This was a swoony, highly emotional roller coaster of a love story featuring a neurodivergent Blacksmith MMC, Mo and Jessica, a female archer who is struggling to grieve her younger sister's violent death.

Mo and Jessica find themselves working together to save the Michigan Folk school they both love and the more time they spend together, the more their feelings for one another grow. I really loved getting to know Mo as a character who struggles with being a Highly Sensitive Person - he physically absorbs the feelings of those around him and finds it extremely draining. I've never come across a character quite like Mo and it was so refreshing to learn more about his type of neurodivergence!

Jessica herself is finding it hard to work through her grief and the pain over her sister's death is manifesting itself through bodily physical pain that doctors can't find the cause of. With help from both her friends and Mo, Jessica learns to let go of her anger and give into her grief in a cathartic and healing way.

Great on audio narrated by Natalie Naudus and Ryan Lee Dunlop, this is sure to be a standout for me this year and I would recommend it for fans of Cara Bastone's Promise me sunshine. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!!

Thank you to Dell for this advanced gifted copy!

Gia De Cadenet writes male MCs like no other. Maybe it’s because all of the men I’ve met from her are brothers but these three, Khalil (Getting His Game Back) and Karim (Not the Plan) and now Mo are deeply emotional men with women who have to slow down to enjoy them. And once those women get on the ride, they cannot get off.

Mo and Jess meet on opposite sides of her crossbow. She’s cleaning out the apartment of her recently departed sister and finds a large man in a leather apron washing his hands. She finds this grounds for aiming a crossbow at him while he explains that he’s a blacksmith with permission to be there. They do eventually work it out long enough to separate until they are drawn back together.

Jess is a champion archer and part of her settling into Detroit involves finding a place to practice. She ends up at the Michigan Folk School, where Mo just so happens to teach blacksmithing. Pretty soon they get looped into a scheme to save the Folk School after they lost their benefactor.

However, the scheme to save the school isn’t the most interesting part and it’s barely the key to their love story. The two of them and specifically how they care for one another in the quiet moments is what makes this story sing.

Mo is a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) which is a new to me form of neurodivergence. I really appreciate the care the author gave in explaining HSPs and how external stimuli affects Mo. He comes across as grumpy or sullen when in actuality he feels every emotion around him and internalizes it. When Jess clocks his emotionality within minutes of their second meeting, Mo breaks down and explains it all to her in more words than he normally uses in a month. Then she researches it, takes notes, and studies them before their next meeting.

In the meantime, Jess is reeling from the passing of her sister after a long life of suppressing her feelings. Her grief is manifesting as physical pain that she tries to ignore to no avail.

I find it ironic that they have opposite methods of approaching emotions but feel like puzzle pieces of one another. I love how they care for one another and how we get to feel the emotions they are feeling, or fighting, at the moment.

If you’re looking for something that will hit you in your chest for 300+ pages, this is your next read.

CW: Domestic violence (not between the main couple, mentioned)

This book was good.

I did enjoy these characters and this overall story, but I think this book just had a little too much going on at once. I also wish there would have been just a little bit more ren fair content as well. While I loved those aspects of this book it was overshadowed by how emotional and heavy this book was.

This book may have been just a me issue as well because I went into this book expecting a cute and funny rom-com, but this book was more of a heavy and emotional romance story without a whole lot of humor.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book. I may try re-reading this again in the future if I am feeling more in the mood for something heavy.

A blacksmith and an archer? Talk about your ren faire romance. This was sweet and a lot of fun in my opnion.

Triggers: DV (references to events), grief, loss,

This was such a wholesome book and heartwarming to read about 2 very guarded, but highly compassionate people find their person. Jess is grappling with loss of a sister that was taken in traumatic way. Mo is navigating life as a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and raising his adorable daughter. Add baller ren skills (see: archery and black smithing) and a way to showcase them and love is the result. There is spice, but the plot is the heart of the story. Would recommend!

