Book picks similar to
The Exception by Mickey Miller


sports-romance
romance
contemporary-romance
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Mountain Man's Accidental Baby Daughter


Lia Lee - 2018
     Nature was my domain. Where I preferred to be. Hiking trails. Guiding people through the tangle of scrub. But then I got the rescue call – a chick with a twisted ankle stuck on a hill. Typical city girls. Clueless. Only, when I found Fiona, I didn’t anticipate that she’d be so… smoking hot. Fawn-like eyes. Redheaded bob. Curvy figure… Hmm, my carnal desire went into overload. I helped her back to my cabin. But that was a mistake. My “mountain man” urges couldn’t be resisted. And the way she looked at me was far from innocent. So, we made love... all night long. After that, I never expected to see her again... Until she showed up at my house and uttered two words that changed everything: “I’m pregnant.” Fiona wasn’t just a mere rescue anymore. She was the mother of my baby. And that meant she was mine. But neither of us were prepared for what happened next…

Forget Me Knot


Rebecca Gallo - 2021
    After we're given a second chance to make things right, we do. But our happily ever after doesn't come easy. When Maverick's memories are stolen after a brutal injury, my love and loyalty are tested once more.

Cruel and Beautiful


A.M. Hargrove - 2015
    (Rated R) Cate Forbes , a dedicated college student with a carefully plotted future, doesn’t know the first thing about love. When she accepts a blind date with a rumored tasty piece of eye candy, she thinks she can get by with a night of fun. Cate’s plans quickly unravel when she gets one look at the sexy… Drew McKnight. The relentless hockey-playing medical resident knows what he wants— a career in Oncology and Cate. Although he’s heard the gorgeous brunette is a little relationship skittish, a single night out isn’t what he has in mind. Determined to have her — in every way possible— he shows her just what a future with him would hold. Only life has other plans. The unthinkable happens and everything begins to shatter. Both in too deep, they will have to fight the cruel and hang onto the beautiful.

Clutch Player


Nikki Ash - 2020
    Landon was my entire world, and I thought he would be my forever. But I was young and dumb, and with one error in judgement, I destroyed any chance of a future we could've had together, along with our hearts.Twelve years later and I'm going through the motions of life but not actually living. Which is why I let my friends, Bridget and Simon, set me up on a blind date. Turns out, it's not so blind after all. Because the man sitting in front of me is the same man who's held onto my heart all these years.LandonThey call me a clutch player because I'm good under pressure and quick on my feet. I was also quick to fall in love. The first time it was with baseball, the second was with Harper. And for a short time I had them both.Until I lost Harper and all I had left was baseball.For years, I focused on my career. I had accepted that baseball was my one true love.Until I saw her again. I never imagined we'd ever get a second chance, but now that she's sitting right across from me, I know there's no way in hell I'm going to let her go again.

Blitzed


Lauren Landish - 2016
    I brought her back to meet you.” I’m normally not into jocks, but when Troy Wood asks me out, I feel like I’m the Chosen One. After all, he’s hot as hell and Silver Lake’s best athlete, practically the King of Campus. God’s gift to women—that’s what they call him, but I’ll make a gentleman out of him. Everything is perfect, and he already practically has his ticket to the Big Leagues. There’s just one little problem . . . I’m hiding a secret that could destroy him and his future. I can’t tell him . . . I can’t tell him that I’m pregnant with his baby. **Blitzed is a full-length romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger!

Accidental Neighbor


Sharon Woods - 2021
    That includes the hard work of rebuilding their lives after his wife’s tragic death a year ago. But unrelenting grief and fear of suffering another loss keeps him from moving forward and embracing the possibility of love again.Jennifer takes nothing for granted. She knows to get ahead at work; she has to work harder than everyone else and remain focused. Focusing would be a lot easier if Thomas wasn’t so irresistible, and her overprotective father wasn’t so disapproving of the romance.With his heart and his daughters’ well-being at the forefront of his mind, will Thomas deny himself the opportunity to love again, or will he follow his heart and see where it leads?

