Shoot Your Shot is Lexi Lafleur Brown's debut sports romance novel, narrated by Kristen DiMercurio and Jamal Rogue. I think the narrators did as best they could with an inconsistent book.

Lucy Ross works in a tattoo shop, hoping for an apprenticeship. Jaylen "JJ" Jones is an NHL player looking for a contract with a new team. After a one-night stand, their careers become intertwined. JJ thinks Lucy is his lucky charm, and they reach a business arrangement wherein she sends him a text message before his games in exchange for tattooing experience.

Lucy is a very relatable main character who hooked me right away, but as she evolves throughout the book, her sparkle dims. She starts off strong, just like the flow of the story, but some of the dialogue is stilted and the emotions feel a bit forced. There are lovely descriptions and the hockey knowledge is strong. It's clear the author knows the sport, but the romance portion of the book could have been smoother.

I almost didn't finish the book, but I kept hoping for it to end strong. In the end, it was a decent book, but the sexual chemistry just didn't feel as realistic as the hockey.

Professional hockey plays Jaylen Jones meets sassy, rough-around-the edges anonymous woman and has an amazing one-nigh stand on his last night before leaving town. When a spot becomes available on the team, Jaylen gets to stay in Seattle, and lo and behold, he runs into his lucky charm one-night stand Lucy. She is an artist turned aspiring tattoo artist with a boss from hell. When told to do a job outside her comfort zone, she meets Jaylen again. He is ecstatic to see her, as he needs her to be around him so his lucky streak stays alive. But feelings start to form, and with them complications.

This was my first Lexi LaFleur Brown book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A fun, well-written, and quick read, it ticked the sports romance, and romance in general, boxes. Great dialogue and emotions. I will be reading Brown again, for sure.

Sometimes, you need a hockey romance in your TBR. If that's what you're searching for: this will do nicely. Lucy is an apprentice tattoo artist who is pretty miserable for someone trying to fulfill their dream career ambitions. Jaylen didn't get the contract to the NHL team he wanted... so he's pretty down about it and reconsidering his career options. When their paths cross, they are both pretty salty and in it for nothing more than a one night dalliance with some who is a worse person banter. But in the morning, Jaylen's luck turns for the better... while Lucy's turns for the worse. After taking a hockey puck to the face, Lucy is faced with seeing Jaylen daily during her mural painting at the arena he practices at. Fate keeps bringing them together in ironic and often painful (to Lucy) ways. Will their weird luck dynamic be enough to build a relationship? Read on to find out!

What I liked: the banter between Lucy and Jaylen, the hockey

I had so much fun with Shoot Your Shot! Lucy was such a wonderfully messy and complicated FMC, and I loved how her bi rep was portrayed. Jaylen was more than just a hockey bro — his journey with depression and anxiety was heartfelt and so well done. Their connection was fantastic, and Lucy’s little found family added so much warmth. I listened to this one on audio, and the dual POV narration was excellent — a thoroughly enjoyable listen!

This was a high 3 star read for me. I loved the Black cat energy and the Hockey player trying to turn his career around. They worked but they also didn't. They started as a one night stand turned into friends but not by her choice he needed her for his good luck charm (athletes are VERY superstitious and if one thing changes for things to turn around they keep doing it.) To dating

Jaylen is starting over with a new team and he will only focus on hockey and turning everything around in his career. Lucy is a trying to start up her tattoo career and the person shes trying to get a apprenticeship with has very interest in helping her just using her to be her assistant at the shop. When she is forced to do a mural at the rink for the team she has to get back into her reg art and think is becoming a tattoo artist her path or getting back into painting is her real path.

They were 2 people who were just living not embracing what they could be in life.

Thank you Netgalley for this Audio-arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was a pretty good hockey romance. I probably would have enjoyed this one more if I read it versus listened to it on audio. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline itself was engaging.

ALC Review
Shoot Your Shot by Lexie LaFleur Brown
Narrated by: Kristen DiMercurio & Jamal Roque

This was a cute read - it follows a prickly & sassy black cat artist and a golden retriever of a hockey player with some anxiety issues. While I enjoyed the overall premise of this book, it fell a bit flat overall.

