This was such a great read! 🥺 The storytelling was beautiful, and the growth of our female main character was inspiring. The themes of vulnerability and empowerment were exactly what was needed. The narrative of a woman who lost herself in her marriage but is now rediscovering how to love herself and be loved by others, was just beautiful. Elliot is forever public enemy #1! Glad he got his due in the end. And I wish him no peace with anything in life. Miles is the kind of boyfriend anyone would be lucky to have. I appreciated the inclusion of a stutter for Miles; it really added depth to his character, in my opinion. Often, we get these perfect male characters who are attractive and have no flaws, but with Miles, we got to see him in all his imperfections. I will definitely be back to read more by Myah Ariel because this book resonated with me so much!

The thing I loved most about this book was the author’s beautiful, lyrical writing—it really stood out. The story is told from Ella’s perspective, but I found myself wishing we got more from Miles too. Overall, it was a decent read, but it didn’t hit me the way I hoped it would. Even with the great writing, the plot didn’t quite land for me, and the connection between the main characters felt a bit forced and lacking real spark and genuine connection. I didn’t even get excited about the spicy scenes and that says a lot coming from me. LOL

We love a messy romance story. It makes the read so much more entertaining because all of the characters are being their true selves. Literally, no one is perfect. Everyone has flaws. It's just what you are going to do about it. You can either try to be yourself but be kind or let it ruin you. That's what Ella is trying to work on. She wants to move on from her life by getting a divorce and starting new again. Ella definitely doesn't have time to mess with someone new, even though Miles does intrigue her very much.

I enjoyed this story more than I thought I would which I fun. Totally recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc.

NO ORDINARY LOVE by Myah Ariel

Thank you #berkleyromancepartner @berkleyromance for my gifted copies

I loved Myah Ariel's debut, When I Think of You, and when I heard her sophomore novel was inspired by Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter, I couldn't wait to read it! 🙌🏼

📖 No Ordinary Love follows pop star Ella Simone, who’s navigating a messy divorce from the powerful producer who helped make her famous. When a red carpet mishap throws her into the orbit of charming MLB pitcher Miles Westbrook, a fake relationship sparks between them for PR purposes. But as the lines blur between strategy and real emotion, Ella and Miles must confront their pasts—and decide if their connection could be something real.

💭 This swoony contemporary romance novel blends themes of love, personal growth, and reclaiming your power. 💪🏼 The chemistry between Ella and Miles is off the charts! 🔥 I really appreciated the emotional depth and maturity of the characters, the multitude of musical references, and the exploration of love in the public eye. Another winner from Myah Ariel! 😍

4.5 rounded up

I really appreciate how Myah Ariel highlights the dynamic of power and control in interpersonal relationships and how they influence cycles of abuse. This was apparent in Ella’s relationship with her ex-husband and with her mother and both resolutions were SO satisfying. Often in portrayals of strained mother/daughter relationships I’m left feeling a sense of unfinished retribution but not here!

The plentiful references to 90’s and early 2000’s R&B and Hip Hop were fun and nostalgic and just added another layer of coziness to this story!

I’d recommend No Ordinary Love to anyone who seeks romance that centers Black voices, satisfying conflict-resolution, and fans of 90’s R&B!

3.75 - This was one of my most anticipated reads for April. I love the inspiration behind the story—Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter’s relationship. I really enjoyed how Ella and Miles, both celebrities, were navigating newly single lives while dealing with personal struggles that ultimately started their friendship.

I loved watching Ella’s journey of self-actualization and Miles’ healing from childhood trauma. Their individual arcs were well done. However, I wish we had seen more of them building their romantic relationship together. The romance was there, but not as in-depth as I had hoped. Also, I know that this is a romance inspired by a Hollywood love story; the pop culture references made sense, but I do think they were a bit overdone and pulled me out of the storyline at times.

Overall, I enjoyed this and excited to read more from this author! Thank you NetGalley & Berkeley Romance for this ARC

I feel like this book would make a great movie! There's just enough drama and growth. Even with their hiccups their love feels soo smooth and I love that for them. And I live for a supportive and honest friend group! I only wish we could've got Miles POV.

I loved this! miles and ella are literally so adorable. miles had me giggling and kicking my feet he was so sweet!! I also loved how there was no third-act breakup and they talked it out in the end. made the story ten times better.

a little too insta-lovey for me, I wish there was more of a buildup to their attraction to each other and involved more tension, I liked the grammy’s moment and wish there was more of that. I just feel like they knew each other for two seconds and suddenly they were telling each other “I love you” when ella was so worried about jumping into a relationship with another man after elliot. I wish we got more intimate/romantic scenes with them like dates and stuff so we can believe they really love each other.

the book had random flashback scenes and I’m not really sure what the purpose of them were. I wish we got more insight on elliot’s behaviour in their relationship to see why he’s such a bad guy (other than the cheating and minimizing her talent of course), because the only real bad interaction we see with him is when he’s in the room with his lawyer and makes a gross comment that he deserves ella’s tour profits.

otherwise, I’m glad elliot had his downfall, but the ending seemed a bit rushed and kind of a convenient way to end things. just wish there was more to the story, because myah ariel is an incredible writer.

This is my first Myah Ariel book and it for sure won’t be my last! No Ordinary Love follows Ella Simone while she closes one chapter and is opening another. She is trying to navigate her new “normal” while maintaining appearances in the spotlight. In an unexpected turn of events she find herself forming a friendship with Miles who has been deemed baseballs bad boy. While navigating their friendship she realizes there’s more to Miles than what a simple google search has shown. You can see why Ella is hesitant to explore what this friendship with Miles could entail. She’s learned throughout her time in the spotlight that you can’t trust everyone no matter how pure their intentions seem. Throughout this book you can see how deep an influence music had on the characters, storyline, and overall tone. While reading it made me reflect on my own relationship with music and how much of a role it has played in my own life. This heartfelt romance was just what I needed to get out of slump, the swoon worthy Miles helped as well!

