Another great read from Ilsa Madden-Mills. This is a story about Ronan who is in a really bad place after his career ending football injury and the death of his fiance and when he meets Nova who has followed his career and just wants to meet him. Their is instant chemistry and they end up spending one night together. Fast forward a few years and Nova moves back home to Texas to take care of her little sister when their mom dies. Next door lives Ronan who is now the high school football coach. This is a funny and charming story of their fake relationship, which grew to more.

This book was so good!!

I really enjoyed this one. The entire time, the words flowed so well, the story was super fun, there were lots of Star Wars references, and it was super steamy! The first chapter did confuse me a tiny bit, but it made sense once you kept reading. The banter was perfection in this book, Nova is super witty and a strong female protagonist that you can't help but cheer for!

I want to quickly mention how much I love the names Nova and Ronan, it just reminds me of the Marvel Universe, and I'm here for it!

One tiny thing I will say that irked me a little bit was Ronan saying he preferred blondes a bunch of times throughout the book, but other than that, I think it was great!

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the earc in return for an honest review.

I loved this. It's kind of a sports, small town, second chance romance. Imagine hooking up with someone, then moving in next door to them a couple years later and they don't remember you! At least not right away. The connection is still definitely there, though. I love the games Nova and Ronan play (oh I love their names, too). They are both competitive and playful, and get caught in compromising and hillarious states.

It kind of felt like while Ronan was falling for her, he was also falling for the whole town, and so was she. They made a family with the community. Nova has an awesome little sister as well, who reminds me a lot of my daughter. It felt like they both were trying to find home, to find their purpose and happiness. And they found each other. When you love the right person, the rest works itself out, and I loved their story, and the ending.

This was a first time read for me by this author and it was an absolute delight. Fake dating/relationships are always a fun trope because there is such potential for humor and sizzling romance. This book was spot on on both accounts. Nova and Ronan were two great characters and I loved the spicy and witty banter between the two. Ronan starts out in a bad place, his NFL career ends after an accident and he has lost his fiancée. He meets Nova at a party and they have a one-night stand. When he wakes up the next morning, she is gone and he didn't even get her name. When fate brings them together again a couple years later, he has no idea who she is. Each having their own reason, they begin to fake date and it doesn't take long for real feelings to develop. They had amazing chemistry and I loved watching their relationship blossom. This was a heartwarming story with emotion and plenty of humor and I just adored it. Glad to have had the opportunity to read this! I'll definitely be looking for more books by this author!

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

***5 ‘Glow’ Stars***

I have to admit that the start of this book had me going “Uuugmmm…” not in a bad way, I promise, but it was definitely an interesting start to things. And did have it’s eyebrow raising, eye rolling, heavy sigh moments, but…and this is the important one BUT it also had a bunch of heartwarming and hilarious moments and was filled with such great characters ~ with a few exceptions ~ that I ended up absolutely loving it and hoping that we get more from this crew in the future.

Nova and Ronan. I loved them. I did. Nova is a force and an enigma. One minute she is all kinds of confidant and fearless and the next she’s struggling with her own insecurities. I loved how she owned all that she was, even the things that others may look down on, she owned herself in every way. Ronan. This man. He’s got walls built up around him a country mile wide, but even with his standoffish-ness (though in one situation I totally agree with how he uses it) he has a good soul and it shines through when he’s being the ‘coach’.

Their journey to their HEA was a fun one from start to finish, even with the bumps the road that they tended to create for themselves. The chemistry between them was intense from the start and only grew the more they were together. I loved their bantering and just how they flowed when they were together, which made the fake dating thing not so fake. They had a few bumps in their road to deal with, some took a bit of time, but in the end, I loved where they ended up.

While I loved Nova and Ronan, I have to admit that my enjoyment of this book was kicked up a notch by the supporting cast of characters. I ended up loving so many of them because they were unique and brought all kinds of depth to the story. IF I had to pick a favorite, it would be Sabine, but I loved Tuck and Sparky and Dog were also awesome. So, if you’re looking for a fun read filled with great characters and a full on small town vibe, then this is a must read for you!

