I wrote it, so I think its awesome!

Awesome book especially for a first time author!!!! I can not wait to read more!

The book flows very well, not a slow or dull moment with this cast of characters! I did not want to put my ereader down....and according to my husband I didn't.

I even looked up the Lady Antebellum song that is referenced, since I do not like or listen to country music (kind of a scary thing since we are moving to the Nashville area in a week!) The song was so fitting for Shea and Ellie!

Job well done Ms. Aleo! Keep More...

***5 STARS***

I Love Love LOVE this book!!

I love Shea and Elli so much that they have made it to my "Favorite H/h Couples List"

1.)Chace & Faye-Breathe by Kristen Ashley
2.)Tack & Tyra-Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley
3.)Shea & Elli-Taking Shots by Toni Aleo
4.)Caleb & Livvie-Captive in the Dark/Seduced in the Dark by CJ Roberts

Shea is such a sweetheart. He is captain of the Assassins, a hockey team in Nashville, TN. He is such a dork and the first time he is introduced I just LOL'd. More...

“Don’t ever leave me again. Love only me, for the rest of our lives. Move into our house, make love to me every night, and make babies with me, Ell i. Please, because being with you made me a better man, and I could never love anyone the way I love you. So please, marry me.” ----Shea Ryan Adler

This is one bat shit crazy book, I loveee it!!! So much love and passion! Having one Shea Adler is all you could ever wish for really... Wow!! Amazing read!

“Oh, please! Like I care if I make you jealous!”

“You know you do!”

“You’re acting like an idiot!”

“Damn right, love does this to a person!”Elli and Shea

Wow!!!Taking Shots was way different from the second book in the series Trying to Score.Wondering how I know that?Well,when I first saw the series I was more interested in reading the second than the first book and now I see how right I had been.Although there were times that I really liked the book I wanted to so much to kill Elli(she's so insecur More...

Update January 2013- Just finished a re-read and enjoyed it better the second time around. I still believe it needs to be edited down but the story and characters were great.


Pretty good hockey romance. It would have been a 4 star read if it had edited down a bit- the plot was dragged out too long. I, however, did enjoy the book and will be reading the second Assasins book.

You can find this and other reviews on my blog: Dreaming In The Pages

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I have been very fortunate lately when it comes to book recommendations and Taking Shots is no exception. Not knowing exactly what to expect when I stared, I was blown away by just about everything I read. It has been FOREVER since I read a contemporary romance that was so emotionally packed and had enough sexy action to keep those pages turning well past my bedtime. This bo More...

I can't remember how I found this book, I think it might've been mentioned on twitter or goodreads, but I'm glad I did find it. Toni Aleo writes with such passion and her storytelling is getting stronger with each book. This one is the first in what I hope is a long line of series. The hockey team is really the star of the show and Toni can write the best hockey scenes I've read to date. She's a true hockey fan (and hey, she loves the Bruins so she's awesome!)

Elli Fisher is a depressed, sad and More...

See Original Review - here

Having stumbled upon this book when I signed up for a blog tour, I couldn't have been more thrilled after reading it! I have, for some reason, moved away from "contemporary romance" and started venturing into other genres, but this was an amazing book to help me get my foot back into contemporary! Being a hockey fan myself, (GO PREDS!), I instantly fell in love with this series and all that these books stand for. Let me just share with you why that is.

This book takes pl More...

As I have mentioned before, I'm a sucker for romances involving athletes, and I have a particular soft spot for hockey players...I'm going to blame my Canadian nationality on that one, and also a particularly amazing fanfic that I read years ago where Edward Cullen was a hockey player...sigh. Don't laugh...I know you're laughing, it was fantastic! :P Anyway, Taking Shots managed to rekindle the love I have for sports romances...you may have noticed a steady rise in the number that I've been read More...

GRACIOUS GOD. THIS BOOK IS SICK. SICK WITH PERFECTION AND AWESOMENESS.

GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD.

I don't even know if this "review" would give justice to the greatness of this book, but I don't care because SERIOUSLY. THIS IS THE BEST. SUPER FRIGGIN' BEST and I am not even a tad bit kidding! I've read a few interesting contemporary books before, but NEVER did I come across one that's as good as this. Coming up with a word aside from 'perfect' to describe 'Taking Shots' would be impossible because this More...

Check out all my reviews at http://noseinabookblog.blogspot.com/

In this standout debut novel from Toni Aleo, we see how insecurities from the past can effect our future. Elli Fisher has been hurt, emotionally and physically, by former loves and her family. After overcoming a medical issues, she stood on her own for so long that she doesn't quite know how to trust others and believe that their intentions are honest... which is where Shea Adler comes in. He is smitten from the beginning but has a More...

I knew this book was for me right from the cover! I love me some hockey and especially some hockey players! I am a huge NHL fan(my team is the Florida panthers) so it was really cool to read a book where hockey was the main focus. Taking shots takes you through all the trials and tribulations a relationship can face. it's a great realistic but still romantic story.

Shea is a dream come true! For real- sometimes he seemed too good to be true. Let's just say he put up with a lot with elli. not to More...

3.5 stars

This was such a nice relaxing good read. There's nothing complex about it and I didn't need to remember four million details. It was simply a love story between a successful woman, Elli, who is loaded with insecurities, and a professional athlete, Shea, that is so amazing and patient that he could never actually exist in real life.

For fans of hockey, well you don't even need to read the author blurb to know she is a fan of the sport. Shea is a professional hockey player for the Nashvil More...

