Enjoyable at times, but didn’t quite leave a mark. As both a proud Jew and an ally of the LGBTQ community, I really loved the representation of both groups. It was fascinating to emerge myself in both worlds: of Chassidic Judaism and of the LGBTQ community. Between these two key topics as well as heavy substance abuse, family estrangement, and photography, there was a lot going on here, giving the story much complexity. To me, there may have been a bit too much going on. So much so that ideas and storylines weren’t fully flushed out by the end, seeming a bit rushed or unexplored. The characters were likable enough, but I didn’t especially connect with any of them. I did love their deep connection on many levels and how they were able to relate to each other’s unique experiences, bringing them closer together. While the first half was well written and flew by, there were pacing issues in the second half. The ending wrapped most things up, but it felt a bit anticlimactic and fell a little flat for me. An engaging read but unmemorable.

Thanks so much to Penguin Random House - Dell, Victoria Lee, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

Many thank to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this. I made it about 20% in and was not engaged in the story. I do recommend it to others to try!

Ely has moved back to Brooklyn after leaving town when she was kicked out of her family house for her drug addiction. She has the opportunity to study under her photographer idol, Wyatt Cole. A chance meeting with a handsome stranger starts the school year off in all the wrong ways. Ely will have to conquer all her demons while helping Wyatt deal with his own. This is a story of love, redemption, and forgiveness of others as well as herself. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC. 4 stars.

A Shot in the Dark is a love story, not a romance. It doesn’t rely on the usual tropes or follow the any sort of formula you’d see in contemporary romance. Our main characters, Ely and Wyatt, are beautifully written and fully realized characters. The book focuses on their struggles, past trauma, and their flaws, and how they fall in love because, not in spite of it all. It’s raw, moving, and deeply romantic.

If you loved Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake, you’ll love A Shot in the Dark.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.25 Stars
This book had a lot of great aspects about it. This book isn’t a conventional romance for multiple reasons and I wish the marketing for it had been a little different. It has focuses a lot on addiction, and themes of religion and self-identity. This was the first romance I have read with a trans-masculine love interest which I thought added a lot to the book. I do wish Wyatt had been developed better, like the main character Ely was. Ely was very well written and I had a lot of thoughts about the choices she made. I thought the discussion around addiction was great in this book. Overall, there was a lot I enjoyed in this book and it will be one that I recommended to friends.

A Shot in the Dark was a perfect novel. It was inclusive and had a diverse range of characters with unique struggles. It is set in the art world of New York and I feel like the author did such an amazing job capturing it and describing the setting. It felt very real and authentic to the story. I loved this story and can’t wait to read more for this author!

There was potential with this book, but the writing made it hard for me to get into it. It seemed almost juvenile, for lack of a better word. Ely appeared to be a 17 year old girl, not someone in her late twenties, with some of the dialogue and thoughts - maybe I missed the age, maybe she was younger, but that’s what I took away. I also wish there would have been more closure for her character. There was so much built up around her faith and beliefs, and that storyline seemed to fall a little flat - at least as it tied back to her family/old community. At least there was somewhat of a happy ending?

The aspiring photographer Ely Cohen fled to L.A. when a drug-fueled tragedy got her expelled from her Orthodox Jewish community; now she’s sober and back in New York for a prestigious art program. She works out her homecoming jitters by hooking up with a hot trans dude at a queer club — only to discover in class the next morning that he’s actually her hot trans photography professor, Wyatt Cole.

Wyatt was in the Marines before being on the streets and then getting clean. The last thing he needs is a fling with an emotionally volatile student. He can’t grade her work objectively but kicking her out of class feels just as wrong, so he agrees to mentor her as she creates her showcase project for the semester.

Ely’s work is intensely personal — a photographic exploration of Jewish communities — and it’s impossible for either of them to remain detached. Flashbacks keep the past fresh, particularly for Ely, whose skittishness and shame are unusually potent. The chemistry, too, is palpable. Where many rom-coms try to skip across the surface of a world, this book plunges into the depths.

