Books like 'The Hard Hitter'

Readers who enjoyed The Hard Hitter by Cathryn Fox also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  sports  new adult  single-father  m-f  hockey  sweet heroine  athletes  friends-benefits  pregnancy

  • Crazy Love Special Edition by Willow Aster

    Crazy Love Special Edition by Willow Aster

    Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    A small town, marriage of convenience, single dad, sports romance from USA Today Bestselling Author Willow AsterPenn Hudson. Sexy. Intense. Gorgeous.The star running back of the Colorado Mustangs.Well-known playboy and consummate bachelor.We met in the Bahamas.I knew exactly who he was.He had no idea who I was.Yet for a few blissful hours, it didn’t matter...
  • Without You: Scotch and Sammy duet - book 2 by Emilia Finn

    Without You: Scotch and Sammy duet - book 2 by Emilia Finn

    Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Sammy I left because I thought I was doing the right thing. I was falling on my sword. I thought I was saving everyone a lot of heart ache, and in exchange, I took all that ache on my own. I was supposed to be the hero, but instead I was the villain.He hates me with every fiber of his being…It’s been thirteen years since we last saw each other. It turns out ghosts can’t be buried...
  • Sponsored links
  • Take A Chance On Me by Emilia Finn

    Take A Chance On Me by Emilia Finn

    Rated: 4.62 of 5 stars
    · 21 ratings
    Oh Sh*tThis is part 2 of the Marc and Meg Duet. It cannot be read as a standalone. Due to spoilers, the above is all the blurb you will get.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️The conclusion to the Meg and Marc duet is phenomenal. It’s been a long time since I’ve found a writer that makes me laugh, scream, and cry in the same sitting. This is an epic story - epic love, epic friendship, epic woman finding her way...
  • Room for Just a Little Bit More by Beth Ehemann

    Room for Just a Little Bit More by Beth Ehemann

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 40 ratings
    Five years ago, my dreams were shattered in an instant. One year ago, a horrible rainstorm flooded a bridge in town, leaving us with an Inn full of stranded travelers. Turns out one of those travelers would give me a whole new set of dreams, ones I never thought possible. Brody Murphy spent the last year teaching me what it was like to live, and more importantly love, again...
  • A Little Tempting by Kelsie Rae

    A Little Tempting by Kelsie Rae

    Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 34 ratings
    My friend's little sister moved in next door. Dylan Thorne. The one and only. She's cute, in a nerdy wallflower kind of way. She's also off-limits. Or at least that's what my other friend says. Everett's been friends with Dylan's older brother for as long as she's lived. Call it a hunch, but I think he has a thing for Dylan, too, which is why he's warned me to keep my distance...
  • Power Play by Toni Aleo

    Power Play by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars
    · 23 ratings
    Posey Adler is coming home. After a devastating journey for what she mistakenly thought was true love, she is saying to hell with men and love forever. As the Nashville Assassins’s new assistant coach for special teams, Posey is ready to focus on her job and have the attention on her for a change...
  • Pucks, Sticks, and Diapers by Toni Aleo

    Pucks, Sticks, and Diapers by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 22 ratings
    First came love, then came the NHL, then came Baylor and Jayden with a baby carriage...
  • Checkmate by Emilia Finn

    Checkmate by Emilia Finn

    Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars
    · 22 ratings
    Bishop men are nothing but a plague on this planet, a disease that needs eradication before it spreads. They’re murderers. Liars. Thieves. The day I met Colum Bishop, I thought my life was finally turning around. I was led to believe he would be our saviour. He was supposed to be our hero, a long awaited reprieve from the hardships life insisted on throwing at my mom and me...
    Categorized as:
    sports  new adult  m-f  military  suspense  contemporary
  • Hart to Heart by M.E. Carter, Jacob Morgan

