Long Shot

Long Shot is a contemporary sports romance novel by American author Kennedy Ryan. Originally self-published in 2018, Long Shot is the first title in Ryan’s Hoops series, followed by the titles Block Shot, Hoop Shot, and Hoops Shorts. When NBA star August West meets Iris DuPree at a sports bar before the National Championship, he falls in love at first sight. Iris is not only beautiful and passionate about basketball but also kind, perceptive, and vibrant. Iris feels a connection with August, too, but they can’t pursue a relationship because Iris is dating August’s rival, Caleb Bradley. The more volatile Iris’s relationship with Caleb becomes, the more impossible her chances at love with August appear. Told from Iris’s and August’s alternating first-person points of view, the novel explores themes including The Impact of Violence and Abuse in Romantic Relationships, the Journey Toward Self-Empowerment, and the Role of Supportive Relationships in the Healing Process.

This guide refers to the 2023 Bloom Books paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of illness, death, graphic violence, rape, child sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, mental illness, sexual content, substance use, and cursing.

Plot Summary

On the night before the National Championship, professional basketball player August West meets an attractive woman named Iris DuPree at a local sports bar. While watching the Lakers game and sharing drinks, the two talk about their difficult pasts and their dreams for the future. August is taken by Iris’s beauty and grace, but he’s also drawn to her honesty, intuition, and sensitivity. Iris feels similarly attracted to August but withdraws when he tries to kiss her and walk her home at the end of the night. She apologizes, explaining that she’s in a relationship with someone else.

The next night, Iris attends the National Championship with her best friend and cousin, Lotus. Iris is dating Caleb Bradley, who is also competing in the game. She is anxious for Caleb to play well but distracted by the prospect of seeing August again. As the game starts, she tries to hide her feelings for August while chatting to Lotus about her future with Caleb. Caleb wants to marry Iris and thinks she should follow him wherever he is drafted. However, Iris wants a job in sports marketing and is reluctant to fully commit to Caleb. Lotus encourages her to forge her own path if Caleb won’t agree to a long-distance relationship.

After the game, August is shocked to run into Iris and even more stunned when he discovers that she’s with Caleb. Iris apologizes for keeping the truth from him. It’s public knowledge that August and Caleb have been rivals since they were young, and she didn’t think that August would appreciate hearing the truth. August isn’t mad at Iris, but he privately believes that she deserves to be with someone better than Caleb.

That night, Caleb gets angry with Iris for talking to August. Iris tries to explain herself, but Caleb becomes verbally and physically aggressive. A shocked Iris promises herself that she will leave Caleb if he exhibits this behavior again. Over the following weeks, Caleb’s volatility only intensifies. When Iris discovers that she’s pregnant, she realizes that she isn’t in love with Caleb anymore and decides to keep the baby. In the months after she gives birth to her daughter, Sarai, Iris feels increasingly unhappy, feeling pressure to give up her career and future. Caleb is distant and moody. When she expresses her frustration to Lotus, Lotus urges her to leave Caleb. Iris argues that she can’t and temporarily cuts off communication with Lotus.

Meanwhile, Caleb becomes increasingly threatened by August. Angry and jealous, he attacks August during a game and breaks his leg. Iris confronts him for his behavior, inciting Caleb’s violence. Caleb hits Iris, and she flees with Sarai to a hotel. Caleb cancels her credit cards and reports her to the police for stealing his car. He brings her home and threatens to kill her if she ever tries to leave him again. Afterward, he rapes her at gunpoint.

Over the following months, Iris’s circumstances only worsen. Caleb’s violence, rage, and abuse continue. Iris feels powerless to leave, convinced that Caleb will get custody of Sarai if she tries to flee. Worse, she’s convinced that Caleb will follow through on his threat to kill her.

While Caleb is traveling with his team, Iris starts volunteering at a community center. To her surprise, August is also a volunteer. They reignite their bond and spend time chatting and catching up. One day, they sneak into a closet and kiss. A furious Caleb returns home early and finds them together. That night, he abuses and violates Iris again. Realizing how dire her situation is, Iris contacts Lotus.

With Lotus’s help, Iris makes a deal with Caleb, his wealthy father, his manager, and his agent. She agrees to sign a non-disclosure agreement—promising not to go public with Caleb’s abuse—if Caleb promises not to come after her or pursue custody of Sarai. Afterward, Iris moves back to Louisiana to spend time with her grandmother MiMi. She spends the next year trying to recover and heal.

Lotus comes to visit and urges Iris to start her life over. Iris contacts Jared Foster—a former contact in the sports world—about a job. He hires her for an entry-level marketing position at his new firm, Elevation, in San Diego, California.

Iris relocates to California with Sarai. On her first day at Elevation, she is shocked to see August, who reveals that Jared is his stepbrother. August now plays for the San Diego Waves because he gave up a chance to play for Houston when he heard that Iris was moving to town. Iris has spent over a year dreaming about August, but she feels furious about his sudden appearance in her life. She accuses him of trying to control her, just like Caleb did. August insists otherwise, and Iris softens.

Over the following months, Iris and August start dating, taking things slow. August understands that Iris has been through a lot and doesn’t want to push her. Finally, Iris realizes that she needs to open her heart. The two eventually start having sex and enter a more committed relationship.

One day, Iris runs into Caleb at an NBA game. He threatens her, but she stands up to him. August comes to her rescue and shepherds her to safety.

Not long later, a mysterious source sends photos of a bruised and battered Iris to every major news station. The images were taken after one of Caleb’s attacks. August is horrified to discover the extent of Caleb’s abuse and realizes that Iris needs him. He tells her to take Sarai to Louisiana until he can resolve the situation.

Caleb follows Iris to Louisiana, and they get into a violent scuffle. Caleb shoots and wounds Iris. She shoots him back in self-defense. August arrives, discovering the two lying in a pool of blood. Caleb breathes his last breath, and August calls the paramedics to attend to Iris.

A year later, Iris, August, and Sarai are living a happy life together. Iris and August are engaged, and August plans to adopt Sarai. On their wedding day, Iris presents August with the completed adoption papers at the altar. The two reflect on how much they have overcome and how thankful they are to have each other.