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A review by lmrivas54
Not My Romeo by Ilsa Madden-Mills
5.0
Nobody does humor and angst like Ilsa Madden-Mills! It’s such a sublime combination, that they happen at almost the same time, so you are amused and touched and totally delighted with the scene you are reading. It’s inevitable to fall in love with her characters, they are so perfectly flawed. I loved Elena, so quirky, creative and given. And I loved the brokenness in Jack that didn’t let him trust anyone.
Elena is a librarian, but also a closet lingerie designer. You see a very proper and prim looking woman and inside is a sexy bomb of undies. Such a contradiction is also seen in her character: she blushes like a champ but during sexy times she likes it hot and dirty. Poor Jack had no chance of evading falling in love with this spitfire!
Jack went through a very violent episode in his childhood. Raised in foster homes, when he first held a football, it became his life and his home. Unfortunately, fame has also isolated him. Everyone who gets near him has a purpose and design and it’s not friendship. Burned by past disasters from a relationship gone sour, he was blasted by the media as an alcoholic and abusive boyfriend, all false, and all geared to give fame and money to the scorned girlfriend. Now Jack is going through a PR scandal, keeping his distance, trying to fix his image. And he doesn’t trust anyone now, except his close friends Devon and Lawrence. Everyone else is kept outside of his private bubble.
With Elena, he feels the yearning for companionship, for having a girlfriend with whom to share his confidences. And he does share some, to an extent. But there is a threshold from where he can’t pass and it frustrates him and disappoints Elena. And he ends up alone... again.
“It must be difficult to live in the limelight constantly. He loves the game but doesn’t enjoy the attention that comes with it, yet he pushes himself, all the while never trusting anyone, keeping his distance, not letting anyone too close.”
Apart from this heart wrenching story, there are wonderful characters that you just love! Devon, one of Jack’s besties, always smiling, always charming, he turns into Elena’s friend too. Topher, Elena’s best friend and roommate, brilliantly gay and best supporting role. Elena’s aunt Clara is zany, caring and pushes her to achieve all her goals, in bed and outside bed. Elena’s mother is the typical Southern mama, pushy and opinionated. And let’s not forget Romeo, the teacup pig, who belongs to Elena but has everyone wrapped around his hooves.
With such a wonderful cast of characters, a beautiful story, and an enthralling couple, this is one of those books you never want to finish reading. I actually started all over again to relish those scenes that I loved best.
Elena is a librarian, but also a closet lingerie designer. You see a very proper and prim looking woman and inside is a sexy bomb of undies. Such a contradiction is also seen in her character: she blushes like a champ but during sexy times she likes it hot and dirty. Poor Jack had no chance of evading falling in love with this spitfire!
Jack went through a very violent episode in his childhood. Raised in foster homes, when he first held a football, it became his life and his home. Unfortunately, fame has also isolated him. Everyone who gets near him has a purpose and design and it’s not friendship. Burned by past disasters from a relationship gone sour, he was blasted by the media as an alcoholic and abusive boyfriend, all false, and all geared to give fame and money to the scorned girlfriend. Now Jack is going through a PR scandal, keeping his distance, trying to fix his image. And he doesn’t trust anyone now, except his close friends Devon and Lawrence. Everyone else is kept outside of his private bubble.
With Elena, he feels the yearning for companionship, for having a girlfriend with whom to share his confidences. And he does share some, to an extent. But there is a threshold from where he can’t pass and it frustrates him and disappoints Elena. And he ends up alone... again.
“It must be difficult to live in the limelight constantly. He loves the game but doesn’t enjoy the attention that comes with it, yet he pushes himself, all the while never trusting anyone, keeping his distance, not letting anyone too close.”
Apart from this heart wrenching story, there are wonderful characters that you just love! Devon, one of Jack’s besties, always smiling, always charming, he turns into Elena’s friend too. Topher, Elena’s best friend and roommate, brilliantly gay and best supporting role. Elena’s aunt Clara is zany, caring and pushes her to achieve all her goals, in bed and outside bed. Elena’s mother is the typical Southern mama, pushy and opinionated. And let’s not forget Romeo, the teacup pig, who belongs to Elena but has everyone wrapped around his hooves.
With such a wonderful cast of characters, a beautiful story, and an enthralling couple, this is one of those books you never want to finish reading. I actually started all over again to relish those scenes that I loved best.