I enjoyed this. Hockey romance involving a revenge plot to get back at an ex. Hit good beats on humor and added a specific family dynamic I’m not sure I’ve read before. Also interesting in the fact that pretty much every problem traces back to the control issues of the MMC. That, and a super truncated timeline (why couldn’t this have taken place over the course of a season rather than just the 7 games of a championship?) pulled my rating down a bit. Entertaining and funny (with a great hockey innuendo running gag) but with the really short timeline it doesn’t necessarily feel like the MMC’s character growth was earned.

-hockey romance
-getting revenge on your ex
-best friends to rivals (MMCs, not the main couple)
-“stick” jokes

Adult female who believes a five month relationship is long term, is ceremonially dumped by aforementioned partner. In the mature and grown up manner of all heroines in romance novels, she obviously immediately seeks out his arch rival, a big hairy man on the opposing hockey team.

I have mixed feelings about this story. On one end it is a perfect no brains required romance novel with a great HEA. The two leads are both interesting enough and have backstories that justify at least most of their actions. I did also enjoy the complications that came with the relationship between (view spoiler) I also really enjoyed that he fell first in this fake relationship.

What I did struggle with is the constant misunderstandings that littered the entire story. While I do enjoy a few, particularly if it adds a little pizazz to the plot, I didn't get that here. I felt that most of these were nonsensical and unnecessary, with their only purpose to drive the two apart for a couple of moments, leading to the story becoming very dialogue heavy.

Either way, it certainly didn't take me long to get through the pages and I certainly enjoyed the overall story.

Revenge Puck by L. A. Hart
She has just been dumped in a terrible way, and wants to make him suffer. So she tries to get a selfie with his nemesis, and former friend, that turns into fake dating, lots of OM Drama too.
This was such a great read! Hockey/sports romance is one of my favs of course but this had some excellent elements, with a little sprinkling spice but not a lot. Overall well written and enjoyable.

This one just wasn’t for me. I love a hockey romance and it had potentially, but it felt like there were too many things going on that had to get tied up so it felt rushed. The characters needed more development for me as well. The concept of the story was good, but the execution was lacking.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Revenge Puck by L.A. Hart is a fun and fiery sports romance that combines betrayal, fake relationships, and intense rivalries. After her boyfriend dumps her before a major hockey playoff, Elle plots revenge by teaming up with Christian’s rival, Preston. What starts as a simple plan to make Christian jealous quickly escalates as the chemistry between Elle and Preston becomes undeniable. With stakes high on and off the ice, Elle is torn between two rival hockey players, each with their own motives. The story is full of twists, passion, and plenty of heated moments, making it an enjoyable read for fans of love triangles and sports drama.

The fun plot line and fast pace of this novel made the read quick, easy and enjoyable. The drama was funny but the story still had some depth. Characters were loveable. This romance is a basic hockey romance, which was perfect for what I was searching for. I would recommed to anyone looking for a silly romance.

I believe there was some issues with language and themes. Through out the story we understand Elle as being plus-size, however the cover completly disregards this and makes the whole representation a slap in the face. During the whole novel the slut-shaming and sexism was slightly annoying. It felt very wattpaddy in that way. Additionally I believe the discussion around abortion was slightly problematic, it felt like it wasn't considered and shamed which is problematic.

Elle is casually dumped by hotshot hockey player Christian and finds out he’s been cheating every away game. Preston is the ex’s rival-on-ice and is more than willing to come out of his grumpy shell to get revenge. When Elle and Preston team up, they are making out and making waves to upset their enemy Christian during the championship season, but neither one realizes how hard they will fall.

This book has all the right ingredients on paper: a hockey romance, fake dating, and the classic grumpy/sunshine dynamic. While the plot has great potential and plenty of solid tropes, the execution falls flat. The writing could benefit from heavy editing and sharper dialogue to bring the story to life. That said, it’s a decent read—the spice is there, and the characters are fairly relatable. It feels like a strong concept that just needs more polish to truly shine.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book.

I always do like a good hockey romance, but this one I just found a little too fast-paced with it all happening within afew days...which is just way to fast in my opinion. I just struggled to fall in love with it.

