Book picks similar to
Body Check by Elle Kennedy


romance
sports
sports-romance
contemporary-romance

Offside


Juliana Stone - 2012
    Not because Billie's talent is in question, but because Billie is a woman. And though these are modern times, some of the local guys still have a problem letting a girl into their 'men's club.'Soon, Billie is at the center of a small town battle of the sexes, with everyone choosing sides. Her sisters. The townsfolk. Her friends. And yet, the only person whose opinion she cares about doesn't seem to care much at all. Logan Forest, the man who broke her heart when she was eighteen and the man she now shares the bench with every Friday night. She's got a lot to prove and though Billie Jo Barker scores on the ice, will this girl ever score with the man of her dreams?

Simply Irresistible


Rachel Gibson - 1998
    Hockey superstar John Kowalsky unknowingly helps her escape, and only when it's too late does he realize that he's absconded with his boss's bride. This bad boy isn't looking to be anybody's savior but his own. Still, a long night stretches ahead of them—a night too sultry to resist temptation.Seven years later, Georgeanne and John meet again. She is on her way to becoming Seattle's domestic darling and he is past his hellraising days. Shocked to learn that he has a daughter, John's determined to be part of her life. Georgeanne has loved John since the moment she jumped into his car, but will he risk the wrath of his boss, and one final chance at glory, to prove that this time his love will be everlasting?

Getting Lucky Number Seven


Cindi Madsen - 2015
    While every other college student is out having fun, Lyla is studying. With her cat. Well, she's played it "safe" quite enough, thank you. So she creates a "College Bucket List"―with item #7 being a night of uninhibited, mind-blowing sex...But she needs some help from her man-whore best friend.Hockey player Beck Davenport thought Lyla's transformation would be subtle. Man, was he wrong. With every item she ticks off, Beck finds himself growing seriously hot for his sweet, brainiac best friend. And if he's not careful, he'll end up risking their friendship in order to convince Lyla that he might just be her lucky #7...

Settling the Score


R.S. Grey - 2016
    For 21 years, her Friday nights have consisted of blocking shots rather than taking them. But now that she's landed in Rio, she's ready to see for herself if the rumors about the Olympic Village are true:• The athletes are all sex-crazed maniacs... • The committee passes out condoms like candy... • The games continue long after the medals have been handed out... As Andie walks the line between rumor and reality, she's forced into the path of Frederick Archibald, a decorated Olympic swimmer and owner of a sexy British accent--too bad he's unavailable in a way that "it's complicated" doesn't even begin to explain.In other words: off limits.It doesn't matter that he has abs that could bring peace to the Middle East and a smile that makes even the Queen blush; Andie fully intends on keeping her focus on the soccer field. But the Village is small. Suffocating. Everywhere Andie goes, Freddie happens to be there--shirtless, wet from the pool, and determined to show her a whole new meaning of the phrase "international affairs".Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

Hate to Love You


Jennifer Sucevic - 2018
     Brody McKinnon is Whitmore University's star defenseman destined for NHL greatness. He made a name for himself playing juniors before gracing us with his esteemed presence. As much as it pains me to admit it, he’s exploded at the college level. While other girls fall all over themselves trying to gain his attention, I do my best to steer clear just as I would a particularly nasty case of crabs. For reasons I can't fathom, Brody takes great pleasure in messing with me. And I, in return, enjoy slicing him to ribbons with my razor-sharp tongue. You'd think after three years, he'd learn to keep his distance. No such luck. Unfortunately for me, I’m about to experience the worst week of my life. It starts with my ex-boyfriend announcing at a party that I’m a lousy lay. He’s the hockey-playing jerk I dated last year who left a bad taste in my mouth (*eyeroll* seriously…get your mind out of the gutter). Want to guess who rides in on his trusty white steed to rescue me? Or should I say, opens his big mouth? Yep, you guessed it. Brody freaking McKinnon, the guy I love to hate. He only makes matters worse by telling everyone that we’re together and then punching Reed in the face. The first…I plan on strangling him for. The second…I’m only sorry I didn’t get to Reed first. Now I’m stuck fake-dating Brody, the one guy who makes me feel like a rabid dog on a choke chain, for the foreseeable future. I guarantee we won’t last more than seventy-two hours without me killing him. *This is a mature New Adult novel with strong language and sexual situations intended for readers over the age of 18*

