Book picks similar to
The Game by Anna Bloom


sports
contemporary-romance
romance
sports-romance

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.

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.

Body Check


Deirdre Martin - 2003
    at any cost. His determination is legendary, as well as his unwillingness to toe the corporate line.When the persistent publicist and the stubborn captain butt heads, it's hard enough to crack the ice. But they may end up melting it instead...

Squeeze Play


Kate Angell - 2006
    Whenever she broke up with someone, she could call him, and wherever he was, he'd show up for a few days to "console" her.Years later, Risk, now a team captain of a World Series-winning baseball team, returns to their hometown of Frostproof, Florida, for a benefit. He has seen eccentric Jacy every six months or so for years, and he now plans on asking her to marry him. Jacy has never had anyone in her bed but Risk, her true love. All those boyfriends were just a way to keep him in her life. But now she is afraid of changing the status quo.No fan of the genre should miss Angell's surefire romance, and all readers who enjoy light fare will like this amusing and sexy tale and its terrific, likable characters.

Homecoming King


Jami Albright - 2020
    But that ain’t happening. Which is just the cherry on top of the crap sundae that is his life.His football career is hanging by a thread.His mom isn’t speaking to him.His hometown is out for his blood.And Tiger Lyons, the girl he did wrong in high school, is supervising the renovation of his new home … and living in his pool house. How’s the league’s premier quarterback supposed to rehab his battered body and regain his starting position, when the woman who still owns a piece of his heart—and now hates his ever-loving guts—is in his face 24/7? Don’t miss Homecoming King—a hilarious enemies-to-lovers, arrogant football player with a heart of gold, sassy heroine rebuilding her life, small-town sports romcom.

Just Say Yes


Samantha Lind - 2017
    He gets to fulfill his dream playing professional hockey, has a loving family, and a tight group of friends. But the one thing missing in his life is a partner to come home to. He knows exactly who he wants to fill that position– the only woman he has ever loved. The one who got away, who constantly consumes his every thought. What it would take to get her to Just Say Yes to a second chance? Becca Phillips is an independent woman who has made her career as an ER nurse a priority in her life. She has a loving family and a best friend by her side, but she can’t seem to get over her first love, Scott. Insecurities led her to break up with him years ago when he started climbing the ranks in professional hockey and, for eight years, Becca has avoided Scott when he returns home each summer. Can she overcome her fears and allow love back into her life? All she has to do is Just Say Yes to the one and only man she has ever loved.

Hate Mates


Mickey Miller - 2020
    Or the one about his father, the head football coach. Or even the one about his special talent between the sheets.I’m talking about the one where he has a female roommate in an all-male dorm.I can’t speak to the first three, but that fourth one is true. I know because that girl in his room is me.Because of an error by the college, I’m placed with Mr. Campus Celebrity in the traditionally male dorm.Is he panty-meltingly handsome with an attitude to match? Sure.Do I accidentally fanaticize about him one (okay, maybe two) times? Fine, I’m honest enough to admit it.None of that matters, because we’re opposites in all the ways that are important for getting along as college roommates:He comes from a perfect life and old money. I come from a broken home and bowls of ramen.He’s at Greene State to party. I’m here to study.He’s a popular jock. I wouldn’t be caught dead playing sports.To say we get off to a rocky start would be an understatement.Ironically, that’s what causes our sizzling attraction to boil over one night. But even that comes at a price.Because our story has a twist neither of us could see coming.One that changes both of our lives, ‘till death do us part.

Jock Blocked


Pippa Grant - 2020
    And what's working is him keeping his pants zipped and doing all of his scoring on the field.So when I hear he's planning to ditch his V-card now that he's been traded to baseball's lovable losers — aka my home team and my reason for living every March through October — I do what any rational, dedicated, obsessed fan would do.I make a plan to stop him.But the thing about stopping him is that it requires spending time with him.Lots. And lots. And lots of time.And the more time I spend with him, the more I like him. Not as the guy who's going to help save my favorite team and finally bring home a championship ring, but as the guy who's helping me in my quest to bring back the team's old mascot. Who also loves making pancake and bacon sandwiches. And who would do almost anything for his love of the game.But after all this time of jock-blocking him… do I even have a chance?And if I do, are we both destined to a life of celibacy in the name of winning?Jock Blocked is a home run of a romantic comedy featuring the world's most superstitious sports fan, baseball's oldest virgin hero, a rogue meatball, an adorable puppy with a cussing problem, and the best lovable losers. It stands alone and comes with a happily ever after more satisfying than a game-winning grand slam.

