Book picks similar to
Defending the Rush by Jamie Bennett


sports-romance
sports
romance
contemporary-romance

The Perfect Stroke


Jordan Marie - 2016
    He wasn’t supposed to rock my world. CC Gray Lucas is everything I hate in a man. Cocky, rich, entitled and a player. He’s a pro athlete and his exploits are legendary—one of which was me. We had a one-night-stand. It was wild, passionate, exhilarating and a big mistake. Except maybe it wasn’t. Because the more time I spend with him and his crazy family, the more I want him to stay… But men don’t stay…do they? Gray The moment I saw Claudia Cooper again, other women ceased to exist for me. She’s smart-mouthed, tough-as-nails, and gorgeous. She’s perfect. I’m the man for her, the only man for her. She just doesn’t know it yet. I have a reputation for playing hard, fast and dirty. Love ‘em and Leave ‘em. What CC doesn’t know yet, Is that I'm not playing. I’m claiming her. Take a man who always gets what he wants, A woman who has learned not to want, A crazy mother and insane siblings… And oh yeah add in a skunk just to make things interesting— And you just might have The Perfect Stroke. WARNING: Don't go looking for golf in this book...but you may spot a birdie or two. Complete Stand Alone Novel with HEA inside. Please NOTE this book will say it ends at 50 some percent but in actuality is a FULL Length Novel. It just CONTAINS a 2nd BOOK (Unjustified Demands) FREE.

Close to Me


Monica Murphy - 2020
    My first crush.My first kiss.The boy who ripped my heart out of my chest again and again. Over and over. I let him have it every single time.Willingly.We are that toxic high school couple you hear about, the one you witness in the hallway avoiding each other. You laugh at them in class when they’re forced to work together, their gazes full of hatred. We are the couple you gossip about when they win homecoming prince and princess their sophomore year…The back and forth is what kills me the most. I’m not his princess, I’m the girl he toys with when he’s bored. And he’s definitely not my prince, no matter how badly I want him to be.Our senior year and we’re months away from never having to see each other again when disaster strikes—and brings us closer together. All it takes is one touch, and I’m burning for Ash. Hotter than I ever have.But will that burn turn into a devastating fire? Or can we actually make it work this time?

Change of Hart


M.E. Carter - 2014
    As the best defensive lineman in the country, I eat, sleep and breathe football. And I like it that way. I’ve only got a few more years before I’ll have to retire, so expending energy on anything other than football seems like a waste of time.That is, until I have a random meeting with a little boy who just lost his father. We have more in common than you might think and it creates an unlikely bond. As our friendship grows, so do my feelings for his mother.I know Addison, as a recent widow, isn’t ready to date again. But I want to get to know her better, in spite of all her rejections.Is it possible that I, a self-proclaimed bachelor, could be having a Change of Hart?

Puck Me Secretly


Odette Stone - 2018
    I’ve never had an orgasm, but I’ve faked plenty. I want to experience love.  Real, passionate love. I don’t want to die. It’s funny what blurts out of your mouth when the plane you’re on is going down, and I didn’t hold back with my seat mate when my plane decided to crash. My hysterical confessions didn’t faze the muscular stranger that sat beside me.  In fact, he promised if we survived, he’d give me my first orgasm.   We survived. I came. And then he left without telling me who he was. On the first day of my job, I stood in front of the Vancouver Wolves hockey team and called out a number.  #33. Imagine my shock when he skated forward. Max is an incredible hockey player, whose wild, out-of-control antics have almost derailed his career.  So many secrets shroud his past and continue to threaten his future.   Now he’s my secret.  And that secret could ruin everything.   Puck Me SECRETLY.  Some secrets are too big to keep. Intended for adult audiences only.

It Had to Be You


Susan Elizabeth Phillips - 1994
    And Phoebe is definitely not prepared for the Stars' head coach Dan Calebow, a sexist jock taskmaster with a one-track mind. This is the book that began it all. The Chicago Stars are about to take the field... and they’re not the only ones playing for keeps.

