Books like 'Holding Strong'
Readers who enjoyed Holding Strong by Lori Foster also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary suspense fighters athletes sports mma-boxing alpha male friends to lovers bad boys new adult
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Kade by Tijan
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsI have fought. I have bled. I have wreaked havoc for my family. Anyone who threatened us, tried to break us, I broke them instead. Then, there was peace. Marriage. Children. Life was good. Life was great.Until my phone rang one night. Retired, I was no longer in the NFL. We'd recently moved back to Fallen Crest.So I should’ve known. I should’ve remembered. There is no peace in Fallen Crest... -
Fighting for Honor by J.B. Salsbury
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsNew York Times and USA Today Bestselling author JB Salsbury brings her Fighting series to Harper Sloan’s Hope Town in Fighting for Honor. UFL fighter Caleb hasn’t been to Hope Town since he was eighteen. His next big fight takes place in Atlanta and the serene lakefront home from his childhood is the perfect place to train without distractions... -
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... -
Bound by Desire by Ryan Michele
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsHave you ever wanted something so badly it consumes you? There is a fine line between needs and wants. Deke Gavelson has wanted his Ravage cut for as long as he can remember. He’s earned it. He was born to be in this club. He’s not afraid to fight for his place, either. Then she barreled into his world, and Deke suddenly desires something more than his rag and winning the next round... -
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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... -
The Boy I Grew Up With by Tijan
I have loved Channing Monroe all my life. In first grade, he asked for my Trapper Keeper. I hit him in the head with it. Third grade, we were best friends. We kissed in seventh grade. Eighth grade, he turned into a bad boy and the rest was a tumultuous storm. Growing up, the problem was never love for us. Bad times. Good times...Categorized as:
new adult bad boys fighters alpha male friends to lovers suspense contemporary angst -
Dump and Chase by Toni Aleo
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsShelli Adler has known what she wanted since she was eleven years old. Aiden Brooks. But Aiden has always had other ideas. After spending the early years of his life without his dad, hockey legend Lucas Brooks, Aiden is determined not to settle for anything less than true love. When he’s ready. Now he’s living the fast life of an NHL bachelor... -
Our Unscripted Story by L.A. Fiore
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsGreyson Ratcliffe. I met him at sixteen, the hot new guy sitting on my jetty, an aspiring artist just passing through. He was my first kiss and my first love. I wanted forever with him. I didn’t even get a year. Five years later, I’m a budding writer who scripts stories of love and struggle, the good and the bad and the ups and the downs... -
A Callahan Wedding by Monica Murphy
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe sweet and sexy conclusion to New York Times bestselling author, Monica Murphy’s standalone Callahan series, bringing readers along for the ride as fan favorites, Jake and Hannah get married! Hannah Walsh. Gorgeous. Intelligent. My first love. My high school sweetheart. My everything. And now my fiancée...Categorized as:
alpha male athletes friends to lovers sports new adult contemporary found-family m-f -
Rett by Tess Oliver
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsBarrett "Rett" Mason has never found the one girl who can tame his wild heart. And sometimes life is just easier and less complicated without love. While working for Kingston Construction, Barrett becomes fast friends with the owner's son, Cole. They have one major thing in common-- their insatiable appetite for women... -
Trading Paint by Shey Stahl
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsA must have companion to Happy Hour that give you an inside look into the characters of the Racing on the Edge series. Step into the magic where the clay met rubber and desire defined greatness. Trading Paint takes you inside the hasty driver’s mind to what led him to a decision that changed the path of two souls... -
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... -
My Next Play by Carrie Ann Ryan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhat happens when you fall for your best friend, but they fall in love with someone else? Nothing is what it seems in this unrequited love, new adult romance.Miles knew Nessa never had eyes for him. Only when someone new tries to hurt her, he knows he can’t stand back any longer. It’s time she finds out the man he is behind the glasses and beneath the shell he wrapped himself in... -
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... -
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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... -
Last Chance: A Second Chances Novel by L.P. Dover
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA steamy, second chances novel by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, L.P. Dover. Can be read as a STANDALONE. One Taste, the prequel to Last Chance, has been added at the beginning with all new scenes. One last chance. That's all Luke Collins, local bad boy and motocross champion, has to not only find his redemption, but win back the girl he lost...Categorized as:
athletes new adult suspense friends to lovers sports contemporary second chances length-medium -
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 suspense forbidden love contemporary strong heroine -
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... -
Dirty Secret by Chelle Bliss, Brenda Rothert
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsAgent: Kennedy BarnesTarget: Phoenix AshCrimes: Computer Hacker, Money Launderer, HeartbreakerMission: Get close and surviveAfter living her life in the shadows as the daughter of a congressman’s secret affair , Kennedy Barnes joins ‘Project Greenlight’ - a clandestine intelligence organization. She’s out to prove she’s more than her father’s dirty secret.One of her first assignments is simple... -
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:
friends to lovers bad boys alpha male athletes fighters sports contemporary cruel hero -
