What I love most about Isla Madden-Mill’s stories is that they involve broken characters and a group of friends that are sometimes better than family. And this motley crew show so much love and support that it makes the story super heartwarming, apart from the steam of the sexy scenes!

Francesca and Tuck have crappy upbringings; Francesca was abandoned as a baby and grew up in the foster system, Tuck grew up wealthy but with chaos from a mentally ill mother and a father with anger issues. Both have fears that prevent them from having fulfilling love relations, but that hasn’t stopped them from having lovely friends.

As they meet up, fall in love, they recognize each other’s dark places, accept and love them. And what is best, they mix their family, not of blood but of the heart and make a better crowd. Their only challenge is the fear inside themselves of letting go, of trusting the love for the other. For Francesca it was easier but she was hiding a secret that she didn’t confess for fear of losing Tuck. He was loving Francesca but perceived there was something in between them.

Tuck was dealing with the upcoming end of his career and was slowly imploding from his inner demons. He only found peace in the arms of Francesca. And Francesca was dealing with all the losses she had suffered in her life, and concerns about her parentage.

This story was deliciously angsty and lovely to read. You can’t help falling in love with Jasper, Cece, Brogan and Mr. Darden. They provide the lighthearted repartee and the loving devotion of true friends. So apart from the romance and the sexy times, you get a lot of entertainment and laughs and end up feeling like the world is not such a crappy place.

“when Princess Bride meets Prince Player. A naughty nighttime story about a masquerade ball.”

One night only, no names, no strings attached. Sounds simple enough but what happens when months later you find out you’re pregnant? And the father is someone you kind of already know and not a fan of?

Francesca is not a fan of Tuck Avery, not that she knows him personally. They live in the same building and he’s a player in all sense of the word. He’s a football player and according to tabloids he loves partying with super models.

But Fate seems to have other plans for them and their paths cross again.

Francesca and Tuck both have pasts that plays a big part on how they live their lives and what kind of future they want. Unfortunately they don’t seem to be going the same direction. But they can’t help but act on the intense attraction and chemistry they have. Now they have to decide if the the other is worth the risk and choose a path together.

Love the friendships and the found family in this one. No one said family has to be blood and I’m so happy that Francesca found hers.

Francesca and Tuck are explosive together!! and oh my getting it on in public! 🙈🥵 Love that they built on their attraction with friendship and really tried to get to know each other.

This story was great, what I liked most was the way Tuck and Francesca were intertwined from the beginning to the end of the story. More and more little things were explained and revealed through out the story, that made you smile about how fate can work in mysterious ways.

A sexy, funny suprise pregnancy story with all the feels! A chance encounter in a secret club leads to an unforgettable night for two strangers. But that is all it is. Or so they think! Until a suprise pregancy leads to a whole lot of soul searching and secret keeping that in turn leads to a decision that will affect the rest of their lives. Unforgettable! Incomparable! This one was everything you love in your stories! All the feelings, past trauma, scared and so so in love! You don`t want to miss it!

OMG This book! Absolutely amazing!
Levelheaded Francesca Lane never thought she’d miss her own wedding. But when her fiancé betrays her, she puts on her wedding dress goes to a masquerade ball—at an exclusive lifestyle club. There, she meets unknown-to-her NFL star Tuck Avery, dressed as a prince and hiding behind a mask. For one night, Francesca and Tuck indulge in a wickedly incognito affair. No names. No strings. And the masks don’t come off.
Unfortunately, Francesca realizes quickly that her masked prince lives in the penthouse of her apartment building and maybe fate already has plans for them.
I read this book in a day. These characters are great. Francesca is resilient and strong and has an enormous heart. Tuck is just adorable. He doesn´t do commitment (he has his reasons) but he definitely lost his head for our girl. The dialogs between them are soooo good, witty and funny. There are a few steamy moments that were closed doors and that disappointed me a bit, but there are a couple of really hot encounters in public places that were beautifully written.
This story is sexy, sweet and addictive. I couldn’t stop reading it or smiling. I loved it. LOVE IT.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Princess and the Player is book 2 in the Stranger in Love series by Ilsa Madden-Mills. A stand-alone romance, told from both POV with a HEA

Tropes:
✔️ big city
✔️ strangers to lovers
✔️ sports
✔️ surprise pregnancy

What do a jilted bride, a surprise birthday celebration for and NFL player and a sex-club have in common? It’s the setting for a fiery meet-cute between the Princess Bride and Prince Player, otherwise known as Francesca Lane and Tucker Avery. A tattoo artist-slash-art connoisseur and the NY’s NFL best wide receiver.

