The way I ate this book up! There were so many things that I absolutely loved. Diving into the music industry world was fun, and I enjoyed the popstar/MLB player aspect. Ella is such a strong but vulnerable character, who has been mistreated and taken advantage of by her soon to be ex husband. This is depicted in flashbacks throughout her marriage, and my heart broke for her. But Miles is perfect! He can relate to what Ella goes through, and is so sweet and supportive. I have heard that this was inspired by Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter’s whirlwind romance in the 90s, and I am definitely here for that. The chemistry and pull between Ella and Miles was so good, I couldn’t get enough of them. I was obsessed with the way he called her dream girl 🥹They were definitely meant to be!


Read/listen if you like ⇣
•PR relationship
•He falls first
•Forced proximity
•Popstar FMC
•Bad boy MLB player MMC
•Single POV
•Spice

Thank you to Berkley romance for the ARC!

Thank you Berkley and Berkley romance for the free book amd to Netgalley as well, for access to the e-arc!

A book whose main characters are a famous pop singer and a star MLB pitcher? Yes please! I knew from the start that I would eat this book up, and I wasn't wrong.

Ella Simone's marriage is crumbling. And her philadering husband, who unfortunately has been at the helm of her entire career, is playing hardball. Suffice it to say, this is not the best time for her to cross paths with Miles Westbrook, MLBs most eligible bachelor. But love doesn't always follow convenient timelines.

It was so fun to read about the ins and outs of a famous musician. Definitely a topic that I'm not familiar with! And Ella was such a lovely character. She was scrambling to deal with the fall-out of her husband's divorce demands, but she was truly a kind and caring person. And Miles was a gem! From the minute he and Ella met it was obvious that he'd move mountains for her. The two of them had wonderful chemistry and I was rooting for them, despite the many obstacles in their path.

It's also important to note that the author did a fantastic job incorporating topics of race, disabilities and spousal control/abuse. Those serious topics could have brought down the whole tone of the book, but Myah Ariel wrote about them in such a way that they truly enriched the reading experience and made it even more enjoyable.

Singer Ella Simone is dealing with some heavy stuff, with the impending end of her marriage to an industry producer. She is pushing through and staying on top of her game, while keeping her inner circle even closer. A near wardrobe malfunction at a major award show could have been disastrous, but thankfully sexy major league pitcher, Miles Westbrook, who inadvertently caused the issue, swoops in for the save. This brief, but impactful encounter thrusts Ella and her team into damage control of sorts. Miles is cast in Ella's sensual music video, and she agrees to perform for his foundation's gala. The lines are blurred between what is real and what's not. One thing is for certain, these two have explosive chemistry that jumps off the pages. We learn that while Ella going through a divorce, Miles recently ended his marriage, and they are both dealing with the drama that goes along with that. Ms. Ariel explores if Ella and Miles can build something special with each other, while navigating their celebrity status.

I enjoyed this book. Ms. Ariel has a love for music that is highlighted in her work. I liked the creativity of Ella's stage name, which was a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone. The book was written solely from Ella's point of view. I enjoyed Ella and Miles' scenes and enjoyed her interactions with her friends. I did find myself missing Miles' point of view. Overall, I enjoyed the book and will keep following Ms. Ariel's work. I received an ARC from Netgalley in return for this review.

A captivating celebrity romance! It’s sexy as F***!

This book hooked me with its epic love story. One fierce women who fights for what she deserves including love. A MLB superstar healing from his own heartbreak as fate brings them together for one sizzling romance.

Their chemistry is off the charts. This page-turner is worthy of a binge read. No Ordinary Love was just an enjoyable story.

A MUST READ for fans of this genre.

Thank you Berkley Romance.

I enjoyed the story unfolding between Ella and Miles. This story really highlights the strength of a woman especially when faced with divorce and the threat of losing her career. What started off as a stunt turned into soo much more and I loved every part of this story. I was a bit lost when the story ended with so much but was happy when it was finished with the epilogue. This is definitely a story I would love to see a part 2 and read more about Ella’s new life as well as the friends that were around her. I could see this having a spinoff or two and hope to get more of these characters. I rounded mine out to a 4 star read only because of how high the last chapters left me only to be left with wanting more to what was going on.

