4.5 ⭐️

I may be a little biased since I’m from Greensboro 🤣…

but Preston and Elle are cute together. I love a good protective and grumpy hockey player.

…but wait there’s more. You’ll just have to read it 😉

This was a cute, quick read. I loved the tension between Preston and Christian because of their past. Busy most of all, Elle’s relationship with Preston is what made the book so good. While I usually don’t love third act breakups, this one felt easy enough to get past since it could be felt coming from a mile away given all the past tension stated above from Christian and Preston.

I went thought this in less than 24 hours! It was definitely my first 5 star read for 2025 and I just finished my reread of Fourth Wing. I loved their entire relationship from beginning to end. I immediately started searching for Christian and Maya's store and will not be able to wait till May!
This is 100% on my reread list and I need a physical copy ASAP.

This was a quick and fun read for me! I can never turn down fake dating or grumpy/sunshine tropes, especially when it’s a hockey romance. Plus, the book was dual POV, which I loved.

I had a little bit of trouble getting into the book and connecting with the characters at the beginning, but it quickly picked up for me once it was clear the MMC was starting to fall first.

There were what felt like editing issues throughout the book with misspelled words, the wrong words being used in some places, or words seemingly missing in multiple spots. These issues pulled my brain out of the storyline more times than I would have liked.

Overall, I really enjoyed this fast-paced story full of drama and some spice. The revenge plot against the FMC’s ex quickly turned into something more for our FMC and MMC, and I was happy they got their HEA in the end!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

That was an amazingly hot and pucking good.

I adored this novel this weekend, the right kind of romance I was looking for.

Hot, Spicy, the plot and story was also AMAZING

L.A. Hart's Revenge Puck is a book that hooks you from the very first chapter and doesn’t let go. This fast-paced, captivating romance perfectly blends sports drama, fake dating, and sizzling chemistry. Elle thought things were going great with her pro hockey player boyfriend—until he dumps her right before the playoff game. Determined to make him jealous, she sets her sights on his archenemy, Preston, in a plan that begins as a relationship of convenience. But, as with any good romance, what starts as a strategy soon turns into something far more complicated—and real.

As a huge fan of sports romance, and especially hockey romances, I can't get enough of how the players are always ready to protect their leading ladies. There's something so swoon-worthy about their fierce loyalty and the way they’ll go to any lengths for the woman they care about. It’s like you can practically feel the testosterone leaping off the pages, with each player making you fall for them in their own unique way. And in Revenge Puck, the grumpy/sunshine dynamic and the fake-dating trope are the perfect bonus to make this story even more irresistible.

Hockey romance and fake dating! I love most hockey romance books and I loved this one. The characters were great together and I always love a good fake dating trope. This is perfect for anyone that loves a spicy hockey romance and wants a quick read. I couldn’t put it down and I didn’t am looking forward to the next book in the series. Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC!

When her "boyfriend" Christian dumps her before a game, Elle comes up with the perfect revenge plan: pretending to date his archival, Preston Lawrence. Except that it quickly becomes clear that the two are not pretending.

I love a hockey romance, and was so excited to jump in to this one. It started a bit embarrassingly close to home (like, Elle, I was one dumped after being intimate), but I really enjoyed that Elle was a salon owner who discussed the stresses of owning her own business. I really do wish we had gotten to see more of her as a businesswoman, as I thought that was a really interesting aspect of her life. I also appreciated the setting of Greensboro, North Carolina, although I wish we had gotten more of a discussion of how jarring it can be to play hockey in more football obsessed town. Finally, I admit to guessing how a subplot with Preston's sister, Maya would unfold about halfway through the book, but it did make me excited to read the next book in the series.

This is a fun, spicy hockey romance that I would recommend to fans of Helena Hunting or Elle Kennedy.

This book is perfect for anyone who loves Elle Kennedy's Off Campus series! I love reading romance books, especially the kind that leaves me laughing and swooning, and Revenge Puck is a lighthearted, fun, and fast-paced.

The story kicks off with a revenge plot involving, Elle who after being dumped by her hockey-playing boyfriend teams up with his rival, Preston, to make him jealous. The chemistry between Elle and Preston is magnetic, and as they fake date to mess with her ex, sparks fly between them. But what starts as a scheme to hurt her ex's ego quickly turns into real feelings.

Revenge Puck has all the drama of a sports rivalry and the tension of fake dating. It also has some seriously swoon-worthy moments. It has the grumpy sunshine trope with Preston being a tough hockey player with a soft side, and Elle's positive energy really brings out the best in everyone around her. Watching them go from enemies to lovers makes you wanna keep reading.

The pacing is really well done, and the plot is very bingeable. It had me hooked from the first chapter, and I ended up reading it all in one sitting. Revenge Puck has that perfect balance of swoon and spicy, keeping things exciting without it being too much.

Overall, I would recommend this to fans of sports romance, fake dating, or anyone who loves a feel-good romance with lots of drama, humor, and heart. Looking forward to the next one in the series!

Hockey, revenge, & grumpy/sunshine! I really enjoyed the characters of this book and can’t wait to see more of them in maya’s book. Thank you so much for the ARC!

