This book surprised me since to be honest I didn't think I would like it this much this book was everything loved the characters and the storyline
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I thought this story was a fun read!
It features a one night stand which results in an accidental pregnancy, a sexy football player, a feisty artist and some great friends.
This story kept me entertained the entire story and I’m extremely happy with the ending.

No names or even full faces are revealed in their one night stand so of course Tuck has no idea he knocked someone up. Then when he realizes who she is, she’s too scared to tell him.

After Beauty & the Baller, I fell hard and fast for Ilsa Madden-Mills books. In general, I love her strong, feisty females. Francesca was no exception, and this story was fantastic with a great male lead and a fun supporting cast of found family.

That said, whereas Beauty & the Baller (& some of her others) are heavy subject matter balanced with a lot of humor and great banter, this book was notably heavy overall. There were a few humorous moments, but there are a lot of CWs to give with this one: a sex club, suicide, addiction, and mistreatment of children to name a few. Knowing this going in would have been helpful.

Ilsa Madden-Mills is the queen of football romance books with Princess and The Player!

After reading the Beauty and the Baller, I was excited for the next book in the series, and it did not disappoint one bit! This book has a pregnancy trope and within a sport romance is always my favorite thing to read. I loved that despite there being a pregnancy trope there was buildup, and slow burn because you can see that gradual instant attraction turning into reluctant friends and falling in love. I love that he went from being a player to being all in and trying to convince her that he is there for her.

I thought their banter and dynamic was chemistry filled and hot. You can see how they are opposites but yet still make the absolute scene together and how they compliment each other. I love that they found a family with each other and comfort because they truly didn’t know each other to lean on and the epilogue was the absolutely perfect! I loved this book and I think People are really gonna like it because it’s a different take on a pregnancy trope where you see that they choose each other and choose to be together and fight for their relationship to work and you see how their lives change and things they didn’t expect happen to them but it’s what they needed. I love this book and I hope she continues this series.

Tuck and Francesca are an irresistible force, a beloved train wreck of epic proportions. OR SO YOU'D THINK! They definitely have some very high drama moments but overall I loved this couple and how the author chose to develop their story.

The trauma that Tuck and Francesca both dealt with, the depth of the relationships between Francesca and her friends and the lovely grumpy gentleman who lives in the building...I could've read an entire book about just their interactions. I need a sequel where they all babysit, ASAP.

If you like your romance with some deep trauma, a light smidgen of family/relationship betrayal, SPICE, and characters learning to ya know....TALK about their emotions, then this is the book for you! This author is truly great, give her a try! :)

Princess and the Player was a good read. I'm generally not a fan of pregnancy tropes but this one was written well. I loved how the beginning started but it did fizzle out a bit. I'm used to spicier scenes from Ilsa. Francesca and Tuck could have had better romance too but overall I enjoyed the book.

*Received a copy for review.*.
Boy do I hate when this happens. I like d the first book so much. This one did not work for me.
Ii love a sex club. I enjoy a secret baby. I love a footballer.
However, neither character is memorable. There are a lot of things that are around them that seem unnecessary. Too much around the friends and her ex and all the other extras.
I don’t understand the attraction. The hook up sure but the rest was just told not shown.
Some people will love this book but it did not work for me.

Another great one by Ilsa Madden-Mills. Tuck is a 35 yr old NFL player who has had a rough upbringing that still haunts him. His career is possibly nearing its end and a few of his teammates take him to a private club on his birthday. Francesca has lived her life in foster care not knowing who her parents are. She's learned to be tough and not let guys too close. She has recently been cheated on by her fiance and one of her good friends works at this private club and gets passes for her and a friend. This is where Tuck and Francesca meet and their story begins. It is a mascarade party so they have masks on. Turns out their paths have crossed many times before unaware as they discover later on. They have an amazing night of sex and continue to think of until they run into each other again and figure out who the other is.

Princess and the Player is a new sports romance in Ilsa Madden-Mills series, Strangers in Love. This is the 2nd book in the series but it can definitely be read as a stand-alone. After sharing a passionate together at a masquerade ball, the hero and heroine run into one another later realizing they live in the same building. This is also has a surprise baby trope, which is in the synopsis for the book.

