Beauty and the Baller (Strangers in Love)

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Maybe I’m being biased because I love Star Wars (my daughter’s middle name is Leia) and there were many references to it LOL. Nova ends up being a part-time teacher and part-time PA for Ronan and that’s when he proposes that they fake a relationship to help deal with other people.

I didn’t grasp how the fake dating helped either of them, since girls were still trying to get with Ronan and Andrew was still trying to get with Nova. After an unexpected proposition she finds herself fake dating the one man that could be dangerous to her heart. There are constant quotes from “The Art of War” and the hero talks about “winning the heart” about 200 times as part of his football spiel.We see his trauma manifest itself a few times throughout the book, such as when he tells Nova to be careful driving in the rain. I don’t reread often but I can definitely see this being a comfort read—it was just so heartwarmingly good. Ronan is a NFL player mourning the death of his fiance and also his career when he meets Nova dressed as Princess Leia. Skeet and Sonia were also fantastic supporting characters and Skeet especially had me cracking up with his endearing, golden-retriever energy! It's two and a half years later and Nova lands herself back home after the death of her mother to her small town to care for her sister where none other than Ronan is her neighbor and soon, colleague at school too.

And the side romances were so cute that I couldn’t help but smile every time a new couple got together. Nova agrees and lines get crossed, there’s some funny side character drama, some big life choices to be made, and some sexy times…and they get a HEA ending. Enemies-to-Lovers, fake relationship, ex pro-sports player with a hot body, strong female lead, autism representation, snort-laughs, love, loss, healing, family, small town. It’s been quite a while since my last read from Ilsa Madden-Mills and that is an absolute crime because I truly adore her writing.Ooh, I think I subbed to that podcast but still haven’t listened to an episode of it yet 😂 This was definitely a pleasant surprise and I can’t wait for the next book in this series. Because of the forced proximity and fake dating, they slowly become friends until that beautiful moment when they realize that maybe the “fake” part of their relationship isn’t so fake after all. No compensation is provided for writing any reviews or any other posts on Booklovers For Life, unless otherwise stated.