If you're a fan of hockey romance, The Good Luck Charm is a must-read! This book combines the perfect mix of sports, romance, and real-life struggles. The story follows Lucy, an artist and tattoo intern, and Jaylen, a black hockey player struggling with his game. Their quirky agreement for Lucy to be his good luck charm leads to sizzling chemistry and a romance that's equal parts adorable and authentic. Both characters are deeply developed, with their own personal traumas and growth throughout the book.

The opposites-attract dynamic between Lucy's "black cat" energy and Jaylen's sweet "golden retriever" vibes is spot-on, and the mental health representation is thoughtfully done. Plus, as a real-life hockey fan, the accurate portrayal of the sport in this book really stood out—it's clear that Dr. Lexi LaFleur Brown knows her stuff. Even if you're not into hockey, this book is accessible, with plenty of heart, tension, and steam to keep you hooked.

While some parts felt a little slow, the romance, relatable issues, and spicy scenes make this a solid, engaging sports romance. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Canary Street Press for the ARC!

I picked this up as Lexi is a great follow and when I heard she was coming out with a book, I was excited for her! I'm not big on "Tiktok" style romances though I do enjoy hockey. I appreciated that Lexi was really accurate in describing the hockey scenes and team culture (it helps when your husband is a former NHL player!)

The relationship between Jaylen and Lucy was really sweet and evolved well over the course of the novel. Lexi's writing got better as well - her voice definitely came through in the characters and there were a few times I laughed out loud at some of the lines. There's lots of great LGBTQ+ and mental health representation in this book as well.

I was so excited when I realized this was available to read on netgalley, as I was following along Lexi’s journey writing a hockey romance on Tiktok. Being that she’s an NHL wag and an ex hockey player herself, I knew she was capable of doing the genre justice!

This book was absolutely adorable and had so many different facets that I loved. Jaylen is so adorable and is such a golden retriever, and I loved everything he would do to impress and win over Lucy. Lucy was a refreshing FMC who was alternative but never once felt “not like other girls”. She was relatable and imperfect and I truly loved that about her character.

I loved the mental health representation, LGBTQIA+ representation, and how it brings attention to the racism that is very present in hockey leagues and hockey spaces.

For this being Lexi’s first book, I think she did a really great job, and I’m really looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.

3.5/5

This was a fun little romance that I sped through really quickly!

These characters are opposites attract, one is a hockey player and the other is a tattoo apprentice. And I always love a good opposites attract. I really enjoyed how Lucy, our FMC, takes no poop from anybody and Jaylen, our MMC, was just such a softie for her.

I do wish that there was a bit more depth to the characters and the story. I found it to be just a tad flat, they feel super real and fully flushed-out to me.

Overall, I had a good time reading this. So if you're looking for a new hockey romance, I'd say to give this a try.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

I was really excited for this book to come out: a real person who had a hockey romance writing a hockey romance, what can go wrong?

Unfortunately, this story rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning with the “I’m a scary girl / people don’t approach me” first liner in the book: “I don’t need an online personality test to tell me I’m a bitch when there are plenty of men who do that for me without the hassle of entering my email address.”

Another quote a page later: “I’m covered in tattoos, recently cut, bluntly chopped bangs, and box-dyed hair—a blue black that says all anyone needs to know about my current mental state. I’m only five-foot-something, but my tone is obvious: Don’t fuck with me; I’m not the one.”

Next paragraph: “I proudly show off my long-serving resting bitch face, determined to scare him out of my way without a hassle. If looks could kill, I would be a wanted woman.”

WE GET IT!! You’re a tough cookie! I just wish it was shown differently like in the guys reaction or through conversation with a friend.

It gets better when her friends and Jaylen/JJ come into the picture. They have a fun, banterfilled one night stand that had me smitten…. Could have done without this line during the smut scene: “I can’t help but watch the veins in his forearms pool with blood.” NOOOO! Veins are hot, allude to that but “pool with blood” took me right out of that scene.

JJ is a hockey star who may not have what it takes anymore as he is struggling on the ice. Lucy is an aspiring tattoo artist whose luck just never seems to go in her favor. When they meet up one night things to change for them both, and JJ proposes an unlikely partnership. As they grow to know one another they learn that there are plenty of reasons that life can keep you down - but sometimes you have to make the choice to get up anyway. Plenty of lighthearted fun, but also moments of poignancy. This one was hard to put down.

