Wit, humour and heat…romantic entertainment at its best!

I couldn’t help but fall head over heels for Ronan and Nova and I guarantee you will too. Their story was everything from sad to laugh out loud funny and everything in between. You’ll cheer for their happily ever after right along with cheering for the Bobcats football team.

Such a fun read…I dare you to put it down!

Nova’s life is not what she planned. Returning to her hometown to be a sister-mom was never in her plans. Dealing with Ronan the former NFL QB now HS coach is so not her plan. Nova and Ronan start a fake relationship that quickly becomes the greatest one upmanship. Ronan nerdy side was the best part of making him so relatable. Nova’s cat-dog makes me want one of my own. Madden Mills gives you all the feels with humor that makes you want to be the besties with the characters.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4638852338

I’m REELING!!!

I received an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was EPIC and gave me all the feels!

I was hooked from page one! I absolutely LOVED this book! I’d say yes to it all! Oh the feels and the character development was fantastic!

This book kept me engaged the entire time! The witty banter and steam were perfect!

Nova and Ronan’s story is a must read!

No spoilers with my review!

If I could give more then 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ I would!

This was really cute! I was in the mood for a small town sports romance and this one hit the spot. I loved Nova's sass and Ronan's caution. I thought the relationship between Nova and her sister Sabine was so perfect, and the interactions between Nova / Ronan and all the characters in Blue Belle were so fun. There was the perfect amount of stress and drama but this was still lighthearted and a fun easy read. I think what makes this book unique in a world of second chance sports romance is the depth of the characters and what they've experienced in the past and how it shapes their current situations and interactions.

[Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ebook. This review is my honest opinion but just another opinion, you should read this book and judge it by yourself]

I think this is going to be an unpopular opinion but I didn't love this book. The plot seeemed great and I was looking forward to reading something of this writer, so I started the reading with my best mood but I found myself incapable of fully enjoy the story. The MC lacked of charm, they never appealed to me. They have a great background stories but I think the writer misses the opportunity of dive into that stories and make them more complex and fascinating, I think they're a little flat.
There are too many tropes and none of them is the main one, so I was a little lost reading not knowing for sure what kind of book this was.
On the other hand, Ronan and Nova make a beautiful couple, sexy, hot, cute and a little funny but I think this is less of a Romance novel and more a self-discovery and acceptance one with a little romance in it.

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Mñe. Yo no sé si es que no me gusta nada o qué pero otra decepción que me llevo para la saca. Es un batiburrillo de cosas que no deja trope sin tocar y que se queda en... nada en concreto. Le ha faltado chispa, algo que te atrape, una historia de amor con más peso, algo más de drama, de profundidad... Le ha faltado de todo.
Es el primer libro que leo de esta escritora y no le veo nada especial, al menos en este libro. A pesar de tener mucho drama al alcance de la mano, no lo aprovecha y, además, la escritura me ha parecido totalmente desapasionada. Y las escenas hot me han parecido forzadas.
Tal vez le haga reseña en el blog y ahí me extienda más, ya veremos.

I loved love loved this book. There were so many great relationships throughout the entire book; Nova and Sabine, Ronan and Tucker, and obviously Ronan and Nova.

This book had pretty much everything you could possibly ask for. It was very swoony, a teeny tiny bit angsty, and hilarious. Nova was my favorite because she was incredibly witty, but not in that overdone way that seems to be so popular these days. She was also incredibly caring with her sister, which I loved. Their dynamic was perfect and I liked the way Sabine's autism was handled.

Ronan was great, too. I wasn't sure what to expect from him just going off the beginning of the book. I wasn't sure how his loss and grief were going to play into his personality throughout the whole story, but I thought it was incorporated perfectly. One of the minor things that really made me happy was how Whitney's memory was never tainted with negativity. She sounded like she was a great person and Ronan really loved her. Sometimes I feel like authors take the easier route when it comes to the death/loss of relationship by making them the villain, but that wasn't the case here. Ronan coped with his grief, honored her memory, and found love with someone else. It was really beautifully written.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. I think this is one Ilsa Madden-Mills' better books to date! Definitely pick this one up if you like a book with good heart and soul.

As always another great me adult story from Ilsa! Her stories have a way of making those painfully intense emotions experienced in early adulthood seem nostalgic, and cringey. Not cringey in the modern slang, but cringing from secondary pain. You feel all the feels, laughs, love, humiliation, all of it.

