Book picks similar to
Courtside Crush by Kayla Tirrell
young-adult
contemporary
sports
romance
Rushing Into Love: A small-town sports romance
Kara Kendrick - 2021
Work. Football. That’s my life summed up in three words.Sure, I used to be a pro NFL baller, but now I’m perfectly content with a quiet life in my small hometown of Peachtree Grove, Georgia.That is until Bree, a beautiful blonde dating expert, gets tackled at my Pee Wee football practice, knocking me off my game.I swore I’d never get involved again after my messy divorce left me reeling, but one date with Bree and I’m dropping all my hesitations—along with my jersey. Now she has me rethinking my plays.But will the tabloids, my ex, and Bree’s complicated past keep us in the friendzone?
Could Be Something Good
Fiona West - 2020
Never mind that she's his attending physician's daughter and she's a few years older than him. The hot blonde midwife just gave him the cold shoulder at the elevators at Santiam Hospital, but he never did give up easy. There's too much at stake: women who understand his comic book quotes don't come along every day. After bonding over early-morning Mexican food, can he convince her that he's just the arm candy she needs for that wedding she's dreading...and show her he can be what she needs after all? Winnie Baker isn’t taking her cousin to another wedding. And she's not going by herself, not with her ex-boyfriend blowing up her phone with texts, asking to be her date. But the pickings are a bit slim in Timber Falls, a sleepy Oregon town in the foothills of the Cascades. She moved here to focus on building her midwifery practice, not get involved with millennial boys with trendy shoes and witty comebacks for days. When her mother’s constant scrutiny leads Winnie to make a rash bet, can their fledgling relationship take the heat of the whole town’s attention? Start the book Publishers Weekly called “small-town romance done right.”
Could Be Something Good is the first book in the Timber Falls sweet romantic comedy series. It contains mild cursing, a make-out scene involving melted butter and stolen moments in medical supply closets, but no open door sex scenes. If you like ridiculous bets, meddling relatives, and reverse dates, grab this book now.
Never Have I Ever Kissed My Brother's Best Friend
Juliet Bardsley - 2019
He’s always seen her as his best friend’s little sister. What happens when they’re forced together? Gavin Mitchell is a star soccer player, the best looking senior at Cedar Oaks High, and a potential recruit for the college of his dreams. But if Gavin doesn’t raise his English grade, all his plans of playing soccer for his dream school will be crushed. Enter Kenzie Fair, his best friend’s smart little sister. Mackenzie (Kenzie) Fair has the best friend in the world, an enviable collection of books, and the highest grades in the junior class. But there’s one thing she doesn’t have—Gavin Mitchell—the guy she’s crushed on for forever. The guy she acts like a total spaz around. The guy who also happens to be her brother’s best friend. When the two are forced to spend time together studying Shakespeare, it’s only a matter of time before Gavin sees Kenzie as more than his best friend’s little sister. The problem is, she still is. Is it worth risking his lifelong friendship for the chance to date Kenzie? This is Book 1 in the Never Ever Love series. All books in the series are sweet and swoon-worthy novellas that can be read in any order.
Team Mom
Delaney Cameron - 2015
As a preschool teacher, she’s used to dealing with toddlers, not nine-year-olds. Noting her nephew’s interest in baseball, Julie signs him up for little league. She’s anything but thrilled to find out that his coach is a celebrity. Eric Gibson returned to St Marys to lick his wounds and start over. But even in his hometown, he’s known more for his unfortunate appearance on a reality dating show than for his seven years in the major leagues. All he has to show for that poor decision is an ex-wife and a broken heart. Julie’s obvious disapproval makes her the perfect choice for his team mom. If she doesn’t like him, she won’t cause any problems. But will that be enough to keep his growing interest in her in check? And as Julie’s preconceived notions about sports figures slowly unravel, will she be able to resist the man behind the public persona?
Dirty Little Secret
Jennifer Echols - 2013
She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that Bailey was their songwriter. The music scouts wanted only Julie, and their parents were content to sit by and let her fulfill her dreams while Bailey’s were hushed away.Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is set to hit the charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed-up tribute groups at the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam take her there again…
10 Dates
Emily James - 2017
However, when her engagement starts to look more stalemate than soulmate, her best friend stages an intervention sure to make even the most hardened, serial daters wince: 10 Dates in 10 Days. Statistically, if you kiss a lot of frogs there's bound to be at least one that's not a complete toad, isn't there? With nothing to lose, Joanie embarks on a crazy rollercoaster of blind dates. After all, what can possibly go wrong in the search for Mr. Right? 10 Dates is a standalone, sexy, laugh out loud romantic comedy with a happy ending. It is not for the feint hearted and is best suited for readers over the age of eighteen due to sexual themes and mature content.
