Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a thoroughly readable and enjoyable YA rom-com. The protagonist, Finley, is sweet and relatable and her cast of friend are charming and entertaining. The love interest is well-developed and the podcast about Finley's grandma is a nice touchstone.

Recommended to those that enjoy this genre.

Cute, light and a fun read. Definitely more not he YA side that others in this category, but a darling story.

Better Than Revenge by Kasie West, 320 pages. Delacorte Romance (Random House), 2024. $13.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL
As a junior, Finley can finally try out to be part of the high school podcast team, which she’s been preparing to do for years. Right after she nails her interview, Finley’s boyfriend blindsides her by trying out too—and he lands the spot Finley wanted. The new ex is taking everything Finley has ever wanted, so she, her best friends, and her ex’s nemesis plan for revenge.
The ex is someone readers will love to hate, bringing them immediately on board with the need for revenge. Trying to navigate her present, Finley dives into her grandmother’s past, juxtaposing the crisis Finley and readers are going through with the hope of knowing everything has worked out in similar circumstances before. As with life, not everything works out perfectly according to plan, but love and success can still come in beautiful surprises.
Finley is depicted as White on the cover, Theo is implied Hispanic, Lee is Asian, Deja is Indian, and the majority of other characters are implied White. Also, Lee and Maxwell are part of the LGBT community. The mature content rating is for partial nudity (girl in a sports bra, boy without a shirt), kissing, innuendo, and mentions of sex. The violence rating is for assault and jokes about murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

High school sticks again! This book takes place in California. Finley, a young Junior in high school is trying out for the senior position as the lead pod caster. It has been her dream for as long as she can remember. Right after she was done with her interview, her boyfriend was standing outside waiting for her as she approached him he looked at her and told her, "I am going to go try out I will be back." Not even caring how much this meant to her.
Long story short there was no more boyfriend. Instead, she set her life aside to get revenge. Now. If you know anything about revenge you might see where this story is going to go!

It's a very good book and if you have young daughters and or young boys I highly recommend this book!

Happy reading!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's and PRH audio for the ALC/ARC.

I decided to request this book because even though, at 26 years old, I am slightly older than the target audience for this book, I just adore Kasie West's writing. I was even a fan of hers about 10 years ago when I was a teenager. She writes clean and fun romances -- perfect for teens (and books parents don't have to worry about their teen reading, which is a plus!) This book was adorable -- just as I expected a Kasie West YA romance to be. And yes, since I am 26, I did find a few parts of this book to be a bit...cringey, perhaps, but the cuteness of the story way overshadowed the cringe, imo. I also really enjoyed the relationship between Finlay and her grandma -- particuliarally because my grandma has also been experiencing some of the same health problems over the last decade or so. And of COURSE I loved the relationship between Finlay and Theo. They were totally adorable together. I also loved that Finlay was not afraid to go out and try for the football team (even though she was doing it for the wrong reasons), and I also loved her and her grandma's podcast. This teaches girls that they can do whatever they want (as long as the intentions are good)

I also loved the audiobook version of the book and I thought Jesse Vilinsky did a great job with the narration. She is a fabulous narrator both when it comes to YA books and audiobooks for adults, and she is on my favorite audiobook narrators list for sure.

Overall, I would recommend this book to teens as it is a clean and fun romance. I think some adults (especially those that still enjoy ya books), would also enjoy the story (but may have to take some things with a grain of salt).

Overall, I would rate this book at least 4 stars as it was a swoonworthy ya romance, and I really enjoyed reading it. Thank you again to Netgalley, PRH Children's, and PRH audio for the ARC and ALC!

unfortunately, this book was not for me. i really wanted to like this book, and i did in the beginning but by the end of the book i was just glad it was over. while i understand that this is a ya novel, i feel like the issues/conflicts in this were very elementary/middle school problems. there was also just a lot of random events happening and taking place all over the book that had nothing to do with the main plot. also the writing was more like "telling" rather than "showing".

Kasie West was an author I found for my daughter but boy have I devoured every book with her! I absolutely love her books. The realistic teenage issues and emotions and the sweet love stories and family connections or repairs.
This was another hit for me. Revenge is something we have all felt (big or small) and wanting to make someone hurt for the hurt they gave you was exactly something to explore and learn from that everyone at every age should cover. Being a part of the schools podcast team is all Finley has ever wanted. She has structured and changed her life around in order to make this team, but when her boyfriend decides to try out and happens to take her spot, all she can think of is revenge. She breaks up with him and endless the help of his nemesis Theo to try to take his spot on the football team.
A great group of side characters, a wonderful side story about Finley’s grandmother’s first love and how she’s dealing with Alzheimer’s and a super sweet love story. This book has it all and I highly recommend it for young YA readers all the way to adult.

As a swiftie, I was instantly drawn to this book title, and it did not disappoint! I was instantly captivated by this story and its characters.

This instantly became my favorite YA rom-com of the year! And you guys need to wait until the 31st for it!

The writing was so witty and heartwarming. It had everything from the family dynamics to the friends to the love interest. It was all well balanced and with a neat bow on it that truly embodies how beautiful this story is! For a YA book, I think it deep-dives into some very mature topics of loss (even if it is of a relationship), communication, finding yourself, and a family member with a disease.

The characters believably navigate it all, with real consequences and very real feelings and how heightened they are at that age.

Some tropes include enemies to lovers, high school romance, sports romance, and he falls first.

Kasie West truly did a great job with this one, and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it. Overall, it is a quick, easy, and heartfelt read with AMAZING banter and great characters. I promise you will fall in love with it and become a favorite, too.

I couldn’t get enough of Finley and Theo’s story!

