This is a solid hockey romance, the getting back at a rival trope works so well in this book. I really fell in love with the characters and the side characters, I genuinely didn’t hate anyone in this book (even the rival). The plotting was good but some important scenes that were mentioned several times throughout the book were never shone to the reader. Also, in some capacity this is a fade to black romance, so be aware of that. All that being said, thoroughly enjoyable!

3.75/5 stars

Hockey romances are my favorite thing in this world and this lived up to my expectations! I adored and devoured this book!

Elle is a hair stylist and scorned woman who wants revenge on her cheating ex-boyfriend, Christian Riley. Riley just so happens to hate one person in the league, Preston Lawrence, and he’s the one man Elle chooses to have a little revenge with.

She just never realized that a fake relationship just might turn into a real one.

Enjoyed reading this little novella! It was predictable, but satisfying.

(Received as an ARC from the author and publisher)

I'm not typically a fan of the grumpy/sunshine trope, but I really enjoyed this one! I'm a big hockey romance fan and I think having the grumpy MMC be a hockey player really fit the character well! I really enjoyed the dynamic between Elle and Preston, especially being as Preston is her ex's rival. It made the fake dating into real dating even better!! Also the backstory of the characters was such a good amount of depth and I really liked how it tied all the characters together. It was a good amount of spice mixed in with the flirty banter between Elle and Preston as well! I can't wait to read book 2 to see where Maya and Christian's story goes!! This was such a fun, flirty and entertaining read! I will definitely read more from L.A. Hart!

The concept was cute. There were a lot of typos that kind of drove me nuts.

As a fellow hockey fan, who prides themselves on making good hockey signs, I highlighted so much of that to feed my delulu fantasies.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Revenge Puck is a fast-paced, drama-filled hockey romance that thrives on fake dating, heated rivalries, and plenty of tension on and off the ice. While it delivers on entertainment and steamy moments, it also leans heavily into revenge-fueled chaos, which may or may not work for every reader.

Elle Townsend is fresh off a brutal breakup with hockey star Christian Riley, and rather than sulk, she plots the ultimate payback—pretending to move on with Christian’s biggest rival, Preston Lawrence. What starts as a simple scheme quickly spirals out of control, with a viral kiss, media frenzy, and unexpected emotions coming into play. Preston, known for his bruiser reputation, finds himself drawn to Elle in ways he didn’t expect, but the question remains: Is this real, or is Elle just another piece of his rivalry with Christian?

What Worked:

✔ Entertaining Fake Dating Set-Up – The premise is fun, fast-moving, and full of sports romance drama. The public antics, the viral moments, and Christian’s growing jealousy add layers of tension.
✔ Preston as a Love Interest – Despite his reputation as an enforcer, he has a sweet side that makes him compelling. His struggle between revenge and real feelings adds depth.
✔ Fast-Paced and Engaging – The book is easy to devour, with plenty of action, sharp banter, and a chemistry-filled romance that keeps the pages turning.

What Didn’t Quite Land:

✖ Over-the-Top Drama – While fun, some moments feel more like a soap opera than a believable romance, especially with the intensity of the rivalry and revenge plot.
✖ Elle’s Motivation Felt Shaky at Times – Her reasoning for the revenge scheme is understandable but sometimes felt immature, especially as the situation escalated.
✖ Rushed Emotional Development – The transition from fake dating to real feelings happens quickly, and I would’ve loved more time spent exploring Preston and Elle’s connection outside of Christian.

Overall, Revenge Puck is a solid pick for fans of dramatic, trope-heavy hockey romances with fake dating, rivalry-fueled tension, and a bit of chaos. If you enjoy books like Puck Me Secretly or The Deal, you’ll likely enjoy this one—just be ready for the drama to take center ice.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

i love a hockey romance so much and this one did not disappoint. i can’t wait to see what the author does in the future.

I love a fake dating tripe but really struggled with the believability / writing style in this one and ultimately didn’t finish the book. Thank you for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, the cover on this is absolutely beautiful and I am absolutely obsessed with it !

The story was a whole vibe from start to finish and I loved it! I love a romance book so I was a sucker for it !

I would recommend this book to everyone and anyone who loves to read !!

The book was so entertaining and funny. I did hate that there was s--t shaming towards the fmc and how the mmc handled certain things though.

I had been needing a new hockey romance in my life. Fake-dating, hockey rivals, revenge - this one hit all the high points! Fun and spicy!