Honey Bee
Heather Shere - 2017
No hassles, no complications, and no heartache. As the handsome high school athletics coach, he would be the pick of the small town he grew up in... if he was into commitment, or dating...or even calling back. But he has sworn off anything resembling a future and his mind isn't going to change. Then his eyes lock on the new girl in town...She’s beautiful, intelligent, and full of surprises. Just the kind of complication he has been avoiding.Sophia Brown is looking for the sweet simple life. She has it all planned out. Getting used to life alone isn't easy, but she has her garden, her bees, and her dog Triton to tend to. It's the fresh start she's been dreaming of, surrounded by nothing but open fields to stare at all day. Nothing at all...unless you count the high school football team and their distractingly handsome coach, practicing right across the street.When sparks fly, Bo must choose between the sting of his past or the sweetness of the future. He may just find that honey tastes good on everything.
Finding Kyler
Siobhan Davis - 2017
After her parent’s tragic death, she’s whisked away from her home in Ireland when an unknown uncle surfaces as her new guardian.Dropped smack-dab into the All-American dream, Faye should feel grateful. Except living with her wealthy uncle, his fashion-empire-owning wife, and their seven screwed-up sons is quickly turning into a nightmare—especially when certain inappropriate feelings arise.Kyler Kennedy makes her head hurt and her heart race, but he’s her cousin.He’s off limits.And he’s not exactly welcoming—Kyler is ignorant, moody, and downright cruel at times—but Faye sees behind the mask he wears, recognizing a kindred spirit.Kyler has sworn off girls, yet Faye gets under his skin. The more he pushes her away, the more he’s drawn to her, but acting on those feelings risks a crap-ton of prejudice, and any whiff of scandal could damage the precious Kennedy brand.Concealing their feelings seems like the only choice.But when everyone has something to hide, a secret is a very dangerous thing.Will I enjoy this book?Full of scandal, dysfunctional families, teen soap-opera-style angst and drama, secrets and lies, mean girls and catfights, lust and love, book one in the unputdownable Kennedy Boys series will have you flipping the pages’ way beyond bedtime! Only suitable for readers aged seventeen and older due to mature content and language. Please note this book contains a forbidden love theme featuring first cousins and a cliff hanger. It is not a standalone read.Books in this SeriesFinding KylerLosing KylerKeeping KylerThe Irish Getaway - optional short novelKENNEDY BOYS STANDALONE NOVELSLoving Kalvin- friends-to-lovers second chance romanceSaving Brad - enemies-to-lovers romanceSeducing Kaden - second chance/forbidden romanceForgiving Keven - second chance romanceThe three Kyler books must be read together. Thereafter, every book in the series will focus on a single Kennedy boy and his love interest, and they will be standalone titles with an HEA and no cliff hanger.
When We Let Go
Delancey Stewart - 2018
Funny how divorce changes your plans for you. And I never planned to fall in love again. After Jack, I figured I was better off alone. But Connor Charles, with his dark red hair and glowering good looks, was as compelling as he was frightening, and I knew I should stay away from him. Especially if the rumors were true. The police were interested in Connor ... but the more I got to know him, the more I realized ... So was I.
What Comes of Eating Doughnuts With a Boy Who Plays Guitar
Nicole Campbell - 2015
That's gotten her good grades, the title of captain of her team, and the gift of being a nervous wreck most of the time. She will be spending the summer before her senior year with her best friend, Vanessa, in her tiny hometown of Gem City, Ohio. Courtney’s hoping for a chance to breathe and maybe to get a tan. What she doesn’t expect is Ethan Fisher and his guitar. She must answer the age old question, what does come of eating doughnuts with a boy who plays guitar? In her touching debut novel, Nicole Campbell delivers a perfect summer read. Readers will re-live their first relationships (the good, the bad, and the overwhelming), or imagine the spark of what the future might hold in this story full of the type of intensity only found in young love. *Alternate Cover Edition. Original ISBN: 9781514285923*
Time Between Us
Tamara Ireland Stone - 2012
But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.Fresh, exciting, and deeply romantic, Time Between Us is a stunning, spellbinding debut from an extraordinary new voice in YA fiction.
