Ronan and Nova! I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging this one was! I've been in quite the contemporary romance book slump, but this one pulled me right out; I read it all in less than a day!

The start had me reeling for sure, but what an interesting way for two people to meet. As they progress in their relationship (fake and otherwise) the compatibility of the two becomes clear and blossoms. They're not perfect people and still products of their past, but they grow and learn and improve.

It's been a while since I've read a fake dating book, and this one is a perfect return to the trope. Out on March 29th!

Once again Ilsa Madden-Mills gives us another beautiful, completely captivating contemporary sports romance that will leave your heart filled with sheer joy. If you live for all the warmth, laughter, tears and heartbreakingly good feels that a well-written romance novel brings, then look no further than an Ilsa Madden-Mills book. Her ability to deliver flawed leading men that will steal your heart before you know it and fierce yet vulnerable female leading ladies to take those leading men on and wrap them around their finger is nothing short of amazing. There's one word to describe this book: PERFECTION!

At his lowest point, ex-NFL player Ronan crosses paths with a beautiful woman named Nova. Sparks ignite and they end up spending the night together. When he wakes, she's gone. Fast forward several years and their paths cross again. Let the fireworks begin! These two bring all their walls with them to the game and proceed to knock them down, little by little until they get to what is ultimately important...finding where they belong, their true "home" and all the possibilities that brings.

In my opinion, nobody can deliver on this kind of a theme better than Ilsa Madden-Mills. Her ability to navigate you through the ups and downs, ins and outs of her characters' personalities and take you right along with them on their journey is exceptional. Every emotion they feel, you feel. Their joy, sadness, love, anger, frustration and excitement will fill your head and heart to overflowing. I LIVE to read books like this! If you do too, then Beauty and the Baller should be on your tbr list. Don't miss it!

Ilsa Madden Mills is back baby!!!!! The Piggy Wiggly made me feel nostalgic for the Game Changers Series. I will forever love Devon and Giselle! After you ready Beauty and the Baller please read Not My Match!
The Beauty and Baller main characters are both a little broken. Roan is overcoming grief, and trying to find his path in life again. Nova is returning home to Blue Belle after her mother’s tragic death, and id dealing with traumas from a past relationship. After a chance encounter in New York, Roan and Nova are surprised to find out they are now neighbors. The new relationship between the two characters forces them to heal their past. A must read! Thank you for the arc!!!
“Don’t want to hurt you, but when I see you”—he brushes his lips over mine—“you break down you break down all my walls”

I really enjoyed this book! It caught my attention from the very beginning and I had a hard time putting it down. I loved Ronan and Nova! Even though they were the main characters in this book I found myself getting attached to all the characters! There were many moments that had me chuckling in this book, but there were also moments that I got all the feels. You could feel what the characters were feeling. I was for sure not ready for this book to end! This is only my second book I’ve read of this author and I will for sure be going back and reading more. I definitely recommend this book!!

Received a arc for a honest review.

This was my first time reading this author. I thought this book was funny and kept me reading from the first page to the last page. This book was well written with great conflict between the hero and heroine. I loved the small town and it’s interesting characters. This book was very enjoyable, and I can’t wait to go back and read more from this author. Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book!

Charming, fun-filled, steamy romance!

Blue Belle is filled with a whole cast of great characters that add so much to Nova and Ronan's second-chance story. This former NFL player scarred by his past and the fierce southern belle that sees past the walls his built up to protect his heart and is willing to risk her own for love will capture your heart with all the feels.

Beauty and the Baller has so much heart, laugh-out-loud (make your head itch!) moments, and sweet and steamy romance readers will adore.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

“Win the heart, win everything”

I loved this book! Nova and Ronan are pure perfection!

Beauty and the Baller is so perfect, so so everything, that I want to hug it, kiss it and clutch it tightly to my chest and never let go. It's just that good! That great! This book makes you feel. Makes you sigh and laugh and cry and whimper and cheer. This book is everything and more that a book should be.

Ronan, NFL quarterback is scarred, and Nova has to deal with the aftermath of her mother being gone. From the moment they meet, the chemistry between them is fantastic.