This book is a light-hearted romance. The FMC was truly relatable and made me feel seen. As a woman who isn't a size 0 and the intrusive thoughts that maybe as a chunkier woman that a man who is a hockey god wouldn't want us. Some of the things I loved most about this book was the Banter between Elle and Preston. It naturally built their romance and made me love the pairing even more. I loved that the aspect of the book starts out as a fake-dating relationship and moves into something more. I can't wait to read more!

While, this book certainly ticks off all the boxes of a sports romance it did feel a bit shallow in places that I was expecting it to feel deeper. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a fun, loving, feel good sports romance.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book!

I really really wanted to like this but I just couldn’t. The premise was good as a lovely palate cleanser easy read with great tropes (grumpy/sunshine, fake dating) but this just didn’t deliver unfortunately.

The characters were so undeveloped and I essentially knew nothing about them except the MMC has massive anger issues (and was pretty toxic), and the FMC was deeply insecure. They did not have enough chemistry for me to believe the romance and there wasn’t really much plot to save the book from a low rating.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC for my honest opinion. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Revenge Puck By L.A. Hart
Publication Date February 1, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Who would like this book:
If you enjoy Elle Kennedy’s book then this book is your perfect next Read. Any hockey romance reader should give L.A. Hart’s newest book Revenge Puck a Read, the perfect revenge fake dating to love story.

Summary:
Revenge Puck follows Elle Townsend (FMC) as she navigates her most recent breakup with hockey star Christian Riley. Whats a girl to do when her ex-boyfriend gives her one guy that's off limits and just so happens to be his biggest enemy on the ice…you plan the perfect fake dating with him. Enter wooly mammouth himself Preston Lawrence. They do say “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Elle and Preston use their shared hatred of Christian to make him jealous and give Preston the edge on the ice, but along the way the lines get blurry of whats fake and whats real. Read Revenge Puck to see how things play out for Elle and Preston.

Review:
I really enjoyed this book it was the perfect fake dating to love story romance novel. The characters all grow and develop as the story goes even some you might not think can not redeem themselves. The plot lines is smooth and the story line flows well and wraps up perfectly in my mind and sets up for the next book in the series. I'm excited and already anticipating to read L.A. Hart’s next book in the Shot at Love Series

Thank you L.A. Hart, Editor’s Choice Publishing, and Netgalley for the advance copy of Revenge Puck

Real talk, I really, really, really wanted to like this book. I was so excited for it. The premise was good, but the execution was not. I ended up DNFing at 40%, which was in Chapter 14. Unsure on the Page Number.

So why did I DNF? I found that the main characters had zero chemistry, and both of them fell really flat for me. I already guessed why the MMC hates the OM, and I'm right about that, but the biggest reason was the FMCs clear insecurities about herself thanks to her ex-"boyfriend". It was so bad that she thought the MMC was rejecting her when he wasn't, he was just giving her time. And the fact that she was clearly not over the OM -- I just...

I'm disappointed.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book.

I always do enjoy a hockey romance, but this one was way too fast-paced and the characters were not compelling. The timeline of the whole novel is a matter of days, and I just don't think people can develop a life-sustaining meaningful connection that quick. Moreover, Christian's character arc was not doing it for me. It was a huge distraction amidst Preston's already bad character arc.

Ultimately, though the premise had potential, this book fell a little flat for me.

And I'm out.

Perfect for fans of Elle Kennedy. A classic grumpy sunshine romance set in my college town! Elle was relatable in her self-conscious moments while still being strong and knowing her worth. Preston is a classic broody leading man who learns from his mistakes and could have any girl swooning over him. The high stakes vibes of two hockey teams in the finals as the backdrop for this love story made it fun and exciting to read.

I downloaded this so fast because it sounded right up my alley, and started reading just as quick but honestly, the writing is way too amateur. And straight away I was put off by the way the MFC spoke about herself. This is not the book for me unfortunately.

Revenge Puck was an absolute delight, and definitely put me in a romance read after being in a slump with the genre for several months. This romance features one of my favourite tropes which is fake dating, which is does SO WELL, and its obviously a sports romance. Overall I would give this a 4.25/5 stars.

