Long Shot (HOOPS Book 1) by Kennedy Ryan

🛑 Please Do Not Read If You Would Like to Avoid Spoilers 🛑

Ratings:

⭐️: 4/5

🌶: 3/5

Tropes:

- Forbidden Love

- Basketball Player/Sports Marketer

- ⚠️ Trigger Warning ⚠️

- Abuse

- Multicultural Relationship

Review:

Before reading this review you should be warned that if you are reader that does not like to read about sexual assault and domestic violence stop here 🚫. This book possess graphic and explicit scenes of abuse and it will be triggering to anyone when reading it. I will not go into grave detail about the scenes, but I will be talking about the abuse in general and I will never want anyone to feel uncomfortable. But, if you continue to read this review I really hope you enjoy it and understand the importance of this book and the significant message it sends.

As of recently when I read books, I have found more interest in stories where the heroes are criminals 🤣. During my high school years, I would read romance books that had a storyline of sensitivity like popcorn and bubble gum with PG or PG-13 language. Eventually it bored me, and I decided to pick up books in the mafia world prior to being introduced to book channels on YouTube or Bookstagrams. I will never regret it because I love them, and it makes me take a glimpse into the criminal world though I know it more than likely is nothing like the real criminal world. So, when I was introduced to Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan, I was not looking forward to reading the book because I thought it was going to be the same old plot line of a girl falling in love with a star, but playing hard to get. Boy, was I wrong and I look like an idiot now because you can’t judge a book by its cover even though the model on the cover is beautiful 😋. This book was recommended by YouTuber Mary who you all know I am part of her book club and some books that I have read are based on her recommendation.

The book starts off with August a biracial star college basketball player who is entering the draft. At a bar he meets a woman who is rare to find due to her knowledge and interest in

basketball. Her name is Iris and for him it’s like love at first sight, but unfortunately, she has a boyfriend, Caleb. Her significant other is a star basketball player himself with August being his archenemy. Their rivalry has been going on for years and they hate each other. But, at the beginning I loved that Iris has her own dreams of becoming a sports marketer and going along within her career. She has ambition, however she seemed timid and scared of Caleb since the start of the book. I understand he was a rich Caucasian male star athlete that has a lot of power. Though at the beginning he didn’t show his true colors I knew he was full of s**t. It’s like I am allergic to a**holes and can sense one through the writing instantly. Occasionally August and Iris see each other at sporting events due to her attending them with Caleb. You can tell August is in love, but Iris just likes him, but not as much as August was into her. That part was kind of cringey because personally I don’t believe in love at first sight and August would think about Iris at the most random moments though they didn’t meet many times 🤔. Later Iris finds out she is pregnant even though she used protection with Caleb. I knew from the beginning he purposely got her pregnant and was trying to trap her. Her cousin Lotus, who I loved, knew the same thing and warned Iris though she blew it off.

After Iris gives birth that is when the darkness of the book begins and to me August as a character really didn’t matter much. He is in the basketball league with a team that isn’t a winning team, but accepts his fate and is patient. For some reason when his perspective came, I was just waiting for Iris chapter to come. It wasn’t boring, but based upon what she was enduring at the hands of Caleb I was having anxiety about what was to come. As for Iris after giving birth she suffers from postpartum even writing in a journal about her negative thoughts which is later used against her. She has no career and practically raising her

daughter, Sarai, on her own because Caleb is gone most of the time. However, she has hope and begins speaking to someone about her issues, through a reference made by August, because she is suffering from postpartum depression. Aspects like that of books are important because representation lacks when it comes to mental health, but Iris overcoming this was amazing to see. But, this was the least of her problems. That is because eventually Caleb becomes aggressive and though Iris gives him a warning Caleb does not care. He was a despicable human being that even almost ended August basketball career due to an injury he inflicted on him when he noticed Iris and August chemistry. As always people noticed, but due to Caleb connections and his father he got away with it.

That is when the abuse scenes begin. When Iris confronts Caleb, he literally hits her and when she leaves, she doesn’t make it one hour outside of the home before she is back within his presence. Due to her having no money or other resources she is lost. When trying to stay at a hotel she couldn’t because the credit cards were in Caleb’s name, and he instantly cancelled them after she left. To add on, the car she had was in his name and he reported it stolen. This led to her being arrested and at this scene I began to tear up because she went from this strong and hardworking female to a broken and dependent girl with no escape. Caleb shows up and makes it seem like Iris is crazy to the cops even using his status to manipulate them. Due to her having her daughter she did not want to be separated from her, so she bends and goes back with Caleb. After that Caleb true colors is exposed and in one night as a reader you find out everything that you already expected. He purposely got Iris pregnant by poking holes into condoms and stole her journal that consisted of personal dangerous thoughts. Usually, society hears this happening from the hands of females in relation to poking holes into a condom in order to get pregnant by a male 🤬. So, for a male

to do this it was surprising and shows you can’t trust anyone. Then the worst part comes when he r*pes Iris at gun point. From that point on she endures his abuse which comes in different forms either him hitting her to the point she is unrecognizable or sexual assault. It was hard to read, and I literally skipped the pages because I couldn’t bring myself to read those specific scenes. I have never wanted a character to die more in my life and I have never read such explicit r*pe scenes. Iris becomes a shell in herself, and all of her relationships are distances like any abusive relationship. She has no privacy, and her cousin Lotus doesn’t know about anything going on. At the end of this review you will read how I feel about such.