Zariah: Sacrificed (Angels Halo MC Next Gen) by Terri Anne Browning, Sara Eirew
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWe had plans.Until we didn’t.His entire life revolved around baseball, and even the part he wanted me to play in it was to help him succeed.Crap happens. Plans change, and life goes on.Sure, I’m bored out of my mind at times—boring job, boring dates…boring life.But I’m over Nolan Krenshaw.At least…I’ve tried to move on and get over him... -
Defending Hayden by L.P. Dover
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe Carolina Cougars keep fighting for love as the Second Chances series from bestselling author L. P. Dover continues! In Defending Hayden, a damaged football star teams up with the only woman who can take the pain away. No one’s tougher than Carolina Cougars linebacker Derek McLaughlin... -
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... -
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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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
Catching Summer by L.P. Dover
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsHailed by Heidi McLaughlin as a bestselling author who “knows how to create the men who make us swoon,” L. P. Dover returns with an edgy, emotionally gripping Second Chances novel about a beautiful widow who can’t resist a chiseled NFL player. Former nurse Summer Jacobs has seen her fair share of suffering, but she never expected tragedy to hit so close to home... -
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 alpha male friends to lovers suspense sports mma-boxing contemporary -
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... -
Faster Longer by Colleen Masters
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTwo star crossed lovers racing together at breakneck speeds, barreling along at 200 miles per hour willing to destroy everything and everyone in their path. Siena can't escape. She's trapped now. How did she fall so helplessly, recklessly in love with the one man who could single handedly turn her life upside down? Harrison has her wrapped up in his strong, muscular, tattooed arms... -
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Hannah by Faleena Hopkins
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsEvery boyfriend I've ever had either bored me......or hurt me.I'm tired of what the world thinks they know.The gossip. Retaliation.So after another 'date' betrays my trust,when Sofia Sol, my rebellious cousin, says,“Hey...let's get out of here.A vacation from EVERYTHING.”My answer?A big fat YES.I mean, why not?Life can be an adventure.With true love where you least expect it…If you just say yes... -
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 alpha male fighters friends to lovers sports mma-boxing contemporary -
Next Door Player by Clarissa McKay
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsShe and I have been friends-with-benefits for awhile now, but I want more.Most people treat me like a celebrity, but with her I can truly be myself.She’s the only woman who’s ever been able to satisfy me, and I’m not willing to give that up.Her little girl has me wrapped around her finger, and I’m the missing link in their little family... -
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... -
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 new adult alpha male friends to lovers fighters sports mma-boxing contemporary -
Illegal Fortunes by Sabrina Stark
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsThe Only Thing More Dangerous than the Bad Boy You Left Behind is the Man He's Become… NEW from USA TODAY Bestselling Author Sabrina Stark: If she was such a good fortune-teller, she should've seen it coming. But part-time Tarot-reader Selena Moon is as surprised as anyone when Jim Bishop, the bad boy she left behind, returns from who-knows-where to reclaim the one girl he could never forget... -
Dare to Touch by Carly Phillips
Olivia Dare, executive director of the Miami Thunder, and team travel director Dylan Rhodes share more than just a passion for football. Their chemistry is explosive--their feelings for each other intense. Yet Olivia has ended things for reasons he still can’t fathom and she won’t explain. Unwilling to let something special go so easily, Dylan has been pursuing Olivia ever since... -
Fighting Blind by C.M. Seabrook
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMackenzie Brooks is everything I've ever wanted. Three years ago, she walked out of my life. No explanation. Just gone. With the biggest fight of my career only weeks away, she walked back in. I'll do anything to protect her. Destroy anyone who tries to hurt her. When it comes to Mac, there isn't a line I won't cross...Categorized as:
athletes sports alpha male friends to lovers new adult fighters mma-boxing contemporary -
Bad Reputation by Nicole Edwards
Meet the most wanted players in sports . . . one ridiculously hot alpha male at a time. Chase: With a nickname like “Sin,” it’s no wonder they call me the bad boy of hockey. Opponents curse me. Fans scream my name—in the arena and in other, much more private places. Penalties or not, I’m not afraid to dish out a little pain. But pleasure? That’s my weakness...Categorized as:
sports alpha male bad boys athletes friends to lovers new adult contemporary open-door -
Rebelonging by Sabrina Stark
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsHow do you come back from the biggest screw-up of your life? That's the question for Lawton Rastor, the billionaire bad boy from Detroit, after he lets the girl of his dreams not just slip through his fingers, but run away, fast – and with good reason... -
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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... -
Faster Deeper by Colleen Masters
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsFast Cars. Beautiful Women. Sexy Drivers. Pain, Lies, Deceit, Tears, Violence, Anger, Blackmail, Passion, Love, Lust... Sex. Siena wants Harrison, needs him, more than anything in the world, but she's falling in love with a man she can't have--Not without losing everything and everyone she's ever loved... -
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... -
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 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... -
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...
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