I was so excited by the premise of this book - a romance featuring a hockey player set in the regency period. While overall I really enjoyed the book, it felt flat at some points to me.

Tuck Taylor is an NHL goalie who wakes up from an accident in 1812 and meets Lizzy Wooddash, an aspiring writer who longs for her freedom. While I did see sparks fly between them instantly, I didn’t like how the time travel happens so quickly and they both believed it right away.

Told from both POV, we see how they both use each other to meet their goals and ultimately fall in love with each other. I think the concept was very cool, but it story dragged a bit too much for me. In the end, the decision Lizzy made would have made for a much more fascinating story in my opinion.

Tuck Taylor is one of my favorite MMC in the way he took to understand Lizzy and communicate what both their needs. I did like Lizzy as a FMC too as she was firm what, and who, she wanted.

It is a interesting take on two of my favorite romance genres and would recommend it as an easy read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Avon and Harper Collins for sending me an advanced copy of this book for review. These are my honest thoughts!!


Puck and Prejudice is hilariously campy. It’s absolutely a satirical read, but with enough real heart and emotions that it felt genuine. I was LIVING for the little Jane Austen jokes and references. (Are they references if she’s literally in the story??) I was truly cackling as most of this book.

If you’re looking for a super quick, fun, sweet read this book is for you. While I definitely think the lore of this book needed some strengthening, I also think that it’s not the point. Yes, it doesn’t really make sense in terms of lore and world building, but I don’t think it needs to.

Lizzy is truly the star of this show. I loved Tucker too, but Lizzy really shines. She had ambitions and goals, and she worked for them. She did what she needed to secure her future. She and her friends were great, and I wish we had more interactions between them!

Overall, this book is a wild time, and I want more unserious campy romance books PLZ AND THANK YOU!!

Puck in Prejudice by Lia Riley was such a fun read. Tuck is professional hockey player in America. He has just finished dealing with some health issues. He goes to visit his sister while he is unable to play hockey. He gets into a car accident and ends up in 1812 Regency Era England. He meets Lizzy after being hit in the head with an apple. She is taken aback by his appearance/clothing but is quick to help him. They decide to enter into an agreement in which Lizzy will help Tuck return to the future and Tuck will make Lizzy a widow so she can live her life as she has always dreamed. I did not expect the ending to the book. This book as a whole was not predicable for me and it was refreshing to read.

This was such a nice palate cleanser. I did not expect the story to go in the direction it went but I was surprised in a good way.

We have our hockey player MMC Tucker Taylor, who due to some unfortunate circumstances ends up in 1812 England in his jeans, hockey jersey, his cellphone, and a very confused mind. Lizzy, our feisty FMC is done with her family and the society and is frustrated beyond words. She throws a half eaten apple in the bushes and out comes a male voice in pain along with a very “handsome” yet inappropriately dressed man.

Tucker needs Lizzy’s help to return back to his time and Lizzy needs to become a widow in order to gain freedom and focus on her writing career. Here comes our quick marriage of convenience where Tucker throws in a lot of “my wife” sentences and Lizzy tries to convince everyone that has she met her very American husband during her vacation at her cousin’s estate and fell so deeply in love that she HAD to elope.

The story contains equal elements of humour, plot, and romance. But what really is worth mentioning is the emphasis on Lizzy’s desire for her independence. Tucker is such a golden retriever cinnamon roll, that he is not only LIVID to find that his wife is treated poorly by her family due to her gender BUT he also apologises to Lizzy that he has not made any efforts to understand female struggles in modern times.

NOT ONLY DOES THIS MAN SEE DOUBLE STANDARDS IN 1812 BUT HE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGES THAT NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED IN 2024 AND HOW HE FAILED TO MAKE ANY SIGNIFICANT EFFORT TO MAKE AMENDS!!!!

I also really appreciate how Lizzy was the type of FMC that always wanted more! She is not your average girl who will throw away every dream of hers in the name of love. She knows she wants her love and her independence and she will fight for both. Tucker on the other hand is a total Ken in the best way possible. It’s like Lizzy has an eventful day everyday but Tucker only has a good day if Lizzy is having a good day. He lets her take the lead, encourages her to voice her opinions, and when she needs a break he provides it in so many different ways. Forget knight in shining armour, it’s more of a “my woman can handle herself but I am here if she ever needs to lean on me for support.”

