I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Seventeen-year-old Finley has only ever had one goal: to become a famous podcaster. This includes coming up with the perfect pitch to land her on her school's podcast team. But when her football-obsessed boyfriend, Jensen, decides to also try out—and uses her idea—she's left confused and betrayed.

Determined to get back at him, Finley and her friends try to find the perfect revenge scheme, but quickly discover that Jensen is almost-impossible to best. Keyword, almost.

By chance, Finley discovers a knack for kicking and decides to take Jensen's spot on the football team. To help her train, she recruits Jensen's cute but conceited nemeses, Theo. Soon the two discover that their connection runs deeper than football. But Finley can't let herself get distracted, and Theo has secrets of his own. Is true love really better than the perfect revenge?

Short and Sweet Review

Finley has known she’s wanted to be a podcaster and a famous one at that. Her school is having auditions for the school podcast and all is going well until Finley’s boyfriend Jensen also auditions and takes her spot. Now Finley is without a boyfriend and feels slighted, and she’s looking to get revenge. Finley enlists Theo Torres to help her become the new kicker for the schools football team and take Jensen’s spot. The more time Finley and Theo spend together, makes Finley reconsider her revenge and focus on love.

Better Than Revenge, was a cute contemporary romance. We meet our main character Finley who dreams of being a famous podcaster, she has her own podcast where she interviews her grandma but she only has two listeners. When she auditions for the school podcast she’s excited until Jensen steals her thunder and her ideas and ends up having a hot mic moment. Finley has very supportive friends, Deja, Max, and Lee who help her come up with her plans for revenge. Eventually they decide that taking the kicker position from Jensen is the best way and somehow Finley gets Theo Torres to help her. Theo used to be the kicker until he got hurt and Jensen got the position. This whole book is cute and I loved seeing the different aspects of Finleys life. We get to see her podcast with her grandma which was sweet and also hard because her grandma has Alzheimers so some days are better than others, but we learn about her grandmas love life and this becomes a side plot. Finley is also learning everything she can about being a kicker and this leads to a romance between her and Theo. Theo is popular but he also likes being low-key and I appreciated that about him. I did like the romance between them, they spent a majority of the book as just friends and as it happens in most books there was something that happened and we get a grand gesture at the end but I still liked it. Finley also has to juggle spending time with her friends who have been there from the start and learns there’s a delicate balance between being a good friend and trying to get revenge.

Overall, the plot was enjoyable and I did love the characters. I’ve read a lot of Kasie West books and I think she does a great job writing these romance contemporary books. Finley is a character that does have a lot of character growth and I enjoyed going through this journey with her! I would recommend this book if you’re in the mood for some romance, revenge, and a little bit of football.