Books like 'Grace for Drowning'
Readers who enjoyed Grace for Drowning by Maya Cross also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary athletes military fighters bad boys possessive hero sports mma-boxing
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Ryker by Nyssa Kathryn
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsSometimes, the quest for vengeance can cost more than you’re willing to pay.Blakely Sullivan was a foreign aid worker in the Middle East when a deadly bombing took the lives of families she’d come to know and love, collateral damage in someone else’s war... -
The Legend by Shey Stahl
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsIn a lifestyle of speed, adrenaline and desire, one racer has sacrificed everything for the sport he loved. In turn, he will fight for his name, his family and now his life to be the legend he’s been portrayed to be. You can be everything you set out to be if you want it bad enough. You can be that record breaker you said you’d be. You can be that hero you always thought you would be... -
Grand Slam by Lisa Suzanne
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAlexis’s father tells me he’s going to ruin me. He does not want his pop star daughter or her brand associated in any way with the bad boy of baseball.I make it my mission to prove to her father that I’m not the bad guy he thinks I am. But he takes things a few steps too far, causing major issues that will affect my upcoming baseball season... -
Finding Infinity by Layne Harper
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 28 ratings"Finding Infinity" as described by Colin... "Fine Charlie.” Colin says dropping his hands in defeat. “Here's what I want. I want everybody to back off and let me play football. I want you to go back to practicing medicine because I’m ready for you to be happy again - not this forced shit that you keep trying to sell me... -
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Hard To Handle by Lori Foster
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsSometimes Fate delivers a left hook. After Fate deals Supreme Battle Challenge (SBC) fighter Harley Handleman a sucker punch, his uncle secretly hires a pretty lifecoach to get Harley back in the ring of life. Anastasia Kelley has actually known Harley for years, but never as well as she's going to now... -
Fighting for Control by Melynda Price
For Nikko “the Bull” Del Toro, an ex-marine turned MMA fighter, only two things quiet the demons raging inside him—facing an opponent in the cage…and the memory of his hottest one-night stand. But when his PTSD resurfaces, causing him to lose control at a CFA press party, it’s his career that may be KO’d. Dr... -
The Off Series Boxed Set: Books 1-5 by Sawyer Bennett
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Off Series boxed set, brought to you by USA Today Bestselling author, Sawyer Bennett, contains five, full-length novels... -
Unbreak This Heart by Betty Shreffler
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEver since that horrific night, I’d shut men completely out of my life. I’d gone from the spunky, fun, Alex DeMarco to a broken woman terrified of intimacy. Easing me back into dating, my best friend sets me up with kickboxing lessons from my charming and perfectly sculpted instructor—Carter Maxwell... -
Back in Black by Lori Foster
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsNever before published from the New York Times bestselling author Gillian is a PR expert hired to smooth out the rough edges on hot- headed sports club president Drew Black. He's rough, raw and ready for any challenge Gillian throws his way... -
Cruz by H.J. Bellus
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsShe hates fighting. He lives for it.Layla’s vicious past drove her away from her hometown. She couldn’t live with all the reminders surrounding her, so she ran.Cruz Felix found a new home. A place where he could get his head on straight, train, and fight match after match toward the end goal: the championship in Las Vegas...Categorized as:
fighters sports mma-boxing athletes forbidden love contemporary strong heroine suspense -
Memphis by Ginger Scott
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsMy mom always said it was just something about the way he moved. The same swagger Archie Valentine wore in the ring when he took his opponents down followed him like a halo everywhere he went. But make no mistake about it—he was no angel. He was like a drug. My mother was his addict. I never understood it…how love could make you blind and convince you to drink the poison... -
Causing Havoc by Lori Foster
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsOrphaned and torn from his sisters as a boy, sexy extreme wrestler Dean "Havoc" Conor gets a letter revealing how much his siblings want him back in Harmony, Kentucky. To stop his sister from marrying a sleazeball, Dean finds himself teaming up with her pretty-but-smart-mouthed friend Eve-who's heard of Havoc's reputation and doesn't need some hunk trampling on her heart... -
Close Contact by Lori Foster
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsThere’s no resisting a desire like this…MMA fighter Miles Dartman’s casual arrangement with personal shopper Maxi Nevar would be many men’s fantasy. She seeks him out, they have mindblowing sex, she leaves. Rinse, repeat. Yet lately, Miles wants more... -
