The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC!
I do enjoy a good second-chance-romance but there are two main issues I see frequently pop up that do bother me, and which this book subverted beautifully.
Issue 1: “No one was in the wrong.” In some second-chance-romances, we find out that in the dissolution of the relationship the first time, no one was really in the wrong. It was a miscommunication, or a natural growing apart, or something. In The Shots You Take, there are very much people in the wrong in the ending of this relationship. Neither of them are entirely blameless, but there was certainly some very bad actions taken that lead to the end of this relationship and the book doesn’t shy away from the negative impacts that those choices had on the character in the interim between the end of the relationship and the reunion. When it comes to them talking about it again, as well, the characters feel the weight of their actions in a way that felt realistic, and it’s not simply brushed away.
Issue 2: “No one’s done the work.” Often, there is no reason why the romance would suddenly work this time around. If you’ve had an unsuccessful relationship with someone in the past, love simply isn’t enough – you have to have changed and grown in some way to make the relationship work. You need to be different people than you were back then, and that is very much the case here! Both characters have grown and change and one of them is even in therapy! From what we see throughout the story, there is very much a realistic chance of this relationship working out compared to what I see in other second-chance-romances.
Also, there’s a dog called Lucky in this book. What more can you ask for?
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC! I do enjoy a good second-chance-romance but there are two main issues I see frequently pop up that do bother me, and which this book subverted beautifully. Issue 1: “No one was in the wrong.” In some second-chance-romances, we find out that in the dissolution of the relationship…