Shoot Your Shot is a fun, lighthearted read with humor and romance. The premise is engaging, but the pacing felt uneven at times, and I wanted more depth in the characters. Still, it’s an enjoyable story for a quick escape. If you’re looking for something easy and entertaining, it’s worth a read.

I follow Lexi on TikTok and that’s how I learned about this book. I then found it on NetGalley as a ALC(advance listening copy) so thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio so much for allowing me the opportunity to listen to this book before its released on March 11, 2025.

Sports romances can be hard, and as a first time author I think Lexi Lafleur Brown did a good job. I enjoyed the somewhat cross over of her personal life to the book as she played hockey and her husband is a NHL player. Lexi did a amazing job with the writing aspects of all things hockey, I mean she has a lot of first hand experience with it to know the in’s and outs of the sport. Lexi does a really great job with her character development, and in ways breaking the mold of that typical image of a hockey romance.
Lucy Ross, a bisexual aspiring tattoo artist working for a awful jerk of a boss. Lucy meets Jaylen Jones(JJ),a black male hockey player. They meet at a local bar on the last night of JJ’s NHL hockey contract, due to a decline in him that ultimately lead to his contract ending. JJ is spending his last night in Seattle at a bar, with Lucy. His agent calls him as he’s getting ready to get on a plane to offer a last minute roster spot on Seattles NHL team. After spending the night with Lucy and then receiving that call he becomes extremely superstitious, and doesn’t want to loose his good luck charm which he thinks is Lucy. Lucy, who says she’s never had luck in her life is very skeptical of JJ believe she is his good luck charm.

JJ and Lucy come to an agreement, an agreement that benefits them both. Lucy becomes JJ’s lucky charm and JJ helps Lucy build her tattoo portfolio. The agreement means they end up spending more and more time together, and it begins to heat up in the romance department for them.

This book was so bingeable I finished it in less than a day. Lexi tackles a lot of serious topics in this book, doing it in a seamless and extemely thoughtful manner. She tackles mental health, race, LGBTQIAP+, the way she portrays JJ’s battles with anxiety and depression really stuck with me. So often do we forget that professional athletes are people to and battle the same things as your average person.

Read this if you like:
Dual POV
Spice
Seattle Washington
NHL players
Black professional sports players
Black cat x golden retriever
Aspiring tattoo artist
Where the man falls first
One night stand
Friends to lovers
Hockey
Romance
Sports romance
LGBTQIAP+
Mental health representation

Thank you again to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio and to Lexi LaFluer Brown for the change to listen to this ALC.

This was a fun Hockey romance debut from insider and former WAG, Lexi LaFleur Brown that sees bisexual disaster Lucy and aspiring tattoo artist unknowingly hooking up with Jaylin, JJ Jones, a clutzy, Black hockey player one night and getting talked into acting as his good luck charm.

Set in Seattle, Lucy and Jaylin spend more and more time together and inevitably start to catch real feelings. I liked that this wasn't just about their chemistry and sexual relationship (which were top notch) but also had emotional depth, exploring Jaylin's undiagnosed anxiety and depression and Lucy's complicated relationship with her absentee, alcoholic father.

Great on audio narrated by Kristen DiMercurio and Jamal Roque, this was a standout interracial, queer hockey love story full of humor and found family that is sure to delight fans of authors like Bal Khabra, Becka Mack or Elle Kennedy. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I am very thankful to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for allowing me to listen to an early copy of this title.

Jaylen believes his career is over, so he decides to let it all hang loose and meets Lucy it was only supposed to be a one-night stand. But fate had other plans. He not only gets back on the team because another player was injured but he sees Lucy again in the most unlikely of places the rink.

It was a fun and fast-paced story of how these two flawed characters come together and heal pieces of themselves.
Lucy was my favourite character; to say the least, she doesn’t take things too seriously. And Jaylen needed her brand of a little bit nutty but a whole lot sweet.

This was a fun charming rom-com, I highly recommend it.

The narrators were both wonderful I felt like they really brought these characters a voice and it made it that much more entertaining.

I enjoyed this book! The narrators were really good and had amazing inflections as they read.

I liked that the Lucy was reluctant and didn’t just fall into the J’s arms right away. She really made him work for it LOL. It really built the trust between the two well.

It was so enduring to watch the J not only support Lucy but also call her out on her toxic behavior patterns. She grew a lot and I loved seeing their HEA

Putting a new spin on "getting lucky" - this is a sweet, binge-able romance read! Dual POV with a black-cat FMC who's an artist and golden retriever hockey player MMC. The author is clearly knowledgeable about hockey which really enhances the male POV. This story is a great blend of lighthearted and funny while also touching on serious topics like mental health and alcoholism and handling them well. Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and the Hive for providing me with an ALC of this. A lot of cringe moments, but overall a fun read!

Give this one a read if you like:
- hockey romance
- black cat FMC / golden retriever MMC
- queer representation
- he falls first

I listened to the audio and really enjoyed the narrators. The only down-side for me about the audio version is that the volume level was very inconsistent. I listened to some of this while driving and kept having to crank the volume up to hear and then suddenly the next line would be deafening. If you're listening in a quiet environment, this would be great!

eh, i enjoyed the first half and Lucy's personality but it seemed to change in the second half and the book just felt different. I'd try this author again though. i liked the alt art vibe.

Thank you to Netgalley for an alc of shoot your shot!
This was a fun & easy listen.
Pretty standard romance formula that I thought was executed well for a debut novel.

