Book picks similar to
Playing Without Rules by Rachelle Ayala


romance
sports
contemporary
contemporary-romance

Hardball


C.D. Reiss - 2016
    Perfect swing. Perfect swagger.They call Dash Wallace the Diamond King.He’s the hottest commodity in baseball and in the bedroom. When he runs the bases, every woman’s eyes are glued to his stunning body and a smile that puts the night lights to shame. I’m no queen. I’m a regular girl with a regular job. I just watch him on TV and from the bleachers, season after season. Girls like me grab a guy like that one in a million times.My number just came up, and he is as spectacular in bed as he is on the field.But there’s not a woman in the world who can distract Dash Wallace from the game. Not for a moment. Not even me.Until the night I do. And everything changes.-----Hardball is a SMOKING HOT, SEXY romance with a touch of angst and a ton of heart from CD Reiss. It's a fun, witty, full-length standalone.

Pulled


Amy Lichtenhan - 2011
    In an attempt to escape the pain of her past, Melanie finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage, while Daniel loses himself in a career that means nothing without Melanie by his side. Now, when their lives intersect, neither can deny the connection they felt so long ago. But will the power that drew them together be enough to heal the wounds from their past, and do they have the courage to overcome the insecurities and fears that threaten to keep them apart? Pulled is a story of attraction and separation, of destiny and duty, of a love so strong it refuses to give up even when all others have.

Expecting


Ann Lewis Hamilton - 2014
    Hamilton excels at taking a heavy subject and spinning it into a humorous, descriptive, engaging read."--Shelf Awareness for ReadersThe Worst Place Your Water Could Break: 1. The Hollywood Bowl.2. Southwest Flight 34643. In the Trader Joe's parking lot--when your husband isn't answering his phone and you're left at the mercy of your college-aged sperm donorLaurie and Alan are expecting, again. It's been an emotional journey, but Laurie cautiously optimistic--the fertility treatment worked, and things seem different this time around. But she doesn't yet know how different.Jack can't seem to catch a break--his parents are on his case about graduating from college, he's somehow dating two girls at once, and he has to find a way to pay back the money he borrowed from his fraternity's party fund. The only jobs he is qualified for barely pay enough for beer money, but an ad for the local sperm bank gives Jack an idea.When Laurie and Alan discover that Laurie was accidentally impregnated by a sperm donor--Donor 296--they will learn nothing should be expected when you're expecting.

Pitching to Win


Carrie Aarons - 2015
    After a humiliating scandal sophomore year, she's avoided the social scene and anything having to do with boys, especially of the popular variety. But with senior year approaching, Minka decides it's time to take life back into her own hands. That is, until Owen Axel, the type of guy she's always avoided, decides he wants her in his hands.Owen Axel is the definition of popular. Good looks, all-star worthy pitching arm and a former pro-athlete father make him Mitchum's town God. Returning from college for the summer, his plan is simple. Beach, booze, and beautiful girls. But one look at Minka Braxton and he knows what he wants. He just doesn't count on her not wanting him.As the summer unfolds, both must decide how much to reveal, how deep they should fall, and what might happen if they strike out.

Back to Me


Lindsay Paige - 2016
    When he finds her at the airport, he realizes she's changed, and she's struggling with things she doesn't want to tell him about. Noah also realizes just how much she scarred him when she left. Meredith Quick has always planned everything out. She chose her tennis career over love in order to better succeed, but her plan dissolves when an injury threatens her career and her fiancé leaves her. Struggling through pain and the uncertainty of her future, she realizes her first misstep was walking away from Noah. She impulsively decides to go back to him while she attempts to put her life back together. Reacquainting isn't easy when Noah doesn't quite trust Meredith to stay and Meredith struggles with overcoming the pain she's endured without him. Can they work through their issues and move forward, or will their past ruin things between them forever?

