Book picks similar to
Playing the Game by J.L. Paul


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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?

Head Over Heels


Hannah Orenstein - 2020
    Her best friend and teammate, Jasmine, went on to become an Olympic champion, then committed the ultimate betrayal by marrying their emotionally abusive coach, Dimitri.Now, reeling from a breakup with her football star boyfriend, Avery returns to her Massachusetts hometown, where new coach Ryan asks her to help him train a promising young gymnast with Olympic aspirations. Despite her misgivings and worries about the memories it will evoke, Avery agrees. Back in the gym, she’s surprised to find sparks flying with Ryan. But when a shocking scandal in the gymnastics world breaks, it has shattering effects not only for the sport but also for Avery and her old friend Jasmine.

The Summer Proposal


Vi Keeland - 2022
    He only pretended to be until my real date showed up.To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.Before he left, he slipped me a ticket to a hockey game a few blocks away, in case things didn’t work out on my actual date.I tossed the ticket into my purse and went about trying to enjoy the man I was supposed to meet.But my real blind date and I had no connection.So on my way home, I decided to take a chance and stop by the game.When I arrived, the seat next to me was empty.Disappointed again, I decided to leave at the end of the period.Just before the buzzer, one of the teams scored, and the entire arena went crazy.A player’s face flashed up on the Jumbotron. He was wearing a helmet, but I froze when he smiled.You guessed it: Dimples.Apparently, my fake blind date hadn’t invited me to watch hockey with him, he’d invited me to watch him play.And so began my adventure with Max Yearwood.He was everything I needed at the time—fun, sexy, up for anything, and only around for a few months since he’d signed with a new team three-thousand miles away.Max proposed we spend the summer helping me forget my ex. It sounded like a good plan. Things couldn’t get too serious when we had an expiration date. Right? Though, you know what they say about the best-laid plans.

Battlescars: A Rock & Roll Romance


Sophie Monroe - 2013
    She’s a sarcastic smartass that has no problem telling you where to go. She also despises rock stars…but that’s all part of the story. Her Granny Jean is spy and will have you laughing out loud. In comes Jake Parker, the twenty-five year old lead singer of Battlescars. His reputation is the untamable bad-boy. He’s completely “balls to the wall” in everything that he does. Two days after returning home from a month long tour across Europe he gets a visit from Bruce, an executive from the record label. He informs Jake that Battlescars is going back on tour for three months. What everyone doesn’t know is that Jake is worn down and sick of the same old shit. His record label hires Aubrey’s dads company to fly him around for the last minute tour. In order to keep her dad's company afloat they will have to learn to play nice. When Jake first meets Aubrey she refuses to even acknowledge his existence. He sees her as refreshing and a challenge. Both of them have some pretty heavy scars from their pasts holding them back. Can Jake get Aubrey to let him in? Or will she shoot him down based on his outlandish reputation? Will her fear of getting hurt again keep him out for good? Are the two of them a match in heaven or hell?

Only One Kiss


Natasha Madison - 2020
    I had everything I wanted, my game had never been better, and my wife was due to have our baby any day now.What could go wrong?Everything.I was now raising our baby on my own. After hockey practice and games, I didn't have time to sleep, let alone make sure my social media was up to par.I never thought I'd get a second chance at love. Candace When my hotshot brother was drafted in the NHL, he didn't have time to do his social media, so I took over for him. Little did I know it would become my career.My plate was full with over fifty NHL players, and I wasn't taking on any new clients.Yet when he showed up on my doorstep with the cutest little girl in the whole world, I couldn't say no.I was just helping, but it turned into more than that. He's the man I've been waiting for.All it takes is one touch, one night, one chance, and only one kiss.

Give Me Love


Kate McCarthy - 2013
    That plan involves relocating her band, including her two best friends guitarist Henry and band manager Mac, to Sydney to kick off their dreams of hitting the big time. Jared Valentine is the older brother of Evie's best friend Mac and also the man determined to make Evie his. They strike up a long distance friendship which suits Evie because she's determined to avoid the distraction of love, not only because it doesn't fit in with her plan but because twice in the past it has left her for dead. Moving to Sydney however, has put her directly in Jared's path and he has decided it's the perfect opportunity to make his play.Unfortunately Jared, co-owner in a business that 'consults' in dangerous hostage and kidnapping situations, makes an enemy who's determined to enact revenge. When this enemy puts Evie in his sights, Jared not only has a fight on his hands to make her his own, but also to keep her alive.Is accepting the love he's so desperate to give worth the risk to both her heart...and her life?

