The book is cute and I liked that it started out with him being interested and her not caring about him at all.

I didn’t feel super invested in the characters - Lucy gave up on her dreams after one bad night and I couldn’t really grasp what JJ’s deal was but once the story got going I became more interested into seeing how these two found their way back to each other.

The characters are a little two dimensional and the spice wasn’t all that spicy. It gained back a few points for me with the mental health representation. We could have used more Cooper!! And the epilogue was pretty great.

I have to say the reviews made me think this was going to be awful but I don’t think it was bad? The start was a bit rocky for me but I got into it quickly and found it easy to read. Was it the best book I’ve ever read? Absolutely not but it didn’t set out to be! I'd give it 3.5/5 stars.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing/Canary Street Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Overall, this story was meh. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrators. I had a difficult time liking the FMC. I found her to be annoying and whiny.

I was really hoping to finish this book before pub-day, but unfortunately came down with the flu and couldn't read more than a page or two before falling asleep or forgetting what I just read. That wasn't the book's fault though, so I gave it a second try after I fully recovered!

First of all, love the cover art. I am one to judge a book by its cover, and if I don't like the vibe the cover is giving, I just get disinterested. It's a character flaw of mine, but what can ya do?

The premise of the book was also super intriguing to me. Literally everything I know about hockey is from hockey romance novels, but I've learned that the players are crazy superstitious, so the whole ~be my good luck charm~ thing wasn't unpredictable, but I did like it better than some of the other hockey romance tropes out there.

The characters though... I did not love the FMC because she gave me some serious pick-me/I'm-not-like-other-girls girl vibes. The gay best friend seemed like he was just a stereotype rather than a fully developed character. Same with the lesbian character. The FMC's ex having a secret boyfriend the whole time she dated the FMC also seemed like the worst kind of bisexual stereotype. It was like the characters were developed by an AI chat bot that was asked to write stereotypical queer characters. I did, however, enjoy the golden retriever MMC falls for the prickly/hard to get FMC. I also thought the mental health aspects of the story were handled better than the queer aspects of the story.

Overall, I didn't hate it, but I was slightly disappointed by the execution. The idea of the book was great (5 stars) but the execution did quite meet my expectations.

I had high hopes for this one, but just couldnt get pulled in. It has potential and I think hockey romance readers would enjoy it. Do not let my mood reading bring you down.

all the hockey was great. lots of hockey terminology. the story was a bit lacking. black cat meets a golden retriever, who is diagnosed with anxiety and panic attacks.

This romance debut, unfortunately, did not do it for me. There is so much "tell" over "show" happening to the point of exhaustion. The main characters have these repetitive internal monologues that contribute no depth and instead are simply reminders about something already mentioned 10 pages earlier. The main characters' respective drives and traumas are also introduced early on but in a way that feels "trauma dump"-esque. It takes so long to both get to a more in-depth and informed understanding of their experiences as well as for them to take action towards growth. This makes it difficult to both understand their motives as well as feel empathy about how their struggles influence struggle within their romantic relationship.

I'm optimistic for Lexi LaFleur Brown's future work, I can tell she wants to stuff her characters to the brim with heart and personality. I hope that as she explores her voice in this genre it becomes more focused.

It was ok, nothing special and it won't leave a lasting impact. This book isn't inherently bad, but it's not my favorite hockey romance. It doesn't really do anything special in order to stand out from other sports romance books. The characters weren't flat per say but they also weren't fantastic, and the chemistry was only decent not sizzling.

I always love a good hockey romance! While browsing the books on NetGalley I immediately requested it. I am so thankful to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing. NetGalley is exposing me to authors that I have not read before. I really enjoyed this book, there were so many laugh out loud moments. Lucy and Jaylen are about as polar opposite as they come. The story starts with Jaylen being released from his pro hockey team. He goes to drown his sorrows at a bar. This is were he runs into Lucy. After there one night of fun and never expecting to see each other again; Jaylen gets the call that he has been reassigned back to his team. I do not want to giveaway any spoilers, but in a nutshell Jaylen thinks that Lucy is his good luck charm. I really enjoyed Lexi Brown's development of these characters. She definitely broke the mold of the usual tropes in hockey romance books. Their chemistry was just so real, and the life struggles Lexi Brown writes about are real life issues and not something crazy and way out there. They are 100% believable making them seem legit. This is definitely one of my favorite hockey books to date. A huge thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to discover Lexi Brown. I look forward to reading more of her books.

This book felt like it tried so hard. There were so many boxes checked in terms of diversity of characters and background histories. It got to the point where it felt super formulaic. I have read a good amount of hockey and other sports romances, that are all basically the same premise. The difference between those books and this one is that they didn’t try to hit every mark at the same time.

