Riley is going through it. He’s dealing with grief and trying to move on. And after 12 years, his former best friend, one that got away, first love Adam shows up. Their history is tied and twisted from best friends and roommates, hockey teammates, secret, lovers, and unrequited love.

Adam hurt Riley so much that it sent shockwaves through his life that ultimately did significant damage to his career and mental health. But since coming home, he has found a new path.

Adam was not ready to admit the truth about himself then And it took him over 15 years to do so, but he also left other broken hearts along the way in his journey to self-discovery. But now they’re in their 40s, their hockey careers behind them, and they’re in the same place. But Riley is not only hurt, he’s bitter and angry and dealing with grief. And Adam knows that he was not fair and put Riley through a lot.

But can they find a way now to make amends and possibly even rekindle their friendship and maybe find a new way forward to be able to explore a true relationship?

This story is told in flashbacks and present day and it’s more emotional turmoil and slow burn. In the past and the present, it seems like one of them is fighting their feelings as hard as they can to protect themselves in some way. Can they get on the same page at the same time?

Their communication was a hot mess. Adam lied to himself (and to Riley) for so long. And then it was tainted by the years of distance, unresolved feelings, and fear. And even when they were starting to get to a better place it seemed like they still kind of avoided some of the big topics. Sometimes I just wanted to shake them and say "talk it out!" But I liked that Adam was willing to work hard to make it right this time and to be who Riley needed him to be. But Riley was understandably skittish and afraid to hope because every time he hoped in the past he ended up being the one that got hurt. But he never realized how much Adam hurt himself as well, because of their communication and avoidance of issues in the past. But I was glad to see them getting a chance to do better and figure out how to move on and find a new normal after hockey.

This book hurt my feelings. Adam could never be redeemable in my eyes. So unfair that he just gets everything he wanted and has the audacity to come right when Riley is his most vulnerable, at his father's funeral.

I know this author can write a nice balance of angst and heart and HEA, but unfortunately this book felt like alllll contrived angst.

Thank you to Harlequin for the eARC, I appreciate the chance to have given this a try. I greatly preferred and would recommend Time to Shine.

Riley is amazing. He is what every MC should be. A little damaged with a sprinkle of heartbreak but an overall wonderful man. I was rooting for him the whole time. I was not sure how I felt about the possibility of a 2nd chance for him and Adam and it took me a long time to get on board with the idea of them getting back together. I am always a sucker for the HEA though.

Rachel Reid is a master with her words and I have really enjoyed everything I have read by her. The Shots You Take is fantastic and a great read.

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

“Do they have Ford F-150s in Heaven?”
“Of course they do. Otherwise it would be Hell.”

I'm not sure why I'm ever hesitant to start a Rachel Reid book because she delivers every time. For the first 30% ish of the book I was not having a good time. Riley was sad and angry and I was sad and angry for him. But the magic of Rachel Reid pulled me in and 'The Shots You Take' ended up being a very soft and romantic read. There's definitely issues between Riley and Adam, this is a second chance romance after all, but I really enjoyed the care put into their story. I also loved that coming out wasn't turned into an ultimatum, as it often seems to in queer romance. Rachel Reid will always be an auto-read for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Adores/Harlequin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Shots You Take is a MM, best friends with benefits, teammates, second chance romance between two hockey players. I think calling this a hockey romance is a bit misleading, as we only get a few pages (maximum) of hockey...both MMCs are retired and we get a bit of hockey action in flashback scenes.

Second chance romances are among my favorite tropes. When they are done well, the reader is invested in the couple - their shared history and their ultimate reconciliation. I can honestly say that I was rooting AGAINST Riley and Adam. Adam's actions in the past were so devastating, selfish, and demonstrative of internalized homophobia....but there is no work that he does to make up for that. He just wakes up one day, decides he identifies as gay, and then shows up at his former best friend/teammate's father's funeral, and wants to have a go of it again. It didn't feel like Adam had any repentance for his past actions, and the onus of the reconciliation was put on Riley. Riley does not deserve the treatment he underwent from both past and present Adam. The best part of the book is the first third, where Riley is actively fighting his reconciliation with Adam.

This unfortunately missed the mark for me. I loved the premise, but the execution just didn't quite work in my opinion.

Trigger warnings include: cheating, mental health challenges, alcoholism (referenced), parent death, internalized homophobia

If you know me then you know how much I love Rachel Reid! The Game Changers series is one of my all time favorites. So when I heard about this book I was so excited and it was just as great as I knew it would be!

Sometimes I think second chance romances can be hard to pull off because so much relationship development happens before the beginning of the story and it can be hard to capture the deep feelings and the nuance of the couple. But the emotion and the angst hit you from the very first page here.

