Book picks similar to
Open Lanes by Mary Morano
hockey
romance
sports-romance
contemporary
Fight For You
Charisse Spiers - 2014
The blood spattered everywhere was no longer mine. I wore crimson on my fists. I liked it. I finally tore out of the useless adolescent I was and took control—something I should have done a long time ago. But I wasn’t broken alone, and probably why it took so long. So much was stolen from her too, and once I set the beast inside me free, I couldn’t stop until I righted every wrong.Then we ran like hell.All she ever wanted was for me to love her. And in ways I did, every time he took what wasn’t his to take. I sent her away, forcing her to make a life for herself, never to come after me, to breathe a word of what happened, or to go back. I left her crying and pleading to go with me. I never looked back.I promised I’d make something of myself for both of us, and I did. For her I fight. I win. I make my opponent pay in blood. I will never again be at the losing end of a swinging fist. All it takes is unleashing memories in that cage and I can’t be beaten. I reward myself with a night of fun that never turns into morning. Then came Alyvia—the girl that proved she was better than that. The girl that became my best friend. The girl that changed my life in more ways than one.She gave me her. Piper Morgan—a real life dream catcher. I wasn’t supposed to touch her. I’ve never been a rule follower. She was too appetizing to pass up. I broke a promise. The first time I wanted a woman to stay, she walked away. The control I fought so hard for is gone. In the middle of my spiraling addiction, secrets are uncovered, my past returns, and unexpected circumstances hunt me down. The motto a fighter lives by—fight or get the fuck out of the cage.
The Sweet Talker
Gina Azzi - 2021
Until the pregnancy test turns pink.Noah Scotch is revered in Boston, a veritable god on the ice. I’m a nerdy, newly minted college professor who would rather color code my planner than hit the club scene. Noah shouldn’t look at me twice but when he does, I falter. Who can blame me? The sweet talker with the deliciously chiseled abs and sinful chocolate eyes is a force. On and off the ice. One hot and intense night with Noah has me second guessing my lack of a dating life. Friends with benefits? He offers, I dive in headfirst. Growing up in a hockey family, I know better than to get serious with a player. But the more time I spend getting to know Noah, the more my intention to keep things casual rings false. Now, I’ve got a hopeful heart and a baby on the way. I just need to tell Noah. But when I do, will I end up with everything I never knew I wanted? Or on my own?
Four Months, Three Words
C.W. Farnsworth - 2020
Not only has playing professional football been the dream since he was a kid, the financial incentive isn’t one he could walk away from even if he wanted to. That is, until a chance collision has the unexpected outcome of making Jace realize he might want something more than the goal he’s spent most of his life pursuing. Might want someone more.
…she’s the girl he can never have.
For Vivienne Rhodes, the opportunity to attend Lincoln University represents what she’s always craved more than anything: normalcy. One semester is all she has before returning to a future that’s set in stone. Her mere presence on campus is only made possible by an elaborate arrangement. The essential component of it is that no one can know her real identity. Falling for the star quarterback is most definitely not part of the plan. But it will all be fine, just as long as she keeps those feelings to herself. Because that unchangeable future? Can’t include Jace Dawson.
Conflicted
M.M. Koenig - 2013
Her life was everything she wanted it to be; until one fateful night changed everything – leaving her broken and without direction. Nearly a year later, she still has little faith in anyone or anything. Desperate to reclaim her life’s ambition, she takes an unexpected offer that promises to solve all her problems. But as Mia moves forward, she’s faced with obstacles she couldn’t have foreseen. The biggest of them lies within the mystery of Ethan Fitzgerald; a man who affects her like no other, but who she should avoid pursuing, at all costs. On a mission himself, Ethan Fitzgerald didn’t care who he pissed off on his road to fulfill his mother’s dying wish. He relied on himself, and was closed off to the world around him – until Mia Ryan walked through his door. Normally one to avoid messy emotions, Ethan’s world is turned upside down by Mia, and he can’t seem to get enough of her. There are lines you can cross that will change the course of your life forever …
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.