Wyatt and Ely, both in recovery, are fearful of repeating their own worst mistakes; that risk creates a small but persistent pulse of suspense, a heartbeat that speeds up as the chapters fly by. As in so many of my favorite romances, the happy ending for these two is not really an ending but a beginning: It’s a blank page, unspoiled by errors. Something that looks like hope, and the bright possibility of starting fresh.

A Shot in the Dark is about Elisheva Cohen, a woman returning to New York for a summer photography intensive. Ely grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community in New York City, but after struggling with addiction for much of her youth, has been isolated from her family. On the first night back in NYC, Ely hooks up with a hot trans man whom she meets in a bar, only to find the next day that he's... the famous photographer that she was supposed to work with this summer. Oops! The story follows Ely trying to reconnect with her past and figure out what to do about her intense connection to Wyatt Cole, her hot professor and a man who is also sober and has a complex history with his family as well.

And oohhhhh mannnn I loved this book!!!! Definitely one of the best contemporary romances that I have read this year. I'm not even usually a huge romance person! This book hit such a good balance of real emotion and struggles without it seeming ingenuous or like a long therapy session. I really liked Ely as a main character and how she was flawed but was working on living her best life. The book is dual POV with Wyatt, although the majority of chapters are from Ely's POV. I liked this balance as I think that Ely had more growth that needed to happen in her life, particularly with her sobriety, family, and faith. This is the first time that I have read about an Orthodox Jewish community and I can't speak at all to the accuracy of such a depiction, but at least Ely's connection seemed very genuine to me. I loved reading about her connecting back to her faith in a way that was authentic to her.

I usually HATE power differential relationships, but it didn't bother me too much in this book. The student-professor thing is only for a summer photography intensive, Ely is 26, and Wyatt is in his early 30s. This made it much less ick for me.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and recommend it to anyone who loves romances! 5 stars. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book, my thoughts are my own!

Haunting, powerful, and lyrical. This book is just beautiful and it's one I'm sure I'll be returning to time and again.

I didn't read the blurb going into this book and I am happy I did. I really loved this book and how the relationship between Ely and Wyatt is portrayed. It was a lot to squeeze into a book but it flowed great. I am wanting more of this story in a bad way. 4.25 stars!!

This was a beautiful book with some darker themes. I feel that it truly made it feel much more realistic than some romances I read. I really enjoyed both characters, but I did have some issues connecting with them each in different parts of the book. I would definitely read again!

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

I really appreciate a romance novel that isn't all light and fluff, but instead takes complicated people in a complicated world and shows how they find their way to happiness. A Shot in the Dark is just that book.

Elisheva and Wyatt both have their demons as they navigate being sober, artists, and queer in NYC. Elisheva's struggle with sobriety and her past life as a Chabadnik felt real, same as Wyatt's struggle with his love of Elisheva and his coming to terms with his family.

I appreciated that the "different worlds" part of this book wasn't the main focus of the character's conflict and loved how the author portrayed flawed people as heroic in their own lives. Ely and Wyatt's love is great and this book was wonderful to read.

“I’m not starting over. I’m continuing”

This is a very emotional story about two artists who are recovering addicts who find solace in each other. Their connection is deep as they are trying to navigate recovery, family/religious trauma, and their artistic journey.

This was a very interesting read and I enjoyed it as it was very touching I have never read a book that has a Jewish main character, AND I love how informative the author was on the subject of Judaism and the complications with religion.

I love that I did not go into this knowing that it was a romance novel because it made the novel all the more complex. If you haven’t picked this one up you should

Please check CW before reading!

Trigger Warnings: Substance abuse, cursing, alcohol/drinking, sex, NA meeting, past overdose, transphobia, abusive parent, antisemitism, drug use both on page and recounted, religious trauma, breaking sobriety/relapse, death of a parent, domestic violence

Representation: Pansexual, Transgender, Orthodox Jew, twins

A Shot in the Dark is an emotionally powerful romance novel about two people finding love after struggling with addiction--ultimately discovering what it means to be completely and unapologetically themselves.

