My Review Of Revenge Puck By Sara Ney

I’ll admit it—the premise of Revenge Puck is completely unhinged. After finding out his girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend, Aaron decides the most reasonable form of revenge is… dating his (ex-)best friend’s younger sister with the intention of breaking her heart.

Is it a terrible idea? Absolutely. Did I still fly through this book in a single day? Also yes.

From the very beginning, I knew this story was going to be messy, but that’s exactly what kept me reading. Every chapter seemed to end with another questionable decision, another secret, or another moment that made me think, “Well… this definitely isn’t going to end well.”

Despite Aaron’s terrible plan, I genuinely enjoyed the chemistry between him and Juliette. Once they started spending time together, there were plenty of sweet moments that made it easy to understand why Aaron slowly began questioning everything he’d set out to do.

Unfortunately, that also made my heart break for Juliette. She’s kind, thoughtful, and genuinely believes she’s building something real with Aaron, completely unaware that she was originally nothing more than part of his revenge scheme. More than once, I found myself wishing someone would simply protect this girl from the chaos surrounding her.

One relationship I especially enjoyed was Juliette’s friendship with Blaire. Their conversations added warmth and humor throughout the story, and I appreciated having another strong female friendship alongside all the romantic drama.

Where the novel lost me a little was in its execution. The first thing I noticed was that some of the advertised tropes didn’t quite match the story I actually read. While the book is often described as featuring fake dating, that never really felt accurate to me.

Aaron may have entered the relationship pretending, but Juliette genuinely believed their relationship was real from the start. Because of that, it never felt like traditional fake dating.

The “he falls first” trope also didn’t quite fit my reading experience. Juliette already had feelings for Aaron before the story even began, while Aaron spent much of the novel trying to convince himself that revenge mattered more than his growing feelings.

My biggest issue, however, was the timeline. Everything happens over just a few weeks, which left very little room for the emotional consequences to fully land.

Aaron spends most of the novel justifying his revenge plan before finally realizing how badly he’s messed up. By the time Juliette learns the truth, there are only a handful of chapters left for him to earn her forgiveness.

Personally, I wanted more. More accountability. More groveling. More time spent rebuilding trust. After everything Juliette went through, I simply wasn’t convinced that Aaron had truly earned his happy ending.

I also found Juliette’s characterization a little inconsistent at times. She’s introduced as shy, reserved, bookish, and fairly sheltered, yet some of her decisions early in the relationship felt much bolder than I expected based on the personality we’d been shown.

And then there’s Declan… I’m sorry, but I simply couldn’t get behind him. After betraying his best friend in one of the worst ways possible, he shows very little remorse and somehow still manages to act as though everyone else is the problem. If he gets his own book, he’s going to need one incredible redemption arc before I’m willing to forgive him.

Should You Read It?

I think you’ll enjoy Revenge Puck if you’re looking for:

• Hockey romance
• Plenty of spice
• Messy relationship drama
• Brother’s best friend
• Morally questionable main characters
• Fast-paced, bingeable romances

If you’re someone who needs lots of emotional payoff, believable character growth, and a truly satisfying grovel after a major betrayal, you may finish this one wanting just a little more.

Even so, I had a genuinely fun time reading it—and sometimes that’s exactly the kind of book you need.

Disclosure: Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an advance review copy. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

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