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WHAT’S INSIDE THE GUIDE

• Full book club discussion questions

• Character relationship breakdowns

• Emotional theme analysis

• Trope spotlight moments readers loved most

• Curated Cherry Picked playlist vibes

• NYC-inspired snack and drink pairings

• Favorite swoony moments and quote highlights

• Behind-the-book notes from Kristen

• Shots on Goal universe continuity details

• Collectible reader companion content

PERFECT FOR READERS WHO LOVE…

• Insta-love that actually feels emotional

• Rookie NHL heroes with golden retriever energy

• Ballerina heroines chasing impossible dreams

• Protective, devoted hockey players

• First love and first everything romances

• Bookstore meet-cutes

• Cozy New York City atmosphere

• Fate-filled romance moments

• Soft emotional intimacy

• Stories that feel hopeful, warm, and cinematic

ABOUT THE BOOK

Cherry Picked is one of the most hopeful and emotionally immersive romances inside the Shots on Goal universe — a story about timing, vulnerability, ambition, and the terrifying beauty of falling for someone when your life is just beginning.

Chase Harding has spent his entire life fighting for one dream: making it to the NHL. Stepping into his rookie season with the New York Otters should feel like victory, but beneath the excitement is pressure, fear, and the overwhelming realization that everything he has worked for is finally real.

Then he meets Nikki Jennings.

Nikki arrives in New York carrying dreams just as massive as his own. Ballet has demanded everything from her — discipline, sacrifice, exhaustion, and years of relentless work — and now she finally has the chance to prove she belongs on one of the biggest stages in the world.

Love was never part of the plan for either of them.

But one quiet bookstore encounter changes everything.

What begins as an instant connection quickly becomes something deeper: a relationship built on emotional safety, tenderness, wonder, and the feeling of finally finding someone who understands the weight of chasing impossible dreams.

At its core, Cherry Picked explores:

• first love and emotional vulnerability

• ambition versus emotional connection

• the loneliness hidden inside big dreams

• learning to trust another person completely

• finding comfort in someone who feels like fate

• discovering home inside another human being

Inside the larger Shots on Goal universe, this story represents one of the softest and most emotionally intimate romances in the series — filled with cozy New York atmosphere, found family team dynamics, swoony emotional pacing, and the kind of love story that feels cinematic from the very first moment.

A NOTE FROM KRISTEN

Thank you so much for reading Cherry Picked and for spending time with Chase and Nikki.

This story has always felt incredibly special to me because it captures that once-in-a-lifetime feeling of meeting someone who instantly changes your world. I wanted their romance to feel warm, emotional, hopeful, and deeply immersive — the kind of love story that makes readers believe in timing, fate, and the magic of unexpected connection.

Chase and Nikki are dreamers in very different worlds, but at their core, they both understand sacrifice, ambition, and the fear that comes with wanting something so badly it hurts. Writing their story allowed me to explore softness, vulnerability, first love, and the overwhelming excitement of finding someone who feels like home almost immediately.

Creating this collectible guide felt like the perfect way to celebrate their story even further and give readers a deeper experience inside the emotions, themes, and moments that shaped this book.

Thank you for continuing to support the Shots on Goal universe. It means more to me than I can properly put into words.

— Kristen Hope Mazzola

READ NEXT

Hat Trick

Forbidden love • emotional slow burn • grief and healing themes

If you loved the emotional vulnerability and deeply personal relationship development in Cross Checked, Hat Trickdelivers another immersive emotional romance with layered character growth and strong healing themes.

Playoff Beard

Friends-to-lovers • emotional trust building • softer intimacy

Readers who connected with the emotional safety and comfort-driven relationship dynamic between Brayden and Karla will likely fall hard for the emotional warmth and slow emotional unraveling in Playoff Beard.

Public Enemy #91

Grumpy/sunshine • emotional isolation • damaged hero energy

For readers who love emotionally guarded hockey heroes struggling under enormous internal pressure, Public Enemy #91 carries that same emotional intensity while expanding the Shots on Goal world in a darker, more public-facing way.

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© 2026 Kristen Hope Mazzola. All rights reserved.