Book picks similar to
Balk by Joy Eileen
sports
college
forbidden-love
romance
A Place Without You
Jewel E. Ann - 2018
Then let time pick up the pieces. Everything feels temporary when you’ve experienced tragedy—until Henna Lane meets Bodhi at a music festival. Young and spontaneous, they have a lust for seizing the moment, falling hard and fast. When Bodhi is forced to leave without a goodbye, Henna thinks she’ll never get over him. But then she meets Mr. Malone, her sexy, new guidance counselor. They are reckless. They are forbidden. When their secret is discovered, Henna has to choose between finishing school—banned from seeing Mr. Malone—or dropping out to follow her nomad dreams. Henna chooses her dreams. Over time, she learns that life is not a destination or a journey, some things are more than temporary, and the forbidden can never be ignored. But if she returns for him, will he still be hers? A Place Without You is an emotional story of young love, shattered dreams, and impossible decisions.
Secret Lucidity
E.K. Blair - 2018
But it did.This wasn’t supposed to be my life. But it was.I was just a typical girl, living a typical life. Nothing was out of the ordinary until tragedy threw me into a turnstile I couldn’t see my way out of. That was, until him.I never could’ve imagined my heart falling the way it did. Hard, fast, and with unbounding beauty. The only problem? He was off limits. Forbidden. But he became my everything, and I became his, so we risked it all. It was only a matter of time until I realized that our risk came with unimaginable consequences. My name is Camellia Hale and his is David Andrews, and this is our love story.
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.
The Boy Who Loved Wicked
C.P. Harris - 2021
I’d impatiently waited three years to take the course, but from the moment he strode in with his sad eyes that mirrored my own, I was intrigued by only him. Dr. Sebastian Wicked. Intrigue turned into obsession, and common interests set the stage for a tentative friendship with the enigmatic man. In time, every line put in place became blurred as what we shared sparked the flames of a forbidden affair. An affair that should've never been, a wrong that the universe sought to right. There was only one possible outcome—we were both going to burn. Would our love rise up from the ashes? Or would it smolder in the ruins?My name is Phoenix Michaelson, and I am the boy who loved Wicked.
Juked
M.E. Carter - 2016
/jook-t/A slang soccer term meaning: faked out, deceived, confused your opponentSee examples Daniel Zavaro and Quincy Watson:As the rising star in Houston, Daniel has found fame as Captain of his Pro soccer team and the city’s most eligible bachelor. Daniel has everything – except someone special – and that suits him just fine. He doesn’t want, or need, complications.Quincy has baggage, and lots of it. After a tragic accident spins her world on its axis, she finds herself as a single mother, raising a newborn nephew she never knew she had. Between parenthood, her full-time job, and dealing with the suffocating grief of losing her sister, every day is a struggle. When they begin to cross paths unexpectedly and often, an unlikely friendship starts to evolve. Feelings change. Lines get crossed. What happens next surprises them both...Before they know it-- they’ve been Juked.
Catching Kalen
Maya Nicole - 2021
It was supposed to be a random hookup but when I walked into my summer school course there he was, standing at the front of the room.My professor.Will Monroe catch me, or will he strike out?Catching Kalen is a contemporary standalone full-length gay romance. Contains adult situations and language. There are brief scenes and references to parental/spousal physical and emotional abuse.
Fumbled Hearts
Meagan Brandy - 2017
I'm the impassive new girl with nothing left to give. Things are about to get complicated...After months of refusing, I finally agreed to make the move to Alrick Falls. My family thought it was best - that a new scene would be good for me—and I was sick of having the same conversation. So here I am, and the plan is simple. Smile through each day and avoid her at all costs. It's perfect. Until the cocksure quarterback comes into play. The last thing I want is his crooked grin and dark brown eyes focused on me. Yet here he is, constantly in my space, pushing me, daring me to care. Telling me what I think and feel, as if he knows. He doesn't know anything. And I plan to keep it that way.
Hooked
Brenda Rothert - 2016
Miranda:
Even though I’m broke, putting myself through college, and working two jobs, I’m trying to make the best of it. Meanwhile, Jake Birch, hockey’s hottest bad boy, lives in a luxury hotel in downtown Chicago—and still complains about every little thing in his penthouse. But after I tell him off, instead of getting me fired, Jake requests me as his personal housekeeper. Then he starts flirting with me. Only I’m not flirting back . . . at least, I’m trying not to. Did I mention that he’s hockey’s hottest bad boy?
