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A review by ivanareadsalot
The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid
5.0
An immense "THANK YOU" to Edelweiss, NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Adores for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
πWhen I got the email a million months ago inviting me to review this arc, I already knew what I wanted my first book of 2025 to be. A Rachel Reid romance is EVERYTHING I want to suffuse myself with on Day 1 of a brand new year, and the way The Shots You Take had me in its clutches from the very first sentence straight through to the very last full stop at the end of the acknowledgements means I got that bit of forecasting right! So props to me for ushering in the new year with victory energy, because this 5 star win was a deeply moving read and I loved all the smushy feelings it wrung out of me!π
πRR flashbacks legit burn my soul.... especially when there's so much achy tension in the present day povs. Young Riley and Adam were squeezing my chest and my brain melted from jedi-willing everything to turn out well for them both, even though i knew their HEA was guaranteed! I'm usually not fussed about tropes like second-chance or dead spouse etc, but ooof the way this story hit I can NOW see why second-chance romances take a certain amount of delicate manoeuvring and receptivity for it to work.π
πngl it took me forever to write this review when it usually takes me seconds to blurt my feelings out. But i'm still so very sad for Riley losing his amazing dad...and also for his past heartache and for the harsh ending to his NHL career, all of which I'M still working through. This was fiction but it felt so real and i didn't know what to do with myself when it was done.π
π©΅Sad hockey players/Grieving Nova Scotians is just the most succinct and perfect way to describe everything that unfolded in this romance, and that description comes from Reid herself. There's forgiveness and wooing, Lucky, the most bestest doggo, tons of crying (both myself and Riley), cinnamon buns, a gorgeous garden and interior design that had me boosting my Pinterest manifestation boards!π©΅
πThere was true loving after a life of beat downs, because breath in your lungs means it can still be taken away, by both pleasure and pain. I was so proud of Riley and the way he took his power back! And I loved Adam's resolve to win back the only man he ever loved! Theirs was a hard won HEA but it was all worth it in the end!π
πThis book was triumph and tears, heartbreak and hope, dignity and healing, and i'm just so happy that i got to read -AND LOVE- something this beautiful and with such emotional resonance for my first book of 2025!π
ππRachel Reid remains the queen of my MM Hockey/hockey adjacent romance heart, and as an added bonus, i also love how i always fall more deeply in love with Canada after loving on one of Reid's heartfelt and immersive stories! and honestly who can blame me? North Shore Nova Scotia is simply stunning, and so was this sweet and sincere, small town achy romance I'm sure I'll be feeling for a very long time!π
πWhen I got the email a million months ago inviting me to review this arc, I already knew what I wanted my first book of 2025 to be. A Rachel Reid romance is EVERYTHING I want to suffuse myself with on Day 1 of a brand new year, and the way The Shots You Take had me in its clutches from the very first sentence straight through to the very last full stop at the end of the acknowledgements means I got that bit of forecasting right! So props to me for ushering in the new year with victory energy, because this 5 star win was a deeply moving read and I loved all the smushy feelings it wrung out of me!π
πRR flashbacks legit burn my soul.... especially when there's so much achy tension in the present day povs. Young Riley and Adam were squeezing my chest and my brain melted from jedi-willing everything to turn out well for them both, even though i knew their HEA was guaranteed! I'm usually not fussed about tropes like second-chance or dead spouse etc, but ooof the way this story hit I can NOW see why second-chance romances take a certain amount of delicate manoeuvring and receptivity for it to work.π
πngl it took me forever to write this review when it usually takes me seconds to blurt my feelings out. But i'm still so very sad for Riley losing his amazing dad...and also for his past heartache and for the harsh ending to his NHL career, all of which I'M still working through. This was fiction but it felt so real and i didn't know what to do with myself when it was done.π
π©΅Sad hockey players/Grieving Nova Scotians is just the most succinct and perfect way to describe everything that unfolded in this romance, and that description comes from Reid herself. There's forgiveness and wooing, Lucky, the most bestest doggo, tons of crying (both myself and Riley), cinnamon buns, a gorgeous garden and interior design that had me boosting my Pinterest manifestation boards!π©΅
πThere was true loving after a life of beat downs, because breath in your lungs means it can still be taken away, by both pleasure and pain. I was so proud of Riley and the way he took his power back! And I loved Adam's resolve to win back the only man he ever loved! Theirs was a hard won HEA but it was all worth it in the end!π
πThis book was triumph and tears, heartbreak and hope, dignity and healing, and i'm just so happy that i got to read -AND LOVE- something this beautiful and with such emotional resonance for my first book of 2025!π
ππRachel Reid remains the queen of my MM Hockey/hockey adjacent romance heart, and as an added bonus, i also love how i always fall more deeply in love with Canada after loving on one of Reid's heartfelt and immersive stories! and honestly who can blame me? North Shore Nova Scotia is simply stunning, and so was this sweet and sincere, small town achy romance I'm sure I'll be feeling for a very long time!π