Book picks similar to
The Play Book by Avery Wilde


sports
romance
contemporary
sports-romance

Skating on Thin Ice


Jami Davenport - 2014
      Ethan Parker, a billionaire determined to bring professional hockey to Seattle, will stop at nothing to realize his dream. After signing an agreement to purchase another city's team, Ethan plans to make the move to Seattle, but a gag order by the League forces him to keep the sale a secret until the season ends, leaving him no choice but to go undercover as a consultant to study his team during the playoffs.   Lauren Schneider, Assistant Director of Player Personnel for the Giants hockey team, gets no respect from the team's testosterone-loaded staff. So when Ethan bursts onto the scene, full of charm and genuinely interested in her opinions, she shares the team's weaknesses and discovers a weakness of her own--for Ethan. But when his true identity is revealed, and he starts cleaning house based on her unwitting input, his betrayal cuts deeply on both a professional and personal level. Bound by an employment contract, Lauren reluctantly moves to Seattle to work for the newly christened Seattle Sockeyes and her sexy, infuriating boss.  Lauren and Ethan must come to terms with their passions--for the team, for hockey, and for each other. Will their situation build a frozen wall between them, or will their love burn hot enough to melt the ice shielding their hearts?

Quick Trick


Skye Jordan - 2015
    If he has to be off the ice for three weeks of recovery, he‘ll do it on his back—breaking in a new wanna-be cowgirl every night. But pressure from the team’s owner and Grant’s parents land him in his hometown of Holly, North Carolina instead. Things look up when he learns the hometown beauty who was once so out of his league is now single, and sexier than ever. Determined to slip in a night with her while he’s in town, Grant is shocked to discover one will never be enough. Faith Nicholas has no interest in the newest Saber-son gossip. After losing her father just months before, she is now on the verge of losing their family hardware store—which is also her home. She couldn’t care less about the Saber’s big money or flashy toys. But she can’t seem to keep Grant out of her store--or her dreams. His magnetic charisma is impossible to ignore, and the longer he stays in town, the more she finds to love about a man who isn’t as superficial as he’d like others to believe.With a struggling store, four-hundred miles and a rigorous hockey season looming between them, Grant will have to pull out his very best moves if he’s going to make this quick trick last forever. ROUGH RIDER HOCKEY NOVELSQUICK TRICKHOT PUCKDIRTY SCOREWILD ZONE

Unethical


Jennifer Blackwood - 2014
    The second she graduated, Payton left everything behind―her high school sweetheart, her family, and the controversy surrounding her mother's death—and hid within the anonymity of college. But Payton’s ex, Blake Hiller, hasn't forgiven her for leaving, and when he enrolls in the same medical ethics class, she panics. She can’t run the risk of him telling everyone who she really is. As if being at the same university isn’t enough, both Blake and Payton land the same internship. Forced together, their passion for each other reignites, but when Payton is asked to testify in her father’s high-profile trial, she must choose between risking her acceptance into medical school to help her father, and losing every connection to her past—including the only guy she’s ever loved.

Bound


Brenda Rothert - 2013
    But just when she's learned to adjust, heartache threatens to break her apart.Pro hockey player Jason "Ryke" Ryker has it all: adoring fans, a promising career, and a beautiful wife. But when his seemingly perfect life is shaken by tragedy, he's left questioning whether having it all is ever more than an illusion.When circumstance brings Kate and Ryke together, they discover they don't have to hurt alone. Bound by a grief that haunts them both, they must rely on one another to survive heartbreak. But that grief is more powerful than they realize, and the tie that binds them together may ultimately tear them apart.

Not Over You


Amanda Torrey - 2014
    Can he catch her and help her heal? Savannah Grace left her hometown after the traumatic death of her young brother ten years ago. Fresh out of high school, she trudged through life under a shroud of guilt and shame. She couldn’t face her family after what she did, and she knew she didn’t deserve happiness. Quentin Elliott became a paramedic so he could save people. He hadn’t been able to help his high school girlfriend’s brother, but he vowed to prevent as many tragedies as possible. He managed to build a life without Savannah, but he never moved past her. When Savannah returns to town in hopes of donating bone marrow to her estranged mother, Quentin knows he will only have a short time to help Savannah realize she should stay in Healing Springs. Where she belongs. With him. Savannah prefers to lace up her running shoes, but Quentin is determined to create a treatment plan to help her settle in for the long haul. Can a decade of pain be healed with a healthy dose of love? Or will Healing Springs fail to live up to its legendary name?