I can't say enough how much I loved these characters. This was kind of a slow burn, and the build up was fantastic. I loved their friendship and how much they came to mean to each other. Plus, their banter was hilarious. Nova is a southern girl with an extra snark. I'd call her adorkable. And Ronan dug it. This brought out all the fun. I laughed wholeheartedly.

And I loved every minute of it; the simplicity of the characters, yet complexity they tended to bring to each other. I also loved the football elements in the book and all the characters that evolved around Nova and Ronan.

Beauty and the Baller is such a mesmerizing book. If you had to choose one NA/sports romance to read this year, this one has got to be on the top of your list.

Beauty and the Baller
Isla Madden-Mills
A life-altering accident leaves NFL player Ronan Smith a shadow of his former self. When Nova Morgan walks into a party looking like his fantasy come to life, their connection is instant and the lingering effects are a catalyst for Ronan to change his life. While he decides to restore his light, Nova walks away from their encounter with a dim to hers. Two years later, fate brings them back into each other’s orbit in a small town in Texas, where Ronan is now the football coach and Nova is back home to pick up the pieces after her mother's death. But Ronan doesn’t remember what Nova can never forget: their former connection in New York. Can these two grab hold of what the universe has designed for them?
Madden-Mills has a unique ability to hook a reader within the first few lines so that, by the end of chapter one, you’ve cancelled your plans for the day. She manages to avoid the info dump while also giving enough background that you’re desperate to know how these characters got to this place and more importantly, what they’re going to do about it.
I love that Nova is so joyful without being naive. She’s the literal girl-next-door, but not really the figurative one. Nova isn't innocent or sheltered: she's traveled, she's loved and she's suffered, but Nova chooses joy anyway. She’s the perfect foil for broken and scarred Ronan. This isn’t the cliche of a grumpy/sunshine either: both characters are too multi-dimensional for that: Nova's joy still comes with a side of distrust, and Ronan has pursued happiness, but is still suffering extreme loneliness.
This is a slow build and while I normally love a quick HEA, this one feels rushed. I’m a selfish reader, and I'll admit that I always want more, but this conclusion did feel like there could’ve been more build up to a bigger resolution. There were lots of side storylines that could have been further explored, if only so I could have read this book for longer. 😊Still 5 stars: I cancelled plans to finish this in under 24 hours!

Pair with: Rock Bottom Girl by Lucy Score

I am a big fan of this author's work so I was excited to dive into this one, and I was intrigued from the start. Ronan is a pro football player whose world has changed drastically over the last year after an injury and a major loss, and he is struggling. He meets Nova one night when she shows up to a party he is at dressed up as a character from his favorite movie and they share a steamy but someone awkward night. A couple of years later, in a strange twist of fate, they find themselves as neighbors and co-workers. They have great chemistry but both are afraid to open up their hearts, but for different reasons.

I really enjoyed the main characters of the story. I thought they were great together and liked who they were as people; both genuinely cared about others. Ronan was a wonderful coach and cared deeply for his players, going out of his way to help them, and Nova did the same for one of her students that she noticed struggling and she was a wonderful sister. I adored the relationship she had with Sabine. I think the secondary characters (most of them) added a lot to the story. I struggled a little with some of the booster story line, and there was some things relating to the school that I thought were strange (vaping closet, lice etc). I don't think lice really belongs in a romance book. It definitely took away from the story for me a bit (just my two cents).

I read the book in one sitting and overall found it to be an enjoyable read. I enjoyed the small hometown setting, both main characters, the sisterly bond portrayed, and the wonderful epilogue.

Ilsa Madden-Mills is back and has gifted us this fun and captivating rom-com, Beauty and the Baller. It's a second chance romance as well as a fake relationship. The story starts with an epic meeting at a gala between Ronan and Nova. Unfortunately, he is a real mess after losing his fiancee a year ago in a car accident and his football career ending as well. So, they go their separate ways after he makes a stupid mistake. Fast forward, 2+ years later, Nova moves back to her hometown to take care of her little sister after her mother's sudden death. And lo and behold, Ronan is the football coach at the local high school and her mom's neighbor. They have a hilarious and entertaining reunion. Throw in some meddling southern women trying to marry him off and he asks Nova to pretend to be his girlfriend. Both main characters were wonderful and easy to love. Nova had some incredibly funny lines in here. The supporting characters, mostly all the students, brought so much joy and depth to the story. It was perfectly paced with a unique storyline. I couldn't put the book down at all. Beauty and the Baller was a real winner through and through. I would definitely recommend this one.

