Book picks similar to
Hard Ball by Heather Stone


romance
sports
novella
sport-romance

Playing for Keeps


Kendall Ryan - 2019
    Elise Parrish, my teammate's incredibly sweet and gorgeous younger sister, should have been off-limits, but my hockey stick didn't get the memo. After our team won the championship, our flirting turned physical, and I took her to bed. Then shame sent her running the next morning from our catastrophic mistake. She thinks I don't remember that night - but every detail is burned into my brain so deeply, I'll never forget. The feel of her in my arms, the soft whimpers of pleasure I coaxed from her perfect lips....And now I've spent three months trying to get her out of my head, but I'm starting to understand she's the only girl I'll ever want. I have one shot to show her I can be exactly what she needs, but Elise won't be easily convinced. That's okay, because I'm good under pressure, and this time, I'm playing for keeps.Get ready to meet your new favorite hot jocks in an all new stand-alone novel. If you like sexy, confident men who know how to handle a stick (on and off the ice), and smart women who are strong enough to keep all those big egos in check, this series of athlete romances is perfect for you!

Destiny on Ice


S.R. Grey - 2016
    Uh, nix that last one. Brent has the talent and skill that should have his career soaring. But something is wrong. He’s lost his hockey mojo and can’t get it back. Enter Aubrey Shelburne, life coach to the stars. Aubrey’s worked with some difficult celebrities, but she’s never encountered a guy quite like Brent Oliver. Or has she? Seems a reckless night of partying, one that had Aubrey waking up in a strange man’s bed, is about to bite her in the ass. That is, if Brent doesn’t first. Fighting an off-the-charts attraction, Aubrey and Brent must learn to work together. But it’s not an easy task when they’re at each other’s throats every minute. Is this relationship a disaster in the making? Or is it destiny? Washboard abs and sex toy mishaps aside, Destiny on Ice is a fun and irreverent romp that’ll have you swooning on one page and laughing on the next.Sports Romance/Romantic ComedyNOTE: **STANDALONE NOVEL** **EACH BOOK IN THE BOYS OF WINTER SERIES WILL FEATURE A DIFFERENT HOCKEY PLAYER'S STORY**

Bat Boy


Christina Lee - 2020
    Except, things have never come together for me in the romance department. Until Kellan Crawford walks onto the field as the team’s newest bat boy. Bells and whistles go off in my body, and just like that, I’m totally crushing on a guy for the first time in my life. Too bad he’s the coach’s son and officially off-limits.Kellan CrawfordI’m working toward my statistics degree, so landing the bat-boy position with the Easton U Pirates is right up my alley. It keeps me close to the action on the field, even if that means hauling equipment, picking up sweaty jockstraps, and putting up with the players’ antics. My dad’s the coach, and his number-one rule is never to play favorites…which probably includes getting too friendly with the team captain. But Brady Donovan’s annoyingly perfect smile and protective nature are making that nearly impossible.When something shifts between us at an away game, everything is thrown off-kilter. Donovan’s never been with a guy before, and I certainly don’t want to be his test case. But I can’t seem to help myself. He’s sweet and hot and somehow charms the baseball pants right off me. If Coach ever catches wind of this, he’ll bench us both. Disappointing my dad might kill me, but so would losing the guy who makes my heart pound harder than a home run in the bottom of the ninth.So much for not playing favorites.

Cleat Chaser


Celia Aaron - 2016
    She hates players even more. When her best friend drags her to a Ravens game, she spends the innings reading a book… Until she gets a glimpse of the closer—a pitcher who draws her like a magnet. Fighting her attraction to Easton Holliday is easy. All she has to do is keep her distance, avoid the ballpark, and keep her head down. At least, all that would have worked, but Easton doesn’t intend to let Kyrie walk so easily. When another player vies for Kyrie’s attention, Easton will swing for the fences. But will Kyrie strike him out or let him steal home? Full disclosure: This is an erotic, standalone romantic comedy full of hot guys in tight baseball pants, even more guys in tight baseball pants who know how to swing a big stick, and explicit sex.

The Shortstop


A.M. Madden - 2015
    Even though Quint was only five, Annie wasn’t just his neighbor. She would become his best friend and the love of his life. Annie wasn’t interested in dolls, or girly things when growing up. A tomboy at heart, having a boy as a best friend suited her just fine. That same boy captured her heart.Quint had two passions, his girl and baseball. From kindergarten to college, Quint tore up every baseball diamond he played on. His position was shortstop. His talent was undeniable. Professional ball was most definitely in his future, and he was ready for it. Annie would be right by his side. When everything in life is perfect, it’s hard to imagine heartbreak in any form. Quint wasn’t immune to its power. This shortstop had no idea what any form of heartbreak could do to his perfect world. When it hit, there were many casualties left in its wake…the most important one was Annie. Can a person be prepared for, understand, or even endure a misfortune if they’ve never experienced one before? In Quint Lawson’s case the answer is no.The Shortstop is a contemporary romance stand alone novel meant for readers who are 18+ due to mature content.

