Taking Shots by Toni Aleo

Toni Aleo is on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Taking Shots, the first novel in her hockey series. I was excited to read a book that focused on hockey. Something different, and something that interested me. I was a big hockey fan in middle school and high school, and attended many games for the local team in my hometown. So I was looking forward to reading!
Elli Fisher can’t get over that she is going to be the photographer for the Nashville Assassins, her favorite NHL team. While shooting, she meets her biggest crush- the captain, Shea Adler. When sparks fly between Elli and Shea, Elli can’t quite believe it. Why would someone like Shea – who can have any girl he wants – be interested in her? She struggles with self-confidence and self-worth, but after a string of dates with Shea, she slowly begins to feel more comfortable with herself. But can Elli really let go of all the insecurities that have been haunting her for so many years? Will she find her happily ever after with Shea, or miss her shot at love?
I struggled a bit with Taking Shots simply because it was too long. At over 400 pages, that’s just too long for a full-length novel, and there were a lot of scenes, characters, and even just words (‘basically’ appeared way too much) that could have been cut. Looking past that, I liked the story and the romance between Elli and Shea. This is a romance novel for a reason – there are a lot of sizzling sex scenes between the two. It was nice to see a growth through Elli and even her best friend Harper, who added a lot of humor to the book. Going back to the length, I also think a few of the scenarios where Elli seemingly gives up on Shea could have been cut as well. It started to get frustrating after so many times. I will be looking forward to book number two though and a new cast of characters to meet.
[Rating: 3]