Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Book review: Beauty and the Baller, by Ilsa Madden-Mills

 


Ilsa Madden-Mills stories are magical!  They enchant with the superb plot, the charming characters and the brilliant setting where she places them.  There are strong feelings but also lighthearted moments, her female characters are strong women.  They may be in dire circumstances but there’s an inner core of strength and resilience that moves them through the story.  Her male characters may be clueless and arrogant, but they are innately good men with a strong honorable core.  So it’s no wonder that the story sucks you in and you spend a wonderful time reading her books.

In this story, Ronan was one of the best quarterbacks in the country.  He was enjoying the best time of his life, with a brilliant career in the New York Pythons and a lovely fiancee.  But then a tragic car accident took away both his career and his fiancee.  Devastated and drowning his sorrows in alcohol, he attends the Pythons annual ball with his best friend Tuck.  Then a beautiful woman appears, dressed as Princess Leia and is about to be taken out.  Encouraged by Tuck, he saves the woman, and he’s so entranced with her that he takes her to his hotel room and they have a one night stand.  She leaves during the night, but her inner brilliance impacts Ronan and jump starts his soul, leaving him determined to turn his life around and start living again.

Two years later, Nova returns to Belle Blue to take care of her little sister, after their mother’s death.  Ronan is also in Belle Blue, as football coach in the town high school.  And as fate would have it, he’s also her new neighbor!  Ronan needs a PA for his coaching job and Nova is looking for a job.  And since this is Texas and football is king, when Ronan requests that Nova gets the job, she’s hired.  And we’re off to a wonderful romance!

I loved all the nuances and little side plots that this story had.  I loved Sabine, Nova’s little sister.  She’s super smart and highly functional autistic, so she’s very factual and their conversations are quirky and fun.  I loved their morning rituals of pancakes and singing.  I loved neighbor Lois who was trying to snoop Nova’s mother’s price winning jelly recipe.  The plethora of characters make this book so vivid and fun, plus the steamy scenes, the snappy dialogue between Nova and Ronan, their inner turmoils that keep them stuck in past problems, how they deal, they learn and they grow.  This was romance in its best presentation, magical, fun, angsty and beautiful.  A real delight!

Purchase links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3CRMSE1

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/BeautyBaller

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3CRmo5r

 

Add Beauty and the Baller to Goodreads→  https://bit.ly/3uhUb4F

About the author

Wall Street JournalNew York Times and USA Today best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is best known for her angsty new adult romances and romantic comedies.

 

Eight of her eleven novels have placed in the Amazon Top 10 Best-seller List: Dirty English #1; Fake Fiancée and I Dare You #2; I Bet You, Filthy English, and Very Bad Things #6; Boyfriend Bargain #8; The Last Guy, her collaboration with Tia Louise, #4. 

 

A former high school English teacher, she adores all things Pride and Prejudice, and of course, Mr. Darcy is her ultimate hero. 

 

She's addicted to frothy coffee beverages, cheesy magnets, and any book featuring unicorns and sword-wielding females. Feel free to stalk her online.

 

 

Connect with Ilsa

Amazonhttp://amzn.to/2nY2pxT

Instagram: http://bit.ly/35xfNfo

Stay up to day with Ilsa by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2ZWaTYh

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2EESfM9

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2GaR6cn

Book+Main: http://bit.ly/2s4j9ci

Website: https://www.ilsamaddenmills.com

Join her Unicorn Girls Group on FB, the best way to keep up: http://bit.ly/37B6Nay

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