A Shot at Gold (Sports #2) by Nicole Pyland
- Publisher: Pyland Publishing LLC, 2020
- Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+
- Format: Ebook
- Page Count: 225 pages
- My Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Content warnings: loss of father figure, loss of loved one, alcoholism, anxiety
“You’re not a terrible coach. You were just not meant to be mine because you were meant to be so much more.”
Madison
A Shot at Gold was a very emotional read for me but I don’t know why. I have never lost anyone close, and yet I still felt every bit of the main characters’ lingering pain and understood all their insecurities stemming from their losses.
Madison Fletcher (22, lesbian) knows what she wants, and she isn’t afraid to ask for it. She also knows that she can make it to Olympics archery events. When Madison realizes Olympic gold medalist Elodie Booker (33, lesbian, anxiety) is not going to coach at the camp she signed up for, she does everything to convince the now-lawyer to train her. But Elodie is haunted by the loss of her coach and is not ready. And Madison is still figuring out what life means after losing her girlfriend Wiley to leukemia almost three years ago. Sharing experiences of loss and love for the sport, they connect well emotionally and professionally, but neither expects to fall for each other.
There are a lot of things I love about Maddie and El’s story. The most beautiful thing is that they bring out the best in each other, and continue to do so even in the epilogue. Both of them have lost people they loved, and that deeply impacts their relationship with archery as well as each other.
“After I lost Wiley, I put everything into my sport. It’s all I have. And I will give you everything I can if you help me be the best.”
Madison
Madison needs the training to fulfill her dream, but Elodie cannot bring herself to touch a bow again. I love how Madison is always so sure of herself and also sees through Elodie’s indifferent façade. She is sometimes questionably manipulative, but I think it is because she see things with clarity and cannot stand Elodie’s avoidance of her own passion. Note that Elodie did not need fixing, despite what the wording in the story might have said. This is not about fixing anyone, but about learning to let go even when it is terrifying.
Then there is the story of Maddie and Wiles. They are the saddest and sweetest young adult couple ever. I think it is nice to acknowledge possible mature relationships between teens without dismissing them as something that wouldn’t last, even though for Maddie and Wiles, death had cut their time together short.
“When your girlfriend is dying, you talk about them a lot because you know you’re never going to have them. It’s the only way you’ll ever think about or talk about kids you’ll never name or watch grow up. It’s the only way you can get through the awful treatments and terrible side-effects. You talk about the wedding you’d have, picturing saying, ‘I do,’ and you fantasize about the honeymoon where the only thing you’d worry about is which drink to order on the beach or about the fact that you need to leave the room and take some pictures so that people don’t think you just had sex the whole time.”
Madison
Throughout the story, Maddie can be annoying and pushy sometimes while Elodie is very frustrating by sending mixed signals. They are both very stubborn. I love that Madison is extremely driven and Elodie trying very hard to break free of her grief. There are a lot of vulnerable moments going on, and I am happy there were no miscommunications between the pair. Madison is always very vocal about her thoughts, and Elodie also talks about everything she has already admitted to herself.
I love how I can feel the sexual tension even when Madison and Elodie are just talking and haven’t figured out their feelings for each other. There are also a few anger-induced actions from both parties that are so relatable. Pyland didn’t even try to make the characters perfect because no one is. I also want to point out that Madison’s last name is Fletcher. I don’t know if Pyland constantly chooses names to reflect a character’s profession, but I will surely pay more attention from now on. And while there were mentions of Robin Hood because of the archery theme, there were no Cupid jokes.
This book incited strong emotions in me and I love that I was able to feel everything while reading. I also love that the idea of having a loving relationship being having someone to share all the good and bad in life with permeates through the story.
“It’s the person you love who holds you at night, walks beside you, and makes winning those medals worth it.”
Robin
The epilogue was a little bit of an info dump of what happened over six years, but we get more of Madison and Elodie’s story in very limited pages so I am not complaining. The story actually develops a little further and leaves space for imagination, not about their happily-ever-after, but about their personal goals. Also, since A Shot at Gold has nothing to do with the first book Always More, you don’t need to read them in order.
With this one being my seventh book by Pyland, I have yet to see non-white main characters and trans/nonbinary/genderqueer side characters. Maybe there are some in other books I haven’t read, but I would love to see a little more diversity in her works.
A Shot at Gold might be difficult to read if you have lost loved ones, but Madison and Elodie’s relationship development is so real and beautiful that I just ache for more. If you feel in need of a good emotional release, this book will definitely do the job and give you so much more. [26 Aug 2020]
