Brandy L Rivers is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She is kept busy writing the Others of Seattle, Others of Edenton, Combustible, and the Pine Barrens Pack series.

The Long Shot by Brandy L. Rivers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is book #2, in the Love Behind The Scenes series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. For reader understanding, and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this series in order.

Ryan is learning more on how to be ready for the new film he is making. So what if his instructor is the hot guy he passed up the other night? He didn't need to meet someone while working, anyway.

Shannon is chasing after what he wants. Can he catch the deep hidden actor? Together, these two must overcome predjudice, assumptions, and more. Good thing their chemistry is off the charts hot!

I loved these two characters together. They do seem to rush into things a bit, but it works for these two and feels meant to be. I liked the pace of the story, and felt it was a good installment with the series.


***This early copy was given in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

"A heartbreakingly romantic tale about true love and inner strength. You will never forget it."

--Kristen Callihan, New York Times Bestselling Author

LONG SHOT, a deeply emotional, thought-provoking standalone love story from Kennedy Ryan is available NOW!

Synopsis

A FORBIDDEN LOVE SET IN THE EXPLOSIVE WORLD OF THE NBA...

Think you know what it's like being a baller's girl?

You don't.

My fairy tale is upside down.

A happily never after.

I kissed the prince and he turned into a fraud.

I was a fool, and his love - fool's gold.

Now there's a new player in the game, August West.

One of the NBA's brightest stars.

Fine. Forbidden.

He wants me. I want him.

But my past, my fraudulent prince, won't let me go.

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Excerpt:

“Iris?” August’s frown, the concern on his face, in his voice, remind me where I am. “Baby, you okay?”

I blink down at him dumbly, swallowing my tears, eating my memories whole and digesting a nightmare from long ago. I nod, my lips a cold, wobbly curve.

“Kiss me,” he whispers, his eyes so tender, so intent.

I remember a magical night under the stars, under a streetlight on the eve of greatness. A night filled with laughter and confidences, pregnant with promise. And I see him so clearly, my prince, asking for a kiss.

And I do.

I kiss him like the world might end tonight because I’ll never take this for granted. Not his kindness, when I’ve known cruelty all too well. Not his tenderness, when I’ve been handled roughly in the past. Not his love, when I’ve been possessed and owned and mistreated.

He thaws me with his kiss, my prince, and I melt into him. We’re chest to chest, with August’s number crushed between us. I take his cock in my hand, aligning our bodies, and two become one in a carnal slide of flesh. I anchor myself by my elbows hooked around his neck, and we kiss until I’m dizzy and our breaths tangle in a cloud of bliss. Under the jersey, his palm spans my back, digging into the naked flesh as our hips lock and roll and grind. My body clenches around him, and we pray, we curse, we moan, we mate like our bodies were made for this moment.

Ours is a love that reimagines—that peels back the sky at high noon searching for the stars, collecting them like shells in a bucket. We bathe in stardust, drink from the Milky Way, and dance on the moon. We pierce the firmament, peer into infinity, and tread on time and space. There is no before. There is no after. Now gives birth to forever. This moment may die, but this love never will. Time is not a line. It’s a circle, and we, August and Iris, we stand at the center.

“A STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND READ THIS NOW kind of book. Don't hold your breath, this story will steal it from you."

- J. Sterling, New York Times Bestselling Author

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About Kennedy Ryan:

Kennedy Ryan is a Southern girl gone Southern California. A Top 100 Amazon Bestseller, Kennedy writes romance about remarkable women who thrive even in tough times, the love they find, and the men who cherish them.   She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but enjoys writing to raise Autism awareness most. A contributor for Modern Mom Magazine, Kennedy’s writings have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today and many others. The founder and executive director of a foundation serving Atlanta families living with Autism, she has appeared on Headline News, Montel Williams, NPR and other media outlets as an advocate for families living with autism.

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 In the beginning, I didn't believe that I would like the main character. Her job isn't exactly something that I can identify with and I feared that such an emotionally detached person would be off putting.

Boy was I wrong. The supporting cast of characters are a rainbow in her otherwise black and white world. Within the story you see the protagonist begin to allow others to color her outlook while still remaining as strong and unique character.

The comedy is a little unexpected at first, but you quickly learn to expect unexpected antics from some of the supporting characters. I often found myself laughing out loud and I cannot wait to read every book in the series. It is a blessed break from reality, but is set in a location that is easy to imagine.

5 Stars!

It's funny that I've read this at least twice before and never wrote anything about it. I can't love the mystery because there's a whole lot of slut-shaming and blaming the victim(s). But, the stuff about the great trainer wanting his story told, and the writer who's sold his first novel and is trying to write his second and live on his tiny advance...that has the feeling of real truth. And despite the heinous indifference of the community to the death of a young sexually-active woman, the Ladies (titled or not there are clearly some women who are better than others, at least in part because they are safely married)  are all treated with respect and admiration.

Yeah, despite the bad, I still love the book, because who doesn't want to be offered the chance to ride a good horse and then be asked to turn jockey? Even at my age I still like to daydream about previously undiscovered talents being discovered. Probably very few people actually could stand modeling as a career, say, but who wouldn't love to be asked?

Personal copy

I enjoyed "Louisiana Longshot". It's a cosy mystery with some snark and improbabilities, but it has a lot of charm and a very neat twist at the end. 

Yes, this is a short review - I've only had one cup of coffee so far this Tuesday morning :) The book was free on Amazon when I picked it up.