Books like 'Playing for Keeps'
Readers who enjoyed Playing for Keeps by Kendall Ryan also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary funny sports friends to lovers virgin heroine new adult athletes forbidden love sweet-hero secret-relationship
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Irresistible Trouble by Pippa Grant
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsI, Cooper Rock, baseball god, worshipper of women, hometown hero, beloved son and brother, and owner of a well-deserved ego, have always reached for the stars. Usually in baseball.In love? Nah. When you’ve played the field as much as I have and haven’t been bit by the bug, you’re immune.Or so I thought until she walked back into my life.Waverly Sweet. Pop music sensation... -
Real Fake Love by Pippa Grant
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIf people have polar opposites, Luca Rossi is mine.His butt is in the baseball hall of fame. Mine’s comfortably seated in the hall of lame.When he’s not snagging fly balls out in center field, he’s modeling in shampoo commercials. I once jammed my own finger while stirring cookie dough, and sometimes I forget shampoo is a thing.He’s a total cynic when it comes to love... -
Mistake by Emilia Finn
Rated: 4.62 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCole Miller is a good-for-nothing nobody who skulks around dark alleyways and makes money by boosting cars from those more fortunate than he. He’s the unwanted child of a couple of deadbeats, so he never truly understood what family meant until he stumbled onto a treasure far more valuable than the GT he’s supposed to steal from the heavyweight world champion... -
Delayed Call by Toni Aleo
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsVaughn Johansson is the Nashville Assassins' star player. He's brash, cocky, and talented. And he isn't afraid to let anyone know it. He lives his life on his own terms, never forming romantic attachments, and only allowing his very closest to see his true, caring self. Brie Soledad has the weight of the world on her shoulders... -
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Outta My League by Ali Parker, Weston Parker
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe way she looks, smells, laughs is killing me.I fell in love with my sister’s best friend. To top it all off, she’s brilliant. And I’m failing Chemistry.Of course, when I get her help, she’s laidback about it. Charming and helpful as always, like she doesn’t know how much I want her. I’ve got to play it cool and let her see a different side of me... -
Puck Performance by Alley Ciz
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAll's fair in love and potatoes. Melody Brightly Broadway Star. Pink hair. A smile that hits me harder than a slap shot. Terrible taste in hockey teams. Full of secrets. The one woman I fail to defend my heart against. Jase Donnelly Defenseman.Charming. Sexy as puck. Makes my hormones give a standing ovation. The one guy I can never be with, but can't stay away from... -
The Champion by Shey Stahl
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsA powerful love story of tragedy, love, and commitment. The fourth book in the Racing on the Edge series submerges you in the lifestyle of a champion of a sport that dominates America. Through smoke and methanol, you learn the good, the bad, and the secrets no one wants you to know... -
ICED by Jacob Chance
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsOliver Ice, one of Boston University’s notorious hockey players, has been on my radar since I slammed into his rock-hard body during my first week of college, three years ago. He helped me to my feet, muttered an apology, and ran off after his girlfriend, dashing my hopes of a happily ever after. Now, he’s the bartender where I work, and this time, very much single... -
Once Upon a Wild Fling by Lauren Blakely
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThere are a million reasons why Miles Hart isn't the man I should date but allow me to enumerate the top three. He's friends with my brother, he's a single dad, and he's a sexy, in-demand rock star. He might as well wear an off-limits, totally unavailable, and don’t-even-attempt-to-ride-this-ride sign. And there’s one more, little itty-bitty thing -- he's never asked me on a date...Categorized as:
friends to lovers new adult dual-pov siblings-bff humor contemporary single-father male-pov -
Rogue Wave by J. Bengtsson
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA love story that survives the test of time. Keith McKallister is the king of the stoners. You know the type. Every school has one – the hot, fun, dopey guy beloved by the student body but despised by, well, just about everyone else. He spends his early mornings in the ocean and his days trying to get to class on time... -
Boomerangers by Heather M. Orgeron
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsBoomerangers [boo-muh-rang-ers] noun, informal: an adult that moves back home to live with a parent after a period of independence. Spencer I love sex. I love the power, the intimacy, the euphoria it brings. Too bad I’m not having any . . . You’d think as New Orleans’ most renowned sex therapist that I’d be swimming in single men. In a way, I am . . -
Crave by Adriana Locke
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsHadley Jacobs is over Machlan Gibson. Sure, she’ll always be a little weak to the dimple in his right cheek and the way his five o’clock shadow makes him ruggedly handsome. But that’s not enough to cover every other thing about him because they all drive her nuts. Like how he won’t admit he’s wrong even when he knows it and how he drives his stupid car a million miles an hour on wet asphalt...Categorized as:
