A Shot in the Dark was one of the best contemporary adult romances I've read in a long time. While I love a light, fluffy romance, this book was much more grounded and dealt with a lot of heavier topics which helped add so much depth to the story and characters. I found myself rooting for not only Ely and Wyatt to fall in love, but also for them to each have their own personal growth and learn to love themselves more as well. As someone who has dealt with addiction first hand as well as with family members, I feel like the author handled these topics with so much honesty, grace, and empathy. I really appreciated that and it made this story so hopeful.

I can’t wait to read more books by Victoria Lee. They really blew me away with this book and I know I’ll definitely be picking up more books by them in the future.

A love story centered around acceptance is just what I needed to pull myself out of my book slump. So many adult and modern topics were conveyed in this book: addiction struggles, openness, family strife... I loved how relatable it was and how likeable the characters were. I was pulled in from the very start and the depth of the characters and story was there. This was a great read and I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley, PRH Audio, and Dell for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would reccomend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-one night stand
-forbidden romance elements
-trans rep
-orthodox Jewish rep
-mutual pining
-angsty

I really enjoyed this one on audio. Such a layered book about two people with traumatic pasts (please check CWs) bumping into each other. Very much right person wrong time vibes. I loved how Ely and Wyatt bonded over their appreciation over art and how their pasts interwoven and impacted their present. How they both showed up for the other, without asking and just loved the other for who they were and nothing more.

I really enjoyed this story! Ely meets a handsome stranger and has a one night stand, only to realize it’s Wyatt, the professor she’s excited to work with.

With themes of acceptance, love, addictions and healing, I loved the complex characters and how Ely and Wyatt were able to help resolve their feelings from the past.

*many thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

Representation: Queer Jewish MC, trans love interest

A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee. Ely is finally returning to New York City, after almost a decade. She’s been gone this long, because her substance abuse was discovered by her Orthodox community and they shunned her. It was too painful to stay, but she’s returned now because she got the opportunity to study under Wyatt Cole, a photographer who she really looks up to. The first night in the city, her new roommates take her dancing at the infamous queer club, Revel, and ends up going home with an absolute dream of a man. Next morning, in class, she discovers that the man was no other than her teacher, Wyatt Cole. The chemistry is off the charts, they connect over shared addiction struggles and rejection from family/loved ones. Wyatt is highly respected in the photography community, but his past isn’t widely known. He was discharged from the military and disowned from his family, because he came out as trans. They know the connection they have is undeniable, but they’re also in a teacher/student situation, so they have to figure out how to proceed.

Rating: 4.75/5 I really enjoyed this story! I have no experience with addiction myself, so I don’t know how accurate this representation is. With that in mind, I did think it was handled well, and very honest about what people experience. I appreciated that it did show that it can be very hard to stay on the the path, and had a slip, how it was handled and discussed afterward. I also learned quite a bit about the Jewish community, and all the various branches of Judaism. Ely is reconnecting with her own faith after years being away, and learning about what it can be, not just what she was raised with. I liked Wyatt, he was very caring and mindful of his position in this dynamic. Sure, there were some times that Wyatt didn’t consider what Ely might want, but I liked how they were constantly talking through things. The spice was very nice, but it’s certainly not smut. There’s a lot of emotions in this! If you love intense feelings, romance, and art, this is a fantastic read.

I’m a little late with reading this arc (oops) and I’m so upset with myself I didn’t read this sooner because I loved it SO much. I really wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did and I’m shocked this book isn’t getting the hype it deserves

This is definitely not a cutesy little lighthearted romcom story. It deals with some very heavy topics and you should definitely check the trigger warnings. But I think the author did a great job of balancing the heavy topics with an amazing romance.

I really loved the main characters, Ely and Wyatt, so much. They felt so real to me. They were flawed, realistic. Separately their story arcs were already incredible but their love story together really is the best. I loved their chemistry so much, they worked really well together.

The only real ‘issue’ I have is that I wish we could’ve gotten more from Wyatt’s POV and his story. Most of the story is focused on Ely because we get most of her POV, or it felt that way to me at least. I wish there was some more balance between the two.

Overall I highly recommend this book, it deserves way more hype and everybody should be reading this. I’m definitely buying a physical copy, and I can’t wait to reread this one day.

Great adult romance about Judaism and addiction. It felt so vivid and real, the trademark of a great romance. Characterization and dynamics on point. Even the teacher/student situation was explored with care and modernity.

