Cover Image: Take The Shot

Take The Shot

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This was one of those books I can see people really enjoying, but unfortunately there were just too many tropes that I didn't vibe with.

Was this review helpful?

This was an ok story. It was a bit too much tragedy for what was essentially a light read. The characters were ok. There were some things that I had issues with throughout the book but nothing too bad.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Was this review helpful?

I did not jive well with this book. I think it was the writing style that I didn't get along with that much.

Was this review helpful?

In Danica Flynn's Take the Shot, the first installment in the Philadelphia Bulldogs sports romance series, this debut take you on a journey on and off the ice. It started out with Dinah Lace, who works in accounting at day and writes YA books at night. At age 30, she's a young widow who lost her husband in a car crash and later a miscarriage right after it. Her big Italian family is protective of her. But she's been best friends with Noah Kennedy, her twenty-two-year-old Canadian hockey player, and her next door neighbor. Noah is a rising hockey star for the Philly Bulldogs and always had cared for Dinah--he was there when she almost died from her miscarriage. He always had feelings for Dinah and didn't care about the age gap, when he only wants to be there for her. But when they express their feelings for each other, their chemistry sizzles off the rink and heat things up between them. Noah had always loved her, but he didn't know how Dinah felt about him. When she wanted to tell Noah how she felt during a game, he took a nasty hit from a puck that freaked her out, making her worried that she might lose something she lost again. In the end, they both take the shot to follow their hearts and find a happy ending they deserve together.

Was this review helpful?

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Maybe I am just too old for this type of book and it was not the 8 year age gap as much as Noah being 22 years old. He was barely past legal! I think if he was a bit older, I would not have had such a negative feeling about their relationship.

I also just felt that Dinah treated him a bit like a younger brother and he was so into her being the dominant partner that he seemed pretty passive. When she broke up with Noah, it just felt even weirder like she was immature so her being the older person didn't make sense to me.

I guess that I am more into non-sports romances that all the partying, drinking, and f-bombs were a big turn off for me.

If those type of things don't bother you, then you will enjoy this book but I don't think I will bother with this series.

Was this review helpful?

1.5 stars. <-- What went wrong? For starters, the dialogue. The characters and language were so juvenile I was cringing. What self-respecting 30-year-old career professional and widow acts like a teen frat boy? As an avid hockey romance reader, not me. I wish the author would get a clue about her demographics. I don't know any adult that's looking to regress to tween boyhood.

I guess that leads us to characters, storyline and chemistry. Weak. There were no feels on my end. And that includes the sex scenes and hockey plays.

Was this review helpful?

Dinah is a thirty-year-old widow who lives next door to two hockey players. They both knew her husband who was killed in a car accident. She deals with the loud music and partying from next door. She does this while working at being a writer. She does have a soft spot for Noah who actually saved her life months after she lost her husband when she had a miscarriage while in the stairwell, Noah found her carried her downstairs and took her to the hospital and stayed with her. She felt for him then and as much as she is trying to deal with her feelings.
First, she wants to like Noah but still, she feels that she is too old for him, second, she is still dealing with cheating on her husband. As a reader, I was wanting her to take the time to get with Noah and I was equally confused with Noah. I wanted him to step up and tell her before he did that he wanted to be with her. I got that he was nervous, or even scared because he knew her husband and actually liked him, he thought maybe that his feelings for her would be not helping her. He did fall in love with her though when he was with her in the hospital, seeing how strong she was he found a different person on the inside and his love grew right there in the hospital. When he finally heard from the coach that she had called the team and told them what he had done that had sealed the deal and he finally decided to make his play on the ice and with her. This is when the story becomes different and changes.
I had hoped that the last part of the book would have been part of the beginning for it seemed that the author had found her groove and the whole story from the 75% mark just was so much better, even though they were all the same characters. I like hockey and hockey stories so I was looking forward to reading this book, I was just a little disappointed in the beginning and a little passed the middle. Dinah’s character and the struggle with Noah’s character were both good and her part really helped the book move along.

Was this review helpful?

Take the Shot is the first book in Danica Flynn’s Philadelphia Bulldogs series and my first read by this author. As a first, it was a decent story with plenty of promise, it did however lack a little in the execution and some flow to the story. I also found the constant references to not being good enough, over-played and over-stated. It was obvious by the number of secondary characters, that they will potentially have primary roles in future books, and I loved Noah. He continually showed a caring, understanding and genuine persona that was endearing in so many ways. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the same connection to Dinah, and I also didn’t sense the required chemistry between Dinah and Noah. The author’s style can only develop and certainly shows promise, so I will definitely give the next book a go.

