Puck

by Samantha Allen

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 Puck: 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.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, LGBT, Queer, Retellings, Contemporary, Adult

288 pages, Paperback

Expected publication June 2, 2026

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Aster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Puck exists in the grey zone of character-centric stories that have nowhere else to go but the romance genre, but is so light on the actual romance that it feels wildly out of place (to the point it feels like the Puck/Robyn romance was added later as a way to market this book as romance).

Ignoring the genre part, Puck is a great book; the voice is strong and witty, Puck is a great character, the Shakespearean plot is fun to follow, and you do want Puck's friend to cancel her wedding, consequences be damned. And that makes it so hard to rate. The book does throw romantic elements in the first act that makes you think the plot will balance it out with the rest of the plot but by the second act it's clear that the main "romance" is secondary to anything else. In fact, the romantic development that takes place throughout the entirety of Puck would correspond to the first act of a more romance-centric novel.

For as great of a character Puck is, with a biting voice, Robyn the "love interest" is a bit of a nothingburger in comparison. In fact, Puck's university friends Mia, Zander, Damon and Lena feel more developed throughout the story than Robyn who still end up very much of a mystery by the end of the story. And it's such a shame because her initial chemistry and connection with Puck is so strong and entertaining that it's frustrating and disappointing to see it never fully come to completion. Robyn is a femme dominant bottom with OCD who looks straight and is very type A about this wedding happening and: that's it. Do we explore how her "straight" presentation relates to her living in a homophobic environment? it gets one mention. Do we explore her coming out to the whole bridal party? No, of course not. Why is the ending the way it is? I don't know.

[Maricarmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando books for the eARC copy!

Uh, yeah, the queer romcom loosely based on a midsummer night’s dream gets 5 stars from me. Duh. As usual, Samantha Allen writes exactly what I needed to read before I realized I needed it. Hurt my own feelings a few times relating too hard to Puck but I loved getting to know the cast of characters. In the acknowledgments, Samantha thanks someone who she calls a “Puck apologist” and you can add me to that list. I love that little gay nerd.

[Ashley]

Just got an ARC of this in the mail and it looks super fun.

[Cam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Zando for this eARC! A nonbinary Puck who runs a reality tv show and breaks up a friends doomed wedding and screws like a champion. I am absolutely head over heals for this Puck, I want to BE this Puck.

[bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this one. I really liked “Patricia Wants to Cuddle,” and I was hoping this one would be equally fun, but it felt really basic and juvenile in comparison. So much of the plot felt really obvious, which I could have happily forgiven if any other aspect of the story had had any charm to speak of, but Puck was absolutely insufferable and everyone else felt like a stock character. Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me… 2.5 rounded down. I read an arc from NetGalley.

[Demetri Papadimitropoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bring the Ex, Add a Resort, Stir in a Maid of Honor, and Absolutely Do Not Let the Reality Producer Touch the Seating Chart
In “Puck,” Samantha Allen turns destination-wedding chaos into a clever, sexy, and increasingly painful study of control freakery, class aspiration, and what happens when a professional meddler mistakes herself for fate.
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | April 14th, 2026


Puck sits at the Grove between cool dusk and false warmth, already reading the room as though it belongs to them.

In Samantha Allen’s “Puck,” the fatal error is not that the title character mistakes a wedding for a reality show. It is that they no longer believe there is much difference between reading a room and owning it. The novel opens with the clean click of a trap already baited: a nonbinary reality-TV producer arrives at a friend’s destination wedding, clocks the bride, the groom, the ex, the money, the choreography of compulsory joy, and decides – with the serene vanity of someone long rewarded for meddling in other people’s feelings – that this marriage has to be stopped. First it plays like a joke. Then it nicks an artery. Puck does not merely meddle. They produce.

That distinction is the argument the whole book keeps pressing on. Puck works on “Homewreckers,” a reality show where betrayal becomes content, and they arrive at the Athenian, an Appalachian resort polished to a devotional gleam, already trained to turn feeling into footage. Puck’s producer habits are not imaginary. They can spot weak chemistry, displaced longing, boredom, vanity, panic, and self-deception at indecent speed. More dangerously, they have learned to prize legibility over privacy. The moment they see Mia preparing to marry Damon McLeod – a former college nerd now lacquered into the kind of Southern heir whose family can rent out a mountain resort for a week and call it intimacy – they conclude, correctly as it happens, that Damon is the wrong man. Also on hand are Zander, Mia’s newly sober ex and old wound; Lena, who once carried a long, sad torch for Damon; and Robyn, the maid of honor, who first appears to Puck as a form of weaponized competence: all itinerary, posture, and expensive self-command.

Allen lets the machinery hum before she jams it. The week arrives like a prop closet unpacked by a deranged event stylist – croquet, spa appointments, party-bus games, a fake scavenger hunt, cucumber water used tactically, and enough hallway traffic to keep every confession half endangered. No one stays long where the wedding first puts them. The welcome drinks barely have time to sweat. Puck begins nudging people into place as naturally as some hosts top off wineglasses. At first Allen lets all this play like sport: tactical, clipped, nearly harmless. The accelerant is the narration. Puck’s voice is fast, filthy, needle-sharp, and mean in the fun way until it isn’t. Allen’s sentences dart, hook, double back. Her jokes arrive with the speed of gossip and the confidence of someone who has been rewarded, professionally and socially, for saying the impolite thing first. Wedding language, queer shorthand, producer jargon, class irritation, and erotic appraisal share the same air without colliding.


