Book picks similar to
One Of The Guys by Ashley Johnson


sports
fighter
new-adult
sports-romance

Every Which Way


Calia Read - 2012
    We were going to enjoy ourselves and this new adventure. She didn’t keep her side of the pact, but I was determined to. Then I met Macsen Sloan. He was quiet and kept to himself. He was nothing like his cocky, basketball star brother, Thayer. MacsenSeverine Blake was like every beautiful girl — she crooked her finger, expecting every guy within a mile to come crawling. Not only that, but she was sarcastic, opinionated and sometimes a complete bitch. We were polar opposites. I knew that, she knew that. But what gave me a second glance at her was that my brother was watching from afar. He wanted this girl. Yet she wanted me first. Thayer I saw her first. She was at a party, dancing with some guy, completely oblivious that I was staring. I knew nothing about her, yet I wanted to because I could see that her snark was just a front. She was hiding her true self. I just never anticipated her falling for my brother.New Adult

Love Me Back


Michelle Lynn - 2013
    Throughout the complicated road she has traveled with Trent, someone else has had a strong presence in Maddy's life. Trent’s older brother Gabe has always been someone she could count on, therefore neither of them can be blamed when lines blur from friendship to something more. However, promises made between brothers threaten to ensure that neither of them will have a permanent place in her life. When Maddy returns to her hometown for her brother’s wedding, she is forced to face both Trent and Gabe for the first time in two years. While the two Basso brothers fight to win her heart, she is busy struggling with a past that won't seem to let her go. Whether she wants to or not, Maddy must decide to either forfeit her own happiness or forever tear a family apart.18+ due to adult language and situations

Beneath the Surface


M.A. Stacie - 2013
    Driven when it comes to work, focused when it comes to play. From his office to the chalk circle of the bare-knuckle boxing ring, his only thought is to win. That thirst heightens when Dale Porter enters his life. His brother’s assistant should be off limits, but her witty comments and sarcastic comebacks have him desperate to get her between the sheets.When Dale agrees to Kyran’s relationship stipulation of no labels she’s sucked into a whirlwind of lust, money, and underground boxing. Dale fights her growing affection, trying to hide it when the world around them spirals out of control. All too soon she realizes she can’t hide her true feelings any longer.Has Kyran finally met his match? Could playing to win mean playing for keeps?

Making Him Sweat


Meg Maguire - 2013
    With it, she can realize her dream of launching an upscale matchmaking business…provided she can take on the very intimidating—and wickedly hot—boxer who stands in her way!Round 2In the far corner is former pro boxer Mercer Rowley. He’s the only one who can protect his “home”—even if it is a little run-down— from his determined and feisty little opponent. But man, once the gloves come off, his hands just want to touch her everywhere…Round 3This matchup is too close to call. But no matter which contender comes out on top, the other is sure to enjoy every minute of it....

When He Falls


Michelle Jo Quinn - 2017
    WHEN HE FALLS ~Maggie~ I thought I had found the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with – until he ran off with my best friend on our wedding day. I had to get away from it all - my meddling mother, the cheating couple of the year, and the embarrassment of being stood up at the altar. My sister’s house in San Francisco is the perfect escape. I can get lost in a big city where nobody knows who I am, where I can mend my broken heart in silence. But someone crashes my pity party. Zach Faustino was the quiet boy who lived next door ten years ago. He was my first kiss and - if a young heart can be trusted - my first love. That was before he and his mother left without saying goodbye. Ten years have shaped him into an irresistible, charming young man. But the same ten years have also sharpened his edges, his dark past paving the way to a career that could end in a heartbeat. And despite it all, Zach hopes to change my mind about giving love another chance. But is a broken heart a willing heart? And if we’re both broken, is a second chance at love enough to fix us?

