Not My Romeo by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills delivers a smart and sexy contemporary romance about a smoking-hot professional football player and the small-town girl he can’t resist.

We start off with a lie on Valentine’s Day.

My blind date isn’t the studious guy I expected: he’s a drop-dead gorgeous player with sinful amber eyes. Somehow we end up at his penthouse. I blame the gin and tonic.

The next day I learn he’s Jack Hawke—bad-boy professional quarterback with a murky past. The NDA he has me sign should be a warning that he isn’t a regular person. Please. I sign it Juliet Capulet, so goodbye, famous football player with abs of steel, and good luck tracking down this small-town librarian.

But Jack keeps showing up in places I least expect him. Just when I’m sure he’s gone, he waltzes into my community theater and wins the part of Romeo to my Juliet. How’s a plain, mostly innocent girl like me supposed to resist a man like him?

Is Jack my real Romeo… or will this gorgeous football player only break my heart?

Book 1
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Mary – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is a great story that starts out with a blind date that turns out to be mistaken identity. Jack and Elena are the perfect couple, they complement each other.

Elena mistakes Jack for her blind date but that turns out to be a good thing. She is a sassy, strong, take charge of her life kind of woman. With a secret of her own

Jack Hawke is a professional football player with a bad boy tabloid-filled past. But that is not who he really is. It turns out he is really shy and hates to talk in front of a crowd.

Will they give a relationship a chance or will his past get in the way? Will Elena share her secret with him and her family? What will happen when Elena’s sister gets engaged and wants to have the party at her house?

I really enjoyed this story; it started really good and then was a little slow in some parts, but it picked up and ended great. I loved the way Jack and Elena were together. Sometimes I wanted to slap Jack upside the head but what can you do, just keep reading. And Jack had some great friends and Elena had her awesome family to support her.

If you haven’t read anything from this author, you can start here or anywhere. She has a lot of great stories. I hope you enjoy this one or any of her books.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
I just loved this book, and am so happy that it is the first in a new series because I just wanted to read and read and read it! I am a big fan of sports romances anyway, but throw in the initial mistaken identity, some amdram, and small town gossip, and it just works brilliantly.

Elena and Jack really are good people, and from the get go it is difficult not to want them to find their happily ever after together. However, the road is not smooth, for a whole host of funny and crazy reasons. It was funny, silly, sweet, hot, and ultimately, very romantic. So many side characters on both sides which added to the fun and the depth of the story. Her sister going off with her long-term boyfriend, and yet she managed to be kind and caring. Her straight-laced mum and very hippie auntie, who has a toyboy in the postman... seriously, you just need to grab a copy and lose yourself in a very good and happy read.

Roll on the next installment – this is exactly the kind of sexy escapism I love!


Sarah – ☆☆☆
3.5 stars

This is the story of a small town librarian who mistakes a famous football star for her blind date. Sparks fly when Jack and Elena’s very different lives collide. When they meet, Jack and Elena are both rebounding after difficult breakups, and neither of them trust easily.

I feel like I should have liked this book more than I did. The story of a small-town librarian and professional athlete is something that appealed to me immediately. I really enjoyed Elena’s family and community. I liked Jack. I loved Elena’s house. There are some entertaining scenes that made me laugh out loud. I think my problem is with Elena. Her dramatic overreactions are exhausting. She’s an educated, accomplished professional with an exciting side hustle who reacts with the kind of angst and drama more suited to an insecure teenager. And – personally – Jack’s butchering of Romeo and Juliet after months of practise felt really self-centred and entitled.

At its best, this is a fun read. But there are too many moments where unnecessary angst and theatrics detract from what should be a sweet and simple love story.

Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is best known for her angsty new adult romances and romantic comedies.

Eight of her eleven novels have placed in the Amazon Top 10 Best-seller List: Dirty English #1; Fake Fiancée and I Dare You #2; I Bet You, Filthy English, and Very Bad Things #6; Boyfriend Bargain #8; The Last Guy, her collaboration with Tia Louise, #4.

A former high school English teacher, she adores all things Pride and Prejudice, and of course, Mr. Darcy is her ultimate hero.

She's addicted to frothy coffee beverages, cheesy magnets, and any book featuring unicorns and sword-wielding females. Feel free to stalk her online.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Not My Romeo (The Game Changers #1) by Ilsa Madden-Mills to read and review.