Only When It's Us


Chloe Liese - 2020
    Why she hates me, I don't know. What I do know is that Willa is the kind of chaos I don’t need in my tidy life. She’s the next generation of women’s soccer. Wild hair, wilder eyes. Bee-stung lips that should be illegal. And a temper that makes the devil seem friendly. She’s a thorn in my side, a menacing, cantankerous, pain-in-the-ass who’s turned our Business Mathematics course into a goddamn gladiator arena. I'll leave this war zone unscathed, coming out on top…And if I have my way with that crazy-haired, ball-busting hellion, that will be in more than one sense of the word.  Willa Rather than give me the lecture notes I missed like every other instructor I’ve had, my asshole professor tells me to get them from the silent, surly flannel-wearing mountain man sitting next to me in class. Well, I tried. And what did I get from Ryder Bergman? Ignored. What a complete lumbersexual neanderthal. Mangy beard and mangier hair. Frayed ball cap that hides his eyes. And a stubborn refusal to acknowledge my existence. I’ve battled men before, but with Ryder, it's war. I’ll get those notes and crack that Sasquatch nut if it’s the last thing I do, then I’ll have him at my mercy. Victory will have never tasted so sweet. Only When It’s Us is a frenemies-to-lovers, college sports romance about a women’s soccer star and her surly lumberjack lookalike classmate, complete with a matchmaking professor, juvenile pranks, and a smoking slow burn. This standalone is the first in a series of new novels about a Swedish-American family of five brothers, two sisters, and their wild adventures as they each find happily ever after.

Score


Christine Bell - 2016
     A bunch of cocky, lying cheaters who think they’re god’s gift to women, just like my dear old dad. I’ve managed to avoid them my whole college career until now >.< I just got assigned to be wide receiver Callum Samskevitch’s physical therapist. Pro: It will be great to add to my resume. Con: I have to see him. Every. Single. Day. Which would be fine…if he wasn’t so dang sexy… Cal Football is all I’ve got, so when Coach saddles me with some frumpy PT student with a chip on her shoulder, all I can think is doom. I don’t have time for this. Not now. Not when my dreams are on the verge of being crushed. All that should matter right now is ball. So why can’t I stop imagining what Bee Mitchell is hiding beneath those baggy sweatshirts?

Looking to Score


Carrie Gray - 2020
    Oakley Davis is the star running back at our University, and the reason I’ve broken my vow to avoid the college party scene. Thanks to a mixup with my advisor, I’m now serving my Public Relations internship as a glorified babysitter to the party-hard football players.Specifically, Oakley.He’s impossible to manage. His Instagram is full of half-naked, drunk photos and he’d rather attend parties than practice. His brand needs some serious work, and when he’s not driving me insane, he’s sleeping his way through the entire female population. But I’m determined. I have plans to graduate a semester early and nothing or no one will get in my way. I’m a Virgo, after all. Oakley Davis might be a privileged, cocky, football star, but I’m Amanda Matthews; and I’ll do whatever it takes to get my A. I have to make sure I don’t end up falling in love with the idiot, first.

Hopeless Romantic


Julie Capulet - 2019
    Introverted and studious, she plans on spending most of her time holed up in the library working on her novel and keeping to herself. But when she gets dragged along to a school football game by her fun, football-mad new roommate, the hot alpha quarterback almost drops the ball at his very first sight of her.Bo McCabe is saving himself. A hopeless romantic at heart, he’s holding out for the real thing. As soon as he lays eyes on the shy stranger with the striking gray eyes and the angel’s face, he’ll stop at nothing to find out if she’s the one he’s been waiting for all along. Millie thinks Bo's insta-obsession is insanity and wants nothing to do with him. But Bo is determined. Because, somehow, Millie has already stolen his heart … and he is now utterly obsessed with winning hers.Can Bo convince Millie he’s the man of her dreams? Hopeless Romantic is a sexy standalone novella, starring an obsessed hero and the love of his life (includes three hopelessly romantic HEA epilogues!). This book is a tribute to love at first sight and insta-everything (because it happened to me :). Book #1 in the McCabe Brothers series

