Book picks similar to
Playing to Win by Shelley Munro


romance
contemporary-romance
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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.

Slow and Steady Rush


Laura Trentham - 2015
    As a librarian in Atlanta she lives a fine life far away from the football-obsessed town of her childhood. But when her beloved Grandmother needs help, Darcy takes a leave of absence and heads back to the home and past she left behind. He knows how to play the field—and is in no rush to settle down. Robbie Dalton knows a thing or two about painful pasts. After bouncing around in foster care and the Army for years he is finally ready to move on and make a home for himself in Falcon, Alabama as the newest high school football coach. Sparks fly when the sexy new coach and the sharp-tongued librarian meet, but neither of them is looking to make ties. But when it comes to love, sometimes you’ve gotta throw away the rule book to cross the finish line… Everything changes when Darcy falls in love, not only with the gruff, protective, and smoking hot man who's sharing her days and nights, but also with the complex tapestry of people who weave Falcon together. Could this be where she belongs - and who she belongs with?

Long Road Home


Mary Jane Morgan - 2015
    Leaving college, she returns home to find her younger sister mute with shock, her mother too depressed to function, and their beloved Thoroughbred horse ranch on the verge of going under. She’s barely arrived when she’s forced to accept help from Brett Dawson—the man who once broke her heart—when a marauding mountain lion threatens one of the prized horses they depend on for survival. Brett would rather be anywhere but the Swearingen ranch. Caught between his feelings for Megan and the powder keg of the ongoing feud between their families, he feels his only choice is to help Megan, regardless of the consequences. If it weren’t for Brett’s father, Megan’s dad might still be alive, and she wouldn’t be here now sacrificing her future to save her family’s ranch. As the long-simmering attraction between Megan and Brett resurfaces, it is threatened almost before it begins by dark family secrets swirling around them—secrets that turn to danger and could very well destroy not only their new beginning, but the lives of everyone they both love.

Born to be My Baby


Lori Ryan - 2018
     Ben Sumner left the suffocating small town of Canyon Creek, Colorado ten years ago, and never looked back. Not for more than a visit. Even though his family helped found the town and owned a large piece of the mountain at its center, he always felt out of place. His father’s death has changed that, bringing him home to discover his parents leveraged everything to build a lodge on the family’s property. Ben knows cutting costs is the only way to keep the bank from foreclosing on his family’s legacy. There’s only one person standing in his way: Maggie Lawrence, the high school crush who’d never spared him a glance. She might be just as beautiful as she was ten years earlier, but he’ll do whatever it takes to stop her. Maggie Lawrence fought harder than most to get to where she is today. She’s overcome her father’s cruel taunts and jeers, and found a place where she belongs. At the Lodge at Canyon Creek, she’s a valued part of the staff, and practically a member of the Sumner family. When the lodge owner, John Sumner suddenly dies, she’ll do everything in her power to carry on John’s dream, even if that means fighting the oh-so-sexy Ben Sumner every step of the way. Born to Be My Baby is the first book in the Canyon Creek, CO series. It can be read as a standalone book.

Hot for Sports


Erica Hobbs - 2017
    However, fate was about to prove them wrong... Jake Nash is the star of the Denver Broncos Football Team. His career and his younger sister Rebecca are his only concerns in his life, after his parents died, leaving him and Rebecca in the care of Aunt Maurine. Football became his passion, his escape and his only way of survival, when he thought his world had been shuttered. Now, a successful professional player, Powerhouse Jake, as they call him, has no time for love, except for a few occasional flings. Although women die to get a bit of his attention, he has only eyes for football. But that’s all about to change… Alyssa Ryan, a graphic designer who has just finished college, is leading a peaceful life, trying to get over a bad relationship that shook her to the core. Along with her cousin, Matt and her best friends, Tanya and Grace, she is aiming for a great career, leaving boys out of the picture. Although she has no interest in football, she is forced to accompany Matt and his friends in a game between the Denver Broncos and the New York Jets. And that’s when her life turns upside down. What happens when Jake and Alyssa meet each other? The attraction will be instant! Join them in their journey and find out everything on how their story goes.

