Book picks similar to
Tackled by the Girl Next Door by Susan Scott Shelley
romance
sports
contemporary
football
To Have
Alessandra Torre - 2013
I combined all of the Dumont Diaries novellas into a standalone novel, which was rewritten, expanded, and retitled as Trophy Wife.
I step on the dark stage, the cheap plastic of my platforms cutting into the top of my toes, every step bringing a pinch of pain. I keep my eyes down, following the flecks of silver on the unforgiving stage, waiting, exhaling a breath in controlled anticipation, my abs tightening. Then, the lights come on and I have almost three minutes to forget. Welcome to my life, a drained bank account and six nights a week spinning around a greasy strip club pole. When salvation comes in the form of six feet of drop-dead-gorgeous, complete with a limo and a thick wad of cash, my stilettos run happily out the door to freedom. They say that money doesn’t buy happiness. But it does buy escape. Happiness is an overrated fairytale. *To Have is a novella, 15,000 words in length, and was part 1 of a 4-part series. Their titles are: To Have To Hold Till Death Do Us Part
Kiss and Cry
Keira Andrews - 2022
Everyone loves him—judges, fans, coaches.I hate him.Now he’s invaded my training center, and I have to see him every day as we prepare for the Olympics. I’m going to win gold if it’s the last thing I do. I’m going to beat him.But the strangest thing is happening. I’m peeking under his happy-go-lucky exterior and discovering there’s more to Theo than I imagined.This is a mistake. I can’t trust him.I can’t be falling in love.TheoMy mom’s convinced training with Henry Sakaguchi will distract me heading into the Olympics. No way—Henry’s epically boring and cold. He might as well be carved from ice.But when I need help, he’s there. He tries to keep me at arm’s length, but it’s no use. He’s too kind. Too generous. He’s caring and gorgeous and hot, and I’ve never wanted anyone like this.I might want Henry more than a gold medal.Am I falling in love?Kiss and Cry by Keira Andrews is a steamy gay sports romance featuring grumpy/sunshine opposites attracting, secretly soft-hearted boys, hurt/comfort, and of course a happy ending.
A Painted Summer
Amy Matayo - 2015
As a homeschool graduate, a small town resident, and the only child of two over-protective parents, she’s dreamed of chasing big dreams. But big dreams take big courage. So in a moment of uncharacteristic boldness, Darby leaves the only life she’s ever known and sets off for California to test her skills in Hollywood. It works...until she runs out of money. That wasn’t part of her spur-of-the-moment plan, and she finds herself stuck in an unfamiliar city with too much pride to call home for help.With limited options, Darby finds herself working for dangerously hot Lennon Dixon, the owner of a downtown Los Angeles tattoo parlor. Lennon needs help and finds it in Darby. What he doesn’t expect is her odd aversion to his place of business...or his attraction to her. As for Darby, to call her new job unfamiliar is the world's biggest understatement. But to call her mutual attraction to Lennon unexpected is a very close second.Previously published as part of the Just One Summer collection.
Misbehaving
Tiffany Reisz - 2014
So being on deadline the week of her sister’s wedding isn’t as rough as it sounds. There’s just one hitch: Bea’s assignment is to write a review of a sex position manual, but she doesn’t have a plus one to play with.The good news: Ben, the one who got away back in college, is also attending stag--and he's as temptingly gorgeous as ever.The bad news: Ben turned down Bea’s offer of graduation night sex five years ago.The best news: He’s not planning on making the same mistake twice. *A red-hot retelling of Much Ado About Nothing for people who love Shakespeare but thought his plays could use a few more sex scenes. A Cosmo Red-Hot Read
Royal Player
Katie McCoy - 2017
He's a beast on the courts, and a wild animal in bed (according to all the tabloids). Girls are lining up for chance at his crown jewels, and when I stumble into the wrong Wimbledon dressing room and catch a glimpse of his game, set, AND match, I can see why.So what's a little good luck kiss between f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶ strangers?I know better than to get involved with a bad boy like Charlie. But now he's on a winning streak, he thinks I'm his lucky charm - and you know what's luckier than a kiss?Everything.Suddenly, I've got paparazzi on my trail, exes coming out of the woodwork -- and you don't know 'cutthroat' until you've seen a pack of hungry socialites set loose near the Royal Family.I'm in way over my head, and even worse - I'm falling in love. Can this American girl win her Prince Charming? Or will we both crash out of the championships in flames?
