Review: No Ordinary Love by Myah Ariel
Written by: Milan Harper
No Ordinary Love is an endearing romance that can easily be devoured in a single day. Ella is a popular singer going through a nasty divorce from her ex-husband who is also a world-famous producer and responsible for Ella’s rise to fame. Ella’s lawyer advises her to stay out of the limelight and romantic relationships during crucial divorce proceedings, which could determine the course of Ella’s career. Love is the last thing on Ella’s mind when a wardrobe malfunction at an award show causes Ella and MLB Pitcher and playboy, Miles, to collide. Ella and Miles are cut from the same cloth, successful in their respective industries, and navigating their own scandals when sparks start to fly.
From the jump I was team Ella, especially after realizing how her ex-husband took advantage of her early in her career as a young artist. taken advantage of she was as a young artist by her now ex-husband. I found myself equally drawn to the story of Ella finding herself and the strength to fight back as I was with her budding romance with Miles. I also enjoyed the peek we get into both the music and sports industries and the decisions that are made behind closed doors. At times, it felt like the characters' lives weren’t their own, but in the midst of headlines and PR stunts, Ella and Miles found an anchor in each other, as both have experience in navigating drama and scandalous divorces.
I loved how we were immediately pulled into Ella’s world. Her glam squad added comedic relief, and I felt we got the best picture of who Ella was in these scenes. In the middle, the pacing seemed to move too quickly. I would have liked to see more instances of the characters longing for each other after their first kiss. Much of the beginning of their romance was summed up via sporadic voice notes and texts between the pair, making their need to communicate feel less urgent. There was tension, but it was held on a pretty loose thread, and I may have wanted it to break at times. All in all, I enjoyed this read and felt it was a beautiful follow-up to Myah Ariel’s first novel, When I Think Of You.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing a free arc for review. No Ordinary Love releases on Apr. 1st and can be pre-ordered through our Bookshop.org storefront where we receive a small commission to support our work of amplifying and cultivating the voices of Black writers and writers of color.