Sometimes, I can’t read a book but do enjoy it so much more via audio. The audio made the book better for me.

Shoot Your Shot is a fresh and flirty debut that scores big on charm, chemistry, and emotional depth. Jaylen and Lucy’s dynamic crackles with tension from the start—a one-night stand turned “lucky charm” arrangement that’s equal parts hilarious and heartfelt.

Lexi LaFleur Brown brings authentic hockey energy and BookTok-worthy banter, while narrators Kristen DiMercurio and Jamal Roque add even more personality to the story in audio. Lucy’s journey as a struggling tattoo artist adds depth, and Jaylen’s superstitions keep things light and funny.

Perfect for fans of sports romance, fake-dating-ish tropes, and swoony stories with substance. A promising debut that’s as fun as it is feel-good.

I wasn't really happy with this book. There was no chemistry between the two main characters, and we are expected to believe that they had so much and they couldn't fight the pull but I couldn't feel as if this was true. I found that this author had a habit of telling us what we were supposed to feel about something, instead of actually being able to feel it and understand it. Nothing really stuck out to me except for how much I really disliked Lucy and how much we were told she was just the coolest and most quirky girl out there, but again, we were only told that. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to get the audio ARC of this book or else I think that it would have taken me way longer to finish it.

Lucy and Jaylens personal stories made this so much more than just a hockey romance. I found myself rooting for Jaylens hockey career in a way I never have in a hockey romance befor.e. Also, Lucy was damaged but so relatable. This is a must read for those who are still feeling their way around sports romances.

This Book was provided by NetGalley but all opinions and reviews are my own.

Jaylen is facing the end of his career as a professional hockey player. His contract wasn't renewed and it's supposed to be his last night in town. Lucy is going through yet another break-up, and her friends keep telling her she needs to stop getting into relationships and focus on her work if she wants to get a serious tattoo internship anytime soon. When they meet at a bar, neither plans on going home with the other. But when it becomes clear it would be for one night only, no attachments, they agree.

Until suddenly, the next morning finds Jaylen with a fresh contract and Lucy with a steady gig - only it's not the work she wants. She's put painting behind her, and working on a mural for the local team is not the kind of work she wants to be doing. It only gets worse when she takes a puck to the head and finds out that Jaylen lied - he's going to be in town for a whole lot longer.

With Lucy around, Jaylen can't seem to lose. Not only does he have a new contract, but he's playing better than he has in years. She's his good luck charm. If only he can convince her to stick around.

I admit I wasn't sure how I felt about these two to start with. Jaylen definitely is very regimented, and Lucy can be chaotic, which has been known to work and make for a lot of quirky interactions and funny moments that I love in other books. But these two were such strong personalities I really struggled with thinking they'd make a go of things.

I also liked that "shooting your shot" came to their work, not just taking a chance at their relationship with each other. Each was trying for their dream job, and coming against obstacles. They didn't let that stop them though, and I found that they had a great partnership when it came both to supporting each other in what they wanted to do for a job, and in how they could support each other in more personal ways.

Overall, a solid read and listen. The chapters were short, but the dual POVs kept things moving along and flowing smoothly. I switched between reading and listening depending what worked best at the moment. I felt that each narrator could be a little stiff at times, enough to be noticeable but not enough to sound robotic.

Shoot Your Shot was a story that I went through really fast but it failed a bit to grab all of my attention. It kinda felt like I wanted to read it fast so I could know what happens and move to another book. I'm usually a big big fan of hockey romances but this one just didn't hit as hard for me. It's cute alright with him wanting her to be his good luck charm and encouraging her into her carreer and all. I just felt it was missing something. It's not a bad book by any means, it just feels like a lot of all the same. (Maybe I've been reading too many hockey romance books so they all start to feel the same??)

