Taking Shots

Taking Shots is the 1^st book in the Nashville Assassins series from author Toni Aleo. The publisher is Random House - Loveswept and the release date is set for April 23, 2013. From the publisher’s website.~

In Toni Aleo’s exhilarating debut, the first in a series featuring the hockey hunks of the Nashville Assassins, a reformed bad boy helps a charming, willful woman face off against the demons of her past.

No matter how hard she tries, Eleanor Fisher never thinks she’s good enough, from her job to her weight to her love life. After enduring years of abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, Elli has been drifting through life in a daze. Until, that is, she meets Shea Adler on a promotional shoot for the NHL’s Nashville Assassins. Before Elli knows what’s happening, the gorgeous Shea breaks the ice and shatters her world.

A brilliant athlete inside the rink, Shea Adler is tired of the life he’s living outside of it: the girls, the money, the drinking. But everything changes when he meets Elli. After laying eyes on this feisty, witty, beautiful woman, he feels like he’s just taken the hardest hit of his life. No matter how skeptical she is, Shea knows they are meant to be together—if only he can convince Elli to put her insecurities aside throw her insecurities out the window before she misses out on a shot at love.

I’d heard other taking about Toni Aleo’s new series, and was pretty excited to give it a try, especially since it takes place in Nashville where I currently live. I was very lucky to get approved for a review copy thanks to the publisher through NetGalley.

I absolutely loved Taking Shots. I really loved Ellie and totally got her issues with her weight based on her history. Regardless if it is true or not, most women who are a size 10 or larger feel like they are fat even if they are really at a healthy weight. I battle my weight every single day of my life and even have a family member who isn’t nice about anyone who gains weight, so Ellie’s issues with her family really spoke to me. I’m lucky that my family member would never take the steps Ellie’s family did, but felt her pain completely. I was so glad Ellie had her dad and her uncle always in her corner about everything in her life.

I’ll admit I fell very hard for Shea Adler the minute he appeared on the page. I could tell he was gob-smacked when he first saw Ellie and loved that he was willing to do everything in his power to prove to her how much he cared. Not saying he didn’t screw up on occasion, but what romance doesn’t run into some major bumps along the way. However, he proved himself over and over again and I loved how much he loved Ellie. I especially loved that he loved her exactly for who she really was.

I have to say Ellie’s mother and sister are about the biggest villains I’ve ever read in a contemporary romance. I really wished at one point they were real people so I could totally slap each of them across the face. I couldn’t believe anyone could ever be that vindictive and cruel to a family member. I’m so glad Ellie was able to learn the truth about them both so that she could try and work things out with Shea.

I’m lucky enough to already have the 2^nd book in the Nashville Assassins series and am already reading Trying to Score. The first 3 books in the series are all set for re-release on April 23, 2103 from Loveswept (books were originally self-pubbed). Taking Shots, Trying to Score, and Empty Net are the first 3 books and are all being released in digital format.