Recommendations based on "Heart of the Game"

I’ve Spent Years Hiding In The Shadows. He’s Spent His Whole Life Chasing The Bright Lights Of The Nba. We Have Nothing In Common, Except For The Fact Our Friends Ditched Us For Spring Break. I Have A Bucket List For My Senior Year At Valley U. He’s The Only Person I Know On Campus. I’m Ready To Start Checking Things Off My List. Frat Party: Check. Tp The Baseball House: Check. Goat Yoga: Check. Skinny Dipping: Check. Falling For Zeke Sweets, Valley U’s Mvp: Not Going To Happen.

They think my greatest gift is my ability on the ice. But they're wrong. I've been hailed as the guy who has it all when it comes to hockey. Powerful people have invested their time and money, determined to turn my potential into their reality. The most influential of those people? Graham Jenkins-former NHL player and the General Manager of the Dallas Destroyers. The second he set eyes on me in the little leagues, he piled all his resources into my success. And when the Destroyers were awarded the first-round draft pick, he didn't hesitate to snap me up. He thought I was the golden boy, the star that would make his team as successful as his playing career. Only I wasn't. Instead of unleashing my potential in front of the goal, he discovered my real talent-secrets. And I have many that I will never share. One for every scar disguised beneath the tattoos painting my body, along with the childhood memories either buried deep inside my broken mind or drowned out by empty bottles lining my kitchen counter. There's only one secret I wish I didn't have to keep. She's also the addiction I know I'll never kick. A detox my heart could never survive since it only beats for her. And even years after we were torn apart, my fixation hasn't changed. Although neither have our circumstances-I'm still the broken boy, suffocated with trauma. And she's still Mia Jenkins, the good girl, and daughter of the man who offered me everything except his blessing to date her. But one thing about addiction? It never seeks permission.

Two Former Hockey Pros. One Struggling Team. And A Battle Of Wills That Might Just Turn Two Headstrong Coaches From Rivals Into Lovers… Ryan “sully” Sullivan Is A Winner. So When The Former Hockey Great Accepts A Job Coaching The Bottom Rung Boston Beacons, He’s Ready To Win It All—even If His New Assistant Coach Isn’t Exactly His #1 Fan. Eric Aronson’s Wins Have Always Come With A Well-earned Reputation For Trouble—and Were Never Quite Enough To Bring Home Championships. When The New Guy Skates In And Takes The Job He’s Worked So Hard For, He’s Not About To Fall Short Again. Tensions Rise As, No Matter What They Do, The Beacons Can’t Pull A W, And A Heated Argument Between Sully And Eric Over Coaching Tactics Turns Physical—only, Not In Any Way They Could Have Ever Imagined. That Kiss Changes Everything. And Suddenly, Being Able To Find The Back Of The Net Isn’t Sully And Eric’s Only Challenge. It’s Figuring Out Who And What They Are To Each Other. And What Winning It All Might Actually Mean. Penalty Box Book 1: Game Misconduct Book 2: Delay Of Game Book 3: Home Ice Advantage

A queer YA romance about rival soccer players from author Racquel Marie, perfect for fans of She Drives Me Crazy.Valentina “Vale” Castillo-Green’s life revolves around soccer. Her friends, her future, and her father’s intense expectations are all wrapped up in the beautiful game. But after she incites a fight during playoffs with her long-time rival, Leticia Ortiz, everything she’s been working toward seems to disappear.Embarrassed and desperate to be anywhere but home, Vale escapes to her beloved childhood soccer camp for a summer of relaxation and redemption…only to find out that she and the endlessly aggravating Leticia will be co-captaining a team that could play in front of college scouts. But the competition might be stiffer than expected, so unless they can get their rookie team’s act together, this second chance―and any hope of playing college soccer―will slip through Vale’s fingers. When the growing pressure, friendship friction, and her overbearing father push Vale to turn to Leticia for help, what starts off as a shaky alliance of necessity begins to blossom into something more through a shared love of soccer. . . and maybe each other.Sharp, romantic, and deeply emotional, You Don’t Have a Shot is a rivals-to-lovers romance about rediscovering your love of the game and yourself, from the author of Ophelia After All."You Don't Have a Shot has every ingredient that makes rivals-to-lovers such a great trope, but it's also so much more. It's a story of grief and loss, of legacy, of culture, of holding the things and people that bring us joy close. I don't think anyone will be surprised when I say that Racquel Marie has done it again: this is truly young adult contemporary at its best." ―Jonny Garza Villa, author of the Pura Belpré Honor Book Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun

Chicago Stars quarterback Dean Robillard is the luckiest man in the world: a bona-fide sports superstar and the pride of the NFL with a profitable side career as a buff billboard model for End Zone underwear. But life in the glory lane has started to pale, and Dean has set off on a cross-country trip to figure out what's gone wrong. When he hits a lonely stretch of Colorado highway, he spies something that will shake up his gilded life in ways he can't imagine. A young woman . . . dressed in a beaver suit.Blue Bailey is on a mission to murder her ex. Or at least inflict serious damage. As for the beaver suit she's wearing . . . Is it her fault that life keeps throwing her curveballs? Witness the expensive black sports car pulling up next to her on the highway and the Greek god stepping out of it.Blue's career as a portrait painter is the perfect job for someone who refuses to stay in one place for very long. She needs a ride, and America's most famous football player has an imposing set of wheels. Now, all she has to do is keep him entertained, off guard, and fully clothed before he figures out exactly how desperate she is.But Dean isn't the brainless jock she imagines, and Blue—despite her petite stature—is just about the toughest woman Dean has ever met. They're soon heading for his summer home where their already complicated lives and inconvenient attraction to each other will become entangled with a charismatic but aging rock star; a beautiful fifty-two-year-old woman trying to make peace with her rock and roll past; an eleven-year-old who desperately needs a family; and a bitter old woman who hates them all.As the summer progresses, the wandering portrait artist and the charming football star play a high-stakes game, fighting themselves and each other for a chance to have it all.Natural Born Charmer is for everyone who's ever thought about leaving their old life in the dust and never looking back. New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips takes us home again . . . and shows us where love truly lives

Love evens the score between two tennis players in this stunning debut romance.Recently-turned-pro tennis player Austin Hardy has been out since high school and it’s never been a big deal. That is, until he becomes the first openly gay man to compete in a Grand Slam tournament. Suddenly, being gay is a huge deal, with headlines to prove it.Unprepared for this new spotlight, Austin’s anxiety disorder hits a breaking point, and he trips and falls at practice. Right next to the very attractive, very talented, and probably straight Diego Cruz, ranked second in the world.The two professional rivals start a friendship off the court. But between their flirty banter, mixed signals, and looming showdown, Austin is thrown further off his game by Diego.With the eyes of the world on Austin, the weight of history on his shoulders, and Diego across the net, he must decide whether love means nothing or if it means everything as he battles for the trophy during an electric two weeks at the US Open.

Trevor Shay has it all—a successful football and baseball career, and any woman he wants. But when he finds out his college mentor’s daughter is in trouble, he drops everything to come to her aid. Haven Briscoe has finally landed a dream job as a sportscaster for a major network. But she hasn’t been able to move past the recent death of her beloved father, and it’s affecting her career. A plum assignment following the daily life of sports superstar Trevor Shay might be just the inspiration she needs… Trevor will do anything to spark life back into Haven, including letting her into every aspect of his world. The chemistry between them flames higher than one of Trevor’s home runs and faster than his dashes to the end zone. But as they grow closer, Haven stumbles onto Trevor’s closely guarded secret, one he’s hidden his entire life. And despite his protests, now it’s Haven’s turn to put everything on hold to help Trevor. Will he let her in and trust her with a secret that could blow his professional and personal world apart? 

Silver Delgado never gave a damn about the family business. Her sister knows more about hockey anyway—makes more sense for her to take over when their father's health declines. But for some crazy reason, he thrusts responsibility for the team he owns straight into Silver’s hands.Forcing her to face off against the general manager, Dean Richter.The fact that their 'business relationship' started with her over his lap at his BDSM club shouldn't be too much of a problem.Dean drew her in front of a large, throne-like chair and folded his arms over his chest. “Now strip.”“Strip?” She rubbed her arms and nodded. Fine, there was a crowd, but she had nothing to hide. All those women giggling and pointing could eat their fucking hearts out. She peeled off her top and shorts and faced Dean before letting out a flippant, “So what are you going to use?”“My hand.”Aw, fuck.One night doesn’t change who’s really in charge...right?Except he’s way too good at bringing out her inner submissive. When Silver pushes him away, she ends up lost and alone, until Landon Bower, the Cobras new Goalie, becomes her best—and only—friend. The time they spend together makes everything else bearable, but before long she begins to feel more than friendship.And so does he.Which could ruin everything.All settled in, Silver gave him a sideways once over. “I’d do you.”Landon groaned, covered his eyes with his hand, and muttered, “Brat.”“Yes, Sir.” Two Dominant men who can break past her pretty mask and the shallow image she portrayed to the flashing cameras. A gentle attack from both sides that she can't hope to block unless she learns how to play. But she's getting the hang of the game.

