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!

1.5

Thank you Netgalley, the Publisher, and the author for this advance copy of Revenge Puck in return for an honest review.

Lets start with the pros.
-Grumpy x Sunshine
-Witty Characters
-Drama
-Sports Romance/Hockey
-Fake Dating
-Jealous Exes
-Billionaire Hockey Players
-Easy to Read

I liked the idea of Preston having a sister at home with a son that he is doing everything for. Keeping the media out of their lives so they can live a somewhat normal life. So no one gets word of them including Christian. I liked the overall story.

Unfortunately, the book just fell flat for me. The writing was easy to read but just bland. The characters didn't have enough to them for me to connect to them. The story didn't have any spark to help it stand out from the rest. It just felt like every other story with different names to the characters. I liked the idea of the jealous ex we are trying to make mad but some of the story was a bit too obnoxious. Why is the FMC still so hurt about her ex after all the things he called her and the ways he made her feel? How did the FMC and MMC go from fake dating and not knowing each other to feeling like they are end game in just a minute? How is Christian going to act in every way that he did to then be like I messed up, I loved Maya and I didn't realize what I had until you were gone? I get that whole story but he just did way to much to be redeemable. I just feel this story could have given us so much more to make it different from the rest and that is what disappointed me most. It just felt very basic.
It also could use a good edit as there are lots of spelling mistakes and wrong words.

I greatly enjoyed this book! This was my first read of L. A. Hart's and I will definitely be going back for more!
I loved how fast-paced this book was and the jealousy of the MMC, especially when he loves seeing her in his jersey. I greatly enjoyed the banter between these two, and their chemistry was palpable. The open door scenes were SPICY!!
I do wish the book was a little longer, or maybe just some deeper connection between the characters so we could really feel and invest in their love more. Overall though it was such a fun read and I am so grateful for the opportunity to review!

This is a quick and dirty hockey romance. We have a fake dating premise which is a perennial fan fave. We also have a heavy dose of instalove which is not one of my faves. I also found the conversation between characters to be stilted. I can absolutely see diehard hockey romance lovers enjoying this but it wasn’t for me. I found myself much more interested in the side characters who will get their own book but, since I didn’t particularly enjoy the writing I will probably skip it.

DNF at 52%
I got this as an ARC from NetGalley. I really tried to get through this because I thought the premise was really cute, but unfortunately this just wasn’t for me. There was so much dialogue and it was getting very confusing and boring. There just wasn’t enough happening to keep me engaged and I was unable to get into the story. I found myself looking for excuses to NOT read this.

I though this book was a super fun and easy read. At the beginning it did seem like the timeline was a little fast and it was giving insta-love but as it went on I really got invested in the characters and their relationship. If you are looking for a fun and easy romance with a hot hockey player then this is the book for you. I also really like this book because there were no unrealistic/drama-to-just-have-drama/eye-rolling misunderstandings between the main characters. I also am always up for a fake-dating trope! Really liked this book and would recommend for anyone who is a sucker for a sports/hockey romance.

This was a DNF for me. I found the FMC quite off putting unfortunately and only managed about 10% before I gave up reading

This was an easy, quick hockey romance book. It was written simply, so it was a rapid read. Also, the plot moved quickly, and something was always happening. It was quite spicy but overall it was a nice average hockey romance.

Solid 4 stars. The pacing is good, the writing is quip and witty. I love how the parts of the hockey game made you feel like you're in the arena but not too technical, just good enough to feel the high emotions.

Preston and Elle are meant to be, they just didn't know it yet. Elle thought she was with the hottest player in the league, turns out she got played. At a whim, she went for his arch nemesis, got a selfie or an ussie to rile up the ex. Turns out, this is the girl Preston gave up his celibacy for. Hard working, hockey is life, focused, grumpy Preston was into messing with his enemy, especially coming down to the championship game, and it worked. Except his heart did not notify him that he's falling for Elle. Elle is kind, insecure, but positive and cheerleader for others, best friend anyone can ask for, swore off hockey players, but here's Preston. He treats her with the utmost respect, and truly treat her like a queen both in public and in private. You want to talk about golden retriever, there's one for you. When sh_t started to get real, they really need to make that effort to turn it real.

The conflict was goofy, and too quick and light - no depth to it. Made you feel like it was not justified. But also impressed that the turn around and leading to the 'right' decisions being made changes 4 people's lives.

I will say, this is a fun, quick and exciting read for me. The first night I opened the book, I read all the way to 60%, until I have to sleep. It's THAT good and pacing kept up. Glad the end came together, even though a bit bumpy. Also prep for the next book. Will definitely read that too.

Thank you to NetGalley & BooksGoSocial for the ARC

I found it very hard to get into this and connect to the characters which I found very disappointing because I love hockey romances. However. I Ddo think that it would be good for a lot of people and the writing style just wasn't for me.