title: Better than Revenge

author: Kasie West

publisher: Delacorte Romance

publication date: December 31, 2024

pages: 320

peppers: 1 (on this scale)

warnings: none

summary: When Finley's boyfriend thoughtlessly auditions for and gets the podcast spot Finley has wanted for a long time, she enlists the help of her now ex-boyfriend's nemesis to teach her how to kick a football, a skill she will use to take the thing he most wants away from him.

tropes:

getting revenge
secret training sessions
friends-to-couple
cocky kid who turns out to be shy
interesting family history

what I liked:

sweet characters
good lesson

what I didn’t like: nothing, though reading YA for the first time in a long time hit different.

overall rating: 5 (of 5 stars)

I had a lot of fun reading Better Than Revenge. Kasie West always writes sweet YA rom-coms, and I’m always here for that.

Finley has one major goal she’s been working toward throughout her high school career: to be on her school’s podcast. She’s worked hard, and her boyfriend, Jensen, knows just how hard. He also decides to try out at the last second and uses one of her ideas. How rude…

Finely decides she needs some revenge. Who better to help her than Jensen’s rival, Theo. Theo and Finley were amazing, and I loved them together. I also really loved the side story with her grandma and learning her story through Finley’s personal podcast. This book made me smile throughout and I truly enjoyed reading it.

What’s the best way to heal a broken heart? Revenge.

Get ready to swoon when you read Better Than Revenge by Kasie West because you like…

🌹 sweet, slow burns
🌹 everything going wrong
🌹 high school antics
🌹 enemies to lovers
🌹 witty banter
🌹 relatable everything

This love story is wholesome and heartwarming.

🩷HER🩷
Finley has a single-minded focus and determination to get things done, whether those things are a podcast job or revenge. She feels betrayed, confused, angry and she’s feisty enough to take matters into her own hands.

💙HIM💙
Theo is gorgeous and he knows it. Rich and athletic, he travels with an air of superiority that makes him seem unreachable. But he’s not above a little revenge.

📖 THEIR STORY 📖
When Finley’s football player boyfriend steals the thing she wants most from her, she decides to get even. Teaming up with her now ex-boyfriend’s gorgeous nemesis, Theo, seems like icing on the cake of her revenge plan. He’s the cocky, injured star kicker of the football team, and the perfect person to help Finley steal the thing her ex wants most right out from under his nose - the now open starting kicker spot on the team. But as Finley discovers things are not what they seem, she’ll have to choose the something (or someone) she wants most now.

Coming 12/31/24. Reserve your copy now!

Thank you to @kasiewest and #NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Better Than Revenge.

If you like swoonworthy, relatable, authentic love stories you just can’t put down, read Better Than Revenge.

The hangover is worth it.

4.5 stars – Better Than Revenge by Kasie West is about Finley and her dreams of becoming a podcaster. Her boyfriend, Jensen, decides to try out for the same podcaster role that Finely has been prepping for. Jensen steals her idea, tries out, and gets the role she wanted. After they break up, she plots her revenge. As Finley follows through with her revenge ideas, she discovers that revenge isn’t always sweet. Finley grows and learns important lessons about herself and others. This book is a little light in the romance department, but Theo is a top-notch book boyfriend. There is a wonderful second plot line running through involving Finley’s sassy grandmother and her young adult life. I enjoyed this book so much! I would love to see a follow-on story about Finley’s friend Deja.

A big “Thank You” to NetGalley and Delacorte Romance for allowing me to read an advance copy. This independent, honest review is happily shared.

Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy of this book. This was a cute YA enemies to lovers story with a side of revenge. I finished it in one evening and thought it was great!

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I discovered Kasie West several years ago with P.S I like you (which I often think about) but I hadn’t followed up with any of her recent work until I saw Better than Revenge available on NetGalley. I was pretty excited to be selected to review this arc. This YA book had all of the elements I love: witty banter, strong female protagonist and of course, romance. I will definitely have to go back and check out more recent publications from West because this was a touchdown for me (see what I did there 😏).

Kasie West's books are always entertaining and quick reads. This enemies to lovers/dating story is another great example of this.

I just love books like this. Finley's boyfriend is a typical highschool boy who can't see past his own face, but he has really hurt Finley and she is out for revenge. His nemesis Theo also wants to get under his skin so working with Finley to best him seems like a perfect idea. You can tell that Theo likes Finley more than she realizes and as it becomes more, this relationship built on revenge seems a little sour.
When Finley gets everything she's wanted, it doesn't seem so sweet, but Theo is there cheering her on no matter what.
I loved the aspect of this book with Finley and her grandma and the side storylines here. There was so much depth to this story other than just a high school romance about revenge. It is about growth and growing up and learning from mistakes.
Thanks to Random House, Negalley and Kasie West for an early copy.

This book was pretty cute. I found the story about Grandma very uniquely told. I really wanted a little more at the end to tie up her future. There were some things left underdeveloped. But overall I really enjoyed this one.

