Book Review | Princess and the Player – Ilsa Madden-Mills

Princess and the Player
By: Ilsa Madden-Mills

Series: Strangers In Love
Book # in Series: 2 of 2
Publisher: Montlake
Publication Date: November 8th, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars
My Reading Format: ARC given for an honest review

Synopsis:

Levelheaded Francesca Lane never thought she’d miss her own wedding. But when her fiancé betrays her, she puts on her wedding dress and ditches the altar for a masquerade ball—at an exclusive lifestyle club.

There, she meets unknown-to-her NFL star Tuck Avery, dressed as a prince and hiding behind a mask—he’s there to celebrate his birthday. For one night, Francesca and Tuck indulge in a wickedly incognito affair. No names. No strings. And the masks don’t come off.

Unfortunately, Francesca realizes quickly that her masked prince is the wealthy jock who lives in the penthouse of her apartment building. His hobbies include parties and supermodels—or so the tabloids say. Getting tangled up with a shallow jerk is the last thing Francesca needs right now, so she vows to keep Tuck from recognizing her (not that she’s his type anyway).

But fate has a teeny-tiny trick up her sleeve…a plus sign on a pregnancy test. Can this tormented prince accept love, or will he push his princess away forever?

Princess and the Player is the newest sports romance with an opposites attract twist by Ilsa Madden-Mills. Tuck and Francesca’s story can be read as a standalone.

Being a pro-baller, you’d never think the day would actually come when you’re locking eyes with retirement. Being the oldest on his team, Tuck is starting to feel the insecurity set in. And with the way this season is going, that insecurity is growing even closer with each loss experienced. Now it’s Tuck’s birthday and all he wants to do is dive into the one indulgence he lets himself have once a year…. Cake. But that’s not what his friends have in store for him. And a sex club is not what Tuck had in store for his thirty-fifth birthday…. And the Princess wearing the mask, is one he won’t be able to forget anytime soon.

Francesca lives for her art, and others art. Working at the tattoo shop also gives her an advantage with selling her paintings and sketches. But when all hell breaks loose and she catches her fiancé with the shop’s manager, she not only loses the one person she’s supposed to be able to depend on, but she also loses her job. With the help of her two friends they decide to bring her out and push her into the wonderful world of men once again….. What better way to experience life once again, than to go to Decadence, the underground sex club. This night is not at all what she expected, and meeting the handsome prince player was the icing on the cake of decadence.

Now, ten weeks later, Francesca is looking at a positive sign and motherhood is in her future. This will definitely be a story for her future grandchildren one day… I mean, who gets pregnant at a sex club… Ah, Fate, you cease to amaze me.

My Thoughts:

I loved the premise and the originality of Princess and the Player by Ilsa Madden-Mills. I had a hard time putting this one down. Both, Francesca and Tuck, come from broken pasts. Pasts that most people wouldn’t survive. And pasts that have the ability to irrevocably mark a soul in the worst ways possible. But that’s where fate intervenes and fights for a brighter future. You see, Tuck grew up in a dysfunctional household. He had wealthy parents who grew up in the highest of social standings. They were perfect in front of a camera, but once you take the lens away, it was hell on earth for Tuck. He watched his father turn from the man everyone loved, into a monster at the snap of a finger. And he watched his mother turn from a typical debutant into someone unrecognizable… Growing up with that much dysfunction in your life weighs heavy on the heart, the mind, and the soul. My heart felt so heavy for this man. It broke time and time again with every moment he had to relive those dreadful incidents.

And then we have Francesca. Francesca grew up in a nonconventional way. As a baby, she was left outside on the steps of a police station and from that moment on she was placed in several foster families with the hopes of one day being adopted. The only thing she ever familiarized was people turning their backs on her. Except for the three people she made into her very own family after she turned eighteen. Now she fears the great unknown, which is life in itself. So you only get one chance before she casts you out of her life. But in all honesty, can you blame the woman for being so weary when it comes to people. My heart broke for her and her inability to form attachments. But then something happened at Decadence, she found herself being drawn into another who was just as weary of people as she was. She took one night and lost herself within another….. And if you’ve read the synopsis you already know how fate intervened… My heart hurt so hard for this woman and all life threw at her. You know the saying, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger… this is the perfect definition for Francesca. Here is a woman who had nothing but bad with little moments of good thrown at her, she buried the pain down deep, brushed herself off, and kept onward. All the pain powered her art. So I guess there was a positive towards all the negatives she endured.

I’m not going to lie, I love a good accidental pregnancy romance! In fact, this may be one of my top three favorite tropes! So of course, when I saw that last line in the synopsis I knew I had to pick this book up as soon as possible. Let’s state the facts first, Ilsa Madden-Mills did not disappoint when it came to the accidental pregnancy trope. She gave us a level of vulnerability that was so off the charts I felt my chest caving with a small amount of anxiety for both Tuck and Francesca. Here’s two people who know nothing about raising a baby, and fate throws exactly that in the midst… yep, it was a genius move on Ilsa Madden-Mills’ part. And that is the main reasoning behind why I couldn’t put this one down! The amount of emotion portrayed had tears in my eyes…

But there is a reasoning behind why I dropped a rating in my review. I felt some moments were a bit fast paced for my liking. I wanted to see Tuck more involved with the pregnancy instead of keeping said pregnancy a secret for the majority of the book. I feel like he was told, he ran away, he had his period of redemption, a moment with the tummy, and then BAM she was having the baby. Call me a spoiled reader, but I wanted him to connect with the baby more while the baby was inside Francesca’s tummy. I wanted that inner turmoil through his eyes while she was pregnant… Like I said, call me a spoiled reader… I just wanted a little more connection…

Honestly, the epilogue saved me from rating this novel 3 ½ stars. The moment between Tuck and Franco that had me clutching my chest with the biggest smile on my face. That was the moment I was craving. I just wish there were more ‘Bonding’ type moments like that one.

Overall, I really enjoyed Princess and the Player by Ilsa Madden-Mills. I loved the romance and I loved the opposites attract twist. I loved the fact that the artsy girl was matched up with the football stud. And even though I wanted more from this trope, I did love the accidental pregnancy/secret baby trope. My heart feels full after reading this novel. And I guess, if you think about it, that’s a job well done in my mind.

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Peace Love and Happy Reading,