Recommendations based on "Playing at Love"

The lines between work and play get deliciously blurred in this red hot, inclusive, super sexy MMF “why choose” hockey romance that set TikTok on fire – now with exclusive bonus content!My name is Poppy St. James and I’ve just landed my dream job as the Director of Public Relations for the NHL’s hottest new team, the Jacksonville Rays. But if I want to stay beyond my one-year contract, I'll have to prove myself. Easy. PR is in my blood. What’s not so easy are the hockey players. They’re a real handful—especially party boy defenseman Lukas Novikov.I don't care how well Lucas plays hockey. Off the ice, he's a PR nightmare. Brash and bossy, he's always finding ways to drag his teammates into trouble—especially fellow defenseman Colton Morrow—and I have to find brilliant ways to drag them out of it. The players can all call me PR Barbie all they want, but I'm getting the job done. Because I am poised, powerful, and always professional . . . until the fateful night my phone rings.With one little phone call from home that leads to one drunken mistake, my carefully balanced life is knocked off-kilter. And now I'm staring down at a little blue plus sign and I have no strategy, no idea what’s next. All I know is that nothing will ever be the same.

~ Quinton Dunn ~I had the perfect life.Getting paid millions to play the sport I love and spending most of my nights with all the adoring female fans, what more could I possibly want?I sure as hell didn’t want the baby boy someone dropped on me before running, leaving behind a note saying he’s mine.If that’s true, then I don’t have a freakin’ clue who his mother could be.Until I get the paternity test results, though, the kid’s my responsibility.The sleepless nights with a crying baby have me crashing and burning on the football field, putting my superstar career in jeopardy.And suddenly, the only woman I want hates me with a fiery passion. I knew Callie wasn’t going to be easy to win over. Not when she blames me for her sister’s death.Oh, and if this baby turns out to be my son, Callie’s determined to take him away from me.Somehow I’ll have to find a way to prove to her that there’s more to me than my perfect spiral.

Once bitten, twice shy …The mantra I live by so no one can hurt me in the same way my parents did.I’m Tommy Schneider, the most feared player in the NHL with a last name to match my bad boy reputation. Only, I’m the better, stronger, faster version of my estranged dad. Everything in my life I control with expert precision—from the hits I land in fights to the tattoos covering my body. Nothing and no one can get the better of me. I’m impermeable, a wall of steel that’s as cold as it is opaque.So when my trade to the New York Blades is met with controversy, it’s fair to say I’m unbothered. The recently appointed General Manager expects a brutal enforcer, and that’s exactly what he’ll get.But what I didn’t expect when I landed in Brooklyn? Jenna Miller. And the way she unceremoniously turned me down. I shouldn’t let her rejection weave it’s way under my skin, and I definitely shouldn’t have punched her brother when he tried to defend Jenna’s honor.Instead, I should heed my mantra and walk away from the girl who hates my guts and grates on me with her bratty smile and backtalking mouth. If I don’t, I know someone will eventually get hurt. But each time I back off, I wind up standing outside her apartment door again.I’m in the fight of my life, with so much more at risk than just broken bones and bruises …This time, it’s my heart on the line.

