Book picks similar to
When Stars Burn Out by Carrie Aarons


romance
sports-romance
second-chance
sports

Poison


Jade West - 2020
    The monster who left me in pieces over a decade ago.I swore I'd never speak to him again, that I'd never set eyes on him again as long as I lived.But I was wrong.When life gets too much and you need to escape, the poison that might kill you becomes oh so tempting.I craved his perverted ways, his smirk, his laughter as he pushed my body way past its limits.I needed a release from the crazy. Just once.Just one night. That’s what I told myself.No strings, no illusions, no promises. Nothing but the lasting thrill of his flesh on mine.The lasting hit of his poisonous touch.But when poison runs through your veins, the way he runs through mine, it’s toxic and eats you alive.This much passion always comes at a price...**This is a typically edgy Jade West novel. Please proceed with caution.**

Stanton Adore


T.L. Swan - 2014
    Sensual, sweet, and as annoyingly perfect as she was when I left 7 years ago. My body remembers the way she felt underneath me, and wants her again. My heart remembers the way she crushed it and wants as far away as possible. But she’s everywhere, haunting me, torturing me, driving me past all logical reason. I need to forget her, move on and get her out of my system, but to do that, I need to have her one. Last. Time. It started as a kiss. We never meant to fall in love. But I was 17 and carefree, And he was 19, beautiful and forbidden. Our families never would have accepted it… And I broke his heart to save his future. Now the boy I loved 7 years ago is the man I can’t have. He’s grown into everything my body craves, my heart demands… and my sense of decency rejects.

Chasing Butterflies


Terri E. Laine - 2016
    Laine brings a new standalone New Adult Romance novel, Chasing Butterflies, about second chances on and off the field. One night … one kiss … one touch … will change everything. Kelley Moore’s tragic home life should make him a survivor. But when he’s uprooted yet again, his plans for a better future seem impossible. Being a player on and off the football field is all he knows, until Lenora Wells. The beautiful town princess makes him feel and want things he never thought he could have… Lenora will do anything to get out of her town, even if it means dating the wrong guy. There’s one problem: she can’t stop thinking about the gorgeous, complicated boy with the unusual eyes who gives her butterflies and makes her question her choices. When their lives collide, the world shifts and not in their favor. Four years later, the sins of their past can never be taken back and forgiveness won’t come easy. College is a different game, a second chance for something better. She’s not the girl he remembers and he’s the one boy she can never forget. He’s made a name for himself as the star quarterback -- the golden boy who can do no wrong. But he’s only interested in being her hero. Despite everything, she can’t deny he still makes her heart flutter; and she’s got him chasing butterflies. *Warning this new adult romance contains adult content and language and may not be suitable for younger readers.

Royal


Winter Renshaw - 2016
    He’s not even a prince - though you could say I loved him once upon a time.He was my older brother’s best friend.Growing up, he sat at our dinner table every Sunday, teased me mercilessly, and pretended I annoyed him.When I was old enough, he took me on my first date.Royal taught me how to drive. Escorted me to my junior prom. Gave me my first kiss…amongst other things. He was my first taste of toe-curling, all-consuming, can’t-sleep love.We had our whole lives ahead of us. There was never anyone else for me but him.And then he disappeared. No letter. No explanation. Not even a goodbye.My sisters and brother never forgave him, and my parents forbade me from speaking his name in our house ever again. For all intents and purposes, we were to pretend Royal Lockhart never existed.I’ve spent the last seven years trying in vain to forget my first love, but just when I think I’ve finally moved on, guess who’s back in town?

More Than Words


Mia Sheridan - 2018
    Her prince. They became each other's refuge, a safe and magical place far from their troubled lives. Until the day Callen kissed her--Jessica's first real, dreamy kiss—and then disappeared from her life without a word.Years later, everyone knows who Callen Hayes is. Famous composer. Infamous bad boy. What no one knows is that Callen's music is now locked deep inside, trapped behind his own inner demons. It's only when he withdraws to France to drink his way through the darkness that Callen stumbles into the one person who makes the music return. Jessica. His Jessie. And she still tastes of fresh, sweet innocence . . . even as she sets his blood on fire.But they don't belong in each other's worlds anymore. There are too many mistakes. Too many secrets. Too many lies. All they have is that instinctive longing, that need—and something that looks dangerously like love.No one lays open the heart and soul quite like New York Times bestselling author Mia Sheridan.

Broken Miles


Claire Kingsley - 2018
    I could feel it happening. Like she was gently unbuttoning the collar of a shirt that fit too tight.”Single-minded drive earned Roland Miles success—and cost him his first love. When his marriage to Zoe ended, he did the only thing he knew. He dove into work to put his heartbreak behind him.Zoe Sutton’s life hasn’t exactly gone to plan. She certainly didn’t plan on losing Roland or moving home to work for his family’s winery. Four years after their divorce, she wonders if her chance at happily ever after is behind her.After discovering his family might lose their land, Roland comes home to help sort out the mess. But between his brothers’ antics, a baby sister who’s all grown up, and a father keeping secrets, complicated isn’t even the half of it.And then there’s Zoe.He didn’t come home looking for a second chance with her. But the more time they spend together, the more he realizes what they lost. What they could have again.Because the truth is, they broke each other’s hearts. And maybe they’re the only ones who can put them back together.Author’s note: A stoic hero who’s soft on the inside. A sassy heroine who doesn’t take any sh*t. Messy family. Lots of shenanigans. Mattress burning bonfires. And a second chance at love with a big HEA.The Miles Family series are best enjoyed in order.

