If you're wanting to dip your toes into regency romance I can't recommend this enough, it is the PERFECT introduction to regency romance. Our cinnamon roll MMC is from the 21st century and is taught how to live in regency era England by our introverted and bookish FMC. As a result, there's a mix of modern and regency-era language, making it easy to understand for readers not familiar with the language; and the MMC draws parallels to help him (as well as readers) understand the new, or rather old, world he's found himself in.

I will say there are quite a few historical inaccuracies (sticklers for Jane Austen facts, you've been warned), this was such a fun and cute read! I had so much fun with these two MCs and watching their complicated yet captivating romance unfurl.

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0

I loved this book so much I really wasn't expecting to bc I'm not the biggest fan of historical romances but I think the blending of the past and present made it feel slightly less historical and easier to read.

I've never read pride & prejudice so I can't say how true to the source material it is as a retelling but I thought it was interesting that Jane Austen was a character who was actively writing pride & prejudice as the book went on.

I don't think I would classify this as a hockey romance bc Tuck plays one single game of hockey the whole book and thats at the very end.

I can't believe that Tuck was written to have never heard of Pride & Prejudice I don't read any classics and I own a copy of it. and his sister literally studies British literature and her favorite author is Jane Austen like there's no way he wouldn't have at least heard the name.

**Spoiler Free Review of Puck and Prejudice**

4⭐️

Bridgerton x Pride and Prejudice x time travel. If you love forced proximity and marriage of convenience, you will love this fun read.

Tuck’s hockey career has been put on hold, so he uses the free time to see his sister in London. But when a freak accident occurs, he’s transported back in time to the regency era. Enter Lizzy Dashwood, an independent and fiery woman who despises the rules society and her family places on her. When she meets Tuck, an idea sparks: marry Tuck, find a way for him to return to his own time, become a “widow” so she can live a life of freedom she’s always dreamed of. Her friends, Georgie and Jane, encourage her and help move the plan along. Soon, what started as an escape from a life she never wanted, turns into a life she never expected.

This book is full of fun Easter eggs for fans of Jane Austen. It’s spicy, but it also has hilarious moments that make you laugh out loud. There’s also some touching themes that make the plot fully flushed out. I highly encourage Jane Austen or Bridgerton fans to give this one a try when it comes out November 12th.

Thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollins Publishing for the ARC!

After being benched due to health issues, Tucker Taylor visits his sister in England. But when an accident causes him to end up trapped in an icy pond, he comes back to consciousness in 1812. There he meets Lizzy, and he is immediately captivated by her. Lizzy dreams of a life where she is free to do whatever she pleases and the only way to get that honorably in regency times is to become a widow. After the initial shock wears off that he has time traveled, Lizzy and Tucker strike up a deal. Tucker marries Lizzy and she helps him find his way home. And when he leaves, she will fake his death and have her freedom. But fate has a funny way of throwing a wrench in their plans because as they spend time together, their feelings strengthen and grow. Will Tucker return to his time or stay in 1812 with the girl he’s started falling for?

This book was such a fun read! It combines some of my favorite things in the world: Jane Austen, the Regency era, hockey, and romance. I was immediately drawn to this book based off the premise and plot and it did not disappoint! It was so fun to read how Tucker had to adapt to this time period and how curious Lizzy was about him and the future. Each of them were what the other needed in the most beautiful way. Tucker understood who Lizzy was as a whole and that was something she never felt before. He never made her feel like she had to change herself. I definitely would’ve loved to have seen more of Lizzy in modern times and how she navigated the different things she would’ve encountered but overall I loved the ending and that neither one had to sacrifice who they were for their happily ever after. They compromised while still loving each other deeply.

This was an enjoyable read for me and if you’re a fan of Austen and Pride and Prejudice you’ll love this book too!

A fun take on a regency-meets-hockey romance!

Tuck Taylor is visiting his sister in England when an accidental plunge in a frozen lake sends him straight to the year 1812. He meets our heroine, Lizzy, who devises a plan for the two to be married so Lizzy can have her claim the role of widow and have her freedom once Tuck is able to return to his own time. This book is a dual POV, so we get to learn about both characters in their own chapters and see their relationship bloom.

I thought this story was cute and a perfect combo of Regency tropes with a dash of Tuck's hockey insights thrown in. One thing I loved about Tuck's character was that while he was protective of Lizzy and stood up for her, he was not overbearing, letting her make her own choices. Lizzy was a strong-minded heroine, backed by a great group of friends (including Jane Austen!!) who helped to devise their marriage plan.

My only complaint is that the relationship seemed a bit forced in the beginning, and I would have liked to see Lizzy and Tuck get to know each other more before immediately deciding marriage was the only option. I wouldn’t define this as “insta-love”, but in my opinion, it was close. I also thought the plot was solved a little too easily, but it kept the story moving at a good pace.

After the halfway mark of the book, the chemistry kicked in! The steamy scenes were very well written and definitely swoon-worthy!

