Book picks similar to
Second Half by Monica DeSimone


dnf
cheating
sport
contemporary-romance

Undefeated


Scott Hildreth - 2014
    He is preparing to fight for the Heavyweight Championship of the World. Kace Meadows is in an abusive relationship with a boyfriend she’d like to forget. She is attempting to simply survive. Shane Dekkar can’t stand men who abuse women. He administers his own form of justice as he sees necessary. Shane and Kace meet by chance one day when she and her boyfriend are in an argument in a public parking lot. Shane Dekkar has never been defeated in the boxing ring or in a street fight. Call their meeting destiny or call it fate. This is their story.

Dominic


Kat Mizera - 2016
    Dom Gianni takes a lot of punishment in the hockey rink, but when he sees Molly McCarran getting beaten up by her husband, he’s ready to throw down his gloves and fight for her. But Molly isn’t about to trust another man—and Dom is already skating on thin ice with his NHL-mandated probation. Besides, how could a hotshot player like Dom really care about a woman so much older than he?Then a kidnapping ups the stakes. If Molly can’t believe in Dom, and if he can’t dig deep to save her, it might be the final buzzer for them both.

Back to Me


Lindsay Paige - 2016
    When he finds her at the airport, he realizes she's changed, and she's struggling with things she doesn't want to tell him about. Noah also realizes just how much she scarred him when she left. Meredith Quick has always planned everything out. She chose her tennis career over love in order to better succeed, but her plan dissolves when an injury threatens her career and her fiancé leaves her. Struggling through pain and the uncertainty of her future, she realizes her first misstep was walking away from Noah. She impulsively decides to go back to him while she attempts to put her life back together. Reacquainting isn't easy when Noah doesn't quite trust Meredith to stay and Meredith struggles with overcoming the pain she's endured without him. Can they work through their issues and move forward, or will their past ruin things between them forever?

Phenomenal X


Michelle A. Valentine - 2014
    Notorious Bad-Boy. One Phenomenal Love. From the mean streets of Detroit rises the newest superstar of professional wrestling, Xavier Cold, better known as Phenomenal X. His muscular physique makes men cower before him and women lose their minds with desire.Anna Cortez is fresh out of college and naive to the harsh realities of the real world. Tired of living under the thumb of her conservative family, she defies them when she accepts a job as the assistant to wrestling’s most notorious bad-boy. Phenomenal X has an animalistic nature that even good girl Anna finds hard to resist.One night forced to share a bed in a sold-out hotel, lines blur between them and they quickly learn that one lustful night changes everything and neither one of them will ever be the same.Join Michelle's Facebook Reader Group: Valentine Vixens

5,331 Miles


Willow Aster - 2019
    Just a few things on that list:*Climb the Eiffel Tower.*Visit every zoo in the world.*Eat peanut butter every day.But all the promises he made dissolved into dust, so when he comes around years later wanting to go live out our list, I want no part of it...or him. The universe seems to agree with me because everything we try is a disaster.The heart though—it's a tricky beast; I'm just not sure mine is strong enough to survive Jaxson one more time.

Skating on Thin Ice


Jami Davenport - 2014
      Ethan Parker, a billionaire determined to bring professional hockey to Seattle, will stop at nothing to realize his dream. After signing an agreement to purchase another city's team, Ethan plans to make the move to Seattle, but a gag order by the League forces him to keep the sale a secret until the season ends, leaving him no choice but to go undercover as a consultant to study his team during the playoffs.   Lauren Schneider, Assistant Director of Player Personnel for the Giants hockey team, gets no respect from the team's testosterone-loaded staff. So when Ethan bursts onto the scene, full of charm and genuinely interested in her opinions, she shares the team's weaknesses and discovers a weakness of her own--for Ethan. But when his true identity is revealed, and he starts cleaning house based on her unwitting input, his betrayal cuts deeply on both a professional and personal level. Bound by an employment contract, Lauren reluctantly moves to Seattle to work for the newly christened Seattle Sockeyes and her sexy, infuriating boss.  Lauren and Ethan must come to terms with their passions--for the team, for hockey, and for each other. Will their situation build a frozen wall between them, or will their love burn hot enough to melt the ice shielding their hearts?

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?

Stadium of Lights


Tia Lewis - 2016
    But can he love her?Max Anderson enjoys all the perks of being a star NFL quarterback―including the women. He has no intention of changing his carefree, hard-loving lifestyle … until a twist of fate reunites him with the girl he knew growing up.Abby Morrison has worked hard to become a physical therapist. She knows she needs to keep things professional with Max―but the truth is, she’s always loved him. Back then, she hid it. Now, it’s not so easy.As they rekindle their friendship, the heat between them is impossible to ignore. Soon it flares out of control, and the fallout threatens to ruin everything. Can they salvage a future together ... or will the consequences wreck their lives?