~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

TW: Parental death, death of a significant other (mentioned), binge drinking (briefly)

I've always been a fan of Ilsa Madden-Mills especially her Waylon University series so when I saw this pop up on Netgalley I smashed that request button so fast. I'm really glad I did because this was such a great read. It has everything...laughter, spice, feelings, found family...all the good stuff!

Nova is headed back to her hometown of Blue Belle, TX to take over guardianship of her sister after their mother's sudden passing. She's leaving New York and everything behind to go back to what was once a painful reminder of her first love and how he broke her heart and ultimately changed her life...for the better.

Ronan has lost his fiance and his career in the last year after a horrific car wreck once stormy night. He's heartbroken and lost drinking and sulking to try to avoid any attachments that will eventually cause him pain. One night his best friend sets up a girl to meet Ronan, unbeknownst to him, and the sparks fly immediately. She radiates such joy he can't help the attraction he feels to her, he desperately wants out of his darkness. Things get spicy but in the end his calls her by his dead fiance's name (ughhhhh) the girl is gone when he wakes but he's got a new outlook on life. A couple of years later that girl pops up as his new neighbor/new PA and things get crazy, funny, and oh so good.

I really liked this one, it had a lot of emotion involved...I found myself tearing up more than once. And the side characters were so fun as well. Sonia and Skeeter...oh my god they were so hilarious, that lice scene good lord! And the kids, can't forget them, Sabine and her fountain of random knowledge all the way to Bruno and his "hot cheerleader girlfriend" so cute!

It was fairly easy to read this in an afternoon, it's entertaining so you won't want to put it down. The story flows really well and I really liked the beginning, it was like a tease to how hot Nova and Ronan's relationship was going to be. Definitely give this one a read if you have any interest in sports romance or contemporary romance in general.

Thank you so much to Montlake and Amazon Publishing for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet story between Nova and Ronan. I did not really like their first interaction, but I am glad that did not deter me from continuing to read as the story got much better. Would recommend.

This is a great book. The two main characters are Nova and Ronan. When they first meet Ronan is a quarterback for a professional team, Nova is a bartender, they had an instant attraction and had a one night stand. Several years later they meet in Nova’s hometown. Nova has come home to her hometown because her mother died and to be her sister’s guardian. Ronan is the football coach for the high school team. They each have problems from exs to job opportunities out of state. They decide they love each other and get married.

Beauty and the Baller by Ilsa Madden-Mills is an amazing retell of Beauty and the Beast with a former beauty queen and NFL quarterback. I loved the duel point of view in the telling of this story and think it was a cute rom-com take on the classic story. Definitely want the reader to be aware there are triggers of death of loved ones. Give me a good sports, second chance romance any day!!

Ronan and nova first met a few years ago, but now she has ended up living next door to him and also working with him at the local school.
She is back in town to raise her younger sister, and he is only there as a stepping stone to something bigger. When they start to fall for each other will they have a chance, or can he still not move on from his past?

Love the side characters, especially some of the students, and also Skeeter and Sonia.

A great read, looking forward to more books from this author.

This book was a wonderful surprise! Humor and hot romance fill the pages and the small town, fake dating vibes were so great. Adding Madden-Mills to my list and going to see about her backlist.

Did I decide to pickup a football book (whilst in holiday book season) entirely to keep my football spirits high post Michigan beating OSU? Yes, yes I did. (This is probably not a huge surprise to most of you) Also, I don’t read blurbs, so I had 0 idea where this book would take me. I adored it, and finished it in only a couple of sittings. I’m so glad I grabbed this ARC when it was on Read Now from Netgalley.

If Friday Night Lights and a contemporary sports romance book had a baby- you would get this story. A former NFL quarterback becomes Texas HS football coach. There’s a meddling small town who wants to get him hitched, some fake dating (that’s short lived…. Because well chemistry), complicated family backstories, second chance romance, a colorful cast of side characters, and a good amount of steam + so much more. Add this to your TBR because you’re going to want to get to know Ronan and Nova.

Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

I sat down to read this and then refused to move for hours because I. Was. Invested. Beauty and the Baller is about former beauty queen Nova and former NFL superstar Ronan. The two meet one night and have an instant connection, but their one night stand does not end well and they go their separate ways. Two years later, Nova is forced to move back to her hometown of Blue Bell, Texas and discovers that her neighbor is none other than now-town-football-coach, Ronan. Enemies to lovers amazingness (+ fake dating!) ensues.

I must read Ilsa Madden-Mills’ entire backlist. I loved Dear Ava, but I was OBSESSED with this one. I loved Nova and Ronan and all of the residents of Blue Bell. I want to go back. This was such an adorable read. It was entertaining, swoonworthy, hilarious, and fast-paced. I loved every page. Perfect final book of 2021.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Full review to be posted closer to release date.

Former beauty queen and the quarterback!

Former New York Python quarterback Ronan Smith had finally hit bottom after he lost his fiancé and career in a car accident but after having one night stand with Nova Morgan made him realize just how far he had fallen. Two years later, Ronan was the new football coach at Blue Belle, Texas and was a target for all of marriage minded mamas in town so he would stay in Blue Belle.

Former beauty queen Nova Morgan had moved back to Blue Belle to take care of her sister after the death of their mother. Ronan doesn’t remember her, but he needs a pretend girlfriend to get the target off his back.

I live in Texas and high school football is king and so many of the scenes made me laugh because of small towns, Friday night and mascots!

Now I want Tuck’s story!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.
Beauty and the Baller was a fun sports rom com. Ronan and Nova have cute chemistry. They start off as having a fake relationship to actually falling for one another. The story and characters kept me entertained. I have to say I enjoyed this one.

I really enjoyed this second chance, small town sports romance with a dash of fake dating thrown in. This is my first time reading this author and I plan to read her backlist now. The story was fun and entertaining, steamy and swoony.

I really enjoyed the side characters but there were a lot to keep track of, all with different backstories and histories. It seemed like maybe she’s setting up a new series with how much detail some of these side characters got.

Content warnings: loss of parents, loss of fiancé to car accident, and lice outbreak (y’all that was triggering for me so throwing it in here for others!)

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the early copy. All opinions are my own.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I actually really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh! A one night stand with chemistry and wham, I was hooked. 4 stars I think most romance readers will enjoy this book.

3.5 stars

This was an entertaining and sexy fake dating sports romance. I loved the second chance aspect (after an emotional one night stand) and the forced proximity/fate twist that brought Nova and Ronan back together a few years later. There is instalove/lust, but I loved how they both worked through their grief and trauma and the banter between these two was chef's kiss. That back and forth translated to some super spicy moments and yay for large pantries and pool tables!

I really enjoyed the secondary characters, but sometimes it felt like there was a lot going on and it detracted from the main storyline between Nova and Ronan. The adults often acted more childish (ie: the vaping and supply closets), than the high schoolers they were supposed to be teaching. The story was predictable, but it was still a lot of fun and the pop culture references had me laughing throughout. That epilogue melted my heart and could not have been cuter! Could there be a book for Tuck in the future? ;)

CW: scarring and career ending injuries from an automobile accident (past), death of loved one/parent (past), grief, cheating ex (past), discussions of death of secondary character's parents, lice

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

I loved this book! It has all the feels. It has amazing steamy scenes and it has scenes that touch your heart. I loved reading how Ronan learns to love again and how to deal with losing a loved one. Ronan and Nova have amazing chemistry from start to finish! This book is Dual POV and an open door romance.
Definitely recommend reading this book!


Thanks to Netgalley and Montlake for the ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A pleasant retelling of "Beauty and the Beast"! Nova is a former queen of a provincial Texas town, Ronan is a sports superstar in the past, and they were united by one fateful night.

A story about a second chance at love, about a second chance in life. I really liked the characters, they did not hide their feelings, they were frank with each other.

Thanks for the arc!