On the cropped lawn, leisure hardens into geometry: people arranged like pieces, flirtation and class performance disguised as play.

This is one of the book’s great strengths. Allen understands that comic velocity can do more than entertain. It can also conceal. Puck’s wit keeps turning surveillance into charm, interference into style, trespass into sparkle. What keeps “Puck” from toppling over into pure stylish sabotage is Allen’s refusal to flatter the protagonist’s insight. Puck is often right. That is the trap. They are right that Mia is drifting toward a life that will make her smaller. They are right that the wedding has become a pageant of wealth, logistics, and borrowed aspiration. They are right that Damon, for all his decency, is not the life Mia thinks she is choosing. Allen’s braver move is to insist that seeing clearly gives Puck no right to take over. Diagnosis is not permission. Being perceptive does not confer jurisdiction. Puck’s gifts harden, scene by scene, into a claim on other people’s choices.

Here the champagne goes flat. Puck does not merely bring opinions to the wedding. They bring work reflexes. Every conversation becomes blocking. Every coincidence becomes a missed beat. Every friend becomes, if only for a moment, a cast member in the stronger narrative Puck thinks they can see. Allen is very good on the nasty little rush of feeling indispensable, the private conviction that no one else understands the room as well as you do and therefore no one else should be trusted to leave it alone. Puck never experiences themself as monstrous. They experience themself as incisive, necessary, loving. The deeper cut the novel makes is in showing how quickly those self-descriptions curdle once they are paired with charm, authority, and a reflex to stage-manage other people’s lives.

Robyn is the one person in the novel who can make Puck miss a beat. She begins as Puck’s natural enemy: organized, beautiful, fiercely protective of Mia, and endowed with the kind of practical competence that makes Puck feel, for once, second-rate. Then Allen does something riskier than it first looks. She turns antagonism into sex, and sex into evidence. Robyn could easily have remained a gimmick – hot mean maid of honor, queer chaos accelerant – but Allen makes her the character who most completely short-circuits Puck’s method. Around Robyn, desire makes Puck stupid. That is useful. The sex is not there to accessorize anything. It redistributes control. It reveals who needs command, who wants relief from it, and who can only be honest once desire has knocked them sideways. Later, when Robyn speaks openly about her OCD and the strategies that keep panic from running her life, the book pulls off one of its slyest reversals. The woman Puck had filed under “conventionally polished tormentor” becomes one of the few people in the novel who actually understands the psychic cost of trying to outthink catastrophe.


Heat, hostility, and desire compress the air until confrontation itself becomes a form of foreplay.

Mia, though, is where the book stops indulging Puck. For a long stretch she risks becoming what everyone else wants her to be: object of rescue, repository of projection, bride to be interpreted by committee. Allen corrects that sharply. The novel does not truly break open at the kiss between Mia and Zander, though that matters, or even at the fake scavenger hunt Puck designs to trap them in private. It breaks when Robyn finds the memo – that damning slip of paper, those ugly abbreviations reducing living people to initials and function – and carries it into the bridal suite. In an instant the whole scheme becomes visible. What had felt, inside Puck’s head, like heightened perception now looks exactly as it is: a person turning the people they love into movable pieces.


By still water and failing light, the novel’s old love begins to remember its own dangerous fluency.

From there, charm stops doing cleanup. Mia’s confrontation with Puck is the clearest statement of Allen’s purpose, and one of the strongest passages in the book. Mia does not mainly accuse Puck of drawing the wrong conclusion about Damon. She accuses Puck of stealing her agency. She is not Puck’s doll. Without that sentence, “Puck” would remain a sharp comedy about a meddler who happened to be correct. With it, the novel becomes accountable to its own intelligence.

Damon, importantly, is never made monstrous simply to clear Puck’s conscience. He is too half-formed, too recognizably ordinary for that. Allen grants him more dignity than Puck’s story about him would. He is a man trying on adulthood like a suit chosen by someone richer and older. He is “blending in,” trying to inhabit a version of success and masculinity that never quite sits naturally on him. That matters. This is not a novel about escaping obvious evil. It is about the subtler disaster of drifting into a life that flatters your fear of instability more than your actual self.


After exposure, the room keeps the score: beauty half-finished, ceremony interrupted, control scattered across the floor.

The formal design deepens this argument rather than merely holding it in place. The day markers, the schedules, the event sequence, the shrinking windows for intervention – all of it flatters Puck’s belief that every emotional problem can still be solved if the right bodies can be moved into the right corners of the room before the next speech, the next fitting, the next ceremony. Here, timing becomes a counterfeit wisdom. The structure itself enacts the fantasy of control before dismantling it. Allen wants aftermath too. She wants to know whether humiliation can become conduct, whether being exposed can actually change a person, whether shame can be more than theatrical punishment.

The book’s most underdiscussed strength may be its treatment of work. “Puck” is not only about romance, desire, queerness, or even friendship. It is about professional deformation. Puck has spent so long converting other people’s pain into usable narrative that they no longer know how to stand near feeling without formatting it. That is why the novel feels so current without lapsing into topical grandstanding. Too many people now bring work habits into bed, friendship, and family: optimization, signal-reading, emotional triage, the conversion of ambiguity into strategy. Puck has simply taken those habits to a recognizable grotesque. Allen sees the loneliness inside that competence. She sees how easy it is to confuse being useful with being known, and how friendships can starve while everyone involved insists they are still intact.