Exquisite Betrayal


A.M. Hargrove - 2013
    The other is to meet her favorite author of romance novels, R.T. Sinclair. What she doesn’t realize is that the sexy green-eyed god she rams into at the airport is the real R.T. When they keep running into each other, she’s shocked, but excited, because the attraction is irresistible.Ryland Thomas Sinclair doesn’t want anyone to know his true identity. He’s the author that all women love, but everyone thinks he’s a female. He hides his persona behind the public face of his twin sister, keeping his own a secret. But after meeting the lovely Fallon, his intentions to avoid a relationship come to a screeching halt. She’s put an unwanted kink into his perfectly laid out plans. His unusual reaction surprises him because after a heart-shredding breakup a few years ago, he’s managed to avoid women at all costs. Resisting Fallon becomes more difficult than he imagines. Soon things are spiraling out of control, until a major miscommunication has Fallon walking out of his home and his life. Will Ryland Thomas succeed in losing the woman he loves? Or can he win her back?

You Promised Me Forever


Monica Murphy - 2018
    I’m the starting quarterback for the best NFL team in the league. I’m rich. I’m famous. I can have any woman I want, any time I want.Yeah, I’ve got everything—except for the one who got away. How do you move on from loving the same girl since you were in the seventh grade? She promised me forever until forever got too hard and at nineteen, she dumped me.By text message.Now she’s walked back into my life. Just as beautiful. Just as sweet. Just as smart. More grown up and incredibly sexy…We’re older now. Supposedly wiser. This time, I’m going to fight for what I want, no matter how hard it gets.This time, I’m going to make her mine.Forever.

Silver Heart


Victoria Green - 2013
    Since then, she's done her best to forget the past, put her dreams on hold, and play the role of the perfect, dutiful daughter. When her best friend coaxes her into a winter getaway to a mountain resort, she sees it as a chance to forget about her suffocating responsibilities and the future she doesn’t want—med-school and a fake fiancé.But then the past catches up to her. Sexy Olympic snowboarder Sawyer Carter is the last person she expected to encounter on the slopes after all these years. Being around him again is intoxicating, and as bittersweet memories mix with dark desires, she starts to wonder if maybe they really are meant to be.But Dylan doesn't believe in fate, and a future with Sawyer no longer factors into her risk-free plans. As he dares her to be the person she has always wanted to be, can she find it within herself to abandon her fears and seize this opportunity for a second chance? One thing is certain: after a week in Whistler, Dylan’s life will never be the same.

This Sky


Autumn Doughton - 2014
    She’s no stranger to disappointment but nothing could have prepared her for the chaos that unfolded when her celebrity boyfriend publicly humiliated her. Now the fairytale is officially over and Gemma is determined to put the past behind her and strike out to find a new dream. Just a few teeny-tiny details to work out: she’s currently broke, homeless and unemployed. Landon Young has his own worries. Surfer by day and bartender by night, he doesn’t have the interest or the time to be anyone’s happily-ever-after. Weighed down by the memory of what happened two years ago, Landon can barely keep his head above water. This Sky is the thoughtful and often funny story about broken trust, an unexpected love and the hopes we keep sewn in the linings of our pockets.

The Light in the Wound


Christine Brae - 2013
    When Jesse Cain enters her life, she falls hopelessly in love with him, and every sadness she’s ever felt is washed away by his intensity and passion. But people change as they grow up. Things can never stay the same forever.Jesse and Isabel fight to stay together, determined to hold on to what they once had. Isabel wonders if a second love can ever be enough to make her forget her first.*Kindle version also available

Unbreakable


Abby Reynolds - 2014
     This is a stand alone novel. It is not a cliffhanger. And it is the first novel in the Forehead Kisses Series. Can there be too many pieces to piece back together? This is a question Keira faces every day. It’s impossible for her to go anywhere unaccompanied by her cousin, the only person who knows what happened on that horrific night a year ago. The guilt and pain weigh her down every day. Unwilling to open up to anyone and give someone a chance, she lives in solitude. For her, that’s the only way to live. Liam struggles with his own demons. After losing someone who means the world to him, he combats his anger and pain on a daily basis. He dives into violence and sex, losing himself more and more. But as soon as he meets Keira, he recognizes the same pain he suffers every day. And he pursues her, wanting to connect to someone who understands. Keira can’t put herself back together, and neither can Liam. But can they do it together?