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. There were moments that were slow but the plot itself was fast paced. The other downside for me was the insta-love/attraction. I really wanted more tension and slow burn. More subtle touches, more stealing glances. It was an easy love for both which was intensified due to forced proximity and marriage of convenience.

The ending was satisfying and it did justice to both the characters in the best way possible. I would have appreciated more background and character development for our MCs, but I still really enjoyed seeing how their story ended.

Review posted on Goodreads on August 19,2024.

ARC provided by NetGalley. My opinions are based solely on my reading experience.

Yay! A time-travel romance by @liarileyauthor! Picture Bridgerton; the balls, the engagements, the decorum and high society,.... and then put a NHL professional hockey player directly in the middle of it all. That is this book in a nutshell.

Tucker Taylor is a lymphoma cancer survivor making a comeback in hockey, he time travels to the `800's and runs directly into the female lead, Lizzy. She is a "spinster" at 27, dreams of being a widow so she can have "Freedom." They hatch a plan to marry and work on finding out how to get Tucker home, at which point she can pretend he drowned.

And then the sparks fly! I enjoyed this sweet, easy to read romance. If you enjoy "fish out of water" stories, "friends to lovers" and "pseudo-marriage/engagement" tropes, 19th century high society England, add this one to your "to-read" pile. I liked the chemistry between Lizzy and Taylor and how they tried to understand each other's worlds.
"Do people not walk in your time?" "People still walk, but for exercise." "I don't know what that means."

Funny enough, a book "Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh" is ALSO a time travel romance that is inspired by the Jane Austen book, a sapphic-YA romance.

Thanks to @netgalley and @avonbooks for the ARC. Book to be published Nov 12, 2024.

Puck and Prejudice was surprisingly fun. It is about a hockey player that is transported back to 1812 and meets a friend of Jane Austen (the FMC is also a writer). The story glosses over a lot of sci-fi time traveling logistics, which is probably for the best. There is a fake marriage and one bed trope. Tuck is an amazing feminist and Lizzy is an ode to Elizabeth Bennett, I think she does her justice. The book is not destined to be a literary masterpiece, but it has two sassy characters that you are glad are falling in love. I read an ARC.

First and foremost, thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, a romance book about a hockey goalie who travels in time to the regency era? SIGN ME UP! I absolutely devoured this book. The pace was amazing, the characters engaging and the romance, oh my, swoon! Tuck and Lizzy’s chemistry was off the charts, and their relationship progressed in a manner that was not rushed, it really felt natural and it was wholesome to see them growing to like each other and being more vulnerable with one another. As a huge Jane Austen fan, this book felt like a love letter to the author, and I adored it! There are many nods to her work, such as phrases and book plots, and it was really sweet. The only thing that felt a little bit off for me was the ending, though. Overall, a great read!

England - Present Day and 1812

Professional hockey player Tucker Taylor has had a rough year. Diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in the spring, he's been sidelined from playing while undergoing successful treatment. But he still needs time to recover, so Tucker has flown to England where his sister is studying British literature at the University of Bath. As he, his sister, and her friend hang out at a local pub, he must listen to the two women discuss someone named Jane Austen and how she compares to other female authors of her era. Finally tired of the talk, he tells his sister that he's going to drive back to the B & B. But on the way, on icy roads, he swerves to avoid a dog and child and ends up in a pond.

In 1812 -
Lizzie Bennet has retreated to her cousin Georgie's country estate, trying to avoid her mother, brother, and stepfather from forcing her into a marriage she is not at all interested in. All Lizzie would like to do is write. She wished that, like Georgie, she was a widow and had control of her own life. But unless she can find a husband on the verge of departing this life, Lizzie feels she is doomed to be forced into a loveless marriage where a man controls her life forever.

While walking near her cousin's estate, Lizzie mulls over her dubious future, and, frustrated, tosses her apple core into the bushes near a pond. She hears a strange sound and goes to investigate, finding a rather large, soaking wet man wearing odd clothing. He is angry about being hit by the fruit, and when he catches sight of Lizzie, he asks her why she is wearing such a dress?

Tucker soon comes to the realization after talking to the young lady, that he has somehow been transported to 1812 England! At Lizzie's insistence, they manage to get to her cousin's estate where the whole story gets even more crazy. One of the guests who happens to be there is none other than Jane Austen! The three women begin to plan how to a) get Tucker back to the future, and b) while doing so he should marry Lizzie so that when he does return, she will be a widow! Simple! What could possibly go wrong?

