I like Banner, I thought she was a badass and didn't take shit from anyone which i love. I love a strong woman. But holy shit, sometimes Jared deserved a nice slap in the face. I didn't love this story, especially with the cheating 🫣 I really had higher hopes. Im sad I haven't been loving this series and this book as much as I thought I would.

Thank you to Sourcebooks, Bloom books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

again kennedy writing is superb. i didn't love the cheating bc unlike the first one zo really didn't deserve it 😭 but i did enjoy this one waaaay more than the last. i liked their chemistry a lot and banner is just such a badass EXCEPT FOR WHEN IT COMEA TO JARED. so i wish she would have translated that over to him a lil more like w boundaries and such. but it's just so realistic, i wanted to root for banner and jared even tho i knew i shouldn't.

Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan is the second installment in a captivating series of standalone romance novels, all set within the thrilling sports realm, with a particular focus on basketball. This enthralling enemies-to-lovers/second-chance romance delves into the lives of a couple who first crossed paths as scholarship recipients at an esteemed university. The story is enriched by a diverse and compelling supporting cast, who play pivotal roles in the development of the narrative. Moreover, prepare to be captivated by the scorching and passionate scenes that will leave you breathless.

We all know Kennedy Ryan will break our hearts and stitch them back together. Block Shot is the second book in the Hoops series, and like the first book Long Shot, it packs some pretty heavy content flags so let me start with those: this is a second chance romance the features infidelity/cheating pretty centrally; there is also a *lot* of diet culture between these 400+ pages - like a lot. So if you're recovering from talk of points and tracking and food restriction, proceed with some caution.

Block Shot tells the story of Jared (August's brother from book #1) and Banner Morales. They're friends and study buddies in college, but after a humiliating night they don't see or speak to each other for ten years. They reconnect and can't deny that the chemistry they shared a decade earlier is still sizzling for both of them. I won't reveal much more of the synopsis to avoid spoilers, but their road to an HEA is not an easy one even if it is well earned and hard fought.

The chemistry between these two really jumped off the page at me. Banner, like Iris in Long Shot, is so strong and independent and we see her really grow in that over the course of the book. The aforementioned diet culture that Banner is really ensnared in took me out of the book pretty often, and I wish we had seen her find more freedom from that. There were also a few times where I thought Jared's pushiness and drive to get what he wanted crossed a line. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and while heavy it was an easier read than book #1.

Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan is the second book in a standalone romance series, HOOPS.
This novel follows Jared Foster and Banner Morales, both sports agents who went to college together. They started as study buddies in college, but something happened that caused conflict between each other. Even though they both become sports agents in the same area, Ban manages to avoid Jared for a decade until they finally run into each other again. Banner Morales is such a strong female main character you can't help but like her. On the other hand, Jared is cocky and wants what he wants. He does not have a lot of empathy and will do anything to have a second chance with Banner. There is cheating in this novel, so if you do not like to read or tend to be triggered by it, I recommend you pick this book up with caution.
I loved how the author discussed women's insecurities when society places such high expectations on them. Women are faced with insecurities about their bodies because they are not as skinny as society expects them to be, or their ex-boyfriend made a comment that stuck with them their whole life. The author did a fantastic job focusing on the disadvantages women face working in an industry that men heavily run. First the fraternity and later in the sports agency she works in.

-Dual POVS
-Spicy (Spice level 4/5)
-Friends to enemies to lovers
-Love Triangle
-Second Chance Romance
-TW: cheating, body image, bullying

Thank you very much to NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Bloom Books, and Kennedy Ryan for an ARC of the new cover! I love the new cover!

.... this main relationship was literally just cheating?? Second-chance yeah sure, but can't use that to cover up the fact that they knowingly got together while she was in a relationship multiple times and just said fuck it, let's do this coz we're soulmates 😐 this book could've been so good, but nope

TWs - cheating (heavy on page), fatphobia, internalised fatphobia, health issues

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy

Kennedy Ryan is one of my all-time favorite authors. She always writes characters and books that feel like real people and their lives.

Block Shot follows Jared and Banner, two top sports agents who left their shared past behind and independently forged their own lives and careers. Given their careers, their paths continue to cross from time to time and now Jared is determined to win Banner over and get her back. To him, it does not matter that she's currently taken, as he will stop at nothing to show her that they belong together.

This book does have cheating involved but honestly, it worked for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for my earc in exchange for an honest review.

Banner Morales is my new girl crush. A killer with a heart sports agent, she reminds me so much of myself and the struggles she goes through with relationships towards food and how others perceive her hit so close to home. Fierce but also delicate - she was such an incredibly written FMC. And Jared. Oh man I already loved Jared Foster in book one of the Hoops trilogy Long Shot, but his ferocity and tenacity absolutely had me swooning. Trigger warning for use of the cheating trope. But this second chance enemies to lovers sports romance was exactly what I needed in my life.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for giving me the chance to read this ahead of it's re-release in exchange for an honest review.

I felt like this book was okay. I felt this plot was a slow burn and I had trouble keeping focused on it. I felt the characters weren't wrote as well as they could have been. I just couldn't get invested in this story like I'd hoped

Steamy and raunchy. Not your typical romance but you will be rooting for the couple.
Hoping to meet some of the supporting characters in future books.

This mini-epic comes in three parts and spans well over a decade in the love story of Jared and Banner. They meet in college, and the bulk of the story takes place later when they are both working as sports agents. It's dual POV, and I admit I didn't love Jared. He's hard-nosed and profane, although he adores Banner, he's singleminded and possessive and I struggled to feel for him. HIs voice is unsentimental and his ruthlessness shows. Not a book boyfriend for me. It's also very gritty about the reality of sports management, and the behaviour of the players. Lots of entitledness and toxic masculinity.

