Book picks similar to
The Last Whistle by Jamie Bennett
sports-romance
contemporary-romance
romance
sports
It Had to Be You
Susan Elizabeth Phillips - 1994
And Phoebe is definitely not prepared for the Stars' head coach Dan Calebow, a sexist jock taskmaster with a one-track mind. This is the book that began it all. The Chicago Stars are about to take the field... and they’re not the only ones playing for keeps.
The Cheat Sheet
Sarah AdamsSarah Adams - 2021
The first step is admitting, right? Except, I can never admit it to him because he clearly doesn’t see me that way, and the last thing I want is for things to get weird between us.Nothing but good old-fashioned, no-touching-the-sexiest-man-alive, platonic friendship for us! Everything is exactly how I like it! Yes. Good. (I’m not crying, I’m just peeling an onion.)Our friendship is going swimmingly until I accidentally spill my beans to a reporter over too much tequila, and now the world seems to think me and Nathan belong together. Oh, and did I mention we have to date publicly for three weeks until after the Super Bowl because we signed a contract with...oops, forgot I can’t tell anyone about that! Bottom line is, now my best friend is smudging all the lines and acting very un-platonic, and I’m just trying to keep my body from bursting into flames every time he touches me.How am I going to make it through three weeks of fake dating Nathan without anything changing between us? Especially when it almost-sort-a-kinda seems like he’s fighting for a completely different outcome?Send help.XO Bree
Hail Mary
Nicola Rendell - 2016
After she wakes him up with a few slaps and some smelling salts, the very first thing he does is ask her out for ribs and beer. His name is Jimmy. He looks like a Gillette model. And he’s just too hunky to resist.Jimmy “The Falcon” Falconi is mystified that Mary has absolutely no idea who he is. Mystified and refreshed. He is, after all, not your everyday NFL quarterback. He shops at Costco, has a soft spot for Pinterest, and is in the midst of an epic losing streak.Jimmy falls for Mary fast and hard, the way he does everything—balls out and like it’s fourth and long. And he realizes he’s finally met his match. That stamina he’s so proud of? Doesn’t stand a chance against her Kegels.But what they don’t know is she’s also his new physical therapist, recently hired by the Bears to work on his rotator cuff…and groin injury. If she can’t help him, he’ll be traded faster than they can say “offensive penetration.”In spite of the thousands of internet memes featuring Jimmy’s face with captions like: “HEY GIRL, WANT TO TOUCH MY BALLS?” Mary finds herself falling for him and his unrelenting desire to make her his.Until a toddler shows up at Jimmy’s door.And throws their lives into total chaos.***To the reader: Sweet. Safe. HEA. This is a comedy that gets very dirty, so be advised. Other tasters' notes: Hints of honey and champagne. And a feisty little dog named Frankie Knuckles.
One
Jewel E. Ann - 2016
She’s also a bit sexually-frustrated. Until … God bestows a breath of mercy upon her in the form of Minnesota’s NFL starting quarterback. But this gift is no stranger. Lake met Cage Monaghan three years earlier. It was one day. One moment. One kiss that resurrected her dreams of finding love. His dimpled smile distracts from his imperfections, which include: a love for country music, fishing, and a feline-hating girlfriend. When life finally gives them their chance, it’s a humorous and heart-wrenching journey to find their place in the world. "We would be Cage and Lake. We would be unpredictable. We would be reckless. We would give normality the middle finger.” ***This book is a standalone. However, it is HIGHLY recommended that any readers who have not, but may consider, reading the Jack & Jill Series, do so before reading this book. It contains spoilers to Jack & Jill.
