Princess and the Player (Strangers in Love)

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 16,131 ratings

Price: 3.99

Last update: 12-18-2024


About this item

A masquerade ball brings together an NFL player and a penniless princess in this smart and sexy romance from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills.

Levelheaded Francesca Lane never thought she’d miss her own wedding. But when her fiancé betrays her, she puts on her wedding dress and ditches the altar for a masquerade ball—at an exclusive lifestyle club.

There, she meets unknown-to-her NFL star Tuck Avery, dressed as a prince and hiding behind a mask—he’s there to celebrate his birthday. For one night, Francesca and Tuck indulge in a wickedly incognito affair. No names. No strings. And the masks don’t come off.

Unfortunately, Francesca realizes quickly that her masked prince is the wealthy jock who lives in the penthouse of her apartment building. His hobbies include parties and supermodels—or so the tabloids say. Getting tangled up with a shallow jerk is the last thing Francesca needs right now, so she vows to keep Tuck from recognizing her (not that she’s his type anyway).

But fate has a teeny-tiny trick up her sleeve…a plus sign on a pregnancy test. Can this tormented prince accept love, or will he push his princess away forever?


From the Publisher

"The couple has chemistry to spare and Madden Mills packs in the feels." -Publishers Weekly

Top reviews from the United States

  • MS12DZN
    5.0 out of 5 stars Charming, entertaining, and delightful!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2022
    Ilsa has done it again! Wonderful dialogue, hilarious secondary characters, heartfelt romance, hot steamy sex, engaging protagonists, and the most beautiful cover! This is the second of the second of her Strangers in Love series and I hope she keeps them coming!

    Princess and the Player is the story of two characters who have suffered immense disappointment in their lives and end up at a costume party in a sex club. They are immediately attracted to each other – she is dressed in her “would-be” wedding gown, and he is the prince of her dreams. Agreeing to a one-night stand where no names or information would be exchanged, they find them enraptured with each other. When morning comes, they go their separate ways. Or do they?

    Karma has other ideas for Francesca and Tuck. They keep running into each other at obscure places like the coffee shop and bookstore. And in their apartment building. O, and a little pink pregnancy line appears to complicate their situation.

    One of the great attributes of an Ilsa Madden-Mills book are the secondary characters she develops. Darden, Cece, Brogan, Widow Carter, and Jasper are well defined and increase the hilarity of the book. Ilsa also manages to mention the primary characters from Beauty and the Baller, Nova and Ronan into this storyline to keep the continuity going.

    I fell in love with Tuck Avery when he gave his winter coat to a homeless man sitting on the curb. Francesca Lane may have taken a little longer. But she falls deeper in love with the football great.

    I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to those who come across it. It is worth every penny. Thank you, Ilsa for another satisfying read. Please keep the series going.
  • Joy-TheLazyCatLady
    4.0 out of 5 stars There's lots going on in the Princess and the Player!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2022
    Princess and the Player is the second book in the series called Strangers in Love, however, each book stands on it's own with one main couple. I have read the first book and, not that this story is terrible, but I liked Beauty and the Baller more. I'm not a huge fan of babies/children in my romance. I usually avoid the trope but I am a fan of Ilsa Madden-Mills and she can usually make it work when I wouldn't otherwise accept it. For the most part I was ok with the pregnancy in this one because it wasn't the sole focus of every scene.

    Francesca and Tuck meet in a unique way on Tuck's (not a fan of this name) birthday celebration with Tuck's two buddies. Francesca (not a fan of this name either) ended her engagement when her fiancée cheats, but she puts on her dress and goes out with her friend. and Tuck isn't interested in a serious relationship. She meets Tuck, their chemistry is great, they agree to a one and done hook-up, and just like they agreed, they somewhat reluctantly go their separate ways.

    There were many side characters to be found in this story. Jasper (another name I'm not fond of unless it's a butler or chauffeur) was pretty close to Tuck ("T" from now on). Francesca (I'm calling her "F" from now on) has her besty, Cece, who has fallen in love and making huge changes in her life and her other besty, Brogan (????) who is our token LGBTQ character and is my favorite side character. There are other friends, neighbors, and associates with some more names I'm not fond of but each play and important part of the story while also providing comic relief.

    F and T both have some baggage and major trust issues that unfold over the course of their relationship. It takes a lot of time and patience but they do grow closer. Then she drops the baby bømb and T doesn't take it well, naturally. I'll let you read about it yourself. F finds out some life changing information about herself which is both interesting and mysterious at the same time. T makes some life altering decisions that affect both their present and the future. There's a lot going on for F and T that you are going to want to read.

    I was pretty immersed in the first half of the book but it did drag a bit here and there and I think I know where I lost interest. There was a lot going on in this one and each plot line deserved time. It did get bogged down a couple of times but it works out satisfactorily in the end. I enjoyed the book

    For the most part this was a well written story and had good plot lines and back stories for the characters. There weren't any major errors although I have noticed that the author likes to use the word grouse a lot. I've been counting the occurrences for fun. ???? Also, she started using the word carding/card in place of just "running fingers through hair". I had to look it up because I have never seen the word used that way. And I am not sure her usage is the way the word is intended to be used but what do I know; I've never written a book. I can barely write a review. ????

    Overall, I did enjoy the story and I would definitely recommend it. There is no cheating, no overly obnoxious OW/OM drama, and F, T, and the baby get a beautiful HEA. I look forward to the next installment which I am guessing is Jasper and possibly Courtney though I will be reading no matter who it's about. I'm giving this a four shiny star rating.
  • Rebecca Arvieux
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gloriously gorgeous found family!!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2022
    A gorgeous story of love, found family, second chances, redemption, and fate, Ilsa Madden-Mills The Princess and The Player brought me to tears, made me laugh and swoon, with the love between Tuck and Francesca and their found families!

    "Family is the compass that guides us, a light that leads us, the most important aspect of a child’s life. It is unconditional and loves you no matter your shortcomings."

    Francesca is a beautiful "lost" princess. Abandoned so many times throughout her life that when she and Tuck have a real connection Frannie does everything she can to turn her back on it, and him.

    Tuck is a typical player right up until the night he and Francesca meet, and he expects everything to continue normally afterward. Suddenly though, he's seeing his Princess everywhere. And he wants her, but she doesn't want him - and now he doesn't know if it's because of all of his failures.

    The found family aspect in The Princess and The Player is one of the sweetest I've seen this year, and Ilsa Madden-Mills did an amazing job building it up on both sides. Francesca has been alone most of her life, but as an adult she has Cece, Brogan, Mr. Darden, the Doorman Hermann, and even the Widow Carnes. All of these friends, even the grouchy Darden and judgy Widow stand for her and with her in everything, and especially as everything starts to go pear shaped with Tuck.

    Tuck thinks he's still alone after his friend Ronan retired, but doesn't notice that Jasper, Deacon and even the semi-wretched Camille are always there. They may bedevil him like no one else, but they've also got his back all the time. Jasper doesn't even let Camille do the dumbest thing possible in trying to get between Tuck and Francesca.

    The plot line and redemption arc for both these characters is so well developed, nothing is left out. The beauty of Frannie and Tuck's relationship from beginning to end, to beginning again is achingly sweet in a way that you just root for them the whole time - you can see how beautiful they could really be together if they just stop fighting themselves so hard!

    Five out of five stars for Ilsa Madden-Mills gloriously gorgeous The Princess and The Player. Everyone needs this kind of found family love story on their shelf!!

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