The one thing I would’ve liked to see more of from the story line was interactions with the other hockey players. I get that preston wasn’t exactly a team player but I dont like how the rest of the team just hated him from the get go. But otherwise great read!

Gifted [Thank you to LA Hart and BooksGoSocial for allowing me early access to this story!]

⭐️3 🌶️ 3 💀 0

Source: ARC

Tropes/Themes:
✨ Hockey
✨ Fake Dating
✨ Rival Teams
✨ Interesting Side Character Plot

What it’s about:
Her boyfriend comes to tell her, right before he goes into the playoffs for the Stanley Cup, that he wants to break-up. Actually, scratch that, they were never really together and he’s been with puck bunnies in every port so…. She takes this news, and with the support of her best friend, channels that into finding his nemesis on the ice, and convincing him to pretend they’ve been together to mess with him…

My Review:
Fine hockey romance, which has some fun spice and character growth, but it's pretty praticable. Yes, most romances are pretty predictable, but it was like at every turn I knew exactly where we were headed. It’s three stars for me, as sometimes predictable is what we need and want out of a book, especially as life can be unstable and turbulent. It’s a cute, fun and flirty book that has you feeling heartbreak and the adrenaline of coming back together in a snap.

There are a ton of hockey books out there right now but this one grabbed my attention. I liked Hart's take on the industry and the people involved with the teams. I think the characters are well-developed and the action moved at a good pace. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I love a sports romance and hockey is my favourite. Fake dating is one of my favourite tropes and this one was so good. I honestly didn’t expect that story line at all.

I’m not a fan of the third act breakup but it felt more like a pause than a break up. The plot twist that included the MMC’s sister really threw me for a loop and I loved it! Had my gasping and laughing. It was just an overall good read and can’t wait for the second one!

A great cosy read - I think this is one of my favourite ice hockey romances so far. I love the character of Elle and her positive energy, she's so down to earth too. Nothing however beats the ending which is -chefs kiss- perfect! Excited for Maya and Christian's book.

When Elle gets dumped by a hockey planner she decides to get back at him by pretending to date his biggest rival.

I have mixed feelings on this book. The first few chapters were not good and I was tempted to DNF but I pushed through and it did get better. There just wasn’t really any build up or background, and the characters really needed some development. Everything was kind of surface level.

The story is messy and the love triangle a bit of a disaster. Why Elle didn’t just block her ex I don’t know. All 3 characters seemed very young and immature for their ages and professions. There are also quite a lot of plot holes and we are told certain things about characters but then their behaviour contradicts this (eg. Preston’s nephew Finley is very shy and struggles to make friends, but he then meets Elle and various hockey players and is immediately comfortable and confident around them)

I think this book needs a good edit to help with plot and character development. I would have loved to see more of Preston and Elle’s HEA as the ending felt really rushed. They had some really sweet moments during the story despite the constant miscommunications and it would have been nice to see more of their relationship once they’d overcome that.

Not sure if I will read the next book as I wasn’t a fan of Christian at all and think it will be hard to redeem him.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

A fake dating, grumpy sunshine, only one bed, AND hockey romance. What more could I ask for?

I was pretty entertained by this book. It was a super quick and fun read. I finished it in a day!

I am rating it a 3.75⭐️. The beginning was a bit rough to get through. Something about the dialogue felt slightly off. I fought through and was pleasantly surprised that it started to flow better.

I do feel as though the characters lacked a bit of depth. I would have liked to get more information/background on the characters.

I also caught a couple of spelling mistakes that bugged me a bit.

Overall a fun easy read! I am curious to see how Christian and Maya’s book will go.

Ｅｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ
4 ☆
Elle Townsend is dumped by her hockey boyfriend, Christian Riley, on the eve of the championship playoffs. She devises a plan for revenge—a fake romance with Christian's arch-rival, Preston Lawrence.

I actually really enjoyed this story and the plot. This was my first book by this author, and I wasn't disappointed at all. The beginning and middle were good, but once we hit the semi-middle, it was emotional and explained a lot of things. If you want a fake romance with hockey, I highly suggest this book.

Thann you, Netgellay, and BooksGoSocial for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

A quick, enjoyable read that is entertaining. It wraps up a little too neatly got me but it was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

I finished this one fairly quickly. Every time when I felt I should take a break I kept telling myself maybe one more page. By the end of the night I was already 3/4ths of the way finished. What started out as a way to get back at Elle’s ex turned into something real between her and rival team player Preston Lawrence. There were definitely up and down moments of emotion. I would highly recommend for anyone who enjoys grumpy hockey players, love triangles, and fake dating.

This was a quick read. Elle wants revenge against Christian for breaking up with and telling her they were never exclusive. Preston hate Christian and is up against him in the championship series for hockey. Elle and Preston band up to try and throw Christian off there game, but what started off as a fake relationship is starting to feel too real.

I did not either of these main characters. I get really annoyed when an FMC's main personality trait is her insecurities about her body and if men could actually want her. This is Elle's main personality trait. Preston's main personality trait is his anger. In fact, Elle puts the breaks on their relationship several times because his temper affected her, but she continued to go back to him.

I couldn't really connect with the main characters, so I cannot make a recommendation for this book.

Review goes live February 3