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Taking Shots
Taking Shots
Taking Shots
Audiobook14 hours

Taking Shots

Written by Toni Aleo

Narrated by Lucy Malone

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

About this audiobook

No matter how hard she tries, Elleanor 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 women, 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 before she misses out on a shot at love.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 30, 2013
ISBN9781452687957
Taking Shots
Author

Toni Aleo

My name is Toni Aleo, and I’m a #PredHead, #sherrio, #potterhead, and part of the #familybusiness! I am also a wife to my amazing husband, mother of a wrestler and a gymnast, and also a fur momma to Gaston el Papillon. You can usually find me hollering for the whole Nashville Predators, since I’ll never give my heart to one player again. When I’m not in the gym getting swole, I’m usually writing, trying to make my dreams a reality, or being a taxi for my kids. I’m obsessed with Harry Potter, Supernatural, Disney, and anything that sparkles! I’m pretty sure I was Belle in a past life, and if I could be on any show it would be Supernatural, so I could hunt with Sam and Dean. Also, I did mention I love hockey, right?

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Reviews for Taking Shots

Rating: 3.661290322580645 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

124 ratings21 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Loved the hockey and romance and Sean (sigh) but found the writing pretty poor. This book needed a good editor. I think it could have been 100 pages shorter without losing one bit of the story.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved this book. Wish that a little more explanation of Ellie's illness was explained, I have hypothyroidism and never went through what she did. I love the way Shea never gave up on her or love, proving that there are really good men out there to her! It was a classic love at first sight book, with lots of twists and turns that you never expect!! Looking forward to the rest of the series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It was really sweet and it followed a lot of romantic comedy tropes but all in all I enjoyed it. It was about my favorite sport hockey and the characters were pretty well rounded out, albeit a bit too beautiful and perfect but that all added to the endearing quality of the story. The writing was eloquent and made the story fun to read. I'll admit this is a guilty pleasure read and I'm definitely going to read another in this series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book was pretty good. I enjoyed it, but I found it to be unnecessarily lengthy. I found myself skimming parts of the book.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
     Contemporary Romance. Assassins hockey. Elli and Shea. Didn't like that she had a nasty-viper sister Victoria and comedy horrible mum. Quite angsty. Poor
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed this story in how it thoroughly explored many aspects of a relationship and the hero was wonderful but the heroine not so much. I could understand her insecurity to a point but she went overboard especially at the end. NHL champion Shea is attracted to team photographer Ellie.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book was riddled with typos and grammatical errors, which I find really jarring. My favorite error was, "when he took her nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around her growing peek." And she'd say things like, "his mind was a mess" when she had actually been talking about HER and what SHE was thinking, so it should have been "HER mind was a mess." This kinda stuff was all over the place!

    The book was also pretty simple and typical. I wasn't really impressed by it at all. I found the main character's family to be loathsome and her dealings with them frustrating (in that it wasn't how I'd expect or want her to behave with them). But, as far as the romance goes, it was sweet and I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy it, I just found it dull and lacking any emotional pull other than hating her family.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow! Taking Shots by Toni Aleo is such a great book! I started off by telling myself I was just going to read one chapter but less than a day later I’m done. I haven’t found a book that I wanted to stay up during the wee hours of the night and get up early to read in a very long time. As soon as I finished, I ordered the rest of the series, which I NEVER do!Eleanor “Elli” Fisher meets the gorgeous captain of the NHL team, the Nashville Assassins, Shea Adler, when she is doing a promotional photo shoot for the team before the season. Shea Adler is taken aback when he first sees her and how beautiful she is. Even though she is not his typical type, which is skinny and blonde, he finds her curvy body and dark hair beautiful. If only, Elli would see herself that way. She is very insecure in her looks after she gained a lot of weight after getting sick and losing some of it, but never getting to the weight she once was. It doesn't help that her family, besides her dad and Uncle Bryan who owns the Assassins, treat her horribly making fun of her cruelly at every chance they get. Can Elli get passed her insecurities to be with the man of her dreams? Will she allow her family to keep diminishing the beautiful person she is? Can Shea commit to one woman for longer than one night?I absolutely loved this book and fell in love with the characters, even though I wanted to shake them at times and say “what the heck are you thinking??” I cannot wait to read the rest of the series. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that loves romance and hockey or at least a sports fan.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Long ass book and not that much to be thrilled about its lenght either. The book starts slow and then it'll only pick up some speed from past halfway through it. The writing bothered me a little, since there were times at the beginning I thought I was readgin the dialogue of a couple of high school seniors and then all the mushy stuff too was a little over the top for me. I liked Shea and Ellie okay and I could understand where Ellie's insecurities were coming from, but then it got a little old for me. Shea was a little better with more backbone than Ellie, but I still weren't able to connect fully with them. One of my favorite characters of the book was Harper with all her spunk and craziness. Pretty entertaining her scenes.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a love story! Elli and Shea ... She is so insecure and he is so totally in love, he will not give up on her. Love persistent hockey players! This story shows how Elli overcomes family pressures, self esteem issues and begins to believe in herself. Hurrah for Tohi Aleo for sharing with us Elli!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Loved the hockey and romance and Sean (sigh) but found the writing pretty poor. This book needed a good editor. I think it could have been 100 pages shorter without losing one bit of the story.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    When I first downloaded this book, I thought the editing was HORRIBLE. And then I found out there was a revised edition, so I downloaded that so I could leave the most fair review possible.