Seventeen-year-old Finley has one dream: to make it big as a podcaster. When her boyfriend, Jensen, not only decides to try out but steals her idea, Finley feels hurt and betrayed. Determined to one-up him, Finley dives into revenge mode and she meets Theo

I loved this book - The way their relationship unfolded felt so natural and full of chemistry.

What I loved even more was how everything tied back to Finley’s grandmother’s story—it gave the book a really sweet, full-circle moment.

Watching Finley grow throughout the story was so satisfying; her character development was on point.

Honestly, this book had the perfect mix of drama, romance, and personal growth, and I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte for this ARC!

What a cutsie lil ya romance! it was heartwarming and just gave me butterflies! loved it and would definitely recommend for a light sports romance read.

🎀 Better Than Revenge 🎀 comes out Dec 31st, the perfect book to start the new year with.
Okay first of all, I normally don’t love books with high school characters because I feel like sometimes they can seem really whiny and a little to immature for me😅 and even though in this book Finley still is a little bit, I feel like she had more than enough reasons to be, and it was quite hilarious 😆 I loved Finley and Theo’s story and how it all tied into her grandmothers story in the end. I felt myself wanting to keep page turning too quickly to get more Finley and Theo time. It had such a sweet ending 💕
✨ He falls first
✨ Ex boyfriends nemesis
✨ enemies to lovers
Thank you @delacorteromance & @kasiewest for the ARC, I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC of Better Than Revenge by Kasie West. This YA rom-com, with a touch of revenge, was a quick and enjoyable read that had me laughing throughout. I was hooked from start to finish, eager to find out what would happen next. I appreciated the character development of the protagonist, as well as the surprising side story involving her grandma, which ended up becoming a key part of the plot.

Thank you to Kasie West, Netgalley, and Delacorte for the ebook ARC!

I LOVE Kasie West books. They’re YA stories that all audiences will love. They’re what I call “no stress” reads, and I always preorder them for myself and my classroom.

This book was fun. It’s about a girl whose boyfriend backstabs her, and she plots revenge. She finds a crush and herself along the way, and it’s a super fun journey to get there.

✨🎧This was a cute high school romance 💗✨

**Spoilers Ahead***

3.5⭐️

After Finley’s boyfriend well no ex-boyfriend tryout for her dream position in a podcast in her high school and landed the job. Finley decides to take revenge and take from him his dream position in the football team for next year. So she decides to work together with Theo one of his ex’s enemies in order to accomplish this objective.

The story was fun and entertaining I like the subplot about her grandma and it touched a lil about what it is to live with love ones with Alzheimer. I love that Finley at the end was able to forgive Jensen and moved on. Though I was not happy that Jensen after all he did he ended up with both the podcast and the kicker position😑

Also the ending was a lil lacking and it doesn’t tell us what is going to happen with Finley is she going to try to get the intership that she desperately wants or is she just going to forget about it. What are her future plans.

Rating: 4.5 stars

It's been so long since I've felt the need to stay up way too late and read a book in one day/night. This book just sucked me in and wouldn't let me go. I love Kasie West. She is one of my favorite authors and I have read every one of her books. This book was just as incredible. I loved the characters. I loved the revenge plot and how the lesson ended up being more important than revenge. I really liked the enemies-to-lovers vibe and how the two characters had an end goal that they worked together to accomplish. There were a couple of over-the-top things that happened, but I really didn't mind them. Also, the grandma. She was amazing and I loved how real it felt with the podcast and her age. Overall, this had everything that I love from a Kasie West book and I 1000% recommend this one if you are looking for a really cute YA contemporary book to get swept away in.

This was a cute, easy read. The main character Finley is very relatable, and I liked how she showed such growth at the end.

I had such a great time reading Better Than Revenge! Kasie West consistently delivers sweet YA rom-coms, and look forward to reading more of her books.
Finley has been laser-focused on one major goal throughout high school: earning a spot on her school’s podcast. She’s put in countless hours of hard work, and her boyfriend, Jensen, knows just how much it means to her. So, when he decides to try out at the last minute—and uses one of her ideas—it’s a serious betrayal.

Determined to get even, Finley enlists the help of Jensen’s rival, Theo. The chemistry between Theo and Finley was fantastic, and I absolutely loved their dynamic. Another highlight was the heartfelt side story with Finley’s grandma, where Finley uses her personal podcast to uncover her grandma’s story.

This book kept me smiling from start to finish, and I truly enjoyed every moment of it!

I know what I want when I pick up a Kasie West book and she never disappoints. Teen angst & drama and stories full of heart - exactly what the doctor ordered. I will always be excited to read her new releases.

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my review.

Teenage enemies to lovers romance begins with a boyfriend’s betrayal and a desperate move for revenge. Jensen, the boyfriend, tries out for and wins a coveted spot on the high school podcast. His girlfriend, Findley, has been practicing for this opportunity for a long time. Seeking revenge, she enlists her friends and his archenemy to win a coveted spot on the football team-Jensen’s spot. Romance intrudes on the plan and Findley is the prize..
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I read this one with my niece and we both had a fun time with it. West's books have enough plot to keep me interested, while not being too heavy. They're really great for all ages and I love sharing them with my younger family members. This one follows and aspiring podcaster who is betrayed by her boyfriend when he goes after the podcasting gig she's been vying for. She sets out to exact revenge with the help of Theo. I thought Finley and Theo were really cute together and helped each other gain confidence in themselves. Finley's relationship with her grandma was sweet, and had loved how she taught Finley what a healthy relationship should look like. I love how West always weaves life lessons throughout her books without beating you over the head with them. Just like her other titles, this one is great for middle schoolers on up.