Book picks similar to
Luck of the Draw by Jennifer Lazaris


sports-romance
contemporary
hockey
ibooks

First Pitch Swinging


Linda Fausnet - 2021
    I grew up idolizing those players, and I ached to wear the orange and black, representing my hometown and playing the game I love.But the team doesn’t want me.I’m one of the hottest players in Major League Baseball, but the Baltimore owner thinks I’m too much of a risk. All because I drink too much and might have trashed a hotel room or two in my day.Everybody thinks getting married means you’ve “settled down.”I figure I need a wife if I’m ever gonna have a chance at playing for the Bay Birds.I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that woman who poured hot coffee on me the day we met. Sweet, beautiful, and stable medical school student, Lyric Rivers. Future doctor.Also known as the future Mrs. Brady Keaton.First Pitch Swinging is the first book in a new, steamy sports romance series. No cliffhangers, lots of humor and heart, and a sexy HEA.

Kissing Micky


Ellen Devlin - 2018
    He was there, I was there, and our friends thought we’d be perfect for each other.Not only is Tom McCullin a hockey player on my favorite team, he’s also a gorgeous, glove-dropping defenseman straight out of my wildest fantasies. He’s almost too good to be true.His teammates call him Micky, but to me he’s Tom. And damn it all if the chemistry between us doesn’t wind up being amazing. Turns out we can’t keep our hands off each other, but it’s our secret. We’re not ready to share what we have with anyone else.So, while our friends keep wondering why things aren’t happening between us, little do they know that I’m already…Kissing Micky.

The Ragged Hatmaker


Faye Godwin - 2019
    1854. For years, Fern Hall has lived in an orphanage in the East End of London. It’s a brutal life of endless chores and punishments—for even the smallest infractions. She’s able to escape it for a time when she’s hired out as a temporary maid to the wealthy Hawk family, but a servant’s lot is little better. Gerard Hawk, the second son of the prosperous merchant, is drawn to Fern from their very first meeting when she comes to work for his parents. When Fern is falsely accused of a crime, Gerard is the only one who believes her innocence. She is forced to flee, leaving behind everything—and everyone—she has ever known. A year and a half later, Fern and Gerard meet again accidentally, but the gap between their circumstances is wider than ever. Now in love with Gerard, Fern despairs of anything ever changing in her life. Then something mysterious from Fern’s past surfaces. Can Fern gather the courage to see it through? Is change really a possibility at last?

Secrets of Sunshine Inn: Prequel (A Crystal Coast Series): A Clean Mystery Romance


Annie Diamond - 2022
    

A Love to Share (New Hope Falls)


Kimberly Rae Jordan - 2022
    

When Bae...


Monica Murphy - 2022
    I have too. I’m actually living that crush right now. And while I’ve been friends with Beck Callahan for a long time, I don’t think he sees me beyond friendship.Okay fine, we had a minor—thing for each other in middle school, but that doesn’t count. We’ve changed a lot over the years. He’s become so popular. What am I saying? He’s been popular forever. Back in the day, twelve-year-old me hoped he would eventually be my boyfriend.Alas, that was never meant to be, which is probably best. Middle school relationships crash and burn quick. He’s truly one of my favorite people, but I know now we could never make it as a couple. He’s him while I’m just…Me.So he’s my secret bae. The idealized boy who can do no wrong and proves himself time and time again that he’s absolutely, undoubtedly perfect. Dreamy.The ultimate bae.This is a compilation of short snippets from Beck Callahan and Addison Douglas' junior year in high school when they were seriously crushing on each other, before their story in MAKING HER MINE. Originally featured in my newsletter, I brought them all together in one place!

One Night with the Rebel


Kendall Ryan - 2021
    We spent one scorching-hot night together, and then she disappeared into the sunset with the golden jock everyone adored. Which makes sense, right? A girl as beautiful and brilliant as Eden Wynn doesn’t end up with a rebel like me.I expected them to live happily ever after, except that's not what happened.She's back—and tempting me like no one else has. And while I'm certain I'll only tarnish her shine, I want her. Only her. I'd heard the old notion that one night held the power to change everything. I just never believed it. Until now.

