Book picks similar to
Playing For Keeps by Liz Matis


romance
sports
sports-romance
contemporary-romance

Quick Trick


Skye Jordan - 2015
    If he has to be off the ice for three weeks of recovery, he‘ll do it on his back—breaking in a new wanna-be cowgirl every night. But pressure from the team’s owner and Grant’s parents land him in his hometown of Holly, North Carolina instead. Things look up when he learns the hometown beauty who was once so out of his league is now single, and sexier than ever. Determined to slip in a night with her while he’s in town, Grant is shocked to discover one will never be enough. Faith Nicholas has no interest in the newest Saber-son gossip. After losing her father just months before, she is now on the verge of losing their family hardware store—which is also her home. She couldn’t care less about the Saber’s big money or flashy toys. But she can’t seem to keep Grant out of her store--or her dreams. His magnetic charisma is impossible to ignore, and the longer he stays in town, the more she finds to love about a man who isn’t as superficial as he’d like others to believe.With a struggling store, four-hundred miles and a rigorous hockey season looming between them, Grant will have to pull out his very best moves if he’s going to make this quick trick last forever. ROUGH RIDER HOCKEY NOVELSQUICK TRICKHOT PUCKDIRTY SCOREWILD ZONE

A Negotiated Marriage


Noelle Adams - 2013
    Three years into a marriage of convenience, Molly’s high-powered CEO husband wants to add a new term to their marriage agreement. Sex—without any messy emotional entanglements. But weekly sex with Luke, despite their carefully negotiated terms, is likely to get messy eventually.Content in a mutually beneficial arrangement, Molly isn’t going to fall for Luke the way she fell for an old lover, only to be crushed in the end. She vows to stay strong, no matter how much intimacy develops between them in bed. When her old lover returns, finally wanting a real relationship, Molly has the chance to give her heart to a man who will accept it.It’s too bad she now wants to give it to her husband, who has never admitted her heart is what he wants.

Saving Forever - Part 1


Lexy Timms - 2013
    Instead of finishing med school to become a doctor, she chooses a different path and raises money for hospitals – new wings, equipment, whatever they need. Except there is one hospital she would be happy to never set foot in again--her fathers. So of course he hires her to create a gala for his sixty-fifth birthday. Charity can’t say no. Now she is working in the one place she doesn’t want to be. Except she’s attracted to Dr. Elijah Bennet, the handsome playboy chief. Will she ever prove to her father that’s she’s more than a med school dropout? Or will her attraction to Elijah keep her from repairing the one thing she desperately wants to fix? ** This is NOT erotica. It's Romance and a love story. ** * This is a two book series: Part 1 and Part 2 * )

Bump and Run


Tabatha Kiss - 2016
    Check.A heart of gold and a smile that turns me stupid? Double check.My father is the new football coach and he’s made it clear that he doesn’t want me dating anyone on the team. So, I’ll just keep my head down and focus on my theater degree. Easy enough, right?Wrong.Enter, Junior Morgan. Exit, my panties. But I don’t want to be just another notch in his bedpost. If Junior wants me as badly as his bulge tells me he does, then he’s gonna have to earn me. Win a game. Win a night with me.Game on, quarterback. We’re just getting started.A handsome playboy. The coach’s forbidden daughter.College football’s Most Valuable Player has met his match! The Bad Baller Books: Bump and Run (Junior and Eliza’s story)Go Deep (John and Rose’s story)Home Run Baby (Hunter and Daisy’s story)This title was originally published as Whiplash.