Beauty and the Baller by I. M. Mills, published by Montlake, is another piece of art by this outstanding author.
I loved the previous book, Not My Romeo, another fabulous sports romance, but this book is even better.
Flawed main vcharacters. They're good people, but they make mistakes, just like everyone else.
I fell in insta-love with Nova and Ronan, Sabine and Tuck.
I recommend the book, 5 stars.

This was about as cute as all get out. I love a second chance romance, a strong supporting cast, and MC’s that don’t rely on the miscommunication trope, so this pretty much filled me with joy.
The only downside was this felt like there was a lot going on, and I didn’t enjoy following every single thread, especially when it felt like so many of them were unfinished.
Otherwise, I loved my time in Blue Belle, and I hope I get back soon for a few more of these characters.

Ilsa gives us the feels, the funny, the heat, we get it all!!!

I can't help but love the pets!! Our heroine has a cat named Sparky who is a hairless cat or more specifically a Donskoy of Russian heritage. Our hero has a dog named Dog who is possibly an Irish wolfhound. Love the animals. They are as much a part of our story as the rest of the cast of characters.

The sibling and the friends and the students and the townspeople of Blue Belle, all of these things contribute to what make this story so enjoyable. I found myself totally enthralled. Completely unable to stop until the story was done. Not good for my sleep, but oh so entertaining for my dreamscape. *winks*

But the best part of this story? Nova and Ronan. They both have their baggage to deal with.

Nova is the hometown girl who has had to leave her NYC dreams to return to her roots to care for her teen sister after her mother's passing. What she doesn't expect is to discover that her hot one night stand is now her neighbor AND the high school football coach. OH, and for their initial reconnection to be when she storms into his home and rips him a new one because his most recent 'friend' just drove over her rosebushes (which her mother planted for each of her daughters).

He doesn't recall their first meeting. He, Ronan, is exceeding frustrated that no one will leave him be since moving to Blue Belle. He has women being thrown at him from all sides and the party, his birthday btw, is no exception. He just wants to do his job, which is teach and coach football. Mostly, coach football so he can craft a new future for himself because that night he met Nova was the start of change for him from the bottom he had hit after the accident he'd been in that ended his pro-football career and killed his fiancée.

He and Nova are so intertwined. Their chemistry has not faded. She wants to resist him but she was already half in love with him all those years ago. He isn't completely sure what he wants but he starts to realize maybe what he thought his future was going to be isn't what he really wants after all. It just may take some moments for him to realize it.

I floved this book!! Seriously!! Nova is an so strong and intelligent and sassy. Her sister, Sabine, is fantabulous!! I hope we get a book for her too!! Ronan is so not a playboy. He wants to do his job. He has his geek side and isn't afraid to show it. I love when he is visiting his best friend, Tuck and breaking down the apartment they used to share... sounds like the showoff was definitely Tuck not Ronan. I love all the things he does for Blue Belle and his students. Can't wait for Tuck's HEA too!

I love when we get some Star Wars. I love the geek stuff. Flove it.

And I seriously recommend reading this when it comes out. It made my heart so happy.

I received a review copy. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Tender and emotional, with the perfect amount of spice, Beauty and the Baller is an exquisite story of true love, and the role fate plays in a happily ever after. Highly enjoyable and definitely recommended!

Awe my heart. I love a scarred hero and Ronan is scarred inside and out. These two meet not so randomly two years prior to Nova returning back to her hometown. Her mother just passed away and she’s sworn to take care of her sister. Broke with no prospects, she moves into her mother’s house in a town she swore she wouldn’t come back to.
Nova never got over her first heartbreak and Ronan is deflecting pretty much every woman that throws herself at him. The idea of fake dating doesn’t sound so bad, especially if Nova gets to save some face in front of the town she left.
Ronan can’t form any attachments, he’s leaving, so this seems like the perfect plan. But you know what happens when you fake date the girl that brought you out of the depths of despair and made you finally turn your life around? Yeah. Feelings.
Little by little, Ronan begins to open up and let his walls fall away. He swore he would never fall in love again, but how can you stay away from the brightest star in the sky?
My heart is so full. I loved these two, their love story is broken and the side characters really made the story for me. 4.5 stars for this fun sports romance that I couldn’t get enough of!
Thanks to Montlake, netgalley and Ilsa Madden Mills for an early copy.

