Book picks similar to
On the Mend by Tina Gallagher
cheating
sports
dnf
sports-romance
SEAL's Bride
Vivian Wood - 2016
Settle down? Hell, the ripped, fierce bad boy doesn't even bed the same woman twice.When he winds up back in his hometown, he's got no intention of changing his ways. F*ck the comforts of small-town life, there's a world full of pussy out there to conquer.That is, until he sees her. Remy River, the gorgeous blonde knockout who slams the door in his face -- apparently, she hasn't forgiven him for his past sins.Time to conquer the unconquerable.I had his baby, and he doesn't know.Four years ago, Remy made a huge mistake. Lovesick and impulsive, she slept with Sawyer Roman.And while he was off shooting bad guys, she had his baby.He doesn't know Shiloh is his son, and if she ever tells him, his family's threatened to ruin her life. But now he's back, damaged but hotter than ever, and he still wants her.If only she could turn away. If only she could resist his kisses, but Remy melts when he looks at her like that. But this secret's weighing on her soul, the guilt getting heavier and heavier every day.Remy has to tell Sawyer that Shiloh is his, but can they start fresh? Or will it be the tragic end to their love story?
The Hard Way
Katie Ashley - 2016
Because of his talent at football, coupled with his father’s wealth, he’s always gotten his way. But when a night of drunken debauchery lands him in hot water with the college athletic board, neither his influential father nor his charming grin can save him. He finds it a total buzz kill when he is sentenced to community service with troubled youth at an inner-city shelter. But his nightmare is only beginning when his greatest high school regret is the very one in charge of the program, and she has him by the balls in more ways than one.For Avery Prescott, senior year was a nightmare of epic proportions, and Cade Hall played the lead villain. After she fled her small town for college in the bright lights of Atlanta, she thought she had escaped the painful memories of her past. She never could have imagined Cade would waltz through the door of the outreach program she presided over. But Avery has news for Cade--she isn’t the same shy, doormat of a girl she was in high school. Since she holds Cade's football future in her hands, she’s more than ready to make payback a real bitch.Will the two stay in the defensive zone or discover that sometimes life's greatest lessons are learned the hard way?
The Pickup
Nikki Ash - 2019
The world decides for us. But I disagree.I believe love is a decision. Who we love, how we love. It’s in our control - in our hands.I grew up having no clue about the true meaning of love. Money. Cars. Houses. Status. Fame. That’s what love means to the people around me.It wasn’t until the woman I picked up in a bar came back into my life and showed me love can be so much more.So, what’s the problem?The woman I’m falling in love with believes in fairytales. She compares everything to a storybook and wants the happily-ever-after.So while she’s stuck on recreating stories that have already been told, page by page, I’m showing her it’s time we write our own book.Nobody ever said the journey of falling in love would be easy, just that it would be worth it. The Pickup is a standalone sports romance.
Dirty Shame
Tess Oliver - 2016
He also always knew that he’d never love anyone as much he loved Rylan Merritt. But sometimes love isn't enough.Seven years ago, Rylan Merritt left Bluefield Ridge with her heart in tatters. Now she’s back. And Kellan Braddock, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, the boy who she loved beyond anything has grown into a man. Will she risk her heart again? The story of a first love so strong it never fades.
This Much is True
Katherine Owen - 2013
A ballerina who lies. A baseball player who believes her. Well, the truth changes everything. Tally Landon just wants to escape her tragic story if just for one night. She doesn't count on meeting Lincoln Presley, Stanford's baseball wonder, but plans to add him to her long list of one-night stands. That's the plan. Lying to him about her age and her name is just a part of her don't-get-emotionally-attached style. She doesn't count on being found out, nor on ever seeing Linc again or falling in love. Lincoln Presley's life is all mapped out. There is only baseball. With the major leagues circling their favorite prospect with a lucrative offer, he cannot afford to mess up. And, he doesn't; until he meets up with the girl he saved from the burning wreckage on the 101 on Valentine's Day months before. By the time he learns her real name and of all the lies she's told, he's in far too deep to ever really let her go. When fame and lies tear them apart, one truth remains; and fate, most definitely, has a different set of plans. This much is true.Author's Note: A coming of age story? Could be. A powerful love story? Most definitely. An unforgettable read? Most likely. Intended for mature audiences, ages 17+? Absolutely. This best selling new adult contemporary romance novel will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride and is the first book (which should really be two books) in the Truth In Lies series, but it can be read as a standalone. It is 432 pages long in 12-point type so carve out some time.