Elisheva Cohen has just returned to Brooklyn after almost a decade. The wounds of abandoning the Orthodox community that raised her, then shunned her because of her substance abuse, are still painful. But when she gets an amazing opportunity to study photography with art legend Wyatt Cole, Ely is willing to take the leap.

On her first night back in town, Ely goes out to the infamous queer club Revel for a celebratory night of dancing. Ely is swept off her feet and into bed by a gorgeous man who looks like James Dean, but with a thick Carolina accent. The next morning, Ely wakes up alone and rushes off to attend her first photography class, reminiscing on the best one-night stand of her life. She doesn't even know his name. That is, until Wyatt Cole shows up for class--and Ely realizes that the man she just spent an intimate and steamy night with is her teacher.

Everyone in the art world is obsessed with Wyatt Cole. He's immensely talented and his notoriously reclusive personal life makes him all the more compelling. But there's a reason why his past is hard for him to publicize. After coming out as transgender, Wyatt was dishonorably discharged from the military and disowned by his family. From then on he committed to sobriety and channeled his pain into his flourishing art career. While Ely and Wyatt's relationship started out on a physical level, their similar struggles spark a much deeper connection. The chemistry is undeniable, but their new relationship as teacher and student means desperately wanting what they can't have.

This story is deeply romantic and hard to believe that it’s the author’s adult debut. She creates genuine characters and a beautiful love story. Despite being many years of both being sober, the cravings continue. The author handles addiction and relapse with such care and genuine reality. Both characters also yearn to be fully themselves despite both having muddy pasts, but that desire to be better reads so strongly on the page. I think it’s important to remember that while these characters deal real problems, they are in fact characters- meaning they may not depict the journey of all who have similar struggles or storylines. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and thought it made an excellent audiobook.

Gorgeous, emotional, touching, and so so so sweet. This is my first Victoria Lee book but I’m about to binge the rest of their books RIGHT NOW.

Brief Synopsis: When Ely is given the opportunity to study under Wyatt Cole, a well known photographer, she has to face the idea of returning to New York. She left New York more than half a decade ago after being shunned by her community and struggling with addiction along with the impacts of her addiction in her relationships. When she meets Wyatt Cole on her first day of classes, she is shocked to realize that Wyatt is the man she hooked up with the night previously after a night out with her new roommates. Now Ely is forced to navigate her feelings for her new professor, triggers that may jeopardize her sobriety, and her career as a multimedia artist.

Have you ever picked up a novel that all the makings of a great novel only to have it not translate as well on paper? That's what A Shot in the Dark was for me. I loved the themes that Victoria Lee brings up in the novel and I could absolutely agree with her need to highlight the high propensity for addiction, isolation, mental health concerns and loss of a community within the LGBTQ+ community. But, for some reason, all of these things translated as too much within the novel, and I think they lost their power along the way.

That being said, representation is SO FREAKIN' IMPORTANT! And to read a steamy romance between our pan FMC and our trans MMC was an absolute delight. I think my favorite part of this novel was not only the romance, but that the romance was steamy and was just like every other romance you read about in a hetero love story - which is exactly how it should be! Lee definitely has a talent for writing romance.

All that being said, while this novel didn't quite do it for me, I think it could be a novel that absolutely brings all of the things another reader is looking for. I think that Victoria Lee did a great job highlighting the risk for members of the LGBTQ+ and strict religious communities when they are not accepted and cared for as individuals. Lee also did a beautiful job of highlighting the importance of found family within the same situations. I will definitely be recommending this to anyone who is interested in reading novels with diverse characters and LGBTQ rep!

Thank you so much to Ballantine, Netgalley, and PRH Audio for providing advanced copies of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

I absolutely adore Victoria Lee's writing. So when I saw they were releasing not only their adult debut, but a romance, it immediately jumped to my most anticipated list.

In the end, this book was really difficult for me to rate. Because I think it is a stunning, emotional, exceptionally well written contemporary with so many timely and important themes. And if I had gone into this with the right expectations for a deep contemporary, I think this is something I would have been raving about.

