Review: Boyfriend Bargain by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Boyfriend Bargain by Ilsa Madden-Mills
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an arc by the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Ilsa Madden-Mills book, and it certainly won't be my last. I'm not a huge contemporary romance reader, nor do I read a ton of new adult at this point of my life. I tend to get annoyed by the characters, not the case with this. This was entertaining, kept me interested, and was well written. I didn't find the characters to be immature or over the top. They were college kids doing college stuff, and I felt like their actions were appropriate for kids in their early 20s dealing with stressful situations and relationships.

This follows Sugar and Zack, aka “Z” as they both navigate some stressful events in their life. Sugar has grown up working for everything she has. Her father disowned her and her mother and she has been working hard to prove her worth to her father and his well off family. All Sugar wants is to be accepted into Vanderbilt’s prestigious law program, and she thinks #1 draft pick for the NHL Zack can help her get off the waitlist. Zack not only is a great hockey player, he looks like a god from whatever pantheon you prefer. He’s got a reputation for being a player, one that is fueled by the constant string of ladies crawling all over him. When Sugar approaches him at a party to strike up a boyfriend bargain to help her with her law school dilemma, they have instant chemistry, and the sparks and steam pretty much don’t stop. What Sugar doesn’t know is that Zack harbors some skeleton’s in his closet in the form of severe anxiety, which is part of the reason he agrees to her boyfriend bargain, that and her wants to see her again after their steamy first interaction. Zack is overwhelmed by needing to win a hockey championship, performing for his team and the NHL, and he is overcome by guilt of having it all when he feels like he caused someone else to lose it all. Sugar and Zack navigate their “fake” relationship as they realize there might be something there, all the while dealing with their own internal baggage. They push and pull each other at every step, but eventually they realize that their bargain and the struggles they face are better faced together than apart.

I really enjoyed this. It was fun, dealt with mental health and anxiety in a very real and respectful way, and I always appreciate when couples actually talk through their issues instead of just glossing over them and just accepting that love and chemistry is all you need to be happy. I look forward to reading more of Ilsa Madden-Mills books. I do wish there had been more actual hockey in the book, I am a bit of a tomboy and really like hockey and would have loved a bit more of the sport, but that’s just me.


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