Was this review helpful?

I'm a huge fan of hockey, sports romance and friends to lovers trope so I went into this with high hopes. Although enjoyable, it fell a little flat for me.
Noah and Dinah share a great friendship and yet when they take it the next level, there is a lot of self doubt from each of them and that just got old. Throw in Dinah's angst over the age difference and I just wanted to tell both characters to snap out of it!

Was this review helpful?

The premise of this book ticked all my boxes. Hockey romance. Check. Older woman, younger man. Check. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t work for me. I found that Dinah had a matronly way of talking to Noah which is not the vibe I want when reading a romance. Maybe because the author as trying to give her “older speak”? The other annoying thing I found with this story was that Noah was constantly asking for permission. I’m all for consent but asking for permission for every single action was irritating. Even Dinah, during a make out session, said “Stop asking me for permission. Yes.” This was a DNF for me.

Was this review helpful?

3.5***

I liked the premises of this story - best friends finding love, older woman/younger man. Noah and Dinah were very cute together and had a really great friendship. She had so much loss but he was her shoulder and rock through it all - insert SWOON! He was there for her and she supported him professionally as well, giving tips on his play. He, being the younger man, just wanted to please her. I think he liked her so much that he did not want to do something that would not give her pleasure, which led to a little insecurity on his part. But dang if he wasn't a willing student. He was all in with her. Dinah was a little more hesitant, due to the age difference as well as her life experience, but I think she wanted to be all in. My only issue with the book was repetitive word choice, mainly about his youth, his large body, or her small stature. Now the secondary characters in this story brought the entertainment. His teammates, their girlfriends, and her family members were a hoot. They made me laugh, but also brought the warmth when they were concerned for their friends/family. I hope to see more of these characters and they get their happy endings as well.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher through Netgalley.

Was this review helpful?

A new author for all of us – you want to love the story and give them a great review. And yet, the story didn’t quite have the spark I expected. Hockey and romance are two things I love in a story but the constant reminder of her being ‘so much older’ than him was annoying. No one seems to have a problem in the reverse and I hope the author doesn’t continue to bend to the norms. The potential is there so I will watch for the next story and expect more!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was promised or received for the review.

Was this review helpful?

Take the Shot is the debut book by Danica Flynn. I am a huge sports romance fan and hockey is my favorite to read. I was obsessed with the premise of this book…a reverse age gap with a widow and her best friend who is a hot hockey player who has been secretly pining for her for a long time. I generally enjoyed this book despite a few things that drove me a bit crazy (i.e. Dinah obsessed with the age difference, the depiction that all Canadians are so nice that they have no backbone whatsoever and the characters were all a bit too immature at times for being professional hockey players). The dialogue was a bit immature at times (a lot of “dude” and “f-bombs”…not that I mind a well-timed “f-bomb” but this was a little overboard). I feel like if Noah had been a college hockey player and not a professional then his immaturity/innocence may have fit a bit better.

Noah was super sweet, maybe a bit too sweet, but I generally liked his character. I liked Dinah…she seemed realistic to me and I empathized with her pain. However, I wanted to scream at her to get over the age gap. It really wasn’t a huge deal and I felt like she made it too much of an obstacle and just wouldn’t stop thinking or talking about it. This took up way too much of the book in my opinion.

So, yes there were a few issues that I encountered. Yet, for a debut novel, I was still pleasantly surprised & enjoyed this book. It was still sweet, funny and steamy so it met all the marks there…it just had a bit of a lack in execution. I hope that this series will only get better with each book. I will definitely read the next books in this series.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this book and loved the characters!

This is my first book that I've read from this author and I really enjoyed reading it!

The book is very well written and very detailed.

This won't be the last book I ever read from Danica

Was this review helpful?

3/5 stars

I received a copy of Take the Shot through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Take the Shot is the first book in the new Philadelphia Bulldogs series. Dinah is a widow living across the hall from her best friend and younger hockey player, Noah. Noah has been in love with Dinah for a long time and was there as she grieved the loss of her husband two years ago. Take the Shot takes the reader on the journey of Dinah and Noah finally starting their relationship together.

I have read many hockey romances and I have to say that Take the Shot fell in the middle of all that I’ve read. It was neither the best hockey romance I’ve read or the worst. My main problem was that I couldn’t get interested in the characters. Dinah drove me crazy at times, especially with her obsession with being older than Noah. She is only 30, but the way she talks about their age gap you would think she was closer to 50. She was a little too overbearing and in your face for me. Noah on the other hand was too idealistic, he came across as innocent and naive, not how I’d think of an professional hockey player.

