This is such a fun fake-dating-for-revenge hockey romance. The petty person in me loved watching Elle get back at her cheating ex with his hockey rival and the only person he explicitly told her not to date.

It's all fun and games until we learn the backstory between the hockey players. That's where we see the emotional growth of all of the characters.

This story also set up book 2 nicely. I will definitely be reading it!

A great hockey romance, I found it easy to read and I loved the romance and seeing how it developed and how the characters grew with it.

I was excited for this book based on the description and title. Fake dating, make an ex jealous, and hockey romance?!? Sounds like a fun and quick rom-com.

That said, while the story idea was good, the book fell flat for me. The rapid love story over the course of roughly two weeks seemed too unrealistic. Yes, we see that in 'made for TV movies,' but I expect something a little more believable in my books, especially when they're not even together 24/7 over that course of time. I will admit that one of my BIGGEST issues was the details in location. I live in NC, and the hockey team is in Raleigh, not Greensboro. Greensboro doesn't have a big downtown area with an arena. It seemed like a weird location change. I understood the need to change the hockey teams' names due likely to legal ramifications, but the location and description of Greensboro felt unnecessary. Finally, the writing was very dialogue heavy, which messed with the flow a little bit.

I enjoyed the two main characters and felt they had promise, but at the same time, I became slightly more interested in the side characters, specifically Maya. I still found it to be a very enjoyable, quick read and will likely pick up the next book in the series.

This book is perfect for those that like sports romance, fake dating trope, and grumpy MMC.

This book was a nice easy cheesy read. I do wish the story was a little more fleshed out and less predictable. The miscommunication between the two main characters was infuriating to read and made it feel like the book flip flopped between wanting each other and not wanting each other without really resolving much and creating that kind of insta-love that I’m not a fan of. But overall the storyline was cute and I am interested in reading Christian and Maya’s story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Detailed review to come.

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I really, really wanted to like this one. I love hockey romances and I love fake dating in contemporary romances.

Unfortunately, this book was not well executed.

1️⃣ The plot was bland and predictable. I've read the exact same <spoiler>third act breakup scene of: "hockey player loses game and/or gets injured and then takes it out on his girlfriend and dumps her for being a distraction and then immediately regrets it" at least six times</spoiler>. It's so unoriginal it's actually frustrating.

Even the "surprise" was predictable. What else could be something he could <I>never</I> reveal as to why he hates his rival other than a <spoiler>surprise baby?</spoiler>

2️⃣ Elle. Listen, I hate when a book gets low ratings because they hate the FMC for things that the MMC would get away with. As readers, I think we are all a little too hard on FMCs. But goddamn was Elle annoying AF.

She's entirely self-centered and selfish. She shares a business with her BFF and yet...they never talk about her BFF. In fact, they never talk about anything other than Elle and Preston and Christian.

She has zero self-respect. Christian basically says, hey thanks for being my booty call that I couldn't even take on real dates and btw you can fuck all my friends because I don't care about you, but she still misses him at the end of the book when she's supposedly in love with Preston? She still allows herself to be his emotional support ex and flies to DC with him <I> at the end of the book</I>??

She's incapable of saying what she wants (e.g., not asking Christian for a commitment or exclusivity) then pouts/gets heartbroken when...she doesn't get what she wants. She also does this with Preston when he doesn't magically read her mind and say the exact words she needs to feel secure.

3️⃣ The spice...or lack thereof. It's mentioned several times that Elle would blow Christian at her salon...in one of her salon chairs...in front of the window, just with them turned away so no one could see anything. All while she's kicked her bestie to the backroom.

Listen, I am all for sexual liberation. Get it girl.

HOWEVER, it's entirely misleading to the reader to have that mentioned several times (especially in the beginning of the book!!) and then have her and Preston's sex life be bland AF and also have fade to black scenes??

The hottest thing about this book was her mentioning that she would blow Christian in her salon.

4️⃣ I didn't feel any real chemistry between Elle and Preston. Especially because she was super judgy with him and kind of sanctimonious in a way that almost felt like she didn't even like him as a person.