Riley is hurting so bad at the beginning of this book and is going through one of the hardest times of his life. Rachel captures his hurt so well and your heart just breaks for him. Adam, our other lead, was written in a way where we understood him and what he was going through but it was also hard to come to terms with the choices he made. He was so ignorant and negligent with Riley’s emotions for so many years. I appreciated how deep Riley had to dig to come to terms and forgive Adam. Even as the reader it was hard to forgive Adam even though we could see how hard he was working now. I loved the way mental health was discussed throughout the story as well.

One thing I really liked about this story is that we got to see older main characters. While we did get to see them younger in flashbacks, I liked that most of the story focused on them when they were in their late 30’s.

This book was so emotional and well written, and I couldn’t put it down. Any book that makes me feel as much as this one did is a winner! Rachel Reid, I hope you never stop writing complicated, loveable hockey players.

This book was really cute but it's not without its flaws. I want to talk about what I liked first before I dive into what I didn't but overall this book made me happy so I'd still recommend it!

This whole story was built from the little moments. The small ways in which Adam kept showing up for Riley. Like the way he'd run interference when things got to be too much, how he wanted to woo him by cooking, the way that he cared about Lucky and constantly had mini conversations with him. I also loved how he constantly found joy in the world. Every new thing made him happy and he enjoyed every second of life.

At the same time, he made some big mistakes when it came to his relationship with Riley. And though he didn't make any of them in the present, he constantly made the same mistakes in the past and it's great that they were able to work through it.

Second chance is one of my favorite tropes and this is probably the book with the longest separation I've ever read. It was kinda sweet to see how much these two still loved each other even after all those years of no contact. But at the same time, I feel like we didn't really get to see them fall in love. Though it's been more than a decade, the love is already there in the present. And in the past, we only saw the moments that show why they didn't work as a couple then. I would have liked to see more moments of why these two love each other so much.

Like Adam is always saying how he was able to care for Riley when he was at a low point mentally and worried about him after he was gone. But we didn't see any of that in the years that they were together. And Adam's marriage is a pretty big reason why they broke up but it's kinda glossed over. Same with his kids, who I had some issues with too. They only make an appearance once and they were honestly pretty rude and ungrateful which threw me a bit. I would have liked to see a little more of their relationship with Adam and maybe see some of the good things about their family.

That's kind of a running theme with this whole book. There's a lot of focus on the bad stuff and not as much focus on the good things. Even Riley's grief felt like it was just a plot line for Adam to reappear in his life and I would have liked to see it explored a bit more.

Anyway, with all that said, I did like this story. And even though I felt like it was lacking some things, it was still pretty cute and I liked the way it ended. There was a lot of infectious joy in this book and that made me happy. I'm not sure if I'd ever come back to this book, but I enjoyed reading it!

Riley Tuck and Adam Sheppard met as professional hockey players and were roommates and best friends with occasional benefits. They did everything together until Riley fell in love and Adam got scared and ran. More than a decade later, an unexpected tragedy turns into a chance to explore feelings waiting to be rekindled, but can Riley let go of the past and learn to love again even as his heart is full of grief?

It's a second-chance romance that's full of all the longing and uncertainty of first love rekindled after years of experience and maturity. Riley has a lot of trauma when it comes to what went down with Adam, and he's worked hard to get past it. So, seeing Adam showing up to his father's funeral after 12 years of silence is very justifiably an unwelcome shock. But Adam's determined to prove he's willing to put in the work to earn back Riley's trust, and it makes for some super sweet emotional moments that kept me turning pages just to get another hit.

Extra kudos to Reid for how well the elements of grief and how to navigate through it are handled. I appreciated the recognition that everyone has their own way to get over loss and the importance of being open to getting help from others.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and Carina Adores for the wonderfully swoony read!

4.5 - I stopped and restarted this book a lot in the last few months, but I finally pushed through. TBH, it wasn't until I was close to 50% of this book that I decided that I indeed liked this book. Specifically, there's a fish stew moment and that changed everything for me. From that moment on, I couldn't put this down. Some of that is on me as like Riley I too am grieving parental loss. Some of that is because while this is a very slow burn, the pace of this book is also pretty slow, despite the bulk of it mostly taking place over the course of a week. Riley is the sweetest MC - yes, he is dealing with past/long-term mental health issues as well as more recent grief - it's a lot, but it is well done and I really felt it. I didn't like Adam for a chunk of the book. His past behavior was...quite poor. By the end, though, I really fell for him - he was earnest and complex and it just took him a REALLY long time to figure himself out. But he did - he won my heart by just going all in. So, yeah, I ended up loving this book as well as Riley and Adam. I also loved the Nova Scotia setting. I've been there before once and it is just gorgeous - I loved being able to revisit it via this book. This book has light spice, but is heavy on emotions.