Beauty and the Baller finds humor within life's heartache. Ryan and Nova speak of the disappointment and teachable moments that make us into who we are. Mills exposes the vulnerabilities and the inspiration of the heart with a soulful, irresistible dose of heartwarming truth.

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trope: ONS/second chance/fake relationship
Angst: 😱😱😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥

Beauty and the Baller is a pretty angsty, often funny, sweet as pie read that got me right in the feels. Ronan is our commitment-phobe hero who is guarding his heart from the pain he knows relationships can bring. I really liked how, even as he denies he’s in a relationship, he can’t escape how protective and jealous/possessive he is of her, lol. I also loved his nerdy jock persona - I’d like to see more MMCs like that :). I REALLY liked Nova. She’s a girl that knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it and is comfortable with her sexuality. I love how loyal she is and how she’s willing to do anything for her sister and others she cares about. Despite feeling a little emotionally spent at the end, this really was a great read that I’d highly recommend!

Let me tell you.. if you are in a book slump (like I have been for a while now), Beauty and the Baller is absolutely the book that can get you out of it. Book slumps are no joke my friend. I have been STRUGGLING for months now. Have I read some good books?.. Sure. But nothing has grabbed my attention and kept me captivated like Ronan and Nova’s story.
I was grabbed and pulled in right from the first page. The chemistry between these characters is off the charts. Not only was their story together amazing but their individual stories as well as the side characters made me just want more and more. I couldn’t put it down!
Speaking of side characters – while Nova and Ronan had PLENTY deliciousness – the side characters add so much to the story as well that it wouldn’t have been the same without them. Nova’s sister, Ronan’s football team, the other teaching staff… all these characters were written so expertly! I hope Ilsa Madden-Mills continues more books in Blue Belle, because any of these other characters could hold a book on their own.
Now back to Nova and Ronan – I could not get enough of them. Really, I couldn’t. From their horrible and tragic pasts they both were moving forward from, to their ridiculously witty banter they had with one another, and really just how much they were just made for one another.
Ilsa Madden-Mills really outdid herself with this couple.

This was my first book by Ilsa Madden-Mills, but it will definitely not be my last!

This sucked me in from the beginning and I couldn’t stop reading it. I alternated between the audiobook and the ebook and I highly recommend both.

I loved the connection between Nova and Roman. From their steamy first meeting to their less than stellar second meeting, they had instant chemistry. It was hard not to root for Nova and her sister after they’ve lost their mother. The Texas small town/football was fascinating! This was steamy, but the characters had so much heart.

4.5 Stars

Ronan Smith had everything he could have ever wanted, NFL career, beautiful fiance, and lost it all in the blink of an eye. It’s been a year to the day since his accident, and Ronan finds himself at one of the team parties when in walks the most beautiful girl dressed as Princess Leia. She is the first girl to gain his attention since losing his fiance. Former beauty queen, Nova Morgan, finds herself dressed from a galaxy far, far away and sneaking into a high profile party to meet her favorite quarterback. She definitely has a type, and Ronan Smith checks ALL of her buttons. Leaving the party together, they spend an incredible night, until it’s not. Devastated, Nova leaves and never looks back.

Fast forward two years, Nova is back in small town Texas to take care of her little sister after their mother’s death. As fate would have it, her new neighbor turns out to be her former favorite NFL quarterback and now head coach for her small town’s high school football team, Ronan Smith. I really enjoyed this book. It’s about so much more than a second chance at love, small town romance. It’s about grief and depression and how the things in your life help you to overcome them. It’s about forgiveness and moving on, it’s about opening your heart and reaching for the stars, even if they burn you ;)

Angela - Alphas Do It Better Book Blog

Keep your heart open, even when it feels like breaking

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for this and happily started a new book by Ilsa. I haven't read a book of hers in a while and I was excited to see this one pop up and was even MORE excited to have loved it as much as I did. Beauty and the Baller was a second chance romance and a great one at that.

Ronan Smith has been grieving his fiancée for just about a year now and has been miserable throughout. He shoulders a lot of the blame and pain and while the world is at his fingertips as an NFL QB, he wants nothing to do with it. One night he sees a beautiful girl in a loose cosplay of Princess Leia and he throws caution to the wind and takes her back to his room. The beautiful Nova has loved Ronan for a little while and when the opportunity to catch his attention presents itself, she can't pass it up. As much as she might wish she would've when the most exciting night of her life turned out to be the worst one night stand she's ever had.

