My Darling Bride by Ilsa Madden-Mills Genres: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance
Published by Montlake Romance Publication Date: December 5, 2023
Pages: 327
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In a sizzling romance that sparkles with wit and depth, two wounded souls meet by chance in the desert and agree to get married, and their lives will never be the same.
On a normal day, Emmaline Darling isn’t a car thief. She’s just a simple girl who runs a bookstore and adores cats. But when she’s stranded in the desert and needs to get away from her dangerous ex-boyfriend, she picks her only option: swiping the keys to a famous football player’s Lamborghini and speeding away.
Football star Graham Harlan is in chaos. First he took a hit on the field that left him with a near-death experience, and now he’s promised his brother he’ll get married to secure the family inheritance. Trouble is he isn’t even seeing anyone.
Then a mystery woman steals his car. With his usual stubbornness, he tracks her all the way to Manhattan and gives her an ultimatum: marry me or I’ll press charges.
Her choice is obvious, only neither of them expect the sparks that ignite between them.
As the end of their arrangement looms, will Graham take a chance on love or let his darling walk away forever?
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
I had been looking forward to this book. I’ve enjoyed the other New York Pythons player books (the Strangers in Love series), so I was excited about this marriage of convenience trope.
Emmy runs away from her boyfriend (whom she left in Vegas) and hides in a small desert town in Arizona. As coincidence would have it, Graham is running from his fears behind the wheel of his Lamborghini. Coincidence has them both staying at the small hotel, but fate plays it hand with a stolen car, a bookstore, and the need to wed to get an inheritance.
I normally like a marriage-of-convenience trope but there was something with Graham and Emmy that didn’t work with me. Emmy was sweet (and also took on way too much responsibility for everyone around her).and seemed to give herself over to what she and Graham were doing. But, in my opinion, Graham didn’t. He took what he needed from Emmy, worried just about himself. Made it hard to feel bad for him when Emmy decided to give him what he claimed he wanted.
My other issue with the book was some of the other sub-plots and characters that either felt like they had no purpose or were just left as-is: Brody and Graham’s brother Holden, Graham’s relationship with his dad, the people from the bar Emmy worked at (I can’t remember their names), and Kian (that tied up all a little too neatly for me).
This was an enjoyable read, but it’s not my favorite from Ms. Madden-Mills.
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.
Shannon
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Great review, you make some great points. Mine is coming soon. I liked this one, but I agree with you, I was hoping for some kind of something regarding Holden and Divina towards the end.
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