This is such a sweet book. I just wanted to give both of them a big hug the whole book. Jess is holding so much inside and I needed her to talk to someone about it. Mo is the perfect person for her. He is the cutest and wants to do everything he can for her. Jess is so attuned to his emotions and what he needs, he's never had someone like that before. I just really enjoyed this book.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't expecting much out of this book but I was pleasantly surprised by it. I was expecting a book with some animosity between two people with some archery and blacksmithing thrown in but instead got a book that deals with grief, learned about HSP (which I had never heard of), a very sweet romance with the archery and blacksmithing.

I also didn't realize that this is technically part of a series so I'm now considering reading more of this author's books since I enjoyed this one so much. Plus I get to see more of these brothers.

4.5 stars rounded up

A very sweet read. Mo is a good man, an incredible father who loves his daughter to the moon and back. He is neurodiverse and has created a lovely quiet structured life that works for him. Jess is trying to figure out how to move on with her life after the surprising death of her sister. She is emotionally stuck. The two meet under scary and somewhat funny circumstances. When they’re asked to help out to save a local school they work together neither is looking for anything other than saving the school. Maybe some ogling but Jess, but that is it! Really. It’s an easy gentle read of some will they, won't they and can they save the school and each other. I adore this author. She tackles some delicate topics in a kind, loving, educated manner in all of her books.

I wanted to like this story more. The heroine, Jess, has moved to Michigan where she has a job as a professor of feminist history at the University of Michigan. That’s a pretty prestigious position for a starting professor, but the author just gives her that job and doesn’t do much with it at all. Instead we get a lot of her grief over her younger sister’s death. She feels a lot of guilt because she thinks her brother-in-law was responsible for her sister’s death, but she doesn’t do anything about that except mope around and blame her parents for not doing anything to help her sister before it was too late. Her grief is so deep that she is suffering physically from it.

Mo, the hero, suffers from something I’d never heard of - Highly Sensitive Person. I went down an internet rabbit hole reading about this disorder. Mo is so highly empathetic that he suffers physically when he’s around too many people. Mo seems gruff and unfriendly, but he’s just protecting himself from too much human interaction. He actually is a sweetheart who just wants to help Jess. He appreciates that she’s sensitive enough to realize that he’s not just this gruff guy who does blacksmithing as a hobby.

She’s a former championship archer and they end up working together to help the Folk School where they both indulge in their hobbies by throwing a Renaissance Faire. They seem to become a couple quite easily. Earlier we learned that he hates for people to touch him, but he sure doesn’t mind Jess touching him.

I enjoyed the dueling POVs and seeing things from Mo’s side. He has a great relationship with his family and is willing to go to them for advice. She has a friend group who help her. I just felt that it all got wrapped up too easily.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This is a cute romance with a lot of emotional discussions. I appreciate the care and respect the author gave to these sensitive topics. There were some issues with the pacing which unfortunately lowered my rating.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Dell for an early copy of this book through NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

This was SO SWEET OH MY GOD. I really had no idea what to expect going into this as this was my first book by Gia de Cadenet but I will absolutely be going back and reading her other books in this series!

Mo captured my heart pretty much immediately. His thoughtfulness and consideration made my heart ache. His neurodiversity was handled with such care and even as a mental health professional, I learned a lot about how Highly Sensitive People experience the world around them. He was so sweet with his flowers and little gifts for Jess and his relationship with his daughter.

I struggled some with Jess, but I think that’s just bc she wasn’t dealing with the grief from losing her sister and I, like her friends, wanted her to do a little self reflection and see what was going on. I did love how much her friends cared for her and that they were willing to say hard things to her bc they wanted the best for her. Outside of her grief, I really loved how Jess saw and sought to understand Mo so she could love him well. They just worked really well together and it was fun to watch their relationship bloom!