Thank you so much to Berkley for the e-arc!

Ella and Miles. This was a very endearing love story. There are important themes explored such as privilege, power, and double standards. Miles is one of the sweetest MMCs I have read about in a while. These two gave me butterflies as I was reading!

Very grateful to the publisher @berkleyromance and @acebooks for my #gifted copy through @netgalley , opinions are my own

I really enjoyed No Ordinary Love.
It’s a story about self-discovery, second chances, and finding the courage to start over. Ella’s journey was inspiring, and I loved seeing her grow more confident after leaving her toxic marriage. Her friendships were a highlight for me—their support and humor added so much warmth to the story.
Miles was a swoon-worthy love interest! His patience, kindness, and the way he encouraged Ella made their romance feel genuine. The voice notes they exchanged were such a sweet touch, showing their growing connection.
The pacing felt rushed at times, and I wanted more scenes between Ella and Miles. The ending also wrapped up a bit too quickly. Still, this was a fun and heartfelt read, and I’d recommend it to anyone who loves celebrity romance and strong female characters.

4.5 Stars

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Out Now! Happy Release Day!

This is a standalone romance book, not yet apart of a series, but maybe it will be (🤞🏾). It’s told in the first person from Ella’s perspective.

Ella is working on closing the current stages of her life to enter a new one. She got married young and was swept up in a whirlwind romance, only to realize, at the very least, her marriage isn’t what she wants or deserves.

Miles is a professional baseball player who has recently moved through his own controversy and public divorce.

The two feel attraction the moment they lay eyes on each other, and their relationship only deepens with time. There’s no real third act break up and I appreciate the open communication they had with each other.

Miles was relatively understanding and sweet. I enjoyed learning about his backstory. i wasn’t missing his POV, but I do wish we got more of Miles and Ella together because things moved pretty fast with them.

There are many current pop culture references in this book, and while one made me chuckle, that part of it wasn’t for me.

I did like seeing Ella’s relationship with her glam squad, her manager, her mother, and her ex. Those details made her into a well rounded character and helped understand some of her intentions and reservations.

I also really like the author’s writing style. It felt poetic at times. The flashbacks, I think, were also used well to better understand what Ella was working with.

OVERALL

Overall, I give this a 4.5 out of 5 star. As a whole I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more work by this author.

Myah Ariel's No Ordinary Love includes some of my favorite components in a romance: an undeniable pull between two characters, a glamorous celebrity backdrop, and dialogue that will have you kicking your feet with joy. Ella and Miles's journey to their happily ever after is refreshingly grounded, navigating the complexities of their world. Through Ella's perspective, Ariel masterfully portrays the pressures of fame and the constant scrutiny of life in the public eye, shedding light on her motivations and highlighting the perfect balance she finds with Miles. The hard-earned resolution is genuinely rewarding.

While the central romance is beautifully executed, I did find myself wanting more insight into Ella's "butterfly era" and the exciting new opportunities that are mentioned at the end of the novel. Selfishly, I want to know more about Ella's friends, Rodney and Jamie, and hope I get to explore their love stories. Read No Ordinary Love if you are looking for a grounded, heartwarming, and passionate love story.

I am such a huge fan on Myah Ariel's writing. Her writing is thoughtful, caring, soft, and heartfelt. I was obsessed with her previous release so I had high hopes for this title. I think the story itself is good but I wanted deeper emotions from the both characters. Shockingly, I did not feel any butterflies when reading this book although I love both leading characters. As a Los Angeles native, the touches of Blackness in Los Angeles made my heart swell. I guess I just wanted more romance, not sex but confessions of love. Nonetheless, I will always read her work because I do like her writing style a lot!

This book could not be more perfect. I read the whole thing in a day while I was traveling and I could not put it down. The heat and the tension and also the totally realistic and relatable pain Ella was experiencing with her divorce, all of it was so incredibly well drawn on the page. This is one I will be thinking about for a long time!