This is also where the novel’s emotional architecture becomes more impressive than its premise first suggests. On the surface, the plot promises romantic chaos, erotic misdirection, and wedding-week farce. Beneath that, Allen is building a story about people who have mistaken performance for selfhood. Mia performs social ascent. Damon performs adult masculinity. Robyn performs mastery to keep terror at bay. Puck performs necessary chaos and calls it care. Even Lena, the book’s most apparently earnest character, has her own repertoire of self-protective scripts. What the novel keeps asking, in one register or another, is what remains of a person once the role stops working.

The prose is well suited to that project. Allen writes in sentences that are usually brisk rather than ornate, but she knows how to lengthen them when self-justification needs room to show its seams. Her diction is contemporary without sounding disposable. She has a gift for the exact bitchy flourish, the line that feels tossed off but is doing serious tonal labor. Better still, she knows how to let that wit sour. The language itself becomes evidence of how Puck survives: by speed, by reframing, by saying the sharp thing before anyone can say it to them. That is why the eventual quieting of the prose, especially around Robyn’s vulnerability and Mia’s anger, matters as much as it does.

Where Allen loosens her grip is in the smoothness of the late resolutions. After risking real wreckage, “Puck” grows more merciful than its middle sections lead one to expect. Damon and Lena, Mia and Zander, Robyn and Puck, Puck’s altered relation to work – all of it makes sense, and the specificity helps. Damon and Lena’s later “Elden Ring” wedding in a bird sanctuary is odd enough to feel chosen rather than gift-wrapped. Still, the final distribution of happiness is a shade too tidy. The pairings settle with slightly more grace than the harsher middle has prepared us for. A second, smaller limitation is that the first-person design means the people around Puck sometimes begin as caricatures in Puck’s private taxonomy before the novel restores their full dignity. Damon is the clearest case. He grows more alive once the book stops seeing only what Puck thinks he signifies.

Still, the reprieve is not exactly wrapped in tulle. The return to the “Homewreckers” set is where the novel’s judgment bites hardest. Puck comes back to work no longer able to arrange betrayal with the same clean professional cheer, and when Robyn storms onto the set demanding to know whether they were ever going to call her, the power line flips. The producer is now the spectacle. It is a neat reversal, and a deserved one. The scene risks a touch of overresolution, but Allen earns much of it by forcing Puck to say, in public and in the language of their own self-exposure, what their life has become.

Only a couple of comparisons deserve house room here, and they do so because they illuminate rather than decorate. William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” obviously haunts the setup, though Allen swaps moonlit enchantment for burner phones, itineraries, and a producer’s feel for blocking. I also thought of Caroline O’Donoghue’s “The Rachel Incident,” not because the books resemble each other sentence by sentence, but because both understand that friendship can become possessive while still feeling like love from the inside.

For me, “Puck” settles at 87/100, or 4/5 stars – too sly, quick, funny, and ethically awake to shrug off, slightly over-straightened by the end to call flawless. What kept catching under the skin was the sight of someone who has spent years moving other people into frame discovering how frightening it is to step into the frame without a call sheet.


Early thumbnail searches for the right emotional geometry – solitude, window light, and the distance between reading a room and trying to run it.


Border tests turn wedding formality, hotel architecture, and producer logic into a frame that quietly suggests control.


The graphite skeleton of the Grove scene lays down the bar, the window, and the poised stillness before atmosphere enters.


A working palette of bruised lavenders, false warmths, and dark anchors establishes the painting’s emotional weather.


Before color, the image is a problem of light – cool exterior distance against the seductive hush of interior glow.


The first diluted washes begin to stain the page with luxury, dread, and the uneasy calm before intervention.


A close study of posture, table edge, and glass tests how little detail is needed when silhouette and negative space are doing the feeling.

All watercolor illustrations by Demetris Papadimitropoulos.

[Copper · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC review - honest opinion
So we follow the character of Puck as they attended their college friends wedding but the wrong couple is getting married. Puck works as a producer in reality TV and when they arrive at the wedding, their work life slips into their real life and they start medalling with all their friends lives. Along the way they catch the eye of the power house of a brides maid and start up a secret side relationship.

So this book is a lose influence of mid summer night dream, you have 4 people who are a little lost and need to find different love. The soon to be married couple Mia and Damon don't suit each other and Puck thinks both will be happier with Zander and Lena respectively.

The set up is fun and I liked the silly ways they sorted out settings up the couples and got the pairs together. They both made so much more sense with the other party. But I'm not sure I enjoyed the way the end left me feeling a little put out. The way everyone treaded Puck was extreme, I know they are breaking up a wedding but the way their are torn down is extreme. Follow by Robyn steam rolling their life and being very judgemental.

The reality TV job gets a lot of slander and is shown as basically a horrible career and Puck's queerness sometimes feels a bit too us Vs them. For a story about a non-binary character obsession with getting 2 straight couples together there was a lot of digs about straight people. The comments made by Puck to the love interest Robyn at the start was never really dealt with and were very stereotype. The relationship very much took a back seat to the rest of the story and it felt like a lot of actual relationship moments happened between chapters. Also the smut between Puck and Robyn felt very one sided or just vague enough that it was hard to tell how they felt about it all. I felt like I missed the actual connection there.

Over all the book left me feeling a little sad for Puck and not sure the character got a real chance to evolve and grow. For a book told from Puck's perspective it was very much about them.