Warning Track by Meghan Quinn
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratings**SPOILER ALERT**READ BOOKS ONE AND TWO FIRST** Book three of the Hot-Lanta Series. Life is never as it seems and for Molly Meyers, life has been one hell of a roller coaster the past couple of years. When she thinks she finally has a handle on where her future is taking her, she gets a visit from her past which throws her entire life plan up in the air... -
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Paradise Fought: Abel by L.B. Dunbar
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsI'm not a fighter. I was born into a fighting family. As the middle child, I was overlooked in favor of my older brother. He took the negative attention, too. In comparison, there's nothing special about me. I’m not as big as Cobra. I’m not as strong as Cobra. He's the alpha. I'm a beta. The second son. The lesser one... -
Crazy Maybe by A.D. Justice
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAndi Stone is a strong, smart and independent woman, thanks to the help of a famous boxing trainer, Mack, and his protégé, Shane, who have respectively been like a father and brother to her. But that wasn't always the case. Andi never knew what a “normal” life was like... -
Redemption by Tia Lewis
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsI won't stop until I have my title back and Hannah Collin's is mine. Owning Chicago's best MMA gym, the Warrior Zone, doesn't compare to the high I got from being inside the octagon—the lights, the screaming fans, the women. I used to be the top MMA fighter until a near fatal injury forced me to retire and stripped me of that title... -
Tapout by J.C. Valentine
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsHistory brought them together. Circumstances may keep them apart. Alyson Blake’s past left her with scars. Scars that she tried to fix the only way she knew how—by helping others. But actions have consequences, and Alyson is about to find out that being naïve is no excuse. Fighting is Jamison Weston’s passion. Alyson is his obsession...Categorized as:
bad boys athletes fighters sports contemporary friends to lovers alpha male cruel hero -
Stacked Up by Sidney Halston
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOpposites attract in this seductive novel from the author of Against the Cage (“Funny, steamy, scorching.”—Toni Aleo), with a chiseled MMA fighter falling for a single mom who could use a real man in her corner...Categorized as:
athletes fighters sports mma-boxing contemporary alpha male friends to lovers suspense -
Naked Choke by Vanessa Dare
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsTrapped at the bar during her best friend's engagement party, Emory finds herself with Mr. Dud and his obnoxious pick-up lines. That is, until sexy Grayson Green steps in to rescue her. She's been out of the game so long that she's practically a dating virgin. With her son off to college and her husband now an ex, Emory is learning how to be not a wife, not a mom, but a single woman... -
Passing His Guard by Melynda Price
Aiden “Disco Stick” Kruze walked away from it all—money, family, friends, and a successful career as a lawyer in Manhattan—to pursue his dream of being an MMA fighter. When a sexy private investigator shows up at Aiden’s gym, he mistakenly assumes she’s a cage-banging groupie. Ryann is determined to haul Aiden back home... -
Take Your Time by Julie Johnson
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDelilah Sinclair has a certain reputation. Maybe it's the way she walks (in skyscraper designer heels) or the way she talks (in total absence of a filter) or simply the shade of her hair (strawberry blonde). Maybe it's the string of broken hearts she's left across the city of Boston. (Sorry, boys.) For Lila, catching a man's attention is never a struggle... -
In Jack's Arms by Roxie Rivera
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsWhen pawn broker Abby Kirkwood discovers the evidence of a chilling drug cartel hit on one of the video cameras hocked in her store, she turns to the only man she can trust—Jack Connolly. The smolderingly sexy former Marine runs a successful gym down the street and coaches her brother's special needs baseball team. He's the one man who is always there when she needs him... -
Night Shift: Dirty Things Happen in the Dark by Kindle Alexander, Toni Aleo
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSummer in the Big Easy is hot. Inside Tulane Medical Center the temperature is on the rise. Six never before released stories that will leave you breathless. Dirty things happen in the dark. Off Duty Sawyer Bennett A member of the New York Fire Department, single father Tim Davis is about as tough as they come... -
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Undisputed by Aimee Nicole Walker, Nicholas Bella
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsThere was once a time in my life where the only thing that mattered to me was fighting and winning. I’d step into that octagon with all the confidence in the world that I’d leave the victor. There was no challenge too great that I couldn’t handle. That was until I met a sassy and sexy reporter by the name of Aiden James and he flipped my world upside down... -
Uncaged Love, Volume 1 by J.J. Knight