    The editing was better, but there were still a few rough spots. Misused words, mostly. Shea did a lot of sitting on his "hunches", I think the author meant "haunches", and I noticed worse instead of worst a few times. But overall, it was much cleaner.

    The story was pretty good though. I understood Elli's issues, to a point. I got why she still feels fat, even if she isn't, and why she doesn't feel good enough, after what her ex and her family put her through.

    But after a while, I wanted to tell her to just get over it. Shea was so good and patient and loving with her. Everything she threw out at him, he took it and came back for more. Most men would have just washed their hands, but not Shea. He loved her, and knew she was worth fighting for.

    The only part I really just didn't like was the last 15% of the book or so. That mess with Elli's sister was just TOO much. Elli knew Shea, and more than that, she knew Victoria, how could she believe her over him? It just made NO sense at all, and I wanted to shake her.

    So, because of the ridiculousness of that, and the still poor, but not so terrible editing, this one ended up being a 3 star read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a good book. I liked Shea a lot. Elli could be a bit annoying at times. But I had a hard time putting the book down.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    From the reviews this book was promising. I'm not a hockey fan but I thought that this as a book to read.An insecure heroine, with family issues, confidence issues, weight issues and socially awkward that finds her totally hunk, alpha male, drop dead gorgeous with a six pack and totally ripped prince charming. Well, who's the woman that won't relate to this? At first, I was totally into the story, Elli was shy and insecure and a little uncertain of what a Greek god wanted with her. It's easy to tell that this is a first work because of the repetitions and the story's tone but still, putting that "structured errors" aside, the plot was good. But, and I don't recall in which part of the story, the tone changed and our shy heroine becomes a hysterical woman, spoiled and crazy. And our alpha male is totally dependent of his twin sister, a little submissive for my tastes and completely subdue by the heroine.... WTF?!Ellie (the heroine) not only keeps things from Shea (the hero) but doubts him all the time, even when he does nothing to deserve it. I mean, the guy's a saint! This doesn't do it for me.Sometimes, I didn't even understand what I was reading : why Ellie family were so mean to her? Why she let them do that to her? And, in my opinion, men don't pay attention to certain details like Shea did, nor women get all that explicit while talking about certain things (nor men, for that case)...I have conflicted feelings about this book. The plot seemed good, and I believe that with some changes it will be, the other characters seemed ok and I really liked Harper/Jacob story but for this book to work, something needs to change.Most of the time I felt like I was reading something out of a teenager drama...all in all, I give this book a three star because I managed to enjoy certain parts and I liked Shea (even if he's a little wussy).
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Toooooo long. I was so excited to read this book bcoz of good reviews but the length of the book ruined it seriously....i almost skipped so many pages and it didn't make much difference.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Taking Shots is the first book in Toni Aleo’s Assassins series, where each book focuses on a hunky hockey player for the Nashville Assassins and the woman he comes to love. If you like a romance book that slowly depicts a couple’s developing relationship, as they each battle their insecurities, then you will enjoy this book, even if hockey isn’t one of your favorite sports.Eleanor Fisher, called Ellie, is a professional photographer as well as a die-hard Assassins’ fan. She attends every game, has awesome seats to watch the home games, and is most likely team captain Shea Adler’s most dedicated fan. When she gets a chance to be the official photographer for the Assassins team, she jumps at the opportunity to be around the players of a sport she loves. On her first day taking pictures of the team members, she finds herself blushing as she considers how gorgeous Shea is when she is photographing him. When he flirts with her, she is too shocked to even reply. In her eyes, someone like Shea Adler could never be interested in her. First of all, Ellie has low self-esteem because of her family and a past relationship. Readers are given bits and pieces about her family and past but the full story isn’t revealed all at once; instead it is parceled out over the course of the story to keep the reader’s interest. Secondly, Ellie has major issues with her body image that I found