    Hart to Heart by M.E. Carter, Jacob Morgan

    Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars
    · 22 ratings
    Listening Length: 5 hours, 6 minutesWe’re the Harts. Between an engagement, a wedding and an adoption, we’ve had the best year of our lives. Things have never looked better for any of us.But just because you say “I do” doesn’t mean you get a happily ever after. And sometimes, you get tackled more in life than you ever did on the football field...
  • Path To Resolution by TheFeveredBookaholic

    Path To Resolution by TheFeveredBookaholic

    Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars
    · 15 ratings
    Wolfe Emerson is notorious for two things: being an absolute beast in a boxing ring and being a voluntary mute. His story remains unspoken and he prefers to live his life in silence. That is, until, his world is turned upside down when he meets someone who is louder than life...
  • Bring It Home by Toni Aleo

    Bring It Home by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    Boon Hoenes only has three goals in life. To make Posey Adler his wife, to win the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row, and for Shea Adler to like him.The first, he’s got on lock. The second, he’s well on his way. And the third… Well, two out of three ain’t bad...
  • Twenty-Two by Toni Aleo

    Twenty-Two by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars
    · 19 ratings
    When Lucas Brooks was traded to the Nashville Assassins over a decade ago, he was a brash, brawling hothead without an anchor. Well, four kids and a smokin' hot wife will weigh you down real fast, but Lucas wouldn't change a minute of his happily ever after...
  • Craving Rose by Nicole Jacquelyn

    Craving Rose by Nicole Jacquelyn

    Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars
    · 17 ratings
    I, Rose Hawthorne, have crap taste in men. But, who could blame me, really? When the stories of how your dad and uncles raised hell before settling down are legendary, it was all too easy to see Prince Charming everywhere, believing that if a man loved me enough, he’d change. What a load of garbage...
  • Sea of Love by Melissa Foster

    Sea of Love by Melissa Foster

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 22 ratings
    You fell in love with Lacy Snow in Sisters in White (Snow Sisters, Book Three). Follow her on her path to her forever love in Sea of Love. Lacy Snow hadn’t been looking for love when she met strikingly handsome and seductive Dane Braden...
  • A Cranberry Inn Christmas by Beth Ehemann

    A Cranberry Inn Christmas by Beth Ehemann

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 21 ratings
    Christmas at the Murphy household has always been a big deal, but with her daughters getting older, Kacie Murphy is feeling a bit sentimental, so she decides to give her family the perfect Christmas. Plans of cookie baking, sleigh ride taking, and snowman making are quickly put in jeopardy when Kacie receives devastating news—her mom has sold the beloved Cranberry Inn...
  • Ice Cold Rival by Nikki Hall

    Ice Cold Rival by Nikki Hall

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    One night, one chance, one hundred percent a lie…ReeceHookups are my jam, but I’ve never had a girl shuddering with one breath then running away the next. And I can’t stop thinking about her. Probably for the best I’m trading in party games for extra practices. I can lead us back to the Frozen Four, but I need a sign of my dedication to persuade Coach...
  • Home Run by Jordan Marie, Robin Harper

    Home Run by Jordan Marie, Robin Harper

    Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
    · 23 ratings
    Green Lucas doesn't know what's about to hit him. Complete Standalone Romance Wanted A woman with grit and fire who will help me get my son’s head out of his ass. You must be self-sufficient and not looking for a gravy train. Common sense is a plus, book smarts are optional. Cannot have red hair, as my son seems to go for that type and he needs something to shake him up...
  • At the Edge with You: A Small Town Hockey Romance by Toni Aleo

    At the Edge with You: A Small Town Hockey Romance by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    I never thought I’d see her again.Fable Winthrop was my only partner on the ice. I’d been the hockey player turned figure skater overnight, and she was the prim, proper ice princess who didn’t take my crap.I did everything to make her smile, I worked hard to get her the gold, and I loved every moment of it...
    Categorized as:
    hockey  sports  m-f  mature couple  contemporary
  • Breaking The Pucking Rules by Tracy Lorraine