They agreed on a no strings, no names, one night stand without taking their masks off at the sex club. But not long after, they realize they live in the same building. And while they’re both besotted, Francesca has a bug of the 9-month kind that will surely not be welcomed by the extremely cautious Tuck.

I loved Beauty and the Baller and was eagerly awaiting Tuck’s book, which I did enjoy and could hardly put down. But there were a couple of things that caught me off guard.

The first was that I was expecting a lighter rom-com-ish story. Princess and the Player was a bit too angsty for me to be considered rom-com. The second, and more concerning was that even though I didn’t really know Tuck from the previous book, I thought of him as an easy going guy, but he had a lot of baggage that made him more complex. That said, I really liked getting to know him.

My heart hurt for him and for Francesca. Neither had an easy upbringing, and that carried over to their relationship, the openness and trust issues they had to work through to be able to forge a deep and meaningful relationship.

They did have the help and support of their chosen family, especially Francesca. Her roommates and best friends Brogan and Cecelia, together with her cantankerous next door neighbor Mr. Darden along with Tuck’s temporary roomie and teammate Jasper were all loveable, fun and a wonderful added layer to the story.

Quick review:
★ Character development: 👤👤👤👤
★ World building: 🌏🌏🌏🌏
★ Plot: 📚📚📚
★ Romance: 💕💕💕💕
★ Sexiness: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

OVERALL RATING – 5

RECOMMENDED for those that like: football Hero-artist heroine/ chosen family/ unexpected baby

First my usual points:
- I do not do spoilers unless warned.
- Read the summary above; it will tell you what the book is about. I will not reiterate.
- This is a standalone but second in a series. Best enjoyed when read in order but not necessary.
- No errors that I caught as far as editing.
- The author was not new to me.

BOOK:
- Cover adequately reflects the story
- Genre/troupe: contemporary romance
1st person POV alternating
Most Characters from first book make appearance in name only

Star Ratings - 1 (poor) - 5 (READ THIS BOOK)
• Writing Quality: 5 stars
• Story ingredient: 5 stars
• Ease of reading/Pace: 5 stars
• Plot strength: 5 stars
• Steam Level: 4stars

Notes/Opinion (personal):

Entertains read that pulls you in from the start. Tuck and Francesca each dealt with baggage but overall it was believable. Only complain was how long it took her to tell him about baby. Seemed a bit crazy that he noticed no changes in her body or behavior that might have hinted to him.

I finished this book last night and it was so fun to go back to this series.

NFL wide receiver Tuck Avery meets Francesca at a sex club one night that his friends drag him to on his birthday as a joke. They immediately hit it off and make a one-night-only agreement.
Later on, they bump into each other again at a local neighborhood restaurant and soon discover that they actually live in the same building.

I loved that this story grabbed me from the beginning. Talk about a hook!

I recommend this one if you like:
• Found families
• Lots of pining
• Hilarious secondary characters
• Public shenanigans
• Dating the celebrity

And let me just say that I have my fingers and toes crossed that book 3 in this series is Jasper and Courtney's story because, good Gawd, I'm already invested!

This was a quick read. I don't think I loved it quite as much as Beauty and the Baller but really hits the ground running and kept my interest throughout!

I unfortunately didn't enjoy this one as much as I did with the Beauty and the Baller which is the first in the Strangers in Love Series.

Unfortunately the surpirse pregnancy trope isn't my favourite but I really didn't enjoy it in this book and what ultimately gave it the 3 stars was that the third act drama could've been easily avoidable, if they communicated like adults.

What I did like was the found family and rom-com aspects of this book.