surprising and saddening. When she was in her teens, she was a size two. Later, she developed hypothyroidism and gained a lot of weight. Although she has lost some of the weight, she isn’t happy that she is now a size ten and, in her opinion, still overweight. So being a size 10 means you’re fat? I think not. There is nothing wrong with being a size 10, but I think, today, young women feel so much pressure to be “stick thin.” Unfortunately, Ellie places too much importance on a person’s physical attributes in the beginning of the story, but her attitude does change as her character begins to grow.However, Shea isn’t deterred by her clothing size; he finds her very attractive. The fact that she blushed and was shy around him during the photo session only made her more intriguing to him. Although he doesn’t yet know her name, with the help of his twin sister, Grace, they are able to learn her identity and where her studio is located. In order to get to know Ellie better, Shea hires her to photograph a social gathering for the team. While she’s working, Shea initiates his plan to get to know her better. He invites her to spend an afternoon with him which starts the typical “getting to know you” conversation.” When Shea follows up with a kiss that leads to more dates, they both realize the chemistry between them is dynamic!Shea is a wonderfully, caring, honest man who doesn’t understand why Ellie sees herself in such a negative way. Whenever he can, he always compliments her and works to boost her self-esteem. He also doesn’t understand her cautiousness about taking their relationship beyond just kisses and dates. During a heavy make out session, Ellie pulls back, terrified to allow Shea to see her body, thinking he will be disgusted by the sight. This hesitation about letting Shea close to her occurs repeatedly, and her inability to accept the fact he thinks she’s beautiful eventually began to annoy me. However, Shea is patient with her. Because of the connection he has with Ellie, he is willing to take things slowly. They spend a lot of time conversing, where Shea openly share details and stories about his life and his family. Unfortunately, Ellie doesn’t share anything about her family and tries to avoid discussing her past. When her parents learn that Ellie is seeing Shea Adler, they are persistent in having the couple over for dinner. Ellie does not like being around her family and doesn’t want to expose Shea to them either. Over dinner it becomes clearer to Shea one of the reasons for Ellie’s insecurities. Everyone in her family, with the exception of her father, seems to derive pleasure in criticizing Ellie, especially her mother. What makes the entire experience even more disastrous is that almost everything Ellie has avoided sharing with Shea is revealed by family members. Not only is Ellie embarrassed and horrified, but Shea is absolutely shocked by what he learns about Ellie’s past, and he realizes how much about herself she has kept hidden. By the end of the dinner, he is angry and frustrated with Ellie, as I think anyone would by this point. However, what confuses me is why Ellie agreed to bring Shea to dinner, knowing this could happen. These revelations, however, help Shea to gain insight about what has made Ellie so afraid of getting close to someone. Furthermore, this scene was an integral part of the book because it enables Ellie to begin lowering the barriers she has erected to protect herself from getting hurt. Now that Shea knows more of the truth and still wants her in his life, Ellie decides it’s time to give herself fully to him. As their relationship deepens, Shea finds he has fallen in love with Ellie. Even though he gathers the courage to tell her how much he loves her, he is disappointed that she doesn’t say it back. What amazes me about Shea is his level of commitment to Ellie. He’s willing to wait for her to fall in love with him. I keep wondering what’s really holding her back. So a previous relationship didn’t work out? Why should that deter her from finding happiness with someone else? Only when a drunken Ellie finally tells Shea the details about her last relationship can I finally understand her caution and fears. I wish I had learned this information earlier because it would have helped me to have more patience with Ellie.Shea is one of the most heart-melting heroes I have encountered. The strength of his love for Ellie makes him a perfect match for her as she deals with those pesky inner demons that whisper to her she’s not worthy of Shea. It is his loving commitment to her that helps her grow and flourish. However, the progress to happily-ever-after is halted when a major incident occurs that shatters Ellie’s trust in Shea. I became frustrated with Ellie again because she just runs away instead of listening to Shea’s explanation. So the angst continues in the midst of heartbreak. Other readers may think her reaction was justified, but I think by this point in the story, Ellie should have been bold enough confront the issue and deal with it after ascertaining all of the facts. Instead she runs away and leaves the entire issue unresolved until the end of the story. