"Revenge Puck" by L.A. Hart 3.5 ⭐

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book!

This book follows Elle after she is dumped by her hockey star boyfriend, Christian Riley. Naturally, she decides to begin a fake romance with Christain's arch-rival, Preston Lawrence. As chaos ensues, will Preston be able to convince Elle that his feelings are real, or will Christian win her back?

First and foremost, I live for the drama, the tension, messiness of a love triangle! Of course, I was intrigued to start reading. Overall, I enjoyed this book! I liked getting to see Elle and Preston wrestle with their feelings for each other. I was also curious to learn more about Christian and see his progress as a character. Honestly, I only wish the timeline of the novel was a bit further spread out.

If you like hockey, grumpy love interests, and fake dating, I recommend you pick this as your next read! 🏒❤️

Elle is dumped by her hockey player boyfriend (Christian) and wants to get revenge. She turns to his enemy (Preston) to create a fake relationship to get back at him for cheating. Follow along this story as Elle finds out the secrets of Christian and Preston and her heart.

Once I got into this book I quite enjoyed it. It was easy to read and fast paced.

However, it took me so long to actually get into, I spent 2 days on the first couple of chapters before I actually got into it.

There was minor spelling issues and mistakes through the book and some sentences didn’t make much sense, but other than that it was good.

I gave this book 3* purely because I did enjoy the book itself but I felt like it just had too many issues for me to enjoy. The story line itself was a bit messy and not thought out properly although still having some good elements.

Thank you again to Netgally and the Publisher for letting me read this book and give my honest feedback.

Just finished "Revenge Puck" by L.A. Hart, and if you’re into hockey romances with a side of fake dating and a whole lot of drama, this one’s for you. Elle, freshly dumped by her hockey star ex Christian, decides to get revenge by fake-dating his biggest rival, Preston. And Preston? He’s the ultimate grumpy, broody defenseman with a soft side that’ll make you swoon.

The chemistry between Elle and Preston is *fire*. Their banter is sharp, their fake relationship feels real way too fast, and the tension? So good. I loved how Preston, despite his tough exterior, is such a sweetheart when it comes to his family and Elle. The hockey backdrop adds so much fun to the story, and the rivalry between Preston and Christian keeps things spicy. Sure, it’s a bit insta-lovey, and some parts felt rushed, but honestly? I was too busy enjoying the ride to care. The drama, the jealousy, the jersey scene (you’ll know it when you read it)—it’s all so good.

If you’re looking for a quick, steamy, and feel-good romance with a side of sports, *Revenge Puck* is a win. 4 stars from me—can’t wait to see what L.A. Hart does next! 🏒❤️

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

He's grumpy, he's hairy, and he's huge... most of the league is scared of him, especially his biggest rival Christian Riley. Which is why Preston Lawrence is Elle's first choice for a revenge puck when Christian breaks up with her. But can the "wooly mammoth" actually be her perfect match?
I love how Preston becomes such a softie just for her! I thought this story was sweet and funny with just the right amount of spice.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a fun read, despite being extremely unrealistic. Definitely escapism at its finest. I found the idea that a fan would be able to get close to player quite unrealistic as well as Christian not thinking they were exclusive.

I really couldn't vibe with the prose here. I did try. The premise was cute and I wanted to continue but I didn't really couldn't continue.

This was a really fun read. I love fake dating and I love hockey so really there was no way for this book to go wrong. I don't think it did anything ground-breaking or earth-shattering but I had a good time with it and sometimes that's all you need!

Unfortunately I did not love this read. I struggled to get into it and then once I finally did it just did not keep me engaged.

Now this one did have some steam to it, and I like the overall story line and the way it was written. The ending does need a little bit of work.

Favourite Quote: "Hey, Jim? Do you have any extra jerseys? Jerseys? Yeah, With my name and number on them"

Thanks to Netgalley and L.A. Hart for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. Look I'm an eternal sucker for a good hockey romance, and Revenge Puck manages to line-up so many of the top hockey tropes. Who wouldn't want revenge on an ex by fake-dating their biggest hockey rival? I loved how Preston and Elle started off with immediate banter and flirting and plots to annoy Christian. However, I spent a good chunk of it wanting to shake the pair of them, reading each POV and seeing how much they liked each other then suffering through the miscommunication was paaaaaainful at times. But they did eventually overcome this and their grumpy x sunshine vibes shone through in such a cute relationship. I loved how obsessed Preston was and I'm always pro give my girl my jersey. It also somehow managed to redeem Christian (the ex) for me, which was unusual as I spent like the first 60% of the book eye rolling at him. By the end however, I'm looking forward to reading his book. If you fancy a quick, easy, happy ever after hockey read, I'd recommend.

3.75 ⭐

This is a Cozy Sports Romance. It was a quick and easy read for me. I feel like time line wise it moved a little too fast for 2 people "falling in love" and I felt like there was no real character development. I do not regret reading this book, Id be willing to read other books by this author in the future because it is always nice to read a Cozy Romance.

If you love grumpy sunshine hockey romances with a HEA then this is for you.. Elle and Preston are so cute together even if they did get into a fake relationship for revenge at first.. soon they were falling in love and battling everything else.. really enjoyable story.

Very cute, easy read. I liked the characters and the plot. I also liked the redemption of Christian. I can't wait for the next in the series!

