Book picks similar to
Penalty Kiss by Annie Dyer
sports
sports-romance
contemporary-romance
romance
Sweeper
Amy Daws - 2021
Zander Williams is the hot new American determined to take European football by storm. His head is so big, it barely fits under his backwards hat. And when he’s recruited to one of the biggest up and coming clubs in London, he’s certain to make his name known. Managing the building where they live is only one of Daphney’s many jobs. It’s why she has zero patience for the obnoxious American on the other side of the wall who makes the most ungodly noises and likes to answer his door in nothing but a pink tea towel. Tensions build and after one steamy hallway kiss, neighbor wars quickly shifts into neighbors-with-benefits and that’s a battle they both intend to win. But Daphney doesn’t know the real reason Zander is in London and now she’s stuck in the middle of a game she didn’t even know she was playing.
Fraternize
Rachel Van Dyken - 2017
But even though the plus-size athlete is breaking down boundaries, she still has to contend with the massive rulebook. Carbs? Nope. Chocolate? Definitely not. Still, Emerson loves her curves, and she’ll rock the hell out of this job even if it kills her. Except for one mandate that is easier read than done…No fraternizing with the players.Problem one is Miller Quinton: Emerson’s first love, first sex, and the guy who still ignites her daydreams and R-rated fantasies. Thrown back together, Miller and Emerson feel the undeniable pull of passion again, even if the conflict that tore them apart seems insurmountable. Then there’s way-too-sexy Grant Sanchez. He has a serious reputation with the ladies, and when it comes to winning someone he wants, he doesn’t let anyone stand in his way.Now Emerson is breaking every rule in the manual. But what she doesn’t know is that she’s part of a wicked little game—one that could steal both her dream and her heart.
Until You're Mine
Cindi Madsen - 2018
No one cares about personal reasons when it comes to losing fights and money. I’m determined to get back to where I was. For you to hear my name again. I’ve finally convinced the owner of Team Domination to take a chance and get me back in fighting—and winning—shape. What I didn’t bargain for is the guy’s spitfire of a daughter. Factor in her two professional-fighter brothers who are acting as my coaches and the fact that my career hangs in the balance, and Brooklyn’s the last girl I should be fantasizing about. The closer we get, the more I want Brooklyn. The stakes are high, and I know there’s a big chance of both of us getting hurt, but I won’t stop until she’s mine.
Simply Complicated
S. Nelson - 2021
Proposition a man and extend a challenge: help me accomplish something I’ve never been able to do before with past boyfriends.But there are rules.He needs to be a stranger and someone who won't judge me if I can't cross the finish line.Luke Sorenson, one of the most famous soccer players in the world, isn't meant to be that man. He's the guy I grew up next door to. The man who broke my heart ten years ago, then moved across the country and never looked back.He also happens to be the one person in the world I can't stand.But as my best friend points out, he's the best option.Besides, it's only for one night. What can possibly go wrong?***The last person I expect to see when I walk into a random corner bar is Olivia Brighton, the one woman I let slip through my fingers when I chased my dream a decade ago.Not only do I run into her again, but I offer to help her out with her dilemma, and she accepts.It's supposed to be a one-time occurrence. One shot to prove my skills in bed.But that one shot turns into a deal, which morphs into something neither of us predicts.One thing's for certain—everything is about to get simply complicated.
Juked
M.E. Carter - 2016
/jook-t/A slang soccer term meaning: faked out, deceived, confused your opponentSee examples Daniel Zavaro and Quincy Watson:As the rising star in Houston, Daniel has found fame as Captain of his Pro soccer team and the city’s most eligible bachelor. Daniel has everything – except someone special – and that suits him just fine. He doesn’t want, or need, complications.Quincy has baggage, and lots of it. After a tragic accident spins her world on its axis, she finds herself as a single mother, raising a newborn nephew she never knew she had. Between parenthood, her full-time job, and dealing with the suffocating grief of losing her sister, every day is a struggle. When they begin to cross paths unexpectedly and often, an unlikely friendship starts to evolve. Feelings change. Lines get crossed. What happens next surprises them both...Before they know it-- they’ve been Juked.
