ARC Review: Five Stars for Not My Match by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Not My Match by Ilsa Madden-Mills

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Steamy and Dramatic Romance

In “Not My Match”, Ilsa Madden-Mills creates two characters who seem like opposites but their attraction is off-the-charts, in any universe.

What you need to know about “Not My Match”:
✔ Steamy Slow Burn
✔ Forced proximity
✔ Complete stand-alone
✔ Opposites Attract
✔ Hot cocky football player, 28
✔ Smart theoretical physics PhD student, 24
✔ Friends-to-lovers
✔ Game Changers #2

In the follow-up to “Not My Romeo”, Giselle is on a disastrous dating app meet-up at Devon’s club, Razor. In an attempt to get away from her terrible date, she gets hurt. Devon helps her out but Giselle discovers that her new brother-in-law, Jack, has told the entire football team including Devon that she is “off limits”. Jack also told Devon another piece of highly personal information about Giselle that greatly embarrasses her.

After Giselle’s apartment building catches fire, Devon takes her in and they develop a friendship. They try to make rules to keep their hands off one another as their attraction is off the charts and very, very obvious. I loved these characters! They are so well developed, compelling, slightly damaged and loveable.

In “Not My Romeo”, Giselle is basically a foil for Elena, acting as a boyfriend-stealing sister. In “Not My Match” she is a fully realized character with a crazy and slightly sad history of bad luck birthdays and men who have treated her poorly starting from the age of fifteen. She has a passion for theoretical physics, an eidetic memory and is secretly writing a sci-fi romance.

Devon is more than football and his smooth-talking ways. He’s been caring for his alcoholic father for years. Every woman he’s ever cared for has left him. And Giselle has always dreamed of going to work at CERN…he’s afraid that she will leave him too.

As Giselle shares the stories of her bad luck birthdays and Devon lets her know more about his life, their bond grows deeper and their attraction for each other crackles through all of their shared adventures, just barely held back as they live together. The steam levels are high and hot when they finally give in to their attraction.

I loved their talk of multiverses (as Giselle is a theoretical physicist and is writing a sci-fi romance). “You are the best person in all my universes.” – Giselle to Devon –

They may seem like opposites at first glance and they also may seem to have goals diametrically opposed to a happy ever after but this leads the reader to experience some angst and swoony romance. You’ll have to read “Not My Match” to find out what happens.

Plot Description

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills delivers a smart and sexy romance about a professional football hottie and the girl he’s sworn to never touch.

Homeless and heartbreakingly innocent, Giselle Riley walks into my penthouse and chaos follows.

I shouldn’t have invited the girl genius to live with me, but it’s clear she needs my help—not only for a place to lay her pretty blonde head but in finding real love, which she’s not going to get with the crazy men she picks up online.

Too bad she’s a twenty-four-year-old virgin and I’m a bad boy wide receiver. She’s off limits for a hardcore player like me—and we’re just friends.

Instead, I’m her matchmaking service, no matter how jealous it makes me when I tag along on her dates.
I can keep my self-control. Right? No way will I give in to everything inside me that dreams of a girl like her in my world.

I may be the best wide receiver in the country, but how could I hold on to a girl like her?

WRITING STYLE: 5/5
PLOT: 5/5
WORLD-BUILDING: 5/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 5/5
ROMANCE: 5/5
HEAT: 5/5

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