As a hockey fan from Seattle, I devoured this book. I could really feel the emotional vulnerability and connection between Lucy and Jaylen. Their chemistry is palpable and their banter is laced with humor and charm. I loved the will they won’t they element and the ending had me giggling and kicking my feet. Their journey to understand either other’s passions and level of support shown to each other was heartwarming. Needless to say, I loved it. Love is real!

As a fan of romance books, specially hockey, I can say this one felt different. The author managed to take two characters who normally should not fit together and mesh their lives, their friends and their families into a beautiful story. Whether her next book is a continuation or completely out of the hockey world, I am excited to read it.

This was an enjoyable read. The main characters were surviving and not thriving when they met. Their journeys as a couple and individuals were an engaging good time. I look forward to reading more books by this author.


I voluntarily read an early copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
🌶️🌶️

The blurb of this book drew me in right away! Hockey? Queer? Black cat/golden retriever????? Sign me the fuck up. I had such high hopes for this book and while it was great, it didn’t quite reach my expectations.

The story itself was my favorite thing. Two queer characters falling in love, despite each others flaws, and learning to love themselves? We root for that shit here.

The romance was romancing, the character growth was great, but there were some parts I was left a little bit…confused. There was one instance where it felt like the spice was there just for the sake of being there and didn’t add anything to the story.

The miscommunication between the main characters at roughly 85% in made me want to rip my hair out. Completely unnecessary.

Even though the characters were 25 years old, some of the writing made them seem very young and immature and that made it difficult to finish the book, but I pushed through.

All in all, the vibes were there, they were good, a fun time was had! I’d recommend it to friends who I know would like it!

Thank you to Canary Street Press for the ARC of this book 🫶🏻

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for the early copy of Shoot Your Shot! This debut was a fun mix of humor, romance, and undeniable chemistry.
Jaylen and Lucy were a fantastic pair. Lucy’s confidence and sharp wit made her a standout, and I loved seeing Jaylen step up and prove himself to her. Their banter and growing connection felt natural and kept me engaged. Some parts dragged a bit, and I wanted more resolution on Lucy’s work situation, but overall, this was an enjoyable, steamy read that I’d definitely recommend to rom-com fans!

I know what your thinking another sports romance and a hockey one at that (shout out to the hockey queen Helena Hunting) - but this is a good one Jaylan I a hockey player who has been cut he can not get a contract he gets a call up to a team in Washington to play for a night then meets our MC that night then bam he gets a contract so now he thinks she's hit good luck charm - she's a talented artist who aspires to be a tattooist and has issues with abandonment from her dad- I did find her to be a bit whiny however I still liked it very much I was rooting for Jaylen to get over his demons and grow! Its definitely worth a read

4.5, i have been a follower of lexi’s for quite a while and was over the moon when i got my hands on an arc of this, i really adored jay and lucy’s story, they felt very raw and human in a way that some romance novels miss, i also appreciated the accuracy of the hockey part of this (everybody say thank you lexi’s awesome husband), overall would definitely recommend to all romance readers

thank you to netgalley for an arc of this in exchange for my honest feedback

A very entertaining hockey m/f romance! I liked both main characters, and that they had their own friends, ambitions, and interests. The Seattle setting and the hockey details were well done! I would have liked to see more of their character growth as well as their developing relationship, as after their first meeting, there were a few time skips or instances of telling us about their time together rather than showing us, and ultimately the declaration / realization of feelings felt a bit abrupt. Still, this book went down very easily - very readable and enjoyable! I would be interested to read more from this author.

I really enjoyed this debut novel! The characters felt like people that I know, and there were so many funny moments as well as mental health and family trauma representation that felt grounded. As someone who’s followed this author as she’s shares her life on TikTok, Lexi’s love and appreciation for her community and for hockey shines in this book. I’m excited to watch as she continues her writing journey and gets better and better!

Lisa Love once asked Lauren Conrad, “Can you write?” I thought the same thing when I started this book, and Lexi LaFleur Brown can! This was a very impressive first book! The storyline, romance, and hockey were all wonderfully detailed. This wasn’t just a good read, it was a great read. I can’t wait to see what Lexi comes up next!

I was super excited to read Shoot Your Shot after following Lexi LaFleur Brown on social media for a while! I love a hockey romance and I love a black cat/golden retriever duo.

Lucy and Jaylen meet in basically a drive-by on a night out and Lucy’s demeanor hooks Jaylen from the first moment he lays eyes on her. After spending the night together, through unforeseen circumstances, they end up seeing each other again.

It had all the tropes: hockey romance, black cat/golden retriever, he falls first, no feelings hookup, big gesture apology, etc.

