Roman and Nova were both suffering from loss and found refuge in each other. I love a good small town romance, and Ilsa’s writing is so excellent!! I have been waiting all too impatiently for this book and it did not disappoint. Just enough emotion without being overly sappy and overall a wonderful romance.

• r e v i e w || BEAUTY AND THE BALLER [thank you to @ for the free book] •

“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.”

This was a really great rom com with the small football town vibes. I really loved the chemistry and romance between the two and how quickly fake dating became the real thing. I did think there was a bit of a disconnect from the scene where they first meet to the present day; some issues that happened weren’t addressed the way I expected them to be and it just felt almost like there wasn’t really a purpose. Once I moved past that, I really enjoyed the story and the fresh feelings that developed.

🥰really liked || 🔥descriptive
🤟fake dating, football coach, small town meddling
📺Friday Night Lights
🎶Little Bit of You by Chase Bryant

Ronan was a very deep and complex character who doesn't fit the jock mold at all!! Nova was also a breath of fresh air when it comes to female main characters! There was none of the childish miscommunication or keeping everything hidden from each other. Loved this book and really want Sabine's story as well as several other side characters as well!!

I truly loved this book; it was full of emotions that you could feel coming from all the characters. Nova was an amazing woman, she was kind, sweet and knew what she wanted. Ronan was a great man; he was full of such raw emotions stemming from his tragic past. I really thought these two were the perfect pair, but would they make it? One afraid to open up and the other willing to give it a chance. This was a great book, I loved it.

“Listen. Find your glow. Discover all the possibilities. Reach for the stars. No one deserves this more.

Beauty and the Baller was one of my most anticipated reads of March, I’m a huge ilsa Madden-Mills fan.

Nova & Ronan have an interesting meet cute, that stays with them both but not for the right reasons. Two years later & what I like to think is fate, brings them back together in Blue Belle. This was such a great story about second chances, and healing. There journey was filled with obstacles & it wasn’t always easy, but it was definitely worth it.

I really liked Nova she was sassy & feisty, but at the same time she was a little bit broken. She had been hurt in the past, and part of her wanted to protect her heart from more heartache, but the stars had other ideas. Oh boy I absolutely LOVED Ronan who doesn’t have a soft spot for a broken hero, that man had lost a lot in his life, and he carried a lot of guilt, which meant he didn’t feel like he deserved Nova.

I really loved this story, I laughed & I felt sad & I wanted it to never end. It had some great secondary characters that I would love to see get their own stories, especially Sabine (Nova’s younger sister)

Ronan and Nova had once a one-night-stand. Fast forward 2 years, and Nova moving back home into her small town. And finding out, her new neighbor is the hottie one night stand.
Interesting, funny, sizzling story which took me a bit to get into, but than ended up reading in one sitting!

Ronan and Nova meet at the end of his NFL football career due to his injuries from a vehicle accident that took the life of his fiancée. Ronan was not in the right place or frame of mind when they met. A few years later they meet in Nova’s hometown of all places. In fact they are next door neighbors. Ronan had plans, but like most plans things changed when he starts a relationship with Nova and falls in love with her. What he didn’t realize was that he could have more then one love in his life when an opportunity of a life time comes a knocking.

This was such a fun read! I really got connected to the characters and enjoyed their story. I loved the small town vibes and witty banter between the characters. It gave me Friday Night Lights vibes which only made me love it more. Light, easy and fun read!

4.5-star read!

After being in an tragic accident that also took his fiancee's life, Ronan Smith left the NFL and became a high school football coach in a small town, carrying with him both physical and emotional scars.

Returning to her childhood home to be with her sister after their mother's passing, Nova Morgan found out her new neighbor was none other than the famous quarterback Ronan Smith, with whom she had a one-night stand in New York two years earlier. Their initial attraction rekindled and they decided to fake date for their mutual benefits.