Binding Arbitration


Elizabeth Marx - 2011
    The undefeated defense attorney is prepared to take her fight all the way to the majors.Circumstances force Libby to plead her case at the cleats of celebrity baseball player Banford Aidan Palowski, the man who discarded her at their college graduation. Libby has worked her backside bare for everything she’s attained, while Aidan has been indulged since he slid through the birth canal and landed in a pile of Gold Coast money. But helping Libby and living up to his biological duty could jeopardize the only thing the jock worships: his baseball career.If baseball imitates life, Aidan admits his appears to be silver-plated peanuts, until an unexpected confrontation with the most spectacular prize that’s ever poured from a caramel corn box blindsides him. When he learns about his son’s desperate need, it pricks open the wound he’s carried since he abandoned Libby and the child.All Libby wants is a little anonymous DNA, but Aidan has a magical umpire in his head who knows Libby’s a fateball right to the heart. When a six-year-old sage and a hippy priestess step onto the field, there’s more to settle between Libby and Aidan than heartache, redemption, and forgiveness.

Hard Stick


Paige North - 2017
    And he’s probably the sexiest man in the entire city, if not the country. He also happens to be a total loose cannon, and I happen to have had his mouth between my legs before we’ve even been formally introduced. That’s right, sweet Midwestern girl Savannah Shaw hooked up with a complete and total stranger on her first night away from home. And the worst part of it is, it was also the hottest night of my life. But things are never that simple. Flynn Taylor is off-limits for a whole host of reasons, and continuing to see him, even in secret, threatens to turn my whole life upside down and destroy everything I’ve been working toward these last few years. The trouble is, I can’t seem to stay away from him. Even though I know everything about him is wrong, when he touches me it feels so right. I guess it’s true what they say. It’s not the size of the stick, but how you handle it that matters. And Flynn Taylor has a big, hard stick, and he also knows exactly what to do to score. And score. And score again… HARD STICK is a full-length romance with a guaranteed HEA

Wrong Side Girl


Julia Goda - 2016
    Growing up without a father, Lizzy was raised by her alcoholic and drug-addicted mother. Being branded as the town whore's daughter, she had one bright spot in her dark world: Cole. He was the one constant in her life, the only person she trusted would never let her down. He’s her savior, her protector…and the secret love of her life. Now, sixteen years later, they both live successful lives in Boston. But while Lizzy still harbors hope that one day Cole will come around and see what’s right in front of his eyes, Cole enjoys his bachelor lifestyle with no intentions of slowing down. It’s time for Lizzy to move on. Cole has been in love with Lizzy since he can remember. Those gorgeous but sad green eyes of hers have held him captive since he was twelve years old. But she is too pure, too perfect, too innocent for him and his lustful and promiscuous thoughts. He has promised himself he won’t touch her. That is, until he doesn’t have a choice but to claim her as his or lose her forever. Is it possible for them to have what both their hearts desire or will the cruelty of life keep them apart?

When You Loved Me


Terra Lorin - 2013
    The experience, thrills, and heartbreaking moments of the story will be totally ruined for you, if you do. Just a warning ; )'Unconditional Love' is a very rare thing, but the few who live it, know what 'true love' is.Songwriter Brooke Davenport's fiancé has left her for another woman. She's devastated, but this is not the first time a man she's loved has broken her heart.Tristan Jameson, her brother's best friend, crushed her dreams on the seventeenth summer of her life when he disappeared without so much as a phone call or note to her, or her brother. What could've happened that he left in such haste especially after finally winning him over to confess his love for her?Now he's back in town and Brooke wants an explanation. Will she be able to forgive him? After having been jilted twice by the two men she trusted her heart to, will she ever give her trust and love to a man ever again—much less to one who hurt her once before?As Brooke and Tristan record her duet song together, memories flood her mind and sensual desires surge through her body for the man who she had a crush on since he was a boy—her first love—the one no girl ever forgets.Get ready for a roller coaster ride with curve balls and twists and turns as mystery and suspense come into play in this endearing story of true love and romance. No cliffhanger; HEA ending! =)Word count: Approx. 73,700

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.

Spinning Out


Lexi Ryan - 2016
    I had it all, and I threw it away with a semester of drugs, alcohol, and pissing off anyone who tried to stop me. Now I’m suspended from the team, on house arrest, and forced to spend a semester at home to get my shit together. The cherry on my fuckup sundae? Sleeping in the room next to mine is my best friend’s girl, Mia Mendez—the only woman I’ve ever loved and a reminder of everything I regret.I’m not sure if having Mia so close will be heaven or hell. She’s off-limits—and not just because she’s working for my dad. Her heart belongs to someone else. But since the accident that killed her brother and changed everything, she walks around like a zombie, shutting out her friends and ignoring her dreams. We’re both broken, numb, and stuck in limbo.Until I break my own rules and touch her. Until she saves me from my nightmares by climbing into my bed. Until the only thing I want more than having Mia for myself is to protect her from the truth. I can’t rewrite the past, but I refuse to leave her heart in the hands of fate. For this girl, I’d climb into the sky and rearrange the stars.SPINNING OUT is a sexy, emotional novel of 100,000 words. It is first in the Blackhawk Boys, a series of standalone novels.