All Fired Up


Vivian Arend - 2014
    A red-hot collaboration from New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors VIVIAN AREND and ELLE KENNEDY.He’s ready to lead the wayParker Wilson never thought he’d go from battle-hardened soldier to romance expert, but after his stint in the Rangers, that’s exactly what happened. As the owner of DreamMakers Inc., he helps other men win in the love department, using every resource available to plan the perfect date. When a routine recon turns into an unexpected night of passion, Parker’s mission becomes more personal—and he won’t give up until Lynn Davidson is all his.She’s more than willing to followLynn is a goner from the moment she lays eyes on the delectable Parker. She’s just ditched her boring almost-boyfriend and is tired of sticking to the straight and narrow. It’s time to walk on the wild side, and what better way than in the arms of the most irresistible man she’s ever met? But when their red-hot affair is threatened, it’ll take a team effort to make their dreams come true.

Scandal with a Prince


Nicole Burnham - 2013
    A lifelong obsession. One magical summer, Megan Hallberg met—and loved—Prince Stefano Barrali. But his royal duties took him home, and when she discovered she carried his child, she also discovered he was engaged…to a beautiful, worldly aristocrat.Ten years later, Stefano runs into Megan at the grand opening of a Barcelona hotel, and it’s his every sensual fantasy come to life. His memory of the stunning blonde and their passionate summer has haunted his dreams, and a night under the stars gives him the perfect opportunity to reclaim the woman he thought lost to him.Megan finds herself torn between passion with a prince and a fierce need to protect her daughter. Can the man who captured her heart so many years ago be her destiny…or her downfall?Don’t miss a single volume of the Royal Scandals Series!- Christmas With a Prince (novella)- Scandal With a Prince- Honeymoon With a Prince- Christmas on the Royal Yacht (novella)- Slow Tango With a Prince- The Royal Bastard- Christmas With a Palace Thief (novella)- The Wicked Prince- One Man's PrincessBONUS READ FOR NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS:- A Royal Scandals Wedding(features Prince Stefano and Megan Hallberg of Scandal With a Prince)

The Perfect Play


Jaci Burton - 2011
    But a sexy, determinedly single mom just might be the one to throw him off his game...For years Mick has been taking full advantage of the life available to a pro athlete: fame, fortune, and a different girl in every city. But when he meets and beds confident, beautiful event planner Tara Lincoln, he wants much more than the typical one-night stand. Too bad Tara's not interested in getting to know football's most notorious playboy any better.As the single mother of a teenage son, the last thing Tara needs is the jet-set lifestyle of Mick Riley; even though their steamy and passionate one-night stand was unforgettable. Tara's life is complicated enough without being thrust into the spotlight as Mick's latest girl du jour. Tara played the game of love once and lost big, and she doesn't intend to put herself out there again, especially with a heartbreaker like Mick.But when Mick sets his mind to win, nothing will stop him. And he has the perfect play in mind.

Meant to Be


Melody Grace - 2017
    Now discover the romance, laughter, and happily-ever-afters waiting for you in her new series, Sweetbriar Cove!Poppy Somerville believes in happily-ever-after. It’s the reason her romance novels have won devoted readers all over the world—and why she’s broken off her engagement just weeks before the wedding instead of settling for less than true love. Escaping to her aunt’s beach cottage in Sweetbriar Cove, Poppy is looking for inspiration to end her writer’s block and finish her new book. She just wasn’t counting on the handsome, gruff contractor making such a racket next door…Cooper Nicholson doesn’t believe in soul-mates. He thought he’d found his forever once, and the world proved him wrong, so when the cute brunette comes storming over and demands he keep the noise down, romance is the last thing on his mind. But his new neighbor is full of surprises, and soon, their chemistry is too hot to ignore. As they grow closer, they discover fiction has nothing on the plot twists life has in store. But will Cooper find a way to let go of the past and risk his heart again? And can Poppy find her happy ending — on and off the page? Find out in the new sweet and sexy small-town romance from New York Times bestselling author, Melody Grace!

After Math


Denise Grover Swank - 2013
    A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him.Tucker’s bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity.But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker’s aftermath?

