A Shot at Love by Georgie Luttrell Review

Verdict: A cosy, low-angst, friends-to-lovers hockey romance about a trailblazing assistant coach and her captain’s twin sister — warm, likeable and well paced, but light on stakes, a little cheesy for some, and in need of another edit.

Best for: Readers who want a comforting slow burn, women-in-sport themes, great sibling and friendship dynamics, and no third-act breakup.

Heat level: Not rated (moderate spice per readers; no romance.io steam rating)

Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.7/5 — a 4.01 Goodreads average across 327 ratings and 3.79 on StoryGraph from 53 reviews)

Tropes: Friends to lovers, slow burn, coach and player’s sister, secret relationship, found family, low angst.

A Shot at Love is Georgie Luttrell’s May 2026 contemporary sapphic romance. After her playing career ended with a college injury and a decade proving herself as a coach, Frankie Stevens becomes only the second woman ever hired as an assistant coach in the biggest hockey league in the world — and promptly falls for Jules Clarke, the twin sister of her new team’s captain.

It holds a 4.01 average across 327 Goodreads ratings, with 71% of them four or five stars, 3.79 on StoryGraph from 53 reviews, and 4.4 stars across 220 Amazon ratings. Readers agree it is sweet and easy to love; they disagree about whether it has enough tension.

What Is A Shot at Love About?

Frankie arrives in Halifax to join the staff of the league’s newest expansion team, expecting stress, pressure and scrutiny, and gets all three — from fans online and from players who would rather she failed. What she does not expect is to run into the woman in her new building and immediately become a bumbling goof.

Jules has followed her twin brother Cameron through his entire career; since they lost their parents, they have only had each other. Now settled in Halifax after his trade, she wants something of her own beyond hockey. Falling for her brother’s assistant coach was not part of the plan. What begins as a friendship blooms into something neither is brave enough to name, and when they do, they keep it quiet.

What Makes This Hockey Romance Work

Frankie: A crowd favourite — a trailblazer in a pantsuit carrying the weight of being a woman in a man’s world. Several readers admitted to a crush.
Women in sport: Readers who follow the PWHL and real-life female coaches found Frankie’s experience timely and meaningful.
Friendship first: The slow burn grows through small moments, which readers found believable rather than insta-love.
Side relationships: Jules and Cam’s twin bond and Frankie’s long-distance friendship with Sydney are praised as genuine.
Low angst: No third-act breakup and, for most readers, no manufactured miscommunication.

Book Synopsis

When Frankie Stevens’ hockey career ended in college due to injury, she set her sights on coaching. After a decade spent proving herself, she is offered a job as the second-ever female assistant coach in the biggest league in the world. She expects stress, pressure and a whole lot of scrutiny — but not for the captain of her team to have a sister she cannot stop thinking about.

Juliette “Jules” Clarke has trailed behind her twin brother Cameron throughout his hockey career. When they settle in Halifax after his trade to the league’s newest franchise, she decides she wants more for herself. There is just one problem: a crush on the woman who turns out to be her brother’s assistant coach. What begins as a friendship quickly blooms into something neither is brave enough to acknowledge. With the hockey world at their doorstep, is it worth taking their shot?

My Review

This is a gentle book with a lot of heart. Frankie is a quietly strong lead who absorbs the misogyny around her without letting it show, and her backstory — including parents who disowned her over her sexuality — gives her depth. Jules, who has spent her life standing beside someone else’s career, slowly learns to choose herself, including a possible physiotherapy role with the team. The hockey is woven into who they are rather than used as wallpaper, and readers with little knowledge of the sport had no trouble following it.

The criticisms are consistent. The “forbidden” angle does not hold much water for several readers — nothing actually stops a coach dating a player’s sister, so the sneaking around feels unnecessary — and when Cam finds out, it is resolved quickly. A few felt Frankie was inconsistent, standing up to Cam but not to the misogynistic player she coaches, and that Jules’s arc of independence ends with Cam taking some of the credit. Others found the romance cheesy, the characters too static, or the conflict too thin to hold their attention. Time jumps, abrupt transitions and, for one reader, many typos and grammatical errors round out the complaints.