I think this was a good debut novel. The syntax and diction were different than what I’ve read in the past so it left me a bit hesitant to give 5 stars. There were lots of similes used which felt a little juvenile, some of the sentence structure had me going back and rereading to understand what was going on, some hockey jargon was left unexplained, the FMC was described using the same words over and over (weird, bitchy, cool) and I felt that every once in a while a really obscure word was thrown in without much reason.

As for the plot, the beginning had a lot of potential. I thought it was just going to be a book of the MMC trying to win over the FMC so the good luck charm plot point was unexpected (props to the author). I felt like both the MCs family (minus Lucy’s dad) were sprinkled in for convenience or to explain away plot points or unnecessarily (Jaylens sisters, him having so many cousins, Lucy bringing home Jaylen just to explain her art but never mentioning her mom or brother ever again).

Overall, I would recommend this book anyone looking for a palate cleanser romance that’s a quick read but has a rich overall plot. I would rate it 1.5/5 for spice and 3/5 overall <3

I’ve been following Lexi on TikTok for a while, and love her hockey insider commentary. I was so excited when she announced she was going to write her own hockey book and enjoyed following along with the process. It was then even more exciting to get this advanced copy of the manuscript to review.

When Lucy meets Jaylen, he was supposed to be from out of town, but when she’s working to paint a mural at the arena, she discovers he’s playing for the Seattle Rainiers. Jaylen was indeed supposed to be on his way out of town, having lost his contract, but a last-minute spot opened on the team. While Lucy is finishing this project, she has to occasionally see him at work, but she doesn’t need to see him beyond that, except Jaylen is convinced she’s his good luck charm.

I really appreciated that both main characters were outside of the norm of the genre, with Jaylen being a Black player and Lucy being a queer woman who doesn’t fit the usual hockey rom-com physical mold. Their relationship also progressed in a unique way, as she was largely not interested in pursuing a relationship. A lot of this genre is cookie cutter, and it was great to see different representations in this book.

Feeling seen as a bisexual mess! This was a cute romance that was a fresh take on sports romance. I would recommend to people who are both fans of hockey and chappell roan.

Final review of 2024

Shoot Your Shot by Lexi Lafleur Brown
4/5 ⭐️ 2/5 🌶

RELEASE DATE: March 11th, 2025

Anyone who is close to me knows how excited I was to get the chance to ARC read this amazing book. I have adored Lexi and her family for years now, so being able to read the book early was honestly my highlight of the end of the year. Thank you to Lexi and Harlequin for giving me the arc.🫶

Shoot Your Shot is HOW A HOCKEY ROMANCE SHOILD BE DONE. Lexi took every chance she had to explain the sport and made it just as important to the plot as everything else in the book was. I feel so many authors miss actually, including the sport truly in their hockey romances.

The story starts out following Lucy, who had just gotten out of a 6 month relationship after finding out her girlfriend actually had a boyfriend the entire time, and Jaylen "JJ" Jones, a hockey player draft bust looking for one last chance in the league.

Lucy is an artist who is desperately trying to get a tattoo apprenticeship with the shop she has been working the front desk at for a while now. She hates the work but is willing to do anything to try and get the apprenticeship she feels she needs. Which is what causes her to keep running into Jaylen.

Jaylen Jones is a black hockey player struggling to make it in the league after each season, he keeps doing worse and worse until he is released from all contracts looking for one last chance. That chance came in the form of a 1 year contract with the Seattle Rainiers after a last-minute injury left an open spot on the roster. Lucy becomes his good luck charm, causing him to play better than he ever has before, and he can't risk losing her even just texting him good luck before the games.

The only reason I docked it any stars is because of the writing- I caught multiple mistakes that became so redundant after a while that hopefully, after fixed before the final print comes out.

Read if you enjoy:

• Hockey romance 🏒
• Bisexual FMC
• He falls first
• Black cat FMC and golden retriever MMC

Thank you NetGalley and Lexi LaFleur Brown for giving me early access to this wonderful story. I seriously cannot wait to recommend this book to all my rom-com girlies! Shoot Your Shot is a laugh out loud, beautiful story of a grumpy FMC and sunshine MMC. I truly loved the depth both of our main characters had. Both of their side plots added so much to the story and their relationship. I am so excited to read what else Brown writes if it is anything like Shoot Your Shot!

thank you so much to Harlequin/Canary St Press and Netgalley for the ARC! I can’t even express how excited I was to get this ARC, as a huge hockey girlie and a fan of Lexi’s WAG/NHL content.

I’ve read my fair share of hockey romances (they take up their own portion of my romance shelf), but this one truly felt like a love letter to fans who don’t get to see themselves loved or appreciated by the sport. Lucy and Jaylen + their growth both individually and as a couple are the heart of this story and I loved every second of it, even the parts that had me teary! What I really loved about this book, aside from Lucy and Jaylen as a couple, was the way that it centered their community, both in lovable side characters and in Lucy and Jaylen’s love for their city and the people in it.

