Book picks similar to
Hard Ball by Heather Stone


romance
sports
novella
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Only Work, No Play


Cora Reilly - 2019
    Leaving the States and following her sister to Australia to work as the personal assistant of rugby star Xavier – The Beast – Stevens seems like the right kind of distraction. Tall, muscled and devilishly handsome, Xavier is the lov’ em and leav’ em kind of guy. He never forgets a girl’s name because he never bothers to remember it in the first place. Evie soon realizes that being Xavier’s assistant is a 24/7 job; the man seems unwilling to even set an alarm for himself. As she watches him move from one woman to the next, Evie is glad that her heart is safe from his attention. After all, she’s a far cry from the size zero models he usually takes to his bed. But soon being around Xavier doesn’t feel like a job, and seeing him walk around his apartment half naked all the time isn’t helping either. Evie knows that giving in to her attraction will lead to heartbreak, but when Xavier starts treating her as more than just his assistant, resisting his charms seems like an impossible task.

Chasing Ivy


S.J. Sylvis - 2018
    I would know—it drove me absolutely crazy…until I was the one doing the drooling. Our days were filled with stomach-hurting laughter accompanied by easy conversation, and our nights were filled with secret, awkward teenage flirting. But that was when Dawson was just my best friend. Nothing more, nothing less. And then… it was more. It’s a memory I pretend to see through blurry eyes, hazed by passing years of no communication. The one night that my heart was suddenly soaring through the starry night, only to catch fire as it rapidly descended seconds later. Six years was a long time to get my heart under control. A lot has changed, and yet here I am, still drooling over Dawson—my ex best friend.

Tainted Romance


Simone Elise - 2017
    It was never about want. It was only about need.Zane needs Allie. It is in his blood, an obligation coursing through his veins, and when you’re being pulled by a force as powerful as being mated to another, there isn’t much you can do to stop it. No matter how much you want to.Allie is counting down the days to her 21st birthday when she can leave town and be freed from all pack commitments. Zane is next in line to rule their pack as the Alpha. The only thing these two have in common is their mutual disdain for one another, so when their inner wolves connect, life gets really complicated.What do you do when the one person who is supposed to be the whole purpose of your life, is the same person making your life a living hell?

Always Rayne


Sierra Avalon - 2014
    With $85,000 of student loan debt about to go into repayment, she has no idea how she'll get by.Just when she thinks things couldn't get worse, Harper's boss decides to embed her in the North American tour for the hot rock band, Always Rayne. Ten days on the road with the band for her to get an exclusive story. But Harper's a homebody and the last thing she wants to do is go on the road with a rock band. And she definitely doesn't want to spend ten days with the notorious bad boy and band front man, Nic Rayne.When Nic proves to be too much for Harper to handle and she threatens to quit the assignment, Nic decides to sweeten the pot. If she stays with the tour for all ten days, he'll pay off all of her student loan debt....but there's one small catch.Harper also has to sleep in his bed every night.ALWAYS RAYNE is the first novel in the ALWAYS SOMETIMES NEVER New Adult Rock Star Romance Series. ALWAYS RAYNE can be read as a STAND ALONE NOVEL or as part of the SERIES.THE ALWAYS SOMETIMES NEVER New Adult Rock Star Romance Series continues with:SOMETIMES BROOKE (Brooke & Leo's Story)NEVER RAVEN (Raven & Xander's Story)Due to mature LANGUAGE and CONTENT, ALWAYS RAYNE is recommended for readers aged 18+.

