Book picks similar to
The Captain by Josie Blake


sports-romance
sports
college
fake-relationship

Hate to Love You


Jennifer Sucevic - 2018
     Brody McKinnon is Whitmore University's star defenseman destined for NHL greatness. He made a name for himself playing juniors before gracing us with his esteemed presence. As much as it pains me to admit it, he’s exploded at the college level. While other girls fall all over themselves trying to gain his attention, I do my best to steer clear just as I would a particularly nasty case of crabs. For reasons I can't fathom, Brody takes great pleasure in messing with me. And I, in return, enjoy slicing him to ribbons with my razor-sharp tongue. You'd think after three years, he'd learn to keep his distance. No such luck. Unfortunately for me, I’m about to experience the worst week of my life. It starts with my ex-boyfriend announcing at a party that I’m a lousy lay. He’s the hockey-playing jerk I dated last year who left a bad taste in my mouth (*eyeroll* seriously…get your mind out of the gutter). Want to guess who rides in on his trusty white steed to rescue me? Or should I say, opens his big mouth? Yep, you guessed it. Brody freaking McKinnon, the guy I love to hate. He only makes matters worse by telling everyone that we’re together and then punching Reed in the face. The first…I plan on strangling him for. The second…I’m only sorry I didn’t get to Reed first. Now I’m stuck fake-dating Brody, the one guy who makes me feel like a rabid dog on a choke chain, for the foreseeable future. I guarantee we won’t last more than seventy-two hours without me killing him. *This is a mature New Adult novel with strong language and sexual situations intended for readers over the age of 18*

Power Plays & Straight A's


Eden Finley - 2020
    Keep an eye out for his best friend on campus and keep my hands to myself.Easy.Even if Zach is a quintessential nerd, who I’ve always thought was cute, I don’t have the time to think with my … stick.There’s only one stick I should be focused on this year, and that’s my hockey stick. My goal once I graduate is to get an NHL contract.The last thing I need is a distraction. On or off the ice.Only, keeping to the rules is harder than I thought it would be. ZACHPeople confuse me.And no one more than Foster Grant.I’ve barely spoken two words to him in the whole time I’ve known him, but the second I step foot on campus, he’s impossible to shake.I can never anticipate his next move. And whenever we’re together, my next move is a total mystery as well.I want to give in to him, but that might mean coming clean about something I’ve never been bothered about before.I’m still carrying my V-card.And I think it’s time to turn it in.

Heart Stopper


Michelle Hercules - 2020
    He’s also the bane of my existence.Our meet-cute wasn’t exactly cute. He called me a nerd, and I accused him of slacking off on the field. Now, we have to live together. I’m supposed to try to play nice to keep a roof over my head. Not in my nature. Our arrangement could be a living hell, but slowly, I realize the worst thing he ever did wasn’t calling me names. It was making me see there’s more to him under the surface. And now, I’m screwed.*Heart Stopper is an enemies-to-lovers college sports romance filled with banter, pranks, and off the charts chemistry that will make you swoon. This is a standalone novel.

This Is Crazy


Natasha Madison - 2019
     Zara Stone All my life, I’ve said I will never date a hockey player. I know better because I’ve seen and lived it all. My father is a hockey god, my brother is the captain of the most successful NHL team in the world, and my brother-in-law also plays in the league. Their lives are complicated, so I went in the opposite direction. I fell in love with a scholar. But instead of proposing marriage, he broke up with me. Three months later, I saw his engagement picture on Instagram. I couldn’t let him get away with that. No, it didn’t matter what, I was going to make that man see that I did not need him. Evan Richards I was in the running to pass my point record from last year, ready to claim the number one spot in the league. On top of my game, I was riding my career high wave. Then, Hockey’s Princess, Zara Stone tweeted me. She wanted me to crash her ex’s wedding. The worst that could happen? A PR nightmare. The best? A fun night with a beautiful woman. It started out as a game—something I’m good at. Her crazy idea twisted into something I wasn’t looking for, something neither of us wanted. When push comes to shove, one thing runs through my mind: This is Crazy. Also, this is crazy right.

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...

Destiny on Ice


S.R. Grey - 2016
    Uh, nix that last one. Brent has the talent and skill that should have his career soaring. But something is wrong. He’s lost his hockey mojo and can’t get it back. Enter Aubrey Shelburne, life coach to the stars. Aubrey’s worked with some difficult celebrities, but she’s never encountered a guy quite like Brent Oliver. Or has she? Seems a reckless night of partying, one that had Aubrey waking up in a strange man’s bed, is about to bite her in the ass. That is, if Brent doesn’t first. Fighting an off-the-charts attraction, Aubrey and Brent must learn to work together. But it’s not an easy task when they’re at each other’s throats every minute. Is this relationship a disaster in the making? Or is it destiny? Washboard abs and sex toy mishaps aside, Destiny on Ice is a fun and irreverent romp that’ll have you swooning on one page and laughing on the next.Sports Romance/Romantic ComedyNOTE: **STANDALONE NOVEL** **EACH BOOK IN THE BOYS OF WINTER SERIES WILL FEATURE A DIFFERENT HOCKEY PLAYER'S STORY**

Chasing Sunshine


Hannah Gray
    Get drafted into the NFL and escape the shadow of his spiteful father. Eyes forward, no distractions. That is, until Cameran Steele crashes into his life, and suddenly, all of those self-made rules get thrown out the window after one look into her sad blue eyes. He knows she’s running from something, and he wants to be her escape. But what happens when the one who might be his exception pushes him away?Cameran Steele has experienced her fair share of tragedy and heartache. When she lost her parents at the age of seventeen, she thought it couldn’t get much worse. Boy, was she wrong. After escaping her own personal hell four years later, she finds herself at New England University, eager for a fresh start. Her eyes are on the prize—graduation and a better life for herself. Nothing can get in her way. But when a cocky and persistent football player sets his eyes on her, she struggles not to give in. She knows he’s the one without a doubt in her mind. But sometimes, even the right one comes along at the wrong time.