No Ordinary Love by Myah Ariel
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Ella is in the midst of a messy divorce with a music mogul when she meets Miles. She needs to keep her head down and get through this divorce, but there is just this connection between them.
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What I liked:
-When I heard this book was inspired by Mariah Carey’s and Derek Jeter’s romance, I wanted to read it so bad. There was something about just knowing that inspiration behind this story that made it more enjoyable.
-Poor Ella was going through so much and she didn’t let it hold her back from going after what she wanted. I LOVED that about her.
-And Miles was such a great guy! I adored him and his story. How much he wanted to protect the people he cared for.
-I loved the story and was so happy when certain people got what was coming to them. The way it ended was perfect.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you love stories about love and the love of music then add this to your shelf.

𝑁𝑜 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 is like a poetic dance of romance and melody with the mixture of emotions and chemistry. It was more than a love story for me because of the music references as they create a dynamic rhythm that resonates with the characters’ journey to love. I especially loved how the fusion of the music I know and love and the story connects the chemistry between Elle and Miles adding a personal connection. One in particular was the singer Joe’s song 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠) 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑀𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝐷𝑜. I can vividly picture a moment in my past when I sang those lyrics from within my soul. 🤭 It definitely made me chuckle reading it on page.

🎧The audiobook adds to the story perfectly. It added a voice that feels authentic to the characters. Elle and Miles are definitely a hot ❤️‍🔥 couple! This is why I love pairing audiobooks with the physical (or ebook). With the right narrator, audiobooks like this makes for an enjoyable time!

Title: No Ordinary Love
Author: Myah Ariel
Publisher: Berkley
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"No Ordinary Love" by Myah Ariel

My Insight: 'No Ordinary Love' is an engaging romantic story featuring Ella and Miles, keeping readers hooked from beginning to end. Seeing how the player, Elliot, fits into the narrative is intriguing. The story revolves around Ella, an R&B star going through a divorce, and Miles, a professional baseball player. I don't want to reveal too much and spoil the plot, but prepare for a beautifully written story showcasing a strong woman navigating her way in today's world.

Thank you, Net Gallery and Berkley, for a good read.

Synopsis: Struggling through a high-profile divorce from her music producer ex, singer Ella Simone is trying to lay low until she meets pro baseball player, Miles Westbrook.

Thoughts: Swoon-worthy romance alert! I was immediately in when I heard Myah say this was inspired by Mariah Carey’s romance with Derek Jeter in her Butterfly era. This story feels so real and raw. Ella, despite being a huge celebrity, is such a relatable character with her relationship mess and her journey to rediscover herself. And Miles is an amazingly supportive MMC. Their sweet and steamy romance is perfection.

Read this if you like:
🎤 Hollywood romance
🎤 singer x pro baseball player
🎤 forced proximity

When I first saw the cover and title of this book, I was immediately drawn in. Who doesn’t love Sade and a 90s r&b type of love?! No Ordinary Love followed singer Ella Simone as she navigated her life during a pending divorce. Along the way, she met MLB player Miles Westbrook and sparks immediately flew. Miles was definitely a very sweet MMC. I loved how caring and attentive he was towards Ella and I loved she finally felt safe and seen in a relationship after dealing with a terrible one for years. The musical references and the voice notes between Ella and Miles definitely added to the story for me. I also enjoyed reading about the relationship between Ella and her glam squad. They were truly the perfect friend group. However, some aspects did fall a little short. I wished there were dual POVs in this story. Seeing Ella through Miles’ eyes definitely would’ve been the icing on the cake. The name dropping was a bit excessive and I wish we would’ve seen the downfall of Ella’s diddy adjacent trash ex on page. He deserved it for all he put her through. However, I am happy that Ella and Miles got their HEA!

I’ve been highly anticipating “No Ordinary Love” for a while because I read and enjoyed Myah Ariel’s first book, and also this cover is gorgeous! Ella is a singer who is currently going through a terrible divorce from her bitter ex, who also happens to be her producer, and from the very first page, Ella endeared me to her. I wanted her to win so badly because she had the worst ex ever! She meets Miles, who is one of the star players for the LA Dodgers, at an award show they both are attending, and sparks fly. Miles was such a cinnamon roll hero, and I loved him so much. He and Ella were honestly so cute. The conversations and genuine friendship between them were honestly my favorite part. I will say that a problem I had with this book is the same one I had with this author before, and it’s that this book isn’t told in dual POV. I feel like adding Miles’ POV would have honestly added depth to this book because I wanted to hear his thoughts.

