The novel explores the conflict between public persona and private identity. Explore how the institutional pressures of professional hockey compel Adam Sheppard to maintain a heteronormative public persona. How do these same forces influence Riley Tuck’s personal identity? Explore also how public reputation and opinion directly shape the fraught past that Adam and Riley must reckon with.

Examine the novel’s use of contrasting settings, specifically the hypermasculine world of the NHL and the supportive sanctuary of Avery River. How do these two environments function not merely as external representations of the characters’ internal conflicts regarding identity, safety, and belonging?

The narrative uses tangible objects like the side-by-side hockey jerseys, Tuck’s Sporting Goods, and the moon snail shell to anchor abstract emotional concepts. Analyze how such symbols function collectively to map the progression of Riley and Adam’s reconciliation from past to present.

Beyond its classification as a romance, The Shots You Take offers a portrayal of clinical depression and emotional dysregulation. Explore how Riley’s mental health diagnoses inform his character arc and challenge conventional genre tropes of trauma, healing, and forgiveness.

Situate The Shots You Take within the conventions of the sports romance subgenre. How does  Reid subvert or deepen familiar tropes by grounding the central conflict in the context of the NHL’s institutional antigay bias and a nuanced exploration of mental health?

Analyze the power dynamics that shape Adam and Riley’s relationship. Where do these dynamics originate, and how do they evolve? Why are power reversals essential for them to achieve a more balanced relationship?

Analyze water, plant, and nature imagery throughout the novel. How do recurring images of the beach and ocean, outdoor spaces, and gardens function across the narrative? How do they complicate the novel’s explorations of growth and healing?

Analyze  Harvey Tuck’s role in Riley’s and Adam’s lives. Consider how his past actions and enduring legacy function posthumously to facilitate Riley’s healing and Adam’s atonement.