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I am certainly glad to have had the opportunity to read a story like this that really depicts the intricacies of making a relationship succeed. On the other hand, at times, I felt the pacing was too slow, and the story was dragged out longer than it needed to be. I also found there to be entirely too much “giggling” over the course of the plot. There is nothing wrong with the use of giggle, but I found this descriptor overused to the point that it became an annoyance for me. I think fans of contemporary and New Adult romances will find this to be an enjoyable read. I am certainly willing to give the next book in the series a try. I received a copy of this book from Random House Publishing- Loveswept via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    3 STARS Taking Shots was first published as a loveswept novel. It is a nice story but very hot. Lots of love scenes, swear words. I like the plot. I like the characters. The plot is Elli is the new Assassins hockey team photographer. She is very shy and low self confidence. During the teams photo shoot she meets Shea Adler team captain. Elli has her own business and right now she is a hot. She has great friends, Her dad and Uncle are close to her. The rest of her family is terrible. Eleanor is sweet and nice. She had a bad break up six years ago that she is still dealing with and some health issues. Shea is a hockey star for the Assassins. He usually has one night stands with barbi dolls. He likes Elli from first meeting her. He has new contacts and ends up taking them out because his eyes are watering. He ends up running into things. Shea realizes that she is different. Shea has his twin Grace call her and get her to come to his party and be photographer that same week so he can meet her again. Shea is good looking, has beautiful eyes, money and fame. He is really close to his sister. Every time he has been traded she comes with him. If he gets traded again this time will be different now she is married with two kids. The secondary characters are great in this story. From her best friend who does not do relationships till now. Shea team mate who wants everything home, family. Too his nephew Ryan who calls him Unky. They enrich the story so well. Their are characters that you want to hate too. The only things I did not like was the love scenes in details and swear words. I admit I am going to read her next book in the Assassin's series next. I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it by Netgalley. 04/23/2013 PUB Random House Publishing Group Loveswept 478 pages ISBN9781105568770
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love hockey and am pretty much obsessed with the men who play it, so being able to read and review a book about a whole team of sexy men needing some loving...yeah, I was sold. This series is about the Nashville Assassins and those women strong enough to hold onto them.We first meet Shea and Elli at a photo shoot for the new team pictures. When Shea spots Elli he totally knows he wants her and will stop at nothing to make sure she realizes that she's perfect for him just the way she is. Of course, Elli just doesn't have enough faith in herself to believe an incredibility gorgeous man could want her. Their courtship is a thing of beauty and I'm glad I read it. Shea gets Elli to see herself as he sees her and it wasn't an easy thing to do, but he does it with perfection.I can't wait to read the rest of this series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Let me start off by saying, I'm a HUGE hockey fan (Dallas Stars!) and as a reader I'm aware of sports themed romance plots; however, I had no idea there were hockey related plots. It just never crossed my mind and when I came across Toni Aleo's Taking Shots, I knew I had to read it immediately.Eleanor Fisher has spent the last six years thinking no man would want her after her ex-finance treated her like dirt. She's insecure about her about weight despite losing the weight she gained due to an illness. Elli is a former Broadway actress, but now she has a thriving career in Nashville as a photographer with a successful business. Her uncle, Bryan Fisher, owns the Nashville Assassins and hires her to take the team photos for the upcoming NHL season. She catches the eye of Captain Shea Adler and he's quickly smitten, but she can't believe a hunk like Adler would be interested in her. They both quickly fall in love, but will Elli's insecurity threaten their happiness or will it be an outsider?I liked Taking Shots and there are some swoon worthy moments. I LOVED the birthday surprise Adler organizes for Elli. Two