Beautiful Fury


Katharine E. Hamilton - 2018
    proves to be her most difficult undertaking. Renown for his privacy, Caroline discovers F.W.’s true identity only to find the man behind the art lives a reclusive lifestyle with no wish to display his art in a gallery. Finnegan Walsh dislikes distractions. And he extremely dislikes having people in his workshop. He loves working with glass and creating pieces of art. Simple. However, since meeting Caroline Pritchard, his space is threatened, and the quiet life he strives so hard to maintain is immediately disrupted. Can Caroline convince Finn to take a chance on her with his art and his heart?

Ride


Harper Dallas - 2017
    Player. Adrenaline junkie. Snowboarder Chase Austin has a reputation—and not just for being the world’s best extreme athlete. He’s as cold as the mountains he rides, loyal only to his crew . . . and panties drop wherever he goes.Photographer Brooke Larson knows better than to let him get through her emotional Kevlar. So what if she used to have his poster on her bedroom wall? She’s not a teenager with a crush anymore. Chase Austin is her key to the big time, and she’s getting his photo no matter what.Too bad the only place Chase wants her is in his bed.Men leave. Success is forever. Brooke knows the drill, and she’s not letting anyone get in the way of her career—or into her heart.But whether it’s on the slopes or between the sheets, riding with the best means risking it all.

Intercepted


Alexa Martin - 2018
    But there's a new player on the horizon, and he's in a league of his own...Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She's definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There's just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights.Gavin fights to show Marlee he's nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team's wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee's return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation.Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin's relationship to survive the season.

Jump, Jive, and Wail


Kathryn R. Biel - 2015
    But nearly two years after a devastating injury has ended her ski jumping career, Kaitlin is still struggling to put one foot in front of the other and find her new life. A chance meeting with a handsome stranger begins to put life into perspective. Dashing figure skater, Declan McLoughlin has just returned from the Olympics amid a swirl of publicity and fan fare. Just as Kaitlin begins to have hope again, her charming savior turns out to represent everything she has lost. If Kaitlin can just let go of the past and take a leap of faith, will she find herself soaring into Declan's arms?

Winning the Player


Leesa Bow - 2014
    Now she's finally home again and ready to move on with her life. Until she runs into Hunter Stone on her first night out, the only guy who's ever meant anything to her - and the last person she wants to see.Since she ran out on him two years ago, Hunter hasn't been able to get Aubree off his mind. The sexy football star has had girls all over him for years, but Aubree is the only one to have ever seen behind the cocky persona he puts on for the crowd.Despite her attempts to keep her distance, Aubree is unable to resist the strong attraction between them and it isn't long before they fall into a passionate relationship. She has never been afraid of a challenge, but Hunter's arrogance and inability to trust are testing her to her limits. Aubree must decide whether to follow her heart and lower her guard...or risk losing the best thing that's ever happened to her...Intended for readers 18+Winning the Player is book 1 and a companion book to:Charming the OutbackJardineCaught OutWinning the GamePlaying for Time

Breakaway


Lindsay Paige - 2013
    His rival is James Wayne University and their captain, Trevor McCarthy. After an incident in high school and his mother’s death, Levi does whatever he can to make McCarthy’s life a little harder. When leaving the rivaling campus one night, Levi meets one person who can unknowingly help him mess with McCarthy. My one job in this is to mess with McCarthy’s head and all it has done is mess with mine.Presley McCarthy lives in the shadow of her twin brother, Trevor. After being separated when their parents divorced, all Presley heard about was Levi Carr being a bully to Trevor. Now in college, Presley is trying to be her own person, but when she meets Levi Carr, it all changes. But will the changes be good or bad?He is nothing like my brother described. Maybe I’ve been wrong all along.*This book is intended for mature audiences.*

The Lucky Charm


Beth Bolden - 2014
    . . Izzy Dalton’s about to strike out. Her new job as the sideline reporter for the Portland Pioneers major league baseball team is problematic on several levels: 1. Baseball is her least-favorite sport. Falling behind golf, tennis, and maybe even curling. 2. What Izzy knows about baseball could fill about three minutes of airtime. 3. Her last experience in front of a camera was in college. Six years ago. 4. The Pioneers’ second baseman has a wicked sense of humor and even wickeder blue eyes. AND A FULL COUNT. . . Jack Bennett couldn’t be more uninterested in a little sideline action. He just wants to show up at the park and win baseball games. Izzy is the one woman he should steer clear of, but she’s also the key to his success–and his heart, too. All Izzy has to do is convince her misogynistic boss she’s competent, learn what the heck an RBI is, and stay away from Jack Bennett. Izzy tells herself it’ll be a snap, but 162 games is longer than she ever imagined and Jack more irresistible than she counted on.