Overall, I still had a good time reading this book. Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley Publishing for the Arc.

"I mean, that’s what love looks like, right? Endurance. But loving yourself can also look like walking away."

I loved When I Think of You, so I knew I needed to read Myah Ariel’s second novel No Ordinary Love. Just like with When I Think go You, I was blown away with the knowledge of the character’s occupation. I was thoroughly engrossed in all of the music references. Myah Ariel’s writing is so unique in this way, and her own passion for music and movies really shined throughout both of her novels!

I even loved how Ella (the main character) was trying to Tina Turner her shitty ex! I loved seeing her realize that she not only was a victim of his predatory behavior, but that she also deserved real love and companionship.

I loved Miles and Ella, and I would have loved to see more of them together on page. You can tell they really cared for each other, but their love seemed insta-love-ish. I wish we could have gotten Miles POV, as well, because I was dying to know how much he thought about Ella. I also think we should have seen more of Ella’s turmoil over getting into another relationship so soon after being cheated on and lied to for 8 years.

I am definitely adding Myah Ariel to my auto-buy author list, and I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Thank you to Berkley Romance for this early review copy. I am so honored! #BerkleyPartner #AceBooksPartner

I fell in love with Myah Ariel’s debut When I Think of You, and her sophomore novel No Ordinary Love only further confirms my adoration for Ariel’s writing! No Ordinary Love is a moving celebrity romance between Pop star Ella Simone and ace MLB pitcher Miles Westbrook who join forces for a PR stint and end up falling for each another in the process.

No Ordinary Love is a deep dive into the inner workings of celebrity PR and the way headlines skew public perception. The novel’s charm lies with Ella and Miles and the relationship they cultivate as two high profile people at the height of their careers. Ella and Miles are fully realized individuals whose dreams, traumas, and opinions are laid bare. They establish a beautiful rapport that acts as the foundation for what becomes a passionate romantic connection. Myah Ariel knows how to write toe-curling yearning, so by the time Ella and Miles get together, the delicious tension she has crafted is ready to ignite.

All of the side characters including Ella’s extraordinary team, are such a delight. These are people I can envision in real life and their conversations felt like I was listening in on the best gossip session! These are the types of people you want in your corner and they brought out a side to Ella that made her even more likable.

Ella’s contentious divorce from a high rolling music exec is a major plot point that plays out in a highly believable manner. It was empowering to watch Ella reclaim joy after being mistreated in her marriage and no one was cheering her on more than me! The resilience she achieves is no easy feat, especially after being taken advantage of while trying to attain success at a young age. Also, another quick observation I found impactful was Ella’s positive relationship to food. Diet culture (i.e. restriction) is an unfortunate reality for celebrities and the casual way Ella’s food preferences and consumption is mentioned made me smile.

It’s difficult to intersperse pop culture references without dating a piece of fiction and No Ordinary Love manages to achieve that artful balance. This is a celebrity story, so it only makes sense to include references to R&B artists, jet-setting destinations, or Baseball legends and I liked the way they were used throughout the story. I just really love this book and found the themes of public vs private image and finding love (and more importantly care) after heartbreak to be beautifully written. Myah Ariel’s characters are ones I’d love to be aquatinted with in real life and I enjoyed the experience of watching them find love.

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

They say fictional men written by women eat and that’s exactly what Miles Westbrook did. Myah is a delicate writer, she writes to evoke emotions and warmth. The friendship and love shared between Miles and Elladee is so tangible you forget you’re reading about fictional characters.

In this book, we read about Elladee who at a young age became a pop sensation. A producer took interest in her talent and helped her break into mainstream and soon they hit things off and got married. However, he cheated multiple times and one day Elladee said enough and decided to get divorced. He was not ready to back down without a fight and neither was Janet Waterman. In the midst of the divorce, Ella was supposed to lay low but the universe had different plans. One meeting with MLB star player Miles Westbrook and everything changed.

This book is refreshing, it brings a sense of hope and restores your faith in humanity. You finish the book in hopes that you encounter Miles in your day to day. Myah deserves a standing ovation for this. Hats off!