But I went into this through the lens of a romance and was left wanting more from the romance portion.

So I have 2 warring feelings over this book.

Which leads me to my main takeaway for this book - go into this expecting a contemporary with a romantic subplot and I can pretty much guarantee you'll fall in love.

This follows 2 main characters who have a clandestine meet cute at a queer club on the heroine's first night back in New York. And after a mind blowing one night together, they learn that the hero is supposed to be the heroine's teacher for a summer photography program. Throwing a seemingly insurmountable power imbalance in the mix.

There was SO MUCH to love about this book. The discussions of addiction were powerful and heartbreaking. The way Lee explored not only the personal toll it took, but the way it affects relationships was amazing.

They really put you into the head and life of these characters so you were able to not only see how and why they got to where they were, but the emotional impact it had on everyone. And made you empathize with not only the main characters, but the family and friends that were affect as well.

And Victoria Lee is officially on my list of favorite author's who write about gender and sexuality. There is a constant discussion in the community about who "has the right" to tell certain stories. And while I 100% believe that authors can write outside their own experiences, there is something extra special about reading own voices experiences.

The way gender is handled in here blew me away. And not only the discussions and conversations had, but the word and writing choices that were made - they knew exactly what details to give and not give that felt real, authentic, and confirming.

On top of all of that, the way religion played into this story was one of the rare exceptions to my rule of not loving religious themes. Because it played perfectly into the heroine's journey.

All of this to say, that the actual plot and themes of this book are perfection.

But again, I went into this with the lens of a romance, and that portion just didn't deliver as much as I was expecting.

These 2 have palpable chemistry from the very beginning. Their first meeting (and STEAMY night together) was electric. But the romantic conflict felt murky as best.

I'm always here for a forbidden, star crossed lovers, we can't be together romance. But I felt like this one had a pretty simple solution, that they even worked out, pretty early on. But then the hero kept insisting it was an issue.

Which made the entire conflict feel self inflicted. Which is totally fair. But became quite repetitive.

And the final grovel was just too underwhelming. I needed him to GROVEL. And instead it was a simple apology and immediate forgiveness. I needed the drama. Especially after the emotional rollercoaster he put her through.

In the end, I LOVED the plot and themes. And I think going into this with the lens of this being an emotional and personal journey during a potentially triggering return home, will leave you falling in love with this story and characters.

AND - I highly recommend the audiobook! The narrator is also Jewish and there is a lot of Hebrew and Yiddish throughout the book. I know I personally love getting to hear the story and languages as intended (and not in my terrible Midwestern accent).

This was such a solid adult romance. For most of the book however it felt like more of a coming of age for two very messy adults (which I’m not complying about). Wyatt and Ely were flawed and messy and very lovable.
I found so many parts of myself in Ely and I loved her. Struggling with relationships, substance abuse and finding your place in your religion. I won’t speak on the Jewish rep as I’m not Jewish myself but it was wonderful to read about the beauty she found in her religion and putting herself back into those places again.
Give me more romances with trans MCs there simply aren’t enough! I loved that the author didn’t try to make Wyatt a big tall beefing man cake. She gave us a regular, wonderful, mess of a man. Go into this knowing it’s not a romcom but still a story that very much needed to be told!

Wow. Intense. A Shot in the Dark deals with so many complex issues and tying them together is the struggle with addiction. This dark beast dominates the lives of both of the main characters and it made me cry at times. Victoria Lee doesn’t shy away from the temptation, the lure, the fall, and the destruction. Climbing out of a pit of darkness doesn’t automatically turn on the light and Lee does a beautiful job of illustrating this in their depiction of Ely.

There is humor among the struggle. The comedic moments come in the romance between Ely and Wyatt. I love their chemistry both between the sheets and in the dark room. Their connection jumps off the page and latches onto your heart. Well…they definitely hooked me and wouldn’t let go.

Lee gives us religious struggle, family drama, facing the past, and sharing that past with your present and future. These topics are not easy, but Lee makes it easy to go down and want more. I love this story. A Shot in the Dark is a must read for me.