I know I've read an exceptional story when I finish a book and I immediately want to pick it up and read it again and that's exactly how I feel right now after just finishing The Hot Shot by Kristen Callihan. Honestly, I've read a lot of sports related romances and I enjoy them greatly, but this book took sports romance to a whole other level. While the hero is a quarterback for a pro team, this book is about life, about letting go, opening yourself up to new things, accepting you are worthy, giving and receiving love, and working through the tough times by listening to your heart as much as your head. This book wowed me, I went it expecting a cheeky little sports romance and I got an awe-inspiring, emotional, beautifully told romance that I could not put down. 
 Photographer Chester (Chess) Copper loves her work and know she should be excited about shooting a beefcake calendar of pro football players, but lately she's had a hard time getting excited about anything. She takes an instant dislike to quarterback Finnegan (Finn) Mannus mostly because he's a pretty boy but also because he unsettles her to no end. Finn isn't unaffected either, right away he feels something towards Chess, he's just not sure what it is or if he wants to feel it but he knows he can't ignore it. 
 I loved, flat out loved the intensity between these Fin and Chess from the start even when it seemed like it was animosity but obviously was so much more. I appreciated the way that changed during the photo shoot between them and as their friendship formed. Their journey to their HEA was arduous, but damn it was fun to watch. In fact there was so many times I laughed out loud reading this book that I kept getting the side-eye from people sitting near me. Their verbal sparring that was more like foreplay, the easy way they incorporated each other into their life, the way the just seemed to "fit" like parts of a puzzle, everything between them was special and intense but also bumpy from time to time as this is the first real relationship either of them have experienced. As they built trust, they both shared things from their past that both made them closer and caused a divide leading to a rift of outstanding proportions. I'll admit I was a bit worried this book was going to end in a cliffhanger ruining what is arguably one of my favorite books of this year, but once again Ms. Callihan pulled off a Hail Mary pass and ended this book with a touchdown of epic proportions. 
 The Hot Shot is a multi-layer romance that is so well crafted everything around you disappears and you are immersed into the story; you feel every emotion with the characters, you experience the sights and sounds, you laugh like a loon, and you fall in love all over again. I LOVED this book with my whole heart and I already have it on my re-read list for my next vacation. 
 **Reviewers note: Apparently this book is part of a series, one I've never read before and not for one minute did I feel like I was missing anything, so it can absolutely be read as a stand-alone story, but of course I'm heading off to Amazon to one-click the other books in this series. 
 ARC provided for a voluntary review.