It always takes me a second to get into YA books because of how *young* the characters are. I have to remind myself that they are supposed to be immature and kinda cringe because all teenager are 😅 Once I got past that and just let the book be what it was, I actually enjoyed it.

I loved Finely and how open she was with how he felt. Even when she knew she was being petty and kind of irrational, she just accepted it and let herself feel it. Her list of ideas for revenge against Jensen was so funny and so petty. I was actually pissed along with her when he thought the spam texts were just funny 😂

Ugh I loved Theo and I knew he had to have wanted Finely way before we thought he did. It was so obvious he liked her before the revenge plot. It was kind of predictable about how he got his knee injury and I’m a little mad nothing more came of that. His grand gesture was cute even if it was so far fetched. I liked them together a lot.

Overall, it was very cute and I did find myself laughing and gushing a little bit. Definitely was a YA book with how it was written and the maturity level of the characters but it was still good.

This was a solid Kasie West, but it didn’t completely wow me.

I enjoyed Finley’s arc, but it’s definitely been done before. But I did love Theo, he was so sweet and I would have loved to get more depth from him and all of Finley’s friends. I really wanted more from them, but they ended up pretty bland.

Thank you to Delacorte Romance and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I could not get enough of this cute story!

Finley is our lead girl and I just absolutely adored her! The dedication this girl has is beautiful.
Jensen can kick rocks.

I found Better Than Revenge to be a wonderful high school drama story. It was innocent and so sweet, the exact read I was looking for after some tough days following the election.

If you’re looking for light-hearted, laugh out loud, fun you are absolutely going to need to put this one on your TBR!

Coming January 2025!

A sweet and fluffy high school romance that does a fantastic job of remind you of first love. Finley knows what she wants, and that’s to be a podcaster. She’s a shoo in for until her boyfriend steals the sit right out from under her. Finley decides to team up with Theo (her ex boyfriend’s nemesis) to take revenge!
This was a great story because it flowed nicely. It had enough things going on that compelled you to read it without feeling overwhelmed by random plot points. While the main characters are in high school, this could definitely be read by 7th or 8th grade students.

Better Than Revenge was a cute story. Although the story revolves around upper classmen, I can see freshmen enjoying this story. I thought West did a wonderful job with Theo and Finley's relationship. I liked how their relationship developed from friends to lovers. Theo was sweet and layered. The flag football scene with him was adorable. I appreciated how he owned up to his mistakes. Despite being dramatic at times, Finley was a decent main character. I liked her voice and podcast with her grandma. The side plot with her grandma and Andrew was neat. I liked the parallels between grandma and Finley's lives. I felt like Finley's relationships with her friends could have been developed better, especially with Deja. The side characters were fine enough. Finley's parents were VERY underdeveloped. It was a little mindboggling to me that they were mostly uninvolved in Finley's day to day drama. I also thought the setting could have been expanded on. There were very little setting descriptions and when there were some, they felt basic. This was a tame YA romance. I can see younger and older high school readers liking this one. I know younger me would have loved this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Romance for the ARC.

This was everything I wanted and needed it to be! A fun, cutesy, clean romance perfect for any YA readers. The characters were so lovable and the ending was satisfying. I really enjoyed reading about Finlay’s relationship with her grandma who has
Alzheimer’s. It added more depth to the story!

Finley's dreamed of being on her high school podcast for years! She's shocked when she finds out not only did she not get the position but her completely uninterested boyfriend did! Determined to get him back for taking away her dream she recruits his nemesis to help her win his starting Kicker position on the football team.

I loved this book! It was funny, sweet and also taught some important life lessons. Finley and Theo were adorable and I love their relationship. The relationship and storyline about her grandma was so cute and added an extra element to the story. Kasie West is still a favorite!

Thank you Netgalley!!

As usual, I adored a book by Kasie West. She's a must-read author for me even though I've stopped reading as much YA. I really enjoyed both of the main characters.

Thanks so much to Kasie West and Random House Children's | Delacorte Romance for the eARC of this title. Kasie West is an auto read for me. I loved this one. You can never go wrong with a story from West.

I don’t fully understand why the girl is so into podcasts at her age since I think it is a very niche hobby, but it creates a good background to get the story started, and gave me more insight into the actual skills of broadcasting. What I loved about this book was the chemistry between her and the male love interest, he is sweet and green flags in his actions. But much like me when I was a teen, she is insecure and afraid to trust. This was a really rewarding and cute YA romance that helped me get out of a reading slump and kept my cheeks in pain from smiling. It was just so cute and sweet. It is definitely something I would feel comfortable with my younger cousin (14) reading, because it has age appropriate romance for the main characters, is clean and fluffy. This way she could experience the joy of seeing two characters fall in love without anything too mature for her.

I'm so grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for this early copy.

My daughter and I are huge Kasie West fans and have read everything she's written so far. This is one of our new favorites! Great main characters to root for and a villain you'll love despising, along with a fun storyline and an heartwarming story within a story.

Better Than Revenge is one of the best YA romances I've read. Finley knows exactly what she wants out of her last year of high school-one of the coveted spots on the school podcast and the college internship that follows. But when her boyfriend Jensen slips into an audition, using one of HER ideas to earn the remaining spot, Finley is livid. Thus, a revenge plot is born; Finley decides to try and steal what Jensen most covets.