I enjoyed this book! I love hockey romances and this one really stuck out to me! I think Lucy’s character development really shone through. I loved her and Jaylens relationship and the spicy scenes were top NOTCH. Epilogues that happen in the future and include a wedding always make me tear up. This one did not disappoint! A magnificent read for anyone who needs a hockey man in their life!

Let me start with: I'm a huge hockey fan and have been for 10+ years, so a long time before Booktok was a thing and hockey romances were a massive subgenre like they are now.

Why am I starting with this? Because I can't tell you how refreshing it was to read a hockey romance where the hockey elements were accurate!! And I expected nothing less from LaFleur Brown, knowing who her husband is. But also, if you watch any of her content on TikTok, it's obvious she knows her stuff too.

That itself was enough to make me like this book, but I really did enjoy the story, too. The characters were flawed and relatable. The dialogue was natural and funny. Overall, it was a quick, fun read I'd recommend.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for this ARC ◡̈

I really wanted to love this one after I discovered the author on TikTok a while ago. As a former NHL WAG I was excited to get a true hockey romance. The book starts off with a one night stand. The FMC is an aspiring tattoo artist and has no idea that the MMC is a professional hockey player. Eventually they bump into each other and he wants her to be his “lucky charm”. The book was kind of all over the place. The beginning was so fast and clustered and randomly talking about post sex UTIs? The FMC doesn’t have a single thought she keeps to herself. The sex scenes were also just off. I did love the bi representation and the actual accurate hockey and hockey player portrayal. This book just wasn’t for me. I’m excited to see where this goes for Lexi! 1.5/5 ⭐️

Shoot Your Shot by Lexi Brown was such a fun mix of both hockey and romance. Admittedly, I may be a little bit biased, because even before I read the novel, I thoroughly enjoy Lexi’s social media presence, and had a feeling that whatever she put out I was going to absolutely gobble up. And I was right. Lexi absolutely knocked her debut novel out of the park. Her humor translated seemlesly, and without getting into spoiler territory, I loved how real Lucy and Jaylen felt. Lucy enjoyed an alt lifestyle without falling into the all too familiar i’m-not-like-other-girls narrative, and Jaylen’s struggles with his mental health made the hockey star feel like a real person instead of just an aggro heartthrob. Though there was plenty of heat-throbbery to go around by both Jaylen AND Lucy. Overall, I rate it 4.5/5 stars and big fat recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC copy of this book.

I love a good hockey romance. Unfortunately, this wasn’t it. This story follows Jaylen, a washed up hockey star trying to get a second chance in his career, and Lucy, an aspiring tattoo artist who abandoned her love of painting years ago. Lucy quickly becomes Jaylen’s good luck charm after a drunken hook up, causing a budding romance.

I struggled with the characters in this book. I did not find either of them compelling or lovable. I struggled to picture Jaylen as an elite athlete - he gave off quirky, supporting character vibes from the very beginning of the book. And Lucy was annoyingly angsty and one dimensional. I did not see these two as being a believable couple - romantic or otherwise.

Additionally, while I truly appreciated the diversity amongst the characters, I did not find any of the incredibly important issues presented to be fully developed. For example, racism is alluded to early on for Jaylen, but never to be fully explored outside of a quick mention. For a character who doubts his abilities as an athlete and explores mental health issues, this could have been a great plot point to explore. Similarly, the LGBTQ themes are mentioned often, but never discussed in a meaningful way.

This was also seen in the mental health themes that were clearly meant to be a big arc for Jaylen’s character, but only grazed upon. He was seemingly “fine” and able to cope after one or two sessions and medication.

The writing was the biggest issue for me. It was detailed at times, but overwhelmingly vague. Hockey terms and abbreviations were thrown around without explanation that I only knew from watching hockey my whole life - a casual fan would certainly struggle. It read as a YA book masking as an adult romance at best.

In sum, the plot structure and ideas are there in this book, but the execution was lacking. I pushed through hoping it would pick up, but was met with a slow plot, often skimming in an effort to finish it. Overall, a disappointing read.

I have been following Lexi LaFleur Brown on TikTok and Instagram for so long, and I have been so anxiously awaiting this book! I love reading hockey romances but I always struggle with the accuracy aspect. She promised a more accurate depiction and I feel like she delivered here- from the athlete contracts to schedules, to superstitions. None of it felt overly dramatized.