[Riya Kataria · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything is on fire, vows are about to be exchanged, and somehow I’m emotionally invested in one chaotic mastermind deciding they alone can fix everyone’s love life like it’s a group project gone feral. Samantha Allen’s Puck absolutely dropped me into a wedding week where the champagne is flowing, the tension is feral, and one very confident, very messy reality TV producer is about to play puppet master with real hearts. Published by Zando—huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted ARC that I inhaled like it was gossip I wasn’t supposed to hear.

This isn’t just a romcom—it’s a full-blown emotional chess match wrapped in glitter and bad decisions. Puck, our nonbinary, chaos-loving producer of the outrageously messy dating show Homewreckers, is used to pulling strings for entertainment. They read people fast, clock chemistry faster, and believe—deeply—that they’re usually right. So when their best friend Mia announces she’s marrying Damon (who, let’s just say… isn’t giving soulmate energy), Puck does what any professionally unhinged genius would do: they decide to fix it. Quietly. Strategically. Without getting caught.

Except this isn’t TV. These are their people—Mia, who’s glowing but maybe not grounded; Zander, the ex with history and a redemption arc; Lena, soft-hearted and overlooked but not nearly as invisible as she seems; and Robyn… oh, Robyn. The type-A maid of honor with a spine of steel, a perfectly timed itinerary, and absolutely zero patience for Puck’s nonsense. Watching Puck try to outmaneuver Robyn while also being wildly, inconveniently attracted to her? That alone was worth the read. It’s enemies-to-lovers energy with a side of “we might actually ruin each other or fix each other,” and honestly, I was seated.

What got me wasn’t just the chaos (though yes, the meddling is elite-level ridiculous). It’s the undercurrent of something softer, sadder. Puck isn’t just stirring the pot for fun—they’re navigating that weird, quiet grief of being the one who didn’t follow the same path. The one whose life looks different, whose relationships don’t fit the same mold, who’s watching their friend group evolve into something unfamiliar. There’s this ache beneath the bravado, this question humming in the background: if you’re not the one getting the fairytale, do you get to rewrite everyone else’s?

“You feel something for someone that you call ‘love’ until it becomes true.”

Tell me that line doesn’t linger.

The reading experience felt like being at a wedding where you know drama is brewing—you’re sipping your drink, pretending not to watch, but absolutely watching. It’s witty, sharp, a little mean in that fun way, and then suddenly it hits you with emotional clarity you didn’t sign up for. Puck is frustrating in the most compelling way—messy, invasive, a little too confident—but also painfully relatable. I didn’t always agree with them, but I understood them… and that’s what kept me locked in.

If you love messy friend groups, morally gray main characters, queer joy without it being reduced to trauma, and stories that balance humor with a quiet emotional punch, this is for you. If you’ve ever outgrown a version of yourself—or watched your people grow in ways that didn’t quite include you—you’re going to feel this one.

And listen… this landed for me in that sweet spot where chaos meets heart, sitting comfortably at

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

…because while it’s not perfect, it knows exactly what it’s doing. It entertains, it stirs the pot, and then it gently calls you out when you least expect it.

By the end, I wasn’t just invested in who ends up with who—I was thinking about control, about letting go, about how love isn’t something you can produce, edit, or script (no matter how badly Puck tries). Some things have to unfold on their own… and that’s the part that’s both terrifying and kind of beautiful.

So tell me—would you sit back and let the wedding happen… or would you be right there with Puck, quietly rearranging hearts and hoping no one notices until it’s too late?

#Puck #SamanthaAllen #NetGalleyReads #Bookstagram #LGBTQReads #RomComReads #QueerRomance #ARCReview #BookReview #MessyCharacters #FriendshipDrama #SummerReads

[monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

"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.

[K.C. Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really waffling on how to rate this because my feelings are very mixed. I'm giving it a qualified four, because I think this could have been better, but I laughed too many times to give this a completely mid rating.


What Worked (for me):

- Puck is indeed a menace. As an actual character, I would have liked to see more development in their arc, and if this had been a different kind of story I would have been put off by how surface-level so many elements were. On the other hand, this is VERY much a queer modern take on Shakespeare, as we are reminded several times. Puck is SUPPOSED to be a menace, and therefore I could get behind their actions in a way that I would not support an actual human's wrongs.

- There are some genuinely great lines in here. Per ARC guidelines, I won't post them, but I did highlight a couple that were either funny enough to make me laugh aloud, or poignant enough to make me reread them because daaaaaang.

- The whole play-within-a-play element of this Midsummer Night's Dream retelling is handled in a fun and irreverent way. Also this way SO MUCH THIRSTIER than I was expecting. I mean, I just read Heated Rivalry, so I guess the three or four sexy scenes in here weren't over the top, but they were much more direct than I expected from a book that was otherwise very rom-commy. That said, I still wouldn't call this a romance, as the romance isn't central to the plot.

- I support unhinged nonbinary behavior, full stop.


What Didn't:

- I really wanted more of the characters to be developed. We're told that there's a clique of five, but Lena and Damon were kind of... nothing. We don't learn much about them and I didn't really get the impression that Puck liked them all that much. Even Robyn and Puck (ha! see what Allen did there?) could have been more developed as characters AND as a couple.

- The plot was so absurdly predictable. Yes, it is a retelling, but I wanted something more to hold it all together. The end is quite rushed, too. Is this typical of Shakespeare? Yes. Could Allen have made the choice to explore the character choices and consequences more deeply? Also yes.


