Shoot Your Shot
By Lexi LaFleur Brown

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tropes:
- hockey romance
- Black cat FMC/ Cinnamon roll MMC
- LGBTQIA+ rep
- POC rep
- Reluctant friends to lovers
- Mental health rep

I loved this. I was super excited to read a book by someone who has intimate knowledge of hockey & Lexi did not disappoint. Lucy is a strong FMC & we love to see it. And it was really nice to see a sweet emotional MMC. Watching them fall for each other without even really realizing it was so sweet. And I cannot tell you how many times I was CACKLING because of their banter, their inner dialogue or even their interactions with their friends. The mental health rep was done so well & so nice to see them actually go to therapy & get medication & talk about how it affects life for them. I laughed, I cried & I loved this book so much. I’m really excited for the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley & the Author for an E-ARC in return of an honest review

I was laughing out loud, I was tearing up a bit, and I was falling in love with Jaylen and Lucy.

I requested this book because I love Lexi (the author) online and when I heard she was publishing a book I needed it ASAP. If you’re familiar with her humor online, I think it’s pretty obviously conveyed into this book - which I love!

This romcom is not like any other I’ve read before, so while it was kind of a shock to me (because I’m reading just blatant/obvious fairly tale type love over and over) it was also refreshing and so real.
Lucy is a as blunt and non apologetic as it comes and Jaylen is a sweetheart who unfortunately is on an uphill battle with his inner demons. Initially while it seems like two people in two very different circles, they fit together so well!

It was fun and romantic and not your typical super mega hot MMC swoops in for a conventionally hot little FMC. (Except I’m pretty sure Jaylen and Lucy probably are very hot but.. you get what I’m saying)

The only thing missing from this book, and maybe that’s why it was on the shorter side, was a little more detail in certain areas. Maybe or character descriptions, scene/surrounding descriptions, and how the characters view each other in their own little inner monologue? But also some people find this to be fluff, and so without those things others might really really love this book!

A really great debut novel from Lexi LaFleur Brown that has me desperate to see what her next one will be like!

Thank you Netgalley, Harlequin, and Lexi LaFleur Brown for the opportunity to read this early!

I'm gonna be honest, I was nervous about going into this one. I love Lexi and think she's hilarious, but what if I hated her book?

My hesitation was for naught, because this is a damn delight.

Filled with the same quick wit Lexi has made a name for herself with on social media, SHOOT YOUR SHOT had me laughing out loud from the first few pages. The wit is sharp and on point, and I love that Lucy didn't mince words. Also, Lexi's ability to perfectly land a quip in text is next level. The jokes are clever as hell, and I'm so glad that translated into her writing.

If you love a bitchy main character (and you should), Lucy is going to land so hard with you. Her style, her thought process, her humor- it all just works. I love that she's just a messy, flawed human and it's accepted and not made into a whole arc to try and "fix" it. Plus, she's an aspiring tattoo artist. How badass is that?

Jaylen is also a really refreshing male main character. He's witty and cocky, but not a jerk for absolutely no reason like we (often) see in hockey romance. Also, male vulnerability? In HOCKEY? Yes, please. I loved that Jaylen was the one going on this journey to accepting himself and really focusing on his mental health struggles because hockey needs more of that!! In sports!!

Also, a female protagonist who is openly queer and has an entire queer friend group that are often talking about their queerness in a sports book is really cool, actually, and I'm so stoked this exists.

The one thing I disliked about this story, though, are the NHL team names. I could in no way come up with a bunch of brand new team names, but, Lexi, I'm so sorry, the Seattle Rainiers just did not land with me. I was however a very big fan of the "Groo / Boo" reference. So, thank you for that, haha

SHOOT YOUR SHOT is a witty, queer, celebratory love letter to hockey and finding that one weirdo that matches your freak and I had SUCH a great time with it.

This was so good! I literally read it in one sitting. This is such a cute rom-com and I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book prior to its release date. As a hockey family, this book was so exciting to read. Hockey players, hockey fans, and hockey families know the importance of a lucky charm. When the lucky charm is something (or someone) you never expected, you do whatever it takes to keep this lucky charm in your life to get you closer to your dream. What if the lucky charm turns into amazing chemistry that neither person never expected? Then I guess you just have to decide whether you want to shoot your shot or for some...risk getting hurt again.

i literally ate this up like it was my last meal. if we don’t get a soko book, i may perish. jaylen and lucy have truly become one of my favorite book couples. the banter??? 10/10. the romance?? 10/10!!!

