Book picks similar to
Last Play by Taylor Hart


romance
sports
contemporary
clean-romance

Just This Once


Rosalind James - 2012
    She just needs a vacation. Three weeks in New Zealand to sort out her life, figure out what she wants, seems just right. Oh, and to relax. She should definitely put that on the agenda. She certainly isn’t looking for a sexy fling with a professional rugby player, no matter how attractive he is. Hannah doesn’t do casual. But maybe just this once ...As much as he’s shared with Hannah, Drew Callahan has kept one very big secret. And learning the truth, now that she’s back home again, has made Hannah warier than ever. Drew knows that she’s right for him. But how can he convince her to let down her guard enough to explore what they could have together?Note: This romance, like New Zealand, contains some steam. If that isn't your cuppa, you may want to visit another country ... er, book.

Bouquet Toss


Melissa Brown - 2012
    Be it a blessing or a curse, Daphne (a hopeless romantic and perpetual single girl) catches the bouquet at every single wedding she attends. Daphne’s love life is a mess. Her first love, Mayson, haunts her heart and keeps her from pursuing happiness with any man who comes along. As she struggles to move on from the one who got away, Daphne wonders if she will ever break her curse and find her happily ever after.

Off Sides


Sawyer Bennett - 2013
    Maybe it was the impossible expectations I faced, maybe it was my own self-loathing. But I just knew I needed something different to happen. I needed someone... something... to derail me from my current path. Otherwise, I would become lost... a hollowed out shell of a man. So I did it. I approached her, then I pursued her, then I made her mine. And my life was saved...”Ryan Burnham is the privileged son of a U.S. Congressman and captain of his university’s hockey team. While he is on the verge of fulfilling his dreams to play in the NHL, his parents want him on a different course. One he is expected to accept for the sake of his family’s public image.Forced her to abandon her music career after the heart breaking death of her parents, Danny Cross exists on the opposite side of the tracks from Ryan. She is struggling to make her own way, working two jobs, attending college part time and volunteering in a homeless shelter. She is on a mission to build her own success.With a chance meeting, their vastly different worlds collide, causing each to evaluate whether they are truly on the correct path to self-fulfillment and happiness. Can their relationship survive? Particularly when others are against them every step of the way. A lot can happen in just ten short days...

Room for Just a Little Bit More


Beth Ehemann - 2014
    She’s finally found the love of her life in gorgeous hockey star Brody Murphy, and he’s just asked her to marry him. Still glowing from his romantic marriage proposal, Kacie shares the news with her twin daughters—who are delighted—and begins planning the wedding of a lifetime.But when Kacie receives a letter from her dad, who walked out on her and her mother fifteen years ago, the happy whirlwind comes to a halt. He says he wants to meet her for lunch and catch up. But does he truly want to be a part of her life after all these years? Or is he only interested in her new fiancé’s money?***A heartwarming novel of romance, family, and lasting love, Room for Just a Little Bit More is the sweet, winning conclusion to the charming Cranberry Inn series.

Truths and Roses


Inglath Cooper - 1994
    He heads home to the small Virginia town where he grew up and crosses paths with Hannah Jacobs, the only girl in high school who had ever rejected him. It’s Hannah who once made him question the choices he had made, and it’s Hannah who’s making him question them all over again. But with the weight of a secret he’s managed to hide from the world his entire adult life hanging over him, he can’t afford to question his choices. Hannah Jacobs had once made the choice to deny her feelings for Will Kincaid, at the time finding it the only possible option for a young girl intent on burying a nightmare she only wanted to forget. The life she’s made for herself as a librarian in Lake Perdue is a quiet one, and she’s hardly prepared for the day when Will rams his fancy Ferrari into her dependable old clunker. But for Hannah, Will Kincaid can only stir up memories she had long ago put away forever. And there’s nothing at all good that can come from bringing them back to life again.

Breakout


Stephanie Kay - 2017
    At least that’s the plan. Six months ago, her world imploded when she walked in on her fiancé with another woman. After calling off her wedding, she spent a week acting completely out of character in the Tuscan countryside with a scorchingly hot man. They didn’t even exchange last names. Ethan Hartnell has grudgingly returned home. He's got an image to fix after being traded to the San Francisco Strikers, due to some questionable behavior. He plans to keep his nose to the ice, focusing on the career he loves. Everything is going according to plan, until he walks into a friend’s bar and sees her. She’d left him in her bed in Italy, with a note, and run. Which is exactly what she does when they see each other again. It should be a sign. So why does he keep chasing her? This is an 83,000 novel with a HEA and NO cliffhanger! Only for readers 18+. This series is connected with the Love by the Bay series, but each book can be read as a standalone.

Wicked Games


Jessica Clare - 2011
    She's just not the survival type. But when her boss offers her a spot on the show and the opportunity of a lifetime, she packs her bags and heads to the tropics to be a contestant. Once in the game, though, it's clear that Abby's in over her head. No one's more competitive than sexy, delicious and arrogant Dean Woodall. Sure, he's clever, strong, good at challenges, and has a body that makes her mouth water. He also hates Abby just as much as she hates him. That's fine with her; she'll just ignore the jerk. But the rules of Endurance Island are working against them. Abby and Dean are teamed up & alone on the beach. It's either work together, or go home. Stuck with no one's company but their own, they learn they might just make a good team after all. And Abby learns that with just a little bit of kindling, the flames of hate can quickly turn to flames of passion. This book features enemies, lovers, enemies who become lovers, and lots and lots of tropical heat. Length: 59,000 words

Breakaway


Catherine Gayle - 2013
    He can’t lose focus now—not with his career on the line. But when his best friend’s little sister makes him an offer he can’t refuse, Eric could lose the drive the team relies on from their captain.Still in a downward spiral after a life-altering event in college, Dana Campbell is desperate to try anything to break away from the horror of that fateful night—even enlisting the help of the only man she trusts completely.No matter how irresistible she is or how tempting the offer, Eric might not be able to cross that line—especially with the team’s chance at the playoffs on the line. Now, Eric has to take one last shot, but will he choose Dana’s Breakaway chance at happiness or the move that could secure his career?