I’m sure others will like this book, but it’s not for me. As a highly sensitive person myself, I was happy to see the HSP representation in this novel. Yet it felt like the plot of the novel was “we should all be more sensitive to each other”—except that’s not a plot, it’s a theme. The pace was slow and it didn’t feel like much was at stake. DNF ~25%.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I would give this book a 3.75, but lets round up to 4. I really enjoyed how quick I fell into the story and developed a love for Mo and Jess. I also love a great side character cast and saucy grannies nextdoor, and besties on a zoom call definately satisfied that love for me. My only complaint is I felt like the main conflict of the book didn't make as much sense, which we saw how Jess learned to Mo needed as a HSP and the lack of information we really got bout Cassie and what happened. Despite this, I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the the neurodiversity in the book and the emotional intelligence of our characters.

Okay this book is SUCH a great example of my deeply held belief that good romance books have the power to make you a better person; reading about the interworkings of people that are different than you is just so good for a person (even if the ppl are fictional!!!!). I didn’t think every little thing about this book was perfect, but I really appreciated how carefully the author handled certain topics, and I did end up loving the main characters in this book.

I loved the angle that they are good at such random things so fun - I love a unique hobby. I thought the planning an event together was fun. And I loved that he was a guy w big strong shoulders sue meeee.

That being said, if you really don’t like men written by women (u KNOW what i mean - softy sweetie babies that understand feelings), probably skip this one. Otherwise, let ‘er rip!!!

(I do wish this book was like 50 pages longer - some story lines / sub plots felt a bit brushed over)

Copy kindly provided by publisher via NetGalley for review:)

Mo and Jess are two people who deserve the world! This was a very cute romance, however there are heavy topics brought up throughout. The heavy topics were handled with care which as a reader who has trigger warnings, this was very much appreciated. And Mo is a consent king!?! We love this!!! I really enjoyed getting to know these two characters.

And the fact that my little hometown was mentioned gives this an added boost!! Overall it was a very good read, I just found myself needing to pause a few times.

Give Me a Shot is such a cute read. Mo and Jess are adorable, and I loved the ren fair aspect! I just wish Gia had gone a bit more in-depth about their professions because hello blacksmith and archer?! Cmon!

Thank you to Random House Ballantine - Dell and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of Give Me A Shot by Gia De Cadenet.

Mo and Jess both participate in a Renaissance Fair in order to raise money to help save a beloved Folk School from closing. The Folk School is what initially brings Jess and Mo together. Jess is an archer who still grieves the loss of her sister. Mo teaches blacksmith skills, is neurodiverse, and co-parents his daughter.

This is such a lovely romance! Jess and Mo are such a perfect fit for each other. My favorite moments in the book were the ones where it was evident how well they understand one another and you can see this through their actions and considerations for the other. In addition to the romance, this story was so impactful through the friendships depicted, the neurodiverse representation and the realities of grief. I highly recommend checking this book out when it releases.

This was my first book by Gia De Cadenet and I’m excited to check out more of Gia’s books!

I liked this story, but I think I liked the first book better. I also like how grief was a topic mentioned as well as neurodiversity. Jess' and Mo's story was cute, but the nicknames were a bit more cringey than cute and some parts of the story were a bit repetitive. Thanks to NetGallery for the ARC.

This was a sweet rom com. I picked it up because of the cover. Not my favorite but also not the worst.

Have you ever read a book about a blacksmith and an archer before? Give it a shot by reading Give Me A Shot. This is about Mo who is a mechanic by day and a blacksmith by night. He’s a single dad and is neurodivergent. No one has ever understood him until Jess comes onto the scene. She’s a championship archer dealing with the grief of the sudden passing of her sister. Mo and Jess meet at the trades school they both attend and sparks fly between them. I wish there would have been a little more detail into both of their trades. Mos trade is talked about briefly but in very broad terms. Jess’ trade is spoken about more, particularly when the two have to help put on a ren fair to save the trades book that is in financial trouble. The best is the archery show they put on. Overall I enjoyed the book and rated it a 3.75. Def a cute and fun read.