Wimbledon-meets-The Prince and Me in this hilarious, sexy new rom-com from Katie McCoy!
Heartless
Winter Renshaw - 2016
It was raining sideways that morning, and my plan was to return it the next day; safe and dry. Only I kept it. I kept it, and I read it. A week later, overwhelmed with curiosity and feeling guilty for harboring secrets that didn’t belong to me, I tried to return it. Only I wasn’t expecting to meet him. Unapologetically heartless and enigmatically sexy, he claims he knows nothing about the journal I found outside his place, but the reticent glint in his blue-green gaze tells me otherwise. There’s something different about him; something damaged yet magical, and I’m drawn to him; pulled into his orbit. There’s just one problem. The more I get to know him, the more I’m positive the journal belonged to him... ...and the more I find myself hoping, selfishly, that I’m wrong.
The Storm
Samantha Towle - 2015
STORM (noun)—a turbulent disturbance; a disruption or dispute. Jake Wethers’s life is perfect. He’s married to the woman he’s always loved, and they have three beautiful children. The Mighty Storm is still going strong, and his record label is thriving. Jake has everything—a life he thought he would never have and one that he didn’t think he deserved. Not so long ago, Jake’s life wasn’t perfect. The unexpected and untimely death of his best friend, Jonny Creed, sent an already out-of-control Jake spiraling down further. Drug addiction. Alcohol. Women. Jake was in the fast lane to following Jonny to the grave until Tru Bennett walked back into his life and changed everything. But now, the past that Jake left behind has come back to find him. And what the past brings with it is going to be one of the biggest challenges he has ever faced. Note: The Storm is a novella following on from the international bestselling Storm series. It is advisable to read The Mighty Storm and Wethering the Storm before reading The Storm. Taming the Storm does not need to be read to understand the novella, but if read, it will enhance the reading element. Recommended reading age 18+
Anything but Minor
Kate Stewart - 2016
She also has no filter.”“He’s no southern gentlemen.”“I had one last season to prove my worth.”“I’d never seen a game.”“He told me he was a player.”“She told me she was a lesbian.”“But you fell in love with me anyway.”“Yeah, baby, I totally did.”
Draw Me In
Megan Squires - 2013
We fall in love.But it’s not that story. Sometimes, by a rare gift of fate, two lives cross paths. And hey, if that happens to occur when staring at Michelangelo’s naked masterpiece, even better. We can tell our future children how a seventeen-foot tall marble guy named David brought us together. But there’s always more to a relationship than its beginning and ever after. In life, there’s a whole lot of backstory. There are ex-fiancés and hot roommates and family members whose advice continues, even beyond the grave.When you say you love someone, it’s never just that one person you’re saying it to. And it’s never just that one moment that sets everything in motion. There is always more that draws you in.(Draw Me In is a non-explicit New Adult romance, meaning no graphic sex scenes. But if you are in the mood for a little bit of laughter, a little bit of tears, and a whole lot of tears from all of that laughter, then this is the novel for you.)
All My Life
Prescott Lane - 2018
I loved him while he loved someone else. I loved him when he had a baby with her. I loved him when she left him.The greatest of love stories is that between a dad and his daughter. I should know. I’ve had a front row seat. First steps, first words, all the big moments. Garrett was just a teenager when Mia was born. I’ve watched him braid his daughter’s hair, hold her hand crossing the street, seen her asleep on his chest. I’m the best friend, the one they can count on for everything from dance lessons to motherly advice, anything they need. I’m their go-to girl.The best part of any love story is the happily ever after.But what if the happily ever after doesn’t include you?All my life, that’s how long I’ve loved him.Of course, he’s clueless.
