Book picks similar to
Texting the Rugby Player by Ariya Cox


sports
romance
contemporary
sports-romance

The Right Player


Kandi Steiner - 2020
    And while that label stung at first, I’ve since embraced it — living the wild and free life and sticking to a three date max. That’s just enough time to have some fun and snuff out the possibility of catching feelings. And it’s been working for me for years… Until Makoa Kumaka.Sadly, he also has a three date rule — and it’s the exact opposite of mine. From the second I meet him, all I can think about is stripping down that six-foot-five Herculean hunk of a man. But like the gentleman I wish he wasn’t, he’s making me wait.The more time we spend together, the more I feel those pesky emotions creeping in. I’m even tempted to trust him, but blame it on my past or my instincts, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something… I’ve been playing the game forever, and no man has ever won my heart — which meant they never had the power to break it.But maybe I just hadn’t met the right player.Maybe I’ll wish I never did.

If I Were Beautiful


Devon Hartford - 2017
    She doesn’t recognize herself in the mirror. She has literally transformed from nerdy and plain to downright beautiful.Before her inexplicable transformation, Jane couldn’t get a date to save her life. Now she has a date every night of the week.The bad boy or the billionaire?Gorgeous eligible men are now throwing themselves at Jane. They’re even fighting over her, actual fist fights to win her affection. It's a drama drenched love triangle in the making.It all seems too good to be true.The only question on Jane’s mind is whether or not her newfound beauty is going to last or if it’s some cruel trick of fate that will fade away as quickly as it appeared.Because everybody knows, when something seems too good to be true, it probably is.***If I Were Beautiful is a saucy standalone romance with an HEA

Nothing But Trouble


P. Dangelico - 2019
    And frankly, I kind of wish I still didn’t because then I wouldn’t have a sprained ankle to show for it. And my leg wouldn’t resemble a boa constrictor that’s swallowed a feral pig. Yeah, it’s that bad.I’ve spent years saving every penny I’ve ever earned to be able to transfer to Malibu University. And now my entire future––including my scholarship––is in jeopardy. So I either accept the help he insists on giving me, or lose everything I’ve sacrificed for. In the meantime, I’m going to ignore the fact that we’re becoming friends.And I’m definitely going to pretend he’s not turning into the object of my…umm, dirty fantasies. That’s not happening. Not even a little.Because the minute I clapped eyes on him I knew he was nothing but trouble.

The Assist


Rebecca Jenshak - 2018
    these are the things I knew about him. What I didn't know is that he is a seriously smart jock.Wes What's the best way to get rid of the peppy and unrelenting girl that keeps asking me to tutor her? If I knew, I wouldn't be staring at her tan legs and attempting to teach her statistics.Sorority girl, fine as f**k, determined, ball buster... these are the things I knew about her. What I didn't know is that she is all the things I didn't realize I wanted or needed.Or that one semester with her would change everything.

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**

Racing the Sun


Karina Halle - 2015
    After a frivolous six months of backpacking through New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia, she finds herself broke on the Mediterranean without enough money for a plane ticket home to California. There are worse places to be stuck than the gorgeous coastline of southern Italy, but the only job she manages to secure involves teaching English to two of the brattiest children she’s ever met.It doesn’t help that the children are under the care of their brooding older brother, Italian ex-motorcycle racer Desiderio Larosa. Darkly handsome and oh-so-mysterious, Derio tests Amber’s patience and will at every turn—not to mention her hormones.But when her position as teacher turns into one as full-time nanny at the crumbling old villa, Amber finds herself growing closer to the enigmatic recluse and soon has to choose between the safety of her life back in the States and the uncertainty of Derio’s closely guarded heart.

Good Guy


Kate Meader - 2019
    She's a dogged sports reporter determined to get a scoop. She's also his best friend's widow...Fans can’t get enough of Levi Hunt, the Special Forces veteran who put his NHL career on hold to serve his country and fight the bad guys. So when his new Chicago Rebels bosses tell him to cooperate with the press on a profile, he’s ready to do his duty. Until he finds out who he has to work with: flame-haired, freckle-splashed, impossibly perky Jordan Cooke.The woman he should not have kissed the night she buried her husband, Levi’s best friend in the service.Hockey-stick-up-his-butt-serious Levi Hunt might despise Jordan for reasons she can’t fathom—okay, it’s to do with kissing—but her future in the cutthroat world of sports reporting hangs on delivering the goods on the league’s hottest, grumpiest rookie. So what if he’s not interested in having his life plated up for public consumption. Too bad. Jordan will have to play dirty to get her scoop and even dirtier to get her man. Only in winning the story, she might just lose her heart...

Off the Ice


Julie Cross - 2017
    One semester off, that’s what she promised herself. Just long enough to take care of her father and keep the family business—a hockey bar beside the ice rink—afloat. After that, she’s getting the hell out. Again.Enter Tate Tanley. What happened between them the night before she left town resurfaces the second they lay eyes on each other. But the guy she remembers has been replaced by a total hottie. When Tate is unexpectedly called in to take over for the hockey team’s star goalie, suddenly he’s in the spotlight and on his way to becoming just another egotistical varsity hockey player. And Claire’s sworn off Juniper Falls hockey players for good.It’s the absolute worst time to fall in love.For Tate and Claire, hockey isn’t just a game. And they both might not survive a body check to the heart.

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?

