Book picks similar to
Love By Design by Asrai Devin


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hockey
no-thanks-chick-drama-romance
romance-contemporary

Breakaway


Ali Parker - 2016
    He’s hard-hitting, rough and puts up with very little. He’s kept to himself throughout his years at Providence University, but it’s time to train the next man up in line for his position. His second on the Hockey team has a twin sister that catches everyone’s eye and leaves most of the guys acting like idiots, but Lucas isn’t interested. Girls are too needy, too catty and a pain in butt. Plain and simple. Aubrey Moore’s had her eye on the captain of the hockey team for the last few years since her brother, Jayce joined the team. He’s known for being a complete jerk, but Aubrey’s had the pleasure of seeing around the edges of his personality and wants to know him more. Now she just has to figure out how to help him breakaway from being so jaded and join her in the best adventure anyone could embark on -love. 18+ Explicit sexual content, possible foul language and violence. **HEA - these novels are all within the Pro-U series, but are about different couples at the university and should stand-alone.

A Bridge Between Hearts


Casey Swan - 2021
    Adam Finlay left the vet practice he was working for when cost cutting led to animals suffering. He would love to open a one-man practice of his own, but all his savings went to his ex wife in her battle against cancer. He’s still getting over the divorce, and he doesn’t have anything to offer a woman at the moment anyway.Adam’s sister has set him up in a rental house in the small seaside town of Kauri Bay, not far from the family farm, and he soon notices Polly, the manager of the Beach Front Cafe. Polly knows she can’t get interested in the handsome young vet, she really mustn’t, but her heart flutters every time he’s near her. The two young people find themselves in an impossible situation – or is it? Not when help comes from a completely unexpected source. A clean and wholesome romance, set in an inspirational community.

Daddy Next Door - The Complete Series Box Set


Claire Adams - 2017
    So when a school in Irvine has a sudden drug problem, they bring him in. As luck would have it, he moves in across the street from Vivienne; the attraction is mutual and instant. But life throws many curveballs at them in the form of the drug issues at his school, his daughter’s illness, and Vivienne’s stalker ex. They turn to each other for comfort, and her to him for protection, but things are messy. Will they work past their problems and come together? *Daddy Next Door has no cheating and a HEA. Includes 4 bonus books.*

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 Trade Off


Louise Maniscalco - 2014
    Joyce Brown, President of Fashion Institute of Technology Go behind the window displays.  Behind the racks.  Two personal shoppers for Manhattan's biggest department stores have written a wildly dishy novel that goes behind the dressing rooms of New York’s fashion elite. At Frankel’s New York, the wives of billionaires and Hollywood celebrities sip champagne while stylists and tailors cater to every whim.  And one person has made it her career to help these Amex-wielding shoppers create the perfect look. Bonnie Salerno Madden knows all of her client’s preferences, whims, and fantasies.  She knows the price they paid to gain access to the salon where having Bonnie as their private shopper is a first-class ticket to being the toast of the New York high-fashion social scene. But while Bonnie is all elegance on the outside, she’s barely keeping it together on the inside.  A single mom to a special needs child, she needs her high-pressure job to care for her family.  And when that job is put in jeopardy, Bonnie will need to make some of the riskiest choices of her life to guarantee a better future for her son, and for herself.  With the opportunity to live in her own fairy tale, will Bonnie have what it takes to make the trade off?  “THE TRADE OFF is a riveting page-turner even for a non-shopper like me. The ultimate tale of New York life.”—David Patrick Columbia, newyorksocialdiary.com

In Skates Trouble


Kate Meader - 2017
    . .Addison Williams isn't looking for romance, but when she encounters an eavesdropping stranger on an adjoining hotel balcony, she figures she's due a little fun. She just hadn't reckoned on the "fun" escalating so quickly to "out of control." One minute she's flirting with a whiskey-graveled voice in the dark, the next that same voice is telling her to do things. Hot, wicked things.Cup-winning hockey player Ford "Killer" Callaghan can't believe he let the anonymous woman who blew his mind slip away into the night. He'll track her down because once could never be enough—even if discovering her identity places her strictly out of bounds.Stolen kisses. Secret hook-ups. Deliciously forbidden in every way. Can a passion that started in the dark find a lifetime of love in the light?Originally published in Hot on Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology, this sexy prequel to the Chicago Rebels hockey series features an older, curvy woman, a younger, driven hero, and a happily-ever-after you'll swoon over.

Love, Again


Shrruti Patole Clarence - 2015
    When her estranged husband suddenly commits suicide she realizes that things wouldn’t be the same again…Shrikanth thought that he was a confirmed bachelor but when his mother refused to get herself treated for cancer unless he got married, he had to get a bride in a hurry.She needed a husband in name, to save her career while he needed to marry to please his mother. Will they find love second time around? Will they lower their shields and succumb to a mutual passion?