-black cat fmc/golden retriever mmc
-bi artist fmc
-professional hockey player mmc
-he falls first
-opposites attract

I enjoyed both characters and I thought Lucy was funny. I enjoyed that Jaylen fell first (one of my fav microtropes!) 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!

No concerns with narration.

The story itself? Pretty bland. Lucy came across as cold, J came across as desperate, and there was no true connection shown between them. They "find out" they've been dating? What?

I really enjoyed this audio. The narrators managed to bring both characters to life in only a way a narrator can. While I don't usually gravitate toward narrators like these I did enjoy the story the way they were able to tell it.

This book was not for me. The story had a good plot but it was not one that I could connect to or get into. I was not a big fan of the narrator. I would not recommend this book to others, including those that love hockey stories.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Here’s the hockey romance I didn’t know I was missing by the former hockey playing author, married to a hockey player. Great debut novel and I can’t wait for the second book!

This was such a bingeable hockey rom-com!

Jaylen Jones finds himself in a bar the last night of his NHL hockey contract. After a decline that leads him to losing his contract, he decides to say goodbye to the city. Jaylen spends his last night in the city with a feisty Seattle local. The next morning as he’s about to hop on the plane, his agent calls and offers him a last minute roster spot on Seattle’s NHL team. As any hockey player is, Jaylen becomes superstitious and doesn’t want to give up his good luck charm.

Lucy Ross is an aspiring tattoo artist working in an apprenticeship for an asshole of a boss. She’s never had an ounce of luck in her life, so naturally she’s skeptical that she had anything to do with Jaylens luck.

When the two come to an agreement that mutually benefits them, they end up spending more and more time together. The chemistry is burning hot as they navigate what their lives look like with or without each other.

Like I said, this book was INSANELY bingeable. I read it in about six hours! The only minor detail that aggravated me a little was how she reacted to the conflict even though he was offering his unwavering support. I get that she has slight commitment issues, but it was giving college relationship reaction. I feel like at that point in the story, the couple has the communication skills to work through that with their words right then and there. But don’t let that discourage you. The story came together beautifully and the epilogue was so fun! I cannot wait to read more from this author.

As for the audiobook, both narrators were fantastic and made the story very enjoyable!

Thank you NetGalley, Canary Street Press, and Harlequin Audio for this ALC/ARC. And as always thank you to the Hive 🫶🏻

I really hate being a hater when it comes to romance books as I’m pretty easy to please… but I wish I never read this book. strike one was right off the bat, realizing that the characters names and descriptions almost exactly matched the author and her husband and it was reading like some sort of weird self insert fanfiction. but still I tried to give it a chance... then it was just bad - the book, the writing, the characters, the pacing, the dialogue, the sex (which was so cringey I thought it was a joke at first)… I am really easy to please but this read like something a 13 year old wrote on wattpad (derogatory) (and I LOVE wattpad this is not a slight against them). given this author has had very loud opinions on how everyone else writes hockey romances, it made it irrationally angry how comically bad this was. the audio itself was… fine? I didn’t love the male narrator but I don’t think it added or took away anything from the book.

4 stars ⭐️ If you love spicy hockey romances, this is for you!! The hockey info is top tier, it’s spicy and the narrators did an excellent job bringing this book to life.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Fun little romance between a pro-hockey player and artist trying to get a tattoo apprenticeship! After a night together, Jalen decides Lucy must be his good luck charm and will do just about anything to get her on board, eventually leading to real feelings between them.

I love a good sports romance book, and this one did not fault! I need mine to have a good amount of sports in it with the romance.

Jaylen is this down on his luck NHL player. Lucy is a wannabe tattoo apprentice. The 2 couldn't be anymore opposite.

Here you get some familiar tropes:
•Opposites attract
•Hockey Romance
•He Falls First
•Black Cat x Golden Retriever

I wasn't 100% sure on what I thought of the book at first. It started off differently, than most romance books. But I loved following along and getting to know our 2 MCs. I truly loved how much Jaylen adored Lucy and supported her.

For any hockey romance lovers, I definitely recommend this book ❤️

Seriously loved this book I could not stop listening to it I was giggling throughout the whole book. 10/10 highly recommend. Great voice actors choice too!

Shoot your shot is a contemporary romance published by Harlequin, and that is exactly how it feels (in a great way). With spicy scene throughout the book (no slow-burn here, friends), an FMC with serious attitude, and a lot of growth for both characters to go through, this book moves really well! I can't wait to see was Lexi LaFleur Brown does next!

Sometimes, when a MMC is written so well (see: honesty, anxiety representation, committed), the flaws that drive the plot sit on the FMC's shoulder in a way that makes her less likable because you sit there reading the book thinking "girl, what's wrong with you?" For me, Shoot Your Shot did fall into this pitfall, causing me to connect with the book less.

One Night Stand that ends up with them getting lucky for more than one night....

After Lucy and Jaylen meet at a bar and enjoy a fun night together, they both think they will never see the other again. Not that they don't want to, it was fun, but that was the idea of the whole situation. Imagine Lucy's surprise walks into the ice rink to work on a mural that she was volun-told to do by her awful boss, and ends up getting hit right in the head by a hockey puck. Not only did she just get in the literal face by a hockey puck, it just happens to be by the guy that she had been with the night before that said he was leaving on a plane that morning.

After a turn of events Jaylen deems Lucy his good luck charm, and if you know anything about hockey players, do not mess with their game day routines. Jaylen will do anything he can do keep his new found spot on the team, and hopefully keep his good luck charm too.