Swinging Strike
Kimberly Readnour - 2020
That same cocky attitude is what landed him in my anonymous gossip column. Believe me, I, Cara Gonzalez, don’t want anything to do with him.But he’s everywhere.In my class.In my dorm.In my mind.I left this type of drama back home. Transferring to Cessna University is my chance for a redo.And regardless of his rock-hard abs and panty-dropping smile,Arguing with an athlete isn’t one of my goals.My instincts betray me, though.This attraction feels different.Stronger.I have no choice but to stand my ground. Because this time, I’m afraid I’ll not only be hurt. I’ll end up gutted.Book One in the Cessna U Wildcats series, Swinging Strike is an enemy to lovers, stand-alone romance. If you like sexy, hot baseball players, add Braxton Smith to your TBR list.
Gloria
Jessica Lynch - 2019
Growing up an only child, all she had was her grandmother. After Nana’s passing, Gloria thought she was the last one left in her family.Well, she is. Since Great Aunt Patti is dead and all.That’s okay. The nice lawyer who wrote her a letter assured Gloria that her great aunt lived a long, happy life in a small town that Gloria has never heard of. And now, as her next of kin, everything she owned belongs to Gloria.Including a house. Which sounds like a godsend to Gloria, who is eager to start her dream business and could use the extra cash.Only there’s a catch. Because of course there is. The house is hers—but only after she lives there for a year. One year in Hamlet and then Gloria will have enough money to follow her dream. Why not? It’ll give her time to work on her flavors. And it wasn’t like she had much going on for her in the city anyway.She’s moved in by Thanksgiving, ready to spend the holidays in her new home.So what if her new neighbor is the hottest guy she’s ever seen? Franklin is as grumpy as he is handsome, and he hates Christmas.Seriously.A year? Gloria will be lucky if she makes it to January.
* Gloria is a small town Christmas romance set in Hamlet! It’s not explicitly part of the Hamlet series and for two reasons: the timeline and how different in tone it’s going to be compared to the other (darker, more suspenseful) books. Gloria will be a sweet, low-stakes, fluffy romance, similar to Hallmark Christmas movies, though it will feature characters and settings from the Hamlet books. You don't have to be familiar with those books to read this book—it's definitely a stand-alone—but it's also a bit of a prequel to that series, set a couple of years before the first Hamlet book Don't Trust Me.
Game On
Monica Seles - 2013
There are only two ways in. Deep pockets or enough talent to score a scholarship. Young tennis star Maya's dreams have finally come true when she earns a scholarship to The Academy. Plucked from her small town, Maya moves to the sports training facility/boarding school to (hopefully) start the beginning of her pro career. But Maya's fantasy of The Academy doesn't quite match the reality. Because where there are hot, talented teens, there's a lot of drama. Meet the players:Cleo: Maya's rebel/punk roommate who is nearing the top of the golf world.Renee: The gorgeous swimmer with enough money to buy her way into The Academy.Nicole: A tennis star who feels threatened by Maya (but she'd never admit it).Travis: The son of The Academy owner--perfectly groomed to be the next NFL star. Jake: Travis' younger brother--the bad boy to his brother's good.
My Best Friend's Brother
Chrissy Favreau - 2015
- When Lilly announced that her estranged brother is coming to live with her, Adonia was shocked—she had no idea her best friend even had a brother! Adonia doesn’t have long to process this revelation before Lilly jets off to vacation in sunny Florida, leaving her alone for weeks. Adonia doesn’t know how she’s going to pass the time, but that changes one morning when she’s sitting in a local book store and spots the sexiest guy she’s ever seen. Little does she know, he’s spotted her too. His name is Luke, and he’s smokin’ hot—so hot that Adonia has dubbed him a Greek god! Luke sweeps her off her feet, beats the tar out of her jerky ex-boyfriend at school, and is a perfect gentleman—what’s not to love about her Greek god? He’s an award-winning skier and Olympic hopeful, and he’s fallen in love with HER! But between stolen kisses, moonlight skiing and heated whispers, Adonia has the feeling Luke is keeping secrets. When she tries to get him to share, Luke clams up. Not knowing what to do, Adonia decides to back off, but has no idea that everything is about to come crashing down around her. Her love for Luke is about to be tested beyond any relationship she’s ever had! Will their love survive the test? Or will Adonia end up with nothing, just as she was starting to think she had everything?