Room for You


Beth Ehemann - 2013
    Ever since her ex—the girls’ father—vanished four years ago, Kacie’s sworn to keep her head in her studies and her heart out of trouble. Moving back home to her mother’s bed-and-breakfast had seemed like the best way to start over.But when hockey star Brody Murphy washes up on the front steps of the Cranberry Inn during a raging storm, he awakens a hunger in Kacie that she’s long forgotten…and he opens her eyes to a life she never thought was possible. With so much more to lose this time around, can Kacie trust her heart to make the right decision?***Room for You is the sweet, tantalizing first novel in bestselling author Beth Ehemann’s heartwarming Cranberry Inn series.

Game Changer


Rachel Reid - 2018
    In this case, it’s not just a lucky smoothie he’s craving—it’s the man who made it. Pro hockey star Scott Hunter knows a good thing when he sees it. So, when a smoothie made by juice bar barista Kip Grady precedes Scott breaking his on-ice slump, he’s desperate to recreate the magic...and to get to know the sexy, funny guy behind the counter.Kip knew there was more to Scott’s frequent visits than blended fruit, but he never let himself imagine being invited back to Scott’s penthouse. Or kissed with reckless abandon, never mind touched everywhere all at once. When it happens it’s red-hot, incredible and frequent, but also only on Scott’s terms and always behind his closed apartment doors.Scott needs Kip in his life, but with playoff season approaching, the spotlight on him is suddenly brighter than ever. He can’t afford to do anything that might derail his career…like introducing the world to his boyfriend. Kip is ready to go all-in with Scott—but how much longer will he have to remain a secret?

Stealing Home


Nicole Williams - 2016
    As the San Diego Shock’s newest athletic trainer, Allie knows all about long hours, endless travel, and warding off players’ advances. Given she’s already the subject of a handful of rumors about how “lucky” she was to have earned such a coveted position, she can’t so much as flutter an eyelash a player’s way if she wants to be taken seriously. But number eleven is doing more than fluttering eyelashes Allie’s way. Far more. Luke Archer is at the top of his game and doesn’t let the fear of striking out keep him from swinging. This is a motto he applies both on and off the field, but Allie appears immune, seeming to view Luke as nothing more than caution tape on legs. He’s a player, and in Allie’s experience, they’re all the same. She won’t risk her job or her heart to another one, no matter how different this one claims to be. But as Allie gets to know him, she discovers the number eleven the public thinks they know is very different from the real Luke Archer. He seems too good to be true. And maybe he is. Allie will have to confront the stories attached to a player of Luke Archer’s stature and decide who she’ll put her faith in—The man she’s falling for? Or the rumors?

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?

Revved


Samantha Towle - 2015
    With a good reason behind the rule, she has no plans on breaking it.Carrick Ryan is the bad boy of Formula One. With a face and body that melts panties on sight, and an Irish lilt that leaves women on their knees, begging for more. He races hard and parties harder. The youngest driver to ever sign with F1, he’s still at the top of his game five years later, breaking hearts on and off the tracks.When Andi is offered her dream job working in the glamorous world of F1, she leaves her home in Brazil, positive she can handle working for Carrick. But she’s not prepared for the off-the-chart sparks that fly the moment they meet.Now, Andi has a crush on the one man she can’t have, and her resolve is about to be put to the test, because Carrick has decided he wants Andi, and he plans on testing her to the very limit…

