Review: Princess and the Player

Princess and the Player by Ilsa Madden-Mills
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Where to start?

Francesca Lane is an artist who works as a tattooist while she tries to sell her art. When her fiance dumps her for the shop manager just before her wedding she decides the only way to get over the betrayal is to go to a masked ball at a sex club to get over him. At the ball she meets Tuck Avery, he's a big-shot NFL player but because they are both masked neither knows who the other is. After a steamy night they go their separate ways, never realising that they both live in the same apartment building (don't even get me started on how a struggling tattoo artist can afford to live in the same apartment building - it's a ridiculous story).

Tucker has a terrible family history (don't they all), he's the original poor little rich boy, and as a consequence he fears getting close to other people. Added to which a recent injury may spell the end of his NFL career and he is having trouble controlling his anger. At first when he sees Francesca at his local restaurant ordering take-out he is suspicious that she is stalking him (not the first time that has happened to him), but soon he is falling under her spell.

I seriously considered DNFing this book. I guess if you think it is perfectly normal (or even sexy) to go to a sex club in your wedding dress and hook up with a stranger then you'll probably find this a great read. I had seen rave reviews about Ilsa Madden-Mills so I was eager to request an ARC, but sadly this is is not for me. There are so many unbelievable plot lines (I won't even call them twists), Francesca calls them serendipity but I just see it as the author forcing a square peg in a round hole.

So, ridiculous plot and one bonk scene after another, not my cup of tea but horses for courses as they say.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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