The Aubrey Rules


Aven Ellis - 2015
     *Always keep your work and private life separate. *Being open to new experiences will never involve eating kale. *Never, ever date a professional athlete. For Chicago social media professional Aubrey Paige, the rules are everything. So much so that Aubrey has painstakingly written her rules for living into a polka-dot Kate Spade notebook that she carries with her at all times. It’s her personal guidebook to living her life. These rules are the Holy Grail—ones never to be broken. They guide her actions for everything, from dealing with workplace drama to finding a great guy to date. After all, these are her own rules, built from her life experiences and observations. So they have to be perfect, right? Or are they? Because when Aubrey meets a cute Canadian, she suddenly finds her rules being tested and challenged in ways she never dreamed possible. Beckett Riley is the shy, quiet, determined captain of the Chicago Buffaloes, a hockey team on the verge of turning the corner to becoming a winning organization. He’s Aubrey's opposite, with so many qualities that Aubrey had listed as ones she’d never want in a man. Yet Aubrey finds herself drawn to Beckett in ways she’s never known. And when she unexpectedly finds herself working with Beckett, she wonders if rules are meant to be broken after all . . .

Fluffy


Julia Kent - 2019
    Of course it did. I’m a professional fluffer. It’s NOT what you think. I stage homes for a living. Real estate agents love me, and my work stands on its own merits. Sigh. Get your mind out of the gutter. Go ahead. Laugh. I’ll wait. See? That’s the problem. My career has used the term “fluffer” for decades. I didn’t even know there was a more… lascivious definition of the term. Until it was too late. The ad for a “professional fluffer” on Craigslist seemed like divine intervention. My last unemployment check was in the bank. I was desperate. Rent was due. The ad said cash paid at the end of the day. The perfect job! Staging homes means showing your best angle. The same principle applies in making a certain kind of movie. Turns out a “fluffer” doesn’t arrange decorative pillows on a couch. They arrange other soft, round-ish objects. The job isn’t hard. Er, I mean, it is — it’s about being hard. Or, well… helping other people to be hard. Oh, man… And that’s the other problem. A man. No, not one of the stars on the movie set. Will Lotham – my high school crush. The owner of the house where we’re filming. Illegally. In a vacation rental. By the time the cops show up, what I thought was just a great house staging gig turned into a nightmare involving pictures of me with an undressed star, Will rescuing me from an arrest, and a humiliating lesson in my own naivete. My job turned out to be so much harder than I expected. But you know what’s easier than I ever imagined? Having all my dreams come true.

Next to You


Daisy Prescott - 2016
    I’d never let you go.” I added Sage to my rugby club’s annual list of women who are off limits thinking I could protect her from the gorillas I play with. Aspen's a small town in the off season when the dating pool shrinks to the size of a melted snowflake. Never did I think I’d be the one to break the code and date her. Even if it’s all for show. A wager between friends. An excuse to hang out with her more. Nothing more than that. Right? *** Who agrees to date their best friend over a green smoothie? Apparently this girl right here. Now the man-bun-sporting South African rugby god next door is my fake boyfriend. I need to rebuild my confidence after some poor dating decisions. Who could be better to fluff my ego than Aspen’s hottest bachelor? This situation is a win-win. Right?Next to You is a standalone Romantic Comedy/sports romance about a rugby player and an heiress in Aspen. Next to You is book one in the Love with Altitude series of standalone romances set in the small town of Aspen.Stan and his man bun first appeared in the Modern Love Story Short, Take for Granted. This is a full-length novel told in dual POVs.

The Way We Fall


Cassia Leo - 2015
    Maybe we shouldn’t have fallen so fast and so willingly.Maybe we shouldn’t have moved in together before we went on our first date.Maybe we should have given our wounds time to heal before we tore each other to shreds.Maybe we should have never been together.Houston has kept a devastating secret from Rory since the day he took her into his home. But the tragic circumstances that brought them together left wounds too deep to heal.Five years after the breakup, Houston and Rory are thrust together by forces beyond their control. And all the resentments and passion return with more intensity than ever.Once again, Houston is left with a choice between the truth and the only girl he’s ever loved.The Way We Fall is the first book in The Story of Us series, which follows the tumultuous love story of Rory and Houston. The sequel, The Way We Break, will be released Spring 2015.

