Jump to ratings and reviews

Win a free print copy of this book!

11 days and 22:20:21

40 copies available
U.S. only
Rate this book

Puck

Not yet published
Expected 2 Jun 26

Win a free print copy of this book!

11 days and 22:20:21

40 copies available
U.S. only
Rate this book
In this A Midsummer Night's Dream-inspired romcom, Puck is a reality show producer and agent of chaos with a talent for bringing people together . . . and tearing them apart.

Meet the nonbinary, thirty-year-old mastermind behind Homewreckers, a dating show that puts troubled couples through hell—with a little help from their exes. Used to being the one pulling the strings, it shocks Puck when their life undergoes a plot twist of its own and their college roommate Mia announces her engagement to her ex’s best friend, Damon. Having only recently broken up with longtime-boyfriend Zander, and never having had much in common with Damon (who lovesick Lena has always pined after), Mia’s news leaves her friend group reeling—and Puck’s mind whirling.

When they arrive for a week of wedding festivities at an upscale resort in the Appalachian forest, Puck immediately sees that Mia’s marriage will lead to misery, and takes it upon themself to save their friends by rearranging the couples—without anyone finding out. But as Puck comes up against a type-A maid of honor hell-bent on making this wedding happen, it becomes clear that they will have to deliver the greatest stunt of their career. If only they can take their eyes off the bridesmaid. After all, the course of true love never did run smooth…

Written with Samantha Allen’s signature charm, wit, and an irresistible dose of Shakespearian mischief, Puck is the ultimate romcom for our chaotic era, and a celebration of the friendships that carry us through it all.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 2, 2026

2545 people want to read

About the author

Samantha Allen

7 books530 followers
Samantha Allen is the author of the horror comedy novel PATRICIA WANTS TO CUDDLE (Zando, 2022) and the Lambda Literary Award finalist REAL QUEER AMERICA: LGBT STORIES FROM RED STATES (Little, Brown, 2019). Her other publications include LOVE & ESTROGEN (Amazon Original Stories, 2018) and M to WT(F) (Audible Originals, 2020).

She is a GLAAD Award-winning journalist with bylines in The New York Times, CNN, Rolling Stone, and more. She received her Ph.D. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Emory University in 2015.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
4 (28%)
4 stars
8 (57%)
3 stars
2 (14%)
2 stars
0 (0%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Riya Kataria.
8 reviews1 follower
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
December 13, 2025
I LOVED this one. Read it all in one sitting and while it was the perfect length, it still left me wanting more.

First, the premise is fantastic. It straddles the line of being classic rom-com without being overly corny. Amongst the shenanigans and tropes, there’s a very grounded feeling to the emotional heart of the story. It’s so easy to understand why the plot goes where it does, and there’s never a moment that feels overly contrived or frustrating on the grounds of the writing’s quality. It’s a creative premise done well without going off-the-rails.

I especially appreciated the way that the author managed to weave the emotional thread of the book all throughout the story. There are some novels where it seems like the love story is entirely separate from the character’s development, which is entirely separate from the external conflict. This never struggles with that. There’s a very real sense of emotion that is subtle enough that it doesn’t overwhelm in the more chaotic scenes, but still manages to build up enough to feel like a well-earned gut punch at the rawest points of the book.

This is really supported by the pacing of it. There was never a moment where I felt the story dragged or took off way too fast. It’s a story that fundamentally has a lot of asides and points to remember, whilst also managing to remain coherently on track with the central plot line. I was hooked from the very start, and that never changed.

Finally, the characters—oh, the characters were fantastic. The book has such a well-written supporting ensemble cast, and each one is given their well-deserved time in the spotlight without anyone overwhelming the story. It’s easy to grow to care for these characters, to root for each one of their happy endings even if they seem very realistically mildly irritating or unreasonable at times. Obviously there is a central love story to the book, but there’s also some really poignant moments that manage to bring alongside these platonic love stories in conjunction to the romantic ones.

Puck is a great main character. They’re a bit misguided, but in a way that the audience can really understand what their mindset is (even if they don’t agree with it). Their reactions are realistic, and there was never a point where I didn’t feel like I was rooting for them. I really liked seeing their evolution, especially in the final act.

As an aside, I found the way the author wrote about Puck’s nonbinary identity to be right on the mark of strong representation without a certain sense of over-explaining or tokenizing. It’s almost as if the author trusts the reader to understand this character’s identity in its entirety without having to hold your hand throughout the book. Puck’s identity matters in building who they are as a character — but it is not all their character is comprised of. I really appreciated this and find it to be a significant reason as to why I enjoyed this book.

There are only two *mild* criticisms I have.

The first is surrounding Robyn. I think she was a great character, but there were moments where I wish we’d dove deeper into the development of her feelings. I see the vision there, and taking a large step back, I can vaguely see the bigger picture, but I think there was room for some more descriptive moments where we truly got to see how Robyn reaches the conclusions she does. In a way, I think I was hoping for a bit more of “show don’t tell”, but the writing was still strong enough that I could believe what I was told.

