This is a super sweet and tender second chance romance between two retired NHL hockey players, one of whom is in the middle of deep grief due to the recent loss of his father. The book jumps back and forth in terms of the timeline from their early relationship to the current one. I loved both of these characters, the exploration of loneliness and coming out as a an older person, as well as mental illness and queer community in small towns. Rachel Reid is a brilliant writer and this is another great book from her.

This is my first Rachel Reid book, you’re telling me this is what I’ve been missing the whole time?

There’s something really special about Riley’s and Adam’s story, unrequited love between best friend is always super painful and Riley definitely went through a lot while being friends with Adam.

Adam on the other hand loved Riley as much as he could while being terrified of his own feelings. The difference between Adam in the past and present Adam is astronomical. He loves Riley so much even when he denied it even to himself.

The family dynamic was beautiful, Riley had so many people who cared about him, the small town vibes were beautiful. It was great to see Adam be accepted so easily.

I definitely recommend this book to those who like to read friends to lovers, sweet but kinda painful stories.

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

4.5/5. It's Rachel Reid. You know it's going to be good! And as always, she did not disappoint. I love Riley. He's gruff and grumpy (I mean, rightfully so) and quiet, but he cares so much about other people and his dad's store and his plants and, of course Adam. Adam took me a minute to warm up to, mostly because we started with Riley's perspective, *spoiler* but also because of the whole laughing at him when Riley said he loved him thing. *end spoiler* I understand that young Adam was scared and confused, and I don't fault him for that, but that one thing I do. And the official break of their relationship... that I kind of blame Adam for, too.

BUT that being said, Adam does redeem himself. He's a kind and thoughtful man who doesn't give up when he knows what he wants. I appreciate that he came back for Riley's father's funeral, especially once we see just how much he meant to Adam as a stand in for his own terrible father. I enjoyed the time jumps back and forth between then and now. I also love the friends to enemies to lovers situation we had going on. I thought both men had such a strong connection because of that friendship and everything they shared. Oh and Riley's family and dog was amazing. <spoiler>Adam leaving that little snail shell at Riley's dad's grave was precious. </spoiler> I thought the conflict was realistic, as was the solution. Riley had been so heartbroken so many times that he was right to go slow and cautious. I also appreciate Riley's mental health struggles and how open he is with them.

✨ Review ✨ The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid

Thanks to Harlequin - Romance | Carina Adores and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

As a Rachel Reid stan, I believe that she can do no wrong, and this book proves that yet again. Getting a review copy of this made me literally drop everything to pick this baby up.

The book starts at the funeral of Riley's dad, where he sees his long ago teammate and best friend, Adam, for the first time in many years. As Riley is grieving his dad, Adam tries to find a way back into his life, to offer comfort and support. The book alternates between the present day and periods in the past, where we quickly see that they had a bffs/roommates with benefits sort of situation...but one in which they had developed feelings for each other.

I really loved that the characters were in their 40s, and that they had retired from hockey, and were dealing with midlife stuff -- divorce, death, career changes, changing family dynamics, etc. I found that to make the story feel extra full of love and empathy and wisdom.

I enjoyed the small town setting of this book and seeing how Riley was able to carve out space for himself as a queer man and develop a really rich, small life, surrounded by people and things he loved (the description of his house sounds incredible! cozy and vibrant!)

This is yet another smash hit from Reid, and I'm so glad I get to be among the first to shout this out!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: contemporary m/m romance, hockey
Setting: small town Nova Scotia
Pub Date: Mar 04 2025

Read this if you like:
⭕️ small town romances
⭕️ m/m hockey player love
⭕️ cinnamon rolls (the pastry and the men)
⭕️ stories centering midlife characters

Rachel Reid, queen of hockey.

Also queen of: books that are bingeable in one sitting, respectfully written female characters, sensitively handling heavy topics, characters whose actions are understandable even when misguided, pining over multi-year spans

This one has a sadder tone than Rachel Reid’s other books, in part because it involves a main character in the thick of grieving and in part because a second chance romance means the romance didn’t work out the first time around. There’s a lot of sadness and hurt for the characters to work through. Unsurprisingly, Rachel Reid writes this journey carefully and beautifully. I particularly appreciated the care taken with Adam’s journey of self-acceptance and growth.

