Retaking the Shot

Off the Bench Duet, Book 2

By: Kimberly Knight, Rachel Lyn Adams

Narrated by: Tim Paige, Liam DiCosimo

"Ford, stay with me."

Those were the last four words Ford Mahoney heard Emmett Cooper utter before everything went dark.

When Ford wakes up in the hospital, it doesn't take long for him to realize he needs to confront the demons of his past. Meanwhile, the events of that night leave Coop envisioning a better future for himself.

As they both try to find their way, they can't deny the bond they share. Yet, they struggle to fully embrace the love and acceptance they both deserve and crave.

Tired of the back-and-forth, they decide to retake their shot at love, but continued obstacles with Coop's best friend, Ford's ex, and the person who once shattered Ford's world threaten their newfound happiness.

As they skate through life's challenges together, Ford and Coop learn sometimes you have to drop the gloves and fight for what truly matters.

Retaking the Shot is book two in the Off the Bench duet. It is not a standalone novel.

©2024 Kimberly Knight and Rachel Lyn Adams (P)2024 Podium Audio

Good narration. Decent story.

Well, I had to finish book because the last one ended in a bit of a cliffhanger. I like the narrators, so I enjoyed listening to the story. The plot had good moments. I just really wanted the character's personalities to develop a bit more. Coop and Ford are more like caricatures of people rather than actual characters. Real human beings don't have internal dialogue like that. The first person storytelling did not work well. Coop does not act like an actual professional athlete. Real athletes who want to win a Stanley Cup do not eat that kind of food or spend that much time at the bar after a game. Just no!

This book had some interesting plot developments, but a few things didn't quite work. Hayden's and Tyler's anger at Ford doesn't really make sense. They were the ones who actually did something questionable. Ford just reported it. There were no innocent parties in this conflict. That wasn't the only plot point I questioned, but since it carried over from the previous book I don't consider this one to be a spoiler. I do wish the authors had taken a different direction for the story though.

If you read/listened to the first book and enjoyed it, you will enjoy this one. I appreciated certain elements of the story, and I really liked the narration.

part two

book one needs to be listened to first. this book starts off where book one ended. a wonderful coming out love story. with a lot of life in between hockey and healing from old trama. Tim Paige and Liam DiCosimo are a wonderful narrating team. they really bring life to the characters and the story. HEA and a Stanley Cup.

Juvenile, overly dramatic and unrealistic.

This duet had potential, but this book made it shallow and mediocre. It reminded me of a teen age girl’s overly dramatic fantasy. There was a lot of room for character development and growth in both main characters, especially Ford, but the author fell flat and didn’t do the subject matter justice. Also, statute of limitations for sexual assault in MA is six years. If you’re going to take on a topic of sexual assault, do it justice.