This was a really cute hockey romance book. I absolutely loved this book. I didn't like the spelling errors and hope they get fixed. Preston and Elle were so adorable. The way it all came together was so cute.

I wanted to like it…

I had such high hopes for this! The blurb sucked me right in… Hockey, spice, REVENGE, and all offered in between, though unfortunately Revenge Puck wasn’t as intriguing to me as I’d originally hoped.

I did like the idea of it all, but just fell short for me. Preston and Elle were just a bit too ‘meh’.

This was my first introduction to L.A. Hart and I have to say I am impressed! I am a sucker for hockey romances and this did not disappoint. I love the style of dual POV mixed in with the fake dating, this was a pleasant read that I could not put down! I will say there were repetitive phrases that were used that did make me cringe at certain points but for a storyline I did really enjoy it.

3.5⭐️

"Revenge Puck" is a fast-paced, engaging read that follows Elle as she embarks on a mission to get revenge on her ex-boyfriend, Christian, with the help of Preston, his hockey rival.

The book is short, making it an easy and quick read. I really enjoyed the backstory between Preston and Christian and the mystery surrounding their rivalry. I would’ve loved to see more depth in their backstory.

Preston’s protectiveness toward his sister and nephew was also a highlight for me. He’s a grumpy, family-first man, and I loved seeing that side of him. While the romance between him and Elle develops quickly and feels a bit like insta-love, I couldn’t help but enjoy their chemistry together

I do wish Elle had been a little less self-conscious, but I understand that it was important to show the trauma from her past.

One thing I can’t get over, though: why were we robbed of their first time together? The book has some great spice, and when they finally get close, we get lines like:

“God yes. Even if I won’t last five seconds once I get inside of you.”
“That’s fine.” Grinning up at him, I run my fingertips over his broad shoulders and say, “I bet you’ll make up for it in the second period after a short intermission.”
“Damn right,” Preston agrees.

...and then we cut straight to:

"The morning after with Preston isn’t the least bit awkward."

Wait, what? Did I just miss the scene? Did the door just closed in my face?

Overall, I enjoyed the book and wish it were longer, with more focus on the drama around the main characters and maybe on a linger period. But I’ll definitely be adding the second book to my TBR.

Tropes:
🏒 Fake Dating
🥅 Revenge
🏒 Wounded Hero
🥅 Sports Jersey
🏒 Grumpy MMC
🥅 Love Triangle

It was an interesting book but it didn't stand out to me because there are so many other books just like this one. Now I will say that even though the book was nothing special it did the basic story line well. The tension was well written and the characters had chemistry. But I will also say that the love triangle that the author tried to incorporate wasn't done very well and the other love interest fell flat. Him and the FMC had almost no chemistry so It wasn't realistic for her to want to forgive him and get back together with him. The other thing that dragged my rating down is the overuse of the word "prick". It was in every other line and often wasn't needed, making the FMC seem almost childish in her language even though she was an adult. Overall though this book wasn't bad but there are some things that make the book somewhat unenjoyable.

Revenge puck (you will know I am not a native speaker when you hear that I got the pun once I was done reading the book) was just everything it promised, some fake dating that turns all too real and I enjoyed it.

I might have liked a single point of view better, better but the switch enabled the author to give us a better understanding of both sides. I liked Preston, but in a very bookish way (send me that kind of man in real life, and I would consider that a walking red flag) that makes me think, some more nuance would have improved the book.

The subplot was also solved too easily from my point of view.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this sweet romance in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

This was a perfectly fine sports romance featuring an attractive hockey player and a sweet hair stylist. We meet Elle when she's being dumped by hockey star Christian Riley - he's got a championship to win for the Bobcats and doesn't need any extra distractions, of which he considers her to be. On top of that, she finds out that he wasn't even remotely monogamous with her, and apparently thought she knew this (she did not). Understandably, she's heartbroken and upset, so she decides to get back at him.

The only guy Christian would have issues with her fooling around with is Preston Lawrence, a defenseman for the Warhawks and Christian's enemy number one. Elle thinks he's the perfect candidate to get back at Christian, and so manages to catch Preston and approach him with her idea - take a photo together to throw Christian off his game. Preston - renowned for not wanting anything to do with fans, and particularly women - surprisingly agrees to this, and takes it one step further by kissing her in front of fans and reporters. This sets the rumour mill going and succeeds in messing with Christian.

The only problem is that both Elle and Preston decide to keep up the façade of fake dating for a little while, only for both to realise that they're actually pretty into each other.

Preston is a sweetheart, and I loved his affection and protectiveness towards his sister. At the same time, he can be a bit dense, which he at least can excuse as him not being experienced in dating. It's been years since he dated, or slept with anyone, and he's very strict about it. At the same time, he can be overwhelming - he's not liked by his own team and is on the verge of losing his position as they have no interest in renewing.

Elle has a lot of insecurities to battle through. Even though Preston is lovely, he does do stupid things sometimes but Elle tends to fly off the handle at the smallest thing, and make a mountain out of a molehill. She's a lovely character, but sometimes I wanted her to just stop and think for a second. Thankfully, she has her best friend to tell her to do that, who has a lot more sense than Elle.

Overall, this was fine. It felt a little too instalove (they fall in love over what seems to be like...two weeks) but it didn't detract too much. This will definitely find its market with the sports romance lovers!