adores for this amazing eARC!

Rachel Reid is an expert in writing moving MM romances, and The Shots You Take is no exception. This is the least sports-heavy of her oeuvre, but hockey still plays a central role, as we follow two retired NHL stars into their early forties. Adam and Riley first met as a D-pair fresh out of the draft and quickly became inseparable. We get to see some of their early moments through flashback chapters that peter out halfway through. The two men form a "no homo" friends-with-benefits arrangement until Riley admits he caught feelings, causing him to flee to another team and shun Adam for more than a decade. That brings us to the opening of the book where Riley is at his father's funeral and Adam shows up in support and the two slowly start to unearth past secrets. Both men have grown tremendously in their time apart, making things almost too easy in the present as the two naturally fall back together. There is deep feelings of nostalgia and grief throughout the story, and it's clear how deeply Reid loves these characters, hockey, and Nova Scotia. The ending was a little abrupt, but the lengthy epilogue made up for that. Anyone who enjoyed Reid's previous works will undoubtedly love this one as well.

I know that there is a wide world of Hockey Romance Novels, for every pairing and every trope and every spice rating you could ask for. Very few of them are poignant portraits of grief and regret.

This book is about two former NHL teammates finding their way back to each other after the devastating implosion of their friendship more than a decade before. Riley was in love with Adam; Adam was afraid to be in love with Riley. Everybody got hurt.

On page 13(!) I texted a friend that I was already crying. I immediately cared so much about these fractured men and how they were going to do the hard work of reassembling themselves and each other. I typically do not choose second-chance romances because they are flimsy and unearned. Riley and Adam *worked* their way back to each other. It was painful, and I cringed, and I read the next sentences with great trepidation, as unsure as Adam as to how Riley would react. I tell you, Rachel Reid does not miss.

You know they live happily ever after because that’s a requirement of the genre; you will be so delighted to watch them get there. They deserve it. And it’s not all sad and angsty! I laughed so hard!

In addition to grief, there are a lot of factors in Riley and Adam’s lives that might hit close to home for you. Always check the content warnings.

I was hashtag blessed to get an advance copy of this ebook via NetGalley, so many thanks to whoever decided to accept my request. 🤣 By the time this book is released on March 3, 2025, how many times do you think I’ll have re-read it? (So far, three times since receiving it two weeks ago. 🤷‍♀️) I’ll buddy read it with you next spring, regardless.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh okay that’s all o really have to be honest. It was so fun and so good it was such a great time!!!

This is a wonderful new slow burn from Rachel Reid that will tear you to pieces and put you back together! I knew just a few pages in that this book would destroy me... and I had cried multiple times before even making it 10% through. Hopefully that tells you what you need to know!

Hockey players Adam and Riley had a friends-with-benefits relationship during several of their years as teammates, before being driven apart. Years later, a tragedy in Riley's life prompts Adam to seek out his old friend. But can they overcome everything that's happened in their past to get to something even better?

Those of you who have read Heated RIvalry and The Long Game know that Rachel Reid is skilled at writing across multiple timelines, and that also comes through in this story. While the present-day storyline is Adam and Riley in their 40's, we're also getting plenty of flashbacks to their younger days and why they turned out the way they did.

It's a bit hard on the heart to read how Adam treats RIley in some of their earlier interactions. He really doesn't understand how much hurt he's causing. But he's also going through a confusing time himself. Seeing the two of them as adults who are more sure of themselves and know what they want and can communicate is very cathartic and creates some wonderfully poignant moments! (Also Lucky is a star)

Parts I loved:
-- Lucky
-- Riley standing up for himself
-- The cinnamon buns and the chowder
-- Riley's friends
-- Adam's blunt children
-- The caretaking
-- Riley's love of antiquing
-- The silk robes

I found myself wishing the second half of the book were longer! We definitely get that HEA, but I would have loved to have seen more of the relationship development. Honestly, however long Rachel wanted to make a book, I'd read it. Definitely one to pick up!

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley.

I wish more books were like this. Chemistry was phenomenal.

Riley + Adam

-mm romance
-retired hockey players
-second chance
-small town
-gay awakening

man this was a rough ride for these two & it was devastating for both of them! but they made it out & it made me so happy for them!

Rachel Reid is an instant-buy for me. This new standalone release was lovely. Yes there was angst but the way it was handled and the caring look at mental health struggles and finding comfort in your life was so well done. There's also a thoughtful look into grief and how you continue on when the loss is so huge. I'm usually not a fan of the second chance trope but this one made sense. And tons of groveling lol. And there's a soup scene! Love that micro-trope
Crying over a snail shell!
Hurt/comfort
Good soup
Groveling
Mental health rep
Small town
Hockey
M/M

Adam Sheppard and Riley Tuck were once best friends with benefits, and first line D on the same hockey team. But on the night of their Stanley Cup victory, their relationship was irrevocably changed. Within a few days, Riley had requested a trade to a rival team and left without a word.

In present day, almost 14 years later, the funeral of Riley’s beloved dad Harvey brings Adam to Riley’s hometown of Avery River.

I am a massive Rachel Reid fan. I remember when I first picked up Heated Rivalry in my bookstore, expecting a simple sports romcom, receiving awesome spice content, but also a nuanced story of mental health, depression, and familial pressure. In my opinion, The Shots You Take is even better. We watch Riley struggle through the recency of grief, a history of heartbreak and mental health issues. Adam, while having been able to retire on his own terms, has to deal with a lack of support system, fear of coming out and fear of the depth of his own feelings. I generally do not love second chance romances but this one delivered with emotional depth, fun banter, plenty of swoon worthy chemistry, and also a CUTE DOG. I loved the cozy town of Avery River and it’s plentiful supply of cinnamon rolls. This novel is a character journey (for both Riley and Adam) that feels genuine and honest.

* Miscommunication
* Second chance romance
* Slow burn
* Retired hockey players

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harlequin/Carina Adores for this amazing eARC! I absolutely adored it and would definitely recommend!