This book has a great combination of tropes: small town romance, fake dating and office romance, second chance after a one-night stand, next door neighbors, sports romance... It's steamy and the sexual tension is delicious! It also deals with grief and Ronan's journey to open his heart to love again. I enjoyed the small town setting with the high school football team at the center. While some of the scenes seemed to be a bit immature, and I almost wanted to shake Ronan a couples times for his stubbornness, it's still a very enjoyable read that kept me on flipping the pages.

*Special thanks to the publisher for gifting me this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Such a sweet small town romance. It’s a quick read, sweet but emotional, with plenty of cute and funny moments. Ronan and Nova are a perfect match and all the quirky characters in the book are great. I love that Ronan is taking care of the town in different ways. I love how Nova doesn’t care who he is and treats him like any other person and not a celebrity. I love when she speaks her mind. I just love them.

There are not enough words to describe how much I loved this book! I have been anxiously awaiting this book, and Ronan and Nova were everything! My heart ached for the two of them, but their chemistry was off the charts from page one! I loved this small town and could read endless books set here! Amazing side characters, and so much love sprinkled in this book with everyone in it. Love, family, healing...it was such a heartfelt read that sucks you in and doesn't let go!
Everything you love about an Ilsa Madden-Mills book is in this gem, and I could not have loved it more!

Oh man I was so excited for this book to come out. I went down a Ilsa Madden-Mills rabbit hole last year after finding and falling in love with the revenge pact. I was itching for a new read once I go through all of her stuff and then she announced another football romance and just knew I needed to get my hands on it.

The beauty and the baller was everything I wanted it to be and more. Ronan and Nova were absolutely perfect for each other. I loved how open Nova was with Ronan about her feelings for him instead of shying away from them. And I appreciated Ronan being just as open and honest with Nova about his feelings and where he expected his future to lead him. Ilsa does such a good job of making creating characters that her readers can actually relate to, characters with real emotions who are not always perfect and it’s something that draws me to her books again and again. And the side characters oh my gosh they had me itching for more of their stories and that epilogue cue the tears!!!

If you’re on the fence about beauty and the baller or haven’t tried a book by Ilsa before this is your sign!! With the perfect amount of silly jokes, dirty talk and lice discussions you won’t be able to put this book down.

And lastly a huge thank you to NetGalley and Ilsa Madden-Mills for the arc 🥰

Ilsa Madden-Mills once again brings her A-game, delivering another perfect sports romance rom-com that readers will fall head over heels for. Beauty and the Baller is laugh-out-loud funny, sexy, and emotional and it will completely enamor readers from the very first page. The characters are loveable and eclectic and the small-town setting is delightfully fun.

I ADORED Nova! This woman has serious balls and I loved how she always owned her actions and feelings. She's beautiful, feisty, and is an absolute hoot. She is bold and brave and so much fun. Ronan is broody, sexy and a little bit lost. Before Nova comes into his life he's just going through the motions but she opens up a whole new world to him. Nova is able to peel away Ronan's walls one by one and get right down the heart of him. I loved how she brought out the vulnerability in this hot hunk of a former star football player. Together they were hilarious. Their chemistry was strong and I adored their witty back and forth banter. These two had me laughing out loud repeatedly.

Blue Belle was the perfect setting for this story. Its small town, Texas charm was big and bold. I loved every single character that the author introduced and I really hope that perhaps one day we'll see more of them. They are an unforgettable bunch for sure. Madden-Mills delivered a perfect story that I wish didn't have to end. I loved everything about it. 5 stars

Beauty and the Baller is chocked full of all the Southern charm that Madden-Mills books are known for. It is hilariously funny to the point of laughing out loud at times, but also sweet and entertaining. And, as always, the side characters this author writes do not disappoint. If you enjoy all things Rom-Com, Contemporary or Sports Romance, the perfect amount of spice, smartly written characters, or quirky, Southern sass, nab this one, sit down with a glass of sweet tea, and enjoy! 5 Stars!