I FLEW through this in less than 24 hours, I could. not. put. it. DOWN!
Lucy and Jaylen's relationship is so beautifully written. Through all the twists and turns of their relationship to their own self discoveries, right up to the very end I loved it all.
I reaaaally hope this is gonna be a series because I have to know why in the world that man thought being decked out in head to toe Gucci was fashion! 😂

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy!

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲: 🌶️🌶️

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀:
» Hockey
» One Night Stand
» Workplace Romance
» Golden Retriever MMC
» Black Cat FMC
» Bi-Rep

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
For me Jaylen was the star of this book. He had a great sense of humor, and I loved his superstitions! As a former competitive athlete, it is totally relatable! I used to figure skate, so I had a bunch of my own superstitions I HAD to do before each competition! He has his moments of weakness, but he was a really sweet character and the perfect person to break down Lucy’s walls.

Lucy, however, fell flat for me. I don’t know if I just couldn’t relate to her or if there was something else, but her character often rubbed me the wrong way. I typically give characters the benefit of the doubt when I don’t totally understand them, but she just felt a little too forced.

There were definitely some cute moments and a mention of ATLA, which always is a nice surprise when book characters love the same things I do. But overall, I just couldn’t connect with this story the way I normally would.

𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥:
The hockey references are on point, but the FMC fell flat, and that took away from some of the romance.

Shoot Your Short is a sports romance between a superstitious hockey player and hopeful tattoo artist/painter that was sweet and mostly light-hearted. I enjoyed their banter and friendship that grew into more, but felt the side characters were a little one-dimensional and leaned into stereotypes. Narrators Kristen DeMercurio and Jamal Roque added depth to the story and I enjoyed their characterizations of Lucy and Jamal. Thank you, Harlequin Audio, for the advanced listening copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

Thank you to Lexi LaFleur Brown, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for an ALC of Shoot Your Shot!

3/5 Stars

To start off, I want to say I loved the narrators of this book. I think their voices matched the personalities of the characters very well and the narrators did a wonderful job!

I thought Jaylen and Lucy's love story was cute. They were quite opposite from one another, but couldn't get enough of each other. There was so much golden retriever/black cat energy. The dynamic was a bit confusing, but opposites attract sometimes, right? It was frustrating to see Lucy so obviously head over heels for Jaylen, but refusing to commit. I just loved how he kept trying but didn't ever push her too far. This was a super quick read and if this was Lexi's debut, I'm excited to see where she goes!

This is a quick read with little bit of spice and some great witty banter. The storyline was cute and there were parts that had me laughing out loud. I really liked Jaylen. He was so super sweet. Lucy wasn't my favorite character but she grew on me throughout the story. I wasn't feeling the relationship between Jaylen and Lucy. He was all in, but it didn't seem like she was. Their relationship seemed very superficial as they never really connected on a deeper level. Also, there were way too many hockey terms sprinkled throughout the story without any explanation to what they mean.
I really enjoyed listening to the book as Kristen DiMercurio and Jamal Roque did a great job bringing these characters to life.

such a cute and cozy sports rom! the banter was engaging. the tension was slow burn. the characters were diverse! my first from the author but I’d be happy to pick her up again! loved the narrators.

This is one of my most anticipated romance releases fro 2024. I began following the author on social media a while ago. I think her insights on the world of ice hockey are so interesting and she is such a relatable person. I was excited to see how this translated into a romance book.

Unlike some of the other hockey romance books I've read I felt like this book had a lot of depth. Both characters are dealing with very real world issues. Lucy is just a girl trying to find a place in this world sharing her art. Jaylen is just trying to be a pro hockey player. One day they meet and their lives become interconnected.

I think there's some really fun lgbtqia+ rep in their friends and in a couple of the scenes with events that the characters attend. The story also touches on grief and mental health. I thought the scenes with Jaylen's mental health were done really well. It was refreshing to see characters on the page who are imperfect in very realistic ways.

My favorite part of this book was the banter. The author has a very witty writing style that's fun to read.