The Perfect Game


J. Sterling - 2012
    And she's the game changer he never knew he needed.The Perfect Game tells the story of college juniors, Cassie Andrews & Jack Carter. When Cassie meets rising baseball hopeful Jack, she is determined to steer clear of him and his typical cocky attitude. But Jack has other things on his mind... like getting Cassie to give him the time of day. They're both damaged, filled with mistrust and guarded before they find one another (and themselves) in this emotional journey about love and forgiveness. Strap yourselves for a ride that will not only break your heart, but put it back together. Sometimes life gets ugly before it gets beautiful...This is a MATURE YOUNG ADULT/NEW ADULT novelSuitable for ages 17+ Contains strong language, sexual situations and references

Stay With Me


Elyssa Patrick - 2013
    Singing, acting, dancing—I’ve done it all. The tabloids cover my every move, but I don’t want that anymore. I want to be normal, whatever that is.When I leave Hollywood for college in Vermont, I’m on my own for the first time in my life. This is my chance to figure out who I am and what I want in life.But it’s a lot harder than I expected. I can’t escape my image. Classes are difficult, and I’m struggling. And then there’s Caleb Fox.Sexy, intriguing Caleb Fox.Caleb is the one man who doesn’t want to use me. He breaks down my walls. He challenges me. He wants me. And I just don’t know if I can give him the same—or if he’ll stick around when he finds out my shameful secret that the tabloids haven’t managed to uncover.Dating him is risky enough, but loving him could break me.New Adult/Contemporary Romance with a HEA - Recommended for ages 17 and older.

A Love Song for Liars


Piper Lawson - 2020
    I will never forgive his betrayal.But some nights... He makes me want to.A Love Song for Liars is Book 1 in the angsty new adult, academy-inspired Rivals trilogy. From USA Today bestselling romance author Piper Lawson!

Boyfriend Bargain


Ilsa Madden-Mills - 2019
    Broke and desperate, Sugar Ryan has no use for arrogant, bad boy athletes . . . until she’s forced to bargain with the cockiest of them all.If only he knew she was alive. Her mission? Get on this hockey player’s radar any way possible. Zack Morgan is the king of the ice and the bedroom—but nothing prepares him for the mystery girl who shows up everywhere he does—frat parties, his favorite bar, and finally his front door with an offer he can’t refuse. The only rule in her boyfriend bargain: no falling in love.But after one (um, two) smoking-hot hookups, he’s done with pretending and vows to make their fake relationship real. Too bad she can’t trust a player with a reputation for breaking hearts. Will this hockey star score his forever girl or will their Boyfriend Bargain end in heartbreak? A standalone hockey romance.

Fury


Michelle Pace - 2012
    Finally success is within her grasp. A journalist for the music magazine, The Sound Wave, the assignment of a lifetime just landed in her lap. An all access pass to tour with the British rock band, Fury. Their latest album went triple platinum and they've never granted interviews.Once her assignment begins, Fury's tour explodes in a Molotov cocktail of sex, scandal, and violence that threatens to ruin Fury's quest for worldwide success. Can Cheyenne navigate her treacherous path unscathed, or will the demons of her past poison her blossoming career?

Absorbed


Emily Snow - 2013
    And both times he's lost her because of his own fears. This time, he can't let her go so easily—not now that he realizes that the one woman who said "no" is the one he's in love with. Sienna is good for his music, and his life, and he's determined to show her that she belongs with him.No matter what the consequences.

The Rivalry


Nikki Sloane - 2017
     He’s good with his hands, even better with his sexy mouth, and the best at making me forget my own name. His—ahem—stats are perfect. But I can’t fall for him. He might be everything I want, all rolled into a glorious package of gridiron god, but there’s one teeny-tiny problem. The vile, loathsome team I’ve spent my entire life hating—my beloved school’s arch-rival? This guy is their star player.

Real Ugly


C.M. Stunich - 2013
    Turner Campbell is an asshole.I f*cking hate him.But I can't get enough either.He sings like an angel and f*cks like a devil.If I could, I'd run away and never look back because to tell you the truth, I think this man might be the death of me.***Naomi Knox is a bitch.I can't f*cking stand her.But I can't stop thinking about her either.She looks like an angel and plays like a devil.If I could, I'd f*ck her good and forget all about her, but to tell you the truth, I think this woman might be my last saving grace.

Sound Bites: A Rock & Roll Love Story


Rachel K. Burke - 2012
    After walking in on her best friend and boyfriend in bed together, twenty-five year-old Renee flees sunny Los Angeles and her dream job as a music journalist and returns to her hometown of Boston – only to meet Dylan Cavallari, the mysterious, aspiring musician who lives in her apartment building. Dylan’s piercing gaze and womanizing demeanor make him exactly the type of guy that Renee should steer clear of – which is most likely the reason she falls for him. But when Renee’s troublesome ex comes back and threatens to drive her and Dylan apart, Renee is forced to face her past and save her relationship with Dylan before it's too late. Sound Bites dramatizes what happens when Renee finds herself caught between a painful past and an uncertain future. Happiness turns out to be within her grasp, but it all depends on whether she can trust herself enough to make the right decisions. Sound Bites is a novel about love, friendship, betrayal, forgiveness, and the power of music to help you find your way.