Book picks similar to
Playing to Win by Taryn Leigh Taylor


sports
romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance

Lightning


Sandi Lynn - 2016
    Playing in the NHL and for the New York Rangers had been my dream since I was six years old when my dad took me to my first game. Hockey was my life. It consumed me. It was the one thing in life that I could commit to. Relationships were a no. Sex with beautiful women and no strings attached were a yes. I was a bachelor—happy and living the dream. Then the accident happened and the doctors told me I’d never play hockey again. My life went to shit in the blink of an eye. All hope and the will to live was gone: until Brooke Alexander walked into my life.I was hired to help Logan Jackson get back on the ice. I had rules. Rules he needed to follow if he was going to play hockey again. He was stubborn, defiant and nothing I couldn’t handle. Rehabilitation was going to be difficult and pure hell. I had to break him in order to help him. I knew what it was like to have your dreams taken away and I was determined to give him his dream back, even if it meant losing him.

Hard Edge


Lainey Davis - 2017
    She *needs* to keep her tutoring job. What happens if their spark burns the rulebook? Neal Sweeney is the campus golden boy. He works hard and lives hard, but when his grades threaten his ability to play forward for SCU, the math department sets him up with a tutor. Studious, serious, and totally off limits, Dahlia Wardzinski steps into the study lounge and Neal is ready to learn whatever she's teaching. The only problem? Dahlia is a woman who follows the rules. She can't risk her work-study funding to cross a line with Neal. Things heat up when Neal makes a play in the library, and Dahlia finds herself doing things she never imagined. Will Dahlia's boss find out how badly she wants to let him score? Will she wind up just another notch on Neal Sweeney's bedpost? Hard Edge is a stand-alone sports romance with a guaranteed HEA.

Room for You


Beth Ehemann - 2013
    Ever since her ex—the girls’ father—vanished four years ago, Kacie’s sworn to keep her head in her studies and her heart out of trouble. Moving back home to her mother’s bed-and-breakfast had seemed like the best way to start over.But when hockey star Brody Murphy washes up on the front steps of the Cranberry Inn during a raging storm, he awakens a hunger in Kacie that she’s long forgotten…and he opens her eyes to a life she never thought was possible. With so much more to lose this time around, can Kacie trust her heart to make the right decision?***Room for You is the sweet, tantalizing first novel in bestselling author Beth Ehemann’s heartwarming Cranberry Inn series.

Skin in the Game


Jackie Barbosa - 2013
    Now grown up and coaching the high school team, she’s shocked when that same sexy quarterback returns to Harper Falls asks her back to his hotel room. And then tries to steal her job.Injured NFL quarterback Cade Reynolds is in Harper Falls to take over as interim head coach, and he never thought the tall, blond bombshell he propositioned would offer up any resistance. Not to a repeat of the amazingly wild night they shared and certainly not to his coaching position. But the Harper Falls High Eagles are Angie’s team, and even the hometown hero won’t take that away from her, no matter how hot he is. As the two engage in a battle of wits and wills, this is one game neither is prepared to lose.

Stripped Down


Kelli Ireland - 2014
    He knows how to take it off … Eric Reeves is the CEO of a real estate development firm that's on the cusp of a huge breakthough. Soon, he'll taste the first fruits of true success—or watch his dreams go up in smoke. But first he has to earn a living…by becoming Dalton Chase, the most sought-after stripper at Beaux Hommes, one of Seattle's most exclusive adult clubs. Cass Jameson hires Dalton for her best friend's bachelorette, but from the moment he steps through the door, his eyes never leave her. Dalton is hot, ripped and exactly what Cass needs to let off a little steam. Nothing can stop the primal need between them—to touch, to taste, to take…and to want more. Nothing except their real identities.

Little Lies


H. Hunting - 2020
    You mean nothing to me. I never loved you. I turned my words into swords.And I cut her down. Shoved the blade in and watched her fall. I said I’d never hurt her, and I did. Years later, I’m faced with all the little lies, the untruths, the false realities, the damage I inflicted, when all I wanted was to indulge my obsession. Lavender Waters is the princess in the tower. Even her name is the thing fairy tales are made of. I used to be the one who saved her. Over and over again. But I don’t want to save her anymore. I just want to pretend the lies are still the truth.A standalone angsty new adult romance. Heroine: Lavender Waters (Alex and Violet Waters’ youngest daughter, PUCKED and FOREVER PUCKED couple origin, Pucked Series )Hero: Kodiak (Kody) Bowman (Rook and Lainey Bowman’s son, A LIE FOR A LIE couple origin, All In Series )

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.