Francesca found out her fiancé was cheating on her just before their wedding, so she decides the best way to spend what would have been their wedding day, is to dress up in her wedding dress and spend a night out a sexy club with her friends! There she meets a masked prince and they share a steamy night together. NFL star, Tuck Avery, was surprised by his teammates for his 35th birthday. They whisked him away to a fairy tale-themed masquerade ball at an exclusive sex club when he meets the masked princess bride. They don’t exchange names or info but both can’t stop thinking about their night together. Weeks later they end up running into one another over and over again and realize they also live in the same apartment building. The day they meet, and realize who one another is, Francesca was just let go from her tattoo parlor job and found out she was pregnant from their one night stand. She actually keeps the baby news under wraps for most of the book and doesn’t tell him, even when they start seeing one another again.

This was an okay read. I like a sports romance and don’t mind surprise baby trope, but this one just didn’t work for me because I felt the romance was lacking. Since she doesn’t tell him about being pregnant for quite a ways into the story, their relationship wasn’t about her thinking he only wants her for the baby…which was a nice change. He has a complicated relationship with his mother and Francesca was raised in foster care, so I liked seeing the found family that she has surrounded herself with since. There was a lot going on in the story around them, and I do wish it was more about their relationship and romance.

Thank you to the publisher (Montlake) for an e-ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts in this review are my own. Princess and the Player has a publish date of November 8, 2022.

The Strangers in Love series is so far my favorite from this author. I adored Beauty and the Baller and Princess and the Player is even better. Wow. This story swept me away. I liked Tuck from the first book of the series and it was so good to be surprised by all his layers and flaws. Cause he sure had them along with a bag of trauma. Francesca is a strong heroine and has been shaped by her tumultuous upbringing as has Tuck. When these two meet for one night it’s obvious the chemistry and connection is there. Still fate or luck intervenes when they meet again and live in the same building.

Princess and the Player was a superb romance. I fell in love not only with the two leads but also the side characters. Tuck’s NFL friend Jasper was a hoot and Francesca’s friends Cece, Brogan and Darden were just as good. They added so much humor to the story.
Tuck and Francesca were incredible. Explosive chemistry and steamy scenes but the connection was chef’s kiss. Two individuals who’s afraid of being hurt and abandoned find one another. It was a beautiful story and why I read romance. I truly hope this isn’t the final book of The Strangers in Love series cause I’m infatuated with these characters. Bravo.

5 Fated Stars

*Thank you Montlake for providing me with an early ARC in exchange for an honest review *

3.5 Stars
I flew through this book. The way it started with how Francesca and Tuck met was unique and fun. I loved the banter and how things happened between them. It was fun to get to know them and their pasts. They both had broken pieces, but I loved who they had become. The first half of the book was really strong and exactly what I love in an unexpected pregnancy romance.

The second half was where things got iffy for me. I had a problem with how long Francesca kept things to herself. I lost respect for her for a while because the secrets she kept made what was happening between her and Tuck feel icky. It also made the last 10% of the book feel rushed. This is a romance so HEA, and I was glad when everything worked out in the end. I just wanted more time to experience Francesca and Tuck's reconnection. 

I feel like this review might come across kind of negatively, and that's not what I want. There were so many things to love about this book. The writing was fast-paced and felt fresh. I did love Francesca and Tuck. Their chemistry was on point. Their friends turned family were AWESOME. Like I would read a book about any of them awesome. I really want a Jasper book after this. There were so many great things about it, so I would still highly recommend reading it if you loved the first book.

Francesca + Tuck

For his 35th birthday his buddies take Tuck to a very private and elegant sex club. Where he kinda saves and already halfway falls for this mysterious girl dressed as a princess in a wedding dress.
They spent some very amazing and sexy hours together but that's it. No names or details were exchanged.
But as it turns out she does know him ... he's a famous football pro and he lives in her building!
Plus she's also kinda pregnant ...

LET THE FUN TIMES BEGIN ...

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ADORABLE

I just loved this!
Yes, we've read lots of those accidental pregnancy / football / broken billionaire / orphan romances. But we loved them all and here we get all these tropes in one book. I just loved those two together. Poor Tuck with his sad childhood and his parents which all made him scared of having a real relationship and a family. And poor Francesca with her parent-less childhood and the foster homes and all her exes and ugh. Two broken people who have finally found their forever ever after happy place. But of course it takes them a while to get to that happy end. But the journey to that happily ever after was so adorable and funny and sparky and heartbreaking and sweet and just beautiful.
I so want to see this on tv one day. The building and the friends - just amazing!

I had a tiny little hate-moment when we found out where Francesca works - I hate tattoos and I don't like stories with tattoo artists at all. But she got fired pretty quickly - so that was okay. LOL!