All I Ask


Corinne Michaels - 2020
    Over the years, even though Tegan was dating the star of the football team, she couldn't hide her growing feelings for Derek. But just as Teagan is finally ready to confess her feelings for Derek, she finds out she is pregnant, and Derek has moved on.It was only after he married his college sweetheart that Derek realized that he was in love with his best friend Teagan. Determined to do what was best for his family, he cut Teagan out of his life. Thirteen years later, still harboring guilt for his failed marriage and his wife's death in a tragic accident, Derek finds himself back in his hometown with his daughter.When it seems that fate has given them a second chance, Derek and Teagan realize it might finally be their time. Just as Derek and Teagan's happily ever after comes into focus, Teagan is offered the chance of a lifetime-to start a new life with her daughter, something she's wanted for years. But now that Derek is back in her life, it's not so easy to pick up and leave. Just when she finally has something real, can she leave it for her own dreams?RUNNING TIME ➼ 10hrs. and 16mins.©2020 Corinne Michaels (P)2020 Forever

Blitzed


Lauren Landish - 2016
    I brought her back to meet you.” I’m normally not into jocks, but when Troy Wood asks me out, I feel like I’m the Chosen One. After all, he’s hot as hell and Silver Lake’s best athlete, practically the King of Campus. God’s gift to women—that’s what they call him, but I’ll make a gentleman out of him. Everything is perfect, and he already practically has his ticket to the Big Leagues. There’s just one little problem . . . I’m hiding a secret that could destroy him and his future. I can’t tell him . . . I can’t tell him that I’m pregnant with his baby. **Blitzed is a full-length romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger!

The Cabin


Jasinda Wilder - 2020
    One year ago, I held his hand and said goodbye. Now I spend most of my days lost somewhere between trying to remember every smallest detail of our lives, and trying to forget it all. I fill my hours with work until I’m too exhausted to remember him, to feel anything at all. One year, 365 days—and then one knock at my door changes everything. A letter from him, a last request, a secret will: My dearest Nadia,Trust me, my love. One last time, trust me. Sometimes the epilogue to one story is the beginning of another.

Pinky Promise


H.J. Bellus - 2016
    Young children vowing to always protect each other. He was only nine but he was her protector and best friend for years.Even when thrown in foster care he took care of her always like a king to his queen. A silent pinky promise shared between, it was their secret protection to one another.Then one morning he was gone. Leaving Baylor on her own to battle the streets and more importantly life in the Kings all by herself.“I will love you, even if I never see you again.”

Bad Habit


Charleigh Rose - 2017
    Even bruised and bloodied, he was the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen. We couldn't ever be together. I was too young, and he was too untouchable. He was too troubled, and I was too naive. But the heart is rebellious, and mine decided it didn’t care about any of those things. As I got older, harmless flirting turned to stolen moments in dark corners. Until one day, he was gone without a trace. Now, three years later, he’s back. Callous and cruel. He’s my brother’s best friend. My parents’ worst nightmare. I should hate him. But like a Bad Habit, I can’t quit him. ASHER I was drawn to Briar Vale from the first time she looked up at me with stars in her big, blue eyes. She was just a kid, nothing but elbows and knees, but she was the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen. We could never be together. I was too old and she was too off limits. She was too good and I was too fucked up. Eventually, the temptation became too much to resist. I risked everything for a kiss and she betrayed me. Three years have passed and I’m forced to see her again, but now she's all grown up. She’s my best friend’s baby sister. My downfall. I hate her for what she did. But she's always been my drug of choice

Long Shot


Kennedy Ryan - 2018
    One of the NBA's brightest stars.Fine. Forbidden. He wants me. I want him.But my past, my fraudulent prince, just won't let me go.*Some aspects of this story may be sensitive for some readers.

Throttled


Lauren Asher - 2020
    Unapproachable. Ruthless on and off the track.A man with walls higher than the Grand Canyon.And my brother's new teammate.I want more of the prince who disguises himself as the villain.But while I crave a happy ending, he wants to destroy his.Maya Alatorre is a forbidden temptation.An ambitious post-grad I should stay far away from.And chaos wrapped with a bow.We're a ticking time bomb, about one wrong move away from exploding.I want to trip the wire, detonating together in passion and pain.Because in the end, all's fair in lust and war.

Throttled


Elizabeth Lee - 2015
    Becoming Motocross royalty was always the plan, and he was willing to make sacrifices along the way to reach his goal. Sacrifices he thought he could live with until he returned to the small town where he grew up and learned to ride, and, more importantly, where he fell in love.When fate sends Nora Bennett back into his life, he takes one look at her and realizes that he made a huge mistake breaking up with her seven years ago. Now, he'll do whatever it takes to win her back. As Reid sets out to earn her forgiveness and convince her that the guy she's dating is not the one for her, Nora finds herself torn between what her head is telling her and what her heart wants. It's a race he never expected to be in, for a girl he can't stand to lose again.

One & Only


Viv Daniels - 2013
    Tess McMann lives her life according to the secrets she's sworn to keep: the father who won't acknowledge her, the sister who doesn't know she exists, and the mother who's content playing mistress to a prominent businessman. When she meets the distractingly cute Dylan Kingsley at a prestigious summer program and falls in love, Tess allows herself to imagine a life beyond these secrets. But when summer ends, so does their relationship -- Dylan heads off to Canton College while Tess enrolls at the state university. One love they can't ignore... Two years later, a scholarship brings Tess to Canton and back into Dylan's life. Their attraction is as strong as ever, but Dylan has a girlfriend…who also happens to be Tess's legitimate half-sister. Tess refuses to follow in her mother's footsteps, which leaves her only one choice: break the rules she’s always followed, or allow Dylan to slip away for a second time. ...And only one chance to get things right.