This storyline feels unique while staying true to many beloved tropes (one night stand, he falls first, black cat/ golden retriever). It was fun, but sometimes felt a little too surface. There were moments when I felt disconnected from the characters because something was missing. I needed just a little bit more to understand them.

Overall, It was such a joy to read this debut and I can't wait to read her next book in this deal!

I really appreciated that this was so different than most other hockey books I’ve read. I think it had a really nice balance of sports and real life that is sometimes missed in sports romance. The insight into Seattle was also a really nice touch.

I really liked Jaylen. I think his journey (or the quick insight we get) with mental health was really honest and felt very realistic to what most of us have experienced.

I found a lot of the characters tough to connect to. As the book went on it all tapered out but early on everyone was kind of unlikable and it definitely made it hard to connect. I am glad I stuck with it to get to the end.

Hockey romance will enjoy this debut novel. This book features Lucy a painter striving to become a tattoo artist and Jaylen a hockey player aiming for a comeback season. I loved the whole good luck charm aspect of their meet up and relationship setup, especially since hockey players are notoriously superstitious. Lucy is very guarded but sweet Jaylen helps her open up and along the way finds himself becoming equally vulnerable. They both find ways to be supportive of the other and their needs. The mental health aspects of this story were well portrayed- both realistic and suited the character development. I will say at times Lucy was giving off a little too much “I’m not like other girls” energy but I understood it since she had been so alone. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of the black cat x golden retriever trope.

I was so excited for this book, as I'm a big fan of hockey romance and I follow the author online. Unfortunately, while there were some funny moments and things to appreciate, it felt overall pretty flat for me.
Positives: Fun easter eggs for those of us readers who are Seattle Kraken fans (the fans chanting GRUUUU comes to mind), as well as the Seattle setting. Good representation of the MMC's mental health issues. Additionally, the FMC's friends were a lot of fun to read (I want a book about Cooper!).
Negatives: The main issue I have with it is simply the pacing. So many things happen in such a short amount of time that it was inevitable that details got glossed over or felt like plot points came out of nowhere. There was also a lot of "telling instead of showing" going on, where the author would say how the character felt or what they were thinking, but not show that in the story itself. This made the romance element feel like it wasn't a big part of the story...despite it being a romance. Lastly, while the MMC was likeable enough, the FMC fell sort of flat for me.

This was such a fun book! I loved the storyline and seeing the lives written. The world was creative and exciting. I cannot wait for more books from Lexi!

This book was good. During the middle it was a little slow, but is alright. I know it was an arc, but I do hope they fix the typos in this book. There were so many and it would through me out of the store ever time they came up, but other then that I liked the over all story.

This one was not for me. I liked it but it was a bit slow. It had fantastic representation and the main characters were lovely and real in their personal traumas. I just had a hard time I think with getting attached to either of them. It may have just been when I was reading it. It took me a long time to finish.

huge thank you to NetGalley for the ARC ❣️

Dr. Lexi Lafleur Brown promised NHL accuracy in her debut novel & absolutely delivered on it. hockey romance has truly bloomed these last few years and it was great to get a take on life in the NHL in a more realistic way. the schedule, the routines, the superstitions all felt real and not overly amplified or dramatized.

the diversity and inclusion in this book were fantastic without shying away from the fact that a lot of “hockey people” wouldn’t agree — “No, it’s not okay. I’m pretty sure Mallory called you a lesbian too.” … “That’s not an insult…” & mentions of JJ’s past experiences with racism. PLUS!! a straight presenting couple where it’s always confirmed that she’s still gay is always music to my ears. love to see real LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC characters represented with complexities. great mental health rep as well, shoutout fluoxetine babes!!

Shoot Your Shot has good bones and I enjoyed the read, though it does lack thoroughness. i think the concept could’ve been flushed out so much more given it takes place over the course of an entire hockey season + playoffs. found myself wanting More a lot — more showing instead of telling, more real time chemistry between the characters. it feels a little disjointed, which led to me feeling a bit disconnected from the characters at points. they would be shocked over a relationship stage and i too was wondering how we got there.

all in all, this is a fun debut novel and a good starting point for Lexi as an author. this was sold as a two book deal and i will definitely pick up the next one as well!

This was cute! I enjoyed the story and banter - but felt like there wasn’t enough banter. Overall I thought this was predictable. I enjoyed the book overall but it wasn’t a favorite.