🏒My rating: 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

It did take a while to get into this one because there was the slow burn into their friendship, and then eventually a relationship which was achingly built up. Jaylen and Lucy were very complex characters, so in that way they were very realistic and had quite a few bumps in the road to get over before we started seeing the sparks of love in them. The love we got in this story was not only for each other, but the importance of self love and reflection, which really is a driving point in the story that actually got me.

It was that last 40% of the book where it hooks you, and it feels more like a rom com with the will they won’t they feel to it. I just adored Jaylen at the end of the book because he really healed himself with the help of Lucy, and he did the same for her. The relationship was not as deep as I was expecting to get, but I’m happy to say that the end of the book really changed my love for them as a couple once they gave into their feelings for the other. This was not an easy and fluffy read to get through, but it was rough and emotional rollercoaster that I ended up happy to be on. The ending was sweet, refreshing, and perfect for who Jaylen and Lucy really were at their core. Quirky and finally content with their lives

I tried reading this a few times, but it just wasn’t for me. I don’t know what it was but I didn’t like it at all. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Super late giving this but it took me some time to read. I did not like this. Within the first few pages the character was immediately not like other girls and it rubbed me the wrong way. The amount of self insert was just icky and tbh the characters had no chemistry. My other issue was the queer rep. It felt forced and awkward. I don’t recommend this book at all

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC from netgalley. When I started this book it really set the scene which I couldn’t picture it going anywhere. I’m really glad I hung in there. The plot was so enjoyable as were the characters. It was a fun, quick read.

Thank you for the advanced copy. I love Lexi and was so excited to read her book. It’s clear she knows a lot about hockey and made sure to include realistic moments within the book. Characters were a bit annoying in some moments.

Thank you to HTP Books, HTP Hive, and Harlequin Audio for the free book and advanced listener copy. These opinions are my own.

This is an opposites attract hockey romance. Lucy is an aspiring tattoo artist who doesn't follow sports. Jaylen is a hockey player trying to get back to the potential he had as a rookie. He's really superstitious and decides chatting with Lucy is his good luck charm for playing well.

I really liked the funny snark from Lucy's POV. I appreciated the queer representation throughout the book. And I found the storyline with her father quite interesting. For Jaylen, I enjoyed seeing his striving and relationship with his teammates. But I wanted more from the romance between the two.

Kristen DiMercurio and Jamal Roque narrated the audiobook. I would have preferred duet narration, as neither narrator did a great job matching the other character's voice.

3.5 stars rounded up

I wasn't sure about this hockey romance when I saw it on Netgalley, as I pretty much forgot I had a copy of this in my possession on my Kindle and remember that I had it when I received an email in my inbox stating that it was out and thanking me for reading and not to forget to post the reviews. So I decided to start reading it and I was glad that I did. I absolutely loved Lucy and JJ, they were perfect for each other and balanced each other out without even knowing what they were doing, even though their friends did. It was like that one fateful meeting at the club just perfectly aligned and fell into place turning into kismet.

Thank you NetGalley for ebook for the exchange for a review!

This was one of my most anticipated reads and love the author on socials. It was nice learning about different hockey terminology but that’s kind of it? The romance was alright.

I had a few problems with this title, but I did end up finishing it and thought the romance storyline resolved well.

My biggest problem was with the dialogue of this book. The characters felt more like caricatures of who they were supposed to be, and at times it felt like I was reading a quirky millennial standup set.

I also thought the pacing of the romance storyline was not enjoyable. It took a very long time for the characters to express interest in each other romantically, And even after they did, the FMC was still not under the impression that they were together for 65% of the book. I also thought that the breakup in the 85-90% range felt too outsized for that late in the book.

I was very excited for this title and will absolutely try again with this author’s next book as I enjoyed her voice, I just didn’t love some of the story and plot choices

The book is cute and I liked that it started out with him being interested and her not caring about him at all.

I didn’t feel super invested in the characters - Lucy gave up on her dreams after one bad night and I couldn’t really grasp what JJ’s deal was but once the story got going I became more interested into seeing how these two found their way back to each other.

The characters are a little two dimensional and the spice wasn’t all that spicy. It gained back a few points for me with the mental health representation. We could have used more Cooper!! And the epilogue was pretty great.

I have to say the reviews made me think this was going to be awful but I don’t think it was bad? The start was a bit rocky for me but I got into it quickly and found it easy to read. Was it the best book I’ve ever read? Absolutely not but it didn’t set out to be! I'd give it 3.5/5 stars.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing/Canary Street Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Overall, this story was meh. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrators. I had a difficult time liking the FMC. I found her to be annoying and whiny.

I was really hoping to finish this book before pub-day, but unfortunately came down with the flu and couldn't read more than a page or two before falling asleep or forgetting what I just read. That wasn't the book's fault though, so I gave it a second try after I fully recovered!

First of all, love the cover art. I am one to judge a book by its cover, and if I don't like the vibe the cover is giving, I just get disinterested. It's a character flaw of mine, but what can ya do?

The premise of the book was also super intriguing to me. Literally everything I know about hockey is from hockey romance novels, but I've learned that the players are crazy superstitious, so the whole ~be my good luck charm~ thing wasn't unpredictable, but I did like it better than some of the other hockey romance tropes out there.

