Book picks similar to
The Match by Winter Renshaw


sports
romance
sports-romance
single-parent

One Percent of You


Michelle Gross - 2019
    I know what I look like to others. Young, government-aided, pregnant mom. They see Lucy on my hip, and they see a mistake. I mean, why else would someone have a child so young, right? They couldn’t be more wrong. I’m too busy most days between parenting, work, and finishing up my last year of nursing school to let their judging gaze tear me down until he moves in the vacant house next to the apartments I live in. His cold, blunt observation of us doesn’t differ from any other stranger. He doesn’t know me, but he’s already painting a picture of who he thinks I am in his mind. He judges my very round belly, Lucy’s inability to leave him alone, the bags under my eyes, and the fact that I could not care less what I look like anymore. He’s a rude guy. Stays that way for months too. Then something happens, I’m not even sure what. Judgmental Guy decides Lucy and me — as well as baby Eli — are worth his friendship. Turns out, Judgmental Guy isn’t too mean — okay, he kind of still is. But he graduates to Elijah. I build an unlikely friendship with him which deems it necessary for him to start smiling around me and my kids. I’m wrong again. Elijah isn’t rude. He’s terrifying. His strange acts of kindness are unraveling me. Elijah is only my friend. Right? Oh, fudge. I think I’m wrong. Again.

Tattered


Devney Perry - 2018
    It’s somewhere just above the trash can her mother dumped her in as a newborn but below the class where much comes easy. With her tattered shoes and bargain-bin clothes, her life has never been full of glamour. So when a rich and charismatic man takes interest, she doesn’t fool herself into thinking their encounter is anything more than a one-night stand. Months later, she’s kicking herself for not getting his phone number. Or his last name. She’s given up hope of seeing him ever again.Until one day, years later, Logan Kendrick waltzes into her life once more and turns everything she’s built upside down. This time around, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s going to fight to keep him in her life—not for herself.But for their daughter.

The Varsity Dad Dilemma


Lex Martin - 2021
    Until someone drops off a baby with a note pinned to her blanket that says one of those jocks—either Rider or one of his roommates—is the father. The problem? Baby mama doesn’t mention which of these numbskulls is the sperm donor.I wouldn’t care about their paternity problems—not the slightest bit—except my brother lives there too. Which means that adorable squawking bundle might be my niece, and there’s no way I’m leaving her unattended with those bumbling football players.They need my help, even if they don’t know it yet. Once we solve this dilemma and figure out who’s the daddy, I’m out.I’ll just ignore Rider and those soul-searing looks he gives me every time I reach for the baby. He broke my heart three years ago. He won’t get a second chance.

Stuck-Up Suit


Vi Keeland - 2016
    It started out like any other morning on the train.Until I became mesmerized by the guy sitting across the aisle.He was barking at someone on his phone like he ruled the world.Who did the stuck-up suit think he was...God?Actually, he looked like a God. That was about it.When his stop came, he got up suddenly and left. So suddenly, he dropped his phone on the way out.I might have picked it up.I might have gone through all of his photos and called some of the numbers.I might have held onto the mystery man's phone for days―until I finally conjured up the courage to return it.When I traipsed my ass across town to his fancy company, he refused to see me.So, I left the phone on the empty desk outside the arrogant jerk's office.I might have also left behind a dirty picture on it first though.I didn't expect him to text back.I didn't expect our exchanges to be hot as hell.I didn't expect to fall for him―all before we even met.The two of us couldn't have been any more different.Yet, you know what they say about opposites.When we finally came face to face, we found out opposites sometimes do more than attract―we consumed each other.Nothing could have prepared me for the ride he took me on. And I certainly wasn't prepared for where I'd wind up when the ride was over.All good things must come to an end, right?Except our ending was one I didn't see coming.

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

Ride


Harper Dallas - 2017
    Player. Adrenaline junkie. Snowboarder Chase Austin has a reputation—and not just for being the world’s best extreme athlete. He’s as cold as the mountains he rides, loyal only to his crew . . . and panties drop wherever he goes.Photographer Brooke Larson knows better than to let him get through her emotional Kevlar. So what if she used to have his poster on her bedroom wall? She’s not a teenager with a crush anymore. Chase Austin is her key to the big time, and she’s getting his photo no matter what.Too bad the only place Chase wants her is in his bed.Men leave. Success is forever. Brooke knows the drill, and she’s not letting anyone get in the way of her career—or into her heart.But whether it’s on the slopes or between the sheets, riding with the best means risking it all.

Bad Cruz


L.J. Shen - 2021
    Cruz Costello is my archenemy.But that would require acknowledging one another, which we haven’t done in over a decade.He’s the town’s golden child. The beloved quarterback-turned-physician.I’m the girl who got knocked up at sixteen and now works at a diner.He is Fairhope royalty.I get my monarch dose from tabloid gossip.He’s well-off.I’m…well, off.When our siblings get engaged, Cruz’s parents invite both families to a pre-wedding cruise.Except Cruz and I find ourselves stuck on a different ship from everyone else.Cue ten horrible, insufferable days at sea with a man I cannot stand.(My fault, of course.)But when the alcohol pours in, the secrets spill out, and I’m left with one question:Can I take another chance on love?