Meeting Destiny


Nancy Straight - 2010
    Destiny becomes reality when paths cross during a failed robbery attempt. Lauren and the stranger experience chemistry like no other and now her doubt over her long time relationship with her high school sweetheart is not her only secret…someone else knows about her keen intuition and sixth sense.A mysterious clairvoyant seeks Lauren out and tells her not only of her life now but what the future may hold. Soon Lauren is in the middle of a murder investigation and a questionable friendship with the key suspect. Law enforcement, friends and family are concerned for Lauren but unfortunately they are unaware of the true danger…Sinister forces are at work and will stop at nothing to destroy Lauren’s abilities.

The Guys Are Props Club


Ingrid Seymour - 2013
    Cute guys are players and not to be trusted, a fact she learned the hard way when her first boyfriend ran her heart through a paper shredder. Two years later, her promise is still intact, and she’s determined to make it through college without falling victim to another creep. She has her job, school and The Guys Are Props Club to keep her mind and hormones in check.The club was founded by Jessica, Maddie’s best friend. It is a sisterhood of girls who have fallen prey to heartless jerks and who have vowed to turn the tables. Once a semester, Jessica requires members to “do onto others as they’ve done unto you.” Setting the example, Jessica’s next play is Sebastian Capello, a theater major with heartthrob looks and a flair for Latin dance, whose heart she plans to break the way hers was once broken.What the friends don’t know is that Sebastian is different. Despite his perfect looks and popularity, he’s not a jerk. He doesn’t play games to get his way. Instead, he keeps it real and goes after what he wants with honest intentions. And what he wants is not a bombshell like Jessica, but a down-to-earth girl like Maddie – even if it causes a riff in the girl’s friendship. Even if it means getting Maddie to break her personal vow.*** Due to language and sexual situations this book is recommended for ages 17 and older.

Where I End and You Begin


Andra Brynn - 2013
    It may tangle, it may knot, it may stretch or fray, but it will never break. It is a future as indelible as the past.I hope that isn't true. I pity anyone destined to meet me.----For Bianca Ray, the past is always catching up, one way or another. Now in her third semester at college, it's doing it again. Too much drinking has led to plummeting grades and rising absences, putting her scholarships in peril. When she makes it clear that she needs help—all over the floor of her history class—she’s given one last chance to shape up: seek therapy and bring her grades up by the end of the semester, or she’s out.Enter Catholic seminarian Daniel McGuire. The last thing Bianca wants is an aspiring priest to counsel her on how to live her life, but the handsome graduate student is different from the holy rollers she fled from at home. Gentle and unobtrusive, he helps her pick up the pieces and find a new way to live: not running from the past, but facing it head on. But opening up her heart to release the pain means that something else can come in. As Bianca and Daniel grow closer, their relationship moves onto dangerous ground and the fragile courage Bianca has built up threatens to fail her. Can she exorcise the ghosts of her past, or will they catch hold and drag her down where not even Daniel can reach her?

5 Rounds


Nikki Castle - 2021
    The only problem is, she can't stand his arrogant, self-centered roommate, Tristan.Now, she has to figure out how to live in the same house with him for ten days while dealing with all the temptation that comes with… including punching Tristan’s smug face in. But when one night strips them of their masks and exposes the truth, they’re forced to reexamine how they really feel about each other.While Remy struggles with her attraction to this notorious womanizer, Tristan has to decide if his feelings for Remy are worth it, or if they'll just distract him from his longtime goal of becoming a world champion.Can Tristan and Remy drop their guards long enough to fall in love? Or will old prejudices deliver the final blow?Scroll up to dive into the world of Philly MMA today!