Book picks similar to
Player Substitution by Kristen Echo


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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?

In Skates Trouble


Kate Meader - 2017
    . .Addison Williams isn't looking for romance, but when she encounters an eavesdropping stranger on an adjoining hotel balcony, she figures she's due a little fun. She just hadn't reckoned on the "fun" escalating so quickly to "out of control." One minute she's flirting with a whiskey-graveled voice in the dark, the next that same voice is telling her to do things. Hot, wicked things.Cup-winning hockey player Ford "Killer" Callaghan can't believe he let the anonymous woman who blew his mind slip away into the night. He'll track her down because once could never be enough—even if discovering her identity places her strictly out of bounds.Stolen kisses. Secret hook-ups. Deliciously forbidden in every way. Can a passion that started in the dark find a lifetime of love in the light?Originally published in Hot on Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology, this sexy prequel to the Chicago Rebels hockey series features an older, curvy woman, a younger, driven hero, and a happily-ever-after you'll swoon over.

The Enforcer


Nikki Worrell - 2013
    Her best friend, Dr. Zoe Millis, has been begging her to make the move from Maine to California. Taking a leap of faith, Lacey does just that. Living in San Diego definitely has its perks, such as, sunshine and beaches. The best part of moving to the west coast, however, is that Steven is still on the east coast. Catching your almost husband having sex with one of your bridesmaids on your wedding day would make even the strongest woman jaded. Therefore, Lacey has sworn off men for a while, especially men who travel a lot that have easy access to loose women.When Lacey meets the new enforcer for the San Diego Scorpions, she thinks she might be in trouble. But she is determined to fight her attraction to the sexy NHL hunk. And she is successful...for about a day.

Dominic


Kat Mizera - 2016
    Dom Gianni takes a lot of punishment in the hockey rink, but when he sees Molly McCarran getting beaten up by her husband, he’s ready to throw down his gloves and fight for her. But Molly isn’t about to trust another man—and Dom is already skating on thin ice with his NHL-mandated probation. Besides, how could a hotshot player like Dom really care about a woman so much older than he?Then a kidnapping ups the stakes. If Molly can’t believe in Dom, and if he can’t dig deep to save her, it might be the final buzzer for them both.

Back to Me


Lindsay Paige - 2016
    When he finds her at the airport, he realizes she's changed, and she's struggling with things she doesn't want to tell him about. Noah also realizes just how much she scarred him when she left. Meredith Quick has always planned everything out. She chose her tennis career over love in order to better succeed, but her plan dissolves when an injury threatens her career and her fiancé leaves her. Struggling through pain and the uncertainty of her future, she realizes her first misstep was walking away from Noah. She impulsively decides to go back to him while she attempts to put her life back together. Reacquainting isn't easy when Noah doesn't quite trust Meredith to stay and Meredith struggles with overcoming the pain she's endured without him. Can they work through their issues and move forward, or will their past ruin things between them forever?

Coming in from the Cold


Sarina Bowen - 2014
    And he can’t tell anyone why.Ski racer Dane "Danger" Hollister does not do relationships, though he keeps his reason a secret. The real-life curse he's inherited from his mother will eventually cost him everything: his place on the Olympic ski team, his endorsement income, and his ability to fly downhill at top speed.Reluctant country girl Willow Reade meets Dane by accident. Literally. Her skidding truck forces him off the road during a blizzard. Stranded together in his Jeep as night falls, the two loneliest people in Vermont find themselves sharing more than they'd planned. And not just conversation.Yet neither can guess how their unlikely tryst will threaten Dane's frightening secret and Willow's tentative peace with her own choices. Only mutual trust and understanding can end their pain and give them a hard won shot at love.PREVIOUSLY RELEASED BY HARLEQUIN WITH A DIFFERENT COVER IMAGE.

Secret Puck


Rebecca Jenshak - 2020
    In my defense, the first time I saw her I didn't know who she was.Kind, gorgeous, a little naïve. Ginny brightened my world from day one.I knew I was no good for her. She was just out of a relationship and I had a reputation for having a new girl in my bed every weekend. I tried to do the right thing. Honest.I'm the one who insisted we should be just friends. That lasted about as long as you'd expect.But Ginny? She's the best - best friend, best everything. So yeah, hooking up with the team captain's sister wasn't a great idea.Would I do it again?In a heartbeat.The first book in a new college hockey romance series.

Twisted Love


Brenda Ford - 2019
    None of them have a straight forward love life…even the ones that think they do. However, Brad’s 35th birthday sparks a change for all of them. Unraveling everything that they thought they knew. Angelo wants his brother to find love, ignoring his own issues. Alex is addicted to the girl he can’t have. Oliver is hopelessly in love with the girl next door, while Nelson eyes her mother. And Wesley… well, his mess is a permanent one. There’s no escaping now!