words: Netherfield Ball. Yes, Elli is a big fan of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and even introduces Adler to the book and film. I really liked that he was open to the idea of reading Austen and took the time to actually read the book. Adler quickly adopts Elli's dog and that was super nice to read. A majority of the plot does center around their families. I feel for Elli because she doesn't have an ideal family, but Adler's family totally makes up for it.As for the writing, it is my understanding there were issues with the first edition of Taking Shots in terms of grammar, but I still found errors. I believe a lot of it has to do with the way Aleo writes: writes the way she talks. I can't say for sure how she talks, but I'm making the assumption because some authors do write the way they talk. It doesn't necessary distract a reader, but it does pull you out of the story from time to time.I debated with the rating and in the end decided on a three. It would have been a solid four had Aleo edited some of the mundane portions such as the daily routines. I understand Elli's insecurity with regards to her weight, but it was just annoying to read page after page about her weight issues. Adler was supportive and come on, if the hockey player I crushed on and was a HUGE fan of was interested me, I'd be throwing my off clothes right away and not be worried about this or that. Sport fans are familiar with the groupies and hockey players aren't immune to the attention lavished on them by puck bunnies. So when there's an incident with Adler and a puck bunny, I don't know why Elli gets angry about it. It's almost as if Adler never could catch a break. He had to constantly "prove" he loved her and when he tells her he does, she doesn't say she loves him until 15% is left of the book. Additionally, Elli kept a lot of secrets regarding her ex-finance to that of her family's background. I'm not sure why Adler was still interested in her especially since she kept so much hidden.Despite a few hiccups, I'm going to read the entire series and see how Aleo's writing progresses. I do appreciate the enthusiasm she brought with regards to hockey. As I stated, I am a hockey fan and could easily associate with the feelings regarding the game and I think non-fans will be able to appreciate the game a little more.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Every woman, who has ever felt unlovable, will identify with Elli Fisher. Life has dealt her some rough patches that have left her with little to no self-worth, but for some reason her favorite hockey player is bound & determined to be her boyfriend. Shea Adler is a hockey player with a history of taking advantage of the puck bunnies who flock around the team, but his first glimpse of Elli hits him like a slap shot to the forehead. Never have two people so perfect for each other, fought so hard to not fall in love.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Having stumbled upon this book when I signed up for a blog tour, I couldn’t have been more thrilled after reading it! I have, for some reason, moved away from “contemporary romance” and started venturing into other genres, but this was an amazing book to help me get my foot back into contemporary! Being a hockey fan myself, (GO PREDS!), I instantly fell in love with this series and all that these books stand for. Let me just share with you why that is.This book takes place in Nashville, TN – 30 minutes from Clarksville, TN, where I spent 15 years of my life. Reading this book was epic for me because I could literally picture everything. The shops, the parks, the interstate Ellie travels often, even the freaking hockey arena! Being able to picture all this AS IT IS and not just picturing what I think it looks like, made this book come alive even more for me.Shea Adler. Mother.Freaking.Swoon. – There is literally no other way to tell you about him. Here is a man who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to fight for it. I mean, dude is a hockey player for crying out loud! Not to mention, he likes his girls with a little meat on their bones. Points for Mr. Adler. I want to know, right now, where I can get me one of him… Seriously.Ellie – I instantly connected with her in every imaginable way. She goes through so much in this book and having been exactly where she is medical wise and in some other ways, I felt every single emotion like it was my own. She may lack a little where self esteem is concerned, but she more than makes up for it in determination, attitude, loyalty and in how strong she is.The trials and tribulations these two go through are so real. It’s stuff that happens to people all over the world on a daily basis. Reading this book literally filled me with so much passion that I never wanted it to end. If you have ever, in your life, been a fan of romance at all – then I highly urge you to check this book out!