An Extra Shot

I read this book as a follow-up to its prequel, Another Shot. The book picks up the story of Freddie & Jo-Jo who fell in love as teenagers, separated and meet up again thirty-five years later. It is told from Freddie and Jo-Jo's perspectives through a series of first-person vignettes and asks the question if a first love relationship can ever be reignited. I loved the characters, the flashbacks to 1970s and 80s, the music, the culture and I left captivated, yet again, by the cliff-hanger ending. Highly recommended . I can't wait for the third and final book in this highly addictive trilogy.

Picking up directly where Another Shot left off, An Extra Shot continues to show us the sweet, if rather awkward, reunion of Freddie and JoJo. Skilfully switching between past and present scenes, the memories of their younger years left me feeling nostalgic for my own past, remembering certain days and events as if they were yesterday!

After seeing the pair tip toe around each other in the first book, having only just met again after 35 years, this time round we get to see Freddie and JoJo rekindle their long lost romance. Disappearing on a weekend break together was just what they needed to give them the chance to work some things out. The only problem now is JoJo harbouring a dark secret, a secret involving her relationship with Freddie all those years ago. She has to decide whether to tell him or remain quiet. If she tells him, she’ll then need to deal with the consequences.

I do feel for JoJo in regards to her secret; it was a tough situation to be in, both the initial situation in the past, and the one she faces now – Choosing to tell Freddie or not, trying to guess how he’d react. The secret of JoJos past does cover a sensitive subject, but I feel the author has dealt with it in a respectful manner. He explores the depth of the situation and the emotions involved, without drawing it out too much or making it a difficult read.

I’m still 100% rooting for these guys to resolve their differences and get back together properly, so I’ll be waiting as patiently as I can for the third book to see what happens to our little love birds!

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

I really enjoyed the first book of this triology until the ending. I felt this was a bit abrupt until I found out there was a sequel! I downloaded this straightaway as I wanted to find out what happens to Freddie and Jo-Jo.

Jo-Jo tracks down her first love Freddie after 35 years. She wanted to work things out before emigrating to another country. However as Jo-Jo and Freddie re discover their feelings for one another. A secret pours out that could turn the relationship sour.

I think this book is better than the first. It is a continuation from the first book. We last read in the first one that Freddie is at a train station. Ready to throw himself under a train. And this is where the book picks up.

Throughout this book I see Freddie, who seems to be a nervous wreck slowly becoming more confident. It's quite nice to see his character progressing.

We slowly find out what happened to their past relationships and what other things happened to them. Throughout the pages. Their stories are told from their perspective which is easy to follow.
The whole story is easy to follow and because of the headings you can easily pick up where you left off without getting lost.

This time round I found that the ending was left on a better cliff hanger and I want to read the next book now! :)

I have enjoyed following Freddie and Jo-Jo's journey and I am looking forward to the third book! Definitely recommend this book..

My thanks to Netgalley and Book Guild for a copy of An Extra Shot by Stephen Anthony Brotherton for an honest review.
I originally read Stephen’s first book Another Shot purely down to the fact that it was set in the areas that I grew up in Walsall and Bloxwich in the same period 70’s and 80’s.
Perhaps that makes me biased , but I thoroughly enjoyed it .When I saw that the second book had been published I thought I might have forgotten too much from the previous story, but I didn’t find that to be a problem at all.
I really enjoyed the continuation of Jo Jo and Freddie’s story and look forward to book 3