While She Was Sleeping...


Isabel Sharpe - 2010
    And she's having what can only be described as the Best Dream Ever. There's a deliciously hot guy, some pretty incredible moves and a conclusion that makes her toes curl. Mmm...yes. But the next morning Alana is shocked to find her fantasy man--for real--sprawled naked beside her in bed.It only gets worse. The excellently hot Sawyer Kern is her sister's brand-new boyfriend. The very same guy Alana came by to check on--because Melanie can be just so impulsive. Only now, Alana's really worried. Because gorgeous Sawyer seems to be looking for a repeat performance....

Dirty Deeds


Lorelei James - 2006
    The Native American bad-boy has a reputation for getting filthy—in and out of the bedroom. So when good-girl Tate Cross needs dirt work done, she hires the wickedly hot and surprisingly intuitive Nathan—secretly hoping she’ll get more than just her flowerbeds plowed. Smart and sexy Tate is exactly the type of woman Nathan’s been looking for. But he wants more than another fling, so he digs in his heels to prove to Miss-I-Don’t-Need-Romance that taking things slow will lead them to something real.But Tate isn’t interested in being romanced—even when Nathan’s sweet and charming ways are hard to resist. She’ll use every tool at her disposal to convince the former player to play with her and that getting down and dirty together is as real as it gets. This book has been previously published. Over 2600 revisions have been made to the bookWarning: A reformed bad boy who wants a taste of real love, and a good girl who wants just one taste of the wild side—and she’s willing to drive a hard bargain to get what she wants.

Kissing Micky


Ellen Devlin - 2018
    He was there, I was there, and our friends thought we’d be perfect for each other.Not only is Tom McCullin a hockey player on my favorite team, he’s also a gorgeous, glove-dropping defenseman straight out of my wildest fantasies. He’s almost too good to be true.His teammates call him Micky, but to me he’s Tom. And damn it all if the chemistry between us doesn’t wind up being amazing. Turns out we can’t keep our hands off each other, but it’s our secret. We’re not ready to share what we have with anyone else.So, while our friends keep wondering why things aren’t happening between us, little do they know that I’m already…Kissing Micky.

Hard Stick


L.P. Dover - 2017
    And he’s not afraid to use it.On the ice, I’m Kellan Carter, powerhouse enforcer for the Charlotte Strikers. Off the ice, I’m just a regular guy. The last thing I want is to get mobbed by a bunch of groupies who are only after me for my fame and money. My ideal woman knows how to enjoy a little good, clean fun—and maybe some not-so-clean fun too. That’s the kind of girl I’d never let go.When Kristen Robinson, the gorgeous, down-to-earth bartender I’ve been crushing on, agrees to let me take her out, I’m thrilled. We have an amazing night together, culminating in the most electrifying kiss of my life—and that’s it. Kristen tells me we can’t see each other again, but I know that kiss meant as much to her as it did to me. What I don’t know is that Kristen has a dangerous secret. . . .I’ve proved to Kristen that she can trust me with her body and her heart. But when her past comes back to haunt her, I need to prove that she can trust me with her life. And I might have to get my hands dirty after all.

Play the Game


Emma Tharp - 2021
    Gavin Wright doesn't have much except his scholarship and the hockey team, which is fine by him. To lose focus is to lose everything. He doesn't need friends, and especially doesn't need a girlfriend. Especially some privileged, BMW-driving princess. Her family would disown her if they knew she had feelings for a charity case, but her heart won't listen. Every cell in Stella Evans's brain tells her to steer clear of the sexy, brooding hockey player who sits next to her in Biology lab. Gavin is cold and cruel and treats her like she's the last person on earth he wants to be around. And yet she can't help the way her body responds when he's nearby. She's a distraction he can't afford. He's a sure path to her undoing. But one night, one kiss, threatens to destroy them both.