    Breaking The Pucking Rules by Tracy Lorraine

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    An all-new steamy and angsty Forbidden Single Dad Ice Hockey Romance from the USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Tracy Lorraine.Kodie Rivers.Hockey god.Single dad.And thanks to my father—his coach—he’s completely off-limits.But that only makes him more irresistible.I know better than to think there’s a future with a man like him. His priorities are his daughter and his career...
  • Dirty Toe Drag by Toni Aleo

    Dirty Toe Drag by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 17 ratings
    Stella Brooks is a woman who knows what she wants. From her first glimpse of Paris Fashion Week at the tender age of eleven, she has only ever wanted to be a designer. Hardworking and dedicated, she knows she can make a success of it. Until…she is driven to trade fashion for frosting, a move that makes her soul sing but shakes her confidence in her decision-making to her core...
  • Changing Lines by Toni Aleo

    Changing Lines by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars
    · 15 ratings
    Claire and Jude Sinclair have been living the perfect life for the last ten years. Blissfully in love, professionally successful, happily married… They have everything they want—except a baby to make their family complete...
    Categorized as:
    sports  new adult  hockey  m-f  contemporary  audiobook
  • Stand by A.L. Jackson

    Stand by A.L. Jackson

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    "6 Devastatingly Beautiful and Brilliant Bleeding Stars but Worth the Whole Constellation. I felt every burn...every blaze...every beautiful and brilliant word...I FELT IT ALL." - Karen McVino, Bookalicious Babes Blog From NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author A.L...
  • Captive by Brenda Rothert

    Captive by Brenda Rothert

    Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars
    · 29 ratings
    Two years ago, Jason and Kate Ryker were brought together by grief and bound to one another by love. Now married, they’re confronting their fears together. But heartbreak finds them again, and the ties that bind Kate and Ryke are tested as she struggles against fear and sadness. As a grief counselor, Kate understands all too well the pain of her clients...
  • Delayed Call by Toni Aleo

    Delayed Call by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars
    · 28 ratings
    Vaughn Johansson is the Nashville Assassins' star player. He's brash, cocky, and talented. And he isn't afraid to let anyone know it. He lives his life on his own terms, never forming romantic attachments, and only allowing his very closest to see his true, caring self. Brie Soledad has the weight of the world on her shoulders...
  • Puck Performance by Alley Ciz

    Puck Performance by Alley Ciz

    Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    All's fair in love and potatoes. Melody Brightly Broadway Star. Pink hair. A smile that hits me harder than a slap shot. Terrible taste in hockey teams. Full of secrets. The one woman I fail to defend my heart against. Jase Donnelly Defenseman.Charming. Sexy as puck. Makes my hormones give a standing ovation. The one guy I can never be with, but can't stay away from...
  • Strays by Cora Brent

    Strays by Cora Brent

    Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    STRAYS (An Anti-Hero Romance)Before age sixteen I was kicked to the streets, condemned for a crime I didn’t commit.Since then I’ve done nothing to be proud of.Which is why a man like me isn’t cut out to be a dad.And if this kid had another option I wouldn’t try to be one now.But for once I’m going to step up.I’ll right the worst of old wrongs...
  • Playing For Keeps by Emilia Finn

    Playing For Keeps by Emilia Finn

    Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Life is all about choices, right? Everything we do, from brushing our teeth in the morning, until we climb into bed at night, is a series of choices. Sometimes we make bad choices, sometimes they’re good, sometimes they’re made under duress, and sometimes they’re the lesser of two evils kind...
  • Blades of Glory by Toni Aleo

    Blades of Glory by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 22 ratings
    Old vs. YoungExperience vs. AttitudeNo Teeth vs. Also No Teeth…It’s the game some of these players have been waiting a lifetime for. The veterans of the Nashville Assassins versus the new generation of players—their sons.As part of their prewedding festivities, Aiden Brooks and Shelli Adler have invited the retired Assassins to play a friendly game against the Stanley Cup-winning current team...
  • Hart to Heart by ME Carter, Murphy Rae