Second, while this is a love story, it did feel slightly underbaked by the end of it. There’s a moment around the final third of the book where it feels like it ratchets up a notch without a ton of warning, and while the gap may be small, it still felt like leaping from one point to the next in a way that feels a bit jarring. That being said, I want to bring it back to what I said earlier — the platonic and side relationships that develop throughout this book are so compelling that it feels slightly okay that the central romantic one isn’t perfectly written. If some of the main relationship had to be sacrificed to make room for the other ones, then it’s a trade off I’m happy with.

All in all, I really enjoyed this one. Captivating the entire time, balancing perfectly between funny and captivating whilst still being heartfelt, and really well-rounded in most aspects from the characters to their relationships. Solid 4.7/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for monika.
90 reviews2 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
January 17, 2026
"the course of true love never did run smooth."
and definitely not on Puck’s watch.

"Puck" is a romcom inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which Puck is a reality tv producer scheming to stop their friends’ wedding in order to push them toward the people Puck believes they truly belong with. AND it’s queer. which means i’m SO in.

queer retellings of Shakespeare have become one of my favorite things to read, and this book offers an original take on the play. it keeps to the source text’s character dynamics while successfully transporting them into a contemporary setting. i enjoyed the plot a lot—it would have been easy for it to feel ridiculous, but it strikes a nice balance, remaining eventful enough to be entertaining without losing its plausibility. it’s chaotic and messy in a way a Shakespearean comedy would be, but with a distinctly modern spirit.

even before reading, i loved the idea of Puck as a nonbinary character (which feels most fitting for the mischievous sprite), and i appreciated the way it was handled, particularly in showing the experience of being queer in largely heteronormative spaces. i also really liked the concept of Puck coming up against their alter ego, Robyn—it was a clever nod to the play’s many dualities. while Puck thrives on chaos, Robyn is orderly and meticulous. naturally, there’s romance there, or it wouldn’t have been a romcom haha
they have opposite goals: Robyn’s is to make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch and Puck’s is to wreck the said wedding. i think this tension could have been explored more throughout the story to make their dynamic even more interesting. it’s a shame they weren’t more consistently coming up against each other in their actions. at first, their relationship also felt a little rushed but in the end i liked the way it unfolded. i also appreciated that romance wasn’t all this story had to offer and friendship was just as important—or maybe even more so.

that said, as much as i enjoyed the plot and the characters, i had some issue with the writing. the opening chapters felt slightly awkward, or maybe forced, but i understand we are thrown straight in the middle of Puck’s life and the author wanted to establish the character quickly. once the story reaches the lovers and the main action, it was much better. still, there were moments when there was no good balance between dialogues and descriptions, especially in scenes when the conversations were broken up by lengthy paragraphs. that style of writing can throw me off sometimes, and here it caused the dialogue to lose its flow. but at the same time i really enjoyed Puck’s insightfulness, and it got better after the first third of the book, once we were done with the introductions. the prose itself is really good—it’s witty and funny and flows really well, so the issue wasn’t that jarring as the story went on.

overall, i’d give "Puck" a 3.5 and definitely recommend it as a fun and quick read, especially if you’re familiar with Shakespeare’s play. but even if you’re not, it’s still an entertaining, well-paced romcom.

thank you NetGalley and Zando for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Rose.
166 reviews85 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
January 20, 2026
Puck is a producer for Homewreckers, a reality tv show where they break up cheating couples. They’ve been stuck in a rut, struggling to grow up while their straight friends from uni are getting married, and they’re convinced the wedding should not happen.

Mia is engaged to Damon, but dated Xander for many years. His addiction led them to break up but he’s gotten sober since then. Lena pined after Damon and has had a major glow-up since her uni days. Puck decides to do what they do best and break the couple up which puts them in opposition to Robyn, the type-A maid of honor who is determined to produce a picture-perfect wedding.

I think you can really enjoy this if you don’t take it too seriously. It’s amazing to read an NB protagonist although Puck is an absolute menace bordering on sociopathic.

My biggest issue was how sketchy/undeveloped a lot of things were. It touches on more serious topics like OCD and Addiction, but in a surface level way. The romance was pretty hot but I think in the midst of everything else it got a bit lost which is a shame because I really liked Robyn’s character.

We were told why Mia wasn’t a good match for Damon but it kind of boiled down to him wanting to play video games and Mia not wanting him too? Puck tells us Mia has changed for the worse but it’s unclear to me exactly how besides not turning her nose up at posh cocktails.

Puck is a terrible friend to Mia which is the point but it really put me off. When their issues do get addressed it’s done in a really heavy handed way where things are spelled out multiple times.

