Princess and the Player by Ilsa Madden-Mills

 

Thoroughly emotional, this is a rollercoaster of a romance that got me feeling all the things, Tuck and Francesca’s story begins one fateful night at a very exclusive sort of membership-only club where they promise each other one night and only one night. Neither of them knew it then, but they’d eventually find out they live in the same building and that they’ve met before. Very quickly after that Francesca finds out that her and Tuck’s night together left her with an automatic plus one, but for her own reasons she doesn’t rush to let him know. They begin to really get to know one another and eventually their reunion turns into much more, but how long can Francesca’s secret last?

If you love characters with tragic pasts, then this book is for you. Tuck’s life growing up was difficult, and Francesca’s life has always been hard from birth having had to grow up in the system. These two share that commonality, and it’s in large part their pasts that inform their current lives. Discovering how their characters backstories formed them made my heart hurt, but it made me fall in love with how they are in the present even more. Tuck’s become quite the man (despite making me mad especially at one point), and Francesca’s this feisty and incredibly strong heroine. To say I adored her is an understatement.

Something I especially enjoyed about this book is that it’s more complicated than your average sports romance. Don’t get me wrong, because I love a good sports romance, but the drama and angst inherent in this story just got me. I mean, at one point I actually cried. I won’t ruin the book by giving anything away, but it’s that tension that kept me rivetted. This book proved to be more powerful than I initially anticipated, and I loved the sort of strife that coursed through it.

Having said all that, I also loved how fun this book was at times. The banter is cheeky, and the secondary cast of characters is simply quality. They lend this lightheartedness to a storyline that could possibly become too serious and provide this lovely sort of family for Tuck and Francesca. They’re all pretty entertaining, and their addition to the book lends an almost playfulness to it that I think made the story even richer.

Well written and filled with emotion and amazing characters, this is a romance that’s not to be missed. It’s an addictive tale that’s filled with ups and downs that I found instantly addictive, and I think you will, too.