Make It Sweet
Kristen Callihan - 2021
The world knows her as Princess Anya on Dark Castle, but then her character gets the axe—literally. The cherry on top is finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman. She needs a break, and sanctuary comes in the form of Rosemont, a gorgeous estate in California promising rest and relaxation.Then she meets the owner’s equally gorgeous grandson, ex–hockey player and current recluse Lucian Osmond, and she sees her own pain and yearning reflected in his eyes.He’s charming when he wants to be but also secretive and gruff, with protective walls as thick as Emma’s own. Despite a growing attraction, they avoid each other.But then there’s an impromptu nighttime skinny-dip, and Lucian’s luscious homemade tarts and cream cakes start arriving at Emma’s door, tempting her to taste life again…In trying to stay apart, they only grow closer—and their broken pieces just might fit together and make them whole.
Rules of Engagement
J.T. Geissinger - 2020
And one thing the sweet Southern belle knows for sure is that the foundation of wedded bliss is built on similarities: opposites might attract, but they don’t stay together. Enter Mason Spark.Rude, arrogant, and notoriously allergic to monogamy, the hottest quarterback in the NFL is Maddie’s polar opposite. He’s also her new client. Her gorgeous, infuriating new client who’s paying her an outrageous sum of money to find him a wife. With his multi-million dollar contract on the line due to his behavior on and off the field, bad boy Mason is willing to pretend to settle down. But when he starts to fall for the adorkable matchmaker who can’t stand him, the playboy finds himself in the game of his life to keep something he never thought he’d lose—his heart.
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.
Delivery Girl
Lily Kate - 2017
Things like pizza.
The very pizzas that I deliver for my dad’s restaurant, Peretti’s Pizza. It’s a temporary job, something to pay the bills until I graduate from school, but it does the trick. In fact, it's working quite well until Ryan Pierce of the Minnesota Stars decides to order a pizza from me, and life as I know it turns upside down. You see, Ryan Pierce doesn’t just open his front door. He opens it buck naked. And suddenly, I’m not the one boasting the biggest, hottest package in the room. However, it’s what happens next that gives me butterflies whenever my phone beeps. Ryan starts to call, and then text, and then fifteen pizza deliveries and one fantastic night later, we’re friends with benefits. So when he asks me to be his fake girlfriend at his brother’s wedding, I’m happy to help. But the longer we pretend, the more I worry that this is one package I might not be able to handle. ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** This is a full-length, standalone romantic comedy with an HEA. It is intended for audiences 18+ due to mature content including romance, language, and ridiculously fun times.
Dirty Curve
Meagan Brandy - 2021
She does. But I don’t want to steal her time anymore. I want to earn it. If anyone can do that, it’s me. I’m Tobias Cruz, the king of the curveball. I don’t lose. Not the game, and surely not the girl. Little did I know, this girl has a secret...and it’s the dirtiest curve yet. ___From USA TODAY & Wall Street Journal bestselling author Meagan Brandy comes an all-new standalone romance set in college about a hotshot pitcher and the girl who never saw coming.
The Chase
Elle Kennedy - 2018
And they must be right, because there’s no logical reason why I’m so drawn to Colin Fitzgerald. I don’t usually go for tattoo-covered, video-gaming, hockey-playing nerd-jocks who think I’m flighty and superficial. His narrow view of me is the first strike against him. It doesn’t help that he’s buddy-buddy with my brother.And that his best friend has a crush on me.And that I just moved in with them.Oh, did I not mention we’re roommates?I suppose it doesn’t matter. Fitzy has made it clear he’s not interested in me, even though the sparks between us are liable to burn our house down. I’m not the kind of girl who chases after a man, though, and I’m not about to start. I’ve got my hands full dealing with a new school, a sleazy professor, and an uncertain future. So if my sexy brooding roomie wises up and realizes what he’s missing?He knows where to find me.