The premise is that Lucy is a “black-cat” aspiring tattoo artist has a one-night stand with JJ, a down on his luck (I think he is supposed to have “golden retriever” energy) hockey player, who was recently cut from his team. The next day, his luck suddenly returns when he is signed again with the Seattle team, JJ attempts to turn Lucy into his pre-game lucky charm (don’t worry, this just means she needs to wish him luck before each game). As this situation progresses, it grows into… something more?

I wanted to love this book. As previously mentioned, it checked a lot of boxes other hockey romances have skipped over. Everyone wasn’t hetero. Everyone wasn’t Caucasian. I wanted to love it. But I didn’t.

The chemistry between the characters just wasn’t there for me. They didn’t mesh in a way that was believable to me and their trials and tribulations as a couple didn’t bring them together as much emphasized their different focuses. Even at the end of the book, when family members and friends had been introduced, I still felt like I didn’t really know these characters. They were pretty pictures but were flat without real personality. There was a lack of story and substance and instead of being a fun, sassy story full of growth and defying adversity, it came across as a poppy counterculture attempt at a hockey romance. This is the Hot Topic goth of hockey romances, it sounds and looks edgy, but it is the same generic rhetoric.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a copy of this book.

While "Shoot Your Shot" presented a strong premise, it fell short in the execution. The writing was far too much telling and not showing, which made it difficult for me to relate to the characters. I liked Jaylen but Lucy felt flat for me. I didn't buy into the romantic chemistry and it didn't feel romantic or engaging to me. The pop culture references didn't disengage me, but I didn't find them enjoyable. It relied on stereotypes for representation of the queer characters, they felt like stereotypical representations of queer people, and not characters who were well rounded. It was mildly charming but just didn't land for me. I think that readers who enjoy hockey romance would enjoy this, I just needed it to be something different.

I was so excited to read this book and it definitely lived up to the my own hype. This was a really great hockey romance. I really loved how the author handled the MMC's struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. I really felt like the romance also felt incredibly real.

Written in dual first-person POV, Lexi LaFleur Brown’s debut novel Shoot Your Shot focuses on the romance between NHL hockey player Jaylen Jones and aspiring tattoo artist Lucy, whose lives become intertwined after an anonymous one-night stand changes their luck and life perspectives.

Brown’s down-to-earth writing style, vivid, detailed description, and superb world-building make you feel present with the characters in each moment, drawing you into the novel. She uses the characters’ emotions to give the descriptions more depth and layers. Brown’s colorful and natural-sounding dialogue fits the book’s characters, settings, and themes. Her conflicted, complex, and messy characters are relatable and likable. I like her snarky banter and sweet, sexy, steamy, emotional, and intimate interactions and love scenes that reveal, develop, and grow Lucy and Jaylen’s characters while furthering the novel’s plot. The scenes where they share information about themselves to get to know each other are fun. I enjoyed Lucy’s and Jayleyn’s interactions with her friends and his teammates, respectively, which were funny and brought some levity to the story’s melancholy tone. Their relationships with secondary characters, including her friends and father, and his teammates, also reveal and help develop their characters.

Jaylen fears that his hockey career is over after he doesn’t receive an NHL contract at the end of training camp with the Seattle Rainiers. When a last-minute roster spot opens up on the team, superstitious Jaylen believes it’s because of his one-night stand. So, he’s driven by the need to have her near to help him with his game. Lucy works as an assistant at a tattoo parlor, hoping her boss will offer her an apprenticeship. Unfortunately, her job hasn’t provided Lucy with the stability or career advancement she needs and wants. So, when Jaylen asks her to be his lucky charm and pay any price, she agrees, despite her initial misgivings. Sending him a good luck text message before each of his games isn’t a big deal. Lucy convinces him to appear at her friend’s charity event and get them tickets to his games in exchange.

While they agree to avoid getting physical again because neither is looking to get involved or for a relationship, spending time together leads to them getting closer and their chemistry and attraction growing stronger. Lucy and Jaylen can’t resist either, and their one-night stand becomes more, leading to feelings Lucy and Jaylen weren’t expecting.

It’s obvious Brown knows the ins and outs of hockey, and I like how she uses it in the novel for detailed hockey play and in other ways. However, her focus on the relationship between her characters and their development is where her writing shines. I love how she dives deeper into the psyche and life of hockey players through Jaylen’s character in ways I rarely see in hockey romances, particularly his confidence, mental health, and anxiety associated with the trajectory of his career from drafting to the present. For Lucy, she explores the impact of her relationship with her father on her life/career as an artist. Because of her in-depth character development and exploration, Shoot Your Shot is more of an emotional/angsty novel than I expected or was prepared for—I expected a humorous, lighthearted read. Although it includes lighthearted and funny scenes, its overall tone is melancholy, and it deals with emotionally intense content. It starts strong and interesting. However, the pacing lags, in parts.

