Single mom Jane Darling works in her sister’s bookstore and is starting a matchmaking service. Jasper Jannich is her professional quarterback frenemy. They banter, they bicker, and eventually they fall into bed.

I finished the book but this is where it lost me because of a choice that seemed illogical on Jane’s part. I just couldn’t reconcile it with what we had been told so far.

This is the second book in a series. I didn’t read the first but I think this one stands alone.

I really enjoyed Mills’s Beauty and the Baller and I’ll definitely read her again. This particular book was just a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

If you're a fan of emotional, angsty romances with complex characters and a healthy dose of drama, then My Darling Jane is an absolute must-read. Trust me, you won't regret it. So grab a box of tissues, settle in, and get ready to have your heart strings expertly manipulated by this masterful storyteller. Five stars, without a doubt."

ilsa madden-mills books are always a fun, easy read for me and this was no exception. i liked both main characters and had been excited to read their book after my darling bride. i also enjoyed the premise of the book with jane owning a matchmaking business and jasper joining it in order to get closer to her!

i will say that the ending felt really rushed, on one page they were fighting their feelings, and then a few pages later they were confessing their love for one another and that was that.

i mean i’ll definitely keep reading any books ilsa madden-mills writes - none of them are going to change my life, but i know i’ll enjoy the experience nonetheless.

💘 my darling Jane 💘

If you’re looking for a good time, this is the book for you. What a lovely story 📖🤩✨.

This is an enemies to lovers story with joyful moments, specially the way Jasper like to mess with Jane 😂. I was rooting for him the whole book, he said he wanted Jane and he didn’t disappoint.

They were some predictable aspects, for example the real reason why Jasper’s biological mother contacted him after so long- we bookies readers had developed a sixth sense for such things 👀.

Love Jane and Londyn’s relationship. For all my single moms here : you are doing great 🫶🏽💋💖.

This book put a smile on my face 😁.

My darling Jane is a story of how two people overcome their pasts 💕 and learn to trust again.


Thanks to NetGalley, Montlake and the author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jane’s book!

Jane Darling needs some more new clients for her matchmaking business Cupid’s Arrow while she worked as a bookstore manager to better support her daughter Londyn. She started the matchmaking business because everyone needs to find the person to complete them. But she never expected to run into quarterback Jasper Jannich when he rescued her from an overzealous bar patron.

Jasper volunteered to give Jane a glowing recommendation if she could match him to the perfect woman. Little did they know that Jane might be the perfect woman for him if he could get over his fears for the future?

My Darling Jane is the second book in The Darlings Series so if you haven’t read it you need to add it to you list to read!

P.S. I adored Babs and her over the top personality.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“You know you’ve got me hooked, right?”

My Darling Jane is book two in The Darlings series from Ilsa Madden-Mills. This story follows ex-model, new business owner, single mom Jane as she navigates her start up matchmaking business, manages her sisters bookstore, and raises her sweet daughter Londyn. Oh, and as she falls in love with the frustrating “player” Jasper. We’ve met Jasper in some of Ilsa’s other books and he’s hard to forget. He’s known as a bit of a jokester/playboy and his relationship with Jane so far has been playful and banter galore.

In this book Jane tries to matchmaker Jasper because he would bring in a lot of publicity and other big names to her matchmaking business. Things don’t really go as planned, but they do spend a lot of time together. Even though they “so aren’t into each other” lol haha, yeah.

Anyway. I absolutely adored this book. I thought it was super sweet and it was fun seeing Jane fall in love after reading much of her struggles in her sister’s book (My Darling Bride). She’s just one of those characters you root for easily.

Single mom, not-quite-enemies to lovers, abandonment issues, football hero, struggling business owner, he falls first.

I loved this book! Jane wants everyone around her to find happiness, but doesn’t believe she has the time for her own relationship and has no reason to trust her heart to another person. Jasper has his own abandonment issues and a lot of things going on in his own life. Until the night when they start making sense. They just still have a lot of hurdles to get past before either of them can believe they have a future together.