The Rebound


Winter Renshaw - 2018
     I told him I’d wait for him. He promised to do the same. But life happened. I broke my promise long before he ever broke his—and not because I wanted to. We never saw each other again … Until ten years later when Nevada unexpectedly returned to our hometown after an abrupt retirement from his professional basketball career. Suddenly he was everywhere, always staring through me with that brooding gaze, never returning my smiles or “hellos.” Over the years, I’d heard that he’d changed. And that despite his multi-million dollar contracts and rampant success, life hadn’t been so kind to him. He was a widower. And a single father. And rumor had it, he’d spent his last ten years trying to forget me, refusing to so much as breathe my name … hating me. But just like a rebound, he’s back. And I have to believe everything happens for a reason. AUTHOR'S NOTE: For a limited time, this book contains one bonus book, which means THE REBOUND ends around 50% on your Kindle. Rest assured that it is still a full-length novel. :-)

We Were One


Elizabeth Reyes - 2017
    From the moment she walked into my life and set my heart and soul on fire, not a day's gone by that she hasn't plagued my every thought. We were each other's completion. She was everything I wasn't--the sigh to my roar, the virtue to my sin, the cure to my wounds. We Were One. Until the unthinkable happened. That I've survived such a tragedy without having completely lost it, is a mystery in itself. But as my mind starts to blur the lines between reality and my delusional heart, I begin to question everything, including my sanity. And then the real mystery begins . . . Looking Glass #2 Nico's story We Were One is heart wrenching stand alone novel with an HEA. I promise!2018

Lost Heartbeats


Ella Maise - 2015
    If you've already read the books separately, there is no need to buy this. Part One: LOST PRELUDE My name is Maya, and I'm not the same girl I was a month ago. There is an emptiness I carry around in my chest now. A broken heart caused by grief. There are also dark nights where I have trouble breathing as I feel the heavy weight of loss rushing through my veins, painful moments where I can remember my entire being scream in agony as I held onto my father's cold, lifeless hand. Then there is always a hero to every story, isn't there? A hero who I despised from the moment he opened his mouth. His name is Alexander. He is my inevitable I never expected to find. The one my broken heart leads me to. His existence, his touch, everything he did to make my pain bearable will leave a mark on me forever. Yet, I know that when I'm gone, he'll only remember me as a fading memory. Part Two: LOST HEARTBEATS My name is Alexander, and I'm no fucking hero. Not when I couldn't even save the little heartbeats I was supposed to protect with my life. When a fist closes around my heart after a death brings me to my knees, I finally go after the woman I'd been craving for months. Not just because her beautiful face is the only thing that slips through the pain when I close my eyes, but because she has secretly carved a place for herself in my heart - leaving me with no choice. But if I do this, if I make myself believe that I deserve her, will the choices I make ruin everything between us? Will she accept the fact that she doesn't get to leave me twice?

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?

Hat Trick


Kristen Hope Mazzola - 2016
    That’s all it took to send my brother’s and my life into a tailspin with no end in sight. I was going to be something. I was going to be the best. I had the Olympics in my sights. And it all went to shit in one flash. Brayden wasn’t ready to raise a younger sister when I was thrown into his lap. He had his life and everything going for him. Thankfully, he was still drafted to his dream hockey team. The same one dad played for when we were growing up.It took time, but I started to get better, started to open up, started skating and even dating again. I even thought I found the perfect guy for me.Isn’t it funny how guys hit on you when they know you’re not available, but when you’re single they won’t give you the freaking time of day? I guess the game is more fun that way. And for the captain of my brother’s team, that’s exactly what I was. A hat trick is three goals in hockey. Some say three is a crowd and they might be right.I was Gavin Hayes' unobtainable goal.*A No Cheating Standalone*

The F-Word


Sandra Marton - 2017
    This is a story about romance.Well, it’s not a story. I mean, it’s not something somebody made up. It’s about me. And yeah, in case you’re wondering, I’m a guy.Surprised? Sure you are. You figure those words just don’t go together. Romance, with a capital R. Guy, with a capital G. You’re probably sitting there and smirking. What could a dude possibly know about romance? You figure we’re big on sex. But romance?You’re right.Romance is not a male thing.And that’s exactly my problem.The bottom line is that whatever you think you know about men and romance is pretty much correct. You figure we’re big on the F-word as long as it stands for F*ck and not Forever.