Adam


Jennifer Ashley - 2015
    He settles in to heal at his family's ranch, where his four brothers, famous trick riders, train horses.Adam is stunned to find Bailey Farrell working there—she was the shy girl who'd helped Adam graduate high school so he could run off to Hollywood. Except the budding Bailey, with whom Adam had a brief but intense affair, has blossomed into a beautiful woman. Now the sparks that had once ignited between them threaten to explode.Adam is beaten-up, broken-down, and has lost his nerve—the stunt that injured him also killed his best friend. The only one he can turn to is Bailey, but will Bailey, who has come back to Riverbend to lick her wounds after a painful divorce, be willing to help him again?Book 1 of Riding Hard. A 230-page (approx) novel—20 chapters, plus bonus sneak peek at Grant's book and a recipe for Mrs. Ward's Harvest Pie.

The First Word


Isley Robson - 2017
    Her job as a pediatric occupational therapist is the perfect distraction from the unspeakable tragedy she experienced as a child. But when she meets alternative-energy magnate Rhys Griffiths and his autistic toddler, Will, she quickly realizes her heart will never be the same. Especially when her name becomes Will’s first word.After accepting a position as a live-in therapist for Will, Andie steels herself against the appeal of the disconcertingly attractive—and attracted—Rhys. But their chemistry can no longer be denied, and their heated affair seems destined for happily ever after. A destiny Andie’s terrified to embrace.When Andie’s guilt, Rhys’s awkwardness, and the abrupt appearance of an erratic ex threaten to dismantle their delicately blooming relationship, they must decide if love is worth the challenge. Can Andie and Rhys find their way back to each other? Or will the demons of the past simply prove too strong?

After All


Erin Nicholas - 2017
    The R word gives her hives. Why can’t the guy just be happy with no-strings sex?Scott knows Peyton didn’t exactly grow up with the best role models for strong, healthy relationships. Her dad gave up everything for his mentally-ill wife, including being a real father to his daughter. Now in charge of her own life, Peyton wants a good time devoid of any responsibility for someone else’s happiness. But Scott’s determined to be the one person in her life to show her that she’s worth an effort—even if it means staying out of her bed until she’s ready to commit to something as simple as a damned movie date.But, when Scott’s injured on the job, Peyton can’t stand the idea of anyone but her playing nurse—and Scott sees the perfect opportunity to show her that a relationship with him can be the best time she’s ever had.But nothing with Peyton is ever easy. After all, he doesn’t call her Trouble for nothing…

Game, Set, Match


Nana Malone - 2010
    On the court, he's down forty-love. A knee injury is shutting down his game, and the paparazzi are splashing his love life on every magazine. A comeback is in order, but the makeover he needs to save his faltering career is in the hands of the woman he loved and left fifteen years ago.While single-mom, Izzy Connors, sees people for who they really are through the lens of her camera, even without it, she knows Jason isn't the star he appears to be. Although his charm and good looks haven't dimmed since he broke her heart, all she sees is his wasted talent and playboy lifestyle.Can Izzy put the past behind her and help Jason get his game, and his image, back on track? Or will the click of her camera shatter his world as well as his heart?Librarian's note: Alternate cover edition of ASIN B0090QWA1M.

In Skates Trouble


Kate Meader - 2017
    . .Addison Williams isn't looking for romance, but when she encounters an eavesdropping stranger on an adjoining hotel balcony, she figures she's due a little fun. She just hadn't reckoned on the "fun" escalating so quickly to "out of control." One minute she's flirting with a whiskey-graveled voice in the dark, the next that same voice is telling her to do things. Hot, wicked things.Cup-winning hockey player Ford "Killer" Callaghan can't believe he let the anonymous woman who blew his mind slip away into the night. He'll track her down because once could never be enough—even if discovering her identity places her strictly out of bounds.Stolen kisses. Secret hook-ups. Deliciously forbidden in every way. Can a passion that started in the dark find a lifetime of love in the light?Originally published in Hot on Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology, this sexy prequel to the Chicago Rebels hockey series features an older, curvy woman, a younger, driven hero, and a happily-ever-after you'll swoon over.

Tea with Emma


Diane Moody - 2011
    But an airport mishap with a cranky Englishman gets her off on the wrong foot (quite literally), especially when he moves into the university guest house across the street. Can Maddie find a love for her unapproachable new neighbor, or has she finally met her match?

Resisting Roots


Audrey Carlan - 2016
    She makes the most out of raising her two siblings in the wake of their parents’ tragic accident. At twenty-four, she doesn’t have time to devote to a man…especially not the devastatingly handsome. Trent Fox, who’s known for being a “player” on and off the baseball field. Trent has the best hitting average in the league. Recently, he suffered a torn hamstring that takes him to the Lotus House Yoga Center for recuperation. There he meets the curvy, petite blonde with soulful black eyes and candy-coated glossy lips he’d like to do more to than kiss. He secures the flexible hottie for daily private lessons that ultimately show him how sensual the art of yoga can be. Can love grow between a woman who’s rooted in her life and a man who resists any notion of staying in one place?