Books like 'Against the Ropes'
Readers who enjoyed Against the Ropes by Carly Fall also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary athletes fighters second chances grovel mma-boxing betrayal
-
Happy Trail by Jordan Marie, Robin Harper
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSometimes you have to talk to work things out. Luckily that works best without clothes. Petal I’ve loved Luka Fields my entire life. He was my first crush, my first kiss, my first time, and my first heartbreak. Love isn’t like in the movies, or the books you read. It’s hard. Sometimes you give up… And regret it your entire life... -
![Loving Colt by C.A. Harms]()
Loving Colt by C.A. Harms
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 23 ratings**Mature Content Warning** Recommended for ages 17+ due to language and sexual content. Alexis and Colt never planned on crossing paths. Alexis and her three year old daughter were running from their past and Colt was looking for his future. Neither planning to find salvation in one another. One night changed it all… And they had no hope of ever being the same again... -
![]()
![]()
Sponsored links -
![Fighting for Control by Melynda Price]()
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... -
![Fast Burn by Lori Foster]()
Fast Burn by Lori Foster
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsFor the woman who’s his perfect match, he’s willing to break the rules… The moment Brand Berry meets beautiful, driven Sahara Silver, the connection between them is electric. It’s also something he can’t pursue. Sahara wants him, sure—to join Body Armor, where his MMA skills, size and cocky attitude make him perfect for her elite crew of bodyguards... -
-
![You're the Reason by Tari Faris, Susan May Warren]()
You're the Reason by Tari Faris, Susan May Warren
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHow could she ever love the man blamed for her brother’s death? A novel of Redemption, Forgiveness, and Unrequited Love in this Home to Heritage novel."Tari Faris delivers a masterful blend of romance and redemption in this compelling tale that will tug at your heartstrings and inspire your soul. A must-read for anyone who believes in the power of second chances... -
![Tapping out by Nikki Ash]()
Tapping out by Nikki Ash
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBeing a fighter is in my blood. My grandfather was a fighter, my father was a fighter, and I'm a fighter. I live for the rush of adrenaline and sensation of victory. When I fight, I give it my all. I step into the octagon and I fight until there's nothing left to fight for. He's been my best friend for most of my life... -
![Inevitable Ella by V.H. Nicolson]()
Inevitable Ella by V.H. Nicolson
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSeven years ago my soulmate got married.To someone else.Fraser Farmer broke me. Made me incapable of loving again.Seven years later he's back, whispering I love you.He's gorgeous, magnetic, successful, an athlete at the peak of his game.But behind his picture perfect life and family, lies a precarious path of deceit and anguish and a vicious sports agent on the warpath to destroy him... -
![Close Contact by Lori Foster]()
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... -
![Cruz by H.J. Bellus]()
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 mma-boxing athletes sports forbidden love contemporary strong heroine suspense -
![Unbreak This Heart by Betty Shreffler]()
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... -
![Fire and Love by Melanie Shawn]()
Fire and Love by Melanie Shawn
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsStand-alone Hope Falls romance, complete with HEA--and plenty of heat and heart along the way! Their future was set. He was going to be a firefighter, and she was going to be a filmmaker. They were going to get married and live happily-ever-after with two kids and a dog…She supposed one out five ain’t bad... -
![The Way You Love Me by Michelle Sass Aleckson]()
The Way You Love Me by Michelle Sass Aleckson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOliver Fox never thought he’d step foot in Deep Haven again—not with the ghosts he left behind. But when the custody battle for his beloved daughter hinges on his ability to face his past, he returns to Deep Haven and dives back into the fray of his mistakes…starting with the girl next door.Veterinarian Lena Larson has her hands full with the town’s pets, including a shelter for lost animals... -
![Nikan Rebuilt by Scarlett Cole]()
Nikan Rebuilt by Scarlett Cole
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the queen of heart-pounding, sexy, emotional romance Scarlett Cole comes Nikan Rebuilt , the next novel in the Preload series. Does the past ever really stay in the past? Nikan can never be complete. He's got a rock group made up of the family he built for himself, more money than he knows what to do with, and a stream of groupies falling over themselves to date him...Categorized as:
second chances grovel betrayal contemporary rockstars cheating new adult other-man-woman -
![Naked Choke by Vanessa Dare]()
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... -
-
![Sliding Home by Kate Angell]()
Sliding Home by Kate Angell
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsWHO’D BEEN SLEEPING IN KASON RHODES’S BED? The left fielder for the Richmond Rogues had returned from six weeks of spring training in Florida to find someone had moved into his mobile home. That person was presently in his shower. And no matter how sexy the squatter might be, Kason wanted her out. He had his trusty dobie, Cimarron; he didn’t need anyone else in his life... -
![Redemption by Tia Lewis]()
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... -
![Hopeless Vows by Rachael Duncan]()
Hopeless Vows by Rachael Duncan
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt was a social experiment that was supposed to lead to my happily ever after. The rules were simple: 1. Marry a complete stranger chosen for you by a panel of experts. 2. Live together as man and wife for eight weeks. 3. Make a decision to stay together or get a divorce. Call me crazy, but I had complete faith in the process, until I saw who was waiting for me at the end of the aisle... -
![Undisputed by A.S. Teague]()
Undisputed by A.S. Teague
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsI live a life most could only dream of. Parties, women, fame—what more could I want? As the undisputed MMA light heavyweight champ, I’ve faced the world’s toughest men. But, with a single glance, I knew that the five-foot-five redhead with a smart mouth and innocent eyes would be my hardest opponent yet. Sidney O’Neil isn’t my type... -
![Stacked Up by Sidney Halston]()
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 mma-boxing contemporary alpha male friends to lovers suspense sports -
![The Playmaker by Dakota Madison]()
The Playmaker by Dakota Madison
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsKian Kavanagh, Mr. Fire on Ice, has just been called up to play hockey for the NHL's new expansion team in Seattle. Finally playing in the NHL is a dream come true...except for one thing. Kian has to leave Northern Arizona and the love of his life, Taylor Thompson, to pursue his dream. Taylor Thompson thinks she's got life figured out... -
![Paradise Fought: Abel by L.B. Dunbar]()
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... -
![Fat Cat Liar by Ahren Sanders]()
Fat Cat Liar by Ahren Sanders
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe night I met Greer Palmer was no coincidence. The plan was perfect. Everything was in place. All I had to do was get her attention and the rest would take its course. What I didn’t plan was my reaction the first time she spoke. “Are you okay?” Three little words… That’s all it took for her to steal my breath and shatter every thing I’d expected... -
![Doomsday Love by Shanora Williams]()
Doomsday Love by Shanora Williams
**LIMITED TIME SALE OF $0.99! Regular Price $3.99** If you're thinking this is the typical MMA romance...you're wrong. When we were ten, he treated me like a friend. When we were eighteen, he wanted nothing to do with me. And now that we are twenty-two, he longs to claim every single inch of me. He was wild--untamed. And I, a reckless girl, who loved too hard...Categorized as:
athletes fighters second chances mma-boxing new adult contemporary alpha male friends to lovers -
![Memphis by Ginger Scott]()
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... -
-
![How We Fall by Melissa Toppen, Silla Webb]()
How We Fall by Melissa Toppen, Silla Webb
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsItâs not always about how we fall- itâs about where we end up once we land. I remember the very first time I laid eyes on Cole Lincoln. It still feels like yesterday when he stumbled into my life with his messy brown hair and dark eyes. Even though I was only ten years old at the time, I knew right then and there that he was going to change everything... -
![Fury by Clarissa Wild]()
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... -
![Gio by Elizabeth Reyes]()
Gio by Elizabeth Reyes
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsNew Adult/ Contemporary Romance When tragedy strikes in the ring, Giovanni Bravo falls into a deep depression, walking away from his dream of boxing to train instead. He agrees to a two month get-away, helping train Felix Sanchez, his high school best friend and now welterweight champ of the world... -
![Talk Hockey to Me by Kelly Jamieson]()
Talk Hockey to Me by Kelly Jamieson