In this book we get Tuck’s story and from the previous book I was excited to get more of him because he was such an interesting character. Tuck seemed like he was this laid-back fun guy that hid his darkness behind a laugh, but in this book his lighter fun side didn’t shine through like the glimpses we saw with Ronan. I loved that we got his back story and learned the pain he went through, but it seemed like part of his personality was missing. Francesca at first really held my interest she was strong and amazing, yet somewhere in between she kind of irritated me. It didn’t make sense that they had this intimate relationship and she’s 4-6 months pregnant because either Tuck really was clueless or just not observant at all. How on Earth did she think he would feel after repeatedly telling her his insecurities and secrets about not trusting those who lie and so on and she does just that to him? The banter in the beginning was so on point that it held my interest, but I also feel like there was so much going on it lost its sparkle. Overall, I still love Tuck and his reaction to everything was spot on because being lied to by someone who knew everything about you isn’t something that someone with trust issues just accepts. The story was interesting, but I feel like Tuck deserved better.

3.75/5 - 2/5 Spice - Strangers in Love #2 (Available on Kindle Unlimited; Audiobook available)

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but the unexpected pregnancy trope was done iffy in this book, and honestly, Tuck’s character just frustrated me too much. I was physically pained with the ‘third act break-up’ for this book. Just not the positive impact the relationship in book #1 had for me overall.

Brief Plot: After a one night stand meeting at a sex club, Francesca learns she is pregnant, and that the father is a famous football star, Tuck Avery. As Tuck battles to prove to Francesca they could be in a relationship, Francesca battles trying to tell Tuck, who is vocal he doesn’t want a family, that she is pregnant.

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake Publishing for an eARC copy of Princess and the Player by Isla Madden-Mills. This is my honest review!

Football veteran Tuck Avery meets artist Francesca Lane at a masquerade ball. While masked, they are smitten after much flirting. They hit if off and enjoy a night of passion with no strings attached. But as all one night stands go in fictional romances, it’s never just one night. What follows is a string of coincidental meetings because Tuck lives in the penthouse in Francesca’s building. They also know the same apartment neighbours. In time, Tuck is under the watchful eye of said neighbours, as they are protective with Francesca. It is this element that I enjoyed because the “found family” tugs at me and I find myself intrigued by these side characters.

The road to Tuck and Francesca’s HEA is not easy. While Tuck suffers from mistrust after women using him for his football status, he also possesses a dark upbringing with an abusive father and a mother with bipolar depression. Francesca also suffers with an upbringing of abandonment plus a list of boyfriends who either cheated on her or rejected her.

Tuck and Francesca have issues - that’s for sure, but you can’t help but root for them. And though there’s that pesky pregnancy test that proves positive, (my least favourite trope), Ilsa was able to captivate my heart and made me witness the growth of Tuck and Francesca. Though I wish the truth about the pregnancy came out a bit earlier, “Beauty and the Player” is an example of Ilsa’s well-crafted steamy romances. While it’s an emotional story - cause you really feel for Tuck and Francesca - it’s got a plentiful amount of spice and laughter.

Captivating and down right addictive, Princess and the Player was exactly the book I needed to break my current book slump! I literally could not put this book down and read it in one sitting. The relationship between Tuck and Francesca was perfection and I adored every moment of it’s development. This is definitely a must read!

I liked this story. I nice balance of feels and humour. While I'm usually not a huge fan of surprise babies or conflict moved forward by a lack of communication, I thought it actually worked in this situation/story. Overall, I found this story enjoyable.

Ilsa Madden Mills does it again with another great football romance 🙌🏻🙌🏻 Here’s a quick break down:

One Night Stand
Accidental Pregnancy
Billionaire / Sports Romance
Soulmates
Dual POV
*Audio included with KU*

What I loved:

•While accidental pregnancy is a hit or miss trope with me, I am very for the one night stand that evolves into more. After the initial night, there was a slower, gradual build between Tuck & Francesca that felt 👏🏻 so 👏🏻 right! It allowed them to work through their demons while their feelings grew making the romance feel so much more relatable/ realistic.

•The found family vibes & supporting cast. Beyond all the love & support these two broken MC’s needed, they brought the funny.

•A great grand gesture & equally beautiful epilogue.

•I love Ilsa’s writing. It’s that perfect blend of character depth, swoon, spice & humor I look for in my books. Once I picked this one up, I had the hardest time putting it down, making it extra convenient to have the audio included through KU 🙌🏻

What I didn’t:

•The third act crisis stemmed from an easily avoidable, long miscommunication. Nothing seems to bugs me more than that 🤷🏻‍♀️

Gah, Ilsa Madden-Mills knows just how to tug at my heartstrings! Princess and the Player delivers all the feels and then some in this funny, sexy, emotional story that packs a real punch. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll love every second of it.