Dating the Doctor


Jane Fox - 2022
    

The Last First Kiss: A Short Sweet Steamy Instalove New Year's Eve Romance


Carly Keene - 2022
    

Dating the Chef


Ember Davis - 2022
    It seems like a horrible way to meet someone. How can you make a connection in five minutes?When I do one more check to make sure everything is ready for the break in the middle of the event, all my protests fly out of the window. I don’t need five minutes to make a connection, all I need is one glimpse of her.Watching her talk with other men has me on edge. It’s only a matter of time before I can make my approach. Then I’ll make her mine. She’s going to learn there are some perks to dating a chef and I’ll be doing a lot more than dating Paisley.PAISLEYTo say I was resistant to the idea of MatchMakers Inc. speed dating event would be an understatement. My best friends talked me into it. I couldn’t argue with shaking up my love life and I did make a New Year’s resolution. Everything else is going so well, but when it comes to love it’s been one mistake after another.Spending my Valentine’s Day at the event instead of on my couch eating ice cream and watching romance movies doesn’t sound like a good time to me, but I promised I’d give it a try. I’m skeptical about the whole thing and I don’t feel a spark with any of the participants, but I’m determined to see the night through.I’m not expecting a man to set his sights on me. He’s not even part of the event, but I can’t deny there’s something about him. With the way he looks at me and the way he makes me feel? Dating is not where this relationship ends, not even close.*18+ If you like alpha heroes and an insta-love story that is sweet and spicy but isn’t necessarily simple, then this is for you. No cheating with a guaranteed HEA. It is a standalone but is related to my Denver Family series (Banks Ink., Suburban Outcasts and Higgins Security). Meet Silas in Healing Her Home (Banks Ink. Book 5) and Faking Her Home (Banks Ink. Book 6). Meet Paisley in Built Dad Bod Tough (Dad Bod Series – Men Built for Comfort).*This Valentine's Day, our heroes and heroines are skipping the dating apps and attending one of MatchMakers Inc. famous Speed Dating events. Is five minutes enough time to feel a spark of chemistry? Can love truly be in the air?Go on a speed date with us and find out!This February, thirteen of your favorite romance authors celebrate steamy instalove in this Valentine’s Day series!

Bylines & Blue Lines


Stephanie Julian - 2019
    Why is he so miserable? Brody Mitchell is a damn good hockey player and has the NHL contract to prove it. He loves the game, but he hates the hype, the spotlight and especially the puck bunnies who only want to score an athlete husband. He’s been burned before. He’s not looking to repeat that mistake. The last thing he expected was to make a hot connection with a beautiful brunette at a bar. She doesn’t want to know his name and he’s more than happy not to give it. She just got it all. How’s she going to keep it? Tara doesn’t offer her name to the sexy guy she picks up after bombing out on her first assignment. As a brand-new sports reporter for the Philadelphia Record, she should be more interested in tracking down a hot trade rumor than in how many times the hot stranger can rock her world. Tara and Brody spend one amazing night in bed. But in the light of day, they find themselves on opposite sides of the boards. Will trust issues ruin their budding romance? Or will love win the day?

The Best Man, Claiming Abigail


Vanessa James - 2020
     Working as a freelance photographer, she sets out across Europe looking for a place to call home where she can discover who she really is, and stand on her own two feet. After a passionate encounter with the handsome Alejandro that ends sourly, she settles in Edinburgh, putting thoughts of the arrogant Spaniard out of her head and focusing on her new exciting life. Then her world is turned upside down when her brother calls her to come home for his shotgun wedding, pulling her back to the world she swore she’d left behind her and the influence of her notorious father. And on top of that, the best man is a familiar, sexy man that she would rather forget as opposed to standing with him at a wedding. Find out if this rich girl finally surrenders to the bad boy when meeting him again.

Until We Meet Again (Men of the Misfit Inn, #3.5)


Kait Nolan - 2021
    Las Vegas offers the perfect playground to blow off some steam before getting to the serious work of deciding what to do with his life. He never expects that fun to include the high school crush who tutored him years ago.Samantha Ferguson arrives in Vegas for a friend's wedding only to get dumped by text. Desperate not to be the only single in a sea of couples, she makes an impulsive offer to the former bad boy she used to tutor in high school: Be her fake boyfriend for the weekend. Griff knows he's not the guy for Sam, but he can't resist saying yes for the chance to get to know this grown-up version of the girl who once starred in all his dreams. Turns out, there's not a lot of faking it involved. Between the single bed and the endless couples activities, new feelings flare from the old, until they both fall under the spell of Sin City. Will what happens in Vegas stay in Vegas? Or will one impulsive weekend be the start of a brand new forever?*NOTE TO READERS: This is a prequel novella and does not end with a HEA or HFN. Their story continues in COME A LITTLE CLOSER.

Fix Her Up


Carey Heywood - 2017
    Fresh off a bad divorce, she decides to rebuild her life from the ground up - starting with a fixer-upper that's got more leaks than the Titanic. Deciding to tackle this project alone might be her biggest mistake of all.... That is, until Noah Thompson shows up at her front door like a knight in a shining tool belt and makes her an offer she'd be crazy to refuse.Noah's sexy, rugged, and good with his hands, but Finley swears she doesn't need his help - in the basement, or in the bedroom. Can this unlikely couple build a future together? Or will this be one fixer-upper that is better off left alone?(A fun and sexy Contemporary Romance, ages 17+.)

Dating the Doubter


Karla Doyle - 2022
    Infatuation, sure. Lust, absolutely. But true love? Please. That’s strictly fiction, folks.Unfortunately, I haven’t convinced my best friend and business partner of that. The guy’s still a believer in happily-ever-after, despite having met—and lost—“the one” more times than I can count. And that’s pretty damn high, since I’m the numbers guy behind our hot new startup.Tonight, I wish I had my buddy’s technical skillset. If I did, I’d be back at our twentieth-floor office, solving our system crash. Instead, I’m taking his place at yet another pointless speed-dating meetup, so he doesn’t tick off the organizer by bailing. I’m tempted to no-show and get him booted from the group, but he wouldn’t see it as the favor it is.So I’ll go and fake it for a couple hours. Maybe score a hookup. Probably rack up some good stories. One thing I won’t do at tonight’s “Desperates Anonymous” event…meet the woman of my dreams. Because she doesn’t exist. Dating is fun and games. Love is for suckers.* A love-at-first-sight, instalove romance novella *