Book picks similar to
Hard Fall by Brenda Rothert


sports-romance
sports
hockey-romance
arc

Taking Shots


Toni Aleo - 2011
    That is until she meets Shea Adler. After doing a promotional shoot for the NHL team, the Assassins, she meets the hunky hockey player who shoots a puck, shattering her world.Shea Adler was tired of the life he was living outside of the rink. The girls, the money blowing, the drinking, everything had to stop and it all did when he met Eleanor Fisher. He had never met anyone like her. She was feisty, witty, shy, and simply gorgeous. When he laid eyes on her, it was as if he was taking the hardest hit of his life into the boards, and he had to have her. Elli is a little skeptical of Shea, but he knows that they were meant to be together, and he needed her in his life. Can Elli throw her insecurities out the window and love Shea with everything inside of her, or will she let a past relationship, and her family ruin any chance of her being happy.

One More Shot


Victoria Denault - 2015
    He was crazy in love with her, and had finally told her so. They shared an amazing night . . . and then everything fell apart. Jessie tries not to think about the night she gave herself to Jordan—or how he broke her heart. She tries not to think about it, but she does. Especially now, when she's staring into his sky-blue eyes for the first time in six years. After so much time and torment, she can't tell if she loves him or hates him. But Jordan has learned enough to know a connection like theirs is rare. He was lucky to find Jessie once. No way will he lose her again.

Kiss To Conquer


Anna B. Doe - 2020
    Hayden thinks he knows all about Callie’s life before Blairwood and he’s not ready to let go of the past, much less forgive her for what she has done three years ago.One thing’s for sure… it’s going to take more than a kiss to conquer their broken past.Note: Kiss To Conquer is an enemies-to-lovers sports romance and it can be read as a standalone novel.

The Enforcer


Nikki Worrell - 2013
    Her best friend, Dr. Zoe Millis, has been begging her to make the move from Maine to California. Taking a leap of faith, Lacey does just that. Living in San Diego definitely has its perks, such as, sunshine and beaches. The best part of moving to the west coast, however, is that Steven is still on the east coast. Catching your almost husband having sex with one of your bridesmaids on your wedding day would make even the strongest woman jaded. Therefore, Lacey has sworn off men for a while, especially men who travel a lot that have easy access to loose women.When Lacey meets the new enforcer for the San Diego Scorpions, she thinks she might be in trouble. But she is determined to fight her attraction to the sexy NHL hunk. And she is successful...for about a day.

Defenseless


Amy Jarecki - 2021
    Help his team win a bowl game, 2. Ace his exams and, most importantly, 3. Women are completely, utterly, and irrevocably off-limits.Strait-laced accounting major, Vivian Ellis, hasn't watched a complete game of football in her life. And when she receives her tutoring assignment, the last student she expects is Cade. Not only has the football star earned a reputation as the best looking heart-breaker on campus, his recent trial has made him notorious.But Cade is done with his past and he wants to prove it. When his teammates invite him to a celebration in his honor, he asks Vi to come along to keep the party-girls at bay. Except when Vi shows up without her glasses, she's as sexy-hot as a runway model. Worse, his tutor is as off-limits as any woman can get. As the season continues, sparks fly while their chemistry darts from simmering to scorching. Until everything is blown to hell. Challenged by hateful rumors and a devastating injury, will these star-crossed lovers find the mettle to get back in the game?

Never Enough


Kelly Elliott - 2019
    Bull riding. But life on the road means leaving his young son at home with his parents. They want him to give up his career and be a father to his child, but Brock needs the adrenaline to get through each day…or so he thinks.Lincoln Pratt needs a fresh start. As a top interior designer in Atlanta, she has everything she could ever want, but she’s always at her father’s mercy. Something’s missing, and Lincoln knows she’ll only find it somewhere far away—like the rolling pastures of Hamilton, Montana, where she meets the irresistibly mysterious Brock.In Brock Shaw, Lincoln sees the part of her that’s missing. In Lincoln Pratt, Brock sees the part of himself he thought he’d lost. But the pain of his past binds him. Can he let himself love again?

On the Ice


Amy Aislin - 2018
    A busy schedule of practices, games, classes, homework, two part-time jobs—and now, working with a tutor to help him pass the class he’s failing so that he can keep his scholarship—shouldn’t leave him with enough time to flirt with the NHL player in town. But that doesn’t stop him. Placed on the injured reserve list until his broken arm heals, NHL defenseman Alex Dean is using the time off to be with his ailing grandfather and get a head start on the book he’s been commissioned to write. He doesn’t expect to get roped into a tutoring gig, especially not for cocky, smart-ass Mitch. But Alex soon discovers that there’s more to Mitch than meets the eye...and he really likes what he sees. Only Alex doesn’t dare risk his NHL career by coming out, and a relationship between them would jeopardize Mitch’s chances with the organization too. It looks impossible. Then again, the best things usually do...On the Ice is an m/m contemporary romance featuring a flirty college hockey player who meets his match in a demisexual NHL player.