Li Wei (Members From Money Season Two #52)


Katie Dowe - 2021
    A sexy BWAM, over 40’s romance by Katie Dowe of BWWM Club.Delia Franklin is left devastated when her father is killed in a tragic accident.She finds solace at grief counseling sessions and meets a man who will change her life forever!Forty-four-year-old Chinese investor Li Wei Yang is reeling from the loss of his mother…But the woman he meets at counseling might be the lifeline he needs to get his life back together…Delia falls hard for Li Wei too, but a devastating relationship in her past has left her bruised and shattered.Will Delia and Li Wei ever move past their individual tragedies?And will they be able to find love and comfort with each other?Find out in this emotional yet sexy romance by Katie Dowe of BWWM Club.Suitable for over 18s only due to smoking hot sex scenes!

Sweet Spot


Cheryl Douglas - 2016
    She’s been used, abused, and discarded. Trust is a four-letter word to her, one to be avoided at all costs. She’s all for having fun with men who know the score. One night. Maybe two, but that’s her limit. So, what happens when she meets a hotshot pitcher who tells her one night will never be enough? Rowan loves a challenge. He wouldn’t have made it to the big leagues if he wasn’t tenacious. But he’s never had to fight for a girl before. If anything, he’s used to fighting them off. But Tenley is different. She’s throwing up obstacles at every turn and he can’t figure out why. She’s falling for him, he can feel it, and their chemistry is off the charts. But with that be enough to chase her demons away?

Getting Wound Up


Jennifer Bernard - 2016
    She'd do anything for the sexy baseball player who walked away from stardom to stay in Sapphire Falls and take care of his family. But she and Eli are friends. Just friends. So when her brother hatches a plan to get Eli to the pro baseball try-out for the Kilby Catfish and another chance at his dream, Caitlyn is all in. After all, what's a little kidnapping among friends? A spot on the pitcher's mound for the Catfish isn't the only tempting thing about the spontaneous road trip. Eli already knows that Caitlyn is as sweet as the candies she makes for the Sapphire Falls bakery, but alone with her overnight in the tiny motel room in Kansas, it's impossible to resist the urge to take a little taste. But when that taste leads to falling for the girl next door just as his front door is moving hundreds of miles away, can Eli really have it all? Or do they have too many strikes against them?

Hate to Love You


Isabelle Richards - 2015
    Constantly in competition, they fight incessantly, making it nearly impossible for them to be in the same room with each other. Until they slept together. Sex changes everything.In one emotional evening, they go from enemies to lovers. Hate quickly evolves into passionate lust, but old habits die hard. The love growing between them can’t erase a lifetime of animosity. The two quickly fall back into old routines of spite and vengeance, and their relationship crumbles under the weight of their deep-seated distrust.Chase and Arianna spend the next two years on opposite sides of the globe, avoiding each other at all costs. Despite the lies they tell themselves, neither one is ready to let go. Even though they are both engaged to other people, they can’t find it in their hearts to forgive each other or to move forward.A family emergency calls Arianna home, where they have no choice but to face each other again. Will they finally admit the truth, or will they remain forever trapped between love and hate?

The Prequel


Mona Ingram - 2017
    Like many small towns, Chance California is losing businesses and residents at an alarming rate. Can five women who suffered recent heartbreak put their energies into stopping the town's decline?This short prequel introduces you to the women who join forces to bring new businesses, new residents and new life to their town. And who knows... they just might find that elusive love at the same time.

This Christmas


Jeannie Moon - 2014
    Having Charlie meant putting some of her own dreams on hold, but Sabrina is content to surround herself with family and friends, safe from the realities of the outside world. She had enough of that when the man she loved broke her heart. Jake Killen’s career in professional hockey has brought him many rewards on and off the ice, but returning to New York brings back a flood of memories. When he sees Sabrina again, he discovers that he didn’t just walk away from her ten years ago, but also from their unborn child. Struggling with anger, guilt, and chemistry that’s off the chart, Sabrina and Jake wonder if they can find love again and, this Christmas, make all their wishes come true. Christmas in New York Book 1: This Christmas by Jeannie Moon Book 2: All I Want for Christmas by Jennifer Gracen Book 3: A Light in the Window by Jolyse Barnett Book 4: Goodness and Light by Patty Blount