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThey can resist their attraction…until their hearts rocket them across the blue line.HunterTiming. Hockey careers are made or broken on it, and mine has taken exceptionally broken road. I’m not a star. I’m a grinder, I work hard, and I’m finally at the point I can put the past behind me and get the fat, long-term contract I deserve... -
![Maggie's Turn by Deanna Lynn Sletten]()
Maggie's Turn by Deanna Lynn Sletten
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsMaggie has always put her family’s needs in front of her own, until one day—without forethought—she drives away, leaving behind her indifferent husband and two sulking teenagers.As she begins a quest of self-exploration, she meets new people, enjoys new adventures, and rediscovers long-neglected passions... -
![Drawn to Fight: Zac & Evie: New Adult, Standalone Fighter Romance by Lilliana Anderson]()
Drawn to Fight: Zac & Evie: New Adult, Standalone Fighter Romance by Lilliana Anderson
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNew Adult fighter romance Zac Rivers. A boy no one wanted to know. Always angry. Always fighting his way in and out of trouble. It was no surprise when he was expelled from school and never heard from again. Until now. I found him at the Londonderry Brawl, and I watched him fight like an animal. Strong. Controlled. But desperate... -
![Broken Lion by Devon Hartford]()
Broken Lion by Devon Hartford
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBestselling author Devon Hartford brings you another scorching hot and scandalous standalone romance. BROKEN MEN BREAK HEARTS The night the EMTs wheeled Lion Maxwell into my Emergency Room turned my life upside down. Although he was bloody and battered from defending his title as the reigning cruiserweight champion of Mixed Martial Arts, his cocky grin lit up the room... -
![Raven's Climb by Tiffany Casper]()
Raven's Climb by Tiffany Casper
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsI wasn’t one of those girls that just rolled over and got over something. No, I could hold a mean grudge, and that was what I had been doing for going on seven years. And I didn’t see that stopping any time soon.Why oh why in all of the hospitals in all of the United States, had this job been the only one available for me to take?Seven years ago something vile and despicable had ruined me... -
![Sweet Spot for Victoria by Hayley Faiman]()
Sweet Spot for Victoria by Hayley Faiman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsVALENTINES DAY SPECIAL NOVELLA --- Victoria fell in love with Carlos when she was just a young teenager. Two kids, one successful pro-baseball career, and almost two decades later, she's sure she doesn't want to live her life with anyone else. But when news of another baby on the way collides with her already hectic life, the veil of complacency is removed and panic takes its place... -
![Power Play: A Why Choose Hockey Romance by Christina Sterling]()
Power Play: A Why Choose Hockey Romance by Christina Sterling
Lacey Bennett is ready for a fresh start. Leaving her troubled past behind, she lands her dream job as a physical therapist for the North Carolina Titans, an NHL team that’s as dynamic off the ice as they are on it.But her new beginning hits a snag when she discovers her high school sweetheart, Ben Kowalski, is one of the players.Ben has never gotten over Lacey—the girl who got away... -
-
![Winning Love by Abby Niles]()
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... -
![The Best Is Yet To Come by Bella Andre]()
The Best Is Yet To Come by Bella Andre
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBest friends. High school sweethearts. Passionate lovers. Once upon a time, Sarah Bartow and Calvin Vaughn were everything to each other. Until big dreams—and an even bigger tragedy—tore them apart. Ten years after good-bye, they're finally together again at Summer Lake in the Adirondacks...and the sparks between them are hotter than ever. Soon one kiss is turning into so much more... -
![Saving a Legend by Sarah Robinson]()
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... -
![Saving a Legend: Kavanagh Legends, Book 2 by Sarah Robinson]()
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... -
![Totaled by Stacey Grice]()
Totaled by Stacey Grice
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTotaled is a full length (112,000 words) new adult, contemporary romance novel. It is not recommended for readers under the age of 18 due to sexual situations, mature content, and explicit language. Bree Murphy is stuck. Forced to grow up too fast after the tragic death of her mother, she has little time for any sort of life for herself... -
![Mend by Kivrin Wilson]()
Mend by Kivrin Wilson
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPAIGE Logan McKinley. My ex. I knew he was trouble from the first moment I laid eyes on him. Fresh out of law school with a new job at one of San Diego’s biggest firms, I was supposed to focus on my career. No distractions, no men, and especially no office romances. Then I met Logan... -