Herb Brooks: The Inside Story of a Hockey Mastermind


John Gilbert - 2008
    S. hockey team’s victory at the 1980 Olympics was a “Miracle on Ice”--a miracle largely brought about by the late Herb Brooks, the legendary coach who forged that invincible team. Famously antagonistic toward the press at Lake Placid, Brooks nonetheless turned to sportswriter John Gilbert after each game, giving his longtime friend and confidant what became the most comprehensive coverage of the ’80 team. This book is Gilbert’s memoir of Brooks. Neither strictly biography or tell-all exposé, Herb Brooks: Born to Coach is the story of an extraordinary man as it emerged in the course of a remarkable friendship.Gilbert, writing for the Minneapolis Tribune, first met Brooks during his coaching days at the University of Minnesota, whose hockey program he resurrected in the 1970’s. The two became fast friends, and here, for the first time, Gilbert relates anecdotes--his own and former players’--that illuminate Brooks’ oftentimes hard-nosed coaching methods, his dramatic successes, and his incomparable character. From Brooks’ beginnings in East St. Paul and his stint with the 1960 gold medal-winning Olympic team (from which he was famously the last player cut), Gilbert goes on to dissect the coach’s tenure with the Gophers (including three national titles) and the Lake Placid story, from the selection process and yearlong barnstorming tour to the Games themselves. Throughout this and later chapters of Brooks’ career--including coaching turns with St. Cloud State University, four NHL teams, and the 2002 U.S. Olympic squad--readers are treated to impossibly colorful quotes, rare photographs from Brooks’ playing and coaching careers, and pertinent sidebar pieces that originally appeared in the Minneapolis Tribune.

Offside


Juliana Stone - 2012
    Not because Billie's talent is in question, but because Billie is a woman. And though these are modern times, some of the local guys still have a problem letting a girl into their 'men's club.'Soon, Billie is at the center of a small town battle of the sexes, with everyone choosing sides. Her sisters. The townsfolk. Her friends. And yet, the only person whose opinion she cares about doesn't seem to care much at all. Logan Forest, the man who broke her heart when she was eighteen and the man she now shares the bench with every Friday night. She's got a lot to prove and though Billie Jo Barker scores on the ice, will this girl ever score with the man of her dreams?

The Making of Slap Shot: Behind the Scenes of the Greatest Hockey Movie Ever Made


Jonathon Jackson - 2009
    Yet many may be surprised to learn that the true story behind the making of the film is as captivating as the film itself. In The Making of Slap Shot, veteran sports writer Jonathon Jackson lets fans not only relive just how the film was made, but brings to light surprising facts (i.e., Al Pacino was the first choice for the role of Reggie Dunlop; almost every scene-even the absurd and unbelievable ones-depicts a real life event). With access to those involved in the making of the film, he brings to life some of the magic behind the creation of memorable scenes and characters, especially the Charleston Chiefs, one of the most popular fictional sports teams in history. Based on interviews with over 50 cast members, production staff, and anyone of note involved in the film's creation Destined to be a collectible and keepsake (along with the jerseys, bobbleheads, and other paraphernalia associated with the film), The Making of Slapshot is a must for fans eager to learn even more about their favorite film.

Player Substitution


Kristen Echo - 2017
    At least Miranda never thought so, until recently. He puts on a tough guy act for the rest of the world. He’s the rough, scrapper on the ice; the man’s man off it; and a tiger in the sack. It’s all bullshit, except for the last part—he’s a dynamo between the sheets. She gave him her heart and her virginity a long time ago. They were supposed to be the fairy-tale romance of high school sweethearts whose love transcended time. Instead, their marriage is a bad reality show with flaws displayed for the world to see, and it’s all his fault. He messed up. Big time. Now days before Christmas, she has a decision to make. Miranda isn’t the type to forgive and forget—this nice country girl has to be more cunning than that. They say all is fair in love and war. Let’s find out if that’s true as Miranda puts Chuck to the test. The best revenge is living happy and that’s what she plans to do. Player Substitution is a Holiday Hockey Romance and is intended for a mature audience. A change of underwear may be required.

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

Roughing


Jillian Quinn - 2017
    But he can’t get the one thing he wants. Two years ago, Bash lost the only girl who ever made him feel something. And he wants her back.Tori Reynolds hates football. But she hates Bash even more. After a not-so-chance encounter at a game, Bash has another shot with the girl who got away. While Bash might be a different person than before, Tori is hesitant to let him back into her life.Bash has never turned down a challenge, and when it comes to Tori, he’s willing to go the distance, and this time, he’s not just looking to score.

The Girl's Guide to (Man) Hunting


Jessica Clare - 2012
    He ditched her – and their little town – just as some rather shocking photos showed up on the internet for the whole town to see. Miranda wasn't so lucky. Stuck in Bluebonnet and left to fend for herself, she’s never really shaken the scandal — or his betrayal. After nine long years, he's back, and she has the chance to turn the tables on Dane…It’s time she got even.Former NHL hotshot playboy Dane Croft has returned home to open a survival training school on an old ranch, and reinvent himself. When his former high school girlfriend enrolls in his school, he has no idea that Miranda's plan is to get him in a compromising position—not the one he’s imagining, anyway. But soon Miranda realizes that to carry out her deviously sexy revenge, she'll have to get up close and personal with Dane all over again. Being a good girl got her nowhere for nine years, and now it's time to be a little naughty. But falling in love with the man that broke her heart was never part of the plan….

Breakaway


Lindsay Paige - 2013
    His rival is James Wayne University and their captain, Trevor McCarthy. After an incident in high school and his mother’s death, Levi does whatever he can to make McCarthy’s life a little harder. When leaving the rivaling campus one night, Levi meets one person who can unknowingly help him mess with McCarthy. My one job in this is to mess with McCarthy’s head and all it has done is mess with mine.Presley McCarthy lives in the shadow of her twin brother, Trevor. After being separated when their parents divorced, all Presley heard about was Levi Carr being a bully to Trevor. Now in college, Presley is trying to be her own person, but when she meets Levi Carr, it all changes. But will the changes be good or bad?He is nothing like my brother described. Maybe I’ve been wrong all along.*This book is intended for mature audiences.*