The Matchmaker's Playbook


Rachel Van Dyken - 2016
    As one of the masterminds behind Wingmen, Inc., a successful and secretive word-of-mouth dating service, he’s putting his extensive skills with women to work for the lovelorn. But when Blake Olson requests the services of Wingmen, Inc., Ian may have landed his most hopeless client yet.From her frumpy athletic gear to her unfortunate choice of footwear, Blake is going to need a miracle if she wants to land her crush. At least with a professional matchmaker by her side she has a fighting chance. Ian knows that his advice and a makeover can turn Blake into another successful match. But as Blake begins the transformation from hot mess to smokin’ hot, Ian realizes he’s in danger of breaking his cardinal rule.…

Smart Tass


Mimi Jean Pamfiloff - 2017
    She’s the smart girl he loves to pick on.And now that they’re all grown up, things are about to get geekin’ ugly…My name is Tass. I’m smart, I’m driven, and I am determined not to let prankster Hunter Johnson continue raining on my parade. When we were little, he’d pull my hair and call me names. When we were teenagers, he’d throw food and tease me for being a flat-chested virgin. But now that we’ve ended up at the same college, he’s out of his hot head if he thinks he can keep messing with my life. It’s like he’s fixated on me or something. Well, guess what, Mr. Amazefootball? I’m not that geeky little girl anymore and you do not screw with a smart woman. So what’s my plan? It’s definitely wild, and he’s about to find out…

Waking Olivia


Elizabeth O'Roark - 2016
    She's trouble of the devious, manipulative, too-f***ing-hot-for-her-own good variety. She's the kind of girl who causes trouble merely by existing, and then makes sure to cause more. And the last thing I need right now is more trouble."A failing farm.His father’s debt.And a struggling college track team. Will Langstrom has too many responsibilities, and the last thing he needs is Olivia Finnegan, a beautiful but troubled new transfer student.A smart mouth. A strong right hook.And a secret that could destroy her. Olivia is her own worst enemy, with a past she can’t seem to escape, and the last person she wants help from is a cocky track coach she can never seem to please.Refusing to be pushed away, Will is determined to save her. And determined to resist an attraction that could destroy them both.

Illegal Contact


Santino Hassell - 2017
    Gavin already has a reputation as a jerk with a temper on and off the field—which doesn’t help him once he finds himself on the wrong side of the law. And while he’s been successful professionally, he’s never been lucky when it comes to love.Noah Monroe is a recent college grad looking for a job—any job—to pay off his mounting student debt. Working as Gavin’s personal assistant/babysitter seems like easy money. But Noah isn’t prepared for the electrifying tension between him and the football player. He’s not sure if he’d rather argue with Gavin or tackle him to the floor. But both men know the score, and neither is sure what will happen once Gavin's timeout is over…

The Cheat Sheet


Sarah AdamsSarah Adams - 2021
    The first step is admitting, right? Except, I can never admit it to him because he clearly doesn’t see me that way, and the last thing I want is for things to get weird between us.Nothing but good old-fashioned, no-touching-the-sexiest-man-alive, platonic friendship for us! Everything is exactly how I like it! Yes. Good. (I’m not crying, I’m just peeling an onion.)Our friendship is going swimmingly until I accidentally spill my beans to a reporter over too much tequila, and now the world seems to think me and Nathan belong together. Oh, and did I mention we have to date publicly for three weeks until after the Super Bowl because we signed a contract with...oops, forgot I can’t tell anyone about that! Bottom line is, now my best friend is smudging all the lines and acting very un-platonic, and I’m just trying to keep my body from bursting into flames every time he touches me.How am I going to make it through three weeks of fake dating Nathan without anything changing between us? Especially when it almost-sort-a-kinda seems like he’s fighting for a completely different outcome?Send help.XO Bree

Challenge


Amy Daws - 2016
    She’s his doctor. They shouldn’t. But God, do they want to. Camden Harris, the famously hot, hulk of a footballer is laid up in a London hospital. But his busted knee doesn’t stop him from running his well-practiced game on Indie Porter—his redheaded spitfire of a doctor. She’s not his type, not even close. But she could be the perfect distraction from the soul-crushing damage this injury could cost him. Indie’s tired of her naivety putting a target on her back. As a gifted child, she’s let her education take the front seat her whole life. But a fling with a footballer like Camden might be just what she needs to grab life by the balls. And he could be the perfect guy for the plan she’s been sitting on for over two years. But when feelings make a final play, there’s no amount of medicine that can heal the damage to their hearts.