![Jack & Sadie by J.B. Salsbury]()
Jack & Sadie by J.B. Salsbury
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsSadie Slade was the love of my life. I left for college promising her I’d be back in four years. She stayed behind promising me she’d wait. We both broke our promises. When we bump into each other five years later my feelings for her come rushing to the surface. I want her back. She wants me gone... -
![The Space Between Us by Anie Michaels]()
The Space Between Us by Anie Michaels
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsThey always belonged to each other but even a fated love can be fractured. Shy, artistic, and withdrawn 11-year-old Charlie McBride tries to get her footing as she copes with the loss of her mother, the move to a new town, and starting a new school. Asher Carmichael steps into her life, provides a steadfast friendship that offers her protection to grow into a beautiful, young woman... -
![Fateful Fighter by Kathy Coopmans]()
Fateful Fighter by Kathy Coopmans
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 13 ratings“I want a divorce.”No woman wants to say those words. No woman who is still in love with her husband anyway. Our marriage has been tested, repeatedly. It’s been dragged through tabloids and rumors and fans that just won’t let us be. Through it all, we’ve remained unbreakable.We didn’t have the perfect marriage because perfection doesn’t exist.But we had love. We had trust... -
![Collision by K.A. Sterritt]()
Collision by K.A. Sterritt
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTheir lives were destined to collide. Juliette Salinger lives her life entirely on her mother’s terms. Everything from what she wears to who she dates is determined by what is deemed appropriate for their social standing. Look a little closer. Juliette isn’t cut out for that life. She lives for moments of reckless abandon to escape the crushing pressure of never being good enough... -
-
![Out of the Box Awakening by Jennifer Theriot]()
Out of the Box Awakening by Jennifer Theriot
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsOlivia is a good woman, a good mother, a good wife. She’s got it made. She doesn’t want anything to change. Of course, it does... Swept from her perfect paper-doll life in Houston, Olivia finds herself in Chicago, alone, betrayed, and far from home. Soon everything she thought she knew about herself and her life will be challenged...Categorized as:
second chances betrayal contemporary mature couple angst height-difference length-medium -
![Off the Hook by Laura Drewry]()
Off the Hook by Laura Drewry
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsWelcome to The Buoys, a West Coast haven where love comes in with the tide. Perfect for readers of Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery, the Fishing for Trouble series features three unforgettable brothers—each of whom is a great catch. Major league pitcher Liam O’Donnell knows his best days are probably behind him, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to retire and become a fishing guide... -
![Lady Killer by Misti Murphy, T Lund]()
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... -
![Long Road Home by J.W. Ashley]()
Long Road Home by J.W. Ashley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsBestselling Author J.W. Ashley brings you a heartwarming story with the first book in her Home series, a standalone collection about returning home and finding redemption with those you left behind. ✮A Top 300 Amazon Best Seller✮They say that time heals all wounds. I'm here to tell you that saying is a steaming pile of bullshit... -
![Fight by Kelly Wyre]()
Fight by Kelly Wyre
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTo Nathan Hunt, honesty is anything but the best policy. Telling the truth has gotten him nothing but heartache and pain; so lying about who he is and what he wants seems to be the only path to job security and friends. Hell, it even brings him a hollow kind of happiness. Except, that's not much of a life for any man. Especially one with Nathan's passions... -
![Fighting Strong by Marysol James]()
Fighting Strong by Marysol James
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen Katie Lloyd finds out that her stepfather is dying, she’s determined to get to him, no matter what. Thwarted by transportation problems and challenged by bad weather, she ends up having to accept help from the one person she can’t imagine being trapped in a car with on a five-day road trip: Adam Pierce...
Fantastic book recommendations by romance book lovers for romance book lovers.
Find out more about romance.io.
Find out more about romance.io.
Get recommendations by genres & tropes
Use the romance book finder to mix and match over 100 content keywords to find the books that match your preferences
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