One More Round
Alice Clayton - 2020
A gorgeous restored Victorian house in Sausalito, flourishing careers, an eternal spark for each other, and a cat with more attitude than is legal in the state of California. So what’s plaguing the couple of the century? They’ve got everything anyone could wish for, except...a family. After several close calls, Simon and Caroline are coming to terms with the idea that being parents might not be in the cards for them. They’ve been married several years, and they’re realizing it may just be the two of them, forever. Which is okay, right? Caroline’s career has taken an intriguing turn, Simon is working more than ever, they’re fresh from a trip across the pond to see their besties Jillian and Benjamin - things are falling into place, without a baby rattle. But just when you think your life is set, the universe gives you a...twist. Come back in for one more round with Simon and Caroline.
Hooked
Liz Fichera - 2013
This is an opportunity to shine, win a scholarship and go to university, something no one in her family has done. But Fred’s presence on the team isn’t exactly welcome — especially not to rich golden boy Ryan Berenger, whose best friend was kicked off the team to make a spot for Fred.But there’s no denying that things are happening between the girl with the killer swing and the boy with the killer smile...
Homecoming King
Penny Reid - 2021
He may be a pro-football defensive end for the Chicago Squalls, but the press only wants to talk about how he's always a groomsman and never a groom. Rex is sick of being the guy before the husband, and he’s most definitely sick of being the best man at all their weddings.Bartender Abigail McNerny is the gal-pal, the wing-woman, the she-BFF. She's dated. Once. And once was more than enough. Privy to all the sad stories of her customers, ‘contentment over commitment’ is her motto, and Abby is convinced no one on earth could ever entice her into a romantic relationship . . . except that one guy she’s loved since preschool.The guy who just walked into her bar.The guy who doesn’t recognize her.The guy who is drunk and needs a ride home.The guy who has a proposition she should definitely refuse.
Good Guy
Kate Meader - 2019
She's a dogged sports reporter determined to get a scoop. She's also his best friend's widow...Fans can’t get enough of Levi Hunt, the Special Forces veteran who put his NHL career on hold to serve his country and fight the bad guys. So when his new Chicago Rebels bosses tell him to cooperate with the press on a profile, he’s ready to do his duty. Until he finds out who he has to work with: flame-haired, freckle-splashed, impossibly perky Jordan Cooke.The woman he should not have kissed the night she buried her husband, Levi’s best friend in the service.Hockey-stick-up-his-butt-serious Levi Hunt might despise Jordan for reasons she can’t fathom—okay, it’s to do with kissing—but her future in the cutthroat world of sports reporting hangs on delivering the goods on the league’s hottest, grumpiest rookie. So what if he’s not interested in having his life plated up for public consumption. Too bad. Jordan will have to play dirty to get her scoop and even dirtier to get her man. Only in winning the story, she might just lose her heart...
The Billionaire's Secret Heart
Ivy Layne - 2016
Are you kidding? Holden Winters? A scion of the notorious Winters family, Holden is gorgeous, wealthy, and brilliant. He dates socialites and pop stars, not computer science grad students more comfortable in a hoodie than couture. Our night together was a fantasy…and a huge mistake. Holden: I don't usually steal other guy's dates. I don't have to. A look is all it takes, and the women fall over themselves to get to me. Then I saw Josephine, sitting with her dweeb of a date, just waiting for a man who could appreciate her lush curves and sharp brain. When she ghosted on me, I shouldn't have been so shocked, but women never walk away from me. Josephine thought she could call the shots - she didn't realize that a Winters man always gets what he wants. And I wanted her. The Billionaire’s Secret Heart is a standalone romance with a happy ending. It’s the first in the Scandals of the Bad Boy Billionaires series, and introduces the notorious men of the Winters family. You can read it on its own, but you might want to read the others once you get a taste of the Winters men.