Hot Stuff


Carly Phillips - 2004
    Now the girls are publicists in their uncle's firm, The Hot Zone. Despite her upbringing, Annabelle is all woman. She's naturally drawn to real men—like her latest client, businessman and former football legend Brandon Vaughn. The chemistry is potent, undeniable, irresistible. Annabelle soon realizes that Brandon is much more than just another jock. And that she'd better hold on tight if she doesn't want to lose her heart.

Close to Home


Suzanne Ferrell - 2012
    I’m Lorna Doone. Yep, spelled just like the cookie and I own the Peaches ‘N Cream Café here in Weston. You might think nothing much happens in a small mid-western town, but as my friend Harriett says, things aren’t always what they appear. Take our girl Emma for example…”Emma Lewis has a lot on her plate. The single mother of two precocious twin boys and an aging mother who is having trouble getting through each day, the last thing Emma needs is a man in her life, especially a doctor. So when the town’s doctor goes on vacation and his handsome nephew takes over, Emma is shocked to not only find him standing in her bedroom, but accusing her of being a neglectful parent.Clint Preston came to Westen for the year to fill in as the town doc while his uncle took a long needed vacation. Clint also needed a sense of peace and calm to try to find his passion for medicine burned out by long shifts in an urban hospital’s ER. Angered to find two boys in his clinic with broken wrists and no accompanying parent, he is determined to confront their mother. The feisty redhead he meets quickly dispels his belief that she’s a neglectful mother, but he can see her situation is more critical than she wishes to face and finds himself volunteering to help care for her sons and the remodeling of her home.As Emma and Clint forge a relationship among the slightly off-beat characters that inhabit Weston a menace from Emma’s past threatens her and her sons. Clint and Emma join forces to prevent the loss of either boy and the love they’ve discovered in each other’s’ arms.

Fighter


Josie Kerr - 2016
    A New Mother.One year ago, Bailey Jenkins’ boyfriend surprised her with an engagement announcement at the company holiday party. Now, he’s in jail for assault and Bailey, six months pregnant, has a new home and a new job, and a glimmer of hope for a new beginning.Between coping with his father’s illness and fighting off the unwelcome attention of an obsessed ex-girlfriend, Colin Carmichael needs a break. After his beloved father passes away, Colin retreats from the public eye and joins his long-lost brother in Atlanta, hoping for a fresh start as the owner of an MMA training facility.Bailey knows the last thing she needs is another complication in her newly settled life, especially one that makes a living with his fists, but she can’t ignore her growing attraction to the surprisingly sensitive heavyweight champion.Colin realizes that between her pregnancy and her felonious ex, getting involved with Bailey might possibly be the worst decision he’s ever made, but resisting his little curly-haired neighbor is proving difficult.When a problem from each of their pasts comes to Atlanta, Colin and Bailey must fight for the sweet relief that their fledgling relationship promises to give them.(This book was originally published as "Sweet Relief", book 3 in the Second Chance Neighbors series)

Jersey Girl


Rhonda James - 2016
    Now that his dream of signing with the Detroit Red Wings has come true, his goals for senior year are simple: Work hard. Score big. Stay away from love. And then he meets her. There's just one problem. She's the sister of his best friend, and he’s been warned that she’s off-limits…Cassie Rivers is a musician desperately in need of a do-over. Leaving the past behind, she transfers to GLU in search of something, or someone, that inspires her. And then she meets him. Her brother's best friend and teammate. But according to the Bro Code he's supposed to be off limits…You’ve heard what they say about forbidden fruit… One taste is more addictive than one of them is ready to admit. Will he keep skating away from love? Or has this player finally found his Jersey Girl?

Selling Seduction


Allyson Lindt - 2016
    Mercy begged to go with him, so she could escape her life of probably-fatal-small-town-boredom. He refused. Mercy found her own way out. More than a decade later, it will take her best friend’s wedding to bring her back to town for more than a layover. Mercy’s here for Liz. That won’t stop Mercy from teasing, tempting, and pushing Ian’s limits… Mostly to show him what he left behind. Only partly because he looks like a god in his tux. The moment Ian sees Mercy—confident, stunning, and definitely all grown up—he wants a taste before she vanishes back to the big city. Then Liz discovers her fiancé is already married to someone else. Ian won’t add more heartbreak to his sister’s life by hitting on her best friend. Besides, Mercy’s advertising firm is competing with Ian’s for the same make-or-break-me contract. Mercy and Ian are determined to go their separate ways, but fate has other plans. As they’re thrown together again and again, the temptation of forbidden fruit proves impossible to resist… but giving in could send their worlds, and the lives of those they care about most, spiraling out of control.

