You guys, this book.

I was so excited to get this ARC and I think it may be Rachel Reid's best yet. The exploration of grief, identity, growing into who you are was so human and sweet and sad and funny all at once. I loved how nuanced and multifaceted and real every emotion felt. And the relationship between Adam and Riley and the journeys they had to take solo and together to get to the end was lovely. There are moments in this story that hurt so much and moments where you just want to jump for joy, layered with this maturity and self-awareness that will leave you wanting more! What a triumph of a novel!

Did I cry the entire book? No. But nearly.

This book was absolutely beautiful. For those who love Shane and Ilya, you’re going to break for Riley and Adam. The Shots You Take was a gorgeous love letter to first loves and second chances, hometowns and hockey. A brilliant exploration of grief in a multitude of ways. Of queer identity and mental health. Reid handles these subjects with such care and compassion and has crafted one of the best romances ever.

I am actually sick to my stomach over how much I loved this book. The perfect combination of grief, unrequited longing, late-in-life gay awakenings, and second chance romance. I could scream. If you're looking for a pure hockey romance, this isn't quite it - both MCs are since retired (one for a while, one more recently), but you get enough references to the game and their time together as teammates to satisfy a fan of the genre.

I have liked a lot of Rachel Reid’s books but this one takes the cake. I read it in a single sitting. It’s almost midnight and I literally NEVER stay up this late I cannot stress how much I loved this book. It might be because I'm older myself, but it's just such a beautiful, heartbreaking romance. And funny! And spicy! It's firing on all cylinders and has something for everyone.

10/10, five stars, no notes. Highly recommend this one. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Oh this book! I devoured it so quickly. As someone with familiarity of small town life in Nova Scotia, this one really hit close to home for me. I could feel every emotion. The story was heartbreakingly beautiful and I’m so thankful I got the opportunity to experience it. Rachel Reid doesn’t miss with this one. It’s nowhere near a typical hockey romance as both characters have retired, but it’s the hockey romance the world needs.

What a phenomenal book. I wanted to just devour it, but made myself slow down to savor it.

Rachel Reid does such a fantastic job writing romances that deal with huge emotional upheavals. This one dealt with grief and goodness, I could just feel the emotion coming out of the pages.

This is a second chance romance, which had be hard to love, especially if the original reason the first relationship did not make it was bad enough. The author did a great job balancing this, to make it believable and giving the characters enough grace to learn and grow.

I really enjoyed how the main characters are in their 40s, but we do get flash backs to when they were younger.

I can’t wait to read another by this author. Loved it.