Abby Gossman is unstoppable. An Olympic champion, she’s now blazing a trail for women in baseball as the first ever female coach for an MLB team. All of her dreams are coming true, even if one of them has to stay in the shadows. Because if anyone found out she was dating Jake Landon, an All-Star catcher from another team, it would ruin her reputation.But then Jake gets traded to the Longhorns, and just like that the relationship is over. As madly in love with her as he is, he won’t ask Abby to sacrifice her career for him. She matters to him more than anything, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make her happy. Even if it’s killing him not to have her in his arms and in his bed. Even if he wants to throttle any other man who looks at her.It doesn’t matter how hard she tries, Abby can’t seem to stay away from sexy, charming Jake, and before long, they’re sneaking around, desperate for each other. Hot hotel hookups, clandestine meetings after dark, forbidden rendez-vous whenever and wherever they can. Because as much as they’re together, it’s never enough.But what’s in the shadows has a way of coming to light, and when the spotlight shines on their forbidden love, Abby will have to choose between Jake, the man of her dreams, and the career she’s sacrificed everything for. ***Keywords: contemporary romance, sports romance, baseball romance, forbidden romance, steamy romance, baseball, sexy romance, Dallas, Texas, MLB, series, sports romance series, contemporary romance series, modern romance, urban romance, big city romance, Texas romance, wealthy, city romance, smart romance, hot romance, sexy, love, love books, kissing books, emotional, wealthy hero, sassy, strong heroine, captivating romance, swoon, HEA, alpha, summer, secret relationship, star crossed, female coach, forbidden love

USA TODAY bestselling author Rachel Reid's beloved Game Changers series. Common GoalVeteran goaltender Eric Bennett has faced down some of the toughest shooters on the ice, but nothing prepared him for his latest challenge-life after hockey. It's time to make some big changes, starting with finally dating men for the first time.Graduate student Kyle Swift moved to New York nursing a broken heart. He'd sworn to find someone his own age to crush on (for once). Until he meets a gorgeous, distinguished silver fox hockey player. Despite their intense physical attraction, Kyle has no intention of getting emotionally involved. He'll teach Eric a few tricks, have some mutually consensual fun, then walk away.Eric is more than happy to learn anything Kyle brings to the table. And Kyle never expected their friends-with-benefits arrangement to leave him wanting more. Happily-ever-after might be staring them in the face, but it won't happen if they're too stubborn to come clean about their feelings.Everything they both want is within reach... They just have to be brave enough to grab it.Role ModelThe hits just keep coming for Troy Barrett. Traded to the worst team in the league would be bad enough, but coming on the heels of a messy breakup and a recent scandal... Troy just wants to play hockey and be left alone. He doesn't want to be in the news anymore, and he definitely doesn't want to "work on his online presence" with the team's peppy social media manager.Harris Drover can tell standoffish Troy isn't happy about the trade-anyone could tell, frankly, as he doesn't exactly hide it well-but Harris doesn't give up on people easily. Even when he's developing a crush he's sure is one-sided. And when he sees Troy's smile finally crack through his grumpy exterior, well... That's a man Harris couldn't turn his back on if he wanted to.Suddenly, Troy's move to the new team feels like an opportunity-for Troy to embrace his true self, and for both men to surrender to their growing attraction. But indulging in each other behind closed doors is one thing, and for Troy, being in a public relationship with Harris will mean facing off with his fears, once and for all.The Long GameShane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been seeing each other for ten years and have kept it secret. From friends, from family...from the league. If Shane wants to stay at the top of his game, what he and Ilya share has to remain secret. He loves Ilya, but what if going public ruins everything?Ilya is sick of secrets. Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, sometimes Ilya questions if they even exist. The closeness, the intimacy, even the risk that would come with being open about their relationship...Ilya wants it all.It's time for them to make the call and decide what's most important - hockey or love.