4.8 lovely stars

This is a happy, feel good book. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey from their first meeting to the end. Ronan, having lost his fiance and career in a car wreck, was closed off and considered football his life and only anchor. In walks Nova...a force all on her own. She's lovely, fun, confident and a beautiful person. Watching her heal his heart was lovely. The side characters were amazing and hopefully will get a book of their own. I loved her sister Sabine and her first crush Tuck. Tuck would make such an amazing main male character, even if he and Sabine don't remain together. They are very young afterall but wow, he was all sorts of swoony sweet!

Have you ever started a book late at night and said, ok I'm just going to read the prologue and then sleep..... ok just the first chapter and thats it? Well once I started this book I couldn't stop at just one chapter. I devoured this book. I fell hook line and sinker for Nova and Ronin. These two had me smiling throughout their story.

Nova is certainly one of a kind. Sweet quirky and unapologetically unique. This former beauty queen comes back home to Texas to help raise her younger sister, but the last thing she expected was the hot neighbor she thought she left back in New York. Ronin who is looking for a new start travels south to find it. Ronin's story broke my heart but I loved reading how his heart slowly pieced back together with each page. These two were both looking for fresh starts and letting go of the past and the journey getting was amazing to read.

I laughed and cried with these two and I couldn't help wanting more and more of them that resulted in a sleepless night. This ex-beauty queen from Texas and the hot ex-NFL Player story is one of my favorites from Ilsa!

Omg! I loved Nova and Ronan! I got completely swept away in their story.  There was so much chemistry from the very first moment they met. When they first meet, Ronan is still dealing or not really dealing with a loss and he isn't in the right head space.  Two years later they both end up in the small town of Blue Belle and well let's just say the minute Ronan realises who Nova is there is no going back. I loved this whole group of characters that we were introduced too and I for one would love Sabine, Toby, Miles and Bruno oh and not forgetting Tuck to all get stories in the future! I adored this story and it had all the Ilsa magic that we know and love.

Worth the wait! From the perfect cover to the last page of this heartfelt romance, I was smitten from the beginning.

Their first meeting was unconventional and unforgettable. It came at a time when Ronan needed some light in his darkness. She awakened his hope and helped him to make a new start. She was only in his life for a very short while but her impact was life-changing.

One night and they both were left with memories and that was all they ever expected it to be...until Nova's life gets turned upside and she has to go back home to care for her sister. Her grumpy neighbor turns out to be a blast from the past.

Nova was fun and free, but also grounded. She loved life and really lived it. She was the sunshine that Ronan needed to heal his broken heart. Ronan was a good man just struggling with his past and his future. Small town life is just what he needed.

This romance was so full of love and heart. You will absolutely fall in love with all these characters. This story is about healing and moving on from past hurts, learning to open your heart again to be vulnerable so you can let love in, and embracing your roots. Ronan and Nova were smokin' hot, totally hilarious, and absolutely perfect together. I absolutely loved it!

This story features Ronan, a former NFL player who lost his fiancée and career on the same night. He is now coaching high school football in a small Texas town that he is using as a stepping stone to coaching at the college or NFL level. The town is thrilled to have him and the football team is doing so much better under his coaching, and they don't want him to leave. So their solution is to find him a wife, hoping he will fall in love and stay in town. But Ronan has closed off his heart to love. Two years before he got this job, he was at an NFL event where he met a woman he had a drunken one night stand with, and she was gone when he woke up, never learning her name. Her name is Nova, and when she comes back to her childhood home to raise her teenage sister after their mother passes away, she had no clue her one night stand from 2 years ago was her next door neighbor who did not remember her. When she is forced to deal with former friends and classmates that betrayed her, and Ronan wanting people to stop trying to set him up, he proposes a fake relationship and she eventually agrees. Things heat up quickly with their undeniable chemistry, and Nova is falling fast despite knowing that Ronan does not want to be in a real committed relationship.

This was a funny, steamy story with a wounded hero and a sunshiney heroine, set in a small town with a big love of Friday night football. I absolutely adored Nova and Ronan, along with her hairless cat Sparky and his dog, Dog! I would absolutely recommend this book.

Bookstagrambrielle

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!