I will read anything Rachel Reid writes. I’m so grateful to have gotten an ARC so I didn’t spontaneously combust from desperate impatience!

Gosh that was just such a nice book about adults learning to communicate their feelings!! To be clear, that is among my most favorite genres of books, so this is actually an unironic "gosh that was so nice." My heart-eyes are kind of having heart-eyes. The only thing I do kinda need to ding this for is that while lip service was paid to Adam and Riley both playing a part in their disastrous past, I don't actually know that we got enough on-screen about Riley's mental health problems in the past OUTSIDE of Adam's disastrous handling of his feelings. I mean, don't get me wrong, I adore the bits that we did get in present times, the themes of grieving while being mentally ill brought tears to my eyes about how real some of this felt. But like. What we saw in the past was Riley being basically fine except for Adam being a dick, which, uh, doesn't QUITE fit with a narrative of at least some of this being on Riley, and I would have liked that theme teased out a bit more. But seriously, such a small thing that, overall, did NOT stop me from having my face hurt from smiling during the last third of this book. <3 <3 <3

I've clearly been missing out having not read anything from Rachel Reid yet because WOW. I'm a big fan of hockey romances and MM romances, so this was definitely on target, but the emotion was top notch. This book is very well written, I know because I have read some clunkers in the past. The story of Adam and Riley is just beautiful, the pain and love were well defined throughout the book. Adam had a lot of explaining and making up to do to Riley. Riley has his heart broken over and over again and thought he had moved on, but obviously hadn't. The loss of his father was almost too much to bear, but Adam's reappearance in Riley's life was both a blessing and a curse. The story is solid, although I wouldn't have minded a bit more toward to end with how Adam's kids handled things, but it's still good.

This is second chance romance at it's finest. We see the struggles of coming to terms with sexuality, through many encounters and decades, but in the end, that opportunity wins out.

I've read a handful of Rachel Reids books in the past. I felt this book fit perfectly in her wheelhouse. She created characters that had depth (and weren't perfect!) and didn't just float across the pages. We felt Riley's emotional struggle, with losing his father and trying to rekindle a relationship that hurt for so long. We walk with Adam as he comes to terms with what he's felt all along, and between the two, their journey was a good one. While not all end in with happy endings, this novel was just what I needed for a pick-me-up on a rainy day.

Rachel Reid’s The Shots You Take is a stunning second-chance romance that masterfully blends grief, longing, and love with her signature emotional depth. The story of Riley and Adam navigating their complicated past and rekindling their connection is both heart-wrenching and uplifting. Reid’s portrayal of their journey is rich with nuance and authenticity, making this an unforgettable read. For fans of deeply emotional, mature romances, this book is a must-read.

Rachel Reid treats characters with such love and care, and it’s just as apparent in The Shots You Take as it is in her other novels. Reading m/m romances, especially sports romances can feel a bit repetitive and formulaic (but don’t get me wrong here, I’d read thousands of them with glee), but Rachel Reid always manages to avoid this by writing plots you really care about. Realistic people with relatable issues, but peppered with the juicy tropes you love.

In The Shots You Take, the relatable novelty comes from the fact that the protagonists haven’t spoken to each other for twelve years. The joy in this book comes from the longing, the pining, and the angst that these twelve years apart gives the reader. Pair those things with the aching relearning of each other and a dash of spice, and Riley and Adam’s story is a great read.

I don’t know what Rachel puts in her books all I know is that I can never put them down. I absolutely loved this book. It was so raw and real as it dealt with love and the complexities of life. Riley and Adam, I am obsessed with these two and the fact that they were older MCs was just amazing. Every time I was concerned or annoyed with either of them, I learned I should’ve just trusted Rachel’s process. Also, can someone make this into a movie. A good movie not one that leaves me annoyed.

Thank you to Carina Adores and Netgalley for a copy in advance.

The alternate title of this book is Canadian Angst.

Right person, wrong time always hits. This starts out heavy - at Riley’s father’s funeral and in walks in his ex-best friend/unrequired love of his life, Adam. It goes just swimmingly right off the bat. They have to work through years of things they should have said and balance Riley’s brand new grief at the same time.