I loved Francesca! Her past shaped the woman she grew up to be and it made her strong and resilient. She was fiery with a soft side that I completely identified with. Tuck is the total package---sexy, successful, and strong with a darker side buried under the surface which formed after struggling with years of family trauma. These two immediately clicked when they met as anonymous strangers. Their chemistry was intense and they complimented one another so well. There are a lot of obstacles Francesca and Tuck need to navigate in order to find their happy ending. But they do and in the end you'll swoon for this beautiful couple.

Madden-Mills delivers a powerful story that will engross you from the first page. It's bumpy, it's raw but it's exactly what these two characters needed. I loved every second of this story! 5 stars

I adored this book!! Tuck was everything I hoped he would be, but his life was nothing I expected either! He was a total anomaly as a character for me! And Francesca, I flipping love her! She is feisty and sassy and I love that she didn’t just fall at Tuck’s feet! She made him work for it and I loved every bit of it!

These two seem to be completely different, but as we get to dig into them and their lives, they are more alike than even they realize. This book had moments that truly made me laugh out loud (I love Jasper and fingers crossed maybe he’ll get his own book), but there were also moments that were truly heartbreaking. I just wanted to wrap Tuck up and squeeze him.

This was a fantastic book full of fun banter, and hilarious secondary characters! Ilsa Madden-Mills packed emotion and humor into one epic story!

"Is it weird that I sort of wish you were stalking me? Yeah, I guess it is."

After reading Beauty and the Baller... last year? Or earlier this year, maybe? I was intrigued by Tuck and couldn't wait for his story. And this book didn't disappoint!

Tuck and Francesca both have their own demons to fight, and ngl, this did have me tearing up a little. Particularly for Francesca, because of her abandonment issues.

'Girls like me don't have time to wallow. We've been rejected before, and when it happens, we make plans. We move on. We survive.'

I'm so happy that she not only has her chosen family, but also finds some blood family too. And I thought it was super sweet that Jasper was still okay with her even when she and Tuck weren't together.

I love the way this book flows in general. It's a mix of messy emotions, humour and flirting and it definitely requires your full attention with its fast pace. All the side characters were such good additions too! I have a number of quotes highlighted from them, and would love to see more of them in the future! Especially Jasper lol

My only slight disappointment was that we didn't see anything of Ronan and Nova. I know they obviously live so far away and have their kids now in this, but given Ronan and Tuck were best friends, i think it would've been sweet to have seen him a few times.

But overall, a cute, fun read which i really enjoyed!


*ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Ilsa is a sneaky author. She creates these cute, eye catching covers that lure you in, writes a great blurb to seal the deal and then BAM , your heart is 100% invested by the end of chapter 1.

Tuck already hooked me after reading book one, Beauty & The Baller, but I was not expecting all the feels!!
At one point I wanted to reach into the book and hug him, just a big ole bear hug and not let go!

Francesca had not had an easy life either but I sure did love her outlook and belief in fate.

Honestly, I just fell hard for both of these characters and their story.
Add in Tuck's new ride or die, Jasper, Francesca's besties and dear old Darden, you have the makings of a great little made family.

If you've never read a book by this author do yourself a favor and pick up this book, grab some tissues and maybe some comfort foods and prepare your heart to go through all the ups and downs before getting the sweetest HEA.

Looking forward to listening to this one as well!

This book was an interesting read I’ll tell you that. After I finished Beauty and the Baller I was so excited to see what makes Tuck tick. He comes off as a carefree, party boy in book 1. But with this book we get to see there is so much more behind his easy charming character.
When he's taken out for his birthday, he meets a cute bride in unlikely place and spends the night with her. Little does he know life will put her right on his path.

Francesca has not had an easy life. She was bounced around as an orphan, where she learned quite quickly to only rely on herself. When she finds herself in a predicament (pregnancy) she is determined to making it work. Even when she and Tuck discover who they are, she is still trying to keep it a secret until she can figure it out if he even wants kids. The bright side of this story (for me) is their walks, funny banter and the chemistry.
They are both closed off and keep things close to the heart. It almost breaks them apart. But when you find your forever person you try to make everything work even if it needs a few slaps upside the head to achieve that.

Overall, it was a good story about 2 people who had always made sure to not depend on anyone but when life brings you that special person you make sure that they never think of leaving ever again.