My honest note: If you want a warm, comforting hockey romance with lovable leads and no heartbreak, this is a good pick. If you need tension, it may feel too easy.

Element	In A Shot at Love
Central relationship	Frankie Stevens & Jules Clarke — assistant coach and the captain’s twin sister
Core tropes	Friends to lovers, slow burn, secret relationship, low angst
Setting	Halifax, Nova Scotia — a new expansion team in a men’s pro league
Heat level	Not rated — moderate spice
Timeline	Spans a full hockey season
Ending	Happy — no third-act breakup
Content notes	Misogyny, family rejection over sexuality, parental death (past)

How Spicy Is A Shot at Love?

Readers describe just enough spice: one rated it two chillies, others called it sizzling away from the ice, and one noted the leads do not sleep together until more than halfway through. I Heart SapphFic lists it as hot and steamy. Romance.io has no steam rating, so we have not given it a heat score.

On content, expect misogyny aimed at Frankie from players and fans, Frankie’s parents disowning her for being gay, and Jules and Cam’s loss of their parents in the past.

Who Should Read This Book?

You’ll likely love it if: you want a low-angst slow burn, women breaking barriers in sport, and strong sibling and friend relationships. It is on our sapphic hockey romance list.

You may want to skip it if: you need real obstacles or high emotional stakes, or typos pull you out of a story.

In short: Sweet, warm and easy — a comfort read with a low ceiling.

What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)

This is a new release that quickly found an audience, including many advance readers; a web search surfaced no Reddit threads. On Goodreads the split is 33% five stars, 38% four, 24% three, 3% two and under 1% one. On StoryGraph, 72% tag it lighthearted and most call the pace medium. I could not find an audiobook.

Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Frankie first. Second, the low-angst slow burn. Third, the women-in-sport theme. Fourth, the twin and friendship dynamics.

What readers argue about and complain about: Low stakes, above everything. Second, the unconvincing “forbidden” angle. Third, cheesiness. Fourth, editing and time jumps.

The comparison worth making first: If you enjoy the coaching angle, Calling the Shots is another hockey romance built around a coach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does A Shot at Love have a third-act breakup?

No. Readers repeatedly highlight that there is no third-act breakup; it is a low-angst, slow-burn romance.

How spicy is A Shot at Love?

Moderately. The first intimate scene comes more than halfway through, and one reviewer rated the spice two chillies. I Heart SapphFic labels it hot and steamy, but romance.io has no steam rating, so we have not given it a heat score.

Where is A Shot at Love set?

In Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Frankie joins the coaching staff of a new expansion team in a major men’s professional league.

Is A Shot at Love a forbidden romance?

It is framed as one, because Frankie coaches Jules’s twin brother, and the couple initially keep things from him. Some readers felt the stakes were lower than the characters believe.

Is A Shot at Love on Kindle Unlimited?

Yes, at the time of writing the Kindle edition is available on Kindle Unlimited.

If You Loved A Shot at Love, Read These Next

Try Calling the Shots for another coach-centred hockey romance, Unadulterated Something for more cosy, low-angst slow burn, or Clinching the Play for a pro hockey romance with more friction. For more, browse our sapphic hockey romance list, the sapphic sports romance hub, or the full Book Reviews archive.

The Bottom Line

A Shot at Love sets out to be a warm, slow-burn hockey romance about two women stepping out of men’s shadows, and it succeeds on charm: Frankie is easy to love, Jules grows, and the friendships ring true. What holds it back is a lack of real stakes and some rough edges in the writing. For a cosy read, it is worth it. Check A Shot at Love on Amazon →

The Eikna Overall Ranking

On the Eikna scale, A Shot at Love ranks as a good, comforting hockey romance — lovable leads and a meaningful theme, held back by low stakes and uneven editing.