Shoot Your Shot is a fun debut novel from Lexi LaFleur Brown that I’ve (personally) been VERY excited to read after following Lexi on socials for quite some time.

This book is a shorter read, right at 300 pages, and I sped through it in an evening. Jaylen and Lucy’s story is cute yet steamy, but what I enjoyed the most was the accuracy. Hockey facts were correct, and actually realistic (thanks to Lexi’s background) and it felt more realistic (not everyone is the greatest at everything).

My only qualm is that I felt like the book lacked some necessary character development. This added development would have given the book more depth and wouldn’t have made it too long, given the current 300 page count.

Overall liked the book and can’t wait to see what Lexi writes next!

Thank you Net Galley and Canary Street for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Shoot Your Shot by Lexi LaFleur Brown is a hockey romance that was such a refreshing take on this subgenre of romance. The main female character is queer, and so are her two best friends, the main male character is a Black hockey player who struggles with anxiety and depression, and everything about this felt so natural in this book. There was a perfect balance of realism and escapism that made this romance work so well. The romance felt perfectly paced for me as someone who doesn’t love an insta-love romance, but insta-lust works totally fine for me. The side characters felt important, developed, and like real people, which made the reading experience much more enjoyable for me. The conflicts felt real, which I think is a testament to how well developed the characters were. This books breaks free from a lot of the pitfalls that I think make hockey romance specifically feel kind of tired and overdone.

As a long time follower of Lexi LaFleur Brown, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy of this book the moment it was announced. She used her lived experiences to make a romance novel that felt like a story I could just walk into. It didn’t didn’t feel so out of the realm of reality that I had to suspend my disbelief. I really appreciate how the author interwove the topics of queer and BIPOC people in the world of hockey, as well as the frank discussion of mental illness, therapy, and medication. This book was a joy to read and I was rooting for Lucy and Jaylen the entire way through. I can’t wait to read what she writes next.

A one night stand turn to "be my good luck charm" to lovers... This was cute!

Jaylen was just like this chill dude all around who plays hockey and was cut from the team but after a one night stand with Lucy, he gets a permanent spot on the team for a year at the very least. Lucy, trying to be a tattoo artist, gets a shove from her rude boss to paint a mural for the hockey arena. Then Jay plays the best game he's played in a while, he wants her to be his good luck charm and it works!

They both aren't looking for a relationship but they have this pull to each other. So magnetic even though Lucy is a bit brash compared to Jay. They have a lot of fun together. I absolutely loved her friends Maya and Cooper. Cooper is a riot and Maya doesn't let Lucy put herself down.

I was so proud of Lucy for finally standing up to her dad in a big way, he didn't deserve a daughter like her.

1.5 ⭐️

This book is a hockey romance written by Tiktok mogul Lexi LaFleur Brown. It follows our main characters who are on a fast track to each other after running into each other for the first time at a popular bar, and stealing a sign from a tattoo shop. It truly was love at first sight…

I really wanted to like this since I know the author is very knowledgeable on the subject, but the writing style just wasn’t something I could overlook this time. It was a cute story, but it struggled to keep me engaged for most of the book. I felt myself skimming just for the sake of finishing it, which is never something I want to do.

All in all, the writing felt very new and modern, using words that I use in day-to-day conversations, but that I don’t typically see in books. That took some adjusting, but it could help to pull in and engage younger audiences, which could definitely be a benefit.

ARC REVIEW

This book was a solid 3 star read for me. It felt very slow for some reason and that made it difficult for me to actually get into and stay interested in the book. I think the book overall was cute though and a fairly decent hockey romance.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC :)

If you love hockey romances this is a great read!! Lucy and Jaylen are the classic “not looking for love” characters who, through trials and tribulations, realize they are made for one another! I loved how the author highlighted LGBTQIA+, mental health/substance abuse and racial issues with such grace and care. There are themes that can be difficult to write well and I think the author did a great job at portraying the difficulties that our main characters faced and how they were able to lean on one another. I do wish we got a bit more backstory with our FMC. The romance and spice is definitely there too! I read this book in a day, i couldn’t put it down!

