A Shot in the Dark

One of my most anticipated books this month is A Shot in the Dark, the adult romance debut by Victoria Lee. Set during one summer in New York City, it’s a love story between two recovering addicts. The story highlights a character who was raised in an Orthodox Jewish community and a character who is transgender… and both were kicked out of their homes as teenagers years before. Can their shared experiences unite them, or will they only bring each other down? 

Special thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Summary

Ely has just arrived in New York City, the city she grew up in but hasn’t returned to in eight years. She’s here for a summer program in photography, where she has a class instructed by a hotshot photographer named Wyatt. Ely’s first night in town, she ends up having a one-night-stand with a man whose name she doesn’t know… and is surprised at her first class the next day to find out that he’s none other than her professor, Wyatt! In an effort to do right by her, Wyatt encourages Ely to drop his class, but he reluctantly agrees to help her on her capstone project. Still, he resists any lingering attraction between them and hopes Ely will do the same. 

Despite their differences—Ely was raised Orthodox Jewish; Wyatt is a transgender man—the two have a lot in common. Both were kicked out of their childhood homes as teenagers. Both are recovering addicts with painful pasts. Will being together bring about a relapse for one or both of them? Will their difficult pasts be too much to overcome? Or could they be stronger together? 

Review

A Shot in the Dark is a stunning novel. It highlights heavier themes, and doesn’t shy away from the harsher details, but it’s written with nuance and compassion. It’s also a story of identity and trust, both in yourself and in a loved one. This is a romance not to be missed. 

One of the first things that drew me to this book is the depiction of addiction, sobriety, and recovery. My father was an alcoholic for most of my life, so I’ve seen the effects that addiction can have on an individual and on their loved ones. And like the characters here, I have chosen complete sobriety. In A Shot in the Dark, both Ely and Wyatt are recovering addicts, not just of alcohol, but also of much harder drugs. This book really gets into the mind of someone who abuses a substance and craves it even years into sobriety, and how one small misstep can have such a big impact. It depicts substance use and addiction so well, and while it can make for difficult reading, it’s also wholly worth it. 

I also loved the chance to get to know these characters in terms of their religious and gender identities. Ely grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family, and though she’s been apart from it for the past eight years, a part of her still wrestles with her religious beliefs and practices. I loved learning more about Judaism and the different Orthodox Jewish branches in particular. For his part, Wyatt grew up in a military family in North Carolina, but was dishonorably discharged and kicked out of his childhood home upon coming out as transgender. It was affecting to see his experiences and how his identity plays out in his relationship with Ely. 

Both Ely and Wyatt have traumas relating to their addictions and to their families. Both lost that family support and structure as teenagers, and neither has had basically any contact with their families in the many years since. As much as this book is about recovery from addiction, it’s also about recovery from family divides and past mistakes.  

Even with all of those weightier themes, A Shot in the Dark also has levity and joy. Amidst the inner turmoil, there’s a sweet story of two people connecting on a deeper level. Ely and Wyatt are both photographers who express so much through their art. I loved seeing how they found their way to each other, despite the student-professor issue and their worries of potentially being bad for each other. Through it all, their bond as photographers, friends, and eventually lovers keeps the story hopeful. 

Final Thoughts

If you want a romance that’s complex and explores profound themes—from addiction recovery and family divides to faith and gender identity—A Shot in the Dark is a must-read. It’s moving and will stick with you. This is a book I will be recommending far and wide, and I look forward to reading more from Victoria Lee. 

Get the Book

You can buy A Shot in the Dark here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee
Audience	Adult
Genre	Romance
Setting	New York City
Number of Pages	320
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley)
Original Publication Date	September 5, 2023

Official Summary

A passionate and powerful romance featuring a transgender man and an ex-Orthodox woman who find each other through their devotion to art, and fall in love despite all odds, from bestselling author Victoria Lee

“A sensual love story about art and passion . . . emotional and heart-aching.”—Ashley Poston, New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics

Elisheva Cohen has just returned to New York after almost a decade away. The wounds of her past haven’t fully healed, but four years of sobriety and a scholarship to study photography with art legend Wyatt Cole are signs of good things to come, right? They could be, as long as Ely resists self-sabotage. She’s lucky enough to hit it off with a handsome himbo her first night out in the city. But the morning after their mind-blowing hookup, reality comes knocking. When Wyatt Cole walks into the classroom, Ely realizes the man she just spent the night with, the man whose name she couldn’t hear over the loud club music, is her teacher.

Everyone in the art world is obsessed with Wyatt Cole. He’s immensely talented and his notoriously reclusive personal life makes him even more compelling. But behind closed doors, Wyatt’s past is a painful memory. After coming out as transgender, Wyatt was dishonorably discharged from the military and disowned by his family. Since these traumatic experiences, Wyatt has worked hard for his sobriety and his flourishing art career. He can’t risk it all for Ely, no matter how attracted to her he is or how bad he feels about insisting she drop his class in exchange for a strictly professional mentorship. Wyatt can help with her capstone photography project, but he cannot, under any circumstances, fall in love with her in the process.

Through the lens of her camera, Ely must confront the reason she left New York in the first place: the Orthodox community that raised her, then shunned her because of her substance abuse. Along the way, Wyatt’s walls begin to break down, and each artist fights for what’s right in front of them—a person who sees them for all that they are and a love that could mean more than they ever imagined possible.