On a Tuesday


Whitney G. - 2017
    Became best friends, then lovers, on a Tuesday. And everything fell apart on a Tuesday... Charlotte Taylor has three automatic strikes in my book: 1) She hates me. She also claims that I'm a "domineering jerk with a huge, overbearing ego." (I do have something huge. It's not my ego, though.) 2) She takes our mandatory tutoring sessions way too seriously. 3) She's sexy as hell...And a virgin. At least, those were her strikes before our study sessions started lasting longer than they were supposed to. Until one innocent kiss became a hundred dirty ones, and until she became the first woman I ever fell hard for. Our future together after graduation was supposed to be set: Professional football for me. Law school for her. But she left me at the end of the semester with no explanation, and then she completely disappeared from my life. Until tonight.We met on a Tuesday. Became everything, then nothing, on a Tuesday. And now it's seven years later, on a Tuesday... **This is a full length second chance romance, inspired by Adele's "When We Were Young"**

Bad Boy's Baby


Sosie Frost - 2015
    Trouble-maker. Baby-maker? Star professional quarterback Jack Carson has the worst reputation in the league. He’s arrogant and gorgeous, and if he’s not in bed with a new woman, he’s sleeping off the party in a jail cell. But now he’s gotten in trouble too many times and needs my help to protect his career. As his publicist, I’ve hidden his dirty exploits and silenced the sexy rumors…but I missed the hottest scandal of the year. Apparently, Jack and I are dating. When the trouble-maker lies to the league and claims we’re in a committed relationship, he jeopardizes both our jobs. I can’t trust the tattooed bad boy, but now I’m stuck defending him. I have to make him seem respectable—no matter what. But his shameful reputation isn’t fixed with a few photos of us on a date. With the league determined to expel him for bad-behavior, Jack has only one option to convince them he’s wholesome, dependable, and responsible. Jack Carson wants to start a family. And he’s chosen me to give him the baby. This super steamy, bad boy romance is a standalone with no cliffhangers and a guaranteed happily-ever-after. For a limited time only, HARD is also included with this novel. HARD is a bonus full-length, bad-boy Navy Seal romance. Enjoy!

Broken at Love


Lyla Payne - 2013
    A rich kid who’s not used to being disappointed by life, Quinn and his sociopathic half-brother Sebastian create a frat house game intended to treat girls how they see them—as simple game pieces to be manipulated for their pleasure.College sophomore Emilie Swanson knows Quinn’s reputation—after all, he did send one of her sorority sisters into therapy earlier in the semester—but the game and his charm bring them closer together and soon she starts to believe there’s more to Quinn than people think.But what if the more is something darker than a game of toying with emotions and breaking hearts?Quinn and Emilie might be falling for each other, but there are secrets he’s not ready to tell—and lifestyle changes he’s reluctant to make. She willingly stepped on the court, but if Emilie finds out she started out as nothing as a pawn in Quinn and Sebastian’s twisted game, she might never forgive him.To his surprise, Quinn finds that he might finally care about someone more than he cares about himself…even if that means letting Emilie walk away for good.

It Had to Be You


Susan Elizabeth Phillips - 1994
    And Phoebe is definitely not prepared for the Stars' head coach Dan Calebow, a sexist jock taskmaster with a one-track mind. This is the book that began it all. The Chicago Stars are about to take the field... and they’re not the only ones playing for keeps.

Winging It


Ashlyn Kane - 2015
    It doesn’t include being the first out hockey player or, worse, getting involved with one of his teammates. But things change.Dante Baltierra is Gabe’s polar opposite—careless, reckless… shameless. But his dedication to the sport is impressive, and Gabe can overlook a lot of young-and-stupid in the name of great hockey. And Dante has a superlative ass in a sport filled with superlative asses.Before Gabe can figure out how to deal, a tabloid throws him out of his comfortable closet into a brand-new world. Amid the emotional turmoil of invasive questions, nasty speculation, and on- and off-ice homophobia, his game suffers. Surprisingly, it’s Dante who drags him out of it—and then drags him into something else. Nothing good can come of secretly sleeping with a teammate, especially one Gabe has feelings for. But with their captain out with an injury, a rookie in perpetual need of a hug, and the race to make the playoffs for the first time since 1995, Gabe has a lot on his plate. He can’t be blamed for forgetting that nothing stays secret forever.