Gee...So much of a Predator fan that the names are taken right from the team. I wonder how she feels about Alex after this last playoff series. =) Also, the disclaimer at the end that similarities to real people are just coincidences? Personality traits maybe, but there's a lot taken from real people here. She's kidding herself if she can't be honest.
Anyway!
I'm very angry right now. This author has the potential to be one of my favorites. A must buy. However, there are some major issues that wou More...

Liked the story, loved Shea the H, the h Elli...not so much. Shea the sexy, sensitive, tattooed hockey player for the Assassins wears geek glasses is muscled, funny, sweet, jealous, possessive and totally in love with and totally devoted to Elli and he’s absolutely adorable with his sister and her family. Sorry - I'm a sucker for any story with a guy that's good with kids. His biggest flaw - having the hots for Elli. It's miraculous the guy can put up with her. She's annoying throughout the enti More...

Okay, I will admit that I skimmed through at least 25% of this book. It just wasn't my thing. I do like sports romances. I loved It Had to Be You, and the rest of the Chicago stars series. I also really liked Rachel Gibson, chinooks hockey books. But this was just way to freakin cheesy.
The heroine Ellie was a sweet, funny, smart, incredibly rich photographer. But her claim to fame was the fact that she was a big fat cow. At least 30% of this book is spent discussing her ability (or lack there o More...

loved it :) I had such a hard time putting it down and when I had to put it down I was anxious to get back to it. I admit there were moments that were cheesy and Elli bugged me sometimes lol but it held my attention and kept it! I bought the second book before I even finished this one :)

5 STARS

This is the ultimate *Gordie Howe Hat Trick* book for any hockey lover. There is fighting and lots of assists and of course it ends with a score….Check out the entire review here:
http://www.guiltypleasuresbookreviews...

3.5 stars. Overall, a sweet romance. I think many women will relate to Ellie's insecurities. And though I get that there was a good reason for much of her behavior, I did want to strangle her at several parts of the story. Although I wouldn't call him perfect (he had his share of idiotic behavior), Shea was pretty amazing and a great match for her.

Okay I have two small complaints, that are really tiny details:
1. The University of Massachusetts is always abbreviated UMass. Not the UM.
2. I don't More...

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE REVIEWS AT READING, EATING AND DREAMING I WAS BLAIR WALDORF

Taking Shots, the first novel in the Assassins series was a fun, flirty, and romantic read. It was an original story filled with endearing characters. I had one minor issue with the ending, but like I said it was minor.*small spoiler* I was just a little put off by how long the characters let their drama keep them apart at the end. I also felt like the way they came back together was a little too "Hollywood". *sma More...

This is a great debut for readers who love their heroes to be hunky, sweet, patient and just a man's man. Toni Aleo loves her characters, you can tell with each and every word she wrote. (And boy are there a LOT of them). It felt like the love story that is Elli and Shea could have went on and on.

But I appreciated the slow build. These two characters did not just meet, had insta-love and lived happily ever after. Oh no, you got to see a build of a fantastic and realistic love. Some other review More...

My full review in all of its glory (and tasty photos) can be found on my blog!

Taking shots filled that inevitable hole that is left after reading a really great steamy book (Fifty, Thoughtless, Beautiful Disaster) and leaves you yearning to watch hockey (which is intense right now!) It’s cute, funny and oh yes steamy!!!!

This book contains mature situations. It’s for 18+.

This book kept me up to the wee hours of the morning; at a time I haven’t seen since my nursing clinical rotation. In the war More...

*changed it to four stars, 'cause there's an edited version. yay!

It would've gotten four stars if there weren't so many grammar mistakes. The plot line was good and I loved the characters (except, sometimes Elli annoyed me. But it wad understandable) However, there were too many mistakes. Usually I can just look past the typos and grammar mistakes, but these irritated and distracted me; I found myself wishing I could just correct them, but alas, since I have it on kindle, it's not possible. Oh w More...

I came upon this series quite by accident and what a happy accident it was. The initial publication of this book (which may have been self-published, I don't know for sure) contained some editing errors, but honestly, you have to look past them because the story and the characters are fantastic. The author has recently announced that the series will be re-released through an different publisher and I am guessing that the errors will be fixed. I really hope, however, that they don't change the co More...

LOVE This book! I'm always looking for a good sports romance (particularly hockey), and Taking shots is top notch! The story line sucks you in and the characters are well formed. and BONUS for all of your romance fans out there... You not only get the budding romance between Shea and Elli, but you also get the little side romance between Harper and Jakob (the best friends of Shea and Elli). I would recommend this to anyone that likes their romance and hockey all at the same time. Definitely a ke More...

I loved this book!!! Shea and Elli are so sweet together!!! I loved the hockey in it too!!! The book is soo worth reading!!! Check it out!! Can I just say, grand gestures are just sweet, amazing, and did I say sweet?!!! Everybody needs a grand gesture every once in a while!! Probably not going to happen to most of us, but a girl can dream!! Who knew hockey could be so hot?? Not me.

I absolutely love this book. Putting hockey into a love story just makes it a million times better I love that Ellie isn't your typical girl, like me. ANd I love that Shea just falls head over heels for someone he never expects to. It is the perfect love story and I can't wait for all the future books!!!

GREAT GREAT GREAT.... I loved this book, it was such a heart warming story! I feel in love with Shea. and i think i have now fallen in love with HOCKEY! really enjoyed this book and the story line. It had the right amount of ups and downs to keep me reading but ended up with the happily every after ending i was looking forward to! Good job, well done Toni!