A review by bribreez
Beauty and the Baller by Ilsa Madden-Mills

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

You would think that when having a one night stand that it’d be all hot, steamy, and then go your separate ways right? Well Nova Morgan managed to hook up with a handsome man one night, and while things ended on an interesting night, after that she never saw him again. Fast forward two years later, Nova moved back home after her mom passed, and had to take care of her younger sister. One night, Nova’s neighbor was having a big party, being loud, someone almost running her over with their car, and Nova was planning to give her neighbor a piece of her mind. Up until the moment Nova went over, she had no idea who this person was aside from being the football coach that everyone knew and loved. One look at his face, and immediately Nova knew who she was dealing with, her former one night stand from two years ago, a.k.a. Former NFL football star Ronan Smith. 

With a small town setting, noisy/meddling neighbors, and a whole lot of responsibilities that Nova had to deal with, Ronan was just another unexpected surprise in her life. The fact that Nova and Ronan ended up seeing each other after two years, and being neighbors in the same small town wasn’t just a coincidence, but maybe fate? Either way, Nova couldn’t believe it, and despite Ronan not knowing or remembering Nova right away, he still felt like she was vividly familiar to him. The initial meeting (again) between Nova and Ronan wasn’t what you would imagine as “cute”, but more like, Nova straight up calling Ronan a jerk, and Ronan wondering why this woman didn’t like him. Nova was the kind of woman that wasn’t susceptible to his good looks and everything, I mean she clearly saw Ronan was still the attractive man she spent that one night with, but she had others things to focus on like, sister and settling back into life in Blue Belle. 

I also thought it was pretty funny how literally everyone in town LOVED Ronan. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Ronan, but with him being the football coach and getting the school’s team in great shape to win, it seemed like the whole town treated him like a god.Like literally anybody’s grand daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, newly divorced women, you name any single women in Blue Belle, and chances were they were all gunning for their shot at becoming Mrs. Ronan Smith! Poor Ronan, his life was “hard” having to deal with all the women in town haha, but seriously though kind of felt bad for him since most of the women were treating it as a competition to see who could snag Ronan. 

Fake dating? Yes please! With Ronan trying to avoid the constant line of women trying to date him, what better way to get them off his back then to fake date Nova? You already know that when it comes to fake dating, there’s either already sizzling chemistry or it jump starts something between the two leads, and for Nova and Ronan, it just gave them the opportunity to jump into kisses and other goodness! Nova and Ronan definitely had great chemistry, and even Ronan was aware of that. The whole fake dating aspect wasn’t too much of a stretch for Nova and Ronan since they already had something brewing between them. Sure they only had that one night two years ago, but with their first “fake kiss” and then their steamy session after playing darts, PLEASEEEEE IT WAS INEVITABLE! Ronan ended up becoming so enamored with Nova, and Nova liked seeing the smiles and laughter Ronan had around her. 

Although Ronan was the most beloved man in Blue Belle, he still struggled with believing he deserved the best in life. After the loss of his fiancé, and the aftermath of injuries from the crash that he and his fiancé suffered from, Ronan still had lingering thoughts about it. Ronan didn’t believe in himself, didn’t think that he deserved Nova or how everyone in town was giving him too much credit, when in fact he was afraid of letting everyone down. For the most part, Ronan just went about his life as routine as possible, but with meeting Nova again, he found himself opening up to her about his darkest fears and worries. My heart broke for Ronan when he got super worried about Nova when she got sick from eating shellfish at the fancy party they attended. Ronan still dealt with lingering guilt that he couldn’t save Whitney (his fiancé) and didn’t want anything to happen to Nova. I mean, come on! You can’t tell me that doesn’t hit you right in the heart? Ronan must be protected at all costs! I did appreciate seeing Nova being so supportive and caring when it came to Ronan’s fears, and making sure he knew that it was ok to voice his concerns as well as know that he shouldn’t put so much pressure on himself. Lots of vulnerability that Ronan showed in this story, and it helped in him growing, but also made me want to hug him.

Man this was such a fun, and amazing book! I love stories set in a small town, and yet again stole my heart. Ronan was the biggest Star Wars fan/ geekiest fan boy while also being such a strong, powerful former NFL football player, and also being the most romantic man ever! Nova truly was like a star, always bringing a shine to herself, and radiating kindness and love, but don’t be mistaken because, as a southern women she knew when to stand her ground. Nova and Ronan’s story was romantic, heartfelt, and hilarious. There were a couple of scenes that had me laughing, swooning, and of course made my jaw drop! I’m a hopeless romantic and I love seeing when a man gets protective over his lady love, and Ronan was that type of man with Nova. I loved the epilogue, it was so sweet, and heartwarming to see how Nova and Ronan’s life turned out. All in all, I had so much fun reading, and can gladly say I was smiling majority of the time, and loved Nova and Ronan. Definitely would recommend this book if you love sports romance, small town settings, laughable moments, loveable characters, and romance! 
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