Book picks similar to
The Hard Way Home by C.W. Farnsworth


sports
young-adult
romance
sports-romance

Truly


Carmel Rhodes - 2020
    𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. ⁣⁣

Savage Queen


Alley Ciz - 2021
    James inside the gilded halls of my new school, but I’ll always be Savvy King at my core.Now Jasper Noble and his merry band of douchebags expect me to yield.That’s funny.They think they’re tough.Gods among men.I know they’re nothing but ordinary bullies.With threats coming from all sides, my adversaries will come to learn—I don’t bend the knee for false kings.

Four Doors Down


Emma Doherty - 2016
    She has good friends and a gorgeous boyfriend but Ryan Jackson, the bane of her existence, keeps popping up everywhere. She doesn't care that they were best friends for years. She doesn't care that their moms are close and therefore she hears more about him that she'd ever care to know. She doesn't care that their mutual friend, Jake, keeps pushing them all to hang out together, and she especially doesn't care that the rest of the school bows down and worships him. Becca decided years ago that he wasn't worth her time and nothing, NOTHING, is going to change her mind.

Little Devil


Bethany Winters - 2021
    We’re supposed to smile and look pretty and do as we’re told without argument.I keep my mouth shut for an easy life.A boring life.But then I meet him.Xander Reid doesn’t follow rules.He’s a cocky bad boy with a devil may care attitude and a tongue bar I can’t stop staring at.He treats life like a game and dares me to play with him.And even though I know he's bad for me, I’m not sure how much longer I can resist.XANDERLakewood is supposed to be a punishment.A way to fix me and my unusual take on life.Seven months before the end of my senior year, my parents ship me off to live in a strange town with a family I barely know and a private school full of entitled rich kids.They seem to forget change doesn’t bother me.I get bored easily, can’t sit still for five minutes and nothing holds my attention.But then I meet her.Jordyn James isn’t as innocent as she makes out to be.She’s a bad girl trapped in a life fit for a princess, desperate for freedom from the chains that hold her back.Making her mine just might be the worst thing I’ve ever done, and yet I regret nothing.This is a full length, opposites attract romance with themes some readers might find offensive.Complete standalone with a HEA and no cliffhanger.

Wanted


Kelly Elliott - 2012
    She focused all of her attention on her grades and getting into the University of Texas to start a new life away from her mother.The last thing Ellie expected was to fall in love with Gunner Mathews, a starting linebacker for the University of Texas football team and not to mention, her brother's best friend. Gunner only had two passions in life, football and his grandfather’s ranch, until he falls for his best friends little sister. He will stop at nothing to show Ellie how much he wants her, even if it means he has to move faster than she would like. Gunner knows they are meant to be together forever, but Ellie keeps denying her feelings out of fear of being hurt again. Every time he gets close to winning her love, something pushes her away again. Will Ellie ever be able to let go of the past and let him into her heart and will Gunner be patient enough to wait for her?What will it take for them to realize they are all each other have ever WANTED?

Rules of Engagement


J.T. Geissinger - 2020
    And one thing the sweet Southern belle knows for sure is that the foundation of wedded bliss is built on similarities: opposites might attract, but they don’t stay together. Enter Mason Spark.Rude, arrogant, and notoriously allergic to monogamy, the hottest quarterback in the NFL is Maddie’s polar opposite. He’s also her new client. Her gorgeous, infuriating new client who’s paying her an outrageous sum of money to find him a wife. With his multi-million dollar contract on the line due to his behavior on and off the field, bad boy Mason is willing to pretend to settle down. But when he starts to fall for the adorkable matchmaker who can’t stand him, the playboy finds himself in the game of his life to keep something he never thought he’d lose—his heart.

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!

Adorkable


Cookie O'Gorman - 2016
    For reference, see Sally Spitz.Seventeen-year-old Sally Spitz is done with dating. Or at least, she's done with the horrible blind dates/hookups/sneak attacks her matchmaking bestie, Hooker, sets her up on. There's only so much one geek girl and Gryffindor supporter can take.Her solution: she needs a fake boyfriend. And fast.Enter Becks, soccer phenom, all-around-hottie, and Sally's best friend practically since birth. When Sally asks Becks to be her F.B.F. (fake boyfriend), Becks is only too happy to be used. He'd do anything for Sal--even if that means giving her PDA lessons in his bedroom, saying she's "more than pretty," and expertly kissing her at parties.The problem: Sally's been in love with Becks all her life--and he's completely clueless.This book features two best friends, one special edition Yoda snuggie, countless beneath-the-ear kisses and begs the question:Who wants a real boyfriend when faking it is so much more fun?