Ditched


R.C. Boldt - 2018
    Once the new shine wears off, you may end up with a case of buyer’s remorse.That’s where I come in. I set the backdrop and coach you through the breakup.Don't want overblown drama, hard feelings, or a drink tossed in your face? Then I'm your fairy godmother, child.BECKET JONESAs an NFL quarterback, endorsement ads and the media pandering after me are all part of the game.Ivy Hayes is the first woman who doesn't care about my money and the notoriety that goes along with it.But I'm a long-term guy, and she operates strictly in the now. Which means I need to bring my A-game.Otherwise, I’ll end up getting ditched.**Ditched is a sports romance/contemporary romance with a bit of a twist. It is a standalone, full-length novel.**

Until It Fades


K.A. Tucker - 2017
    It isn’t until after the police have arrived that Catherine realizes exactly who it is she has saved: Brett Madden, hockey icon and media darling.Catherine has already had her fifteen minutes of fame and the last thing she wants is to have her past dragged back into the spotlight, only this time on a national stage. So she hides her identity. It works.For a time.But when she finds the man she saved standing on her doorstep, desperate to thank her, all that changes. What begins as an immediate friendship quickly turns into something neither of them expected. Something that Catherine isn’t sure she can handle; something that Catherine is afraid to trust.Because how long can an extraordinary man like Brett be interested in an ordinary woman like Catherine…before the spark fades?

Play


Piper Lawson - 2016
    Just another twenty-something girl, living the dream. That’s what I tell myself every morning. That I’m successful, self-aware, and well-balanced. It's just a tiny fib. I would be all of those things, if I had friends who didn’t work with me at the bank. And if I made it to pilates more than once a quarter. And if watermelon slushies weren't the main source of nutrients in my diet. It wouldn’t hurt if I’d had sex in the last year, either. (My best friend insists Jorge the Nightstand Boyfriend doesn’t count.)But when you know where you're going, you don’t need to enjoy the ride. Right?Even if some teeny part of me did want to fool around, Max Donovan would be the last guy I’d call. Sure, he made the indie video game that broke the internet. And yeah, his eyebrow piercing’s sexy, in a ‘what-are-you-in-a-band?’ kind of way. And fighting with him gets me going faster than Jorge on bezerker mode…He’s still colder than a cactus and twice as prickly. And I’m not talking about his face, because the guy’s barely old enough to shave. It’d really be best if we just ignored each other. Which is a problem, because Max Donovan is my new biggest client.So what happens when the girl who lives to work meets the guy who was born to play?Game on.

Wilder Love


Emery Rose - 2019
    He was my strength. Until I destroyed him.I was infatuated with Shane Wilder since the first time I saw him surfing. But we couldn’t be together. Not yet, anyway. I was too young and screwed up. He was too focused on chasing his dream.So we became friends. We met on the rooftop for late-night confessions under the stars. Cruised along the Pacific Coast Highway with the wind in our hair and the sun on our faces.I took photos of all the beautiful and ugly and interesting things, while he traveled the world in search of the perfect waves.I told him I would wait for him. I never meant to lie.I never meant to ruin his life.I. Destroyed. Him. As his star faded, mine burned bright. But as everyone knows, all that glitters is not gold. Now I’m back after seven long years, hoping for a chance to right my wrongs and fix what I’ve broken. This time I can only hope that loving Shane Wilder will be enough to save him.

Saddler's Secret


Nicole Rodrigues - 2019
    Heartbreaking circumstances thrusts me into motherhood, and on the plane ride home, I break down, kissing a total stranger and the angel offered me a solution; Saddler Enterprises. I've climbed the ladder and worked my ass off for months, and in walks, Adam, our intern. I try to keep things professional but all of a sudden, I start to find him funny and charming. His kiss electrifies me but that's precisely when shit really hits the fan.Suddenly, I'm on the mysterious Machlin Saddler’s radar. Big, bad CEO that never makes his way to our floor, now makes it his new stomping grounds. He lights my body on fire like no one has before. He's alluring and gorgeous and I'm being pulled in two different directions. Only the new intern isn't who I think he is. He's the perfect stranger from the plane I took to start my new life with Kenzie. The perfect stranger I kissed. The perfect stranger I hate.Genevieve LangstonThe breathtaking woman I haven't been able to keep my mind off of, has been my downfall. I need her like a lion needs prey but I can't screw up the plan. She'll hate me, hell she already does, but the line between love and hate is very, very thin.

Roommates with Benefits


Nicole Williams - 2017
    He’s the epitome of the “bad boy, good man” persona. The best of both worlds. The worst of them too. He’s the type of guy most girls wouldn’t mind sharing a confined space with, except my new roommate isn’t all swagger and chiseled abs. He’s bossy. Messy. Cocky. Infuriating. Doesn’t believe in personal space. Has no qualms about roaming the apartment with a loincloth-sized towel cinched around his waist. Seems under the delusion he’s my personal protector (refer back to infuriating). He plays college baseball and holds down a part-time job—I don’t know where he finds the time to get on my nerves. We have nothing in common . . . except our attraction to one another. And in six hundred square feet of shared space, the tension only has so much room to grow before one of us gives in to temptation. But really, what chance do a couple of young kids chasing their dreams in the big city have of making it?Since Soren claims I know squat about sports (he might have a semi-point), here’s a stat for him—one in a million. That’s our odds.