Almost Matched


A.O. Peart - 2013
    SECOND EDITION released in Sept 2016Would you take another shot at love? Or just settle on a friend with benefits?THEIR HEARTBREAKING PAST WILL MOVE YOU. THEIR PASSION WILL MAKE YOU BLUSH. THEIR ANTICS WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH OUT LOUD. Twenty-five-year-old Natalie Davenport lugs substantial baggage. One boyfriend after the next has been a total disaster, leaving Natalie distrustful toward the male population in general. So when Colin Hampton crosses her path, she’s cautious. Her heart (and some other body parts!) nudges her to go for it, while her head wants her to run for the hills.Colin is one of those gorgeous guys who attract women, no matter the age or marital status. With a successful career at a popular Seattle radio station, hard body, and charming personality, he is the complete package. But something dark lurks in the corners of his soul; some murky experience that has changed him—maybe for the better, but maybe for the worse.Will he steal her heart and stomp over it like other guys did? Will she let him into her heavily fortified world despite herself?Or will they settle somewhere in the middle—establishing the emotional boundaries to protect them from falling in love?***********************************This dark romantic comedy blends humor, sensuality, and angst, with zany characters and witty dialogue. ***Warning: contains sexual situations (some quite vivid!), profanity, and a high dose of sarcasm. Oh, and there is a lot of appletini and beer drinking. May not be appropriate for readers under 18 years old. Not intended for prudes and killjoys with no sense of humor***THE SERIES:The Almost Bad Boys series are the stories of four feisty twenty-something women who refuse to let their past drag them down.***The books in the Almost Bad Boys series are best read in order. They are not stand-alone books, although these are three different stories/no cliffhangers:Almost Matched (book 1)Almost Broken Up (book 2)Almost Too Far (book 3)***

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...

The Princess and the Pizza Man


Cassie Mae - 2017
     Twelve years of tossing pizzas in his hometown in Alabama is like a dream come true for William Monroe, but his sister is ready to leave the Podunk place, desperate to find herself a man and get hitched. He’s not too thrilled to hear about the mansion she’s dragging him to, claiming it’s haunted with the spirit of Cupid, and it’s his job to make sure she doesn’t fall for the first guy who looks her way.Winter’s been running the Frostville Murder Mysteries ever since she inherited a hefty sum of cash, wanting to give back in a fun and profitable way for her home city. Noticing a lot of puppy-eyed patrons, she gives herself the job of matchmaking, picking out the ones who seem best suited for one another. But when the outspoken and grumpy man from Alabama arrives with his eager-to-be-matched sister, her focus starts to falter, and she wants nothing more than to prove to Will that her mansion can feel like home, too.

Breakaway


Catherine Gayle - 2013
    He can’t lose focus now—not with his career on the line. But when his best friend’s little sister makes him an offer he can’t refuse, Eric could lose the drive the team relies on from their captain.Still in a downward spiral after a life-altering event in college, Dana Campbell is desperate to try anything to break away from the horror of that fateful night—even enlisting the help of the only man she trusts completely.No matter how irresistible she is or how tempting the offer, Eric might not be able to cross that line—especially with the team’s chance at the playoffs on the line. Now, Eric has to take one last shot, but will he choose Dana’s Breakaway chance at happiness or the move that could secure his career?

A New Season


Sydney Aaliyah Michelle - 2015
    She has no choice but to run again. Back home, she falls in the arms of her childhood crush, sweet and sexy Jaken Tanner, NFL quarterback and publicly all around nice guy. Emma is desperate to put her sordid past behind her and become the kind of woman worthy of the pure and passionate love Jaken offers. Despite their immediate attraction and Jaken being the man of her dreams, Emma is afraid to get sucked into his famous guy life and lose herself all over again. If only she could erase the last few years. If she could forget the pain and shame of her actions, Jaken is her second chance. Will her past destroy her chance with the perfect guy or will Emma realize she may be perfectly created by her past to build a future with her one true love?