I received a complimentary copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this. I went into it not knowing anything beyond it was Rachel Reid and involved hockey players which is usually a winning mix for me and it did not disappoint. Second chance romance is not usually my thing but the reason behind their time apart makes sense so I enjoyed it. This goes back and forth from the present to the past and I liked how the story unfolded that way instead of a time jump in the middle. The story unfolds without any real outside drama which with the death of a parent being the catalyst for the characters reuniting I really liked because I feel like it would have been too much for the character to deal with on top of his grief. Adam was so clueless about himself and his feelings when he's younger but it's very realistic that it just makes you feel for him when he realizes it all. I loved how their relationship came back together and I feel like it worked so well. The small town setting was so great, I'm sad it's a fictional town because I really want to go visit. Also Lucky is the cutest fur baby ever.

Reid is my one of my favorite authors and this book will be going on my shelf as another favorite of hers. I loved Riley so much. His grief over his father was portrayed so well and made me hurt for him. Seeing his friendship and the trust between him and Adam rebuild was so sweet. I cannot wait to read this again when I miss these two.

5/5 ⭐️s
🌶️🌶️ - medium spice

LOVES:
- My heart breaks for young Riley 💔 and older Riley. And Adam. Sad all around 🥺 but it was addressed in such a meaningful way and felt so realistic to experiences that real people have had.
- Riley’s grief about his dad is portrayed excellently.
- As Adam tries to slowly make amends and just be a friend, my heart just kept growing 💗 Seeing the trust and friendship build back up between them is adorable 🥹🥰
- These two are achingly sweet; I absolutely love them together. This somehow felt like the cutest thing without ever venturing into cheesy territory, which is impressive!

This was beautiful and sad, but also heartwarming and hopeful. I loved it and I highly recommend.

Thanks to @netgalley for the eARC 💝 Release date is March 4th!

I'm several books into my fandom of Rachel Reid, and she continues to deliver! I'm a sucker for sports romance of all shapes and sizes, but I'll be honest -- I was getting tired of forbidden relationships set during players' careers. Enter Reid's latest, The Shots You Take. A refreshing, heartfelt, deeply emotional ride post-career for two hockey players that really hit me in the feels. I loved that Adam was determined to be there for Riley when he needed him most, even though Adam did him dirty when they were younger and Riley wasn't in a place to forgive and forget. Lots of heavy emotions throughout, and the timing could've been better for the spice considering Riley was grieving his father, but love is love and it can't be stopped. *shrug* This was a quick read (skated through it in a day, pun intended) that was really sweet and heartwarming.

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

"𝚁𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝙰𝚍𝚊𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖...𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢'𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚍. 𝙸𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝙰𝚍𝚊𝚖.

𝙸𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚁𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚢."

When this book began, the tone was decidedly heavy. Riley was knee deep in dealing with the loss of his beloved father. He was not in a good mental head space. He especially wasn't in the headspace to deal with his former best friend and love of his life to show up at the funeral after YEARS of no contact. I honestly didn't blame Riley one bit for being upset. I also didn't blame Riley for removing Adam from his life all those years ago. Their relationship brought him nothing but pain by the end.

"𝚁𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚢'𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝙰𝚍𝚊𝚖 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎'𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚏*𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍."

As you can guess Adam had a lot to make up for after his arrival in Riley's home town. There was definitely some next level groveling. I don't think I would have continued reading this book if Adam didn't truly show how sorry he was for his behavior in the past. Some of the things that happened had me cringing in sympathy, so I couldn't imagine being the one who actually had to stand there and take it. To also be fair, this all happened in their late teens/early twenties where most people aren't known for making the most mature decisions.

I loved Riley's family. His mother and sister were so supportive of him and you could tell how much they cared about Riley. They cared about Adam too, especially since they were in the dark about everything that happened between them leading to their friendship ending.

A lot of growing up and healing had to happen for Riley and Adam to get their HEA. It was a bumpy road along the way with Riley's mental health issues and Adam's internalized homophobia taking center stage. I don't know if they would have worked if they made a go of it back in their 20s. I am sad that Riley's father never got to see him finally settled with the man he loved, but I also believe that after all these years they got the timing right at long last.

What’s worse than running into your ex? Running into your ex at your dad’s funeral—when said ex is the former teammate who broke your heart, and shows up out of nowhere after more than a decade.

Riley is not thrilled to see Adam again, and honestly? Fair. But Adam? He’s got a decade’s worth of regret, personal growth, and very unresolved feelings to deal with. And as much as Riley would love to ice him out (hockey pun fully intended), the spark between them is still there—taunting, tempting, and way too hard to ignore.

