Review: Beauty and the Baller (Strangers in Love #1) by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Beauty and the Baller

(Strangers in Love #1)

by Ilsa Madden-Mills 

March 29, 2022

Goodreads Summary:

An NFL quarterback turned small-town coach gets sacked by a Texas beauty queen in this swoony, passionate romance from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills.

Gorgeous, talented, and brilliant, NFL quarterback Ronan Smith has the world in his hands. But after losing his career and his fiancée in a car accident, he falls into a pit of grief and bad choices. When a mysterious girl shows up to his party, he feels drawn to her and makes her his…for one night.

Former beauty queen Nova Morgan is on a mission. Scantily clad as a princess from a galaxy far, far away, she sneaks into a high-profile party to capture the attention of her favorite quarterback. But her hopes crash after an awful one-night stand.

Fast-forward two years. Broke and desperate, Nova returns home to Blue Belle, Texas, where, by a cosmic twist of fate, her broody neighbor is none other than Ronan, the shiny new football coach everyone adores. But he has no idea who she is.

The booster club keeps shoving women at Ronan to keep him in town. His solution? He proposes fake dating to Nova. But things heat up for real under these Friday-night lights when he realizes she’s the one who slipped away.

Has this jaded beauty found her forever baller, or will his past keep them apart?

Review

I'm always up for a fun sports romance but boy was Beauty and the Baller a well-rounded story. Emotionally charged with charming characters and a quaint small town setting, this book was full of heart.

I love the small town gossip and the school spirit in Beauty and the Baller. Add in a cute side story of young love, I was grinning a lot reading this book. I also very much appreciate the story being low in drama. The main characters each had baggage to unpack but both were pretty upfront with their feelings when it came to their fake dating scheme and the relationship that further developed between them. Interferences were quickly dismissed and misunderstandings easily settled.

With some fun and flirty banter and more than a few crazy hot moments, Nova and Ronan shared the most intense chemistry. Neither could deny how perfectly they fit together. "Life will always be scary. It's better when you do it with someone." (p.230) Being privy to both Nova and Ronan's feelings through their POVs, it was easy picturing a happily ever after for them. They deserve it so much.

The stellar characters and their meaningful stories has put Beauty and the Baller on my list of all-time favourite sports romance. I cannot recommend this book enough to readers who love sexy sporty stories ;)

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not affected in any way. Any quotes included in my review were taken from the copy I received.