He knows how to win her surrender ...She Wants What He's Got . . .Valerie Parker is desperate to win the affection of her emotionally distant father and land a promotion at his advertising firm. Her biggest obstacle is junior partner Steven Crennell, a dazzling former NBA star who scores all the big accounts. But Valerie's attempt to outshine her charismatic rival unexpectedly leads her straight into his arms.She's Everything He Needs . . .Steven hopes to dispel the playboy stereotype left in the wake of his NBA career. Between battling his ex-fiancée and focusing on his work, finding his soul mate isn't on the agenda - until he meets his match in Valerie. And when competition leads to explosive passion, he learns that the game of life - and love - involve a very different set of rules.Praise for Heated Rivalry"The age-old romantic conflict of opposing lovers is fresh and exciting in the skillful hands of Patricia Sargeant. Heated Rivalry steams the page from the beginning to the satisfying end." - Donna Hill, Essence best-selling author"When ex-NBA star Steven meets advertising executive Val, The Taming of the Shrew never read so well - or so sexy." - Shirley Hailstock, best-selling author"Patricia Sargeant not only touches the heart, she touches the soul of the reader." - Karen Kelley, USA Today best-selling author"Heated Rivalry sparks with sexual tension." - Janice Maynard, USA Today best-selling author"An absorbing ... emotional journey with broad appeal." - Publishers Weekly"Heated Rivalry by Patricia Sargeant lives up to its title with a riveting plot and memorable characters." - Romance In Color"Drama with a hint of humor is rife in Sargeant's latest. Readers will savor this right to the end." - RT Book Reviews"There were several storylines happening simultaneously, and Sargeant does a great job of weaving them all together." - Urban Reviews"HEATED RIVALRY is a treat and worth the read for the true romantic." - The RAWSISTAZ ReviewersExcerpt: Heated RivalrySteven finished his burger. "Tell me about volunteering at Miami Children's Hospital."Valerie placed her napkin on the table. "What do you want to know?""Everything. What do you do there?""I volunteer in the recreation room. I'm the Crayon Lady." Valerie laughed and her features lit up. Her full lips parted, showing perfect white teeth. Her eyes twinkled and danced.A warm feeling started in the pit of Steven's stomach. He could listen to her laughter and gaze at her smile for years. "Let me guess. You draw with them.""Once or twice a week since high school.""When I was in high school, I went to every basketball camp in Miami-Dade County.""I saw you when you played for the Miami Waves. You were like art."Steven watched Valerie return her dishes to the cart. He stood to do the same. "I don't think anyone's ever said that about me."Valerie turned, almost bumping into him. She was caught between his body and the cart. Steven held his ground. Her heat drew him closer. He breathed her scent, lavender and vanilla. He wanted to bury his hand in her ebony hair. Her eyes mesmerized him. Steven reached around Valerie and laid his dishes on the cart."What type of art?" His voice was husky. He hadn't intended it to be. What was she doing to him?"Modern." She answered without hesitation. "Bold and powerful. Full of energy and contrasts.""Funny. That's what I feel around you. Restless energy and conflicting reactions."She searched his gaze. "What conflicting reactions?"He couldn't resist any longer. Steven reached out and filled his hands with her hair. It was soft and warm. "Your vulnerability draws me closer, but your temper makes me want to run and hide."Her smile teased him, tempted him. "Do I frighten you?" She reached out and squeezed his left bicep. "A big, strong professional athlete?""Sweetheart, you bring me to my knees."Steven leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

A beard-related dare and one hot-as-hell kiss changes everything. NFL center Ethan Dexter's focus has always been on playing football and little else. Except when it comes to one particular woman. The lovely Fiona Mackenzie might not care about his fame, but she's also never looked at him as anything more than one of her brother-in-law's best friends. That ends now. Fi doesn't know what to make of Dex. The bearded, tattooed, mountain of man-muscle looks more like a biker than a football player. Rumor has it he's a virgin, but she finds that hard to believe. Because from the moment he decides to turn his quiet intensity on her she's left weak at the knees and aching to see his famous control fully unleashed. Fi ought to guard her heart and walk away; they live vastly different lives in separate cities. And Dex is looking for a forever girl. But Dex has upped his game and is using all his considerable charm to convince Fi he's her forever man. Game On.

From USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Jenshak comes the next in a brand new YA romance series that follows Frost Lake High School's state champion soccer team. Tutoring the captain of Frost Lake High's soccer team isn't on her bucket list. And neither is falling for him. Seventeen-year-old Lacey Kerr is a lot of things: head cheerleader, an A+ student, vice president of student council, a loyal friend, and beloved by her classmates. What she isn't is a fan of star soccer player Vaughn Collins. And he knows it. Unfortunately for him, he needs her. With his grades on the line, he'll do anything to turn it around and keep his spot on the soccer team. Even if it means winning over his ex-girlfriend's best friend and convincing her to tutor him. They're different. She's sunshine and he's...not. She has a bucket list of fun things to do before high school is over and he's allergic to fun. But as they spend more time together, studying and crossing things off Lacey's list, they realize they're more alike than either of them wants to admit. She doesn't want to fall for him, and he doesn't want to fall for anyone. They're both good at playing the game, but maybe this time it could be forever.