Go Deep
Bella Love-Wins - 2016
I'm not riding a wave to the NFL. I am the wave, and everyone knows it, including my fans, opponents, coaches, every NFL agent who matters, and the hot little chicks who follow me around. I'm the whole package...with a package that leaves chicks wanting more. There's just one exception. Cassidy Greyson. She is the uptight cheerleader, my brother's best friend, and a fellow student in a few of my courses. Getting a piece of her is now my informal senior year 'pet' project. Little does she know she's about to be owned. Cassidy Greyson
I worked my butt off for three school years and two long summers so I could graduate early and get the hell out of my backwater life in Louisiana. Sure, I stuck to the cheerleading, but only because it was a family tradition that my mother insisted I keep up. Just because my older sister, Caroline, fell for the 'be-a-cheerleader-to-marry-an-NFL-star' trap, doesn't mean I want to follow in their footsteps. This is why Slade 'Slaughter' Clark doesn't have a chance in hell. I've avoided falling for the arrogant jock up until now, and there's no way I'll let him in. My business professor may have thought he was doing us both a favor when he forced Slade and me to partner up for a major project. I just wish I didn't have to stare into his sexy hazel eyes or watch him flex his tight, bulky muscles while we work together. *Author's note. Go Deep is a full length, standalone story with a HEA ending and no cliffhanger. This story is light on football and heavy on steamy romance.
Wild Pitch
Sloan Johnson - 2015
The day he acknowledged to himself that he was gay was also the day he vowed to stay in the closet in order to chase his dreams. The problem is, he never counted on Mason Atley.Sean showed rookie short stop Mason Atley the ropes, both on the field and off. The two forged a friendship which continued as both of them moved through the ranks of the farm system and into the majors. Unfortunately, there’s always been one secret Mason never felt he could share with Sean. Until now.For seven years, Sean lived with the fact that he loved a man who would never reciprocate. When Mason admits that he’s always known he’s bisexual but has never allowed himself to pursue a relationship with a man, will Sean be able to put aside his reservations about starting a relationship with the friend he’d always assumed was straight? And more importantly, will they be able to find a way to stay together when their careers keep them apart more than they can be together?
Taming Mad Max
Theresa Ragan - 2011
Believing his life will be cut short, Max tries to live every moment to its fullest. For this reason, Max shies away from forming close relationships. What would be the point of falling in love and starting a family only to leave them as his father left him and his sisters? When Max discovers he has a thirteen-year old daughter though, it throws all his years of planning and preparation for an early death into a tailspin.Nutrition expert, Kari Murphy, used to think Max Dutton, aka Mad Max, was to die for, but she’s older and wiser now. The last time Kari reacted with her heart instead of her brain, she conceived the thing she loves most in life…her daughter, Molly. As much as she dislikes Max Dutton for taking her declaration of love and throwing it in her face fourteen years earlier, she knows that if it wasn’t for him her life would be meaningless. And that really ticks her off, especially when she’s hired by the NFL franchise to follow Max around for a couple of weeks and give him healthy-eating advice, foolproof facts about carbohydrates and tasteful tips on cooking and shopping smart. Kari doesn’t want to be anywhere near the man, but what choice does she have? Her career is on the line.Taming Mad Max finaled in RWA’s 2008 Golden Heart competition under the title, Better Late Than Never.
Beautiful Ruin
Amy Olle - 2015
Soon, she's face-to-face with a man from her past. The one man she never stopped longing for.Renowned archaeologist, Noah Nolan, swore he’d never return to the small, remote island in Lake Michigan. After agreeing to complete a short-term excavation project, he realizes the site belongs to the woman who inexplicably rejected him years before. A woman he’s never forgotten – or forgiven.When Noah’s affinity for uncovering all things lost, forgotten, and buried stirs Mina’s repressed memories of a terrifying secret, she must find the courage to unearth the past, or risk losing the treasure of her heart forever.
Bury the Hatchet
Catherine Gayle - 2015
Now he needs to prove to the watchful eyes that he’s changed for the better. But cozying up to Little-Miss-Perfect-Gone-Bad isn’t his idea of making amends.Agreeing to marry a hockey star to clear her “bad girl” reputation is the worst idea Oklahoma’s former sweetheart, Tallulah Belle Roth, has ever heard. With cameras constantly in their faces, Hunter and Tallie need to prove their sickeningly-sweet, do-good lives are the real deal—just to Bury the Hatchet once and for all.But when the cameras are off, desire burns hot. Can fake and just for show turn into something real and forever?