Thank you to The Hive & Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced reader copy of this book!

This one was just okay for me unfortunately. I couldn't connect to any of the characters. Maybe it just wasnt for me right now.

I love sports romances, but Shoot Your Shot fell flat for me. We have a professional hockey player MMC and and FMC whose dream it is to be a tattoo artist. I felt like there wasn’t a lot of growth between our main characters, and the insta-love trope isn’t my favorite.

I did find the stolen sign scene humorous. And there’s definitely some steamy scenes. But overall, this one won’t stick with me.

Thank you to Harlequin Audio, The Hive and NetGalley for the review copy!

Bold, empowering, and full of heart. Shoot Your Shot is a fierce reminder to go after what you want, on your own terms.

I was so fortunate to Listen to this on NetGalley also while following along on KU. I thought this was an easy read. I want to say I finished in two days. I thought the narrators, Jamal Roque and Kristen DiMercurio had great chemistry. This has anxiety representation in the book and I always appreciate that. Especially when the character doesn't know and is learning. I truly normalizes getting therapy and I really appreciated that. What was supposed to be a one night stand changes but completely on accident. I found myself laughing out loud at many parts.

This is a hockey romance and I always enjoy those. Lucy was so spunky and just trying to live her best life. She never expected to see Jaylen again and each time they continue to run into each other the interaction is just absolutely adorable. Overall I enjoyed this one quite much.

꧁𝓠𝓾𝓸𝓽𝓮𝓼꧂

💣 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙗 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩, 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙩.

😰 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮.

🙌 𝙒𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙤.

I loved that the audio was dual narrated (and done well!!) and it's in first person pov which is my preferred book set up.
Overall I enjoyed it!

3.5 rounded up. The reviews on this one were so harsh! I’m a longtime pro hockey journalist and have followed Lexi LaFleur Brown on social for years. She strikes me as cool, smart and unafraid to speak her mind. I’ve noticed the recent influx in sports-themed contemporary romance, and I haven’t read any of them because, frankly, I figured the sports references would be off and I’d be annoyed. If that makes me sound like a snob, well.

As a hockey wife who has played the game herself, I knew Brown would get the hockey right and she does. But what I enjoyed most about this book were the personalities of the two main characters. Jaylen, a former first rounder trying to get his career back on track, has the purest golden retriever energy. Lucy, an aspiring tattoo artist who’s getting the runaround as she hopes to apprentice at her current shop, is a bisexual black cat with family issues.

These two meet and have what’s meant to be a one-night hookup, because Jaylen has just been released from his contract and is leaving town. But, surprise, he doesn’t leave town after all, they are forced into proximity as Lucy is hired to paint a mural at the arena in lieu of her jerk of a boss, and he finds she is a good luck charm whom he now obviously has to keep around. That premise, very true of hockey players who get into some elaborate and ridiculous superstitions, truly cracked me up. Along the way there is a cast of mostly forgettable side characters, from his team and her mostly LGBTQ friend group, Lucy dealing with her jerk boss and jerk father, and Jaylen coming to terms with longtime mental health issues that I truly appreciated seeing represented from an athlete character.

No closed-door romance here; the spicy scenes are direct. I had some minor quibbles, like I didn’t think Jaylen would really care to explain goalie interference passionately for an hour - but was so amused by Lucy still not bothering to know enough about hockey by the end to understand why Jaylen has grown a scruffy playoff beard, assuming that he is struggling and has let himself go. I appreciated that in her personality and how funny this often was.

This is a debut with a second book committed, and I’m here for Brown’s second “shot.” Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarlequinAudio for this one, out now!

A very special thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for an ALC.

I was thrilled to listen to Shoot Your Shot because I enjoy hockey romance novels and have read many of them. Regrettably, I found this one challenging. I managed to get through around 20% of the audiobook during my initial try but had to pause. After a month, I returned to the audiobook for another attempt, and this time I reached 35% before choosing to stop listening.