Whispered Prayers of a Girl


Alex Grayson - 2017
    Her words are agony to my healing heart, but I cherish the sound of them, for that’s the only time I ever hear my beautiful daughter speak. Since her father died two years ago, she’s grown quiet and withdrawn. Cat’s Valley was to be our new beginning, a place where my family and I can heal, but what we find there is so much more.Scars mar his body. Pain has left him in pieces…Four years ago, I lost the two things I cherished most in the world. They were ripped from my arms in the most painful and cruel way. Since then, I’ve kept to myself, preferring to stay away from the pitying looks and murmured rumors. Everything changed when she and her children barged into my life. It was an accident, and I don’t deserve them, but now that they’re here, I’m not sure I can let them go.

Hold on to Hope


A.L. Jackson - 2019
    Jackson . . . Evan Bryant wasn't your typical hero.But he was mine.Broken by the worlds' standards, he was still the strongest boy I would ever know.My best friend. The boy I'd given everything to. My heart, my body, and the promise of forever.The day I'd needed him most, he walked away.He left me shattered and questioning the love I'd thought we'd shared.Three years later, I wasn't prepared for him to return to Gingham Lakes.It wouldn't have mattered if he wasn't the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.My fingers still would have ached to caress his skin.My body still would have begged to get lost in his touch.And my heart . . . it would have always sung his name.But time changes things. With it, secrets that could ruin everything.Can we find a way to love again, or have the fears of our past stolen the hope of our forever . . .

When the Time Is Right


M. Mabie - 2020
    Hudson Bradley is the cockiest, most stubborn, hard-headed man I’ve ever known. And for fifteen years, he’s been my brother's best friend. But lately, what I’m feeling for him isn’t friendship at all.Why is my heart racing every time his blue eyes lock on mine?Why does every word he rumbles in my ear make my body come alive?And worst of all, why did I bet him that I could find a woman he and his son would both love? If I hadn’t given up on love altogether, Hudson would have been perfect for me. After all, he was there the day my world fell apart. He’s spent the last six years piecing me back together. There are a million reasons why we could never work, but after a single kiss, I can’t remember any of them. Now that the time is right, I have to make him mine—before I lose him forever.

Player


E. Cleveland - 2020
    Or that he's a legend on skates.And, yeah, I know it's a double entendre. I'm well aware of his reputation for hooking up with half the girls at Westbury. I've had a front row seat to the bunny parade.Still, I won't call him Player. That's not who he is to me. That's never who he's been to me. He's Noah Foster. My best friend. The boy I grew up with. The guy who knows me better than anyone.Well, except there is one secret I've never told him. I haven't exactly been open with him about how I'm still a card carrying member of the V-card-club.But, when Noah needs me to tutor him for his exam, I get an idea. What if I teach him a little science, and the Player teaches me how to play?

The Summer Proposal


Vi Keeland - 2022
    He only pretended to be until my real date showed up.To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.Before he left, he slipped me a ticket to a hockey game a few blocks away, in case things didn’t work out on my actual date.I tossed the ticket into my purse and went about trying to enjoy the man I was supposed to meet.But my real blind date and I had no connection.So on my way home, I decided to take a chance and stop by the game.When I arrived, the seat next to me was empty.Disappointed again, I decided to leave at the end of the period.Just before the buzzer, one of the teams scored, and the entire arena went crazy.A player’s face flashed up on the Jumbotron. He was wearing a helmet, but I froze when he smiled.You guessed it: Dimples.Apparently, my fake blind date hadn’t invited me to watch hockey with him, he’d invited me to watch him play.And so began my adventure with Max Yearwood.He was everything I needed at the time—fun, sexy, up for anything, and only around for a few months since he’d signed with a new team three-thousand miles away.Max proposed we spend the summer helping me forget my ex. It sounded like a good plan. Things couldn’t get too serious when we had an expiration date. Right? Though, you know what they say about the best-laid plans.

Prince Pucking Charming


Jillian Quinn - 2020
    And the team owner has given me two months to whip his broody butt into shape, or he’s trading Duke to another team.I can’t let that happen. Not when I can help Duke work through his anger issues.Except there’s one problem….As we grow closer, Duke thinks I’m the cure for thawing the ice around his heart.And he wants me.

When You're Ready


J.L. Berg - 2013
    waiting.As a widow and a single mother, I’d made peace with a quiet life. After all, I lost the love of my life. No one could ever replace him. But then, I met Dr. Logan Matthews and everything changed. He appeared like a white knight, caring for my injured daughter as he slowly mended the pieces of my broken heart. The letter Ethan left me has three words written on the envelope, When You’re Ready.So, I guess the question is...Was I ready... to love again?

Full Measures


Rebecca Yarros - 2014
    That’s why Mom hadn’t opened the door. She knew he was dead." Twenty years as an army brat and Ember Howard knew, too. The soldiers at the door meant her dad was never coming home. What she didn’t know was how she would find the strength to singlehandedly care for her crumbling family when her mom falls apart. Then Josh Walker enters her life. Hockey star, her new next-door neighbor, and not to mention the most delicious hands that insist on saving her over and over again. He has a way of erasing the pain with a single look, a single touch. As much as she wants to turn off her feelings and endure the heartache on her own, she can’t deny their intense attraction. Until Josh’s secret shatters their world. And Ember must decide if he’s worth the risk that comes with loving a man who could strip her bare.