Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!

What a cute romcom! I really enjoyed this book and had such a hard time putting it down. I enjoyed the writing style. The characters worked so well together and the plot was great.

This book was very cute!! It delivers on the premise. Mo is the sweetest teddy bear, and Jess is so incredibly supportive. If you’re a romance girly, this is a must read.

3.5⭐️

This book had everything but it just didn't fully work for me. It felt a little flat. I loved so much about it - the princess Bride references, the Ren faire, Jess and Mo. but I think in the end, a lot felt dull and clinical. Cute idea, just didn't fully work for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for this arc!

I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the book. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting into this story. It started off in a really random setting and I didn’t feel like it picked up.

3.5

struggled a bit to get through this one, but i think it’s just because i didn’t have the motivation to read. i really liked mo as a mmc, and i hadn’t heard of hsp, so reading about his experience with that was interesting.

#netgalley

Give Me a Shot is an emotional hitter that is still a beautiful love story.

The romance here felt very realistic and genuine. I loved the way these two saw each other and let each other into their lives. They truly loved each other for who they were, struggles and all. Jess and Mo learned to trust and open their hearts together. Their love story was really beautiful and inspiring.

The author tackles heavy topics including grief and neurodivergence. I think she did a wonderful job portraying dealing with the world as a neurodivergent person. It felt real. I also felt the author did a great job of balancing the heavy topics with the love story.

I also liked the focus on different kinds of hobbies like archery and Ren Faire. As a person who does both, I loved reading them in a book.

A beautiful story many readers will fall for.

love this romance of a archer and someone who build knives. Loved that they fell into the relationship and she was able to figure out his HSP and that he was able to talk to her about her sister. Loved the friends and loved seeing his family.

It's such a shame when one of your most anticipated reads falls flat.

Some parts of this book I really enjoyed. The author writes some great spice scenes, and the whole concept of a Folk School is stellar. You can tell that the author really researched the craft of blacksmithery and archery, and that passion is clear. I always appreciate some good texts on page. I also LOVED the representation and the look at neurodivergence as something beyond just a quirky character trait.

(I will note: a lot of research right now around HSPs are that it is a symptom of other disorders. Practitioners often will identify sensory processing sensitivities as a recurring trait. Mo seems to have OCD-like tendencies or autistic tendencies, but he only refers to himself as a Highly Sensitive Person.)

But there were just too many things in this book that were impossible to ignore.
1) Jess kept comparing Mo to a little boy. "Seeing the shy kid inside" type of thing. While I'm all for embracing the inner child, it was really hard to see that comparison CONSTANTLY and then immediately be like "oh she's sexually attracted to him?" Very jarring.
2) Oh, apparently they are both famous in their athletic fields? Why does everyone in romance novels have to be famous or perfect at what they do?
3) While I adore effective co-parenting in romance novels, we never got a sense for why he was divorced in the first place. It seemed like a missing part to his backstory.
3b) The daughter was supposed to be 12 but was written like she was 7. Has the author ever met a 12 year old?
4) Jess's friends have NO personality traits outside of wanting to hear about her relationship. It made it hard to root for Jess when there wasn't a single full-fledged person in her periphery besides her cat.
5) The romance itself was super stilted. They kissed at 26% in, without any sort of burn to it, it felt like just randomly throwing them together. While the sexual attraction in the sex scenes was spot on, the third act break-up was pointless. Like it actually made me angry.

So yeah. I try to be a super positive reviewer but I could NOT get over these things. Sorry about that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a great and touching romance. I loved the cute cover. It's definitely a new coupling and plot type.

Gia De Cadenet has truly outdone herself with Give Me a Shot! This heartfelt contemporary romance combines emotional depth, unique characters, and a refreshing setting to deliver a story that feels both genuine and deeply resonant.

One of the standout aspects of this book is Jessica Anderson, a character unlike any I’ve seen in romance. As a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), Jess’s experience navigating the world resonated with me in such a personal way. Seeing her emotions and reactions portrayed so thoughtfully was not only refreshing but also deeply validating. De Cadenet handles Jess’s sensitivity with care and authenticity, making her journey one of healing, strength, and self-discovery.

Mo Sarda is the perfect counterpart to Jess. Guarded yet kind, he’s a man of quiet strength with a deep love for his family and a knack for keeping his life drama free. Watching Mo’s walls come down as he opens up to Jess is so satisfying, and their chemistry crackles from the very first encounter. Their romance is both sweet and spicy, with a perfect blend of tender moments and undeniable heat.

I also loved how De Cadenet incorporated heavy topics like grief, healing, and emotional vulnerability into the story. These themes are handled with such grace and balance, never overshadowing the romance but instead enhancing it. The emotions are raw and real, and they give the love story between Jess and Mo a sense of depth and authenticity that makes it truly unforgettable.

And let’s talk about the archery! Featuring a sport like archery—paired with Mo’s blacksmithing—makes this book stand out in the contemporary romance genre. The Folk School setting and the Renaissance Faire fundraiser added so much charm and creativity to the story. It’s rare to see hobbies like these showcased in romance, and it was such a treat to read about them.