The Perfect Play


Britney M. Mills - 2020
    But as he starts hanging out with Penny, his former best friend from next door, he realizes what he’s missed in the three years since they stopped talking. And when they kiss after a party, he starts to see a whole new future for his life. Penny Davis has her sights set on a softball scholarship, hoping to get out of Rosemont as soon as she graduates. Straight A’s, working at the local diner, and practicing her softball skills are the routine. Until she bumps into Jake White in the hall. When he starts paying more attention to her again, after nearly three years of next-door radio silence, she allows herself to hope that what they once had might be there again. But falling in love is easier said than done.

Catching Caden


Samantha Christy - 2017
    The rule I have to protect my money, my future, my heart.No girl has ever broken it.I've never wanted one to. Until now.The question is ... will I let her?

All In


Bella Matthews - 2020
    Not her twin brother. Not the threats of a jealous ex. Not even myself. Now I just need to convince her.She’s it for me. She’s the end game.I’m all in.

Boarded by Love


Toni Aleo - 2014
    Hockey’s in my blood, and not to sound full of myself, but I’m good at it... really good. The draft is within my reach — it’s mine to take — but that’s not the only reason people know my name. They know me because of my way with women. They know the score, and I aim to please. I just tend to stay away from repeat performances. In other words, I don’t do relationships beyond my family and friends. I’m happy with life. However, I should warn you that my story and how I see it playing out is about to change due to a certain redhead on campus.She’s beautiful. Stunning. Breathtaking.She’s my game changer.***He’s trouble from the moment I see him. I don’t know what I’m thinking, but from the moment I meet his gaze, I’m his. It’s a scary feeling.I’ve never trusted anyone outside my aunt and uncle — and even that took months. I didn’t have it easy growing up. My mom was usually strung out, and she didn’t give me a second thought. Drugs and the men who paid her were more important to her. It was horrible, but I’m stronger today. Because of my past, security is what I need most. Money assures me that I can take care of myself today, tomorrow, and next month. I don’t want to ever be hungry or go without again, so I work hard for every penny.Oh, by the way, I’m Claire Anderson. I’m a hard-studying sophomore at the University of Bellevue, dancer for the school dance team, and a burlesque dancer at a club, but that’s my secret.You may think you know how our story ends, but you have no clue. It’s not easy falling in love… or living happily ever after. At first it may seem so, but when is anything worth having ever won without a fight?Especially when you’re boarded by love.

This Boy


Jenna Scott - 2020
    Saying goodbye to the mother she's never been good enough for, to the bottles there's always money for, to the bills there's never money for—and most of all, to being the help in someone else's dream home.But the scholarship to her new private school that gives her a real chance at a future comes with one big catch—Hunter Beck.It's his home her mother cleans. His little brother that Camilla babysits. It's his face that she dreams of at night, and his cruel voice that taunts her every day. Hunter is the most popular boy in school, and she's his favorite target. She hates him, but even more, she hates how drawn she is to him. Becoming his debate partner seems destined to end in disaster.As she's drawn further into his world, he alternately pulls her close and pushes her away. But behind the roller coaster, Camilla senses true emotion. A man she wants to know hiding inside the boy.She's so close to getting everything she wants. Getting into college. Leaving this town forever. She’s let nothing get in her way so far.So why does it feel like Hunter Beck might be the boy who ruins it all?Book One of Three

Love Always, Kate


D. Nichole King - 2014
    Now, six years later, I want my life back. Only I’m not sure what that is. The test results came back today. 22,000. Which means I’m officially out of remission—again. I have three options: 1) Another round of chemo. 2) A super-new experimental drug. 3) Dump it all— forget the meds and treatments and enjoy the time I have left. I think I know what I want. Then, in walks Damian, changing everything. I mean, everything… He’s got his own set of issues. It binds us together, you know? We understand what it’s like to lose what matters most in seconds. Still, the last thing I need is to have someone else to crush if I can’t fight hard enough. And the last thing he needs is someone else to grieve. Never mind. I’m down to two options now. Somehow I know that whichever one I choose, the result will be the same. With the sand in my hourglass seeping to the bottom, I hope there’s enough left to show Damian that life’s worth living. Worth fighting for. Worth dying for. Love Always, Kate

The Revenge Playbook


Rachael Allen - 2015
    One plan. And the night that changes everything.Liv is the girl everyone gossips about. But when the rumors threaten to crack her relationship with her longtime boyfriend, she’s desperate to prove that not everything you hear is true.Peyton is the girl no one knows. But flying under the radar doesn’t mean she’s willing to let people walk all over her.Melanie Jane is the girl everyone wants to be or be with. Beautiful, sassy, and untouchable, she breaks hearts before hers gets broken. Most of the time.Ana is the girl no one talks to. Not after what happened at the party that ended her friendship with Melanie Jane.They have nothing in common…except for revenge.In the small town of Ranburne, high school football rules and the players are treated like kings. How they treat the girls they go to school with? That's a completely different story. Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana each have their own reason for wanting to teach the team a lesson—but it’s only when circumstances bring them together that they come up with the plan to steal the one thing the boys hold sacred.All they have to do is beat them at their own game.