Another Shot is a sad, but compelling story about Freddie and Jo-Jo. They are pretty much inseparable until Jo-Jo leaves for University. Freddie begs her to stay, but she needs to spread her wings. She also needs for him to call and be there to support her, but he doesn’t. He always thought he was punching above his weight and feels it’s right to cut all ties to allow Jo-Jo the chance to live a good life. How different things could have been if he had just called when he said he would. Thirty five years later, Jo-Jo makes contact. She feels the need to see Freddie one last time before emigrating to be with her daughter. It’s obvious they have never stopped loving each other, despite living very different lives, but is there any chance they can re-kindle their romance after such a long time? They are very different people now.

The story is a series of flashbacks which reveal the truths of the past and highlight how they both allowed true love to pass them by. I felt quite sorry for them both. No-one knows how things would have worked out if they had have stayed in touch all those years ago and they will never know if they missed out on true happiness.

This book is full of regret and raw emotion. These characters are very real and believable. I’m sure many readers will relate them in one way or another.

The ending certainly left me wanting to know more, so I’m looking forward to reading book 2.

Many thanks for my review copy.

Another Shot

“It used to make me feel special, the fact that they knew me, knew what I wanted, but it had soured with repetition. I’d become my drink order – that’s what it felt like. But it was okay. People watching in this place made me feel part of the world, got me away from the house for a few hours. And it was here she came back to me. I hadn’t seen her for three decades and suddenly there she was, standing next to my table. ‘Hello, Freddie’.”

Another Shot tells the story of Freddie and Jo-Jo, who are reunited in a coffee shop thirty-five years after the end of their teenage romance. Jo-Jo finds Freddie through a mutual friend, and tells him that she is emigrating following the death of her husband. She gives him a photograph of the two of them on their first weekend away, a trip to Blackpool.

How they originally met, why they parted, what happens in their lives apart is all told through a series of flashbacks. These memories feed into events when they meet up again and explain why, despite the passage of time and the intensity of their still simmering love, there is no future for their relationship.

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-Shot-Stephen-Anthony-Brothertonebook/dp/B077S1ZHPC
US – https://www.amazon.com/Another-Shot-Stephen-Anthony-Brotherton-ebook/dp/B077S1ZHPC

Author Bio –

‘I was born in Walsall, grew up in the West Midlands and now live in Telford with my two cats, Boris and Tai. After working in the health and social care sector for over thirty years, I have now taken early retirement to write the trilogy that has been rooted in my head for most of my life.
Another Shot is the first book in the Shots trilogy, which is based on a first love relationship I had as a teenager. It tells the story of Freddie and Jo-Jo, who are reunited in a coffee shop three decades after the end of their teenage romance. How they originally met, why they parted, what happens in their lives apart, and what happens when they reunite is all told through a series of first person vignettes. The second book, An Extra Shot, will be published in July 2019. I am currently working on the final instalment.
Getting these stories down on paper has been a cathartic process. I hope you enjoy them.