Overall, Give Me a Shot is a beautiful, layered romance that perfectly balances heartfelt emotion, personal growth, and a love story you’ll be rooting for from the start. It’s Gia De Cadenet’s best work yet, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a romance with depth, uniqueness, and characters that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. It's a must read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Gia De Cadenet, and Dell for the eARC of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It was very spicy but sweet and I really enjoyed Jess and Mo’s relationship. This made me laugh out loud at times and just kicking my feet and squealing. 10/10

Es uno de esos libros que te hacen sonreír, suspirar y desear tener ese tipo de amor.

Jess y Mo son personas que merecen todo lo bueno. Por separado, son maravillosos, y como pareja, forman un equipo extraordinario: se apoyan mutuamente, saben cuándo dar un pequeño empujón y cuándo es necesario dar espacio. Celebran sus triunfos, sin importar si son grandes o pequeños, y saben que siempre podrán contar el uno con el otro, sin importar nada.

Me encantó cómo, desde el principio, hicieron clic y todo fluyó de manera natural. La comunicación que tenían fue algo que realmente disfruté.

La relación de Mo con su hija y todo lo que hacía para ser un buen padre me robó el corazón.

Tengo muchas cosas buenas que decir, pero siento que si me explayo más, estaría dando spoilers. Así que lo último que diré es que todo el tiempo estuve leyendo tuve una sonrisa.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a lot. It’s filled with secondhand stress, emotions, and grief. A lot for me to relate to. Neurodivergence threads through your daily interactions and I think reading this novel made my own peculiarities even more clear to me. I related to Mo and I related to Jess, and regardless of how drained I felt from some of the scenes, I still completed this book in less than 24 hours. This was one of the realest written relationships I’ve experienced; I so enjoyed the way they worked through their challenges. I loved the way they saw each other and folded into each other’s lives. This gave me hope that it is possible to be seen and loved for who you are. I think we all hold back a bit of ourselves sometimes but my goal since last year has remained to be my truest self with all I love. Perhaps it has also inspired me to look into another sibling support group, because if one thing rang true from the story, it is that you never truly “get over” loss.

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC.

This is definitely a romance, but the amount of emotions in this book could be a bit overwhelming for some readers. From heightened sensory awareness, intense grief from the loss of family, repression of feelings, and more, there is a lot that goes along with the love story of Jess and Mo. Readers need to go into this quite prepared.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

This cover is honestly so adorable I had to read it. I really liked this book’s characters, they had great chemistry and I loved their banter. The plot line was also really entertaining and I definitely will pick up from this author in the future.

Prior to reading this book, I wasn't aware of this term, HSP, Highly Sensitive Person.

This romance novel exposes the reader by hearing Mo's internal thoughts and feelings. The reader sees him in various situations from his interaction with his daughter and siblings alongside his employees at his auto shop. By creating these scenarios, the reader see how others view him and how these interactions affect him. Thus, by the the time he and Jess' relationship builds, the reader has a better understanding of his character.

Here's where I feel the author fell short. I feel they quickly fell ( into bed) despite an initial hostile start. For the reader to accept this transformation, there needs to be more interaction between the two. Also, the estranged relationship between Jess' parents (especially, her father) requires more than that one antagonistic scene at the family home.

I felt this was more Mo's story than Jess' despite the various breadcrumbs tossed along the book as to what befell her beloved sister, Cassie.

#GiveMeaShot #NetGalley
This ARC was provided by the publisher, Random Publishing Group-Ballantine, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

This story has all the sparks, both literal and emotional! It beautifully balances humor and heartache, as Jess navigates her grief and Mo learns to let others in. Their chemistry is undeniable from their fiery first meeting, and Jess’s sharp wit paired with Mo’s quiet strength creates a dynamic duo that feels both authentic and swoon-worthy. With the added charm of the setting and sizzling moments of connection, this is a romance that hits all the right notes.

Give Me a Shot is one of the sweetest and yet spiciest books I've read in a long time. Jess has returned from England and is trying to find a connection in the community, practicing her archery when she mets Mo, the head blacksmith. Sparks fly (yes, in this case, it's a pun), but both Jess and Mo need to learn to trust and communicate in order to open up their hearts.

I was a Jess fan from the moment that I realised that she and I were graduates of the same doctoral programme, but I really enjoyed that these two characters were really kind people, who made an effort to communicate and anticipate each others needs. I really did feel like these two really belonged together. While this book revolved less around Ren Faires than it seemed in the marketing, I really enjoyed that this book offered the geeky version of a sports romance. It is great that books like this show hobbies like Ren Faire can be great sources of support and community.

Finally, this book handles some heavy topics - grief, domestic violence, dealing with the world with neurodivergence. All of it was handled very sensitively and thoughtfully and I appreciated that the main characters remained their best selves, showing thoughtfulness and empathy to each other.

I would really recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Dungeons & Dating or would love to see the sports in sports romances replaced by a keen archery demonstration!