Not for Sale


Tasha Fawkes - 2017
    But that didn't stop him from pulling the trigger anyway. I won't lie to you. Life has been hard for Mom and me. Yet somehow, we find a way to scrape through every month. But living this way takes its toll on you. Did fate have a hand in reuniting me with my high school friend, Scott Holbrook? All I know is that working for his pregnant fiancée is the break I've been waiting for. But life is never so simple and as I suspected everything is not as it seems. When I started working for Scott all I wanted was the opportunity to make something of myself. I had no idea it would lead me to uncovering the truth of what really happened to my father. Scott Being CEO of my father's billion-dollar property investment company was not what I wanted considering my appointment was a way of easing his guilt. Absent father. Cheating on my mother. I could spend all day listing his sins, but I won't bore you with this rest. That's why accepting the job felt like selling out. But it was a sacrifice I needed to make to establish myself. A necessary evil. Temporary. And it was until I got Kristin pregnant in a drunken tryst. Now my father has the leverage to force me to settle down and focus on my future in the company. Is love worth the sacrifice or my inheritance? I’m not for sale, but even the greatest sacrifices come with a price.

The Playbook


Kelly Elliott - 2016
    Football and my cock. And not necessarily in that order. Being the head football coach for a top university in Texas had its ups and its downs. The ups? Endless women to f*ck.The downs? The politics that came with the job. From the moment Aubrey Cain walked into my office, she turned my world upside down. Being forced to have her follow me around for a month was going to be a pain in the ass. Especially since I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her.The best I’d hoped to come out of this was a few nights with her in my bed. I never imagined she’d be the game changer. Brett Owens was my assignment. Head football coach for a top college, bad boy reputation, short temper, and handsome good looks should have scared me off. But I was tougher than that. From the first words out of his obnoxious, dirty-talking mouth, I knew it was going to be a long month. It wasn’t five minutes after meeting him, he hit on me. If only I had known his blue eyes would haunt my dreams and awaken a desire inside of me I never knew existed.This was business. There was no way I would be tempted by him no matter how good looking he was or how many things he whispered in my ear.He was only supposed to be my assignment. Not the man who threatened to destroy both my heart and my career. I would follow along with his playbook for now. But who would end up winning was anyone’s guess. The Playbook is a stand-alone novel.

Drunk on Love


S.L. Scott - 2016
    Scott, comes this downright delicious peek into the male anatomy... er, mind of Hardy Richard. There are only two rules:1. Don’t get too close. 2. Don’t fall in love.Correction: Don’t ever fall in love. I don’t need the baggage of relationships. Life should be simple, easy, uncomplicated. The problem I’m faced with is, if I really believe life should be that easy, that uncomplicated, and that simple, then why am I still thinking about a woman I met on a random Tuesday at the bar? A girl who was never a Gimlet, and always a Paloma. Yep, I called it all wrong last night and I’m starting to wonder if my heart is the one that will pay the price.I might have broken rule number one, but rule number two remains firmly intact. For now. Sort of. Okay, maybe rule two hasn’t been broken, but it’s definitely been bent.

Payback


Amy Daws - 2019
    Her cheating ex deserves to see her living her best life; a one-night-stand with a hot South African soccer player would be the perfect revenge. Right? Wrong. Allie is so, so wrong. ROAN DEWALT HAS ALL THE MOVES. On and off the field he’s at the top of his game. Roan respects hard-work, dedication—and follow through. He’s not a one and done kind of man, and he’s far from being done with Allie Harris. One sexy night and two years later, Allie’s job brings her back to town. An opportunity for the perfect replay Roan has been fantasizing about since they slept together. THE PROBLEM? Allie Harris has a secret; one she’s been keeping from Roan all this time. Video proof of their one night together—taken without his consent. Will Allie’s payback plan come back to bite them both? Or can she erase her past mistake and embrace a new future with Roan?

The Locker Room


Meghan Quinn - 2019
    One rowdy and naked encounter against the lockers with the girl of your dreams will make her your wife. Translation: baseball players are stupidly superstitious and believe the locker room has magical powers. But not all baseball players are superstitious, me included. So when the girl I've fallen for brushes me off, I start to question if I need to switch my way of thinking. Maybe it's time I finally hand out a coveted invitation to the locker room. The only question is, will she accept?