The Right Player
Kandi Steiner - 2020
And while that label stung at first, I’ve since embraced it — living the wild and free life and sticking to a three date max. That’s just enough time to have some fun and snuff out the possibility of catching feelings. And it’s been working for me for years… Until Makoa Kumaka.Sadly, he also has a three date rule — and it’s the exact opposite of mine. From the second I meet him, all I can think about is stripping down that six-foot-five Herculean hunk of a man. But like the gentleman I wish he wasn’t, he’s making me wait.The more time we spend together, the more I feel those pesky emotions creeping in. I’m even tempted to trust him, but blame it on my past or my instincts, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something… I’ve been playing the game forever, and no man has ever won my heart — which meant they never had the power to break it.But maybe I just hadn’t met the right player.Maybe I’ll wish I never did.
Hate the Game
Winter Renshaw - 2019
Obsessed with scoring, refuses to play by the rules. Cruel. Relentless. Brilliant. Intoxicatingly attractive. Despite his demanding reputation and propensity for being the most arrogant a-hole ever to strut Pacific Valley University’s picturesque campus, everyone wants a piece of him: coaches, scouts, and pretty little fangirls with pouty lips and perfect top knots. But Talon … he only wants a piece of me. And four straight years of infuriating rejection means I’m almost positive he’d take a night with me over a national championship trophy. But I’m no fool—he only wants me because he can’t have me. And with graduation approaching, time is running out. He’s more desperate than ever, pulling out all the stops and doing everything in his power to get in my good graces. They say, “Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” But to that I say, “Why not both?” I have my reasons ... Sorry, BMOC. This victory? Not going to happen.
Change of Hart
M.E. Carter - 2014
As the best defensive lineman in the country, I eat, sleep and breathe football. And I like it that way. I’ve only got a few more years before I’ll have to retire, so expending energy on anything other than football seems like a waste of time.That is, until I have a random meeting with a little boy who just lost his father. We have more in common than you might think and it creates an unlikely bond. As our friendship grows, so do my feelings for his mother.I know Addison, as a recent widow, isn’t ready to date again. But I want to get to know her better, in spite of all her rejections.Is it possible that I, a self-proclaimed bachelor, could be having a Change of Hart?
Puck Me Secretly
Odette Stone - 2018
I’ve never had an orgasm, but I’ve faked plenty. I want to experience love. Real, passionate love. I don’t want to die. It’s funny what blurts out of your mouth when the plane you’re on is going down, and I didn’t hold back with my seat mate when my plane decided to crash. My hysterical confessions didn’t faze the muscular stranger that sat beside me. In fact, he promised if we survived, he’d give me my first orgasm. We survived. I came. And then he left without telling me who he was. On the first day of my job, I stood in front of the Vancouver Wolves hockey team and called out a number. #33. Imagine my shock when he skated forward. Max is an incredible hockey player, whose wild, out-of-control antics have almost derailed his career. So many secrets shroud his past and continue to threaten his future. Now he’s my secret. And that secret could ruin everything. Puck Me SECRETLY. Some secrets are too big to keep. Intended for adult audiences only.
Rock Bottom Girl
Lucy Score - 2019
Not much has changed in Culpepper. The cool kids are still cool. Now they just own car dealerships and live in McMansions next door. Oh, and the whole town is still talking about that Homecoming she ruined her senior year. Desperate for a new start, Marley accepts a temporary teaching position. Can the girl banned from all future Culpepper High Homecomings keep the losing-est girls soccer team in school history from killing each other and prevent carpal tunnel in a bunch of phone-clutching gym class students? Maybe with the help of Jake Weston, high school bad boy turned sexy good guy. When the school rumor mill sends Marley to the principal’s office to sign an ethics contract, the tattooed track coach, dog dad, and teacher of the year becomes her new fake boyfriend and alibi—for a price. The Deal: He’ll teach her how to coach if she teaches him how to be in a relationship. Who knew a fake boyfriend could deliver such real orgasms? But it’s all temporary. The guy. The job. The team. There’s too much history. Rock bottom can’t turn into a foundation for happily ever after. Can it? Warning: Story also includes a meet-puke, a bouffanted nemesis, a yard swan and donkey basketball, a teenage-orchestrated makeover, and a fake relationship that gets a little too real between the sheets.