Not My Match by Ilsa Madden-Mills

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?

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of The Game Changers series!
For book one, Not My Romeo, click HERE.

 

 

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Audiobook (US)  ~  Paperback (US)
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in the Game Changers series, and we met Giselle and Devon briefly in book one. Giselle is the one who stole her sister's boyfriend but that was a mistake because as it turned out, he was only out to use her. Devon is the teammate of Giselle's brother-in-law and they met at her sister's wedding.

These two could not be any more different, she is a physicist and he is a football player. When her building catches fire and leaves her homeless, Devon offers her a place to stay until she finds another apartment. he knows it is not a smart decision, but he can't help wanting to save her. The longer they spend together, the more the sparks fly.

Can they stay away from each other? Will Devon help her with her little problem? Is there a chance for a future between them?

I love this author and her stories about football players and the women they love are a favorite too. This story is packed with all the feels that make a story great and it also has the crazy mom and aunt to make it even better. If you are looking for a new author to read, then give this one a try. You will not be disappointed.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in the series, and as I absolutely loved book one, I certainly could not resist. I would recommend that you read them in order, so that you get the connections, but it could be a good read on its own too.

Our first introduction to Giselle was less than favourable, but we should have got that straightened out by now. And the very fact that we know she is a virgin would suggest that any cheating was not quite at the level that might have been expected. She is such a fun, clever, and enjoyable character. I love that she has high career ambitions to work at CERN, but also loves her crazy family and hometown. Her birthday woes will have you laughing in disbelief that she can really have so many disasters on that particular date!

Devon is undoubtedly a sports god, but he clearly has morals and behaves so correctly with Giselle; it is really funny watching them dance around each other. And whilst the 'helping the girl find a lover whilst wanting to date her yourself' scenario is not unique, it is played for every laugh and sexy encounter so perfectly, especially given they are sharing a home.

It was also good to see Jack and Elena, and to catch up on their relationship, as well as some of the crazier members of the family, like Aunt Clara. All in all a very enjoyable dip back into a world which gave me the pleasure of complete escapism from the everyday.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
This book is a great read for a snowy afternoon.

Giselle and Devon dance around each other, both wanting the other yet being too afraid to reach out. Hampering the romance is Giselle’s brother-in-law, who also happens to be Devon’s teammate.

Giselle wants to be a normal woman, not the geeky nerd in the corner who doesn’t know how to make small talk with anyone, especially good looking men like Devon.

Over the course of the book you can see Giselle’s self-confidence increase the more she gets to know Devon.

Devon really likes Giselle but he’s just a ‘dumb’ jock who knows he will never be good enough for her. Yet when she looks at him, he feels like he’s just won back-to-back Super Bowls.

Take a few hours and enjoy the story. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars
M/F Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Giselle is a nerdy, shy virgin who just wants to teach science, work at CERN, and write her fantasy sci-fi novel, with real science facts. Her best friend is a hilarious older woman who makes me think of what a crazy aunt would be, if I had one. Giselle loves teaching her students, but her advisor is a sexist jerk who doesn’t see the value in teaching kids any other way than his way.

Giselle is also looking for love. She wants the type of love that will last forever. The fact that she is still a virgin weighs on her but she doesn’t want to just have sex to have sex. With her sister happily married and on her honeymoon, Giselle isn't expecting her brother-in-law's friend, Devon, to come to her rescue in more ways than one.

Devon knows that Giselle is beautiful and smart. If only he wouldn't be seen as such a player. Devon knows that his friend wouldn't want him dating Giselle, if only because she's so innocent. But when Devon sees that Giselle is in trouble, the words "come stay with me" just tumble out.

Giselle and Devon dance around their attraction for a while. It became almost too much dancing around – the push and pull between them was too slow at times. Giselle has to work hard to make sure that she isn't going to change her life for someone who might not change their life for her. She wants an equal partnership. But when she gets to know Devon more, she sees what he is hiding away from the public eye. You'll want to love Devon despite his player ways.

These two have a cute story with family drama and meddling friends. You'll cheer them on, groan is frustration, and cross your fingers and toes for them. With that said, I wish that we could've seen more of Giselle's intelligence in the story. I'm looking forward to the next book.


Sarah – ☆☆☆
I wanted to enjoy this more than I actually did. The story of a scientist and a football star should have been a perfect fit for me. But while there are a few great moments, the story didn’t quite work for me.

I found it impossible to feel a connection to Giselle. In my real-life Big Bang Theory-ish world, I’m surrounded by female scientists and nothing about Giselle’s studies or career ambitions rings true. Her experiences don’t make her very likeable, either. Giselle is the girl who takes a crazy amount of time off for ‘personal issues’ and then complains about discrimination when her supervisor isn’t impressed.

Apart from the scientist thing, the most interesting thing about Giselle is her virginity. There’s a culture gap for me here – I will never understand the importance placed on virginity by Americans. The drama around her ‘long preserved virginity’ is absolutely tedious. As a UK reader, I often struggle with conservative and religious undertones in American romance and parts of this one just felt wrong to me.

There are a couple of great scenes in this book. I love Giselle and Devon smashing things up in her barn – but that scene was borrowed from a show. Giselle’s neighbour and her interfering mum provide entertaining moments.

I realise I’ve forgotten to mention Devon. Probably because he has already blurred into all the other alpha/bad boy/star athletes in romance. He’s closed off because of family issues and struggles to share his feelings. Yawn. He feels weirdly parental and proprietary over Giselle. He’s weirdly obsessed with her virginity. He gets his feelings hurt when she gets an amazing job offer. Urgh. Nope. He just doesn’t do it for me.

After two books, I think I’m done with this series. I do recognise there’s a bit of a culture clash for me and this author – more conservative readers will likely enjoy the books more than I have.

 

 

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 Bestseller 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.

Connect with Ilsa

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: Unicorn Girls

 

 

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Not My Match (The Game Changers #2) by Ilsa Madden-Mills to read and review.