Thank you to Edelweiss and Canary Ink Press/Afterglow Books by Harlequin/Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an egalley of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I really should learn to avoid TikTok influencer books. More often than not I am disappointed with them. But the blurb really caught my eye, the reviews seemed positive, and I love me a hockey romance. So I decided to give it a shot (no pun intended). To say I'm disappointed in the execution of this book is an understatement. It really did have great bones but there were so many things wrong with it.
The plot was typical of a hockey romance if a bit cliché. The hockey star takes a downfall and needs to build his career back up. He meets a manic pixie girl and they connect with a hot one night stand never thinking they'll see each other again. Of course their paths cross again and each time the hockey has a great game. So, of course, she's his lucky charm. But she has no intention of letting another relationship get in the way. Of course that pesky little thing called love gets in the way. While the pacing was pretty fast for this one, it was stunted in many places due to awkward dialogue and weird switches in POV.
The romance was ok. I would have liked to see a better development. I just didn't feel the chemistry between the FMC and MMC. They were so very different it was a wonder they connected at all. And, while I know opposites can attract, the author really needed to show this to us and it didn't happen. And the spicy scenes just were not done well. They were super rushed and awkward. I didn't feel any passion between the characters. The scenes made me cringe and were more clinical than emotional.
Speaking of showing, that didn't happen in this book. There was so much telling. And there were weird medical terms used throughout that just took me right out of the story. Can such terms be used in books, of course, but it's how they were use that totally baffled me. They just seemed so random. Who mentions things like UTI, adenoids, apena, vascular, and trypanophobia would be understood by someone in the medical field (such as myself, since I'm a nurse) but the general public will not know what these things are. I also saw this with the hockey terms. I love me some hockey and it was obvious the author had some good knowledge in this area. But I don't know a lot of the terms. And neither did the FMC. A perfect way for the author to have explained some of the words she was using would have been to have the MMC teach the FMC these terms as it would have also helped the reader.
As for the characters, they were relatable for the most part but I feel like if you're putting a POC into the story there's a reason for it. There is racism alluded to, but we never see it or how it may have affected the character. Same with the LBGTQ representation. For the most part this was done well but I did see some stereotypes woven into the story, and not in any type of positive way. And the mental health that was addressed was a super important part of the MMC but it doesn't happen until about half way through the book. These aspects of the characters needed more exploration. I feel like using such designations in a book are usually done for a reason and I need them to be done well so I can understand the importance of them being included in the story. I feel like having this information and showing us why it is important would have helped me connect more with the characters as I really didn't feel this connection. Overall the main characters came across as flat for me.
I had issues with the FMC, Lucy, and her profession. She's an artist. But she wants to tattoo. But she has never tattooed before. She draws and paints, but not tattoos. She does all kinds of other things. There's no real understanding as to why she wants this profession. I feel like there needed to be more included for me to understand. It came across as not much research being done in this area.
While the book wasn't terrible and the bones are there for a great story, the execution was very lacking. I felt like it needs a lot more editing. I'm hoping the final version would be more tight where this is concerned. There were many times I wanted to DNF this book but I pushed in the hopes the story would take a turn for the better. But it never did. The book honestly left me with more questions than answers. The premise was good with a nice cast of diverse characters but the book itself just had too many issues for me to love it.

🏒✨ Shoot Your Shot by Lexi LaFleur Brown ✨🏒

🔥 Steamy Hockey Romance? Check. A dash of superstition? Double check.
Jaylen “JJ” Jones thought his hockey career was over—until a one-night stand with an aspiring tattoo artist, Lucy Ross, changes everything. When a last-minute NHL roster spot opens up, Jaylen becomes convinced she’s his lucky charm. The catch? He needs Lucy to stick around to keep his career afloat.

🎨 Meanwhile, Lucy’s in her own slump. Struggling to kick-start her tattooing career, she reluctantly agrees to Jaylen’s proposition: she’ll send him good luck texts in exchange for tattooing practice.