I will be honest, this book is probably more fun than memorable, but given HOW much fun Puck's weird little observations and try-hard schemes were, it gets a bit of a pass from me. I somehow missed that this book was by the author of Real Queer America. Even before remembering that, I appreciated that PUCK focuses on a fun and funny vibe. There are a few moments of introspection, many of which focus on Puck's feelings of isolation as the only queer person in their formative friend group, and the pressure to conform to norms that stifle us. At the same time, Puck is living wild and free, and isn't really happy, either.

Worth a read for Shakespeare-loving queers, even if it didn't blow my socks off. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Kasey Szamatulski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Zando and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC!

Puck has spent years tearing couples apart in the hit show Homewreckers, where couples put their relationship to the test in the face of infidelity. So when they attend their best friend's, Mia's, wedding events-it's clear to them that misery is ahead for everyone. Conviently, Mia's ex-boyfriend Zander and Lea who's had a crush on the groom Damon will be at the wedding. It doesn't take Puck long to make plans to save their friends from themselves, by making new relationships bloom. Yet between keeping up with all the events, trying to get the flames of love burning for their desired couples, and also dealing with a type-A maid of honor bent on the wedding happening and getting on Puck's nerves. Will Puck be able to keep their friend's from heartbreak and what of their own heart?

I love Puck, they are so snarky and confident. I loved seeing them behind the scenes of Homewreckers, creating chaos. So I naturally sympathized and esily saw the red flags Puck saw when it came to Mia's relationship with Damon. So while I don't condone cheating or manipulation, I do agree their heart was in the right place. Though as the plot continued, I did feel like Puck was being a bit selfish and short-sighted. Though it was obvious that due to life, Puck isn't as close to their friends as they could have been.

While Robyn does act like a type-A and does what she can to mess with Puck's plans, I can see where she comes from. See Mia and Zander's relationship had all kinds of passion and problems. Robyn met Mia post Zander when Mia was in need of a more calm, stable relationship. Which rich boy Damon can can provide. Yet, Puck and the reader can see how much of herself Mia is giving up to fit into Damon's lifestyle. Also Zander is working on himself and really did love Mia when they were together, so we find ourselves rooting for Puck's schemes but do see Puck focusing more on the physical chemistry in hopes of the wedding getting canceled rather than the real love happening. And I'm not just talking about for Mia and Zander...

I do disparage the casts' negative views on nerd culture-mostly video games and anime. I'm around the same age as the cast and grew up bullied for these interests. Many of the characters rag on one character, calling them a 'kid' for having such interests. I thought that nerd culture had become more main stream in recent years, especially gaming, but I guess there are still some circles that look down on it. But to each their own.

Overall, a great story that's a fun romp with some great commentary on gender and a lovely story about friendships changing as time goes on but still remaining strong. The story also shows how people can change and grow too. So highly recommend for anyone that wants a great story, especially when true loves doesn't run smooth.

[Rachel Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Samantha Allen, Net Galley, and Zando for the advanced reader copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.✨ (4.5)

PUCK was a wild ride. I knew this was a semi-morally grey reality tv producer who goes to a wedding to try to break it up and save their friends…

What I didn’t know was that it was set in Atlanta, where I live. I also used to work in the Atlanta film production scene. I eat at the restaurants Puck mentions. I know Emory University, the bars, the neighborhoods. This was so SPECIAL TO ME.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about Puck’s morally grey journey to break up their college friend groups’ wedding. As a character, Puck (they/them) actually made me laugh so many times. They were so silly and blunt, even if they felt lost at times and as if they’re romantically underdeveloped compared to their straight friends. The found family trope, scheming, disdain to lovers, and LGBTQIA+ representation was so special to me.

Puck’s “Emory crew” friend group was developed SO WELL. This has genuinely unlocked a new genre I need to find, which is friend-group coming of age book dramas? As someone who’s always had a big friend group, I LOVED all of the group interactions.

Mia being the cutie beautiful bride that puck wants to save, Damon being the nerdy video game groom that baffles Puck, Zander who is Mia’s ex boyfriend and on his sobriety journey as an up and coming chef, Lena who is an animal and nature lover who loves to chat and save the world- but Puck notices she’s also had a glow-up… and always had a crush on Damon.. hmmm…. And Robyn. Mia’s new maid of honor, who VEXES Puck. As Robyn does everything in her power to keep this wedding on track as mysterious drama keeps arising… Puck MUST save their friends. And why does puck think Robyn is SO annoying and hot. 😭😂😂💅🏼 As the resident queer and nonbinary friend, who’s professional is quite literally breaking up relationships on TV, Puck feels it’s their responsibility to save their friends’ from themselves.

As I type all of this out, I notice just how deeply I got to know this friend group. I love that. There was romance, hard conversations, and hard-core scooby doo level MEDDLING. I loved this low-ish stakes, silly, hilarious, sexy disdain to lovers romance and friendship tale.

Puck ponders aging, life, purpose, friendships evolving which I think many of us can relate to as young adults aging. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and others!

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A modern-day, Midsummer Night’s Dream inspired story, starring Puck as a reality TV producer who meddles in their friends’ love lives? Sign. Me. Up!

The book (mostly) lives up to its premise, as we follow Puck and their increasingly unhinged shenanigans. I thought the Shakespeare influence was struck exactly right, in that if you’re familiar with the source material you could spot where the characters’ names and various plot points came from, but it was far from essential to enjoy the book. The tone was funny and light-hearted, which made the more serious moments all the more effective.

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Although this is a romcom, and the romance was certainly a large part of the story, a stand-out part of the book for me was Puck’s friendships, and how those have evolved over time. Being the same age as them, I definitely understood being at that stage where everyone’s lives have taken such different directions, and other people’s lives and friendships have changed without you realising. Seeing Puck realise this, and learn to grow beyond who they were in college, was really nice. It felt very true to life, especially for a queer person, when readjusting to that new stage in life.