I shouldn’t have liked Adam as much as I did but at no point in the current timeline does he do anything except own all of his mistakes and issues from back then. I thought they were nice together once they got through the bulk of the book.

The mental health representation in this felt pretty solid. Riley knows what he can and what he cannot put himself into as far as situations go and is his own biggest advocate on boundaries.

The queen of mm hockey romance has returned with an absolutely precious and heart wrenching book!!!!

I loved seeing Riley and Adam’s story unfold. Rachel always writes such strong flashback chapters and her books that span a wide timeline are so well done. You can really feel and believe in the history and tension between her characters, and the struggle for them to find their way back to each other after so long. Riley and Adam are older than her usual characters so there’s an added sense of maturity with their story, plus some fun flashbacks to their 20s together. This book mainly takes place in a fictional town in Nova Scotia which I really loved, and included a lovely and diverse set of side characters.

You’ll laugh, cry, feel the angst, and fall in love with Riley and Adam’s love.

Thank you SO MUCH to Harlequin/Carina Adores and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review, this was my 4th time getting to read an ARC of Rachel’s and I felt so lucky to receive that email after being a day 1 Rachel Reid fan.🥹

This was good, but there was a thread of melancholy throughout it that I wasn't expecting and kind of bummed me out. I was also sad that they wasted so many years apart. It was a good book, but not as light-hearted as I was hoping it would be.

3.5 stars

You rarely see an older couple (early 40s) in a sports romance, living life after they’re retired, so that was fun BUT since there wasn’t really any “sports” in it, I don’t love that it’s labeled a sports romance. Could’ve just been a romance with two retired athletes, because really what this is is a second chance romance in a small town so my expectations weren’t entirely met.

OMG! I got this book from NetGalley yesterday morning and stayed up late to finish it last night. I can’t tell you how excited I was to learn that we had another book coming from Rachel Reid. It lived up to all my expectations!

This book was so good. I love a second chance romance and this was probably one of the best I’ve read. Riley and Adam were best friends and teammates who haven’t spoken to each other in years when a tragedy brings them back together. I sobbed through the first half of this book. You can really feel the emotions that the characters are going through and the angst hits just right. Riley, especially, is a great character who has worked hard to put his life back together over the years.

This is a small town, hockey, ex-best friends, second chance romance that people are sure to love.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Adores for this eARC!

This book was EVERYTHING and then some! Every single emotion that a human is capable of I felt while reading this book- probably more than once. I am a huge Rachel Reid fan, and this book is absolutely getting added to the list of favorites.

The dual timeline really helped with the amount of heartache that is packed into this book, but still make sure you have tissues with you, because you’re gonna need them!! And then my guess is you will think Rachel for making you cry! 🥹

I have been a Rachel Reid fan for a few years, and to see her take on this change in pace and format and absolutely NAIL IT makes me SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY INSIDE!!

The Shots You Take is a contemporary romance that deals with loss, second chances, grief, acceptance, and other heavier topics. Her other books, while discuss these topics, don’t encompass them the way TSYT did… I was heavily emotionally invested the entire time. I absolutely LOVED Riley and Adam!!! Learning about their friendship, watching their bond re-form, watching them heal… UGH, I absolutely loved this book.

Preorder this book now, you won’t regret it!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin and Carina Adores for the ARC

Two of the most underrated things in romance novels are:
1) A story of second chances
2) A story written by Rachel Reid

There are no words that will be able to adequately express how pure, and heart-breaking and flawed Adam and Riley were. They were two imperfect people who worked so hard and made so many mistakes and endured so many heartbreaks. It didn't matter who was at fault for their falling out, or who hurt who more. They were both devastated by the decisions they made, and they both overcame fear, grief, and heart ache at all the years they lost.

These are the kinds of stories Rachel Reid knows how to tell. The story of the innate fallibility, but also astounding resilience of humans when they are loved the way they deserve to be loved.

Publish date: March 4, 2025

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Hockey? Yes, Romance? Yes. MM? Yes. It’s like this book was written for me! I loved this book so much and need to immediately find anything and everything that Rachel has read so far.