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fast-paced, regency romance with a cute marriage-of-convenience plot. Overall, the book was very fun to read and there was strong character growth as well.

Thank you to Netgalley, Lia Riley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc! It was so unserious and fun! Dare I say the perfect palette cleanser ??

I was hoping this book would be a blast, and it absolutely was. Silly, sexy, so much fun. I had no idea how our characters were going to resolve to get to their HEA, and it kept me turning the pages. This is an instance of a really good premise being really well executed, which makes for a really entertaining and sweet romance novel. I'm grateful the publisher and netgalley let me read this one early, this was the perfect summer read!

i first saw this book on instagram in april and i was immediately excited. i am a HUGE hockey, pride and prejudice, and romcom fan. so obviously, this book was made for me. which, of course, i immediately tweeted, thinking that i would get a couple likes from my mutuals. however, my tweet ended up getting over TWO MILLION VIEWS, most of which were from people who did not hesitate to tell me that books like this and readers like me were the exact reason for the "downfall of literature" and that "of course a romance reader would like something this dumb" (whatever that means). this started quite a lengthy conversation, one that happens way too often, about the validity of romance readers and the underlying sexism that accompanies the unnecessary hatred that many people have for them. nevertheless, i was so excited for this book. its a romcom! its meant to be silly! and i knew i would enjoy it no matter what the faceless twitter accounts said. and when netgalley sent me the arc, i read the book in one sitting. and i love it.

this book is FUN. it's about lizzy (yes, like elizabeth bennet--jane austen is in fact her best friend and named the character after her), a regency era woman who absolutely does NOT want to get married and would do anything to gain her independence, and tucker, a twenty-first century professional hockey player. while visiting his sister in england, tucker accidentally time travels to 1812, where he is found by lizzy. the two enter into an agreement where they will get married, lizzy will help tucker find his way back to the future, and lizzy will be able to say that her missing husband is dead, giving her all the freedom of a widow. obviously, they actually fall in love and have to come to terms with the fact that they will eventually be separated (...or will they?)

i LOVE this book. i was laughing out loud (especially at miss jane austen, who was in the process of writing p&p and using lizzy and tuck to come up with ideas), tearing up, and kicking my feet at their cute romance. the characters were amazing, the relationship was to die for, and the world was SILLY. some books are silly and thats okay! a time traveling hockey player romance isn't exactly meant to be the next great classic, but it IS meant to entertain. and that's what it did!

if you love fun books and fun romances, i would very much recommend this book when it comes out in november. honestly, it is everything to me and i will never stop talking about it.

thank you netgalley and avon for the arc ilysm

I love sports romance and I love Jane Austen, so this was a super fun read! Great escape novel and highly recommend!

Honest review in exchange for an ARC from NetGalley.

The premise of this sounded promising, but the chemistry between the main characters fell flat for me, and the ending felt low stakes and unearned. In particular, I think our MMC, Tucker, just needed more development for me to feel invested in his story.

I did enjoy the Jane Austen nods and tie-ins, but that was all this one had going for it in the end.

An interesting take on a hockey + Regency-era romance.

Let's start off by saying this book is written in third person. But we get Lizzy and Tuck's POV. So it makes the third person worth it (I personally am not a fan of third person POV, but it worked for this book). There's no third-act breakup, there's a HEA (not spoiling anything, but just want to make readers aware that there's no big cliffhanger preparing for a sequel or anything), and there's spice.

Tuck has had some health issues, and is taking a small break from playing hockey. While visiting his sister in England (who happens to be a huge Jane Austen fan), Tuck drives his car into an icy lake after swerving to miss a kid in the road when driving home from a bar. Next thing Tuck knows, he's being woken up by an apple thrown at his head, and it's summertime. Miraculously surviving, he realizes he's woken up in 1812 in Regency-era England. Lizzy is confused by the man she's seeing, with his very strange clothing and American accent, speaking of things she's never heard of. But they make a deal that will benefit each other. Lizzy doesn't want to marry but wants her mother to get off her back about being a spinster. So they agree that Tuck and Lizzy will marry, and when they find a way for Tuck to get back to his own time period, they will fake Tuck's death so she can live her days of widowhood and be free, which is all she's ever wanted. But feelings happen along the way, and what happens when they find the answers they seek, but neither one wants to let go?

This is a really interesting idea for a book and I really liked it. And I liked how the author wrapped up everything in the end, and the ending was exactly what I wanted.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

It was a cute read. A reader who is a fan of Jane Austin, Bridgerton series, and hockey players will enjoy this book.

This is my second Lia Riley book, and first ARC from her.
I’m a HUGE fan of Bridgerton and read mostly hockey romances, so this was an easy pick up for me. I wasn’t sure how I’d like it, but I was SUUUUPER into it!
A hockey player who is recently in remission from cancer finds himself swerving off the road and into a body of water that ends up being a portal to another time. It sounds CRAZY and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first, but it WORKED!
Lizzy and Tucker make a pact to get married and try to get Tuck home to his time. The kicker is that it benefits Lizzy because once a widow, she can have financial independence, which is all she yearns for.
They end up falling in love, meeting another time traveler who recognized Tuck, and traveling back and forth between time so that they can be together while still keeping their solo dreams intact.
The best of both worlds, truly.