King of the Court
R.S. Grey - 2021
That’s why everyone is all in a tizzy over the fact that the USA men’s Olympic basketball team will be training here of all places before this year’s Summer Games. With little else to talk about, rumors about the players have been spreading like wildfire, and there’s one man in the middle of it all holding a match.Ben Castillo.NBA champion.Olympic gold medalist.Widely hailed ‘King of the Court’.The morning he walks into my dingy diner, I have enough sense to keep my head down and go right on wiping tables, pouring coffee, and serving up short stacks. A man who looks like that—superstar or not—has only ever meant trouble, and more trouble is the last thing I need, what with taking care of Nan and scraping by on tips from truckers.If anything, he seems drawn to my indifference. His steely gaze pierces me behind the counter. My knees nearly buckle under the weight of his attention. But while Mr. Pretty Boy is probably used to snagging city girls with a smile, this gal is country strong.I won’t be some clichéd convenience for him on his way through town.So look over your choices carefully, Benny-boy. We serve up sides of hash browns here, not heartbreak.
Focused
Karla Sorensen - 2020
requited. That day was bad enough, but things just got worse.Noah Griffin turned himself into one of the best football players in the country and a transfer to the Washington Wolves— the team I work for—lands him on my doorstep. The timing couldn't be worse, because my boss just handed me the opportunity of a lifetime. And that promotion rides squarely on Noah's big, muscular, condescending shoulders.He wants nothing to do with me, and the feeling is so very mutual. But for the sake of my career, I can ignore all those things about him that drive me insane. His eyes. His mouth. His big, big … hands. Until one day, we can’t ignore them anymore.You know what they say about the line between love and hate though? They’re so very right.
Wilder Games
Ali Dean - 2021
Nothing, that is, except the sight of Jude Wilder sitting in the stands with his little sister on his lap. He’s never watched me play. Never even noticed me before. And yet his eyes are on me now. I know what he must be thinking. I’m not just an outcast, I’m a social pariah thanks to my family being the town’s most notorious con artists. Jude is on the opposite side of the spectrum. Not only is he accepted, he’s worshipped. I’m nobody to him, and yet I’ve got this chance to impress him.As it turns out, he isn’t at all impressed when I win the match, and I’m worse than a nobody to him. Jude thinks I’m a threat to his family. This should alarm me. It should scare me. Jude in protective mode is hot, all right, but I can’t afford to be on his radar. I’ve got one year to secure a college scholarship. It’s hard enough keeping a low profile with my tennis success, and the last thing I need is Jude Wilder of all people drawing more attention my way. Especially if it’s hostile. Even if I like it.
The Setup and The Substitute (New Orleans Revelers, #3)
Jiffy Kate - 2021
Owen Thatcher has been ghosted by his ex, leaving him to pick up the pieces of their family in the midst of being traded to a new team. After striking out with nanny after nanny, he’s desperate to create a stable life for his two kids. Sophie Callahan comes from an affluent family but this free spirit is nothing like the stereotypical trust fund baby. While she waits on the perfect job to open up, she’s making it work as a substitute teacher.But a ruggedly handsome baseball player makes her an offer she can’t refuse. And it’s a whole new ball game when these attractive, available adults are under one roof.
Lucky Bastard
Kaylee Ryan - 2020
Landon Barker, the quarterback for the Hermosa Beach Trojans, is a player on and off of the field. He’s got his sights set on me as his next play, but I see right through him. Aubrey says I’m overreacting, that I should give him a chance. What she doesn’t realize is men like Landon don’t fall for the girl next door. That’s not reality. She got her fairytale, although it was a long road. Not all of us are that lucky.Landon She’s a friend of our new kicking coach’s wife. When I ask Chance for her number, he tells me I have to find a way to get it myself. Nothing when it comes to Emma has been easy. She’s the first woman ever to turn me down, and that won’t do. However, as time passes, it’s about more than that. It’s about her smile, her laugh, and just spending time with her. She thinks I’m a player, and she’s right. What she doesn’t know is that I play to win, and her heart is the ultimate trophy.