For Finlay
J. Nathan - 2017
Each book follows a new couple.Finlay Thatcher is a lost soul, guilt-ridden after the death of her twin brother. When Alabama's football coach gives her the opportunity to work for him, she knows it's her chance to move on, even if it means living her brother's dream. Caden Brooks is Alabama's star quarterback. He's got it all. The attention of adoring fans. A girlfriend who'd do anything to hold on to him. And a future in the pros. He's getting along just fine until Finlay steps into his life, despising him at first sight and pushing his buttons like no other. Unfortunately for Finlay, and her attempt to keep Caden at arm's length, there's nothing Caden loves more than a challenge. The problem with this challenge is she comes with a secret that has the power to destroy everything.
Landing the Billionaire
Macie St. James - 2021
Her task is to clean it out and prepare it to sell, since she has no interest in living in the oversized space. But the billionaire living next door keeps distracting her from getting her work done.Grayston Young isn’t just Fiona’s neighbor. He owns the very building where her father lived. But he’s also the man who plans to take away the thing that matters most to her: her small bookstore. One of his top projects involves buying up the entire strip mall and turning it into a medical center.In their battle, they both start to realize there’s more to life than work. But one of them has to give in if they can ever be together, which means choosing love over business.The Music City Billionaire series is a sweet, clean contemporary billionaire series filled with swoon-worthy heroes and plenty of romantic moments.
Huddle With Me Tonight
Farrah Rochon - 2010
When her criticism of NFL standout Torrian Smallwood’s cookbook/memoir goes viral, it sparks an online war between the city’s most beloved blogger and one of football’s hottest stars. Torrian couldn’t care less what some book blogger thinks about his upcoming memoir. His main focus is on making a success of the new restaurant he’s opening for his sister. That is, until he meets the gorgeous Paige Turner face-to-face. When a local TV station invites them to bring their online battle into the kitchen in a reality TV cook-off, Torrian comes up with a new goal: making Paige his. Will either of them be able to stand the heat, or will they succumb to the white-hot attraction that neither can deny? Reading order: Book 1: Huddle With Me Tonight Book 2: I'll Catch You Book 3: Field of Pleasure Book 4: Pleasure Rush
Breakaway
Heather M. Orgeron - 2017
Sounds like a cheesy line from a country song, right? Too bad it's the story of my life. I thought that I’d moved on, swore he was the one. But that facade began to fade in the flash of a half-carat diamond ring. Now years later, here I am, running back to the boy who broke my adolescent heart, hoping that just maybe, he’ll be the one to piece it back together. .... I fell in love with my best friend while she fell in love with him. Ironically, it was my own damn fault. I practically served her up on a silver platter. So I turned to my second love, basketball, moving across the country to escape. For years, I’ve been sitting on the sidelines watching, waiting. Now it's time to make my move. No more fouling out. This time, I'm going to score.
Whiskey Wild
Jessica Mills - 2021
My twin brother got himself into an impossible situation and who saves his bacon? Me. I go into a job interview pretending to be him, and lo and behold, the most beautiful girl in the world is the one hiring for the job. Giving her my all isn’t hard, until I get the position. I’m a farmer. My brother is the guy trying to make it up a ladder, but now we’re stuck. It would be too damn obvious that he’s not me and I’m not him. So I’m stuck. But it’s not all that bad. The girl of my dreams is in need of a real cowboy to teach her the ropes. And I’m the guy for the job. Unfortunately, pretending to be a nicer version of my evil twin catches up with me. Those little white fibs always do. Now she’s questioning my trust and walking away from what could possibly be the best decision of both our lives. Time to show this sweet little thang the man she’s yet to meet—the real me.
Only When It's Us
Chloe Liese - 2020
Why she hates me, I don't know. What I do know is that Willa is the kind of chaos I don’t need in my tidy life. She’s the next generation of women’s soccer. Wild hair, wilder eyes. Bee-stung lips that should be illegal. And a temper that makes the devil seem friendly.
She’s a thorn in my side, a menacing, cantankerous, pain-in-the-ass who’s turned our Business Mathematics course into a goddamn gladiator arena. I'll leave this war zone unscathed, coming out on top…And if I have my way with that crazy-haired, ball-busting hellion, that will be in more than one sense of the word.
