Book Review: My Darling Bride

Earlier in the week I finished My Darling Bride by Ilsa Madden-Mills. It’s a standalone, but is set in the same world as Beauty & the Baller and Princess & the Player. I always love cameos and to find out what beloved characters are up to!

The novel follows Emmaline Darling or Emmy and Graham Harlan in a spicy marriage of convenience romcom. When Emmy ends up in a desert town in Arizona after leaving an abusive situation with her ex-boyfriend while away in Vegas, she meets Graham – a famous NFL player who is on a road trip with his new lamborghini. When Emmy’s ex finds her in Arizona, she “borrows” Graham’s car to run away.

Shortly after, Graham figures out who Emmy is and their unlikely connection to each other. His car that Emmy left for him at the airport was stolen for real and trashed. When he tracks her down back home in New York City, he makes a deal with her. He’ll forget about her stealing his car if she agrees to marry him to fulfill something in his grandmother’s will.

I loved this book and the storyline. I also loved Emmy and Graham. They were both really likable characters! Both of them had personal struggles and I loved how they worked through them and were there for each other. The slow burn and tension was really good too. Sometimes, though, I forgot that Graham was supposed to be a football player because he’s almost written more like a billionaire (though he is rich from his profession and family) so it read a little more like a billinaire romance than a sports romance.

It was nice to see Jasper again and the tension between him and Emmy’s sister, Jane, was so entertaining. I need a book about them!

Read this if you want a spicy sports romcom with the marriage of convenience and slow burn tropes.

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