Sports Romance Reads for Fans of ‘Heated Rivalry’
Still reeling from ‘Heated Rivalry?’ Us too. Looking for more enemies-to-lovers or unlikely-allies tropes with the added passion of elite-level sports? Check out these romances that combine the thrills of competition with the spice of unexpected chemistry.
All of Penny Harrison’s hard work is finally paying off. At 21 years old, she’s a tennis icon in-the-making, with massive sponsorship deals and legendary status on the horizon, if she can just nail the upcoming Grand Slam in Paris. Until then, there’s no room for mistakes.
When she returns to the prestigious Outer Banks Tennis Club to train, though, she comes face to face with the biggest mistake she ever made: Alex Russell. With piercing blue eyes and irresistible charm, the bad boy tennis star is the only guy who ever broke Penny’s heart.
But as days tick down to Paris, Penny seems to always find herself across the court from Alex. She knows that winning it all means laser focus…so why can’t Penny stay away from the one guy who ruins everything?
When it comes to personal training, Taylor Powell kicks serious butt. Unfortunately, her bills are piling up, rent is due, and the money situation is dire. Taylor needs more than the support of her new best friends, Samiah and London. She needs a miracle.
And Jamar Dixon might just be it. The oh-so-fine former footballer wants back into the NFL, and he wants Taylor to train him. There’s just one catch—no one can know what they’re doing. But when they’re accidentally outed as a couple, Taylor’s game plan is turned completely upside down. Is Jamar just playing to win . . . or is he playing for keeps?
After a decade in journalism, Natalia Evans has reached the pinnacle of her career—lead reporter for Auto Racing Journal. The only complication in Natalia’s plans? The enigmatic Emerald Team Principal, Klaus Franke—the handsome “stranger” with whom Natalia once shared an unforgettable night that had to be forgotten.
Klaus is icy, controlled, and utterly off limits. But the cracks in his reserve expose a heat Natalia can’t resist as fate drags them together again and again. Natalia needs the scoop of the century. Klaus needs more time. But they soon discover that maybe they need each other more than anything else.
Bex Martin’s racquet club is her entire world. But the business she inherited from her mother has started to feel more like a sinking ship. That is, until Nikolaus Karras—a former tennis bad boy with an ego as big as his serve—makes himself at home on her courts.
Niko has something to prove, and a high-stakes pickleball tournament is just what he needs to get back in the game after a career-ending injury. When he is finally able to set his ego aside to ask for Bex’s help, everyone assumes that they are a couple—on and off the court.
She needs the prize money to save the club, and he needs a win to restore his reputation. So now they have a fake relationship as well as a doubles partner that they can’t seem to resist. Game on!
Zoe Carson, former figure skating queen, needs a fresh start as a hockey skating coach. An NHL gig with the New York Legends is her big chance. Unfortunately, that means facing off against the star player who broke her heart ten years ago. Chase Merritt knows his game is off, and he’s on the verge of losing sponsors. But he doesn’t need the ice princess from that intense college summer showing up and telling him what he’s doing wrong—even when she’s right.
On the ice, they’re magic. Off the ice, they’re nothing but heat and stubbornness, and everyone on the team is enjoying the show. But when an old video of Zoe and Chase’s figure skating routine goes viral, they’re forced to work together more intimately than ever before. Can the two get it right this time or will the whole world watch them crash and burn?
An emotional YA romance about small town secrets, high school football, and broken hearts.
Julian Jackson has a short to-do list for his senior year at Crenshaw County High School in Meridien, Texas: football, football, and more football. He knows he’s only got one chance to earn a college scholarship and make it out of his small town, and keeping his head down, his grades up, and his cleats on the field is that one chance. And then Elijah Vance walks back into his life, throwing all of his carefully-laid plans into a tailspin.
Elijah and Julian used to be best friends, maybe even on their way to something more than just friends. But three years ago, Elijah broke into the school to steal money from the coach’s office, and Julian was the one who turned him in. After that, Elijah and his family disappeared without a trace. And now he’s back, sitting at Julian’s grandmother’s kitchen table. But time and distance haven’t erased all of their feelings, and Elijah knows that he finally has a chance to prove to Julian that he’s not the same person he was three years ago. But with secrets still growing between them and an uncertain future barreling towards them, it may be harder to lean on each other than they thought.
Julian Jackson has a short to-do list for his senior year at Crenshaw County High School in Meridien, Texas: football, football, and more football. He knows he’s only got one chance to earn a college scholarship and make it out of his small town, and keeping his head down, his grades up, and his cleats on the field is that one chance. And then Elijah Vance walks back into his life, throwing all of his carefully-laid plans into a tailspin.
Elijah and Julian used to be best friends, maybe even on their way to something more than just friends. But three years ago, Elijah broke into the school to steal money from the coach’s office, and Julian was the one who turned him in. After that, Elijah and his family disappeared without a trace. And now he’s back, sitting at Julian’s grandmother’s kitchen table. But time and distance haven’t erased all of their feelings, and Elijah knows that he finally has a chance to prove to Julian that he’s not the same person he was three years ago. But with secrets still growing between them and an uncertain future barreling towards them, it may be harder to lean on each other than they thought.
British bad boy Cillian “Kill” Cairney is ruthless on the rugby pitch. After getting a permanent red card from his team in London, the only team that will have him is an Ivy League school in New Hampshire. Worst of all, his starting position is in the hands of his coach’s fiery, rugby-obsessed, very off-limits daughter, Rory. But then she approaches him with a proposition that could benefit them both . . .
In a game where trust and loyalty are tested, who will be the winner? Or will love be the final red card?
Gymnast Caroline Kepler has three state balance beam titles, a new trick even most elites can’t do—and chronic, undeniable back pain. While she might never be an Olympian, she has dreams of leveling up to elite, making Nationals, and competing in college. But when one epic face-plant changes all that and Caroline’s back pain goes from chronic to career-ending, her dreams are shattered and her life is flipped upside down.
Enter Alex Zavala, a three-sport athlete who’s both incredibly cute…and her brother’s best friend. He offers to give Caroline a crash course in all the sports she’s missed, and she has an offer for him in return: For every sport Alex teaches her, she’ll play matchmaker for him. Turns out life was way easier when it was just layout-fulls and beam burns.
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