Man of My Dreams


Faith Andrews - 2013
    But the man in her dreams is the one that got away—her high school crush.Mia has the life everyone envies. A white picket fence, two adorable daughters, and a hottie husband who stole her heart in college with the strum of his Gibson and his sexy baritone. But when forever becomes monotonous for this perfect couple, their faith in each other is tested. For Declan, long trips away from home because of his demanding job cause him to find comfort on the road. For Mia, the recurring dreams of her old flame and the shock of her husband's infidelity send her running into Noah's arms at their ten year high school reunion. Will Mia abandon the alluring pull of the past for her picture perfect future or will the man of her dreams be replaced by the man in her dreams? MAN OF MY DREAMS is a full-length, contemporary romance. This is book one in the Dream Series and can be read as a standalone.

First Love Second Chance


Chanta Rand - 2017
    She didn’t belong in his world of glamor and high-stakes opportunities. But now a chance encounter with a runaway teen convinces him there’s more to life than his own selfish needs. Despite his wealth and status, Social Services won’t consider him an acceptable candidate to adopt the kid unless he can provide a stable family environment. There’s only one woman Colt can trust to handle the job—his ex-wife, Shayla. To convince her he's a changed man, he'll have to go hard or go home. For almost a decade, Shayla Carter has fought feelings of anger, grief, and confusion every time she sees her celebrity ex-husband on TV with some new bimbo draped on his arm. She never imagines the man who filed for divorce after only two months of marriage ever would want anything from her again. So, when he shows up out of the blue with a Texas-sized solitaire and a promise to do right by her, she gives him a reception like hell frozen over. But Colt is persistent, and when he agrees to her long list of demands, Shayla can’t help but wonder if it’s time to give her first love a second chance.

Long Shot


Kennedy Ryan - 2018
    One of the NBA's brightest stars.Fine. Forbidden. He wants me. I want him.But my past, my fraudulent prince, just won't let me go.*Some aspects of this story may be sensitive for some readers.

Discovering Us


Harper Bentley - 2013
    but sometimes forever's not that easy.Ellen has loved Jagger since she was five and he was seven when they kissed through the chain link fence at school. She’s had their wedding planned since she was twelve and is ready for a happily ever after with him, but life just isn't that neat and tidy. Although they lost contact over the years, which broke her heart, during Jag's senior year in high school, sophomore Ellen catches his eye once again and their friendship is back on. When things between them gradually develop into something more, Ellen wants to give herself completely to Jag, but he’s not so sure he wants to risk their relationship in taking things to the next level. When Jag is drafted to the Dodgers as the hot, new pitcher of the team, Ellen decides to go with him, transferring colleges and leaving her friends and family behind. But things get more and more complicated when busy schedules, a slimy agent and a supermodel disrupt their lives, which makes Ellen question whether they’ll ever get their perfect forever.This is the first book of the True Love Trilogy.Due to language and sexual content, this book is not recommended for readers under age 17

Breakaway


Ali Parker - 2016
    He’s hard-hitting, rough and puts up with very little. He’s kept to himself throughout his years at Providence University, but it’s time to train the next man up in line for his position. His second on the Hockey team has a twin sister that catches everyone’s eye and leaves most of the guys acting like idiots, but Lucas isn’t interested. Girls are too needy, too catty and a pain in butt. Plain and simple. Aubrey Moore’s had her eye on the captain of the hockey team for the last few years since her brother, Jayce joined the team. He’s known for being a complete jerk, but Aubrey’s had the pleasure of seeing around the edges of his personality and wants to know him more. Now she just has to figure out how to help him breakaway from being so jaded and join her in the best adventure anyone could embark on -love. 18+ Explicit sexual content, possible foul language and violence. **HEA - these novels are all within the Pro-U series, but are about different couples at the university and should stand-alone.

Breakout


Stephanie Kay - 2017
    At least that’s the plan. Six months ago, her world imploded when she walked in on her fiancé with another woman. After calling off her wedding, she spent a week acting completely out of character in the Tuscan countryside with a scorchingly hot man. They didn’t even exchange last names. Ethan Hartnell has grudgingly returned home. He's got an image to fix after being traded to the San Francisco Strikers, due to some questionable behavior. He plans to keep his nose to the ice, focusing on the career he loves. Everything is going according to plan, until he walks into a friend’s bar and sees her. She’d left him in her bed in Italy, with a note, and run. Which is exactly what she does when they see each other again. It should be a sign. So why does he keep chasing her? This is an 83,000 novel with a HEA and NO cliffhanger! Only for readers 18+. This series is connected with the Love by the Bay series, but each book can be read as a standalone.

Varsity Heartbreaker


Ginger Scott - 2020
    I even changed schools just to make the hurt disappear.But no matter how hard I tried to not think about Lucas, I just couldn’t stay away from the high school quarterback with perfect blue eyes and so many secrets.I’m back. We’re seniors now. We’ve grown—all of us. And Lucas Fuller might be different, but I’m different too. This is my time to take risks, to experience life and to fall in love for real.I want Lucas Fuller to be a part of my story, but I know for that to happen, I need to know the truth about our past.