Hands down one of my favorite reads so far this year! This book had me going through all the emotions reading it. I could not put it down I loved Elle and Preston’s story I how we see more of them in the next book and i honestly can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

I received this arc from @netgalley. This one caught my attention right off the bat! With Preston being the grumpy, unruly hockey player! Elle the girl who was hurt by her “boyfriend” Christian who was a pro hockey player who also has a hate relationship with Preston! The fact that Elle met Preston and talked him into getting revenge on Christian with faking a relationship! It’s a lot of my favorite tropes in one book! The plot twists in it and how it all folds together made it better! Definitely enjoyed this book!

Loved this Hockey Romance! I felt like i could connect with the characters and really enjoyed watching where it would go. Love the "bad boy" Preston, and watching him come out of his shell. The story has some spice, right when you think its gonna get spicey it pulls back some which i was Ok with for this book. Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this. Cant wait for the next one!

----------- WHAT I ENJOYED ------------
- So, one thing to know about me is that I absolutely love a sports romance. Do I have any other interest in sports? Not really, no. But give me a romance with a sports focus and I will eat it up. Every. Time. So when I saw that this was not only a hockey romance, but a fake-dating hockey romance, I knew I had to read it!

- And this turned out to be a really cute, fun read. I really enjoyed the relationship that developed between Elle and Preston - they instantly had great banter, despite the very grumpy exterior that Preston adopted at the beginning of the book. The grumpy act started to fall away as he became more comfortable and carefree around not only Elle, but his team members and the public too, which was really wholesome to see. I really love a "grumpy X sunshine" moment, and it was a dynamic that really worked for these characters!

- I liked how both of our characters were really able to examine their insecurities through their relationship. Elle had a lot of baggage from her relationship with Christopher, her ex and Preston's rival, and you could really see how she was trying to overcome her insecurities, while developing her relationship with Preston. And Preston had a lot of personal circumstances that led to him living quite a lonely, work-driven life before they met. So seeing them grow together was just really cute.

- I also enjoyed what we saw of the side characters quite a bit! I liked the hints we got about Preston's sister and her background, as I believe the next book is going to be about her. From what we saw, I think her story is going to be filled with angst and tension, and I can't wait!

------- WHAT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME -------
- Despite the romance being cute, it developed really fast. Like, I'm pretty sure this book takes place over two weeks. So, it felt pretty unrealistic that they went from complete strangers to being madly in love in this space of time. Now, I don't always need a romance to be super realistic, but I like the relationship to feel believable. A romance always feels solid to me if I can imagine the couple staying together long after the events of the book and...that wasn't really the case for this book. Honestly, it felt like Elle and Preston didn't truly know each other, and they were still experiencing a lot of miscommunication. And so, by the end of the book, I still wasn't fully sold on the romance.

- Going back to the miscommunication...there was a lot that could have been solved if they had sat and spoken to each other calmly, rather than jumping to conclusions. It felt like the fake-dating trope almost worked against these characters as they had zero trust in the other when it came to the stability of their relationship. They were constantly doubting each other and their intentions because of how the relationship started, and so their arguments always stemmed from the same issue. This made their arguments feel quite repetitive and, honestly, unfounded as their relationship never really felt fake. What made it more frustrating was that they also never talked about how they were both truly feeling during arguments, and so it just felt like their arguments weren't even productive in helping them understand each other.


Thank you again to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for sending me an arc copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a DNF at 35% I wanted to keep trying to read but I made a promise to myself that I will just DNF and move on instead of struggle through books so that is what I did. The story/writing was very boring, there was no oomph that made me want to continue reading, no connection between the characters, and honestly the relationship was entirely too weird for me to get on board with.

I would have enjoyed more tension and banter, the banter could have been top tier and oh, so petty!

I did like the idea behind the story, and the messiness of all of it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Revenge Puck was a very fun, easy to read hockey romance.

The premise was fun and I do love a good grumpy/sunshine, fake dating story. Especially with the elements of revenge fake dating and insta love. The romance was quick to evolve and overall it was a fun, quick read.

Revenge Puck is quick read with some pacing issues.
The story would have benefitted from more depth into the romance between Elle and Preston. “Insta-Love” is a hard sell for me. While the characters were entertaining and served some very real emotions, the story fell a bit flat for me. If you like revenge / fake dating, this could be really enjoyable for you.

Revenge puck was such a fun lighthearted fun read. Main trope is fake dating which was such a fun aspect. After Elle gets dumped by her hockey boyfriend, what does she do? Go for his RIVAL!!

It was such a humerous fun read which had me giggling throughout. The drama, the angst the brooding. Preston was such a lovely mmc, a softie deep down which made him so loveable

The romance did feel a little rushed but regardless a fun read

Revenge Puck is overall a fun and quick read, thanks in part to some entertaining side characters that really add to the story. That said, the plot feels a bit rushed, and the main romance kicks off way too quickly to feel real. The characters fall in love almost instantly, which takes away from the potential depth of their relationship.