second chances friends to lovers new adult siblings-bff christian humor contemporary -
Just Playin': Romantic Sports Comedy by Shandi Boyes
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsPresley “Elvis” Carlton was at the top of his game. Number one draft pick, engaged to an up-and-coming model, and voted best player of the decade his first year on the field. Things were golden. . . until an accident saw everything important torn from his grasp... -
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Trick You: A Brother's Best Friend Romance by Tracy Lorraine
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsI hated to trick her...But I knew she would never go for the real me.She was beautiful, smart and funny—everything I could want.And I was... well. Me.Tattooed, foul mouthed, bad boy.I told one little white lie hoping to meet someone different. And I did.Danniella Abbot... -
Breakaway (The Rule Book Collection) by A.M. Johnson
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAs Tampa Bay's star center, Mark Carmelo's life was hockey, and after a bitter and public break up, all he wanted to do was focus on the game. Until he saw her. The one that got away. The one he thought he'd never see again. For thirteen years, Stevie West drowned in her lackluster life. Recently divorced from her “roommate” with passionless benefits, she was ready to start over... -
Making His Play: Sister's Best Friend Hockey Romance by Blake Wilder, Mari Carr
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsPreviously titled Big Puck by Blake WilderAlex has a big name in hockey, famous for his stick skills—on and off the ice. But he’s also got a freckle-faced female problem. He took his sister’s tomboy best friend, Charley, to a Vegas wedding to cheer her up after a bad breakup.Too much champagne later and he’s waking up with Charley in his bed and his ring on her finger. And the crazy part is…Mrs... -
Dirty Secret by Mira Lyn Kelly
In my defense, I didn’t know she was his sister… A sexy hockey standalone from USA TODAY bestselling author Mira Lyn Kelly This team hates me. Something about my chronic case of resting prick face and that thing with the captain when the season started. My fist, his jaw. Yeah, we go back and not in a good way. Coach says no more “confrontational BS” or I don’t play at all... -
Home Run by Jordan Marie, Robin Harper
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsGreen Lucas doesn't know what's about to hit him. Complete Standalone Romance Wanted A woman with grit and fire who will help me get my son’s head out of his ass. You must be self-sufficient and not looking for a gravy train. Common sense is a plus, book smarts are optional. Cannot have red hair, as my son seems to go for that type and he needs something to shake him up... -
This is Dangerous: Logan & Kayla, #1 by Kennedy Fox
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsLogan Knight is a real life knight in shining armor. A detective godsend in a sleek black suit has me thinking less than secretive thoughts. Brooding and mysterious, he’s the kind of guy every girl instantly notices. Between his seductive smirk and charming good looks, it’s no wonder I can’t help the way he makes me feel whenever I’m near him. Too bad he’s unavailable—or so he says... -
Brogan: A Carolina Reapers Novel by Samantha Whiskey
They call me Demon for a reason—I’m the most ruthless Reaper on the ice.I’m not the person who finds a baby on their doorstep.Except, after a morning run, I am.And the note accompanying the little bundle says she’s mine.Looks like I'm the newest single dad in the NHL.I was nothing but a burden on my aunt and uncle after my parents died, and I’d decided I’d never have children...Categorized as:
sports new adult friends to lovers athletes hockey contemporary humor boss & employee -
Dirty Talking Rival by Pippa Grant
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDespite growing up in rival towns, Grady Rock and I were high school best friends.But now?Now, he’s my biggest enemy. My dirty-talking, master-baking, grudge-holding, hot-as-sin enemy.All I wanted was to help my mom run her bakery after a family emergency left her unable to do it herself.Never mind that I can’t bake. Or that I never wanted to move home again... -
Text Me Baby One More Time by Teagan Hunter
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsA SECOND-CHANCE ROMANTIC COMEDY! I love you , he said. Forever , he said. Turns out, he lied. When he leaves me high and dry after a cross-country move, I push him out of my life as much as I can, which is hard to do when the guy who broke your heart also happens to be the most famous dude in town...Categorized as:
new adult athletes friends to lovers sports m-f humor from hate to love contemporary -
Stud in the Stacks by Pippa Grant
When it comes to women, I know what they want. And all day long, I give it to them. Dark, broody, and sexy? You got it. Need to laugh? I’m your guy. Desperate for something to put you in the mood? You’ve come to the right place, kitten.Every morning when my library opens, there’s a line around the block, the ladies flocking to me in need of their next book boyfriend. I’m that dude... -
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Drew by Lulu Moore
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLet me ask you a question.Have you met your soulmate?I did, then promptly lost her. Because what happens in Vegas stays there, right?Wrong.I’d never been the relationship type, but I’ve spent every spare second of the past twelve months wondering what if. What if I hadn’t slept through my alarm? What if I hadn’t lost her number? What if I’d known her name?But I came up blank... -
Playboy’s Reward by Gina Azzi