So. Much. Pining. Ely meets and spends the night with a handsome stranger the night before her prestigious photography program begins. Only, surprise! Wyatt, the talented professor she’s so excited to work with, turns out to be her one night stand. And he’s saying they can’t work together—or date—but there seem to be a lot of mixed messages.

This was a lovely story of accepting where you come from and what you’ve done, and moving on with your life. I found it to be less satisfying when it came to the romance, which was a lot of push and pull. The themes of addiction and losing your family of origin were pretty heavy.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

this was kind of weird, but kind of interesting? if youre into lgbtq++++ romances this might be for you. I wish they went in more on the jewish aspect but overall it was pretty wholesome if not realisic.

I loved this story of love and healing for both Ely and Wyatt. This was not the traditional meet cute story, but I think Victoria Lee did a great job writing characters that are still not part of main stream stories. Because Ely and Wyatt have complex backgrounds I'm glad that Victoria Lee wrote about their backgrounds and helped to resolve them so that both Ely and Wyatt could be happy and have a future together.

The resolution for Ely's past made me cry and I was so happy for Wyatt being able to see his family again. Where the story ends is perfect for who Ely and Wyatt are. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and Random House Publishing for the gifted e-book/audiobook! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: LGBTQ representation, teacher and student, friends to lovers, addiction representation

Wow. This is heavy but so good. It's less of a romance to me. It's more about the two people loving themselves and growing despite addiction. It's healing journeys. I highly recommend it!

A great showing for Victoria Lee as they enter into adult romance from the YA world.

We learn that after a spectacular one night stand, Ely and Wyatt can’t pursue this thing between them since… he’s her teacher of the summer photography program she’s in. As both of them navigate their feelings (and their sobreity), Ely finds herself being drawn back to her religion and Wyatt finds himself being drawn back into a family who disowned him after finding out he was trans.

What’s so interesting about this book is that it is so well written and deeply emotional. I was equally invested in both storylines and felt like the dual POVs worked so well. Where it didn’t completely gel for me was it being billed as a romance. I understand why it was, but there were so many other elements to it that the romance felt like just another element instead of the main star.

This was a wonderful book but I don’t know if I would necessarily classify it as a wonderful romance book.

I tried to get through this book for months before finally deciding to move on. This book is well written and the storyline is unique but it just wasn’t for me. The story moved a little slowly for my taste, I appreciate this book for its unique premise and outstanding representation. Maybe I’ll decide to pick it back up one day.

Great characters, plus I'm a sucker for characters in recovery. Story is fine but the second meeting of the MCs gave me pause; I'm not one for a power imbalance (although it gets resolved in a way, it's still--there).

i have previously read a lesson in vengeance by this author and enjoyed it, but i’m just not sure this book was for me. also, i wouldn’t necessarily describe this novel as a romance book, because it deals with a lot more than just the main romance.

This book was stunningly written and I loved the messages throughout it. It's a story of love, healing, addiction, and acceptance. Ely and Wyatt both are dealing with different internal struggles and they find each other on a random night at a queer bar. They think they'll never see each other again, but life had different plans for them and Wyatt turned out to be Ely's art professor.

Throughout the book they both navigate their lives and deal with their addictions. Ely also struggles with her religion and how it relates to her now. They have both been disowned from their families for different reasons. But it's not all struggle, love and humor play a major role throughout the book. The dual POV was great in showing this. I also loved the transgender and pansexual representation in the book.

It is always so moving for me to read about queer Jews!! I loved the spotlight on Ely’s orthodox background and I loved Michal as a side character. This was much sadder than I thought it would be, but I still enjoyed myself.

This was an EXCELLENT romance/love story that had really great queer representation, as well as substance abuse rep and Jewish rep. I liked the main romance, and the side storylines of pursuing art and healing from family trauma were really well done. Great trans rep as well!! 4.5 rounded up!

🌈 Queer rep: MF main relationship (bi/pan female, trans guy). Secondary lesbian woman, gay man, FF couples.

Despite my man-child trying to get a Victoria lee book into my reading rotation for a few years now, this was my first VL book read--and definitely won't be my last. I enjoyed the emotions of the characters carrying them through the story, the trans-romance storyline, and the photography and art connection (I learned some new things there!). The book is art, in a number of ways.

I am not a huge romance reader but when I saw the queer and Jewish rep in this one, I knew I needed to give it a try. Luckily, I really enjoyed it. The look at addiction and recovery, family trauma, and the importance of support systems was so well done, as were the flashbacks in time to Ely’s past. Highly recommend this one, even if you, like me, read exactly one romance a year. Make it this one.