The romance wasn’t necessarily the focus of the book, but it was great nonetheless! They started out as enemies and rivals, and it was so much fun to see them both messily figure out what they want to be to each other.

The only thing I wanted more of in this book was more exposition! Once we reached about a third of the way through, the book suddenly found its stride and I couldn’t put it down though. Prior to that though, we jumped into the action so quickly that I didn’t feel like I really knew Puck, their strengths and their shortcomings, as well as I wanted to, especially when so much of the book is about them becoming more mature and growing as a person.

Overall though I did have a great time with this book, it had so many laugh-out-loud moments but a heart of gold underneath it all!

I received a free copy for an honest review.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puck might technically be second in command on HomeWreckers crew, but make no mistake - they are the one actually running the show 

In a reality show purported to be about seeing if couples can make another go of things after betrayal, they work to make sure the reconciliations fail. In the most ratings grabbing ways possible, of course

All of their matchmaking/unmaking skills are put to the test when Puck takes a week off to go to the wedding of their old college friends 
When they know that the couple don’t belong together, but the people they do belong with are also there, what’s a person supposed to do?
Meddle, obviously 

Admittedly I know little about A Midsummer’s Night Dream, but I picked up the book fully assuming I would think that Puck was an overreaching meddler who needed to learn a lesson, and hoping that lesson would be entertaining as hell

Very quickly I found myself pivoting to ‘OMG - Why *are* these people getting married? Please meddle. Fix this!’
Perhaps in all the talk about characters growing and changing perspectives, I ended up identifying with our protagonist  little too hard… oops? 

It’s clear their motivations for trying to intervene in the wedding are good, and the methods…well, they’re seemingly effective?
But when they aren’t players who signed up for this, and instead people that have cared about each other for years, the ethics of it all seem more questionable
I found myself wanting to watch through my fingers while wondering how far is too far when it came to the interference 

The maid of honor (and bride’s new best friend) Robyn did take some time for me to warm up to. I’m not sure if it was an issue for me with the dynamics or the chemistry between her and Puck.
I was so dialed in for the friend drama it didn’t really matter all that much though, and by the end I appreciated her a lot more 

All in all this was a fun read, and I’m glad I picked it up for the #TransRightsReadathon ! 

Thank You to Zando for sending this one my way!

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

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!

[Noelle Terrero · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

Ughh


I wanted to like this book so bad, I was excited about the premise. When I found out won a free copy to review I was so excited! But almost immediately I HATTTTEEEDDD the main character.

Puck is a judgy, terrible friend who makes everything about themselves. They act like some gender warrior but treat the contestants on their reality show like garbage, stereotype all of their friends as “hot blond women” and “mascots for straight girls”, objectify Robyn over and over, even in their apology to Robyn only compliments her physical attributes, and babbles on about their ability to “convert straight women”.

My favorite character was Robyn who told Puck exactly what I was thinking in the sauna.

“You need to get over how radical you think you are.”

But even her character was ruined by how easily she forgave Puck.

Puck was so unserious and it made the romance fall flat. When Robyn shares something meaningful, Puck doesn’t give anything back. Honestly was way more invested in Damon and Lena than Puck and Robyn. Their entire relationship was them insulting each other in public and then hooking up and then all of a sudden they are in love. Yeah okay. Maybe because there were too many relationships in this story, none of them got the proper arc that they needed to be fully explored.

Did I mention that Puck is an absolute asshole?

Yeah.

The reason this book gets 2.5 stars is because the drama is mildly entertaining, much like a trashy reality tv show that you can’t stop clicking the watch next button on. The banter has some of the wittiness I usually enjoy in romance. Overall it was an easy, quick paced read. Lastly, I did fall in love a little with Zander & Mia / Lena & Damon.

This is my honest review of an ARC received from the publisher.

[Nina Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Zando and NetGalley or the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Puck by Samantha Allen is a fun, messy, heartfelt rom com inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream that follows Puck, a non-binary 30 year old mastermind and agent of chaos as a reality show producer whose personal life becomes just as dramatic and tangled as the production they are working on. Along the way, the story explores friendship, love, identity, and the complicated reality of figuring yourself out after college and into adulthood.

I absolutely LOVED this book and completely devoured it in two days. Puck was such a wonderfully chaotic character and I loved how the messiness of their production job started manifesting into their real life friendships and relationships for better or worse. It made everything feel entertaining, emotional, and very human.

I also really loved the dynamic between the MC and their romantic pursuit (don’t want to spoil it). Their chemistry and connection felt so natural while still allowing room for vulnerability, confusion, and growth. This book did such a good job capturing that strange stage of adulthood where some people seem to fully know themselves while others are still struggling to figure out who they are and where they belong.

The pacing was honestly addictive. Every chapter kept me wanting more and I flew through this story so quickly because it balanced humor and heartfelt moments so well. I laughed a lot but there were also moments that genuinely made me emotional.

“The course of true love never did run smooth” feels like the perfect line for this story because Samantha Allen captures the chaos of love, friendship, identity, and growing up in such a fun and sincere way.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Zando for approving my copy of Puck to read!