I read 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 a few years ago and remember really enjoying it, so when I saw 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 on NetGalley to request, I did just that. Immediately. Thank you so much to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for my e-arc. ⁣
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I thought this book was so fun. I love how it wasn’t just about a path to revenge but also a love story. It’s a story about drive. ⁣
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At this point, I will read anything that Kasie West writes. I have really enjoyed both the books I have read by her so far.⁣
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Guess what? The pub date got pushed up and now, 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 is coming out December 31st.

Let me introduce you to a book that has all the right ingredients for a perfect YA novel. It just has it all! You have a strong female lead, planning for her future while dealing with the day to day drama of high school and boys. You have a solid friend group, loyal besties that have our lead’s back. You have stereotypes and high school hijinks; jocks and pranks and parties. And best of all you have a friends/enemies to lovers romance that is truly swoon worthy. It honestly was such a fun, sweet enjoyable ride with no spice and made for the perfect Young Adult novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm always so excited to read Kasie West's newest young adult novels, and Better Than Revenge was even better than I hoped!
The banter between Finley and Theo was fantastic, and their budding feelings about each other developed at just the right pace. The short chapters kept me reading well past time to get to other responsibilities. Everything about this story just felt right. My romance readers will love this one! I can't wait to share it with them!

Better Than Revenge was a cute YA high school romance. The concept of the plot felt unique and refreshing. The main character Finely wants to be a podcaster and then pivots to try to steal her ex-boyfriend’s spot as the kicker on the football team as revenge when he gets her podcasting spot. I also loved the side story where she interviews her grandmother with Alzheimer's throughout the book. Overall, it’s the perfect, fluffy, quick read if you want a clean romance. Gave 4 stars instead of 5 because some of the side character development felt like it was missing, but not enough to take away from the story too much.

I thought this was the cutest book and I even loved West's little Taylor Swift love note. Finley was a good main character and I liked her self-doubt because I think it's very relatable to girls. I didn't . . . like the message. I mean, I liked that Finley learned you can't feel better by taking something from someone that you don't even want in the first place. I get that. But I mean, why not? Isn't that what auditions and tryouts are? I don't know. I don't like books for girls that send the message that even when someone does you dirty, the girl ALWAYS needs to be the bigger person. Humanity is bad. It's just played out.
I did like the love story and, even as a grown woman, I was smitten with Theo. He was so genuine and really kind. But you know . . . he was forgiven for being human. He got to make a mistake. Yes, he had consequences, but we weren't subjected to pages and pages of shame. It was kind of a bummer.
The only other thing I will say is that the pacing on this was rough. Nothing really happens until about 70% and the conflict between the leads doesn't start until like 90. There wasn't enough of the good and the challenge was too fast to create much tension,

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc of this upcoming book in exchange for an honest review. Overall it was a very easy and enjoyable read. I really liked the storyline with Finley and her grandmother. It was just wonderful! The overarching plot was great as well. Though I enjoyed the main characters, I wanted a little bit more from the romances connection at times. Despite this, I still found myself routing for them throughout. I also wish there was a little bit more explanation behind Jensen's motives. Overall it was a fun, quick read and I look forward to more books from this author in the future

Rounding up from 4.5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This is a darling romance where the main character, Finley, learns that karma is greater than revenge. Get ready for a super fun, clean ya romance!

Pretty sweet story about a girl Finley that had a goal to achieve even if it was based in revenge. Her ex stole her spot so she wants to steal his and with a little help from the older super handsome Theo she has the makings to do it. But her revenge plan isn’t what makes this sweet it’s about the relationships Finley grows and the mistakes she makes but learns from. It was an easy to read in one sitting type of story that was engaging and interesting. The romance wasn’t the main point so if you’re looking for a pure romance driven story this isn’t really that.

First of all I would like to thank everyone who made my first ARC happen! I am so grateful to get this ARC for an author from the Central Valley (my hometown)! In this super cute romance, Finley teams up with her ex boyfriend's nemesis to get revenge on her ex-boyfriend who steals her dream position on the podcast team in their high school. The plot made me feel like it was a mix from radio rebel and do revenge (but more pg-13). I love how the author included how Alzheimer's can affect a family and showed Finley trying to capture her grandma's story before she forgets it. I appreciated the mentions of some of my favorite places, such as Morro Bay & Cal Poly! Perfect for readers who love sweet romances, coming of age stories and want to end a book with a warm fuzzy feeling!

This is one of the best Kasie West books I've read in a while. Revenge plot and Taylor references and romance and a grandmother who you can't help fall in love with. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion .

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, this was just SO cute! Easy to get into, lighthearted, fun, personal growth, a little teen angst, good banter, cute YA romance, and revenge! It was the perfect read for this dark and rainy Sunday and I finished it in one day. Off to check out other books by this author!