This was an incredibly strong debut, something to make you laugh and swoon and feel like you’re in the pages with the characters! I can’t wait to see how Lexi grows as an author, I’ll be there with my kindle in hand ready to read what’s next.

ARC Review: Shoot Your Shot by Lexi LaFleur Brown
Pub Date: March 11, 2025

NHL player Jaylen has just been cut by his team prior to the start of the season. He decides to go out in Seattle one last night before heading home. He meets aspiring tattoo artist Lucy at a dive bar just after Lucy has sworn off all hookups to focus on getting an apprenticeship. But one last one night stand can't hurt, right? After Jaylen unexpectedly gets a contract to stay in Seattle, he can't help but keep running into Lucy. He equates his success with her and gets her to agree to be his "lucky charm" for the season.

I love hockey romance and when this was blurbed by my QUEEN Rachel Reid, I knew I had to check it out. And when I found out that the FMC was bi and the MMC was black and there was a wide array of diversity in the book, I was even more excited! This book does a really good job at being inclusive which we know the NHL struggles with. That and the clear hockey knowledge that the author had were highlights for me in this book.

Unfortunately, most of the book fell pretty flat for me. There was a LOT of telling vs. showing and I really don't feel like I saw Lucy and Jaylen spend enough time together. A lot of their relationship ends up happening off page and we get some time jumps that often aren't explained (we go from the beginning of the NHL season to the end throughout the course of the book but in terms of scenes between the two it felt like they hung out maybe 3 or 4 times and Jaylen was telling her that he loved her.

I hope this book got another round of editing since being on Netgalley because there are also some continuity issues. The writing itself took me a while to get used to and truthfully I was very close to DNF'ing around 14%. This feels like a debut (which it is) in that the author was trying to use so so many tropes which ends up just feeling like a whole lot is going on. The bigger issues - Jaylen's panic attacks, Lucy's relationship with her dad - felt very surface level and superficial. They either needed more airtime in the book or to not exist.

Thank you to Canary Street Press for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Canary Street Press & Netgalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review! This is cross listed on Goodreads.

I adore hockey (obviously) and really love Lexi - I can never scroll past on of her WAG tik toks, so I was very very excited to get my hands on Shoot Your Shot and see if she could spice up there very lackluster hockey romance genre. It took me a month to get through Icebreaker, and it surely goes down as one of my worst reads of 2024, so I was hoping for something WAY better.

This still fell short for me. I really think Lexi did a great job for a debut novel; the plot was unique and had diverse characters and relatable nuances, but I didn’t find myself growing attached to any one person or storyline. The chemistry between Jaylen & Lucy was lacking - I didn’t feel like there was enough build up of tension between their drastically different lives. Even when they did come together, it felt awkward and dry - there were no moments when I felt moved or endeared by their exchanges. I did appreciate the way those two characters could use their unique perspectives to help each other out, but it was still a little surface level.

The strong edge of this book for me falls in the hockey knowledge, which was the reason I was so excited to dive into this novel compared to the oversaturated market. This book was authentic without being too boring - It felt that any details being shared still had a place within the story line. I wish we were able to see a little bit of a deeper relationship between Jaylen & Wells (and the team dynamics overall) but it definetly blows all other books out of the water in terms of its realistic descriptions and hockey inside jokes / nuances.

My biggest gripe overall with the book is the pacing. I found the jumps in storylines very jolted and awkward. Why wasn’t there more to the weeks where Lucy & Jaylen didn’t speak? How did Lucy go from rebelling against her former tattoo studio to getting accepted into a huge apprenticeship with a famous artist? These gaps (some being days, weeks, and even years for the epilogue) drove the plot to have holes and for the character growth to go flat. I think the period of time that the whole book took place was too long - it should have been only over the period of 2 - 3 months and I don’t think that Lucy and Jaylen needed to have the storyline be end game.

I think Lexi has a future as a writer and I’m looking forward to seeing what she brings with the second book in this deal. It was a good start for a debut!

I’ve been a hockey fan since middle school. I’ve tried to read hockey romance in the past but it’s been too inaccurate, too smutty, too much for me but this one was fun, lighthearted, different and actually correct about the hockey aspect of it. As a long time social media follower of Lexi LaFleur Brown it was fun to get a chance to read her debut novel and I am looking forward to her next.

This was just like all the other Hockey romances I've read. It does not stick out or feel particularly different from any of the sports romances out there right now. It was a quick read and it I enjoyed it while reading, but after finishing it just felt a bit lackluster.