This was a fun and chaotic journey, just as I suspected it to be, and it was the perfect length for a book like this. Anything longer I feel would have convoluted the plot and the characters. In this contemporary retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck is a queer, nonbinary person who works as a producer on a TV show that tries to break couples up. They get to take a week off to go and enjoy their best friends' wedding, but they don't believe these two should be getting married. Puck doesn't actually take a break from work, but instead puts their experience on set to their actual friends. Oh and throw a maid-of-honor who is hellbent on getting this wedding to happen as planned into the mix with an unexpected surprise.

I loved the dynamics of the characters and how they've known each other since college. It was also nice to see a book of this caliber set with southern aspects (Atlanta and the Blue Ridge Mountains). I'm from Atlanta and I don't think we see enough of that! I did think we lacked on the character development of Damon and Lena, but then again Puck can't be everywhere at once.

The introduction of Robyn was an interesting one. At times it seemed perfectly blended in, and other times it seemed like too much was happening. It did all come together at the end and I am happy that Puck found her!

This book is one I think would have been more successful in the chaos if it was told in 1st person, but that's just a stylistic choice of mine. Overall a great read and I am looking forward to sharing this one!

[Charlie Tombini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I have some considerations about this book, I gave it a high rating because of how much fun I had reading it. The writing is hilarious. It's fast-paced and super entertaining, and, to my surprise, it has really on point pop culture jokes.
Now, my considerations: I absolutely despised Robyn. Seriously, I hated her character. She's so arrogant and full of herself and does, in fact, have a homophobic aura about her in the beginning, LOL. I thought she was just the annoying antagonist, but to my absolute shock, she was the love interest. Obviously, that made my enjoyment of the romance…scarce, to say the least. My second consideration is that, despite that being a big part of the plot, I thought Puck's plan to ruin Mia's wedding is kind of a shitty thing to do, and that made me get very annoyed with them and their whole scheming (that is written as a flaw of Puck's but still, it really frustrated me). And last but not least, this book has a weird judgement of people's appearances, which DOES sound nitpicky, but hear me out: at some point Puck judges Robyn a lot for “looking too straight” despite obviously not being, also, it says that blonde women are often alcoholics? Maybe it's a super funny ironic joke, but I'm just extra confused here.
I know I sound really bitchy here, and it sounds like I disliked the book, but I swear I was giggling the whole time reading it. I had SO MUCH fun and read it in 2 days because I just couldn't stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. Anywayyyy…. I enjoyed the read.

Thank you, NetGalley, and the Publisher for this eARC! This was my honest and unbiased opinion.

[Bee Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you a whimsical bish? You'll love this.

We meet Puck on the set of Homewreckers, a chaotically unhinged reality TV show where couples, and the person one party cheated with are living together — instantly we start to piece them together; quick, clever, a bit crafty. Then as they progress to their friends wedding, we get another side, making such a rounded, fun character full of sass and smart. Some readers may find the intensity, the quirk a bit too much, but I say go find less then.

Their narration flowed from one scene to another, with plenty of little asides and thoughts — the wider cast are brilliant, just fleshed out enough for us to see them, but not taking too long with exposition. Together, they navigated the complicated nuances of adult friendship when people are in different places, have tense history.

The author playfully draws inspiration from a midsummer nights dream, where a mischievous fairy, Puck, causes chaos with matchmaking and the stealing hearts. So of course, when our own Puck puts their mind to stopping a friend marrying a man who was the equivalent of unbuttered toast (expensive bread though) I was cackling— it’s so wrong, but I loved it.

Of course, there’s always so much that can go wrong; like hate-fucking your new enemy in the spa? This is the truest enemies to lovers I’ve read in a while - it was ridiculous, so close to being too much but I ate it up. A majestically chaotic mess of meddling, self-sabotage and friendship that was an absolute delight to behold.

[Whotwentwrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Krystal Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

ADVANCED COPY GIVEN BY NETGALLEY


Puck is one of those characters you just can’t get out of your head. They truly bring the energy of Shakespeare’s Puck to life weaving chaos everywhere they go which I love. Plus they are non-binary which is ideal. I’ve always kind of head cannoned Puck as non-binary in my head anyways. I’m a huge Shakespear fan and watching one of his messiest plays be reimagined as a queer rom-com made me squeal and kick my feet a lot. And, you know what makes everything else really messy throw in reality TV!

While Puck is the embodiment of chaos, Robyn is perfection with a capital P. The two face off a lot in this book and I think that is what really sucked me in. As a type A personality myself I thought that all her actions were believable.

And, as you know, opposites attract in the very best way. I think the romance in this book isn’t just strong it’s crazy. I loved seeing Puck having to deal with everything and learning how to place a tiny bit of order while Robyn learned to deviate from perfection. Together I think they really balance each other out well.

Now for my critiques. While I love Puck in the beginning I found myself wondering why I’d root for them. It wasn’t until they got to the wedding that I found myself with a reason. Also, I wish there was a little more ease into Puck’s chaotic nature in the beginning.

Overall, it’s a great read. Just go in ready for drama with a capital D and so much messiness.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publishers & author & NetGalley for the ARC!

Unfortunately I am taking a half point off for using the name Robyn and spelling it with a Y. Very disturbing, truly. Sincerely, Robin with an I. (Just kidding).

That being said… Puck was a fun read! A modern retelling of a Midsummer Night’s Dream, staring a nonbinary dating show producer, whose trying their best to fix their friend's relationships despite the best efforts from an extremely type-a bridesmaid (who Puck is definitely not interested in) is a silly, fun time. It was also A LOT. I loved the author’s writing and storytelling! I was entertained the whole time!