Jake:
I’ve met the best woman at the worst possible time. Miranda is the fire to my ice—a sexy, charmingly candid spark who breaks down my walls and reminds me what it’s like to feel again. But I’m being forced to date my team owner’s daughter to keep my job, so I can’t be caught with Miranda. Still, we’re getting closer—until Miranda finds out about my “girlfriend.” And that’s not the only secret I’ve been keeping. But Miranda’s the one I want . . . even if she doesn’t believe me. > Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
Kissing Tolstoy
Penny Reid - 2014
A shorter version of this story (28k words) was entitled ‘Nobody Looks Good in Leather Pants’ and was available via Penny Reid’s newsletter over the course of 2017.
Coach
Alexa Riley - 2015
After all I've accomplished, coaching high school football should be easy...but when you've got a distraction in the form of a nerdy girl with curves, things can get complicated.She's a student, she's barely legal, and she's my best friend’s daughter. I didn't know what desire was until Megan. I had no idea obsession could drive someone insane, until I saw her. I wasn't prepared for the fact that once I laid eyes on Megan my life would really begin.I have to have her, no matter what the cost. I have to breed her and bind her to me so tightly she can't ever getaway. She'll be mine, even if I have to take her.Warning: this book is ridiculous, over the top, completely unbelievable, and pretty much just about breeding the heroine. If you're okay with that, welcome to my dirty, dirty book! Just remember, I warned you.
The Locker Room
Meghan Quinn - 2019
One rowdy and naked encounter against the lockers with the girl of your dreams will make her your wife. Translation: baseball players are stupidly superstitious and believe the locker room has magical powers. But not all baseball players are superstitious, me included. So when the girl I've fallen for brushes me off, I start to question if I need to switch my way of thinking. Maybe it's time I finally hand out a coveted invitation to the locker room. The only question is, will she accept?
Little Lies
H. Hunting - 2020
You mean nothing to me. I never loved you. I turned my words into swords.And I cut her down. Shoved the blade in and watched her fall. I said I’d never hurt her, and I did. Years later, I’m faced with all the little lies, the untruths, the false realities, the damage I inflicted, when all I wanted was to indulge my obsession. Lavender Waters is the princess in the tower. Even her name is the thing fairy tales are made of. I used to be the one who saved her. Over and over again. But I don’t want to save her anymore. I just want to pretend the lies are still the truth.A standalone angsty new adult romance. Heroine: Lavender Waters (Alex and Violet Waters’ youngest daughter, PUCKED and FOREVER PUCKED couple origin, Pucked Series )Hero: Kodiak (Kody) Bowman (Rook and Lainey Bowman’s son, A LIE FOR A LIE couple origin, All In Series )
Blurry
Carina Adams - 2017
Lost and lonely, I couldn’t wait to graduate and watch my judgmental little town fade. All I had to do was survive the rest of high school and I was free. I wasn’t going to let anything hold me back. Craig: I’d almost achieved what no one else in my family had—all I had to do was complete my student-teaching assignment and I’d have a college degree. I was ready to put down roots and start my life. Nothing was going to stand in the way of my dreams. A student and her teacher. A coach and his athlete. An unexpected friendship. Forbidden feelings between an unlikely pair. Neither is playing a game they can win.
Tackled
Sabrina Paige - 2016
Cassie
I can’t stand jocks. And I don’t know the first thing about football.
So it’s just my luck that the tutoring job I take to get me through graduate school involves making sure a dumb jock passes his classes.
Now, I’m babysitting Colton King, a spoiled arrogant player who’s as famous for his bedroom antics as he is for his football skills.
The tight end with the filthy mouth tells me he’ll show me that everything’s bigger in Texas.
And heaven help me, I just might be considering it.
* * *
Colton
My life is one big party, and that’s never going to change.
Not even if my coach finds me a nerdy tutor he thinks will keep me in line. Miss Goody Two Shoes is uptight, high-strung, and unimpressed by the fact that I’m a campus legend.
Even worse, the hot little tutor is as pure as the driven snow.
Debauching her and making her mine is the ultimate challenge. And I always rise to the occasion. *This is not a football-heavy story, so if you're not into sports, don't worry! It's light on the sports and heavy on the steam!*
Holding Onto Forever
Heidi McLaughlin - 2017
Making sure he worked hard to deserve the opportunities provided to him, Noah is where he's dreamed of being - starting QB for Portland Pioneers. Together, with his model girlfriend by his side, life can't get much better. Except that standing in his path is Peyton Powell-James, his life-long friend and the one woman he can never have. Peyton Powell-James always knew her future would be in football and dreams of having a successful sports journalism career once she graduates college. After being given the assignment to cover a professional game from the sidelines, Peyton believes that everything is going to plan. Until one fateful night changes her life. Harsh reality sets in for Noah and Peyton. One could lose everything, while the other struggles to keep the families together.