• Home
  • ABOUT
  • Contact
  • Reviews By Genre
    • Black Romance
    • Contemporary
    • Cowboys & Westerns
    • Erotic
    • Historical
    • New Adult
    • Paranormal
    • Romantic Elements
    • Science Fiction/Fantasy
    • Suspense
  • Reviews by Theme
    • Celebrities
    • Harlequin Category
    • Holiday
    • LGBTQIA
    • Low Heat
    • Millionaires & Billionaires
    • Motorcycle Club
    • Multicultural
      • Black
      • East Asian
      • South Asian
      • Latinx
      • Interracial
    • Novellas & Anthologies
    • Royalty
    • Small Town
    • Sports
  • Reviews By Trope

Romance and Sensibility

From First Page To HEA

Black Romance, Contemporary, Genre, Review

Jess’ Review Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan

December 9, 2019 Leave a Comment


Rating: ★★★ | 460 pages | Contemporary | Self-Published | Release Date: 3/20/2018

TW : Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence


Okay, I knew going in that this book was going to be a tough one. Kennedy was inspired to write Long Shot after watching the leaked Baltimore Ravens Player abuse video. Long Shot takes an extremely close look at what it is like to live inside an abusive relationship.

I don’t read a lot of contemporary romance and I read very few sports romances (I think this makes two)  but there is no doubt this RITA award-winning novel is a standout. Not just because of its historical win but because of how strongly it holds to the spirit of the genre which guarntees an HEA even after the most tumultuous of storms.

I think it’s hard to read this book and not come away feeling like Long Shot is as much about Iris and August romance as it is about Iris’s journey from hiding in the shadows to reclaiming her life. I liked that this novel put the heroine first. It’s a kind of coming-of-age story that is unrelenting and heartfelt.

To honest this book was a hard read sometimes, nothing is held back about the abuse Iris endures. It is a book that is very tough to read sometimes and once you realize how far it goes you kind of brace yourself for the next scene.

This book features solid female friendships between Iris and her cousin Lotus, they have shared trauma and issues with their mothers that makes their bond stronger.

It’s clear that Ryan did her research or is very well versed in domestic abuse. I’ve said before that I dive into a lot of true-crime podcasts, where stories of domestic abuse are discussed and broken down in a meaningful way. There were so many things mirrored in Iris’ journey that we often hear about Lorena Bobbit or Nicole Brown.

I think my only criticism is that maybe August’s arc didn’t come as full circle, but to be honest he felt sort of secondary to Iris. Slight spoiler. I will say I am just not a fan of workplace romance and I IDK I felt like there were moments where August bringing Iris into his company doesn’t allow Iris to fully gain her independence.

Like K.E, I did think the ending was a little Lifetime Movie like but I sort of saw that ending coming.

I did pick this book up because of its buzz and RITA win, but I am curious to check out Kennedy’s other books.

Currently Reading

Kat
Jess

A spin-off of Books and Sensibility, this blog was created in 2015 to talk exclusively about romance novels--From the first page to HEA !

Follow Us on Bloglovin’

Follow

Subscribe !

Reviews By Rating

  • 1 Star
  • 2 Star
  • 3 Star
  • 4 Star
  • 5 Star
  • Unrated

Search

Book Blog

Blog Archive

Abou

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
@romanceandsensibility

I came across this trope a lot this year -Kat #spicybooks #booktok

♬ Still Into You Drill - ShoBeatz

Social Slider

  • Time for a cover reveal! Wall Street Journal bestselling author @kennedyryan1 is excited to reveal the gorgeous special edition paperback
  • The small town of Honey Hill isn’t big enough to handle the feud between Mayor Lunden Pierce and Quade Cannon—-the
  • Picked this up on a trip to 2nd & Charles . Can’t wait to dive into this series - J
  • Welcome to the snack / book pairing challenge! To enter, tell me what snack you are pairing with your current
  • Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you’re joining us tomorrow for the Black Friday Readathon. You can still sign up using the
  • I’m ready for the Black Friday Readathon! If you want to join us and read all day on Black Friday
  • It
  • It
Design by SkyandStars.co

Copyright © 2023