The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid

Rachel Reid is back with another emotional hockey romance where retired NHL hockey stars Riley and Adam find themselves getting a second shot at love.


From The Shots You Take blurb:

A sweet and sexy hockey romance about two ex-teammates and former best friends with benefits who are about to discover whether you can ever really have a second chance. From the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Game Changers series and Time to Shine.

After moving back to his hometown ten years ago, Riley Tuck thought he had left his major league hockey career—and his broken heart—far behind. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes, it brings ex-teammate and former best friend with benefits Adam Sheppard back into his life.

Coming to the small town of Avery River, Nova Scotia, might have been a mistake. Adam’s not sure he’ll ever win back Riley’s trust after the way they left things—and the attention he’s getting as a huge hockey star isn’t exactly helping. Yet the chemistry that crackles between them is undeniable, even now.

As Adam helps Riley navigate his grief, long-buried feelings start to resurface. But they’ll have to square off with their complicated past if they’re going to have a real shot at a new beginning.


Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's review:

"𝚁𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝙰𝚍𝚊𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖...𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢'𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚍. 𝙸𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝙰𝚍𝚊𝚖.

𝙸𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚁𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚢."

When this book began, the tone was decidedly heavy. Riley was knee deep in dealing with the loss of his beloved father. He was not in a good mental head space. He especially wasn't in the headspace to deal with his former best friend and love of his life to show up at the funeral after YEARS of no contact. I honestly didn't blame Riley one bit for being upset. I also didn't blame Riley for removing Adam from his life all those years ago. Their relationship brought him nothing but pain by the end.

"𝚁𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚢'𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝙰𝚍𝚊𝚖 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎'𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚏*𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍."

As you can guess Adam had a lot to make up for after his arrival in Riley's home town. There was definitely some next level groveling. I don't think I would have continued reading this book if Adam didn't truly show how sorry he was for his behavior in the past. Some of the things that happened had me cringing in sympathy, so I couldn't imagine being the one who actually had to stand there and take it. To also be fair, this all happened in their late teens/early twenties where most people aren't known for making the most mature decisions.

I loved Riley's family. His mother and sister were so supportive of him and you could tell how much they cared about Riley. They cared about Adam too, especially since they were in the dark about everything that happened between them leading to their friendship ending.

A lot of growing up and healing had to happen for Riley and Adam to get their HEA. It was a bumpy road along the way with Riley's mental health issues and Adam's internalized homophobia taking center stage. I don't know if they would have worked if they made a go of it back in their 20s. I am sad that Riley's father never got to see him finally settled with the man he loved, but I also believe that after all these years they got the timing right at long last.

Heather's Review:

While still paying homage to the great Canadian game, Rachel Reid's latest romance takes us beyond the rink and into retirement... in two very different scenarios that come to a head when Adam crashes Riley's father's funeral...

These two men have a lot to go through - and I'll admit that I skipped over some of their history chapters because I have trouble reading in a non-linear way, but I don't think I missed much of the story because the characters are great at reflecting and eventually realizing what their past meant.

I love the setting where much of the story takes place,  If it were real, I would definitely add it to my vacation list.


The Shots You Take is currently available as an audiobook, e-book and paperback