The connection between Jane and Jasper is absolutely adorable. This is so much better than the usual enemies to lovers and there’s no third act breakup. This is an incredibly satisfying read confirming why books by Ilsa Madden-Mills are automatic one-clicks for me.

My darling Jane is such a beautifully crafted romance that combines humor, warmth, and deep emotion. The author has created a truly magical love story that stays with you long after you finish the book.

My Darling Jane is a very cute enemies of sorts to lovers book with great banter. Jane Darling is building her matchmaking business and Jasper the football player agrees to help Jane by becoming a client and recommending her to his teammates. Jane is a single mom working on her business as well as managing a bookstore who does not believe in love for herself, but wants to help her clients meet their soulmates. Jasper is a lonely football player who has eyes only for Jane.
I found their story rather fast paced, They jumped from hating each other (although "hate" is a little strong) to "just friends" to lovers to an HEA. The book made me smile and had me rooting for them the whole time.

My Darling Jane by Ilsa Madden-Mills is the next installment in her My Darling series and the main characters, Jane and Jasper, have appeared in other books in the series.

Jane is trying to get her matchmaking business off the ground, while being a single mom and still working her full=time bookstore job. Jasper is a professional quarterback and Jane's acquaintance, who is definitely not looking for a matchmaker, but after helping Jane with a too handsy man at a bar, agrees to be a client to help get her business off the ground.

After a few disastrous matches, Jane is happy that Jasper is willing to use her services so that she can get some good publicity for her new business. The only problem is Jasper doesn't like and isn't interested in any of the women she sets him up with, because he reluctantly realizes, he wants Jane.

Watching their relationship bloom from frenemies, to friends, to more was fun. This is an easy read and a perfect book to relax with on a lazy summer afternoon. I am going to go back and read the other books in the series - I think this can easily be read as a stand alone, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in consideration of an honest opinion. All views are my own.

My Darling Jane by I. M. Mills, published by Montlake, is the second stand alone in the Darlings Series. The previous book is My Darling Bride, Emmy and Graham's story.
This is Jane and Jasper's story. Jane Darling is a single mom, Emmy's younger sister and she is managing a fledging dating agency.
Jasper is a star quarterback on top of his world, and he kind of likes Jane. Jane has a lot of spunk, sometimes she's very annoying. While Jasper has his own issues, but he's always a good guy, contraire to Jane. I just couldn't like her character, shallow, flighty, not able to move on aka hung up on her past - she's just too much; keeps Jasper and the reader at arms lengths. Not my fav read by this author, disappointing at some point I maybe my expectations were too high.

My Darling Jane picks up a good bit after My Darling Bride ends, this time featuring Emmy's sister Jane and her sworn enemy, Jasper Jannich. I loved the football aspect of this book. I loved the vibe Jasper brought from the locker room and his relationship with his teammates. I also liked how relentlessly (but respectfully) pursued Jane even though she acted so turned off by him.

I usually love Ilsa's books, but this one read a bit choppy to me. I liked the idea of the plot a lot, but some of Jane's tactics were a bit too cringey for my taste. I enjoyed her tenacity and work ethic, but felt like she didn't always have the skills to back her business that she was trying to build. And the costume at the bar thing was weird to me. I did really like how her sister tied into the whole story after reading My Darling Bride, and I liked how strong of a character Jane was in the end.

Overall, while I usually love Ilsa's books, this one wasn't for me. I will definitely continue to read this author's books and look forward to the next one in the Darling siblings series.

