Blurb:

Gorgeous, talented, and brilliant, NFL quarterback Ronan Smith has the world in his hands. But after losing his career and his fiancée in a car accident, he falls into a pit of grief and bad choices. When a mysterious girl shows up to his party, he feels drawn to her and makes her his…for one night.

Former beauty queen Nova Morgan is on a mission. Scantily clad as a princess from a galaxy far, far away, she sneaks into a high-profile party to capture the attention of her favorite quarterback. But her hopes crash after an awful one-night stand.

Fast-forward two years. Broke and desperate, Nova returns home to Blue Belle, Texas, where, by a cosmic twist of fate, her broody neighbor is none other than Ronan, the shiny new football coach everyone adores. But he has no idea who she is.

The booster club keeps shoving women at Ronan to keep him in town. His solution? He proposes fake dating to Nova. But things heat up for real under these Friday-night lights when he realizes she's the one who slipped away.

Has this jaded beauty found her forever baller, or will his past keep them apart?

My 4* Review:

Beauty and The Baller by Ilsa Madden-Mills is a sweet, funny second chance, sports romance about Ronan Smith and Nova Morgan. It is the story of how a fake relationship turns from pretend to so much more. It all starts at a party when a nerdy Star Wars fan helps out a Princess Leia.

Ronan lived for playing football and was a very successful QB until tragedy struck. He lost everything, has a constant reminder of what happened so fell into a dark place of grief and alcohol. One fateful night this couple first meet and sparks ignite but he finds out her name. Nova felt the connection between them and thought it meant something to him, however, it became the worse one night stand of her life and she left. Ronan felt guilty but also disappointed she'd gone because she was the best thing to happen to him in a year. The good thing from the disaster was it gave him the kick start he needed to change his life around. 

Fast forward two years and due to a tragedy of her own, Nova has her life turned upside down. She finds herself back home and looking after her sister Sabine. The house next door has a new neighbour and she is furious when a party gets out of hand. When she goes to give the owner a piece of her mind, it turns out to be the High School football coach living there. They are celebrating his birthday but what she doesn't expect is Ronan Smith to be that coach!! 

There follows lots of hilarious banter and interactions between the couple who are positive they don't like each other. Ronan has had enough of the town trying to matchmake and get him a girlfriend so he'll stay. Nova is struggling with the painful memories of the past. Neither want a relationship because he is see dealing with his grief and she is sworn off men, especially athletes. Ronan comes up with the great idea to pretend they are dating and make like easier for both of them. It helps she is a big football fan so can play along.

The couple are supported by an array of secondary characters. Sabine is a delight along with their weird cat Sparky. There is a nosy neighbour, women galore all after the coach and an ex boyfriend to deal with. It is a bumpy journey full of laughs.  Ronan had never forgotten about their night together but he still has a lot of baggage to deal with. Nova is starting over again but won't deny she is attracted to him. I liked her attitude to life and her Mama's sayings. She certainly makes Ronan work hard and some of her antics and teasing are fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed this and recommend it for an amusing easy read.