ARC Review: Boyfriend Material by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Posted July 28, 2022 by Shannon in ARC, Reviews, Shannon / 1 Comment

ARC Review:  Boyfriend Material by Ilsa Madden-MillsBoyfriend Material (Hawthorne University, #2) by Ilsa Madden-Mills
Publication Date: July 25, 2022
Buy on Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Bookshop.org
Find on: Goodreads
three-half-stars

Eric's not Boyfriend Material. Or is he?
#1 Amazon bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills delivers an all-new, enemies-to-lovers sports romance, a breathtaking tale of passion, heartbreak, and love…
Skyscraper cheekbones, lush lips, and magnetic topaz eyes.I’m talking about Eric Hansen.Rich prick.Glorified hockey star.Thinks he’s amazing. Yeah. The Golden Boy and I are well acquainted. In prep school he trampled on my heart and kept right on going.
Three years later, he’s living the high life with frat parties and puck bunnies at Hawthorne University. On the other hand, people barely notice me. I’m the nobody, surviving in the seedy part of town as I struggle to keep my head above treacherous waters.
The avoidance game we’ve been playing was workingβ€”until he rescues me from a bad guy and claims he wants to help me more. Hello. I don’t need a knight in shining armor. This girl saves herself.
Yet, I'm not sure how long I can ignore the undeniable spark between us. (It’s not even a spark; it’s a full-fledged, blazing fire.)
Can this hockey player prove he’s boyfriend material, or will this be a game we both lose?

Eric, the star hockey player at Hawthorne University and Julia knew each other in high school. They dated briefly, with their romance crashing and leaving Julia broken-hearted.  Fast-forward to their senior year of college, their lives are in very different places.  Circumstances (or fate) force these two to cross paths, discover a friendship they didn’t have in high school, and realize just how important they are to each other.

The author is great at giving readers these angsty, sexy new adult stories.  As much as I wanted to like Eric and Julia as a couple, their relationship spent way too much time at surface-level for me to believe these two were really building a meaningful relationship.  They held so much in that when the truth gets revealed it’s like a bomb.

Secondary characters in the author’s new adult series are always a highlight for me.  They generally are just as excited as the H/h.  Poppy and Taylor could have been so much more in this story, in my opinion.  Julia needed some solid friends to help her.  While they did (or so she said) I really wanted to see/hear those interactions and support.

This was still a solid read by the author, just not one of my favorites.  If you enjoy NA hockey romances, this is definitely a series to try.

About Ilsa Madden-Mills

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills writes about strong heroines and sexy alpha males that sometimes you just want to slap.

She’s addicted to all things fantasy, including unicorns and sword-wielding heroes in books. Other fascinations include frothy coffee beverages, dark chocolate, Instagram, Ian Somerhalder (seriously hot), astronomy (she’s a Gemini), Sephora make-up, and tattoos.

She has a degree in English and a Master’s in Education.

When she’s not pecking away on her computer, she shops for cool magnets, paints old furniture, and eats her weight in sushi.

The following two tabs change content below.
I am a lover of alpha males with dirty mouths, strong heroines putting alpha males in their place, and the Chicago Blackhawks. I'm a proud hockey mom who can often be found at the hockey rink cheering on my favorite forward, with my kindle close by.

One response to “ARC Review: Boyfriend Material by Ilsa Madden-Mills