The characters though... I did not love the FMC because she gave me some serious pick-me/I'm-not-like-other-girls girl vibes. The gay best friend seemed like he was just a stereotype rather than a fully developed character. Same with the lesbian character. The FMC's ex having a secret boyfriend the whole time she dated the FMC also seemed like the worst kind of bisexual stereotype. It was like the characters were developed by an AI chat bot that was asked to write stereotypical queer characters. I did, however, enjoy the golden retriever MMC falls for the prickly/hard to get FMC. I also thought the mental health aspects of the story were handled better than the queer aspects of the story.

Overall, I didn't hate it, but I was slightly disappointed by the execution. The idea of the book was great (5 stars) but the execution did quite meet my expectations.

I had high hopes for this one, but just couldnt get pulled in. It has potential and I think hockey romance readers would enjoy it. Do not let my mood reading bring you down.

all the hockey was great. lots of hockey terminology. the story was a bit lacking. black cat meets a golden retriever, who is diagnosed with anxiety and panic attacks.

This romance debut, unfortunately, did not do it for me. There is so much "tell" over "show" happening to the point of exhaustion. The main characters have these repetitive internal monologues that contribute no depth and instead are simply reminders about something already mentioned 10 pages earlier. The main characters' respective drives and traumas are also introduced early on but in a way that feels "trauma dump"-esque. It takes so long to both get to a more in-depth and informed understanding of their experiences as well as for them to take action towards growth. This makes it difficult to both understand their motives as well as feel empathy about how their struggles influence struggle within their romantic relationship.

I'm optimistic for Lexi LaFleur Brown's future work, I can tell she wants to stuff her characters to the brim with heart and personality. I hope that as she explores her voice in this genre it becomes more focused.

It was ok, nothing special and it won't leave a lasting impact. This book isn't inherently bad, but it's not my favorite hockey romance. It doesn't really do anything special in order to stand out from other sports romance books. The characters weren't flat per say but they also weren't fantastic, and the chemistry was only decent not sizzling.

I always love a good hockey romance! While browsing the books on NetGalley I immediately requested it. I am so thankful to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing. NetGalley is exposing me to authors that I have not read before. I really enjoyed this book, there were so many laugh out loud moments. Lucy and Jaylen are about as polar opposite as they come. The story starts with Jaylen being released from his pro hockey team. He goes to drown his sorrows at a bar. This is were he runs into Lucy. After there one night of fun and never expecting to see each other again; Jaylen gets the call that he has been reassigned back to his team. I do not want to giveaway any spoilers, but in a nutshell Jaylen thinks that Lucy is his good luck charm. I really enjoyed Lexi Brown's development of these characters. She definitely broke the mold of the usual tropes in hockey romance books. Their chemistry was just so real, and the life struggles Lexi Brown writes about are real life issues and not something crazy and way out there. They are 100% believable making them seem legit. This is definitely one of my favorite hockey books to date. A huge thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to discover Lexi Brown. I look forward to reading more of her books.

This book felt like it tried so hard. There were so many boxes checked in terms of diversity of characters and background histories. It got to the point where it felt super formulaic. I have read a good amount of hockey and other sports romances, that are all basically the same premise. The difference between those books and this one is that they didn’t try to hit every mark at the same time.

The premise is that Lucy is a “black-cat” aspiring tattoo artist has a one-night stand with JJ, a down on his luck (I think he is supposed to have “golden retriever” energy) hockey player, who was recently cut from his team. The next day, his luck suddenly returns when he is signed again with the Seattle team, JJ attempts to turn Lucy into his pre-game lucky charm (don’t worry, this just means she needs to wish him luck before each game). As this situation progresses, it grows into… something more?

I wanted to love this book. As previously mentioned, it checked a lot of boxes other hockey romances have skipped over. Everyone wasn’t hetero. Everyone wasn’t Caucasian. I wanted to love it. But I didn’t.

The chemistry between the characters just wasn’t there for me. They didn’t mesh in a way that was believable to me and their trials and tribulations as a couple didn’t bring them together as much emphasized their different focuses. Even at the end of the book, when family members and friends had been introduced, I still felt like I didn’t really know these characters. They were pretty pictures but were flat without real personality. There was a lack of story and substance and instead of being a fun, sassy story full of growth and defying adversity, it came across as a poppy counterculture attempt at a hockey romance. This is the Hot Topic goth of hockey romances, it sounds and looks edgy, but it is the same generic rhetoric.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a copy of this book.

While "Shoot Your Shot" presented a strong premise, it fell short in the execution. The writing was far too much telling and not showing, which made it difficult for me to relate to the characters. I liked Jaylen but Lucy felt flat for me. I didn't buy into the romantic chemistry and it didn't feel romantic or engaging to me. The pop culture references didn't disengage me, but I didn't find them enjoyable. It relied on stereotypes for representation of the queer characters, they felt like stereotypical representations of queer people, and not characters who were well rounded. It was mildly charming but just didn't land for me. I think that readers who enjoy hockey romance would enjoy this, I just needed it to be something different.

I was so excited to read this book and it definitely lived up to the my own hype. This was a really great hockey romance. I really loved how the author handled the MMC's struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. I really felt like the romance also felt incredibly real.