My Darling Bride by Ilsa Madden-Mills-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 5, 2023

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?

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REVIEW: MY DARLING BRIDE by Ilsa Madden Mills is a stand alone, contemporary adult, story line focusing on twenty-nine year old football star, tight end Graham Harlan, and twenty-eight year old, book store manager Emmaline ‘Emma’ Darling.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise including domestic abuse and issues of CTE, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Emma and Graham) MY DARLING BRIDE follows the fake marriage/marriage of convenience between our story line couple. Emma Darling is on the run from an abusive boyfriend, a professional football player who wanted control but Emma never expected to come face to face with another professional football player at the same dive motel where she was in hiding. Enter Graham Harlan, the man with whom Emma will fall in love but all does not go according to plan when Emma’s ex tracks her down, and her only recourse is to steal Graham’s Lamborghini, an action that is met with a lifetime of consequences. Graham needs a wife to appease the contents of his grandmother’s will, and Emma is ripe for the picking. What ensues is the building but fractured relationship between Emma and Graham, and the fall-out as Graham refuses to commit to a happily ever after.

Graham Harlan is desperate to help his brother but the dysfunctional family dynamics have pushed Graham to propose a fake marriage to a woman he doesn’t know. Having suffered a possible career ending head injury, Graham is struggling with his future and his career but one thing Graham doesn’t want is to fall in love-been there, done that, has the heart break to prove it. His relationship and marriage proposal to Emma is purely a business arrangement, an arrangement for a short period of time. Emma never saw herself falling for another football player but something about Graham pulled her like a moth to a flame, a flame that was going to hurt when she got too close. Emma knew the pain of physical abuse but the emotional trauma and rejection will hurt the most.

The relationship between Emma and Graham is a business arrangement with strict rules and guidelines to which Emma must adhere. Emma believes she is falling for a man with little emotions and a broken heart, a man who is about to destroy the woman whose own heart is in need of repair. As to the relationship, I felt little to no palpable sexual attraction between our story line couple until about 80-90% of the story, and most of this is to blame on Graham’s attitude and off-putting behavior. Graham wants nothing to do with love, believing himself still in love with a ghost from the past, and in this, Emma is often left alone including her wedding night, and when Graham is needed the most. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate and intense.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including family and friends, exes and teammates. Both Emma and Graham come from broken and dysfunctional families; there is a history of abuse, infidelity and abandonment from all sides.

MY DARLING BRIDE is a story of power and control, desperation and determination, mistrust and miscommunication, family and friendships, forgiveness and love. The slow building premise is heart breaking ; the characters are broken and stubborn; the romance is limited and disappointing. Not my favorite Madden-Mills story-I struggled with the hero’s mindset and perspective.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is best known for her angsty new adult romances and romantic comedies.

Fourteen of her Eighteen novels have placed in the Amazon Top 10 Best-seller List: Dirty English #1; Not My Romeo #1; The Revenge Pact #1; Dear Ava, Fake Fiancée, I Dare You, and I Promise You #2; I Hate You #5; Not My Match, I Bet You, Filthy English, and Very Bad Things #6; Boyfriend Bargain #8; The Last Guy, her collaboration with Tia Louise, #4.

A former high school English teacher, she adores all things Pride and Prejudice, and of course, Mr. Darcy is her ultimate hero.

She’s addicted to frothy coffee beverages, cheesy magnets, and any book featuring unicorns and sword-wielding females.