There was so much to love here: flawed characters who grew and matured, Finley's podcast detailing her grandma's first love, and Finley's budding romance. A must read!

Finley Lucas has been dreaming of being the host of her school’s podcast since 7th grade. She is finally getting her chance to try out since host spots are reserved for the senior and she has confidence that she will get a spot… until her boyfriend, Jensen, decides to try out as well. This throws Finley for a loop; she can’t understand why Jensen would suddenly want to compete for a spot when he has never shown any interest in hosting a podcast before and he knows that there are only two spots open. When the spots are announced, not only has Jensen stolen the spot from Finley but says some unkind things not knowing the mic is still hot. Finley decides that instead of getting angry…she wants revenge. Being a former soccer player, she decides to try to take Jensen’s coveted first-string football kicker position for him. She has one month to practice and get good enough to take it away and she is going to need some help…enter Theo Torres, who also would like some revenge on Jensen, to help teach her how to kick and win the spot.
I really enjoyed Kasie West’s newest novel. I know often times her novels are called “swoon-worthy” but my favorite part of her novels are how real the characters are… they are flawed, they aren’t perfect, they have lessons to learn along the way and that makes them much more relatable and fun to read. I loved the growth we saw in Finley in this book- from anger and wanting revenge to learning what is more important to her and going after her dreams even if they have shifted a bit. I really enjoyed Finley’s podcast with her grandmother and her desire to get her grandmother’s memories recorded before she can no longer tell her stories due to advancing Alzheimer's disease. Revenge is sweet…or is it? Read “Better Than Revenge” to find out.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Better than Revenge. This book was adorable. I knew the rough outline of what was going to happen because, well, tropes. However, the getting there felt fresh, mainly because of the added layer of Finley's grandma and the podcast they were doing together. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for grandparents, maybe it's because I would totally listen to that podcast, I don't know. Regardless, that part of the book was my absolute favorite.

Could some things (parent/child and sibling relationships, specifically) have been developed a bit more? Sure.
Did I think Deja got over being upset really quickly? I did.
Was Theo too good to be true? 100%

None of those things is the real point of the story though, so I'm willing to be less picky in that realm. The more important questions here are

Did I lose myself in the story? I did.
Would high school me have wished Theo were real? Most likely.
Were Finley's friendships a good model for real friendship? I think so.

And for that reason, I'll say this was 4.5 stars for me.

thank you to netgalley and katie west for an advance copy of this book!

ੈ♡˳ rating: five of five stars

ੈ♡˳ thoughts:
i genuinely adored this book. it was such a quick and easy read i finished it in about an hour. i felt drawn to the book for some reason, i couldn’t put it down. the fmc was such an amazing and strong character and the mmc was totally swoon worthy. they truly balanced each other out and he truly loved her which is something that i feel like i can barley say for romance books nowadays. this book truly swept my off my feet.

spice level - 0/5 - ya romance book!

ੈ♡˳ tropes
ꕥ enemies(sort of) to lovers
ꕥ high school romance
ꕥ he falls first
ꕥ sports romance

ੈ♡˳ fave quotes
“ೃ⁀➷ no quotes because an arc is always subject to change!

◡̈ ◡̈ ◡̈

I absolutely adored this story!! One of my favorite YA reads of the year!

West’s writing was so sharp, witty, and heartwarming. I went in expecting a story about revenge and I loved how this story evolved into so much more - I ended this book with tears in my eyes and a heart full of joy.

The characters were so endearing and I was so charmed by each of them (with the exception of Jensen… ugh, he is THE worst). Finley and Theo demonstrated such maturity in their communication, juggled school, extracurriculars, and work, while navigating challenging and unexpected circumstances, toxic relationships, and expectations.

The storyline with Finley’s grandmother was so incredibly beautiful and I loved watching the journey unfold.

I loved this book so much and am still smiling over these precious characters!

This was my first time reading Kasie West. I had no idea it was going to be YA?! I just requested it based on the cover. But I really enjoyed this! We have a book bf who knows how to communicate and a romance that starts with a revenge plot. I was thoroughly entertained.

A cute read for tweens about a high school break up gone embarrassingly public and a revenge plot gone sideways. A few of the supporting characters & subplots could use either more development or elimination, but not the personal podcast one because the storyline between Finley and her grandmother was so refreshing.

Better Than Revenge is a great book for young adults, specifically those who are looking for something more cutesy and less risqué. High schoolers would really enjoy this book and would relate to the strife in the main character, Finley’s, life. The developing love story between Finley and Theo could have had more depth. The most important love story was the love between Finley and her grandmother. I loved the way her grandmother’s story was woven into the podcast. I found myself looking forward to the next recording of each podcast, to hear more about the grandmother’s life. I would recommend to readers who enjoy a cute, innocent story.

Kasie West will forever be an auto buy for me. My kids absolutely LOVE her stories. I think I own every one of them. This book hits just like the others. I loved Finley. Her grandmother is the best!! I liked Theo enough, but I’m not the target audience. I’m sure my students will love this!