Drilled


Teagan Kade - 2016
     Chance ‘Gunner’ Adams –- quarterback, superstar womanizer, and panty slayer extraordinaire. He wants me. He wants me bad, but I’m not about to become another notch on his girthy bedpost. I came to Los Angeles to get away from my past, to start fresh. I don’t need trouble, especially the muscly, abs-of-marble kind. The problem? As team masseuse it’s my job to get hands on with this as*hole. I’ll be working on every hard, intimate area of his body. But if he thinks he can treat me like any other girl who stirs his pants, he’s wrong. After all, I’m a professional… right? We both want a happy ending, but sooner or later my past will catch up with me, and the Mob’s not big on mercy. I need more than a smart mouth. I need a savior -- one whose talent for mayhem doesn’t end when the fourth quarter’s over. For once in my life, I need someone who knows how to play dirty. Drilled is a full-length bad boy romance with a happily ever after and no cheating. For a limited time, it also includes bestselling novel Stroker as a bonus. FREE BAD BOY EBOOK! Sign up to my VIP list and receive a copy of Burned: A Bad Boy Romance plus special offers, ARCs, date releases and more!

Bryce


Nana Malone - 2017
    Bryce Coulter is The Player. Don’t call it a come back….Because no one else is. Poised to live up to his legacy, tennis player, Blake Colby, loses it all on one swing. Now, with the pressure on and his future in jeopardy, the last thing he needs is a smart-mouthed, training partner with attitude and a killer swing — or maybe she’s exactly what he needs. Rich, spoiled and moneyed — seen that, been dragged through the dirt behind that. Tami Ivey, gets enough of the bad boy trust fund kids at work. She doesn’t need it in her sanctuary too. Playing tennis is the only way to connect to the girl she used to be before tragedy struck. The day Bryce Coulter turns up at her court, she turns on that classic attitude. If there’s anything she’s learned it’s how to make a guy run. Except, he’s not running. And maybe she doesn’t want him to....

Breaking a Legend


Sarah Robinson - 2015
    As one of the big names at his family’s gym, Legends, MMA star Rory Kavanagh is used to being in the spotlight—until a gruesome leg injury knocks him out of the cage. Rory is left feeling sidelined in more ways than one, battling the inner demons that come with losing the one shot at his dreams. Then Clare walks into his life and gives him a new dream: winning her heart. There aren’t many new faces in Woodlawn these days, but this tough, beautiful stranger makes Rory want to get his life back into fighting shape.Clare Ivers doesn’t think she’ll be able to tell anyone what really brought her to the close-knit Bronx neighborhood where she just started bartending. But her life’s on pause and her past is catching up fast, try as she might to move on—with new friends, steady work, and a chiseled alpha male trying to get her attention. Even though Rory’s more than a little intense, she can’t deny that her heart beats faster when he looks at her with those soulful silver eyes. Clare thought she was done with love, but Rory might just be man enough to show her she thought wrong. Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title. For 18+ years of age.

Pitch Please


Lani Lynn Vale - 2017
    But Hancock has heard them his entire life from his parents. His family has lived and breathed baseball even before he started little league.Hancock “Parts” Peters has a name that inspires grins across many faces, but the moment those faces get their first look at him, those grins slide away.Hancock is gruff, filterless, and doesn’t give a crap who he offends. He is the only man in baseball who doesn’t care if he gets an endorsement or not. He’s there to play the game. He’s there to win. He’s there because baseball is his life.People think he’s a jerk.And maybe he is. But if that’s how he has to come off to get people to leave him the hell alone so he can play in peace, so be it. The less people he has to worry about offending, the better.***Don’t let the fear of striking out hold you back. Sway Coffman didn’t mean to rock the boat. She was just there to do her job.Sure, she was a woman in a man’s world. Yes, she beat out several of those men to get the job as head athletic trainer for the professional baseball team, The Texas Lumberjacks. And yeah, she now got hate mail from those men.But she’s good at her job, and she earned the position.What she is not good at, however, is talking to men.Men seem to see her curvy hips, large breasts and thick thighs and automatically think she is incompetent. Because surely a fat girl couldn’t get the job treating some of the most fit and athletic men in the world, right?Wrong.This fat girl got the job, and she is proud of it.What else did she get?The attention of the sexiest bearded man she’d ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on.It was enough to bring to her down to her knees…in front of that man, the hot and grumpy baseball player, Hancock Peters.