Her Best Shot by Shannyn Schroeder

The Basics:
Her Best Shot by Shannyn Schroeder
eKensington Original
Novella One in the Hot and Nerdy series
New Adult, Romance
Published September 29, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

Hot and nerdy sounded right up my alley.


Blurb:

With college graduation looming, three childhood friends vow to make spring break their last blast of pure fun. But at least one of them didn’t count on such incredible heat…

Layla Sharpe is definitely more math ninja than bikini babe, and her future has been calculated with razor precision. Convinced to let loose over spring break, Layla is finally ready to party—until her car breaks down halfway to her destination, leaving her stranded in Georgia with a mouthwateringly hot pool shark. She knows more than enough about angles to learn the game, but this week she wants him to appreciate her curves…

Phin Marks has never met a girl like Layla. She’s more Star Wars geek than seductress, and when he offers her a place to stay while her car is in the shop, he’s counting on the attraction between them to set the nights ablaze, no strings attached. But every moment he spends with Layla makes it harder to let her go. Can he persuade her to gamble in the most dangerous way possible…on forever?

My thoughts:

Her Best Shot is a very hot, lusty romance that I enjoyed. The novella had a lot of ground to cover - establishing three leading ladies for the series to feature, giving us more information about Layla and then hooking her up with Phin. 

A few things stood out for me - the foremost being some very heated sex scenes. I loved that these were rough, lusty, realistic encounters right from the start. The chemistry and the attraction between Phin and Layla was tangible in these scenes. I thought that they communicated perfectly the sexual nature of the connection they so quickly forged.

Where the novella let me down a little is in creating a deeper, more emotional connection. There were some moments that gave me hope - particularly where Phin was sharing bits and bobs about his personal history. I loved the details there, and how a particular cultural hangup was worked into the story. But I didn't feel as though these two had a real opportunity to fall in love. They had the proximity = fondness thing going on, but I needed something more to fully buy into the love story.

Still, theirs is a rather sexy story and I enjoyed it even if I didn't go all in on the romance.

Layla intrigued me. I liked the mix of brains and confidence - and then panic attacks when it came to maintaining her current lifestyle. I absolutely sympathize with the comfort and anxiety of having a life plan and watching it unfold and being freaked out by that. 

I would love to see how Phin fits into her life after this story - hopefully we'll get a peak in future novellas in the series!

Bottom line:

Her Best Shot is short and sexy. While it suffers from having to make strangers fall in love with very few pages to cook the romance, I think this story still has a lot to offer. Bonus points for realistic, hot hot hot sex scenes!

4 stars
For fans of smart women, pool, gypsies, contemporary romance, quick romances.