Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How did the novel’s focus on Riley Tuck’s and Adam Sheppard’s internal thoughts and memories shape your reading experience? Did this deep emotional dive make their reconciliation feel more earned by the novel’s end?

2. The theme of navigating a public persona while hiding a private queer identity is central to The Shots You Take. How does this book’s exploration of the topic compare to other works of contemporary queer romance? For example, how does Reid handle these topics in comparison to Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. The Shots You Take is a second-chance romance. What do you think is necessary for two people to successfully reconnect after a long and painful history like Riley’s and Adam’s?

2. What role does “found family” play in Riley’s healing process, particularly through his friendships with Darren and Tom? How does Riley’s found family compare and contrast with your own friend circles?

3. Adam spends decades prioritizing his career and public image over his own happiness because he believes it is the safer choice. In what ways have external expectations, whether from your family, career, or society, influenced the choices you’ve made about who you are and what you want?

4. Avery River is presented as a sanctuary where Riley can be his authentic self. What places or communities have you found that have given you a similar sense of safety? What must a place offer to encourage your comfort and vulnerability?

5. Riley throws himself into reorganizing the family store to cope with his father’s death, a task that mirrors his internal chaos. Have you ever turned to a physical task or project to work through a difficult emotional time? What was it, and how did this healthy form of distraction influence your emotional journey?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The narrative spans from the early 2000s to the 2020s, highlighting a gradual shift in the professional sports climate for LGBTQIA+ athletes. What does the novel reveal about the immense pressure and fear closeted athletes have historically faced in professional sports? Is Reid’s world an accurate representation of this social sphere? Why or why not?

2. The novel explores mental health concerns via Riley’s storyline. Does Reid’s representation of depression, emotional dysregulation, substance use, and suicidal ideation challenge or subvert cultural stereotypes; how and why?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How did the alternating timelines between the past and present affect your understanding of Riley’s and Adam’s motivations and pain? In what ways was this narrative structure effective or ineffective for a second-chance romance?

2. Identify three symbols not explored in the guide and discuss their relevance. For example, what might the Dropped Anchor, home-cooked dinners, or Lucky the dog represent, and how do they advance the novel’s themes of love, forgiveness, and identity?

3. Compare and contrast The Shots You Take to Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series as a whole. How does this standalone novel offer a different kind of emotional depth than the narratives, relationships, and themes explored in Reid’s other books?

4. Analyze Riley’s and Adam’s concurrent transformations. Whose transformation is more believable, significant, and lasting, and why?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Maggie plays a key role in setting the plot in motion but appears mostly through Adam’s perspective. If you were to write a chapter from her point of view, what moment would you choose to depict, and what insight would her perspective allow?

2. What do you imagine Riley’s life would look like five years later if Adam had never come to the funeral? Would he be in a relationship? How would he cope with his father’s death and with running the family store alone?

3. Adam’s autobiography is mentioned near the end of the novel. What title would you give his memoir, and what do you think the dedication page would say? Which events from Adam’s life would the title include, and how would Adam represent his and Riley’s relationship?