Years pass and the two move on with their lives but neither have truly forgotten that night and what it did for them. Nova's broke and back home now and the last person she thought she'd be neighbours with is Ronan. He's broody and very clearly not who she thought he was and what's worse is he has no idea who she is.

She wants to stay away from him but when the busybody ladies try to set Ronan up time and time again, he proposes that he and Nova fake date to get him off her back. And we allllll know how fake dating goes, but what happens when he learns who she is.

Loved Nova and loved Ronan. He was filled with angst and was so moody and I really ate that right up. Nova was great as well, holding Ronan to all of his shit. I think it felt a LITTLE immature sometimes but nothing that would ruin the story in my opinion.

I had a great time with this and it was a wonderful reintroduction to Ilsa's work. I am excited to pick through what I've missed and see what's next.

Oh Nova and Ronan! What a fun couple. What a great story.

What we first meet Ronan he's spiraling. He is drunk at a party with his NFL team. We find out he was in a horrific car accident that lost him both his career and his fiancee. But that night he rescues a beautiful woman dressed in a Princess Leia costume. They end up hooking up and it's the first time in a long time that Ronan feels anything. But come morning, both the girl and his memory of what she looks like are gone. But he decides then and there to get his life back on track.

Cut to a few years later...
We meet Nova. And of course you know she's the mysterious woman in the Princess Leia costume. She has moved from New York back home to Texas because her mom has passed away and she is home to take care of her little sister and her family home. She finds out that her next door neighbor is none other than Ronan, who is now the high school football couch and the darling of the entire town. Only, he doesn't remember her.

These two are so antagonistic to each other at first. You think that this will be a simple enemies to lovers book. However, the story becomes so much more. It is more a combination enemies-to-lovers and fake dating book.

You fall in love with Nova's spunk and sass. Her love for her sister and her hometown. You love seeing Ronan's drive for his team and his generosity to those around him.

They have a few obstacles in their way, as any good romance does, but they find their way through and their story is fun and steamy.

I think that what I love the most about Ilsa Madden-Mills books are the male characters
Strong but broken… and you get that urge to fix them or at least read about a female fixing them… and the journey it’s always amazing

I have to add Ronan to my list of book boyfriends cause … I don’t know how to describe him… chefs kiss ❤️

Angsty, funny and hot with a twist of fate

This story is amazing and the best of all for me… football 🏈 (love sports romance)

Not gonna give to much of the plot away cause you need to read it and fall in love with it . Nova and Ronan are a treat

I give it 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Not my first read by the author. This is a new standalone I was offered an ARC of and I jumped to it. I kind of went in blind, this author tends to write out of a comfy zone, even though I have enjoyed some of her books to the max I still have that little nervousness at reading her books. Mainly it’s because of the character style (I really dislike younger characters and immaturity). That said this one started off to a good start, the problem I had at the beginning on really though out the whole beg of the book is the connection with the H&H I just couldn’t feel it. There is a lot of Enemy-To here but honestly for me the connection got lost due to that. I am a mood reader and a ‘review as I read’ type, so I just got to half the book and I have to say that I truly truly am taken back because I can’t seem to connect to the H&H’s connection and now the ‘ex’ is there and well I am having hatefully feelings towards this book, it really bums me out because I was hoping not to have to go through that ‘I’m in love with my ex, i’ll show him what he missed’ and now the ex is separated form his wife, they work together! I don’t like it here!

Okay I am slowly getting back to wanting to be here. I am feeling a little bit of connection between H&H and to them sadly I’m already at 65%. That was short lived, I just can’t put my finger on the heroine she’s very ‘everything is okay go with the flow just keep going’ and I really wanted that ‘feeling’ after the hero hurt her. This really was a emotional roller-coaster for me being a mood reader. In the end I honestly when I felt that connection, it was magic for me. I fell in love with both of them and now I want to re-read it to get a better feeling if that makes sense.