The Locker Room


Meghan Quinn - 2019
    One rowdy and naked encounter against the lockers with the girl of your dreams will make her your wife. Translation: baseball players are stupidly superstitious and believe the locker room has magical powers. But not all baseball players are superstitious, me included. So when the girl I've fallen for brushes me off, I start to question if I need to switch my way of thinking. Maybe it's time I finally hand out a coveted invitation to the locker room. The only question is, will she accept?

The Deal


Elle Kennedy - 2015
    But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she's carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush's attention, she'll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice... even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date....and it's going to be oh so good.All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he's worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he's all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn't take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn't going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.

Axel


Samantha Whiskey - 2019
    But I’d never leave the Swedish Hockey League— Not while raising my little brother. But now he’s grown and the Carolina Reapers show up with my greatest weakness: Langley Pierce, their new head of PR. I’ve never been able to say no to her. She’s fierce, independent, and the sexiest woman I’ve ever met. She also has a stubborn streak wider than my entire country. One comment from her smart mouth about never dating again, and I propose. No, really, I actually propose: A six-month marriage contract in exchange for signing with the Reapers. I want to date this woman so badly that I’m going to marry her first. I’ll use each day to show her how a queen should be treated. Our wedding day started a countdown I’m powerless to stop, And the faster the months fly, the harder I fall. She’s sworn she’ll never choose a man over her career, And I promised never to ask her to. Until I’m forced to. How can we move forward when we started this whole thing backwards? If I can’t convince her this marriage is anything but fake— The next document we sign will crush us both. Welcome to the Carolina Reapers, Samantha Whiskey’s newest hockey series where the chill of the ice meets sultry southern nights.

The Pilot & the Puck-Up


Pippa Grant - 2018
    Tough? Damn right. Smart? Don’t let the hockey uniform fool you. Large and in charge? Honey, I’m the biggest, baddest, mother pucking-est machine to ever own the ice. I shoot. I score. In and out of the rink. I don’t come early, but I come often, if you know what I mean. And I always leave the ladies wanting more. Until that chick last night. I’m no one-thrust wonder, and you’re damn right I’m going to prove to her I can do better. But every time I think I’m finally on my way back into her pants, she one-ups and out-balls me. I should cut my losses, lick my wounds, and walk away. But Zeus Berger doesn’t walk away from anything. Especially when she's the only woman in the world who might be able to handle me.

Wildcat


Rebecca Jenshak - 2021
    She’s stunning and the worst bartender I’ve ever seen.I should have gone home and gone to sleep—dream girl or not. I had an early morning and the season was starting soon. But when she threatened me with boy band karaoke I couldn't help myself. I went. The stars aligned.I have never felt more alive or wanted anyone more than I want her.When it’s time for me to head on my annual pre-season boys trip, I barely let her go.It’s been a week and I can’t stop thinking about her.Except there she is. Right here at the Wildcat’s kickoff party.And as luck would have it, my dream girl is the coach’s youngest daughter.But everyone knows the coach’s daughter is off limits. Right?Wildcat is a full-length sports romance with a hot-as-puck hero, the coach’s daughter, and an unfortunate case of mistaken identity.

The Hardest Fall


Ella Maise - 2018
    You smile, say hello. Should be simple, if you’re anyone but me. The first time I met Dylan Reed, I found myself making eye contact with a different part of his body. You see, I’m very good at being shy, not to mention extremely well-versed in rambling nonsense and, unfortunately, rather highly skilled at making a fool of myself in front of a guy I’m attracted to. At the time, I knew nothing about him and thought none of what I said would matter since I’d never speak to him again. Turns out, I was very wrong. He was the star wide receiver of the football team, one of the few players expected to make it into the NFL, and I ended up seeing him all over campus. I might have also propositioned him, run away from him, attacked him with a cooking utensil…and…uh, maybe I shouldn’t tell you all of it. It’s pretty normal stuff, things you’d expect…from me. Eventually, the time came when I couldn’t hide anymore—not that he’d have let me even if I tried. Before now, he never knew I was secretly watching him. Now that we see each other every day, he knows when I have a hard time looking away. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most subtle person in the world either. He smiles at me and tells me he finds me fascinating because of my quirks. I can’t even tell him that I think my heart beats differently whenever he’s around. He thinks we’re going to be best friends. I think I have a big thing for him, and the more I get to know him, the more I don’t care that I’m not allowed to be his friend, let alone fall for him. The thing is, that’s exactly what I’m doing—what we’re doing, I think. Falling. Hard.

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.

Jock Row


Sara Ney - 2018
    The planner. The one holding your hair back while you're worshiping the porcelain gods. Week-after-week, she visits Jock Row with her friends — the university's hottest party scene and breeding ground for student athletes. And if keeping her friends out of trouble, and guys out of their pants, was a sport, she'd be the star athlete.Being a well known jock-blocker gets her noticed for all the wrong reasons; just like that, she's banned from Jock Row. NO GUY WANTS A GIRL AROUND WHO KEEPS THEIR JOCK FRIENDS FROM GETTING LAID."Rowdy" Wade is the hot shot short-stop for the university's baseball team — and the unlucky bastard who drew the short straw: keep little Miss Goody Two-Shoes out of the Baseball House. But week-after-week Scarlett returns, determined to get inside.