✨ But what starts as a simple arrangement quickly gets… complicated.
Their sizzling chemistry is undeniable, but Lucy’s past heartbreaks make her wary of getting attached. And Jaylen? He’s laser-focused on his career and can’t afford distractions—or so he thinks.

💬 Can these two navigate their growing feelings while juggling the pressure of careers and superstition? Or will getting lucky turn out to be the most complicated game they’ve ever played?

📚 Why You’ll Love It:
• A sports rom-com with sizzling chemistry and heartfelt moments.
• Perfect for fans of hockey romance and tattoo-loving heroines.
• Laugh-out-loud humor meets swoon-worthy spice.

📖 #ShootYourShot #LexiLaFleurBrown #HockeyRomance #RomComReads

#SportsRomance #LuckyInLove #TattooArtistRomance #BookishHumor #SteamyReads #BookTokRecs #HarlequinTradePublishing

I have been following Lexi LaFleur Brown and her reviews/social media for the last couple of years so was really excited when she announced her book deal!

Lucy and JJ’s story is equal parts spicy and sweet and i appreciated that it followed ‘the formula’ of a hockey romance without being trite or saccharine. Lucy is both badass and tender, Jaylen is a great MMC and i really really loved all of the actual hockey content and great spice level.

Without spoilers I loved that it also showed that sometimes tidying up areas of your life that have caused you grief and trauma aren’t solved by a grand reconciliation but a permission for your life to move on without them.

I also loved the Easter egg/callback to the line in Miracle about keeping the puck if you score on a goalie (at least I think it was intentional).

I’m so glad I got to read this in advance and will happily re-read when my copy comes since I pre-ordered it as soon as we could.

3.5 rounded up!

I’ve been following Lexi on TikTok for a while and just love her content so much! I was so excited to find her book on NetGalley and have access to an e-arc.

As an a hockey player herself and an NHL wag, I think Lexi did a great job writing all of the hockey aspects. Overall, it was a fun and cute read. I read it in 2 sittings and kept itching to pick it back up. Both Jaylen and Lucy were lovable characters and the mental health and LGBTQIA+ representation were well done. I do wish we could have gotten a little more background information on both characters before their meet cute. I would have love to read more dialogue between them, as I found myself skimming over details to get to the dialogue. Regardless, I think this was a great debut novel and I cannot wait to read Lexi’s next work.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Canary Street press for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you know this author from social media, you will 100% be able to hear her voice in your head as you're reading this - her tone and vibe totally comes through!

I want to start by saying I got this book as an arc from NetGalley.

I tend to be a reader like goes along for the vibes and good times but still needs a well written book. Shoot your shot is exactly that.

I loved the meet cute between Jaylen and Lucy, I found it cute and very 2000s rom com how they ran into each other after the night they met. I also loved Lucy’s no bullshit bi energy and her incredible wittiness along side Jaylen’s soft and caring personality when talking about a large man in a violent professional sport. The character development you see in both MC throughout the book is realistic and relatable. This book has queer representation, POC representation and mental health representation. All of which I love to see!

Unfortunately I do have a few little hiccups. First I enjoy the real insite the author bring to professional hockey but even as a fan myself there were a few times she used abbreviations or actions I would have like an explanation for what they were in the book. Also the spicy scenes were “fine”. They were mild spice but left me wanting the more in depth emotional and physical details to make them truly special. Lastly this may be a niche complaint and as the book ages won’t be an issue but because it was repeated as a major plot point so I have to bring up the Seattle Farris wheel. I am a western Washington local not much older than Lucy is in the book. Therefore when she kept saying the remembered riding it when she was 7 I would wince a little because I know it wasn’t built until 2012. The math just didn’t add up correctly for when the book is being published.


Overall I really enjoyed this book. I have followed the author on tik tok and instagram for a while and was thoroughly excited and impressed with her book. I’m hoping she keeps writing and does a book next on Maya or Cooper. I’d love to see a MM book of Cooper with one of the rookies!! 😘

This book was really cute and better than most of the hockey romances I've read lately. I really enjoyed the character development of both main characters, and each of their growth storylines. I only wish we had seen more from the cat.