Fractured Love


Ella James - 2017
    Landon Jones, a boy with nothing, from nowhere. He had cinnamon hair and blue eyes—light blue, just like mine. When we went out as a family with my foster brother, people asked if Landon was my twin. He wasn’t. That year, we found out how much he wasn’t. When my parents caught us, they threw Landon out like trash.Now I’m twenty-nine, a soon-to-be surgeon, like my mom and dad. I know residency is going to kick my ass, but I had no idea that it would rip my heart out, too. Not until I see him—Dr. Jones.--The third standalone contemporary romance in the Off-Limits Romance collection. Coming in July.

The Enemy Trap


Maren Moore - 2021
    Hayes Davis is America’s sweetheart, the #1 hockey player in the country, and my fake fiancé.Simple, right? It would be, if my betrothed were anyone else.But it turns out America’s sweetheart is arrogant, selfish, and a guy I have no intentions of letting break my heart again.It was never supposed to happen.But then one night changes everything.Now, he’s not only my pretend fiancé but my very real baby daddy.How can two people who hate each other pull off the lie of a lifetime while figuring out how to raise a child together?Everything between us was supposed to be fake, but I’m not pretending anymore

Chasing Butterflies


Terri E. Laine - 2016
    Laine brings a new standalone New Adult Romance novel, Chasing Butterflies, about second chances on and off the field. One night … one kiss … one touch … will change everything. Kelley Moore’s tragic home life should make him a survivor. But when he’s uprooted yet again, his plans for a better future seem impossible. Being a player on and off the football field is all he knows, until Lenora Wells. The beautiful town princess makes him feel and want things he never thought he could have… Lenora will do anything to get out of her town, even if it means dating the wrong guy. There’s one problem: she can’t stop thinking about the gorgeous, complicated boy with the unusual eyes who gives her butterflies and makes her question her choices. When their lives collide, the world shifts and not in their favor. Four years later, the sins of their past can never be taken back and forgiveness won’t come easy. College is a different game, a second chance for something better. She’s not the girl he remembers and he’s the one boy she can never forget. He’s made a name for himself as the star quarterback -- the golden boy who can do no wrong. But he’s only interested in being her hero. Despite everything, she can’t deny he still makes her heart flutter; and she’s got him chasing butterflies. *Warning this new adult romance contains adult content and language and may not be suitable for younger readers.

Arrested


Nicola Rose - 2022
    Ten years of regret. Will a second night ruin them forever?GraceTen years ago, Kane Walker stole my heart.One night of passion and emotional revelations was all it took. All of my pain and turmoil shared with someone who actually understood. Or so I thought. The degrading video that he broadcast to the world the next day proved otherwise.But if I want closure, I'm going to have to face him again. And this time it won't be me on my knees — it'll be him.KaneTen years ago, Grace Clemente ran away with my heart.Grabbed it and took off without so much as a backward glance. I could have followed the same downward spiral of my life into complete destruction, but I chose to fix my mistakes.If I'm ever lucky enough that she returns, she won't find the deadbeat she expects. She'll find the town sheriff. And maybe this time I won't let her go — even if it means locking her up.

Written in the Scars


Adriana Locke - 2016
    It was just so damn easy to fall for the dark-haired hometown hero with his charming smile and strong, athletic build.Thousands of sleepy smiles, aimless drives down country roads, and squeaks of the backdoor after a swing shift later, reality hits. And it hits hard. Falling in love was definitely the easy part. Watching it break apart was impossible.Through the tears, the second-guesses, the memories of a life built together, the world keeps spinning. With each turn comes clarity and hope—sometimes in the form of a pair of muddy boots by the back door or from the words of a wise friend.When Ty shows back up with a new found determination to put his family back together, Elin's torn between the fights of the past and the possibility of a new start. This is the man that holds her heart, the man she loves beyond anything else. But this is also the one person in the world that can cause her the most pain.Life’s not always easy. Love’s not for the faint of heart. But with life comes lessons and Ty and Elin have the scars to prove it. But it's their love written in those scars that will hold them together … or break them apart.