This story is quickly paced both in its writing and actual plot, which is my only critique of this story. I wish it could have been a slightly story novel, because I was so in love with it, and wish it things didn’t have to happen as quickly as they did. The rapid pacing of the book did cause this romance to be slightly “instalovey” but I surprisingly didn’t mind it. The plot itself was fun even though the pacing was “quick”.

Aside from the pacing, I do think this book did so many things well. I loved the characters and side characters. None of them felt flat for me, and I think they all played a part in the story. I also loved the romance itself and how both characters had to grown in order to make the relationship work. The banter and the jealousy in this was incredible!! And it didn’t feel as toxic as many other romances I read.

Overall I would recommend this book, and will be continuing with this series as I am super invested in the next character’s story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

When it comes to hockey romance, my standards are already sky-high, and O.M.G., I absolutely devoured this book. As a fake-dating romance, it follows Elle Townsend (the FMC) and her love triangle with two hot, steamy hockey players—Christian Riley and Preston Lawrence. Seriously, what could possibly go wrong? Christian is your classic womanizer who doesn’t realize what he’s got until it’s gone, while Preston is completely closed off, refusing to let anything distract him from his pro hockey career. The tension between Elle and Preston? Chef’s kiss.
The story was super easy to follow and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time—giggling, wondering, wishing, and hoping. I loved how the drama, humor, and chemistry all came together to make this such a fun read. If you’re into hockey romance or love the fake-dating trope, this one’s a must-read. Preston had me absolutely swooning, and there were so many moments that left me grinning and feeling giddy—I couldn’t help but fall for this story.

Full disclosure: There were a few misspelled words and grammatical errors that stood out to me, and that kind of thing does take away from the experience a little bit. But honestly? The characters and the tension more than made up for it.

Revenge Puck
Author: L.A Hart
Genre: Sports Romance
Publisher: Editor's Choice Publishing
Publication Date: Feb 1, 2025

Rating:
🌟🌟🌟🌟

Review:
Summary:
Elle gets dumped by her pro hockey player boyfriend Christian. She and her best friend, Audrey get the idea get back at Christian by getting with Christian’s arch nemesis also hockey player Preston. I think you can guess what happens after that 😍😍

What I liked
Overall my favorite part of this book was the characters. Even though their was only a few main characters if felt like I had known them my whole life. I loved the different emotional connections between the characters and their backstory’s which get slowly revealed over the course of the book.

What I didn’t like
My main complaint is that I felt that some scenes were more drawn out then others but some of my favorite scenes went by super fast. Now I could complain about the “Insta-Love” but honestly it felt fun to me. Now if this isn’t your favorite thing I wouldn’t recommend it. But I personally liked it!

Writing Style/Pacing
The book was super super fast paced in my opinion. Finished it faster than I’ve finished a book in a long time! The writing was super easy to understand and was an overall great palate cleanser in between fantasy books.

Final Thoughts
In conclusion I really really enjoyed this book! Would strongly recommend for any fans of hockey (keep in mind it’s a small plot point) romance and easy writing!

Thank you to NetGalley, Editor's Choice Publishing and L.A Hart for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!! 😁😁

ARC Reader (thank you NetGalley)

Revenge puck has a lot of the hallmarks that make hockey romance so lovable! A brooding MMC pro-hockey enforcer and a strong-willed, sex-positive FMC!

Elle and Preston initially get together to spite a common enemy, but as soon as sparks fly they need to figure out if they really want to be together!

At 251 pages spanning across about two weeks, this book is fast-paced and was a quick read for me! I appreciated not having to wait around for things to happen in this novel. For me, it was a page-turner and it took me less than 12 hours to read.

One of my favorite things about interconnected standalone romance series, is the world being built. In this first book of the series, I met characters that I am excited to see fall in love in future books!

I would absolutely recommend this book if you are a hockey romance lover, especially if you have a soft-spot for a broody MMC!

**Spoiler alert**: miscommunication, third act breakup, reuniting with less than 20pp. left

3.5
Thank you Netgally and the publishers for this arc. I really wanted to love this as I’m a big fan of sports romance especially hockey. But it just fell a little flat for me. There wasn’t any character development and the love triangle was a bit weird. But other than that it was a super fun and easy read.