3.5 stars rounded up because it’s a debut and even though I’m not a knowledgeable hockey fan it is very clear the hockey aspect is very accurate. (Even if I didn’t know the author is a hockey wife, it would be clear.)

There were a lot of positive things to enjoy about this book. There is great mental health discussion and de-stigmatizing representation throughout. The approach to taking care of your mental health as another branch of training and overall health was great, and while in the context of a professional athlete here, it is wholly relevant to everyone.

I really enjoyed Lucy. She was a headstrong FMC who was definitely a bit prickly but she was who she was and if someone didn’t like it, too bad. She was very guarded but that made getting behind her walls that much more rewarding. I liked the banter between her and Jayden and how they fit together despite seeming like total opposites. Jayden had his own personal and professional struggles to overcome, and it was lovely to see him find his way.

The flow and pacing of the story felt somewhat disjointed at times. It also felt like things were coming at both Jayden and Lucy from all sides in abundance. I kind of wish there had been fewer outside factors that had been more richly developed than several things and other characters thrown at them that just seemed like they were there to stir up dramatic moments and then barely heard from again, if at all.

Overall though this was a fun, sweet and spicy, hockey-authentic debut that I think people will enjoy. Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute book, but unfortunately it was weighed down by awkward dialogue in the first half. It took a bit to find it's footing, and unfortunately felt a bit cliche for a genre that is oversaturated.

I did enjoy the characters and you could definitely feel the author's insider knowledge throughout- but I found myself cringing a few too many times.

(3.5) As a fan of the Seattle Kraken and someone who watches too much TikTok, I’ve loved Lexi for years and have been following her journey with this book since its conception. I was so excited for a hockey romance written by a real nhl wag.

Shoot Your Shot was super fun to read. While touching on important topics like mental health in professional athletes, the book was also so fun and lighthearted. The vibe was serious at times but also featured almost camp-y humor that was so good and so true to Lexi. I don’t often know much about authors before I read their work, but I absolutely can match her personality with how she wrote this book.

Loved Jaylen’s arc, super proud of that fictional man. Lucy is a badass, I’ve never been even 12% as cool as her. Their love was precious. Bless Lexi for featuring man tears.

I know Seattle is a real place and she really just wrote about real Seattle things - but - I want to go live in this worldddd

I don’t think this book will be winning any literary awards, but it was a fun and easy read.

“I’m here to help out with whatever you need. Is there anything heavy you need lifted or moved?” Jaylen immediately offers up his brawn, pushing up the sleeves of his jacket.
“No. There are a bunch of lesbian farmers here.”
-sorry but that’s the funniest shit I’ve ever read

ARC from NetGalley and Harlequin

2.5/5 stars

Honestly, this book was kinda meh. I was super excited and hyped about Lexi writing this and was looking forward to the info she'd convey to us reader with her real life NHL experience. While some writers can speculate and research galore about hockey and all things surrounding it, I was excited to see the spin Lexi put on this book. Unfortunately, I just couldn't stay engaged. The start of the book was really slow, and I sometimes had trouble focusing on the storyline. It didn't grip me in the way we want our romance novels to do.

Now for the spicy scenes. I'm a lover of all things spicy, so when I read these scenes, there was a slight cringe throught them. The manner in which they are written, almost feels clinical. There is no passion, and I almost felt like I was at work (nurse, here).

While spicy scenes aren't everything, I feel like they help progress the romance along. Not the case here, IMO. The characters were hard nuts to crack, and I felt like I couldn't understand them, much less have the two MC understand each other. The FMC grated on my nerves, and the MMC made me roll my eyes a million times. They were just overall not my cup of tea.

I did love the bisexual representation! Not enough books have them, and I loved that Lexi portrayed that in her debut book. I also like that she delivered on her knowledge of hockey and that lifestyle. I do feel like she needed to dumb some things down for those of us who don't know some of the things. A better explanation would have gone a LONG way!