Jane Darling is a single mother to a 5year old daughter whose father walked away as soon as Jane told him she was pregnant. Doing all she can to give her daughter a secure and happy childhood she works as a manager of a New York bookshop and is also setting up her own dating agency.
Jasper is a famous quarterback with mutual friends Jane and he have always seemed to clash.
When Jane is at a bar dressed in a toga with angel wings to hand out cards to advertise her agency Jasper is there and and rescues her from a men who is getting aggressively ‘handsy’ Jasper has always thought Jane was beautiful even more so when he sees her in the toga.
Afraid of any relationship and commitment Jane tries to deny their obvious attraction to each other but Jasper says he will become a client of her agency to increase its profile. When she sets up dates for him he’s not in the least interested.Her defences weaken and they become closer.
A lovely romance, no great angst but some well written dramatic scenes that keep up the pace and enjoyment of the book. With a satisfying conclusion and lovely epilogue.
My thanks to netgalley and publisher Montlake for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

I’ve read 3 books by this author so far, and they have all made me lol pretty hard and brought allll the heat, the storyline of this one was fun- she’s trying to set him up on dates through her matchmaking business but falls in love with her in the mean time. I love how cute Jasper is with Jane’s daughter 🥹🫶🏼 and the ending was perfect!

Ilsa is a one click author for me! There is no hesitation when it comes to her books and I will admit at the start of the book Jane was a frazzled mess and I couldn’t understand why she was wanting her company so bad but as I continued with the book I started to realize that her goal was for people to find their person. She maybe gave up on love for herself but she wanted the world around her to find the person who would stand beside them and never leave them.

It is through her entrepreneurial endeavors that she crosses paths with Jasper again and a flame is ignited for them both! If only she wasn’t trying to find him his Cupid match! Things between these two start gradually but you can feel when things go from friends to more. Both have past demons that they need to face and I felt that the issues with them seem to be resolved quickly and I wanted more but I was happy with the ending and seeing them happy. The more I thought about it, I also didn’t mind that it was not explained more because they are not important to who Jasper and Jane are at this point in their lives.

Jasper is definitely not who I thought he was as a character and I loved that the man had a soft side, especially when it came to his nieces. As a former single mom I have a soft spot for Jane and how strong she is.

I loved the first book, this one didn’t sit right. Really loved the hate banter they had at the beginning, Jane was Jasper’s matchmaker because he was starting to feel like settling down. I don’t remember but I think they kissed in the previous book and if they did it was not mentioned here but would have been useful for the storyline. The surprise at the end is what has me feeling unsure, Jane has abandonment issues both her mom and sperm donor leaving her behind. It felt like she trapped Jasper with a “surprise” by leaving it up to fate, which was unnecessary to the story, he’d already came to his senses into wanting a real relationship with her.

Becoming a true fan of Ilsa Madden-Mills! This is a stand alone sequel to the My Darling Wife. I truly enjoyed Jane getting her own story as I feel like love with her during the first book!

This was a great sports rom but just a sprinkle of sports.

Jane and Jasper... what a pair. I freaky liked Jane's relationship with her daughter Londyn, but the main characters relationship didn't feel exactly right. I also didn't like how certain conflicts were glazed over... what happened to Jane's business with the poor review.? What happened with Jasper's mom? Addressing it in the epilogue felt rushed and a bit empty.

I loved the first Darling book, and the second sister is just as fun!

Matchmaker Jane and QB Jasper have great banter and good chemistry throughout the story, and while I wish that the two challenges they each are going through were a little more in-depth for character building, it is a fun read. The friends to lovers is a hit or miss for me, but in some ways I feel this was almost like frenemies at the start and moved into friends then lovers. I loved the dual POV and Jaspers interactions with his adopted family, and the love they have.

I would say going into this one for fun, good banter, and just a wonderful weekend read. A great read for football season and sports romance lovers.

After reading the first book in this series, I was hoping for this book. I was hoping for Janes' story. And we got it.
I loved Jasper and Jane. I love how easy they fall for one another.
But ...
I loves the first book more. I don't know why, I can not put my fing on it, but I wanted a bit more. A bit more mom - daughter connection, I wanted a little bit more Jane and Jasper, I wanted Emma to be more in this book.
I love, love this author and her writing style, so this is not bad at all it is a solid 4 stars, mybe Mills spoiled me with her books, because for me they are almost every one a 5 stars read.
But this one ended at 4.
What buged me the most is when Jane gave a cold sholder to Jasper. And she pushed him away, and then said, well he could have stayed.
I eanted to yell - Do not be such a girl - tell him What you want?! Not what you think you want!!!