This book delivers all the second-chance angst, grumpy ex-athlete vibes, and small-town nosiness you could want, with a side of spice that says “we probably shouldn’t, but oh, we definitely will.” It’s raw, messy, and emotional in the best way, with a romance that makes you work for the HEA. Adam isn’t just here to grovel—he’s here to earn Riley’s forgiveness, and watching that play out is chef’s kiss satisfying.

And let’s talk grief. This book isn’t all heartbreak (trust me, the steam levels keep things scorching), but the way loss is handled? It hits. It’s poignant without ever overwhelming, making Riley’s emotional journey feel so real.

If you love MM romance, older main characters, and serious character growth, The Shots You Take is a must-read. And yes, it’s spicy—so buckle up.

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (because love isn’t over at 40—and forgiveness is the hardest shot to take)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

4.25 stars - I am going to like pretty much anything that’s a sports romance and a second chance romance, so there is no real surprise that I enjoyed this. I really enjoyed that the main characters were in their 40s, as you don’t often see that. I will say that I am woman reading an MM romance, and this book feels like that is the target audience it’s trying to reach. I’d be curious if someone who has been in an MM relationship would find the dynamic in the book relatable/realistic.

The Shots You Take is the mother of all second chance romance stories. So, so heart wrenching. Other tropes include gay awakening, best friends to lovers, and grief/comfort. Ultimately, the story is incredibly uplifting and redeeming, but it takes some time to get there. Plenty of angst along the way, but also emotional depth, forgiveness and second chances. The slow burn of reconnection is sizzling. 100% recommend if you're into this genre.

ARC received from Carina Adores via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

This book is why I struggle so hard with second chance romance. Ideally Riley would have told Adam to kick rocks after what he put him through over 2 decades and found the true love of his life but alas that isn't the story I read. This is my first Rachel Reid novel but it won't be the last. I really liked how she wrote tension, character depth and angst. I'll give her a second shot but not on a second chance romance. LOLLLLL

When I tell you I AM A SIMP for older MCs with a lifetime of experience behind them finally ready to settle down and find their HEA. I loved Adam so much and fully believe he deserves all the good things in this world. These 2 had a tense history, spanning decades and a lot of trauma, so I wasn't sure how this romance (and especially Adam) was going to win me over but, eventually, it did!!!!! I was screaming to call the "red flag guy" multiple times throughout the book tho!!!!

What I enjoyed: the groveling was top tier and I love that Riley still made Adam work for it even the Adam was so apologetic. Adams story tugged on my heartstrings and really brought his character full circle for me, even though he had a million opportunities to do better, in the end he did and I tried to focus on that. And the fact that these MMCs were older just added to the charm.

What to expect:
-Older MMCs (both are in their 40s)
-Ex hockey teammates to friends with benefits
-Small town/hometown return
-Second Chance romance
-friends to lovers
-Grief

I do think Adams family/ex-wife could have been more present. It felt intentionally left out which made this seem like a lack of closure on how they integrated with Riley and Adam as a couple but otherwise I loved the pacing and heart in this book.

By the end I would've gladly laid in front of a train for Riley.
3.5 stars / 1.5 chili pepper

Awe this was so beautiful. Usually not a fan of second chance romance but this was done beautifully. Thank you to NetGalley and Rachel for letting me read this ARC!

The thing that always draws me to Rachel Reid's novels - the hockey aside - is the emotional depth of the characters.  Boy oh boy, did both Adam and Riley have emotions in spades.  So, yeah, I cried through probably three quarters of this book.  But don't let that put you off because a) I'm an emotional person and b) it's just so good.

Riley Tuck is grieving and grieving hard.  Having just lost his father, he's awash in emotion and memories.  Unfortunately, I related to Riley's situation, having lost the most important person in my life a few years ago.  His heartache, his lost-ness, his anger were all very real and raw for me.  The way he threw himself into work was also very familiar, and it only made me want to hug him that much more.  That said, I also understood how he was using his anger - and work - as a shield from facing reality.  That his father was gone.  Oh, and that the man who'd broken his heart was desperately trying to catch a minute of Riley's time.  

Adam Sheppard's lived a charmed life, or at least, that's how it seems.  However, he's come to some conclusions since retiring from the NHL and one of them involves his old teammate, Riley.  To Adam's credit, he doesn't expect much, if anything, from Riley.  He knows that his actions in the past were pretty crummy, and all he wants is a chance to apologize and potentially rekindle their friendship.  That he hopes for more goes unspoken.  In the flashbacks, Adam doesn't always come off as the best person, but it's obvious that he's matured and become better.  Does it fix the past?  Of course not, but it's a step in the right direction.  

The Shots You Take is a wonderful, emotional story of love, loss, and redemption.  While the story itself lacks in actual hockey, the culture and the community surrounding the sport is well represented, both the good and the bad.  It's a heartbreaking tale of lost love and second chances, one that's worth the tears to find the happily ever after.