Also, she was so obsessed/hurt by him "using" her to get back at Christian...despite it all being her idea and her "using" him.

5️⃣ Tell me the author doesn't watch hockey without telling me the author doesn't watch hockey. There is no way that two teams can only play each other twice in five years.


Finally, while this was an ARC and therefore I know that spelling and grammar mistakes will exist because it's not a polished, final copy, there were simply too many of them. Almost every chapter had at least one major error, if not several. Too many instances of mixing up words like when and win, missing words from sentences, or having sentences with too many words made it feel like the book hadn't been edited at all. I've tried not to let that affect my rating, so honestly if I had read this as a final version, it probably would have been one star.

I really liked this book! It was a little bit predictive! It was lovey-dovey! It was a bit boring at a certain point but ended up being really cute! Never thought id like tha nickname "Cupcake"!

Revenge Puck is a revenge hockey romance that follows Elle whose not-really-boyfriend (or was it her booty call for 5 months?) breaks up with her because he's about to win the championship. His only condition? Do NOT sleep with Preston Lawrence. Naturally she tries to convince Preston to make her ex-bf believe they did. Fake dating trope score!

I really like the premise of the book. I love a good old petty revenge and the chemistry between Elle and Preston was amazing. I love the tension and struggles of a fake dating romance and I devour it instantly. It was no different with this book. This was a quick and easy read with the necessary drama and the set-up for a possible redemption arc. Elle is very forgiving in my opinion, and I do not think I would have given the ex the same benefit of doubt as she did. This makes the ending fall a bit short in my eyes. But otherwise this was a very enjoyable story!

I liked the comedic part of this story. I didn't like the way that her ex broke up with her, but Preston was a good romance hero. It's a fun story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I read quite a bit of hockey romance and I thoroughly enjoyed Revenge Puck! It is a bit predictable with the plot but I loved seeing the character growth throughout the book. It was done very well and I am looking forward to the next book!

I wanted so badly to like this. The story itself isn’t bad. It would be cute if the charters were more fleshed out. The story is mostly dialogue and it’s not great at that. The miscommunication between the two main characters drove me crazy. There constant thinking the other is screwing them over. Plus, they knew each other for only a week but decided they were so in love the MMC was going to move to be with her. I liked parts of this story but it felt super rushed for how intense their relationship was but I truly couldn’t get over the writing. It needed more substance.

*𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔*

“𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨.“

★★★☆☆ (3/5)
♥︎♥︎♡♡♡ (2/5)

x hockey romance
x revenge trope
x fake dating
x miscommunication
x alpha male
x groveling

This was a bit of a struggle for me to get through if I’m being completely honest. The first few chapters and I thought I’d be hooked but when it came to some of the thoughts and actions made by the MMC Preston, I was not the biggest fan. It literally seemed like every bad or negative thing that happened in this book was all his fault. The other characters seemed to be way too forgiving of his actions that were honestly a bit life changing (I’m talking about Christian and Maya…) and the FMC Elle never seemed to stand up for herself unless it was to her ex. I didn’t really vibe with the couple as the story progressed. I found myself more interested in what would happened with the progression of the side characters rather than the two mains.

Some information was placed in the story at an awkward time that made me extremely confused. A few typos and grammar errors on the version I read made me even more apprehensive to finish. I think the ending was a bit rushed while the middle seemed to drag on while the characters literally did the same exact scenario of going to a hockey game, meeting up, arguing, and then groveling soon after to follow. The MMC did have some character development if you could really call it that? Everyone forgave him way too easily when he was kind of unapproachable and off putting. I didn’t really care if the two stayed together at the end since everyone seemed to always give up so easily.

*𝐚𝐫𝐜 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰*

Thank you to L.A. Hart, BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was an okay book. I am not a fan of the insta love trope. And going from fake dating to I can't live without you, you're my soulmate really didn't do it for me.

