Not My Match

Madden-Mills’s emotional second Game Changers romance (after Not My Romeo) adds impressive depth to the bad boy, good girl trope. Giselle Riley is suffering through a bad date when Devon Walsh—Giselle’s college crush, playboy star football player of the Nashville Tigers, and, as it happens, the best friend of her sister’s new husband—swoops in and saves her from her date’s unwanted advances. Their flirtatious encounter comes to a screeching halt when Giselle learns that her brother-in-law told Devon she’s a virgin and asked him to look out for her around other members of the team. The revelation leads to a fierce argument, but Devon redeems himself by offering Giselle a place to stay after a fire ravages her apartment building. Proximity causes feelings to bubble to the surface—but both Devon and Giselle must work through relationship baggage and apprehensions about love before they can move forward. Giselle, a doctoral candidate in theoretical physics with a delightfully active and quirky imagination, is a lovable heroine, while heavily tattooed Devon will make readers swoon. Madden-Mills masterfully handles the protagonists’ insecurities and traumas to produce a love story that’s equal parts tantalizing, gut-wrenching, and sweet. [em](Jan.) [/em]