Southern Seducer
Jessica Peterson - 2020
But sleeping with my best friend tops the list. Annabel and I have been close since college. When I left school to play pro football, she was there. While I collected Super Bowl rings and cars worth more than the house I grew up in—she was there. I always assumed we’d end up together. Everyone did. But by the time I retired from football, Bel was married. I thought I’d missed my shot at love. So I buried myself in my new job as CEO of Blue Mountain Farm, a five-star resort my family and I built in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. It seems like a good place to be alone with the secret I have to keep from her. Now Bel is a divorced single mom, struggling to raise her daughter on her own—and it’s my turn to be there for her. So I invite her and the baby up to the resort for some much needed R&R. Then, in a moment of bonfire-and-bourbon induced weakness, I kiss her. And the fallout could ruin everything.SOUTHERN SEDUCER is a full length, standalone novel. It is the first book in the all new North Carolina Highland series.
SEAL Baby Daddy (The Baby Daddy - Book #2)
Claire Adams - 2018
I didn’t know he was back from Kuwait. When I came home from my position as an overseas correspondent, I’d expected I’d never see him again. And that was the way I’d wanted things to be. After all, I couldn’t let him know about my daughter. Our daughter. I couldn’t help my feelings for him, though. I’d always been drawn to him. But he had never wanted children. I had to respect that. But he wasn’t the same man I’d met in Kuwait, and I wasn’t the same woman either. I knew sooner or later he would find out my secret and sh*t would hit the fan.
I Dare You
Ilsa Madden-Mills - 2018
Good girl.Lover of fluffy kitties and Star Wars. Curious.His dare? Spend one night in his bed—a night he promises will be unforgettable—and she can solve the mystery of who he is. She knows she shouldn't, but what else is she going to do with her boring Valentine's Day?One sexy hook-up later, her mind is blown and the secret's out.Maverick Monroe.Bad boy.The most talented football player in the country.Just ask him.Too bad for him Delaney's sworn off dating athletes forever after her last heartbreak.But Maverick wants more than one night and refuses to give up on winning Delaney’s heart. She isn’t one to be fazed by a set of broad shoulders. Will the bad boy land the nerd girl or will the secrets they keep from each other separate them forever?
Nothing But Trouble
P. Dangelico - 2019
And frankly, I kind of wish I still didn’t because then I wouldn’t have a sprained ankle to show for it. And my leg wouldn’t resemble a boa constrictor that’s swallowed a feral pig. Yeah, it’s that bad.I’ve spent years saving every penny I’ve ever earned to be able to transfer to Malibu University. And now my entire future––including my scholarship––is in jeopardy. So I either accept the help he insists on giving me, or lose everything I’ve sacrificed for. In the meantime, I’m going to ignore the fact that we’re becoming friends.And I’m definitely going to pretend he’s not turning into the object of my…umm, dirty fantasies. That’s not happening. Not even a little.Because the minute I clapped eyes on him I knew he was nothing but trouble.
Power Play
Alley Ciz - 2019
if they’re on your brothers’ team. The last time Jordan did that, it ended in disaster. It was easy to promise her brothers she'd never date another one of their teammates again. Until she meets Jake. The spark she feels when she spends time with him makes her promise harder and harder to keep. Surely her brothers would understand breaking this promise if it means following her heart. Wouldn't they? Never sleep with a teammate’s sister. This is the universal rule of athletes everywhere. Until he meets Jordan. As soon as Jake sets eyes on her, he wants her. The goalie's job is to see missed shots and failed opportunities on the ice. This is one shot he's not going to miss, no matter what obstacles get in his way.
POWER PLAY is a flirty, swoon worthy sexy rom-com and the first book in the BTU Alumni series. It can be read as a stand alone. If you like hockey boys, sarcastic friends, matchmaking K9’s, too-cute-to-handle kindergarteners, fierce heroines and swoony hot as puck Alpha heroes, then you want to get to know these cast of characters. One puck head and a HEA guaranteed.