It's beautifully written, and complex, Banner's relationship with Zo is handled with sensitivity. Banner is amazing - she's clever, ambitious, thoughtful, and so loyal. I want her to be happy and that's with Jared. It's very steamy but with a level of detail that I probably didn't need, not much tenderness or fairy dust in this romance.

Recommended if you like the gritty and the angsty - and a grand passion.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC.

Jared and Banners story was absolutely amazing. It was HEARTWRENCHING but so damn beautiful. I will devour anything Kennedy Ryan writes.

For those of you who have read Long Shot the first of the Hoops series, then you will already be acquainted with the character of Jared Foster. That said it could easily be read as a standalone story. I found this story easier to read than Long Shot that just tore my heart out and at times horrified me. This series has characters that are unapologetically real, flawed and yet ones that you wish were in their friend circle. I found easy to relate to the heroine Banner's journey with her weight, self image and comparison to others. I doubt that there are many of us who haven't battled that demon in our own lives and listened to others judge us by appearance or gender. But honestly whilst I had a range of emotions reading this story, in the end it was so worthwhile and let me at times self reflect. I enjoyed the strong character that Banner was and Jared who really "saw" her.

Thank you to Netgalley, the Author and Publisher for the opportunity to read and give an unbiased review of an advanced reader copy of the story.

Oh this was a tough one to review.

I loved Kennedy Ryan's style of writing and could really feel the connection between Banner and Jared

I respected what a bad bitch Banner was in the beginning and her hustle but disliked her self talk and what she did to Zo.

Not the book for me but other would definitely enjoy it

I'll start by saying that even though this is the second in a series, it can be read as a complete stand alone.

Block Shot follows Jared and Banner who initially meet in college only to have a falling out where they start crossing paths again ten years later.

Jared is your typical alpha male who wants what he wants and doesn't care who he tramples to get it, but you find yourself rooting for him the whole time. While he may have questionable characteristics, he's lovable.

Banner is a woman who cannot be stopped, unless it's by a man named Jared.

I did enjoy their story but fair warning, this is a love triangle and that does involve cheating. There is a HEA but there's a VERY bumpy road getting there.

3.75 stars

⤷‧₊˚1⭑
„she is day and i am night. when day and night are absolutely equal, it‘s equinox. banner is my equinox. my equal.“

!SPOILER!

if jared was right next to me i would run like my life depended on it.
i never hated a Kennedy Ryan mc more than him. i can't name anything i liked about this book, i hate it even more than the kingmaker. it's so heartbreaking that this is the same author who wrote Hook Shot and Long Shot. this felt like an odd and unfunny joke. also, where was banner, the badass? in the beginning she was a badass in every sense of the word, but where has that side gone???

the saddest thing is that banner cheated on the cutest person ever with fucking Jared?!?
girl how could you?!?!
please stop with all this "it'll hurt him in the end" act. if you truly cared about him you would’ve broke up with him but of course you choose to fucking cheat on him. he even forgave her and tried to win her back<\3

on the one side i wish they wouldn't get together and on the other side i'm glad they are together because nobody deserves to be with either of them they are awful.

Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan is a enemies to lovers second chance book. I usually love this trope, but this one went too far. I'm not going to put spoilers in my review, but it was really hard to get past the line that was crossed. There had to be other ways to get them together.
Banner and Jared went to college together. They were good friends, and for a brief moment in time, they were more. Everything came crashing down in a spectacularly embarrassing way. Now, ten years later, they are back in the same town, both in the top of their field as sports agents, and the spark is alive and wants to explode. A couple of major hurdles, Banner is dating her top client, who has been her best friend for ten years. Yes, it's not perfect, but she's still committed. Jared owns a competing agency, and he usually doesn't take no for an answer. He knows Banner is the only one for him, and he will deploy any strategy necessary to make her his. This is his shot, and he won't settle for the block.

Banner thought all her fantasies had come true when one of the hottest guys, and her good friend, shows interest in taking their friendship to a more intimate level. When a cruel prank breaks her heart and she ends up avoiding him for a decade as she builds her career as an absolute boss bitch sports agent.

I love a strong FMC who shows that being kind and compassionate in a male dominated environment only makes her more of an asset. I loved the integration of little bits of Spanish and her culture that we got to experience as we went along and the strong friendships she made just because she’s a kind person who doesn’t take shit. The spice was hot AF and I will definitely be picking up some other books in the series.

I liked how the authors shined a light on the disadvantages that a lot of women, especially women of colour, face in certain industries and academia. When the male bosses all schmooze with their bros at strip clubs and whisky bars and exclude women from moving up as they don’t have the same networking opportunities. If you’re not in a secret society or fraternity then you’re starting from behind the start line.

There was a lot of diet and exercise talk and while Jared was always very appreciative and kind about her size/weight/curves whatever you want to call it, Banner was very self conscious and aware about it.

Thanks to #NetGallery and the publisher. I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Genre: Romance
Format: Digital
POV: Dual
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 /5
Age suggestion: 18+

JARED. oh my man i love him SOOOOOOO. this book had me sqealing so hard i love it so much. the writing is phenomenal and the story is amazing

I had never read Kennedy Ryan before and I love a good sports romance. Well, this book is not for me. I DNF’d it because I could not get over the cheating trope and how the MMC had no remorse to making the FMC cheat on her boyfriend. I can never get behind cheating.