This could have been so much better.
This all happened very fast. It took two weeks to go from fake date me to I love you? We got no character development. Which would have made a hell of a difference cause Elle is the most insecure person on the planet. She second guessed EVERYTHING. Audrey is carrying this friendship. Preston is this super scary hockey player and one kiss from Elle and he goes soft. It's not even insta-love situation, which might have made that better tbh. And Christian is a dick throughout the whole thing until the end because of [redacted].
It starts at what could have been a great fake dating plot. Then goes into a weird love triangle. That probably could have been a little better if this didn't take place in two weeks? You get nothing from the relationship between Elle and Preston. She sets the guidelines, then gets insecure when he follows the plan to fake date her. They go on one date and spend the whole time talking about Christian. The two don't have enough chemistry. It legitimately seems like Elle doesn't even like Preston.

A great lighthearted read! Loved the dynamic between the characters and a story line that varied from the typical sports romances. Would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a quick read!

I read this book in a days time. Elle and Preston’s story had me captivated from the very start. Granted there were a lot of moments where he was very toxic, it came from a place of hurt and I don’t think he was doing it intentionally. Elle just wanted someone to treat her right for a change. And Riley was a prick and never deserved Elle. Maya though changed everything. I’m looking forward to reading the next story in this series!

Imagine believing you're in an exclusive relationship, only to have him end things because it’s championship season. He’s after the win—and all the attention that comes with being a top player on the winning team. He tells you there’s one person off-limits: his rival. But everyone else on the team? Fair game. You can’t help but notice that he's clearly intimidated by Preston, and that’s when you decide to make your move. I love me a sports romance and I am all for getting your lick back, making that man mad, showing him you actually can have anybody you want and his disgusting little comments didn't mean anything to you.

I really liked the book at the beginning and even the middle, but as it went on I felt like I started liking the characters less and less. I thought this was a debut author so I really was trying to give grace, but when I saw this was by an established author (NYTimes Bestseller according to the bio at the end), I was shocked. It felt like there were full scenes completely cut out without thought and the ending felt very rushed. I love a good fake dating romance, but this was not it. **Thank you NetGalley for this free ARC!**

thank you netgalley, author and publisher for my first arc copy ever! im deeply deeply honored and so happy!! (and very on brand for me that my first arc book is a hockey romance)

i’ve been a reading slump lately and my last few book picks were also causing me a slump (WHILE i was reading them). flop after flop. so i thought my tbr need a refreshment and… yeah, so i would get a more diverse and colorful selection, i’ve decided to register to netgalley, shoot my shot. and im so so glad i did.

hockey romances are my favourite subgenre out of the regular sports romance books. I dont even know why, i have this weird addiction to the hockey and ice setting (and no, it didnt come from elle kennedy, it comes from the disney movie ice princess). but lately these hockey romances dont hit the same. they follow the same plots, same tropes, same scenarios.

but the premise of Revenge Puck is already different! getting together with the enemy to get back at the ex is such an underrated trope and it’s so spicy to begin with!

i really liked the dynamics, the chemistry was absolutely there with elle and preston. the only thing i’ve found weird were the spicy scenes. they were hot and just a right amount of steamy. and then… we never really saw the ending. it was like a closed door romance book, but the door closed on us midway.
but the story was really really interesting and i cant wait how L. A. Hart will make Christian more likeable and how will she make us forgive Christian in the sequel, with the second-chance romance we all love!

I think this book could have been developed more to add some depth to the characters. There is a lot of conversation, but not much understanding to what is going on in the characters's heads. I wasn't sure if I was going to continue reading this book after about 17% in, but the longer I read, the more there was SOME depth added. The bones are there to be decent.

Revenge Puck was my first book by L.A. Hart. I'm a huge fan of hockey romance, and this book has a bit of everything. Fake dating, revenge plot and some hockey rivalry. The drama, tension and chemistry between Elle and Preston was amazing. I felt like the pacing was a bit too fast and i wish it could have been a bigger slow burn novel.

This was a sweet and spicy rom com, and i recommend it specially to any Elle Kennedy fans since i felt a similar vibe. I'll be looking forward for the next book in this series. It was a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and L.A Hart for the digital ARC.