I think overall I may have been looking for more nuance than should be expected for a romcom. It was entertaining and I did love the queerness portrayed here so I do still recommend it, especially for fans of the genre. I wouldn’t go into it expecting a retelling of Midsummer though, it feels inspired by more than anything.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
Profile Image for Whotwentwrong.
9 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
January 14, 2026
Deliciously witty and charmingly chaotic.

The novel has, first and foremost, a fun Shakespearean plotline of rearranging the couples before the clock runs out and the weddingbells ring. Alongside that, this novel has a non-binary main character and interesting mediations on queerness and being visually queer while navigating heteronormative spaces. Overall, the mood of this book is light and fun, but at times it is profound and the sentiments hit home. The writing is clever, well-paced and playful.

Mild spoilers from here on:

Puck is an interesting protagonist: in their daily life, they arrange people like dolls on reality tv and so, during their friend Mia’s wedding, they can’t help but do the same. They are determined not to let Mia make a mistake and marrying the wrong man. Their plans are put through a ringer by Robyn, another friend of Mia’s who is rigorous in her planning of this wedding. The dynamic between Robyn and Puck is the right combination of playful, sweet and a bit of heat.

The friendships between the different characters also added a lot of depth into the novel. They felt messy, raw, and real. I like that it this novel adapts Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream but provides interesting fresh takes on the characters: the author really makes the characters and the setting her own.

This book is right up my alley. I thoroughly enjoyed the shenanigans and couldn’t put the book down. So, for me this is a solid 4.5 star read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Profile Image for Megan Magee.
866 reviews4 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
December 24, 2025
Puck is a non-binary reality television producer on the most popular dating show around, and they are often hailed and treated better than "lowly" in their television circle because of said status. Much like their famous Shakesperean namesake, Puck enjoys toiling and scheming amids others' lives in a major fashion. When it comes to their own friend group, they have considerably less control and "recognition"- even more so when Robyn arrives and turns their usual attractions on their head. At turns gossipy and overflowing with heart and defining social issues, Puck the book has a touch of it all. While our main character is meddlesome and full of spunk, they are also rueful and adept in the most stressful of friend group shenanigans. This is a roving exploration of sorrow melding with stillness, and love being found even in the most unimaginable moments- of all kinds, platonic and romantic alike. You will root for everyone involved, if I know a thing or two about humanity. Thanks so much to Samantha Allen and Zando Press for the chance to read and review this eARC! All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Katie May.
170 reviews1 follower
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
January 20, 2026
I loved how messy this was, it made me really sad that Homewreckers is not an actual show haha. This is pretty short but packed full of antics and some really great character growth.

Puck is well reflected of the source material in this and making the character non binary was a great choice. I like the romance between Puck and Robyn and the complexity of Puck’s friendship with Mia. I thought this was really funny and entertaining to read, all of the side characters had their own personalities and really added to the dynamic of the book.

I think the length of this book actually did it a disservice. There could have been so much more shown in terms of Puck’s romance and the wedding shenanigans that they get up to as well as some of the heavier topics that are introduced but kind of skimmed over.

This is the perfect palate cleanser between some dense fantasy tomes!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author/publisher for an early copy of this book in exhange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Sydney Curran.
20 reviews2 followers
January 8, 2026
Thank you Zando via NetGalley for this ARC!

I enjoyed the chaos of “Puck”. It was an interesting take on the “Midsummer” character and the shenanigans they got into. I wish there was more character building of the side characters, both the ones in the couples that Puck meddles with and their love interest. The book felt disjointed when it switched from the scheming to the romance and I think with some extra padding, it would have helped that feeling. All in all, it was a fun read that could have used some tweaking for it to get a higher rating from me.
Profile Image for Nia.
137 reviews4 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
January 20, 2026
Puck
3.5 ⭐


Okay this was really whole damn entertaining, a producer making a reality show out of real life, manipulating all those strings oohh! Gorgeous!
The tension between Puck and Robin, hot damn glorious, it had me squealing.
I loved knowing about so many characters, their flaws and how they became a better version especially Puck. I really enjoyed this book!

💖 Thanks NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own!
4 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
January 11, 2026
ARC received via NetGalley.

Loved the premise of this book, who doesn’t love a chaos seeker?? A very easy read, was lacking dialogue around the 33% mark hence the 4 star rating, but it picked up the more through the book I got.

Puck is a producer of breakups as a career, but is she able to turn off her brain when attending a wedding she doesn’t think should happen?
Profile Image for Tristan Keegan.
18 reviews3 followers
January 20, 2026
This book was such a fun read! The premise is such an entertaining plot, and the cast of characters really sold everything that happened.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the ARC for this book!
Profile Image for Angela Reads at the Berry.
17 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
January 15, 2026
Amazing read! A non-binary lovable human plus real - world experiences. Chef’s kiss!
8 reviews2 followers
Review of advance copy received from Author
January 20, 2026
im a proud puck apologist
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.