Oh boy! I'm not crying; I have dust in my eye. Earlier, I was crying...now it's just dust. Texas dust. It's a thing. So what I live in NJ, I have Texas dust in my eye. (Glares and shows off the bloodshot red as proof)

Ilsa Madden-Mills has definitely set out tackle your emotions, push you into the starting line up blindfolded for the state championship, and then tied your shoelaces together. Worse, she does it while you smile wholeheartedly and ask for more.

No this isn't a "bless her heart" moment, Madden-Mills steals hearts, toys with them, and then waits until you say thank you. So this right here is my thank you...

Thank you for a feisty beauty with an impressively large heart, a charming ability to make me smile, and a compassionate being that makes me feel better knowing her character. Thank you for her fun and awesome sister who steals the show and our hearts while anchoring us to Blue Belle. Thank you for our troubled, scarred, and hurting Hero who only needed a star to light his way. Thank you for a love story filled with fun friends that make me jealous and happy to have experienced Blue Belle, Texas. There will be more, right!?! (Said in a tone that means there will be. No discussion. )

I was a little hesitant when I started reading this book because it was different than the other books I have read by Ilsa Madden-Mills. The beginning kind of through me for a loop because it just jumped right into the middle of Ronan and his current mood without much of what was going on. Cue the meet cute when Nova enters the scene and incoming holy hotness! Ronan decided after his one night with Nova that it was time to get it together and move forward with his life.

Nova and Ronan's story continues in the small town of Blue Belle where everyone knows everyone and everyone knows your business. The small town feel added to the romance of the story with the quirky characters and loveable animals. I laughed out loud to Skeeters obliviousness of life and Sonia's quirky life philosophies. I believe the story could have been more focused on the main characters even thought side characters can add to the charm but there was a lot of side stories added in.

Ronan and Nova's story was sweet and steamy with their fun and games, banter, and playfulness. Ilsa made you feel the turmoil that Ronan was feeling with his emotions and tough decisions and Nova was a fierce and strong character that held it all together. This wasn't my favorite read by this author but it was sweet and funny plus the epilogue finished it off nicely.

Arc, for an honest review.

This is definitely one of favorite reads. There were many hilarious conversations between Nova and Sonia & Nova and Sabine. Many laugh out loud moments. Nova is sassy and funny and extremely smart. She moves back to Blue Belle to take care of her sister after their mother recently passed and I love the way she basically takes care of everyone in her own way.
Ronan isn't fully healed, even years after he lost the love of his life and his football career in a crazy accident. He moves to Blue Belle for a fresh start. Nearly after two years of people throwing women at his feet to get him to stay, he has this plan to start fake dating his new neighbor.
Let me tell you how HOT this story was. It wasn't just Ronan and Nova, it was the whole enchilada, it was the relationships between everyone, it was every neighbor, it was every co-worker, it was every student. Top fav's for sure.

Nova and Ronan - so many tropes so much drama so much page turning! Nova and Ronan met at a party and had a one night stand and now, two years later, they are neighbors in the small town of Blue Belle, Texas. She's raising her sister, he's working as a high school football coach. She goes to work for him and then when they've both had enough of others meddling in their love lives, they decide to have a fake relationship. You know what happens next! This has appropriate steam, fun characters, and a good spirit. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

After an intense encounter 2 years ago, former football star Ronan Smith finds himself in small town Texas coaching. He wants to get his life back after a tragic event. Ronan never thought he would see the mysterious beauty he met years prior but Nova Morgan just happens to be his new neighbor. Can he makeup for the past and find what he needs? A perfect balance of laughs, heart and redemption in this small town, sports meets second chance, fake relationship romance. Ronan is adorable and a great match for feisty Nova. A delightful, feel good romance that will have you falling for the coach! Also, I just loved their friends, Skeeter and Sonia! A definite top read of 2022. Told in dual POV