Friends With Partial Benefits


Luke Young - 2011
    Done with writing, done with men, done with all of it…Suffering from a recent heartbreak of his own, tennis athlete and college senior Brian Nash, is Jillian’s son’s best friend. During a spring break trip to the Graysons, he meets the gorgeous and tennis passionate Jillian, and their shared interest quickly develops into an intense mutual attraction.As Brian secretly pines away over his sexy host, Jillian is cheered on by Victoria, her unfiltered, over-sexed best friend, to explore a hot affair with her young houseguest.Intoxicated by a perfect moonlit Miami night, Jillian and Brian hatch a plan to be Friends with Partial Benefits, complete with rules to define the boundaries. Will the lonely pair continue with this distinctive relationship, actually explore their desires, or discover all of it is a really bad idea?Friends with Partial Benefits is the first book in the series readers describe as sexy and laugh-out-loud funny. If you like quirky characters, razor-sharp wit and hilarious love stories, then you’ll love the first book in Luke Young's Friends with Benefits series.

Falling for Nick


Joleen James - 2012
    Now, with her life finally back on track, Clea’s about to marry a wonderful man and leave town for a promising career in New York. The last thing she expects is Nick’s return and the intense feelings he stirs within her.Sent to prison for a murder he didn’t commit, Nick Lombard comes home to the tiny town of Port Bliss to attend his mother’s funeral, but he doesn’t count on running into Clea. Seeing her reminds him of everything he’s tried to forget, and everything he longs to remember. When Nick learns Clea is about to marry the man who sent Nick to prison, he knows he must stay and fight for the family he was forced to leave behind.Against all odds, Nick and Clea must find their way back to the summer they were young lovers on the beach in Port Bliss, realizing that together their love is strong, strong enough to survive anything, even the web of lies that separated them ten years ago.

Country Heaven


Ava Miles - 2014
    He’s a bad boy who indulges himself in all things, women included. But while she couldn’t care less about country music or arrogant men, Rye makes her an offer she can’t refuse when he asks her to be his private chef on his multi-city concert tour. The job is the answer to all her prayers: it will clear out her debt and finance the fresh start she desperately needs.Rye is certain his sassy new cook is the last woman who’d ever tempt him, but spending time with the wholesome girl next door will do wonders for his damaged public image, whether she likes being forced into the spotlight or not. Her food also happens to be the best he’s ever eaten, both comforting and seductive. But spending time with Tory on the road shows him a new side to her—one that’s as impossible to resist as her food. And when an emergency in his family whisks him home, he does the one thing he’s never risked: he lets a woman into his heart…Soon the emotions Rye faked for the tabloids become all too real, but will the country heaven he’s found in Tory’s arms survive in the real world?

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?

Breakaway


Kelly Jamieson - 2011
    Pro hockey player Jason just broke up with his girlfriend because she got too serious. Schoolteacher Remi just saw the last of the younger siblings she raised leave the nest. Jace isn’t ready for responsibility. Remi’s had enough responsibility. They’re perfect playmates. But fun and sexy games get complicated when emotions get involved. Then responsibility and commitment crash the party when Jason’s past comes back to haunt him. Like it or not, Jason and Remi both have to figure out what they really want.

On a Tuesday


Whitney G. - 2017
    Became best friends, then lovers, on a Tuesday. And everything fell apart on a Tuesday... Charlotte Taylor has three automatic strikes in my book: 1) She hates me. She also claims that I'm a "domineering jerk with a huge, overbearing ego." (I do have something huge. It's not my ego, though.) 2) She takes our mandatory tutoring sessions way too seriously. 3) She's sexy as hell...And a virgin. At least, those were her strikes before our study sessions started lasting longer than they were supposed to. Until one innocent kiss became a hundred dirty ones, and until she became the first woman I ever fell hard for. Our future together after graduation was supposed to be set: Professional football for me. Law school for her. But she left me at the end of the semester with no explanation, and then she completely disappeared from my life. Until tonight.We met on a Tuesday. Became everything, then nothing, on a Tuesday. And now it's seven years later, on a Tuesday... **This is a full length second chance romance, inspired by Adele's "When We Were Young"**