PUCK AND PREJUDICE is a truly delightful time travel story filled with fun as well as poignant events. Georgie and Jane convince the couple that their plan will work, and that both will benefit. Tucker isn't so sure, but what has he got to lose? He "temporarily" marries a beautiful young woman, and then, hopefully, will get back to the twenty-first century and play hockey. What neither will plan on is that they could come to care for one another.

Will Tucker return home, or...? Be prepared for anything in this sweet story.

This was a really cute premise!! Combining my two current fixations - historical fiction (hellllllooo Bridgerton) and hockey romance

Puck and Prejudice tells the story of a pro-hockey player, Tucker Taylor, who falls into a lake and ends up in Regency England. He immediately meets Lizzy Wooddash, and they decide to do a marriage of convenience sort of thing so that she can become a “widow” once he returns to his timeline, and she can have more freedom in a society that is very restrictive to unmarried women.

I think from the premise I thought this story would have been a bit sillier, but it took was a kind of insane premise and tried to play it straight and that didn't work for me at all. My first red flag was when Tucker falls into Regency England and sees Lizzy, they both immediately accept that 1) he’s a time traveler and 2) time travel exists?? Which is a wild thing for anyone to believe so casually but especially for a sheltered woman from Regency England. Like she barely takes a moment to freak out before she calmly goes to steal the man some clothes so he doesn’t stick out.

I’m willing to forgive some more nitpicky things (Lizzy switching between using corset and stays to refer to her undergarments, when corsets weren’t even worn in that era, other historical inaccuracies) because this a fantasy/time travel story, but there were so many things in this book that had me scratching my head. Tucker seemed way too comfortable for someone who was not only in an unfamiliar time but also country?? And don’t even get me started on the Jane Austen thing.

Ultimately, I think this book was just not for me. If you are willing to suspend your disbelief a bit more you might enjoy this.

"Puck and Prejudice" is an absolute joyride that captures the best of both worlds— the hilarity of time travel and the timeless romance that Jane Austen fans crave. Lia Riley’s wit and clever writing had me chuckling throughout, especially with Tucker's bewildered reactions to Regency customs. The concept of a hockey player navigating the rigid societal norms of the early 19th century was both outrageous and refreshing.

Lizzy is an endearing and relatable character, fiercely independent yet open to the madness of her situation. Together, she and Tucker create an engaging dynamic filled with witty banter and genuine chemistry that draws you into their whirlwind romance. I loved how their relationship developed from an initially practical arrangement into something deeper and more meaningful as they confronted their own vulnerabilities.

The author’s playful twists on classic tropes added an exciting layer to the narrative, making it feel both familiar and novel. "Puck and Prejudice" combines humor, heart, and a sprinkling of literary nods that will enchant fans of romantic comedies and historical fiction alike.

I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a lighthearted escape and a playful take on unexpected love. Lia Riley has masterfully crafted a story that reminds us that while we may try to define our futures carefully, the heart often has a mind of its own. I can't wait to see what other creative escapades she has in store!

Hey there, are you asking yourself if Teresa the feel good rom com book addict (that’s me) had fun with this contemporary-slash-regency-slash-hockey-slash-time travel-slash-outlander esque book, despite the seemingly too chaotic list of aforementioned themes that actually seemed to work somehow? YOU BET YOUR ASS SHE DID!
Guys I don’t know what to tell you besides that I’m a simple woman who goes off vibes and a fun story and this worked for me. Tuck and Lizzie’s unexpected adventure took me by surprise and I found myself invested in the “what’s going happen next” kind of fun we love to follow along. I thought their chemistry as a couple was great, it built well, and they became more vulnerable felt genuine.
Also I feel like I must emphasize as much as I can, for a man that is essentially words in black and white (on my kindle screen as I came to know him) and the feelings he made me feel, Tuck is hot. I just know he is ok. He’s out there being complimentary and supportive and praising and he doesn’t want to hold her back and also wants to worship her… he’s just hot. I feel like you get it. Spice was like 4 peppers 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

PS thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest review! I had a grand old time

I enjoyed this book! It was such a good story! It had a good plot. All of the characters had depth to them. I loved the quick and easiness of the read. I’m so happy they ended up back together. It honestly threw me for a loop when he decided to go back. I thought he was totally going to stay. The spice was just right. I’m excited for when this book comes out! I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishing for sending me this ARC!