As the book went on, she has moments with August even one that is sexual, but of course the f**ker, Caleb, comes and that said night he beats her and r*pes her. That was the last time he would abuse her. Through luck Iris is about to send her cousin a message with the single word “Hopscotch.” It’s a word they send each other when they are in a serious situation. With evidence all over her Lotus comes immediately leaving her work and driving hours to get Iris. At this moment I was happy because she was able to escape her abuse and have evidence against Caleb. However, Iris knew if she was to come forward people would question her, and Caleb would torment her for the rest of her and her daughter’s life. It replicates real life with multiple females coming forward with allegations and they aren’t believed from the beginning. I am not saying the person being accused actually committed the heinous crime, but I believe in due process, and I wouldn’t bash an accuser from the moment he or she makes an accusation 🤷🏾‍♀️. As for the book after an agreement between her and Caleb happens ruling he stays away from her and her daughter until he abides by her roles. But, she will need to sign a NDA prohibiting her from speaking about the abuse. Not surprised at all, but Iris was able to move on with her life going to live with her MiMi, who is her grandmother, with her daughter.

It was beautiful seeing her live with her grandmother who said the best line in the book

“Strength. Dignity. Courage. All these things belong to you. Take them back. Your soul is yours. Your heart is yours. Your body is yours. Yours to keep and yours to share.”

After the abuse she sustained she deserved happiness and she did while living with her grandmother and daughter. That was until her grandmother died and when she found her in that state it was horrible. Actually, her daughter, Sarai, found her, and Iris realized she was no longer alive which broke my heart. As a person that recently lost her grandfather it has been tough accepting he is no longer here so thinking about this scene makes me want to cry. Iris then faces the fact that she has to get back to her life and live out her dream as a sports marketer which reignites her relationship with August after not seeing each other for a year. August is still in love with Iris even after all those years which was cute, but not exactly believable. However, when they do see each other again Iris is hesitant because she has a daughter and went through terrible abuse with a person she thought she could trust. Even when the relationship began between the two, I wasn’t really interested at all because like I said I was more focused on Iris escaping and becoming independent again. They had great chemistry and I can say August was the sweetest person and a gentleman, but I just wasn’t really into it.

Towards the ending I was turning page after page wondering when Caleb would popup and he does a twice. Once at a game Iris is attending with August, his mom, and her daughter. It gave 👏🏾 to Iris because she stood up for herself and let Caleb have it. He tried to pull the same line on her with the “I love you” stance and intimidate her at the same time, but she didn’t backdown. Then he comes at the end as well after he is exposed by a family member of abusing Iris with pictures and doctor documentations. With Iris far away and August on the road for a game Caleb finds Iris at the home her grandmother left her. Due to the exposure Caleb has been cut from the team, lost his endorsements, and his father disowned him after covering his a** for so long. I was glad because I wanted him to suffer as much as he made Iris and other women suffer in past relationships. Caleb pulled the same tactics pulling out a gun on Iris and trying to sexually assault her, but this time Iris is able to stick up for herself which gets her shot. But, she does so with dignity and this time a battle between her and happens Caleb causing him to be shot. With guts she knows Caleb will never leave her or her daughter alone which causes her to let him die. Just to mention August was on his way to join Iris at the time, so he was able to stand by Iris as Caleb dies.

The book ends off at a good note with Iris telling her story and giving a voice to multiple women that endure abuse at the hands of someone with power. Also, she and August are on great terms building a life together with her daughter. I was so glad to see Iris have happiness at the end and win!

This book was great, and I can say I am happy about the representation because it is rare you see books that have biracial or black leads. August was a biracial male and so was Iris, but as a reader I wasn’t exactly sure because she didn’t know who her father was. Not to mention when her appearance was described it seemed like she was mixed with a lot. The storyline truly spoke to what significant others in abusive relationships face with someone that has a mass amount of money which equals power. They sometimes have no other resource of income while having to depend upon that person. Also, the abuse will be able to be covered by said abuser because of their connections. Caleb is the poster of a lot of males or females that have money and know people depend upon them. The message was clear, and Ryan was able to portray it so well through her writing. But, I will now talk about my biggest issue with this book. The sexual assault scenes were really triggering, and I have never been a victim of such which says lot. However, there was no trigger warning or anything in the description of this book and I don’t know if that would be a problem with the book or Kennedy Ryan as an author. I understand she was conveying a story, but as a reader I shouldn’t have to find out about the explicit content through reviews. The warning should be in the description and given before I start to read the book. That upset me more than anything because many people are easily triggered and Ryan not including such was an issue that I hope she learns from. Other than that, as I said I enjoyed the book, but if August was never present in the book, I wouldn’t have missed him 🤷🏾‍♀️. The relationship of the book wasn’t what I was looking forward to, but instead Iris facing her abuser and becoming independent again. It was great because she had someone to support her, but Lotus did that as well 😊. I know this book is part of a trilogy consisting other characters and them forming a relationship. I just hope if abuse is involved, there is a warning because Ryan is a great author, and I wouldn’t want this aspect of a book to affect someone including myself reading her material.

I would recommend this book and I gave it a four out of five because the sexual assault scenes were really graphic, and they didn’t need to be. Not to mention there was no trigger

warning which threw me off like many other readers. To add on, the relationship between August and Iris didn’t really stand out, but was what made the book long. Sometimes I felt like it was a drag when moments between them came up, but I understood the point of it. However, the representation and the strong message was great to read! The book was great and resonated a lot with the real world and I would tell you to read it and come up with your own opinion. I am now looking forward to reading the next two books, Block Shot and Hook Shot.

"Long Shot" Amazon Link