The romance wasn’t the biggest part of the book, which for a romcom was a little strange BUT not any less enjoyable. Seeing the different layers to all the friendships was definitely something I loved. Also Puck and Robyn were giving rivals/enemies and it was a lot of fun to watch the chaos of their romance unfold!

One thing I personally didn’t love is how Puck thought meddling in their friend’s love lives was a good thing to do. Sure, their motivations were good, but sneaking around behind their friend’s backs to “better their lives” just feels like a shitty thing to do. Then again, everyone was a little messy. Still, it was entertaining!

[Megan Magee · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Aaron Ebling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Puck immediately caught my attention because I’m a big fan of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and I was curious to see how the mischievous trickster would be reimagined in a modern story.

One of the highlights of the novel was definitely Puck themself. Samantha captured their mischievous, chaotic energy perfectly, and I loved the decision to portray Puck as non-binary. It felt like a thoughtful and fitting interpretation of such a fluid and playful character.

I also found the plotline surrounding the TV show Home wreckers particularly engaging. Those sections felt lively and entertaining, and they were the moments where the story really pulled me in.

However, I struggled a little more with the wedding drama storyline. While it added tension to the narrative, I found it harder to connect with that side of the story. I also felt that I didn’t get to know many of the characters very deeply. Aside from Puck, the supporting cast felt a bit distant, which made it harder to fully invest in their arcs.

Overall, this was an interesting and creative reinterpretation of a well-known trickster figure, with a strong central character and some fun, engaging moments.

[Jessica Woodbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fluffy romcom that asks the most important question: Are the straights okay?

I am not usually a romcom reader, but I always enjoy the controlled chaos of a Samantha Allen novel. This is more "inspired by" than a retelling of Midsummer Night's Dream, which gives her plenty of room to play. This lets us focus in much more detail on Puck, the nonbinary chaos goblin with a dayjob manipulating couples on a horrible reality show. When Puck's best friend is getting married to the wrong guy, it's up to Puck to get it sorted.

This was a breezy read that I got through quite quickly. Loved: the banter and steamy sex scenes with Puck and their love interest, first time I've ever seen Cook-Out milkshakes in fiction (representation!!), the mix of fun and real heart amidst the antics. I didn't really know how this was going to turn out (I like being surprised, which is why romance isn't always my genre) so I was really wondering how all this was going to go until the very end.

Note: I am pals with Samantha, it's honestly a relief that she keeps writing all kinds of queerly delightful books.

[Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Zando and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. A delight retelling! Puck is the nonbinary, 30 year old, creator of Homewreckers, a dating show that puts couples through hell with the help of their exes. Puck usually the one in control and pulling the strings but when their friend announces that they are engaged to their now exes best friend, Puck is reeling because the two never had much in common. Now Puck is at the wedding and they know that this wedding is just going to lead to a life of misery for their friends. They decide they will rearrange the couples and no one will be know. Only they didn’t count on a maid of honor who is determined to that the wedding will go off without any complications. To make this work they’ll have to pull off the greatest stunt of their career, only they can’t stop paying attention to the maid of honor. Can they make everyone happy? Or are they playing with fire? A funny, chaotic, heart wrenching, and wonderful romcom that I couldn’t put down! Samantha Allen’s story is fast paced, romantic, and a super fun read!

[Anabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

"You feel something for someone that you call 'love' until its becomes true."

Puck is used to running the show, both literally and figuratively. A producer for the wildly popular (and wildly salacious) reality TV show "Homewreckers" has left Puck with a little bit of a skewed perception of love. But two things they do know for sure: people are predictable, and they are always right.

Enter the wedding debacle; Puck's best friend and college roommate Mia is getting married to the wrong man from their college friend group. Should she end up with her on-again-off-again boyfriend Zander? Maybe, maybe not. But after their last massive break-up, he's gotten sober and really cleaned up his act. And Damon? The fiance? Well, Puck can hardly find the. game loving nerd underneath all the seersucker and pomade. And what about sweet, innocent Lena? Surely her long-time crush on Damon deserves its time in the spotlight.

Now all Puck has to do is pull the strings and manufacture the romance. But one thing they weren't anticipating was Robyn, the maid-of-honor. A militant task-master wrapped up in spandex and topped off with a high ponytail, Puck may have finally met their match.

What can I say about PUCK (both the character and the book)? Chaotic, funny, frustrating, but ultimately redeemable.

I loved it.

Did I ever feel like I was reading a loose adaptation of Midsummer's Night Dream? No, I was lost in the twisting story lines and masterful manipulation and just enjoying the ride. I thought PUCK (the book) was hilarious and Puck (the character) was refreshingly unlikeable-to-the-point-of-affection with just enough wit (and sense) to keep me on their side the entire time. I loved the setting (I am a sucker for an Appalachian setting) and I loved the premise (because I am also a sucker for adaptations of classic literature) and most of all, I loved the happy ending!

[aestchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Puck, Samantha Allen takes on the challenge of writing a character inspired by Shakespeare, and overall, this works quite well. The title already gives a good idea of the story: Puck is a mischievous character who enjoys influencing the people around them, often believing that their actions are justified.
What stood out to me most was that Puck is not clearly a good or bad character. While reading, I often questioned their decisions and my own opinion about them. This made the story more engaging and added an interesting layer to the book.
The plot develops in a believable way and becomes clearer over time. The romantic aspect of the story was not always easy for me to understand, but it still contributed to the overall development of the narrative.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was hard to put down, and I liked seeing how Puck’s actions influenced the story and the other characters. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy character-driven stories with a bit of complexity.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!