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.

Kiss and Don't Tell


Meghan Quinn - 2021
    Steamy and unapologetically witty.Five hockey players, a cabin in the woods . . . and little old me, Winnie Berlin.Sounds like the start of a fantasy, right? But it's not. It's my reality.It all started when I got lost in the middle of the Canadian Rockies. A wicked thunderstorm sent my car mud sliding into a ditch and for a girl whose survival skills involve finding the nearest Starbucks, I was in deep trouble.Forced to abandon my car in search of help, I stumbled upon a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Soaking wet, irritated, and in desperate need of a hot shower, I knocked on the door for help only to be greeted by five boisterous, burly, and insanely attractive men.Not just men.Professional hockey players.I hit the motherload of fantasies, right? Wrong.Because as it turns out, one of them is my ex-boyfriend's half-brother. And when I end up crashing in their spare bedroom for the night, things take a very unexpected turn.I'm not sure any amount of survival skills can protect my heart from Vancouver Agitators star goalie, Pacey Lawes. But as long as we kiss and don’t tell, maybe everything will be okay . . .

The Pickup


Nikki Ash - 2019
    The world decides for us. But I disagree.I believe love is a decision. Who we love, how we love. It’s in our control - in our hands.I grew up having no clue about the true meaning of love. Money. Cars. Houses. Status. Fame. That’s what love means to the people around me.It wasn’t until the woman I picked up in a bar came back into my life and showed me love can be so much more.So, what’s the problem?The woman I’m falling in love with believes in fairytales. She compares everything to a storybook and wants the happily-ever-after.So while she’s stuck on recreating stories that have already been told, page by page, I’m showing her it’s time we write our own book.Nobody ever said the journey of falling in love would be easy, just that it would be worth it. The Pickup is a standalone sports romance.

The Hardest Fall


Ella Maise - 2018
    You smile, say hello. Should be simple, if you’re anyone but me. The first time I met Dylan Reed, I found myself making eye contact with a different part of his body. You see, I’m very good at being shy, not to mention extremely well-versed in rambling nonsense and, unfortunately, rather highly skilled at making a fool of myself in front of a guy I’m attracted to. At the time, I knew nothing about him and thought none of what I said would matter since I’d never speak to him again. Turns out, I was very wrong. He was the star wide receiver of the football team, one of the few players expected to make it into the NFL, and I ended up seeing him all over campus. I might have also propositioned him, run away from him, attacked him with a cooking utensil…and…uh, maybe I shouldn’t tell you all of it. It’s pretty normal stuff, things you’d expect…from me. Eventually, the time came when I couldn’t hide anymore—not that he’d have let me even if I tried. Before now, he never knew I was secretly watching him. Now that we see each other every day, he knows when I have a hard time looking away. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most subtle person in the world either. He smiles at me and tells me he finds me fascinating because of my quirks. I can’t even tell him that I think my heart beats differently whenever he’s around. He thinks we’re going to be best friends. I think I have a big thing for him, and the more I get to know him, the more I don’t care that I’m not allowed to be his friend, let alone fall for him. The thing is, that’s exactly what I’m doing—what we’re doing, I think. Falling. Hard.

Hardball


C.D. Reiss - 2016
    Perfect swing. Perfect swagger.They call Dash Wallace the Diamond King.He’s the hottest commodity in baseball and in the bedroom. When he runs the bases, every woman’s eyes are glued to his stunning body and a smile that puts the night lights to shame. I’m no queen. I’m a regular girl with a regular job. I just watch him on TV and from the bleachers, season after season. Girls like me grab a guy like that one in a million times.My number just came up, and he is as spectacular in bed as he is on the field.But there’s not a woman in the world who can distract Dash Wallace from the game. Not for a moment. Not even me.Until the night I do. And everything changes.-----Hardball is a SMOKING HOT, SEXY romance with a touch of angst and a ton of heart from CD Reiss. It's a fun, witty, full-length standalone.

Filthy Rich


Raine Miller - 2016
    But the moment he sees Brooke Casterley, none of that matters. Caleb is filled with a raw, undeniable need that he can’t ignore…for a girl who is so completely different from everything and everyone he’s ever known.Only Brooke isn’t looking for love. She knows all too well just how much damage the wrong guy can do. Still, what sane, broke British girl can resist the charms of an incredibly sexy, chivalrous billionaire? What starts as flirtation quickly turns into all-consuming passion. Nothing could have prepared her for the searing heat of Caleb’s touch—or just how much she craves him.Their whirlwind romance is the stuff of high-society fantasy—but for every moment of pleasure, there is a cost. Past mistakes and tragedy shadow them both…and falling for him might be the kind of trouble she can’t afford.

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.

Welcome to the Cameo Hotel


K.I. Lynn - 2018
    The effect she has on me is intense, and I make her life a living hell because of it.I love her spirit, her internal defiance when completing the most inane task I assign her. My two week stay has turned into unending, just to be near her.She’s under my every command if she wants to keep me happy.There’s one last thing I want.Her.***Welcome to the Cameo Hotel is a stand alone novel***