Brown’s diversity of characters and LGBTQ and mental health representation are a consistent, well-developed, and integrated part of her narrative and not just thrown in for show. She explores the characters’ mental health and well-being with nuance and care

Poignant, funny, steamy, angsty, and sexy, Shoot Your Shot is a fast-paced romance perfect for fans of character-focused hockey romance, interracial romance, one-night-stand-to-more, hockey player heroes, artist/tattoo artist heroine, and he falls first with bi and gay representation. It explores self-discovery, self-confidence, mental health, believing you are worthy of love, following your dreams, and healing and recovery.

CW: mental health issues, anxiety, panic attacks, parental abandonment, toxic parent, grief/loss

3.5 stars

Canary Street Press provided an advanced review copy via Netgalley for review.

I’m always up for a hockey romance! Golden retriever MMC with a black cat FMC and a failed one night stand. Is he down on his luck and trying to convince her that she’s his good luck charm for his NHL career? Yes. Yes he is. This book was so cute!

I received this book as an ARC and I was excited to dive into this hockey romance. This book is more than a fluffy romance. It touches on several challenging topics including grief, mental health, panic attacks, and difficult family dynamics. The FMC and MMC have faced many challenges but together they make each other better. I highly recommend this sweet book!

I’m kind of shocked how terrible this is. I’ve been following Lexi LaFleur Brown for years for hockey stuff and I’ve been anticipating her debut novel for a long time.

Having said that and having watched her read and rate other hockey romances as “research”…this is not for me but unfortunately it is also not good. The hockey is accurate, sure, and that’s nice. But the main characters are insufferable and so very much some kind of self insert/directly based on her own marriage while the side characters are stereotypes and completely one dimensional. I’m deeply disappointed in this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book didn’t really grab me, but it read like a fanfic to me so that is probably right. The lucky charm was interesting but nothing in this book really stood out to me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin and Lexi LaFleur Brown for this ARC!

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(ARC)

This book was really cute. Jaylen and Lucy's story was a really fun read; it was incredibly wholesome and loveable, and I had a really good time reading it. I would love to see more stories from the people in this world, like Cooper and Maya. This was a solid debut for this author and I am looking forward to seeing what else she has in store.

I appreciate the fact that the author had true insight as to what hockey is like, and I could tell with some of the descriptions/scenes in this book. Overall the romance was fun. But I feel like at points the plot was a little jumpy from one scene to the next, and I didn’t get that giddy romance feeling while reading. I wish Lucy’s friends had been a little more fleshed out as well.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. This book was entertaining - I found it a little tough to like the FMC. She seemed self destructive and had a woe is me attitude. She had good support and came around in the end.

CW: Absent parent, alcoholic parent, emotional abuse from a parent; panic attack (on page), grief, mention of death from overdose; sexual content; depression & anxiety; brief mention of microagressions and racism

This was a laugh-out-loud romance about mental health, art, and hockey.

Lucy has daddy issues. Her father ruined her chances at becoming a successful painter when he didn’t show up to her senior art showcase in college. From then on, Lucy declared to never paint again. Now she is on the road to pursuing a tattoo apprenticeship. But she’s not doing a great job…

Jaylen Jones was the first Black player to go 1st overall in the NHL draft. But now he’s struggling to find a team who will sign him. After his childhood friend Cam passed away, Jaylen’s play declined tremendously and fans started to turn on him.

When the two have a one night stand, they believe they’ll never see each other again. Until Jaylen receives a call that the Seattle Rainiers are giving him a spot on the team. When he shows up to practice, he sees Lucy.

After several encounters with her leading to great success on the ice, Jaylen’s superstitions get the best of him (as many hockey players do). He proposes that Lucy be his good luck charm by sending good luck texts before every game in return for free tickets to games and he will help her friend, Maya with her LGBTQ+ charity events.

As a queer hockey fan and a fan of Lexi’s TikTok content, I thoroughly enjoyed Lexi LaFleur Brown’s debut hockey romance. The majority of hockey romances lack diversity and seem to only stick to Achellian romances. Shoot Your Shot defies the romance genre, having a bisexual FMC, queer side characters as well as a Black love interest.


Written in dual perspective, we learn about each character’s flaws and see their romance flourish over time and throughout the season. I appreciated how fleshed out and messy each character was. As the wife of a former NHL player and former goalie, it was evident that she pulled from her and J.T.’s experiences in the league and in the sport.


If you can get past the cheesy writing, I think this is a solid romance. My only criticism is that I wish she had been more creative in the third act breakup and chose something else. I loved seeing the teammates' personalities and behind the scenes of Jaylen’s NHL season.