    Hart to Heart by ME Carter, Murphy Rae

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    We’re the Harts. Between an engagement, a wedding and an adoption, we’ve had the best year of our lives. Things have never looked better for Jaxon, Addison and myself. But just because you say “I do” doesn’t mean you get a happily ever after. And sometimes, you get tackled more in life than you ever did on the football field...
  • Cocky Senator’s Daughter: Hannah by Faleena Hopkins

    Cocky Senator’s Daughter: Hannah by Faleena Hopkins

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 21 ratings
    HANNAH COCKER Every man I've dated in this city has either bored me or hurt me. When Sofia Sol, my crazy cousin, offers a ride on the back of her Harley with no destination in mind besides out-of-Atlanta, what do you think my answer is? I'll give you one guess. TOBIAS KYRKOS Life doesn't ever hand you what you want. You have to take it...
    Categorized as:
    new adult  sports  m-f  humor  contemporary  length-medium
  • Trust the Push by Kaylee Ryan

    Trust the Push by Kaylee Ryan

    Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    I'm making strides in the world of dirt late model racing. With back-to-back championships under my belt, I'm determined to win a third and be the youngest driver in history to do so. I'm going to make it happen. My career is my focus. That is until the ultimate distraction in the form of a redheaded bombshell drops into my life...
  • Wild Heart by Beth Ehemann

    Wild Heart by Beth Ehemann

    Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    For Lawrence “Viper” Finkle, hockey isn’t just a sport, it’s a way of life. Since the first time he stepped onto the ice at just eight years old, he knew what he was meant to do, and he does it well. When his career takes an unexpected hit, and his relationship is pushed to the breaking point, he’s left sidelined and wondering what his future holds...
  • I Need You To Love Me by Genicious

    I Need You To Love Me by Genicious

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Together they are nothing more than madness,but they say there’s always some madness in loveSix years elapsed since he shattered her life. Four years since she’s brought him to his knees.Now, Ace is the youngest boxing champion in the world – a force to be reckoned with. He’s dangerous, heartless, and always gets his way.Calla moved to New York to chase her career...
  • Playing Dirty by Mickey Miller

    Playing Dirty by Mickey Miller

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    I'm going to teach Andrea to play dirty...she just doesn't know it yet. Jake Pulling in eight figures a year as star pitcher for the Chicago Jaguars, there's no shortage of parties, booze, and women. I'm a beast on the mound and between the sheets but when my social media presence becomes a major problem, the team’s owner brings in a PR expert to clean up my image...
    Categorized as:
    sports  new adult  m-f  humor  contemporary  baseball
  • The Chase is Over by Toni Aleo

    The Chase is Over by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars
    · 15 ratings
    You are cordially invited to the wedding of Shelli Adler and Aiden Brooks…Shelli has been planning her wedding to Aiden in her scrapbook since she was old enough to wield a glue stick. And now that day has finally arrived...
  • Made to Love You by Megan Smith

    Made to Love You by Megan Smith

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Jaylinn McCormick had finally found the man who makes her life complete. After putting the most terrifying night of her life behind her, she’s moving on. Suddenly, unexpected life altering events have Jaylinn spiraling in an unknown direction. Will she be able to survive? Cooper Cahill finally found a balance in his life...
  • Chosen by Love by Toni Aleo

    Chosen by Love by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Cameron White is the most famous student influencer on the Bellevue campus. Not only that, she is one hell of a gymnast, ready to stick every landing her senior year. It’s time to go out with a bang...
  • Ignite by Kelly Elliott

    Ignite by Kelly Elliott

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    There were two things Emmit Lewis loved. Racing cars and Adaline Morgan. Time was stolen from the two young lovers and Emmit vowed never again would he allow anything to come between the two of them. Blurred lines both on and off the track have Emmit being tested beyond his limits...
  • The Fake Husband Play by Lili Valente