Sadly I will be unable to read this book because no matter what I do it's not downloading correctly to my kindle. Because of that I'll give it a 5 star and preorder it instead.

Shoot your Shot was a breath of fresh air in the genre of Hockey romances.
The main characters were likable and loveable.
I absolutely loved how chaotic, bitchy and real Lucy was. I fell in love with her instantly. Girls would benefit from having her attitude towards life.
I loved that Jaylen wasn't the usual toxic book boyfriend but a down to earth hockey player with the biggest heart. He wasn't afraid to show his more vulnerable sides, which is such a turn on. He was just such a wholesome character.
As a hockey girl reading a book that was more accurate to real life was such a delight. I didn't have to roll my eyes at all the inaccuracies.
This book was just such a fun and entertaining read that at points had me spitting me tea all over my ereader and laughing out loud.
When starting this book I was so afraid that I'd hate it, since I love Lexi so much, but just from the first pages this book had me hooked.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this eARC.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!!

What a good book! I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I loved the main characters! They had great chemistry and worked so well together. I loved how the book just flowed. My first by this author but will not be my last!!!

From the moment this book was announced I battled my love for her and the fear I'd hate this book, but this one was such a good debut novel.

I know going in I was going to get real hockey experiences, which not always get portrayed fairly, but I didn't expect I'd be giggling on page one.

I have a guilty pleasure, and that is hockey romances with hockey boys, which means I read a lot of them so thank you Lexi because I am here for male athletes not being afraid of showing vulnerability, and being outspoken about their mental health.
LETS.MOVE.ON.FROM.THE.FRAGILE.MASCULINITY.BS

I also love a blunt woman, someone who knows who she is and what she likes, someone who doesn't change herself just to please other. If you do too, Lucy is your woman. She really is the bitch (non derogatory)!

If you are still not convinced, let me give you the first sentence of the book and that will do the trick.

"I don't need an online personality test to tell me I'm a bitch when there are plenty pf men who do that for me without the hassle of entering my email address."

Thank you Lexi Lafleur Brown for celebrating queerness, I really wish you all the success in the world.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Publishing for an e·arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Shoot Your Shot by Lexi LaFleur Brown is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the genre of hockey romance, sports romance, and just romance in general. It was spicy, it was raw, and it is just the book that you need to read this spring.

We follow the story of Jaylen and Lucy after a one night stand proves to be the best luck Jaylen has had in a while. Since hockey is superstitious he finds Lucy and convinces her to be his good luck charm. When I read this description I was anticipating a cheesy, quick, fun book. What I got was emotional intimacy, two main characters perfectly crafted for each other despite their differences, and a whole new understanding of what the inside of an NHLer's mind looks like.

Let's do a character breakdown! Right from the first sentence Lucy could do no wrong in my eyes. She is authentic, bitchy, and sooooo messy. She is never afraid to say what is on her mind, which is so refreshing these days. I also love the all queer friend group. One of my favorite quotes, "she called you a lesbian....That's not an insult" PERIOD LUCY!!!! Thank you for being the outspoken lady we all need in our lives!

Jaylen, or should I say my new favorite book boyfriend, I wish you were real. He is so clever and down to Earth and painfully proud of coming from, and returning to, the Midwest (midwest gang rise up!!!) A non-toxic hockey man who just wants the best for his loud and proud queer girlfriend? Give this man all the awards because he is perfect.

Shoot Your Shot is one of those books that I will be screaming from the rooftops about because I want everyone to read it. You would be doing it an insane injustice by calling it 'just a hockey romance' because it is SO much bigger than that. The emotional maturity and intimacy was even better than the spicy scenes. This book was written with so much care and thoughtfulness is makes my heart want to burst.

This book is the definition of 5 stars. Thank you Netgalley, Harlequin Publishing, and Lexi LaFleur Brown for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is one that will have a home on my shelf and in my kindle library :)

wait this was so good. this was funny with laugh out loud moments. both main characters are refreshing and very human meaning they are flawed but that’s okay and sassy and witty and vulnerable. i’d recommend this one.