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt was supposed to be a favor between neighbors…When sexy-as-sin Harper Henderson launches profanities into the night sky from the balcony below mine, I intervene. I volunteer to be her date to her ten-year high school reunion. I may be a professional hockey player with a playboy reputation, but I’m also a good guy and I make an exceptional plus-one.Being Harper's fake date is easy... -
Off Limits by Chelle Sloan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsProfessional football has an actual rulebook, but it’s the unwritten rules that come with the harshest consequences.The biggest one of all: don’t date your teammate’s sister. And if you do, don’t you dare fall in love with her.I never meant to fall, but when it comes to Brenna Donald, I never stood a chance. She’s everything I’m not--a light-hearted wild child who shines brighter than the sun... -
Watch and Learn by Rebel Shaw
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNateAll I wanted to do was be me, for one night. I didn’t want to be the number one quarterback in the league. I just wanted to be Nate. I couldn’t tell you exactly what made me stop at that dive bar on the outskirts of town, but it changed my life.Our connection was instant and undeniable. Our night together was explosive, which led to another, and then another. No strings...Categorized as:
sports friends to lovers second chances new adult contemporary humor friends-benefits -
Felix by Lulu Moore
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsI have a secret. Twelve years ago I crushed on my teammate’s little sister, before firmly putting her in the friend zone. Which then became the best friend zone. And my teammate became more of a brother.But now we have two problems.1. I just found out she’s been crushing on me too, and my feelings have come hurtling back like a puck heading for the net2... -
Reputation by Adriana Locke
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCoy Mason is a jerk.If there is one truth that Bellamy Davenport knows, it’s that. Hands-down. (Well, that and the fact that she didn’t mean to hurt him. Physically. Coy can’t be hurt emotionally because he doesn’t have a heart.)Coy is not just the small-town, literal boy-next-door... -
Back in the Game by Meghan Quinn
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSingle dad and hockey star, Calder Weiss has put his love life on the back burner for the past five years, raising his daughter and keeping up with the demands of his profession. But all that changes the minute Rachel Perry runs into him in the most unlikely of places, right outside the men's bathroom...Categorized as:
sports athletes height-difference hockey humor anthologies contemporary single-father -
Fake Start by Jasmin Miller
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsYou know that awkward moment when your agent tells you to fake date your best friend’s sister so you can get the endorsement deal of your dreams? No? Call me crazy for considering it, but why not? Daisy’s my friend, after all, and I’ve gotten quite close to her and her two awesome boys over the last few years since her douche-nozzle husband divorced her... -
Play Maker by Nikki Hall
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFriends without benefits. For now.MacLast year, I only wanted three things out of a good time, a date with Wonder Woman, and a shot at playing and singing in the same Superbowl. This year, I can’t bring myself to care. Until Blue. The quiet girl with the rainbow hair refuses to let me suffer alone, and I’m starting to think losing everything is worth finding her...Categorized as:
sports friends to lovers dual-pov new adult college humor contemporary forced proximity -
Trivial Pursuits by Aven Ellis
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLandon Holder is exactly the kind of man Livy Adams should stay far away from. The flashy, flirty star defenseman for the Chicago Buffaloes is known for hooking up with women all over Chicago. Livy finds herself attracted to Landy, but his sexy good looks and charm are irrelevant... -
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The Gate to Everything by Ava Miles
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMillions of readers have fallen in love with Ava’s bestselling Dare series…come join the family. USA Today Bestselling Author Ava Miles presents a heartwarming and romantic second-chance story about love and family. Quarterback Jordan Dean thought he had everything until his long-time girlfriend broke up with him. His football rock star life had become too burdensome to her... -
Cage's Misconduct by Nikki Worrell
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDalton ‘Cage’ Booker is the number one goalie for the San Diego Scorpions. Most people describe him as willful and stubborn—sometimes even difficult to control. More often than not, words fly out of his mouth without the benefit of passing through his brain first. And women love him... -
On His Face: A Brother's Best Friend Romantic Comedy by Tabatha Kiss
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratings5 Goals for a Perfect Freshman Year1. Learn a new life skill.2. Get a tattoo.3. Pay off my car.4. Enter the Art Fest. Win.5. Fall in love with a stranger.Yes, I know #5 isn’t technically a goal, but I couldn’t think of anything else. Little did I know, I’d cross it off my vision board two weeks into my first semester at Chicago North University.He was the model in my art class... -
The Virgin Game Plan by Lauren Blakely