I was sold on this concept from the moment I read this description and I’m so happy to say it delivered. This story was so fun and the characters are so lovable it made it easy to ignore the minor historical inaccuracies. (Which, if you came here for, honestly what are you even doing?) The marriage of convenience plot unfolded so perfectly. These silly lovebirds really thought they were going love eachother across time and space and get out unscathed??? Ending was extremely satisfying. I hope we get more stories like this one from Lia Riley.

The bonkers premise had potential, but was superficial for me. The writing style was flat and the dialogue stilted. Lots of info dumps. Slow pace. Of course, it’s supposed to be goofy and fun, but Tuck had no depth. We never saw his inner thoughts, whether it was the car crash into the pond or his feelings for Lizzy or his fear about being trapped in the past. And I struggled to get invested in their relationship. I never felt their connection. Lizzy has more personality, but she’s a stereotype of both the “independent historical heroine” and the “historical heroine discovers sex when she’s nearly 30”.

I found the Austen nods cheesy, but some readers might get a kick out of them. They have Tuck giving Austen the idea to use the phrase “excellent boiled potatoes”. Sigh. I think if you’re an Austen super fan, prepare to be underwhelmed. The regency setting was… terrible. I wouldn’t have even minded that if the writing or character arcs drew me in. This is one of those “fun idea but poorly executed” deals IMO.

So down for the concept of this book - a modern hockey player getting sent back to regency England. The concerto immediately grabbed me and made me want to read this book.

This book ended up being a much sweeter, cuter, fluffier version of Outlander. No real angst, everyone is pretty accepting and nice to the guy from the future... Not that difficult for him to get back home. Happy ending was unique but satisfying.

Unfortunately, the main characters felt a little vanilla to me. Most interesting thing about Tucker was his cancer diagnosis and recovery - I had never read a MMC with that as part of his backstory. Lizzy was sweet but a little forgettable. I guess it was cool to have some regency authors pop into the story if you are into that kind of thing.

Least favorite parts — the sex scenes. His “good girl” moments were not for me, thank you.

Overall, cool premise. A book that didn’t take time travel too seriously.

For the most part, this book is just so fun! It requires a healthy amount of suspension of disbelief, but if you can get past the silliness, there's a lot of heart. I also REALLY appreciated that hockey was actually a major part of the hockey player's character, and it's so evident that if Lia Riley isn't a hockey fan, she's at the very least done her homework. I was a little annoyed by how much Tucker had an impact in some of Jane Austen's work, and the pacing felt a little off at several points. But I loved the tension, the yearning, and the fun. If you're a fan of Lost in Austen, you definitely love this book too.

I want to state my appreciation to Lia Riley, Avon and Harper Voyager Publishing, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included are my own.


3.5 - I had a fun time! While I was hooked with the hockey and period piece mashup, I will say I was nervous this would be too good to be true. I’m happy to say this had quality writing and depth that made the story worthwhile. The strength of female individuality and power of choice was done in a meaningful way, never straying towards trying too hard. The romantic build-up was great, as it felt real to the characters but still gave readers some great tension.

The pacing, at times, was a bit wonky. The first chapter felt abrupt and the balance between some plot lines wasn’t the most proportional. Though, Riley included some fun little hints to Pride and Prejudice that were both subtle and entertaining.

Overall, I enjoyed myself! This read came at a great time in which I didn’t have to think too hard but was still having fun with a solid and quality read.

Riley masterfully blends contemporary humor with Regency charm, creating a story that’s both fun and deeply romantic. The characters are vibrant and their chemistry crackles, making every page a pleasure. As Tucker and Lizzy navigate the intricacies of love across time, they discover that true romance is anything but predictable. This novel is a testament to how love can defy time, and it left me with the bittersweet realisation that love, like time, often defies our best-laid plans and finds its own way through the ages.

This book is a whirlwind of pure joy! A time-traveling hockey player and a fiercely independent Regency woman with a dream of widowhood; what more could I ask for? The chemistry between Tucker and Lizzy had me absolutely hooked. Their banter is sharp, the romance slow burn but oh so worth it, and the tension is deliciously palpable. The way this story weaves modern snark into the Regency setting is nothing short of brilliant. My heart was in my throat at every turn as they navigated their unexpected bond. Truly worth the wait, I’m still swooning.