Against the Wall


Julie Prestsater - 2012
    That is until Chase breaks her heart and leaves her for another teacher at the school. Now Shel is left broken-hearted and trying to figure out what she wants while watching Chase and the home wrecker make moon eyes at each other. Enter Matt Fuller, Shel's friend for the past 5 years and the perfect rebound. He's gorgeous, smart, funny and fits into Shel's idea of the right guy. Only problem is there may be more there than just a simple rebound. Is it a way to fill a void left by Chase, or is there more smoldering between these two friends? Find out what happens when the bell rings and the teenage drama ends and the adult drama begins. Who says being a teacher is boring? They obviously haven't met the teachers at Carver High.Warning: this book contains the following adult content.Sex and nudity: Yes!Profanity: Hell yes!Alcohol: That too!

Ballbuster


Lane Hart - 2016
    I’m all for women playing professional football. But what I’m not for is The Ballbuster waltzing onto my field, trying to take over my position as the Wildcats’ starting kicker. The woman dislocated my knee with her freaking Jeep, for chrissake, and yet all of my teammates love her! So what if Roxy’s…gorgeous and sweet and loves football more than anyone in the world? This is my team; and once I recover, she’s gonna have to get used to sitting her fine ass on the bench. It’s nothing personal. Football is a dirty sport where only the best survive. Now I just have to figure out how to survive a season without ending up with a busted heart; because despite how hard I try to avoid falling for Roxy, she keeps pulling me back into her bed. Forget her Jeep. With one look, the woman can bring me to my knees. And the worst part is, I keep going back for more. ***Ballbuster is a full-length standalone romance. Also included at the end of Ballbuster is a bonus novel, the bestselling sports romance, JAX.***

Scandal with a Prince


Nicole Burnham - 2013
    A lifelong obsession. One magical summer, Megan Hallberg met—and loved—Prince Stefano Barrali. But his royal duties took him home, and when she discovered she carried his child, she also discovered he was engaged…to a beautiful, worldly aristocrat.Ten years later, Stefano runs into Megan at the grand opening of a Barcelona hotel, and it’s his every sensual fantasy come to life. His memory of the stunning blonde and their passionate summer has haunted his dreams, and a night under the stars gives him the perfect opportunity to reclaim the woman he thought lost to him.Megan finds herself torn between passion with a prince and a fierce need to protect her daughter. Can the man who captured her heart so many years ago be her destiny…or her downfall?Don’t miss a single volume of the Royal Scandals Series!- Christmas With a Prince (novella)- Scandal With a Prince- Honeymoon With a Prince- Christmas on the Royal Yacht (novella)- Slow Tango With a Prince- The Royal Bastard- Christmas With a Palace Thief (novella)- The Wicked Prince- One Man's PrincessBONUS READ FOR NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS:- A Royal Scandals Wedding(features Prince Stefano and Megan Hallberg of Scandal With a Prince)

Bump and Run


Tabatha Kiss - 2016
    Check.A heart of gold and a smile that turns me stupid? Double check.My father is the new football coach and he’s made it clear that he doesn’t want me dating anyone on the team. So, I’ll just keep my head down and focus on my theater degree. Easy enough, right?Wrong.Enter, Junior Morgan. Exit, my panties. But I don’t want to be just another notch in his bedpost. If Junior wants me as badly as his bulge tells me he does, then he’s gonna have to earn me. Win a game. Win a night with me.Game on, quarterback. We’re just getting started.A handsome playboy. The coach’s forbidden daughter.College football’s Most Valuable Player has met his match! The Bad Baller Books: Bump and Run (Junior and Eliza’s story)Go Deep (John and Rose’s story)Home Run Baby (Hunter and Daisy’s story)This title was originally published as Whiplash.

Love Handles


Gretchen Galway - 2011
    She hates the gym, is nice to everybody, and shops at Ross Dress for Less. When she's not teaching preschool, she's wearing yoga pants... to nap in. So when she inherits her estranged grandfather's fitnesswear company in San Francisco, nobody expects her to keep it. Fite Fitness needs a heartless suit to save it from bankruptcy, not a thirty-year-old woman who cries when her students leave for kindergarten.Someone like Liam Johnson. A former Olympic swimmer, Liam is Fite's executive vice president. Unlike Bev, he's devoted his life to Fite's success. Managing one little preschool teacher — and his attraction to her — shouldn't be an issue. Right?But Bev's tired of being underpaid and underrated, and refuses to step aside as an obedient figurehead. To everyone's shock and horror, she moves up to San Francisco, sets up an office, and dives into the business. Nothing — not mockery, not exercise, not sabotage, not a disastrously hot night with her aggravating VP — is going to scare her away.As Liam realizes she's tougher than she looks, he discovers that losing Fite might not be nearly as bad as losing her...A story about the pursuit of love, happiness, and the perfect yoga pants, Love Handles will speak to anyone who's ever had to face the thing that scares her most.Warning: contains at least two loves scenes and a happy ending.