The narrators did a good job bringing the story to life.

Pick this one up if you enjoy:
* Hockey rom com
* Black cat artist x golden retriever hockey player
* Superstitions
* Failed one night stand

I think there is an audience for this book, but I am not that audience. It didn’t grab me like previous hockey romances have. Had I been reading instead of listening, there’s a good chance I would have stopped. I can’t put my finger on it. The book is okay.

While this book had some solid one-liners that had me chuckling and had a solid story structure, it didn’t do it for me overall. It tried too hard to be not like other hockey romances currently on the market. This felt more like an anti-hockey romance than anything. Despite saying she was just like other girls, Lucy oozes “not like other girls” energy throughout the entire book. And while I normally would have found Jaelen’s down and out status far more interesting than a super star player, she immediately took that drama away by turning him into one of the top players in the league just because he’d found a girl. Overall, the whole thing just felt like it was trying too hard.

I thought the dual POV narration was well done and made it an enjoyable read. The story and plot were enjoyable, although a bit slow. I don't think it's a standout story for the hockey romance category.

⅘ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Shoot Your Shot
Author: Lexi Lafleur Brown

Thank you so much Harlequin Audio for this ALC! Hockey romance fans unite! I want to start with saying I loved that our FMC was a bad ass tattoo apprentice. Also a bit rough around the edges, Lucy is everything we want in an FMC. When she meets professional hockey player Jaylen at a bar one night, she has no idea it’s the start or a relationship she did not know she was looking for. Jaylen was having a bout of bad luck and thought his career was over, but after his one night with Lucy he received an offer from a team he could not refuse. They end up making a deal where she is his good luck charm, and he lets her tattoo on him to build her portfolio. The audio was great, and it was done in duet narration bouncing between Jaylen and Lucy. It was pretty hilarious, special emphasis on the cat chapters 😂. I really enjoyed this read and I think sports romance fans will love adding this one to their shelves. This just released 3/11!

I had to sit with this book before I wrote my review. At first I walked away from the book with a 3/5 star rating in mind, but as I sat with it more and more things began to bother me, and I've since changed my rating to a 2/5.

I went into this not knowing a ton about Lexi LaFleur Brown, but knowing that the buzz around Shoot Your Shot was loud and proud. I haven't really jumped into hockey romcoms before, and I figured this might be a good place to start. Lexi LaFleur Brown clearly knows hockey, her writing and voice felt most confident when she was talking about the players and the game, even the arena itself. But as a heavily tattooed person I felt like she didn't do her due diligence on that side of things. If the FMC wanted to be a tattoo apprentice she easily could have ordered practice materials online and jump started it. I feel like the FMC was intended to be strong-willed person, but instead she came off as meek. Also, as an artist, the thought of the FMC jumping from no painting in years into a mural of that caliber was almost laughable. The fact that her boss didn't trust her as anything but an assistant and then suddenly sent her to paint this large mural without knowing if she could paint was so unbelievable, it was an immediate turn off. Ultimately, I feel like Lexi LaFleur Brown had a huge opportunity here with a LGBTQ FMC and she really let it fall flat. I would read more by this author, but I would need it to be an improvement on this book.

As far as the audio, I did like the FMC narrator, but I did NOT enjoy the MMC narrator as much. Something about the cadence he held. I also felt like I had to slow the audio down when he was reading. I usually listen on 1.75 speed, but I had to tone it down to 1.5 for him.

I had a difficult time getting into this one. It's the male narrator. (Sorry) The story was okay, but the narrator sealed the deal for me. 3 stars.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Harlequin Audio for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3 ⭐ 3 🌶️ 4 🎧

This was so sweet and fun. I loved the representation, the banter and the tropes a ton. It felt a little too hockey smart sometimes as an occasional real life hockey fan, I'm not sure if it would be too much for a superfan or not, but it turned me off a bit.