I have some questions about how they make things work, and would love a sequel that explores more of that!

This was an enjoyable and charming read. Riley gives a refreshing take on "hockey romance". I quite enjoyed seeing 1812 England through Tuck's 21st century eyes.

I first heard about this book several months ago and was beyond excited to receive an ARC. I'm not into sports, so I've never read a hockey romance, but I love the regency era, and a hockey player time traveling just sounded so chaotic that I had to find out what happened. Unfortunately, the actual plot just didn't live up to my expectations. I thought there would be a lot more hijinks and humor, and there was SOME, but I figured there would be more fish-out-of-water moments with Tuck trying to learn how to fit in in the regency era. I also wasn't a fan of the writing style and the characters didn't have that much chemistry, in my opinion.

That being said, I did really enjoy Lizzie as a heroine, and I loved all the nods to Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice, especially the boiled potatoes reference to the movie. Tuck wasn't a bad character either, but I think it would've been interesting to get more insight into his life and how he felt about his cancer diagnosis. Again, this was addressed, but I felt like there could've been more. But even though I didn't particularly enjoy the romance or the writing style, I was truly invested in the ending and was very curious to see what would happen to their relationship.

I can see why people would enjoy this novel, but it just wasn't a good fit for my personal tastes.

I really wanted to love this book but between the nickname “pocket rocket” and the fact that Tuck came up with the name for Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice I just couldn’t get into the story.

It’s fair to say was pulled in to read this based not the title and the story premise. How could I not want to read this when my bookstagram is called “Pride and Patronus”!? This was my second hockey romance, that said…there wasn’t that much hockey. Prepare for spoilers in this review.

While I didn’t have many notes on Lizzie, I had a lot on Tucker. His character did not seem consistent with an average American man in his 30s. The voice that was written for him didn’t match a modern man in professional sports. To add to that more, he suddenly started talking like he was Mr. Darcy which didn’t make sense as he apparently didn’t know anything about the time period. Speaking of Mr. Darcy, it was baffling that Tucker was written to have never heard of “Pride and Prejudice” ESPECIALLY with a sister who studied English literature. But also, I’m sure many men know of Pride and Prejudice…

About the writing - I was intrigued that Jane Austen was part of this universe and was apparently a friend of Lizzie’s. Bringing it to Lizzie and Tucker - their chemistry was not very believable and needed to be flushed out more. That said, the story did feel dragged out and could have been a bit shorter.

The ultimate decision to their relationship of Lizzie and Tucker jumping between time periods to maintain their relationship was an odd decision to me. I get this is the way that appeases both but it doesn’t make sense for a long-standing relationship. It felt more like a forced happily ever after.

Overall, I found this to be a cheesy, and at times cringey, read. There wasn’t a lot of action happening which may be due to the time period which is okay. However, the dialogue wasn’t carrying the story.

This was a fantastic read! 4.5 ⭐️!! It was such a different romance book to what i usually tend to read but I’m so glad I read it. Time travel is a trope i have never read before but it was so so fun! Please read this book if you love bridgerton and hockey boys because you will love it!

Plot: An American hockey player travels back in time to regency England, meets the actual Jane Austen and falls in love with the woman who will go on to inspire the character of Elizabeth Bennet.

I think it’s fair to say what you see is what you get with this book. It’s a cute, fun read, but I had trouble connecting with the characters to enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Also, the MMC was almost a little too ignorant for me at times.

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an early copy.

This is my first foray into the Hockey Romance sub-genre, when I saw that this book was also a time travel romance AND hinted at a Jane Austen retelling sort of story, I was IN! Lets clear one thing up, this is not a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, it does feature the character of Jane Austen in a minor capacity, but that aspect is more of a nod to the time period that the hockey player travels to! Now here is the thing, I really enjoyed this book, and that's because both of the main characters were supremely likable! I liked each of them, and it was easy to see why they liked each other, their reluctance to move their marriage of convenience towards a real relationship was purely situational, and also very reasonable. Tucker is a softie, a bit of a bro, but he has respect for women, and when he finds himself in a situation where he has no idea how to behave he is thrilled to have Lizzie there to help, and Lizzie loves how he takes her seriously, and how he trusts her to help him behave in the right ways for this time period. That mutual respect and trust is just delicious. The steamy bits where a pro hockey player tries to respectfully teach an Edwardian era woman how to get off... that was hilarious and I have no notes, things do get pretty steamy but I was just having such a good time with these two!! I raced through this a bit because I just couldn't see how we were going to be able to get to that HEA and I was STRESSED but it was worth it!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager, for giving me a copy of the book in exchange for this honest review!