► PRINCESS AND THE PLAYER was such a funny + adorable + sexy + heartbreaking accidental pregnancy-football-billionaire et cetera love story! I loved it! Run to your nearest amazon for your own TUCK - this one is MINE!

Thank you for the ARC.

I truly enjoyed reading Princess and the Player. When I realised it was a series, I had to read the first book, Beauty and the Baller before starting this.
I loved the multiple coincidental meetings of the major characters - it gave the story a more romantic feel.
This was such an easy read. It explores relationship dynamics and friendships.
The friendship between Franscesca, Cece and Brogan was beautiful to read about. I loved how they stood by her and were there for her.
While the ending of the story could be predicted, it was nice to go on the journey of love with Tuck and Franscesca in this book and experience all the ups and downs with them.

I knew I had to read this the moment I saw the cover and read the summary and I wasn’t disappointed.

These side characters make me want to throw my phone at something. Too frat-boy-y for my taste.
This one is just not working out for me.
ARC through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

First off, I love Tuck and Francesca! Their story is not your typical boy-meets-girl scenario. They meet during a masquerade party at a sex club and immediately hit it off. What they each thought was an anonymous evening turns into so much more when they realize they live in the same building. Francesca can't keep her mind off of Tuck and he feels the same way. There's one little problem - their one night stand resulted in a pregnancy and Francesca doesn't want Tuck to feel like she trapped him because of his celebrity status and fat wallet. Inevitably, this is something that can't be hidden forever.

Despite coming from very different backgrounds, Tuck and Francesca fit so well together and I loved their chemistry. The spicy scenes were on point! This book has a little of everything - accidental pregnancy, (somewhat) forced proximity, sports romance, billionaire hero, secrets - this list goes on!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ilsa Madden-Mills for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

this book was alright! some parts i enjoyed and the other parts i didn’t. let’s just say i wanna throw a damn rock at his head. she shouldn’t have forgiven him as fast as she did. homeboy did nothing to earn her forgiveness. getting a tattoo isn’t enough in my opinion 😳

I. Am. Obsessed. With. This. Book.

When Beauty and the Baller came out, I feel in love with the story. Then Princess and the Player came along and blew that story out of the water. I devoured this book in one setting, completely unable to put it down.

Francesca and Tuck have a relationship full of ups and downs, but fate continues to bring them together, giving each a gentle nudge when they most need it.

With lots of spice, a fantastic cast of supporting characters, and a one night stand that brings the main characters together, Princess and the Player tackles two complex characters while bringing them together through the greatest force of love.

*Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

First thing I need to mention before anything else is that I was drawn to this story and read it in full, nonstop. I loved the backstory about their families and how it all came together. However, the ending felt a bit rushed to me. The entire first half was amazing, then I hit the 77% mark and felt like I was being rushed through the story. This could also be the result of me reading until 3 am.
Another thing was the development of the characters. I feel like they were aware to their flaws and did nothing to fix them. The character development didn’t kick in until the 85% mark. I really loved the characters, I just wish I had more development from them earlier on in the story. Overall, Princess and the Player is a 3.8/5 for me. I really enjoyed the beginning, just the ending felt fast for all the information being presented.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊.

When Francesca Lane is betrayed by her now ex-fiance, she decides to put on her wedding gown and goes to a masquerade ball, in a sex club. There she meets NFL star Tuck Avery, dressed as a prince, and they inulge in a hot, steamy incognito affair. One night, no strings, no names, and the masks stay on. That was the deal between Prince Player Tuck and Princess Bride Francesca. One day, Francesca is surprised to learn that her masked prince turns out to be not only her neighbor but also a famous athlete, both on the field and in the tabloids. She vows to keep her identity a secret, but fate has other plans.

Overall this was a fun, quick, and enjoyable read for me! I thought the chemistry between Tuck and Francesca was great. 🔥 I also really liked all the side characters; what a special group of friends! I was pleasantly surprised with how much depth this story had. Yes, there was one aspect that sort of frustrated me but I think it worked itself out in the story quite well.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩:
🥵 One night stand
🤰 Accidental pregnancy
😍 Dual POV
🥺 Found family

This book started hot but fizzled out before the end. Accidental pregnancy is not one of my preferred tropes but decided to give it a shot based on the rest of the plot. The beginning 40% was great — filled with lots of banter and fun and interesting developments for both Tuck & Francesca. But the inevitable conflict was far too delayed and left the ending feeling rushed. This was a quick and fun read but was just good when it could have been great.

A solid 3.5 read and definitely want to go back to read the first book in the series (but both can be read as stand-alones!)