Not My Match

Oh my stars!
5 stars

Ilsa Madden-Mills is one of my go-to authors when I’m looking for an involving, emotional, sexy and romantic read. However, she manages to surprise me with every new book - each one surpassing my expectations and somehow being better than the last.

This is the story of superstar (and super hot) American football player, Devon, and slightly nerdy, slightly cool scientist, Giselle. The pair are acquaintances through Devon’s best friend and Giselle’s sister getting married. Acquaintance turns to friendship then a tentative attraction and finally, full blown combustion.

After I’d read the book I noticed that it’s being billed as a slow-burn romance and yes, I suppose it is. However, there is so much sexual show more tension, growing feelings and a soul-deep friendship being built that it feels hot and heavy almost from the first. This pair are soulmates and boy can you feel it. It’s deliciously everything.

Giselle was something of an anomaly in a romance. She was quirky, funny, vulnerable and absolutely hilarious. The way her mind worked and how she thought things through - I’m not sure I’ve ever loved a heroine more. I identified with her so much - although I sadly don’t have my own Devon in my life. Equally, I found her so refreshing and inspiring. She was smart and driven and so loving. So wonderful.

And Devon was equally the perfect kind of hero. He was alpha, grouchy, funny, sweet and very sexy. But he was also very layered and very vulnerable. He tried to fight it but he couldn’t stop himself from wanting Giselle and loving every little thing about her. The way he found her delightful. Supported and protected her. Cheered on her dreams. The way they teased and pranked each other. It was true love and a true friendship. Each and every time he called her ‘baby’, I melted. With every emotion I fell in love as they did.

With the chemistry that Devon and Giselle had, is it any surprise that my kindle smoked during the sex scenes? But as I mentioned, it’s also the kisses, touches, laughter and looks (level 5 gaze - 10+ seconds) that make this a super sexy read. While I love that in a story, the actual romance was how this book was won. It was, simply, perfection.

This is the second book in the Game Changers series after Not My Romeo. Devon and Giselle appear briefly in that book - just as Jack and Elena appear briefly in this one. As do a whole host of the characters who appeared in the first book. Daisy Lady Gang for life.

Having said that, this book does stand alone and if you haven’t read Not My Romeo, this one will still be enjoyable make perfect sense. (But seriously, read Not My Romeo - it’s great!) There are also so many characters I want to get their own stories. And serious question - when are we getting to read Vureck and Kate’s story?

Every single time I pick up an Ilsa Madden-Mills book I’m blown away with how quickly I fall into the world she creates. How easily I care for her characters and make them part of my life. How much I adore the story she tells. I finished this book not an hour ago and I’m already in serious withdrawal. I highly recommend this book - you will not be disappointed. show less

I appreciate when an author takes a morally ambiguous character in an earlier book and redeems them and that's what happened here. I was pissed with the FL in the first book in the series but she own me over here. I was completely on Giselle's side by first quarter of book and Devon! Devon was so cool. And hot! I mean this is a contemporary romance so it has very familiar beats but where it shone was how Ilsa developed the friendship between the leads, I adored seeing them acknowledge and be a firm unit. Even the epilogue further solidified this and made me so happy.
The side characters were also so fun and I am looking forward to Aiden's story!

4.5 stars

I am a huge fan of this author and so any book that she writes is sure to hit my good book meter, hence the huge fan. However, this book exceeded even those expectations.

I wasn't prepared to like Giselle as much as I did. There was just something about watching her inner mind work that had me cracking up. She was awkward and knew random facts. Social settings and friends were not her thing and I loved that about her. The connection that she had with Devon made me laugh. He was this jock who was far from naive and yet Giselle turned his world upside down and made him awkward in his own way.

Great storyline that had a fresh spin to it, loveable characters, and just the right amount of steam. The epilogue was also pretty dang show more perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. show less

Giselle and Devon's story is a great sport forbidden romance, where something has them becoming roommates and so the temptation is there and their chemistry too. This was a fun read, I laughed and had myself reading it non-stop. I loved Devon, he was such a great book boyfriend, while Giselle is an independent nerdy girl. They both struggle with their own insecurities, and then the family and friends are there to push their buttons. Definitely a great read for any day.


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Devon is Jack's best friend and best wide receiver in the country. Giselle is Elena's little sister, a physicist and sci fi romance writer. Continuing from the book "Not My Romeo" Jack & Elena are on their honeymoon, Giselle has been dumped by her fiance (Elena's former one) and is online dating. Devon comes to her rescue one night and knows she's off limits by Jack's decree. Giselle has had a crush on Devon and he's wildly attracted to her. She wants to lose her V-card and he has baggage and is closed off. The sparks fly when they become roommates. The chemistry is off the charts and with her smarts and quirkiness and his charm the two embark on a relationship that hits all kinds of rough patches and a lot of decision making. A solid show more story. I'm hoping this series continues with Aiden or possibly Quinn. show less

I don’t really know what to say about this one. I really adored Devon. He was super cute in Book 1 of this series and such a good guy here. Giselle was the problematic one. Her history was a lot to over look. Giselle and Devon had such a weird relationship. It was cute at times, but others, just really strange. But I appreciated the fact that he loved her despite her being such an oddball. Maybe even because she was. But unfortunately Giselle’s character was too damaged in the first book. The author tried valiantly, but unsuccessfully to “redeem” her in this one. Cheating is a hard thing to come back from in my book.

But anyway, Devon was amazing. And I’m glad he got his happily ever after.