I think objectively, this book is a cute romance that will resonate with a lot of people. I did enjoy the interactions between the two MCs and also enjoyed other aspects that I won't share as they are spoilers.

Overall, the aspects of the book I did enjoy, I wish were fleshed out more. An example would be with the MMC's stutter; we have a conversation surrounding it sure but it would have been a great opportunity to include vulnerable conversations surrounding it as well as educate readers more about the topic. I also would have loved to have the FMC and her mom's subplot more fleshed out as well. And finally, I would have loved more scenes between the two MCs and building more of a connection.

The pacing felt a bit off with flashbacks embedded in places that either didn't flow or was unnecessary. Some scenes felt cheesy and the amount of pop culture references was overwhelming. I get that this is their world and it is a celebrity romance, but it felt excessive.

I did enjoy how the book highlighted women in the industry and how easy it is to get taken advantage of, the power imbalances, and fighting for your rights as an artist and human.

Read for:
⚾️ Celebrity romance
🎤 The swoon!
⚾️ Their voice notes 🥹
🎤 The glamour squad!
⚾️ A supportive relationship 🥰
🎤 Filming a music video at the Met

I really loved No Ordinary Love! Ella and Elliot’s relationship developed naturally and I loved watching them fall for each other. I loved how supportive they were of each other and I feel like this totally worked with both of them being celebrities.

I will definitely be checking out When I Think Of You, and I can’t wait for more books from Myah!

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the gifted copy! All thoughts are my own.

“Thanks so much to @berkleypub @berkleyromance or @acebookspub for the free book!”

Miles and Ella were great characters and I loved reading their love story!

The cover of the book caught me right way because am I the only one who thinks it looks like THE Mya on the cover?!

At any rate, Miles and Ella were made for each other. I wanted to read more about their HEA, which would be my only dislike of the book feeling like it ended kind of abruptly.

I hope there is a Jamie and Gabriel story!

An exquisite, sexy, romantic drama. The main characters reminded me a bit of Ciara and Russell Wilson, who found love amidst public drama with her ex. Brimming with romance and heart, with richly developed and well-rounded characters who sought peace more than trouble. I loved it.

🎶 arc review: no ordinary love🎶

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🌶️🌶️

Thank you to berkley for an arc of No Ordinary Love by Myah Ariel. She is slowly cementing herself as an auto buy author!

No Ordinary Love is a perfect balance of divorcee, celebrity romance, with self discovery. Myah did a fantastic job of taking heavy topics and balancing it with some lighter themes.

The book starts with our FMC, Ella, who is divorcing her husband who jump started her career and is co-presenting an award with our MMC, Miles.

Their meet cute was electric and all around funny which really set the tone for the book! They clearly had chemistry off the bat but are both dealing with image issues in the public.

I loved the disability rep in this with our MMC. He suffers from a stutter and it was handled authentically. I feel like I haven’t read many books where the MMC or FMC suffers from this and I really loved the inclusion!

Overall, No Ordinary Love is the perfect spring read for someone looking for a short, fun, but realistic take on a second chance at love!


Tropes:
🎶singer x baseball player
🎶 celebrity romance
🎶 divorcee FMC and MMC
🎶 nicknames
🎶funny meet cute
🎶 self discovery & growth
🎶 MMC with a disability

Thank you again to berkley for the ARC!

Myah Ariel’s debut, WHEN I THINK OF YOU, was one of my favorite romance books last year. I have been eagerly awaiting her next release, and it didn’t disappoint!

NO ORDINARY LOVE follows pop star Ella Simone and pro baseball player Miles Westbrook. What starts as a PR relationship turns into so much more.

Once again, Myah wrote characters that were easy to root for. I loved how supportive and patient Miles was. There’s also friendship and family dynamics at play.

The R&B/pop music aspect was so fun and I loved all of the musical references!

🧡 celebrity romance
🧡 she falls first, he falls harder
🧡 two broken hearts on the mend

A beautiful novel about finding who you are after divorce and learning to open yourself up to love again. The story follows Ella, a talented r&b singer, through her divorce from her husband/manager and as she discovers what it means to truly be seen by baseball star Miles. Featuring disability representation (stutter), queer side characters, and an incredibly critical take on the current state of the music industry, this was a great – albeit slow-paced – read.

I enjoyed this!

Myah Ariel came to win with No Ordinary Love. It’s giving Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter. It’s giving swoon and R&B. It’s giving ROMANCE. No Ordinary Love is out today and y’all better pick it up.

Ella Simone is the darling of the pop/R&B world, living through a nasty divorce in the public eye with a predatory studio exec. Miles Westbrook is the baseball player who loves her, reminds her she’s strong, and supports her along the way. Set to a background of Nina Simone, Mariah Carey, and Sade, No Ordinary Love will remind you that love is real, it’s sexy, it’s beautiful, and it’s soulful.

I’m thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book 🤎 I love this authors work so much.

I LOVED this book! I was swooning and blushing throughout! I loved the main character's romantic journey and how she was such a strong advocate for her self. I absolutely love books that incorporate music and this book was full of them!

I had the pleasure to hear author Myah Ariel talk about this book during a panel that @berkleypub hosted in celebrating Black voices, and I was thrilled to hear she listened to the album Butterfly by Mariah Carey a lot while writing this book, and it's easy to see how the music and artist influenced the plot!