Long Shot: A Forbidden Basketball Standalone Romance By Kennedy Ryan

Long Shot is a deeply emotional, gritty, and critically acclaimed sports romance that centers on survival, trauma, and a powerful "second-chance" love story.

The book follows Iris DuPree, an ambitious aspiring sports marketer, and August West, a rising college basketball star on his way to the NBA. The two meet by chance at a sports bar during their final semester and share a night of intense, undeniable connection. However, the timing is wrong: Iris is already committed to Caleb, August’s fierce basketball rival and the coddled "golden boy" of the sport.

Years later, August has achieved massive success and wealth in the NBA, but he has never forgotten Iris. When their paths cross again, he discovers that Iris is trapped in a deeply toxic, controlling, and physically abusive relationship with Caleb.

Rather than a typical, lighthearted sports romance, the novel transforms into a heavy, gripping narrative about Iris's fight to reclaim her freedom, her agency, and her life, while August remains a patient, supportive anchor waiting for her on the other side of her survival.