Colt McClure is a rising MMA fighter out to prove that he has what it takes to be a champion. Jo is on the run from her one terrible mistake. When Colt drags Jo from a brawl with street thugs, he recognizes her potential as a female fighter. But as they begin her training, their desire for each other sparks a love affair that could jeopardize them both. Uncaged Love is a five-part series... -
Bring The Heat by K.B. Winters
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSteamy, Sexy Bad Boys Of Summer! Can It Get Any Hotter? I never claimed to be the greatest pitcher in the world—then again, maybe I did—but I was probably drunk off my ass trying to seduce some chick. I had no intention of ever becoming Cody Wright, the best—or the greatest. That was more my old man’s dream. The REAL Mr. Wright... -
Fury by Clarissa Wild
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThis is book 1.5 in the FIERCE series, and it's a retelling of book 1 from Hunter's POV with lots of unique, previously undiscovered scenes! Would you risk everything for love? Life has held nothing but hardships for Hunter Bane. Growing up with a learning disability wasn't easy, especially when you're poor... -
Fighting Dirty by Sidney Halston
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIf you love the MMA romances of Vi Kreeland and Kendall Ryan, Sidney Halston’s Worth the Fight series will knock your socks off! In Fighting Dirty, a geek-chic cage fighter proves that appearances can be deceiving . . . and oh-so-tempting. With his preppy clothes and horn-rimmed glasses, Enzo Silva is the last dude anyone expects to find in a mixed martial arts gym... -
Fighting Love by Abby Niles
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsFighting Love by Abby Niles Talk about kicking a fighter while he’s down. Former Middleweight champion and confirmed bachelor Tommy "Lightning" Sparks has lost it all: his belt, his career, and now his home. After the devastating fire, he moves in with his drama-free best friend, Julie...Categorized as:
athletes bad boys fighters possessive hero sports mma-boxing contemporary alpha male -
Fly by Molly McLain
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMeet Colton Wade, FMX rider... I’m just a small town guy who caught a lucky break. Now I’m living the dream, on the brink of high-flying super-stardom. But something’s missing. That something is Taylor. She’s my best friend. The one who makes me want to push harder and higher. The one I fall back on when shit gets tough. The one I’d give it all up for. I’d do anything to protect her... -
Winning Love by Abby Niles
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMac “The Snake” Hannon has spent years throwing himself into cage fighting as a way to lash back at the natural disaster that destroyed his future. A call for help has Mac returning to the one place he swore never to return: Kansas—in the height of tornado season. There he meets free-spirited Gayle Andrews... -
Love Unmatched by Anne Leigh
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsLove Unmatched Fate brought them together. Love kept them together. Life could tear them apart. 23 year-old Zander Zobowski, football wonderkid and only son of a tech giant and a well-known philanthropist, fell hard for one woman and never got back up... -
Lawless by Tracey Ward
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsLawson Daniel is good at a lot of things. He can show you the best places to surf, the perfect time of day to ride the tide. He knows the best bars, the best bands, he has the best weed, and if you’re looking to get laid, he’ll show you the best time. No girl in her right mind should speak to him... -
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The Trainer by Shey Stahl
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhat if you had one night to reignite the passion and romance that time and distance had seemed to have forgotten? What would you do for just one night to captivate…one night to find the magic? Just one... -
Down and Dirty by Christine Bell
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA sexy category romance from Entangled's Brazen imprint... He was a dare she’d never been able to resist… Cat Thomas has never been the kind of girl to stick. A self-professed infatuation junky, she latches on the newest, hottest guy on the block, then finds a reason—real or imagined—to dump him... -
Game On by Tracy Solheim
The only way to win is to score… With a reputation for fast moves on the gridiron and even faster moves off the field, Shane Devlin was a player in every sense of the word. Unfortunately, his bad-boy persona has made him a risky prospect as a quarterback, and only the Baltimore Blaze are willing to give him a chance. And he’s about to take a hit he never expected... -
Full Contact by Sidney Halston
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsSidney Halston returns to steamy Tarpon Springs, Florida, where a hell-raising bad boy prepares to get down and dirty for the woman he loves. How could she have been so stupid? When Jessica Cross decides to give her violently jealous boyfriend—the otherwise influential and charming Dennis Stavros—a second chance, she very nearly becomes a statistic... -
Finding My Way by Heidi McLaughlin