Love Bats Last
Pamela Aares - 2013
What he can't seem to run is his love life. He's closing in on the perfect vintage and the perfect game, but so far the perfect woman has eluded him.Veterinarian Jackie Brandon is eluding her aristocratic past and memories of a soccer star who jilted her just before their wedding. She devotes herself to a marine mammal rescue center on the northern California coast, where hundreds of seals and sea lions are washing up dead.A chance meeting in a midnight storm brings Alex and Jackie together to rescue a stranded whale. Watching her work, he realizes she's the passionate, courageous woman he thought he'd never find—he just has to overcome her deep distrust of jocks. Jackie’s passion and courage lead her to discover what's killing the sea mammals. The culprits want to silence her, and Alex is the only one standing in their way. What will he sacrifice to save the woman he loves?While each book in the Tavonesi Series, by award-winning author Pamela Aares can be read as a standalone, you may enjoy reading the entire series.Love Bats Last (Book 1)Thrown By Love (Book 2)Fielder's Choice (Book 3)Love On The Line (Book 4)
Jax
Lane Hart - 2015
Known for his viciousness in the cage, and his playboy ways out of it, Jax is arrested and charged with a brutal rape. The thought of spending decades in prison is one of the few things that actually scares the shit out of this cocky fighter. Newly admitted attorney Page Davenport is willing to do anything it takes to get out from under her father's thumb and finally prove herself in his law firm. Anything except represent the infamous miscreant, Jackson "The Mauler" Malone. Despite her protests, Page is powerless to avoid becoming the sacrificial lamb, the token female, who will be the face of the violent, angry Neanderthal's defense team. Jax is a bad boy with a temper, doing whatever the hell he wants in life while flipping the bird at all his haters. Page is the prim and proper rich debutante her parents want her to be. They've been pulling her strings, telling her what to do, where to go to school, what to wear, and even who she should marry. Page and Jax struggle to work together, engaging in a knockdown drag-out fight for dominance. When they finally stop taking swings at each other, they're both surprised to realize that sometimes first impressions are completely wrong. In fact, opposites really do seem to attract. However, there are lines that attorneys and their clients can never cross, if Page wants to keep her license to practice law. Will Page risk it all and submit to the cocky fighter? Or will Jax's temper and jealousy prove too much for her to take on outside of the courtroom? Either way, one thing is for sure - neither Page nor Jax are going down without a fight. In the end, the secret for them to find heaven may be to battle their way through hell first. This 72K word book has a HEA with no cliffhanger.
Kickoff: The Originals
Jami Davenport - 2019
Her first assignment is to help Derek get his game back. While working with him on the field, she succumbs to the chemistry between them and spends a forbidden night in his arms.The next day Derek has the best performance of his not-so illustrious career. Soon Derek and Rachel are racking up nights in bed, and the team is racking up wins. They're risking it all, but they can't resist each other. Not only is Rachel his coach, but Derek knows the truth behind a secret that destroyed her father years before. Rachel and Derek are torn between love and duty, and the clock is winding down. It's fourth and goal, one second left in the game. The next play Derek makes must be for Rachel's heart.Previously published as Fourth and Goal in 2011. This version has been extensively updated, re-titled, and edited.
Juked
M.E. Carter - 2016
/jook-t/A slang soccer term meaning: faked out, deceived, confused your opponentSee examples Daniel Zavaro and Quincy Watson:As the rising star in Houston, Daniel has found fame as Captain of his Pro soccer team and the city’s most eligible bachelor. Daniel has everything – except someone special – and that suits him just fine. He doesn’t want, or need, complications.Quincy has baggage, and lots of it. After a tragic accident spins her world on its axis, she finds herself as a single mother, raising a newborn nephew she never knew she had. Between parenthood, her full-time job, and dealing with the suffocating grief of losing her sister, every day is a struggle. When they begin to cross paths unexpectedly and often, an unlikely friendship starts to evolve. Feelings change. Lines get crossed. What happens next surprises them both...Before they know it-- they’ve been Juked.
Knockout
Tracey Ward - 2014
Sometimes it's about not giving up.Kellen Coulter has a way with women. A boxer from the wrong side of town, he worked his way through the wealthy daughters at Weston High with a brilliant smile, sweet words and vacant eyes. No one gets close. No one gets through. No one knows the secrets hiding inside.No one but me. I'm the only girl he's ever let in. The only one who has ever truly seen him. When we met I was just a kid, an old soul with an open ear and a full understanding of what it was to be misunderstood by everyone around you. But even I didn't know the demons sleeping inside him. Not until now.Not until it might be too late.*Due to language and sexual content, this book is not recommended for readers under 18.Knockout is told from Jenna's point of view with new elements of the story not covered in Brawler. Both Knockout and Brawler can be read independently of each other and in no particular order.