While this book wasn't terrible, I just couldn't stay engaged. If it weren't for my quirkiness of having to finish a book, I probably would have DNFed the book. All in all, try the book. It may not have been for me, but it may be up your alley way.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Shoot Your Shot is a charming and relatable romance that offers more than just a love story. It’s a celebration of self-discovery, embracing vulnerability, and the pursuit of both love and dreams. If you enjoy witty, character-driven romances with a healthy dose of emotional depth, this one is certainly worth adding to your TBR pile.

I really wanted to like this book. I love the author and I love hockey, but I found the writing to be extremely cliché, the characters to be one dimensional, and the plot to be boring. The premise of the book is intriguing, but it could have used some more editing and proofreading to make it reach its potential. As is, Shoot Your Shot leaves a lot to be desired.

While the hockey scenes are well-written, it seems like very little research went into other aspects of the book, like Lucy's career as an aspiring tattoo artist (how does she know how to tattoo? Apprentices don't start on people, portfolios are usually only art-based, etc). With a bit more research, Lucy's character could have been a lot more compelling. I found the characters to be more of a collection of tropes as opposed to actual, fleshed out people. Lucy's "black cat" exterior and Jay's anxious heart of gold are really the only personality traits we ever see from them. Shoot Your Shot left me with more questions than answers on a lot of things. Why did Jay skip his friend's funeral for a hockey game? Why does Lucy want to be a tattoo artist? Why are Jay and Lucy suddenly okay with being in a relationship after it is well established that Lucy doesn't want one? There is next to no character development and the backstories felt flimsy at best. To me, a good romance novel means really getting to know the characters and wanting to cheer for them. Lucy in specific really lacked a sense of personhood to me; I couldn't get myself to root for her. As a reader, I wasn't given any reason to care about her.

Additionally, I felt the author played into some LGBTQ stereotypes unintentionally, like the overly flamboyant gay best friend and the lesbian side character who has dated (according to Lucy) almost every queer woman in Seattle, not to mention the fact that Lucy's ex-girlfriend had a boyfriend that she left Lucy for. I am not sure if this book had a sensitivity reader, but any good sensitivity reader would have identified these tropes as reductive and potentially harmful.

The quippy dialogue felt unrealistic and frequently out of place, and the internal monologue of the characters rarely added anything to the scenes. I keep coming back to the start of Lucy and Jay's relationship. Why does Lucy so suddenly and dramatically change her mind on wanting to date? The reader isn't privy to any information that makes her motivations for liking/loving Jay clear. There's no "aha" scene, no poignant moments in the book for the reader to enjoy.

I know Lexi LaFleur Brown has a two book deal, and I do expect to read her second book, but her debut is a mixed bag. All things considered, I'm giving this book two stars. The premise is good, there was an attempt at a diverse cast of characters, and I enjoyed the hockey of it all, but there were just too many issues for me to rate it any higher.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I was so excited when I heard Lexi had written a book and super excited when I got the ARC. I knew this book would be hilarious because Lexi's TikTok always makes me laugh and boy was I right!

Lexi is married to a former hockey player and gives true insight into the lives of hockey WAGS. She truly understands professional hockey culture and you can tell when you read her book. She includes antecdotes only someone on the inside would know, such as what the players use to stay energized during games (mustard?) and all of their weird superstitions. I'm not sure how I'll read another hockey romance from a different author now that I've read Lexi's as her insight made it truly realistic.

This is one of the funniest romcoms I've read in a long time. I love a quirky, nontraditional FMC and Lucy fits the bill. She is an aspiring tattoo artist who lives in a grungy apartment with her cat and talks about going to the Warped Tour. Lucy's and her friends' antics had me cackling throughout the book.

Jaylen is a golden retriever MMC to Lucy's black cat persona. However, there's more than meets the eye with Jaylen as he struggles with his mental health after losing one of his best friends (off page). The story deals with a lot of serious issues and I loved how Lexi treated each characters' journey with care and sensitivity.

This book had me feeling all the feels. It was spicy and sweet. Loving and poignant. Funny and touching. I love Lexi's writing style, humor, wit, and characters. I look forward to reading everything she writes in the future.