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLiam Westbury has the world at his feet. He’s the quintessential golden boy. He’s the superstar quarterback for Beaumont High. His girl, Josie, is head cheerleader. He has his choice of colleges just waiting for him. Except he’s suffocating from all the pressure he’s under and no one understands. Liam Page is the heartthrob he never wanted to be... -
Blindsided: Seattle Steelheads Football by Jami Davenport
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsUSA Today Bestselling author Jami Davenport introduces the Seattle Steelheads football team with this sixth book in her Game On in Seattle sports romance series. The daughter of one-time rock legends, Emma Maxwell is the good girl of the family, the dutiful sister, the doting aunt, and a dedicated employee in the family party crashing business...Categorized as:
athletes sports bad boys contemporary marriage of convenience second chances football length-medium -
Fighting for Everything by Laura Kaye
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLoving her is the biggest fight of his life… Home from the Marines, Noah Cortez has a secret he doesn’t want his oldest friend, Kristina Moore, to know. It kills him to push her away, especially when he’s noticing just how sexy and confident she’s become in his absence. But, angry and full of fight, he’s not the same man anymore either. Which is why Warrior Fight Club sounds so good... -
Fate by Elizabeth Reyes
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsWhen Rose tagged along with her big sister to a baby shower the last thing she expected was to meet a guy. But this wasn’t just any guy. This was the exciting, sexy as sin, way out of her league black sheep of his family--Vincent Moreno. Even more surprising, this heart-stopping bad boy seemed interested in her . Fate always had a way of interfering in Vince’s best-laid plans...Categorized as:
military athletes fighters bad boys possessive hero mma-boxing contemporary friends to lovers -
Always Consumed by Skyla Madi
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the beginning, you have sex. Lots of it. Then, somewhere in the middle, you lose it. Olivia and Seth are stuck in a rut—a busy, sexless rut—and with Valentine's day fast approaching, Olivia wants to force them out of their comfort zones and into fresher waters. Seth, however, believes the trick to recapturing their passion lies in their beginning... -
Saving a Legend by Sarah Robinson
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsPraised by Penelope Ward as “a unique story line with multiple layers to it,” Sarah Robinson’s Saving a Legend goes another round with the brooding Kavanagh brothers: MMA fighters who won’t call it quits in the ring, or in romance. His family’s gym has produced a roster of mixed martial arts legends, but so far Kieran Kavanagh hasn’t followed in their footsteps... -
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Saving a Legend by Sarah Robinson
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPraised by Penelope Ward as “a unique story line with multiple layers to it,” Sarah Robinson’s Saving a Legend goes another round with the brooding Kavanagh brothers: MMA fighters who won’t call it quits in the ring, or in romance. His family’s gym has produced a roster of mixed martial arts legends, but so far Kieran Kavanagh hasn’t followed in their footsteps... -
Fighting for What's His by Laura Kaye
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsResisting her only makes him want her more… Private investigator Billy Parrish is good at three things—fighting, investigating, and sex. MMA training with the other vets in the Warrior Fight Club keeps his war-borne demons at bay—mostly, and one night stands ensure no one gets too close. But then his best friend from the Army Rangers calls in a favor... -
Saving a Legend: Kavanagh Legends, Book 2 by Sarah Robinson
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsPraised by New York Times Bestselling Author Penelope Ward as “a unique story line with multiple layers to it,” Sarah Robinson’s Saving a Legend goes another round with the brooding Kavanagh MMA fighters who won’t call it quits in the ring, or in romance.His family’s gym has produced a roster of mixed martial arts legends, but so far Kieran Kavanagh hasn’t followed in their footsteps... -
Lady Killer by Misti Murphy, T Lund
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsThey called him the Lady Killer. Able to get into a woman’s panties in 3.6 seconds flat. I know where he’s been. I know he keeps a list of all the women he’s f*cked. And there are so many reasons I’m not interested in being another number. I’m the reason his boxing career is over. The reason he almost died. I can never stop running... -
Until You're Mine (Fighting For Her) by Cindi Madsen
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsYou might’ve heard of me, Shane Knox, the guy who rose quickly through the MMA fighter ranks, only to crash just as fast. No one cares about personal reasons when it comes to losing fights and money. I’m determined to get back to where I was. For you to hear my name again. I’ve finally convinced the owner of Team Domination to take a chance and get me back in fighting—and winning—shape... -
Undefeated by Melissa Cutler
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWelcome to Destiny Falls, New York, home of Bomb Squad—an ice hockey team full of rugged military heroes...
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