Nova is a head-strong, spunky, out there, fun and sweet heroine. Ronan is the older, broody but kind hero. They both actually meet years before they end up in the same town again. After a loss Nova comes back to take care of her sister, and even though she has a past there she is doing the right thing. Ronan ends up at the same high school coaching without ever thinking he would meet the woman who blew his mind in many ways in new york but he doesn’t remember fully. It was the darkest time in his life back then. These two are fun, quirky, the banter and the STEAMY SEX holy molly on that one, some will make a nun blush *fanning self* truly a opposite attract, enemy to, slow burn, small town delight!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Romance: ♡♡♡♡
Steamy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Triggers: NA
Standalone/Series: Standalone
Recommended: ☑
HIGHLY Recommended ☑

Get ready to fall in love with Nova and Ronan who are the Beauty and the Baller. A chance meeting two years ago at a party begins the journey of this tale.
Ronan Smith is a man at the top of his game, has found the love of his life and a tragic night ends it all. Nova is a woman that has beauty, brains, moxie, sass and so much heart. A chance meeting at a party two years before begins the tale of these two characters.
Now fate has reunited them in a small town with a whole boat load of quirky, nosy small-town neighbors.
Nova and Ronan are sweet, funny, have wonderful witty banter, steamy and have so many emotions surrounding them. I wanted to just crawl into their small town and watch this all unfold.
Loved them and their world!
~~Michele McMullen ~~

God I've missed Ilsa's words so much.

When she said she was going to be releasing a new book I was like I don't even need to read the blurb because I know it's going to be amazing and boy oh boy was it just that.

Ilsa just sucks you right into her books and you just have to read them in one sitting because you just need to know more and more. That's what happened to me whilst reading Beauty and the Baller.

The first meeting between Ronan and Nova was brilliant. I wouldn't have the balls to do what Nova did. But what happened later on I was like oh no that's not good.

I felt sorry for Ronan with having the trauma he had and his NFL career ending. Nova had endured loss and then having to look after her younger sister(who I absolutely loved).

The story was just heartwarming. It was filled with all the love, a little angst, some heartache thrown in and the friendships. All the characters were amazing, the writing was beautiful, it had some very steamy parts and the chemistry was wowzers.

Fake relationship romances are a hit or miss with me, but Ilsa Madden-Mills's new standalone from Montlake wasn't just a hit, it was one heck of a spectacular touchdown. Beauty and the Baller is set in the small Texas town of Blue Belle and pairs up a retired football player turned high school football coach with a former homecoming queen. When the time came for Ronan Smith to retire after an illustrious career, going from player to coach seemed like the best option. Of course, the hope was to be a coach of a pro team, but for now, it would do. He's treated like royalty by the town, pinning all their dreams on this former superstar player and champion. His neighbor, however, isn't too keen on him. Nova Morgan has no problem putting him in his place. It's clear she doesn't have a high opinion of him, but her dislike appears to be more deeply rooted. But Ronan would rather be in a fake relationship with Nova than being forced into a real one with any of the women the booster club shoves his way. Surprising them both, Nova agrees. But what happens when it begins to feel all too real between them and Ronan's past reminds him that loss can feel just as real as love?

This book brought me such great joy! I read Nova and Ronan's story in one sitting, and for good reason. Ilsa Madden-Mills has penned a romance that may have a well-worn trope but has added her own wonderfully creative touch to it. This was a lighthearted read, one that elicited silly grins and outright bursts of laughter from me, but it also had a touch of angst to it, particularly due to Ronan's past. The supporting characters were a hoot, and I was glad that there was no one who was notably vile or evil. That isn't to say that the journey to a happy ending for the main characters was free of issues and complications. Sometimes, we need the reminder that while the path we're on may not be the one we saw ourselves on years ago, it could very well be the right one today. From start to finish, I simply sat back and enjoyed the heck out of this book. I became quite attached to Nova and Ronan and the rest of the cast, and if I could give this book more stars, I would. Beauty and the Baller gets five-plus stars and has easily joined my list of top favorite reads for 2022.

4.5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this really great second-chance sports romance. It was a little different from the normal sportsman/jock story. As Ronan's professional career was over and he was now a small-town coach. Nova meets Ronan again when she has to move back home. Shock and realization happen, after the second meeting. You'll understand totally when you read it.

From the second they meet again, Nova just knows it was fated but it takes a cautious, broken, and scared Ronan sometime. This book was a joy to read. The characters all of them and not just the main ones were brilliant. All of them bring a special twist to the story. Especially Nova's sister Sabine, she is a brilliant and bright character. The banter and fun in this book are great. The emotions it bought out were just enough to keep this book balanced. With just enough Happy and sadness. What more could a geek ask for but a little Star Wars thrown to spice up some fun and games.

I really recommend this book and author. I've only read a couple of books and I need to rectify that and soon.