Off Sides


Sawyer Bennett - 2013
    Maybe it was the impossible expectations I faced, maybe it was my own self-loathing. But I just knew I needed something different to happen. I needed someone... something... to derail me from my current path. Otherwise, I would become lost... a hollowed out shell of a man. So I did it. I approached her, then I pursued her, then I made her mine. And my life was saved...”Ryan Burnham is the privileged son of a U.S. Congressman and captain of his university’s hockey team. While he is on the verge of fulfilling his dreams to play in the NHL, his parents want him on a different course. One he is expected to accept for the sake of his family’s public image.Forced her to abandon her music career after the heart breaking death of her parents, Danny Cross exists on the opposite side of the tracks from Ryan. She is struggling to make her own way, working two jobs, attending college part time and volunteering in a homeless shelter. She is on a mission to build her own success.With a chance meeting, their vastly different worlds collide, causing each to evaluate whether they are truly on the correct path to self-fulfillment and happiness. Can their relationship survive? Particularly when others are against them every step of the way. A lot can happen in just ten short days...

Exes and Goals


Heather C. Myers - 2017
    She has one.Harper Crawford is a big fan of the Newport Beach Seagulls, despite their abysmal previous season. It's been a year since Ken Brown's murder and Seraphina Hanson, Ken's youngest granddaughter, just survived her first year as the new owner and manager of the national hockey team. Barely. The last year was dismal to the point where Seraphina is making drastic changes. Like hiring Harper as their official blogger. Harper gets to travel with the team, write character pieces, critiques, game summaries, and the like. It's her dream job.Another change? Putting together practically a new team, including Zachary Ryan, first line center. At six foot four and two hundred and twenty pounds, he is tall, dark blond, and solid muscle. He's arrogant and direct and the minute he sees Harper at Taboo nightclub during a team bonding session dressed in a plaid shirt and converse sneakers, he has to get to know her better.Except there's a problem from her past that won't go away. Harper has an ex that won't stay in her past - where he belongs. He starts showing up at her place, reminding her of all the wrong choices she made, bringing up things she wants nothing more than to forget. When Zachary gets involved, things get heated and his notorious temper flares.Harper doesn't want to get involved with a hockey player - especially with an overzealous ex who won't leave her alone - but Zachary plans to change her mind. No matter what the cost.

Bound


Brenda Rothert - 2013
    But just when she's learned to adjust, heartache threatens to break her apart.Pro hockey player Jason "Ryke" Ryker has it all: adoring fans, a promising career, and a beautiful wife. But when his seemingly perfect life is shaken by tragedy, he's left questioning whether having it all is ever more than an illusion.When circumstance brings Kate and Ryke together, they discover they don't have to hurt alone. Bound by a grief that haunts them both, they must rely on one another to survive heartbreak. But that grief is more powerful than they realize, and the tie that binds them together may ultimately tear them apart.

Interference


Mignon Mykel - 2016
    A way to give her the meeting her boss requested, but still say ‘no’ to her pitch.Look, I’ve never wanted the extras that come with an NHL career.Sponsorships, sure.Reality television? Hard no.Except—now that I’ve met the pixie redhead—I find myself agreeing...with one stipulation.She gets to be part of the show in whatever way that allows me to see her again.Twenty female “contestants” be damned.

Fair Play


Samantha Wayland - 2013
    It's a good thing she's got plenty of knowledge and grit, because as the only female trainer in the league, she has to work twice as hard to win the players' respect. The last thing on earth she would do is date one of them. Twelve-year hockey veteran Garrick LeBlanc isn't ready to hang up his skates, particularly since he hasn't figured out what the hell he's planning to do next. He needs the new trainer to keep him fit to play, and she's got the skills to do it. Too bad he lost his mind and hit on her the day they met. Now she hates his guts and he's made an art of ignoring her. When the team is put up for sale, Garrick and Savannah have to work together to save their jobs and their team. Somewhere along the way, they discover Garrick isn't just a hockey player, Savannah isn't only passionate about her work, and just maybe they've got more in common than they thought.

Hot as Puck


Lili Valente - 2017
    We're talking my last date went home with our waitress kind of failure.But I have an ace in the back pocket of my mom jeans--my sexy-as-sin best friend, NHL superstar forward, Justin Cruise.Justin owes me favors dating back to seventh grade, long before he became a hotshot with a world famous...stick. So in return for my undying platonic loyalty, all I want is an easy-peasy crash course on how to be a sex goddess.How hard can it be?***I have never been so hard in my life.The things I want to do to my sweet, kindergarten-teaching, mitten-crocheting best friend Libby Collins are ten different kinds of wrong. Maybe twenty.But I'm a firm believer in teaching by example, and by the end of our first lesson, we've graduated to a hands on approach to her education: my hands all over her, her hands all over me, and her hot mouth melting beneath mine as I prove to her there isn't a damned thing wrong with the way she kisses.Give me a month, and I'll transform Libby from wall flower to wall banger, and ensure she's confident enough to seduce any guy she wants.Problem is... the only guy I want her seducing is me.Hot as Puck is a sexy, flirty, friends-to-lovers Standalone romantic comedy from USA Today Bestseller Lili Valente.

Love Surfaced


Michelle Lynn - 2015
    We stayed on our designated sides of the relationship circle. Ignoring swarming butterflies.Brushing off skipped heartbeats.Settling on lingering stares.Here’s the secret … a hand extended over that invisible line once, exponentially changing the equation. I was convinced we could make our relationship work until Tanner broke the trust he embedded in me from the age of seven. One deceit of mega proportions and the relationship we built for that short month vanished. I swore never to speak to him again and it’s worked. Until now—two years later, when my brother’s wedding places me face-to-face with the best man—Tanner McCain. Leaving one equation to be solved. Can love surface twice?