Willa
Rather than give me the lecture notes I missed like every other instructor I’ve had, my asshole professor tells me to get them from the silent, surly flannel-wearing mountain man sitting next to me in class. Well, I tried. And what did I get from Ryder Bergman? Ignored. What a complete lumbersexual neanderthal. Mangy beard and mangier hair. Frayed ball cap that hides his eyes. And a stubborn refusal to acknowledge my existence.
I’ve battled men before, but with Ryder, it's war. I’ll get those notes and crack that Sasquatch nut if it’s the last thing I do, then I’ll have him at my mercy. Victory will have never tasted so sweet.
Only When It’s Us is a frenemies-to-lovers, college sports romance about a women’s soccer star and her surly lumberjack lookalike classmate, complete with a matchmaking professor, juvenile pranks, and a smoking slow burn. This standalone is the first in a series of new novels about a Swedish-American family of five brothers, two sisters, and their wild adventures as they each find happily ever after.
A Tablespoon of Temptation
Kelly Collins - 2022
He’s a man telling a lie. Will the truth bring them together or tear them apart?Danielle Morgan doesn’t need a recipe for love, she needs one for life. Hounded by her best friend to find a man or a hobby, she chooses the latter. After all, a hobby won’t break her heart. Perusing the aisles of a flea market, she purchases a box of books with one that promises to unlock what her heart desires. Right now, all she wants is to keep her job and stay ahead of her mounting debt. That is until she meets James, the hot new construction lead at Luxe resorts. Dating a coworker is against her rules, but James is a temptation she can’t resist.After a failed attempt at marriage, James Parks is happily wedded to his career as CEO of Luxe Resorts. His job doesn’t complain when he gets home late, and it’ll never take half of everything. Working undercover as the construction lead is his only passion until he meets Danielle Morgan. The last person he should date is a woman who works for his company. But like a decadent dessert, the more he tries to resist, the more he wants her. Will finding out his true identity sweeten the deal or leave a bad taste in her mouth? Do they have the right ingredients to create something magical or are they a recipe for disaster?Find out in A Tablespoon of Temptation…
I Pick You
Eryn Scott - 2021
Magnolia Parker loves botany, but became a professor mostly to make her parents happy. When she’s passed up for tenure, Maggie decides it’s time to make a change. Escaping the city, she finds herself in the idyllic town of Plumb Creek staring at a For Sale sign in a flower shop that shares her name. It must be destiny. Maggie goes all in. Being a florist should be easy for a professor of botany. Right? Boy, is she wrong. Before she even opens shop, she’s angered half the town. After her first customer leaves in a huff, she realizes a botany degree isn’t going to cut it. Enter Grant Sommers, hot local entrepreneur who has the town in his back pocket. He’s willing to help turn the shop around, if Maggie will listen. As much as she wants this to work, she fears she’ll never be able to loosen the town’s tight-knit roots enough to be accepted.It’s time for Maggie to pick her own path, even if it means disappointing everyone else.
Make Me Wild (
Gabrielle Snow - 2021
And I’ve always secretly wanted my big brother’s best friend, Ren.He’s ambitious and sexy. Kind and thoughtful. A talented football player the whole town loves. Destined to make it big.Basically, Ren is the man of my dreams.But he’s the only person who is seriously off-limits.Gabe would kill us if anything was to happen between us.And I should have known better than to play with fire.I wasn’t supposed to flirt with him.He wasn’t supposed to flirt back.And he definitely wasn’t supposed to kiss me until my head was spinning . . .Because after that, there’s no turning back.Ren is the kind of guy who will do the right thing no matter what.The only problem is that he’s my big brother’s best friend.And being with me is the wrong thing...but it makes us both wild.MAKE ME WILD is the first book in the (IN LOVE WITH) MY BIG BROTHER'S BEST FRIEND series. This series must be read in order.
Parental Guidance
Avery Flynn - 2019
Right to someone my mom picks out on some new dating app.Then my salvation walks into the restaurant.Zara Ambrose.The five-foot-nothing redhead with more freckles than inches that I convinced to go on five dates with me for all the world to see.She's got her own reasons for our set up--and her own rules.But somewhere between the couples' obstacle course, wrestling matches with her Great Dane, and fights over mashed potatoes, Zara went from means-to-an-end to something so much more.What happens when you start to fall for the one girl you can't have...on live TV?