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsA sexy standalone forbidden sports romance from #1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely! The woman I want is as off-limits as they come.I had an excuse two years ago when I met her on campus. She interviewed me for a story on major league baseball's rising stars, and we shared a hot, passionate night that ended far too soon, and without a mention of who her father was... -
Puck Shy by Teagan Hunter
I’m having the definition of a bad year.Game Six loss costing my team the Cup? Check.Getting arrested and ruining my image? Check.Almost getting run over after my car breaks down? Oh, look—a hat trick.My contract is up with the Carolina Comets this year, and I need to get it together if I want to stay with the team.I need relaxation, not a relationship...Categorized as:
sports friends to lovers height-difference m-f hockey humor contemporary explicit-open-door -
Pucking Parker by Jillian Quinn
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsI’m the coach’s daughter. He’s my dad’s favorite player… And completely off-limits. The first time I met Preston Parker, I slammed face first into his wet, chiseled abs. In the men’s locker room, of all places. I did the world’s longest walk of shame in front of dozens of hockey players. As if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, Mr... -
Wild Steamy Hook-Up by Piper Rayne
He’s the quiet brooding guy who’s owned my heart since I was sixteen but has refused to claim it. I’m the naïve woman who believes that someday our time will come.I just didn’t realize that someday would include waking up in Vegas with a raging hangover and a ring on my finger... -
Gouda Friends by Cathy Yardley
Two high school BFFs reunite and endeavor to fix each other’s lives in this geeky romance from the author of Love, Comment, Subscribe.Tam Doan dumped her boyfriend after he threw away her gourmet cheese. Sure, it’s a little more complicated than that, but the point is, he had it coming...Categorized as:
friends to lovers new adult dual-pov sweet-hero m-f contemporary multicultural humor -
Hard Fall by Sara Ney, Alexander Cendese
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"Hard Fall"That's what my mom is always saying: "The bigger you are, the harder you fall." She's talking about love—I've never been in it myself, but that doesn't stop me from secretly matchmaking for my friends. Who would suspect me, a world class athlete, of meddling in other people's love lives? I love Love, especially when it’s not me who’s doing the falling…"No Thanks... -
Avoiding Temptation (A Bro Code Standalone) by Rachel Van Dyken
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsI hit on her first. Realized she was my best friend Finn's little sister second. And got a bloody nose third — compliments of Finn after he watched me nearly score with the new underclassman. After all I did have a reputation on campus, word on the street was that a girl could orgasm within one minute just watching me eat Lucky Charms... -
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DIRTY REBOUND: A Slayers Hockey Novel by Mira Lyn Kelly
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsI care too much about Cammy Wesley to marry her…Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. But hear me out. Cammy’s my best friend. The one person I can’t live without. The girl with the sunshine smile, the loaded fridge, and the most awesome kid I’ve ever met. She’s also the hot AF single mom I’ve made it my mission to protect from guys like me... -
Them by Carey Heywood
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsFirst comes love, then comes marriage, then comes… As Will and Sarah Price settle into being Mr. & Mrs., they meet a stumbling block neither of them anticipated. All of their friends are starting families of their own, but not them, and not for lack of trying. For them, their dreams of a happily-ever-after always included a baby... -
The WRONG Brother by Alexis Winter
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsRock bottom has a basement—and I just found it.I’ve been head over heels, write it in my diary over and over in love with my best friend Preston Young, pretty much my entire life.You’d think after decades of hiding my feelings I’d want to reveal my lifelong secret love to my best friend privately, but NOPE... -
My Scorned Best Friend by Piper Rayne
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsXavier and Clara kissing in a tree…When your best friend growing up is a girl, that’s the song your classmates taunt you with over and over again. But it was never like that… until now.It’s always been Clara and me. She’s the only one who truly knows me. After I was drafted into the NFL and ended up the starting quarterback for the San Francisco Kingsmen, I begged her to come with me...Categorized as:
sports friends to lovers second chances athletes contemporary humor from hate to love sassy heroine -
Hard Fall by Sara Ney
"Hard Fall"That's what my mom is always saying: "The bigger you are, the harder you fall." She's talking about love—I've never been in it myself, but that doesn't stop me from secretly matchmaking for my friends. Who would suspect me, a world class athlete, of meddling in other people's love lives? I love Love, especially when it’s not me who’s doing the falling…"No Thanks... -
Blowout by Elise Faber
She had no time in her life for a man.Least of all a swoony hockey player who was allergic to commitment.Jules was just trying to give her kid a good life. She worked hard, kept her head down, and avoided men like the plague.Because men were a plague.There was a reason she was a single mom, scraping together an existence, and faking it for her kid.She’d been burned. Bad...Categorized as:
sports friends to lovers athletes sweet-hero hockey contemporary humor single-mother
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