Something Old


Liz Lovelock - 2021
    My name is Scarlett and my life is a mess.I’m two divorces down and don’t have any intention of going for a third.Then Lachlan—big time football superstar, one night stand turned husband in a shotgun-Vegas-style wedding, then ex-husband within twenty-four hours—stumbles back into my life.How can I keep him at bay and my heart from breaking again?

The Changeup


A.M. Williams - 2019
    Tall. Handsome. Compassionate. Confident. He makes me feel things I haven’t in years.There’s just one problem: me. He can’t stand me and I’m getting to where I can’t stand him either.The glares stiffen my resolve to forget about my dream man and concentrate on my new job.Except...eventually those stares turn to something more. More heated. More promising. More everything.ChaseEmma Carlisle is what I didn’t know I needed in my life until I saw her.I don’t want her in my life, though. I have too much riding on my shoulders to concentrate on a relationship. A sick mom. A team owner who’s breathing down my neck to win a baseball championship.It’s easier to ignore her and pretend like she doesn’t exist than to think about how pretty she is or how I feel alive whenever she's around.But one surprise kiss and I’m left wanting more. One glimpse into what love could be like and I can’t think of anything else.We have to decide if it’s worth tempting fate and the flames of desire to see what love might be like.The Changeup is the first book in A.M. Williams Boys of Summer baseball romance series. It’s a workplace, enemies-to-lovers romance that features two perfectionists struggling to come to terms with the curveballs life has for them.If you love men in tight pants and the sassy women they fall for, this series is for you.This book was previously published as Coached in Love. It has been updated with new content and re-edited.

Beautifully Broken (Beautiful, #1)


Tara Lee - 2020
    For years, I tried I really did. When I finally broke free of my demons, she planted me firmly in the friend-zone.I'll fight to win her back no matter the cost. With the chemistry we have, I'm not holding back. I'll even play dirty if I have to. My past proves to be more difficult to keep away than I thought. I need to fight the addiction, need to stay focused, because Luna is what matters most.My purpose on this Earth is loving Luna unconditionally and wholeheartedly.My past wasn't full of sunshine and rainbows. It was a living hell. Runaway mother, abusive father, dead brother—yeah my life’s a damn dream. It made me dark and angry. Made me into someone I hated, but Luna made everything better. She made me want to be better. But sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can't change who we are. My past isn't everything I thought it was. I uncover something which changes everything. Can I make Luna fall in love with me all over again, or is it too late? I may be broken, but together we are beautifully broken.Luna:Ethan Knight, the boy I fell in love with at twelve, is back. His addiction was what tore us apart. He promised he'd change, but he never did. Until now.He somehow got hotter, and even his charms are more dangerous. Putting him in the friend-zone was the right thing to do. I know it won’t last, but a girl needs to try, right?Ethan's life is a mess. Can he really be a different person, be the guy I fell head over heels in love with? Us together was never a good idea, but the spark between us hasn't burned out yet. In fact, it feels stronger, and my heart can only take so much! Daddy always warned me to stay away from Ethan, and it may have been for good reason. Ethan's past is more corrupt than even he thought. Can we really overcome everything? Or will we come crashing down into the beautifully broken mess that awaits us?

Internship with the Devil


Jaqueline Snowe - 2020
    But working under Brock Anderson turns out to be the job from hell. The hometown hero turned athletic trainer has a reputation as the best in his field, but his volatile personality makes working with him miserable.Despite the animosity between them, he’s highly respected in his field and interning under him could mean everything for her career. The long days, longer nights, injuries, and busses filled with smelly athletes are the easy part. The biggest battle is the unwarranted attraction to Brock that she can’t seem to shake. But as Grace spends more and more time with her brooding boss, she uncovers that his abrasive nature is deep rooted in his grief—something she’s no stranger to. The glimpses of the man beneath the harsh exterior Brock presents to the world leave Grace conflicted in her feelings for him. As the internship draws to a close, Grace is faced with a choice that could set her future on an entirely new course.