The book was well written and the detailing and notes of hockey were good, but I couldn’t get into the characters. The first few chapters had me wondering if I would be able to finish the book, but I was glad to see that the story did pick up and pull me in more as the book progressed.

Take the Shot is a good hockey read, not great but not terrible either. I would be willing to give the next book in the series a shot even though I couldn’t get into this one. It was well written, but didn’t pull me in like some other hockey romances out there.

Was this review helpful?

*this books was given to me in exchange for an honest review *

2.5-3 stars...
The first book in the Philadelphia Bulldogs series. The story introduces us to Noah, Dinah, and the rest of the crew that hang out together due to the guys playing hockey together.
Noah is from Canada, early 20’s, and in love with his best friend, who also happens to be his widowed older neighbor. Dinah, who lost her husband in a horrible accident, has this awesome hockey stud living next to her, who also happens to be her best friend. The story revolves around Noah confessing his love, and Dinah coming to terms with love after the horrible death of her husband.
I didn’t realize this was the first book in the series, as there seems to be a lot of established relationships, which lead to believe there were prior books. I just could not connect at all with any of the characters; there was no real punch to the story. I found myself skimming the vast majority of the book. The one piece I did think worked well, was that I could visualize while I was reading. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it was just meh. Zero passion, the characters were sort of annoying, and I didn’t grasp onto any of the other characters. Noah plays hockey-Dinah is a writer-they figure out they love each other.

Was this review helpful?

❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

A good read and plot .
Some of the characters were wonderful.
Dinah I loved , so strong and she had fire and heat, wasn’t afraid to ask for what she wanted.
T.J ,I adored him so funny at times , most of the other players too were quirky and amusing they had real life to them.

Noah however I was disappointed in.
At first he just came across as a gentle giant of a man and that was fine , even being unsure of himself was good , not all men are confident.
Noah began to anoy me around chapter 6, I started to think him weak and I couldn’t get past it .
It’s probably a personal thing so don’t let it put you off reading this book , the rest of it was good and enjoyable reading.

In all it’s great reading with a vast majority of excellent characters.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

Was this review helpful?

3 Stars for this hockey romance.

Dinah was a widow at 28 and 2 years later she’s trying to get her life together. Noah played professional hockey for the Bulldogs and at 22 he only has eyes for his neighbour Dinah. When Noah finally gets the courage to share his feelings with her, he is shocked that she feels the same.

The premise of this book is good, it just doesn’t really go anywhere. I just couldn’t get into the characters ... Dinah was too overbearing and Noah was just too good to be true. What I did like was that for once the hockey team didn’t win every game ... that part was more realistic. This is a debut novel for this writer and she had lots of characters that I did like in the book ... like TJ, Benny, Rox, and Riley that I know have stories that are waiting to be written.

I received an early copy courtesy of the author through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Was this review helpful?

3.5 of 5 stars



Take The Shot (Philadelphia Bulldogs #1) is the debut novel by Danica Flynn. In this story, widow Dinah Lace and NHL player Noah Kennedy are best friends who begin to act on their feeling for one another. There are several issues that the couple face in the story, including an eight-year age gap and guilt for moving on.

A couple of times I felt the story dragged repeating the same stuff. For example, concussions seemed to be mentioned a lot with no real relevance. It felt like it was thrown in to make the book longer. There were only two scenes that it seemed applicable. It bothered me that Dinah often treated Noah like he was younger than her (which he was), but it felt wrong. They were best friends for two years, so I feel like she should be treating him like an adult and not a kid. That did let up toward the end of the book. Noah is a sweet guy and a good friend.

The plot had merit. There were well done scenes. I think the author, and series have a lot of potential. I would like to hear the story of the other characters in this book. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Was this review helpful?

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really tried to like this book but I just couldn't do it. I ended up dnfing it at 37%.

My main issue was the characters and their dialog. Dinah has been through quite a bit and I in no way can possibly understand what that is like. But she is a 30-year-old woman who one minute is using phrases like she would "down to clown" with her hot hockey neighbor and then is feeling guilty that she did. The back and forth was giving me whiplash. Also, what 30-year-old says things like down to clown? She acted much younger than her age.

And then there was Noah. Listen I'm all about consent. 100%. Needs to be consent. But once there is stop asking if it's okay. If this is really what she wants, etc. I swear he asked about 10 times and I just couldn’t handle that. It completely ruins the scene the author is trying to create.

Overall, I think it just missed the mark. I know it’s the author’s debut novel so hopefully she can improve upon some these items for future books.

Was this review helpful?