Heartless


Winter Renshaw - 2016
    It was raining sideways that morning, and my plan was to return it the next day; safe and dry. Only I kept it. I kept it, and I read it. A week later, overwhelmed with curiosity and feeling guilty for harboring secrets that didn’t belong to me, I tried to return it. Only I wasn’t expecting to meet him. Unapologetically heartless and enigmatically sexy, he claims he knows nothing about the journal I found outside his place, but the reticent glint in his blue-green gaze tells me otherwise. There’s something different about him; something damaged yet magical, and I’m drawn to him; pulled into his orbit. There’s just one problem. The more I get to know him, the more I’m positive the journal belonged to him... ...and the more I find myself hoping, selfishly, that I’m wrong.

Shadowboxer


Cari Quinn - 2014
    I’ve faced the darkest parts of life and survived. But now I’m starting a new life with my baby sister. And that means I need cash.Quick. To get the money I need, I’m going to beat the reigning king of the male fighters in New York’s underground MMA circuit, Tray “Fox” Knox. Tray refuses to fight a woman, until he learns I’m not what he expected. At all. Then he makes me a bet I can’t refuse. He’ll fight me, but if he wins, I will spend the night in his bed. All night long, his rules. No tapping out. I agree, certain he will lose. Because I have to win. I have no choice. What I didn’t realize is that Tray loves to fight dirty…and that this match may end up being the most important one of our lives.Author’s note: Shadowboxer is a full-length MMA novel and is book 1 in the Tapped Out MMA series. It has a happily ever after ending and no cliffhanger, though it contains violent material that may be triggering. It was previously published by Cari Quinn in 2014 and has been lightly re-edited.

Jersey Girl


Rhonda James - 2016
    Now that his dream of signing with the Detroit Red Wings has come true, his goals for senior year are simple: Work hard. Score big. Stay away from love. And then he meets her. There's just one problem. She's the sister of his best friend, and he’s been warned that she’s off-limits…Cassie Rivers is a musician desperately in need of a do-over. Leaving the past behind, she transfers to GLU in search of something, or someone, that inspires her. And then she meets him. Her brother's best friend and teammate. But according to the Bro Code he's supposed to be off limits…You’ve heard what they say about forbidden fruit… One taste is more addictive than one of them is ready to admit. Will he keep skating away from love? Or has this player finally found his Jersey Girl?

Hard Luck


Liv Morris - 2016
    Hot shot. MVP.I've been called it all.I was the real deal, baby.The diamond was my battlefield.Women were the victory celebration.My "Lucky" streak was a given.On and off the field.Then I slept with the wrong woman,And she cursed me.Literally.Turned my game upside-down,In the ballpark...and bedroom.Now my team is paying the price.My last hope is Cali Jones,A smart and sexy physician assistant.Her Midas touch may fix my swing,Repair my equipment.But will it be enough to cure my hard luck?

Lost and Found


Elle Casey - 2014
    Sometimes engagement rings can get lost and then found. Sometimes people can too. All it takes is a heavy-duty dose of karma and the magic of Manhattan to make it all come together.Leah is a financially destitute new age hippy. James is a wealthy surgeon with a trust fund. She's awkward, he's poised. She's completely crazy, he's way too sane. People might say they have nothing in common, but they'd be wrong. They both live in Manhattan, they both have no idea how to change a baby diaper, and they're both lost … until they find one another. LOVE IN NEW YORK SERIES READING ORDER Love in New York: Book 1 (Lost and Found)Love in New York: Book 2 (Cabin Fever)Love in New York: Book 3 (Mister Fixit)About this series: I’d never been to New York City before, but I knew I would love it and wanted to write a story that was set in the most exciting city in the world. So I hopped on a plane with my friend Susan and spent 5 whirlwind days there, soaking up the culture, seeing the sights and nailing down the scenes that would eventually end up in this series. Those of you familiar with New York City know what I’m talking about when I say you just can’t beat Russ and Daughters’ bagels, Central Park, Times Square, Brooklyn, and Yonnah Schimmels’ knishes.