Mila Anderson has a five-year plan. Nowhere in it: a masked man with a filthy mouth. After a gaslighting ex turns her love life into a cautionary tale, she swears off distractions-especially six-foot-something hockey players she's been hired to make look marketable. Then the team's Halloween party happens, and she's swept off her feet by a man who makes her forget every rule she's ever set. One tiny problem: she never saw his face. Theo Tilbury doesn't do crowds or speeches. Or talking much at all. But behind a mask, he's confident, dirty, and makes Mila tremble by whispering her name. Too bad she doesn't know the shy defenseman is the same guy who ruined her lipstick. Keeping the secret lets him live both lives-the bold stranger she can't forget and the man terrified of saying the wrong word. But the closer they get, the harder it is to hide, and the more he risks losing the one woman who finally sees him. A witty, steamy, and deeply emotional hockey romance about confidence, connection, and falling for the person who finally makes you feel seen. Book 2 in the Skate Me Home series. Can be read as a standalone.

 A pace ahead of the play can send you back to the start. And put everything you’ve worked for at risk. Single mother and submissive Rebecca Bower abandoned her career as a sports reporter to become a media consultant with her brother’s hockey team. A failed marriage to a selfish man makes her wary of getting involved with another. Unfortunately, chemistry is hard to deny, and all her hormones are dancing when she gets close to the Cobra’s sniper, Scott Demyan. Zachary Pearce ‘came out’ to the world last season to shift attention away from a teammate. And his one night with Scott Demyan had been unsettling. There could be more there, if only Scott was a different person. Instead, a night of sensual BDSM play with Becky leaves him wanting more, but she thinks he’s gay and questions his interest. It’s been a long time since a woman has attracted him both as a man and a Dom, and he’ll do everything in his power to prove she’s the only one he needs. Or wants. His one time with Scott was a mistake. Scott might have forgotten what happened in his childhood, but the effects linger, and he specializes in drunken one-night stands…until he meets Zach and Becky and sees what he’s missing. But neither one believes Scott can be faithful. Although he’s trying hard to clean up his act to avoid getting kicked off the team, they want more from him. He’s willing to make changes, but the most important one—putting their happiness before his own—means he’ll probably end up alone.

It’s game on for love in the third novel of USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Bernard’s sexy, baseball-themed series. Kilby Catfish left-fielder Trevor Stark is a ballpark legend. With his good looks, hitting records, and played-for-the-fans arrogance, Trevor makes women lose their minds and men lose their cool. But every time the major league team comes calling, Trevor purposely keeps himself in the tiny Texas town. Why is heart-tuggingly top secret. Until the team owner’s daughter comes to Kilby . . . trying everything up her sexy sleeve to make Trevor talk. Divorced and disillusioned at twenty-four, Paige Mattingly Austin Taylor is suddenly starting fresh as an intern at Catfish Stadium. She should want nothing to do with the sinfully hot ballplayer her dad warned her to stay away from. But when she discovers what Trevor is hiding from everyone, she realizes there’s much more to him than his face and multi-million-dollar arm. There’s a heart she seriously hopes to win.

A woman running from chaos. A man with an unexpected surprise. A romance in the most unlikely of places.EmmaMen are assholes. So it's no surprise when I catch my ex cheating that I find myself back home, at the practice rink, looking for a distraction.Which is exactly what I get when I run into Greyson Ford and Gracie.Taking care of Gracie, his sweet baby girl in exchange for a place to stay should be a piece of cake, but the more time I spend with Greyson away from his daughter, the more the lines start to blur between us...Can I trust Greyson won't break my heart? Or will history put us both in the penalty box?GreysonThe last thing I ever expected was to find out I had a daughter, but the minute I met Gracie, I knew there was nothing I wouldn't do for her. Including hiring Emma, the cute, crazy woman who's been practically MIA from our friends group the last four months.Seeing Emma with Gracie, I know it's for the best. However, the more I get to know Emma beyond her impulsive facade, the more I realize I might be falling for a woman that has the power to destroy me. But I won't let that stop me.Because this time, Emma is the goal, and I'm ready to skate my way to happily ever after.Unexpectedly Yours is a pro hockey romance filled with swooning moments, friendly banter, lots of spice, a crazy found family, and a guaranteed happily ever after. It is book two in the Sticks and Stilettos series, and can be read as a standalone. Please note that Unexpectedly Yours may contain spoilers from the previous book in the series.