I thought the brokenness of Lucy and Jaylen was really well done. Lucy had an absent and abusive father and Jaylen had a ton of anxiety and depression surrounding his tragic and guilt ridden past. I really enjoyed the journey with each of them leaning in each other and overcoming their hurdles.

The audio was great. I really loved Jamal Roque and Kristen DiMercurio, they did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life.

I was really looking forward to this book, it had a lot of positive press and I love me a good hockey romance but it is absolutely awful.

MF
Dual POV
First Person
Hockey romance
Bisexual FMC
Mental health rep
Tattoos

Rating: 2/5 - I should have DNF'ed this one
🌶️: 3/5 - there are a handful of explicit intimate scenes
🏒: 5/5 - quite possibly the most hockey content of any MF hockey romance I've ever read

TLDR: I wanted to like this one and it had some good elements but I ultimately didn't find the relationship or the mental health journeys believable.

This book started out really well. The relationship was cute I was enjoying both characters and where the story was going. I was laughing out loud. And at about 50%, I feel like I missed something. The relationship went from the cute early flirty stages to love in seemingly no time at all. And then they're like reminiscing about how much time they've been spending together over the hockey season. And I'm like "When did that happen? Did I skip a chapter? What?" The mental health rep also felt a bit forced to me. It felt disingenuine and like a box was being checked. The LGBTQ rep felt more natural. But somebody in that community could speak to that much better than I can. The intimate scenes also felt a bit out of place. They didn't fit the tone of the rest of the book. Which I wouldn't have thought would bother me because I've read other books like that. You know "sweet in the streets, freak in the sheets". No problem. But these ones caught me off guard. Something about them was not pulling punches. It wasn't bad. I don't mind a very explicit "use your adult words" scenes. It was just the tonal shift that I found to be jarring. I really wanted to like this book. I liked a lot of the ideas behind it. I found the fact that it was written by the wife of a professional hockey player super interesting. I figured she would have some really interesting perspectives and some more hockey knowledge. And I think the hockey knowledge does show there was more of that content than I usually see in a MF pairing hockey romance book. This book was also endorsed by one of my favorite authors but I had to force myself to finish it. By 70% I didn't believe in the relationship. I will give this author another shot. Since it is her debut and there's good things here, I think future books might be good. Or at least work better for me.

The audiobook performances we're good for the most part. Nothing to write home about necessarily but they were fine. Except for when the male narrator was narrating intimate scenes and speaking with the woman's voice. Totally cringey. That was rough.

Ultimately, I would not recommend this book. If you're looking for romance and hockey content try a gay hockey romance. I have many to recommend.

Thank you to the author, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for the advanced review copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5 stars)
**Empowering, Fun, and Full of Heart**

*Shoot Your Shot* by Lexi LaFleur Brown is an inspiring and uplifting read that blends humor, wisdom, and real-life advice in an engaging way. Brown’s voice is authentic and encouraging, making this book feel like a conversation with a supportive friend. Whether you’re looking for motivation, a confidence boost, or just a fun and relatable read, this book delivers. While some parts may feel a bit familiar if you’ve read a lot of self-help or motivational books, Brown’s fresh perspective and personal insights make it stand out. A fantastic pick for anyone ready to go after their dreams!

This was a really fun book. The banter between Lucy and Jaylen was hilarious, and it had me laughing out loud at some of the things that were said. I listened to the audio version of this and loved the dual POV with both narrators.

Such a fun, light hearted, and sweet romance!

...this was not for me. I found the FMC really annoying and honestly couldn't make it very far. The other reason I struggled is because this author spent so much time prior to writing this book bashing other hockey romances because they had "unrealistic" things in them that wouldn't happen in the NHL. Well duh, they're fiction, of course they're going to change things for flow of the story or plot points, it's not a history of the NHL or a day in the life. So with all that commentary, I expected an engaging story and didn't get that.

This audio!!!!! The narrators were incredible, I feel like they were the perfect choices for these two characters. I couldn’t stop listening! I ended up having actual dreams about this book because it’s all I could think about.