    The Fake Husband Play by Lili Valente

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    What’s a girl to do when her longtime hockey crush offers her a marriage of convenience?Say YES. Obviously.I’ve spent three years lusting after Grammercy Graves on my (supposedly anonymous) hockey romance podcast—breaking down his stats, his plays, that panty-melting Cajun accent...The entire internet knows he’s my dream guy...
  • Portland Storm: The Second Period by Catherine Gayle

    Portland Storm: The Second Period by Catherine Gayle

    Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Delay of Game With her father’s health in question, Sara Thomas is focused on reducing his anxiety. That’s no small feat considering his high-stress job. Everyone knows Sara’s single; no one knows she’s pregnant. There’s never a good time to unexpectedly get knocked up, but now is not it...
  • All the Sauce by Toni Aleo

    All the Sauce by Toni Aleo

    Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars
    · 21 ratings
    Owen Adler has spent his whole life being half of a matched set. But when his twin brother Evan leaves hockey—and him—behind on the Carolina IceCats, Owen finds he has to skate a new path on his own.Angie Paxton knows a lot about being on her own. She pushed Nashville, and the trauma she experienced there, to the back of her mind and started over in South Carolina...
    Categorized as:
    new adult  sports  hockey  contemporary
  • Ever Found by L.E. Bross

    Ever Found by L.E. Bross

    Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    I just keep making mistakes. It was supposed to be an easy job. Steal a timepiece from Hook and in exchange, find out where my little sister is. But the hero isn't always the hero and sometimes the bad guy is the person you least expect...
  • Nixon by Samantha Whiskey

    Nixon by Samantha Whiskey

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · 34 ratings
    I’m the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL because I know how to read the field.I control the plays—and my life—with absolute precision.Until Liberty Jones delivers the ultimate hit to my blind side with a story about two pink lines.The beautiful, free-spirited brunette has starred in my dreams since she disappeared after our wild weekend in Vegas, but I’ve been burned before...
  • Faking It with #41 by Piper Rayne

    Faking It with #41 by Piper Rayne

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 24 ratings
    Fake.Being the heir to Jacobs Enterprises, I’ve been around fake people my entire life. I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn’t change for anyone. Which is the only reason I’m a professional hockey player who lives on the beach and does as he pleases without answering to anyone—except my father.And now, my daughter...
  • ICED by Jacob Chance

    ICED by Jacob Chance

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Oliver Ice, one of Boston University’s notorious hockey players, has been on my radar since I slammed into his rock-hard body during my first week of college, three years ago. He helped me to my feet, muttered an apology, and ran off after his girlfriend, dashing my hopes of a happily ever after. Now, he’s the bartender where I work, and this time, very much single...
  • Only One Forever by Natasha Madison

    Only One Forever by Natasha Madison

    Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars
    · 28 ratings
    From The Something So Series and the This Is series comes Only One Forever.DylanMy dreams came true when I was adopted at ten.I was the best on the ice. Living the life of what every kid dreams of.We’ve been best friends since then. Even when she was the annoying little sister following us around.I would do anything for her.It is another family vacation; except this time it feels different...
  • Red Rocket by Raine Miller, Brit DeMille

    Red Rocket by Raine Miller, Brit DeMille

    Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    "Public Relations" is about to take on a whole new meaning for a standout Russian enforcer with a bad reputation and the feisty redhead from the PR department who just might be the one person who can help him shine up his tarnished image in this grumpy/sunshine hockey love story. "They call me 'The Mad Russian' for a reason...
  • Grappling for Position by Melynda Price

    Grappling for Position by Melynda Price

    Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 10 ratings
    This battle of wills is about to go below the belt… Willow Scott is sweet, innocent, and 100% untouchable. She’s the epitome of everything MMA fighter Regan “Rapscallion” Matthews has always wanted, but will never have. A woman like her deserves more than a scrapper from the wrong side of the tracks—the Scott’s charity case...
  • Island Side by Michelle Mankin

    Island Side by Michelle Mankin

    Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    Hollie Lesowski is a beautiful young actress locked in a legal battle with one of the most powerful and feared directors in Hollywood, a man who betrayed and hurt her, a man she mistakenly believed was her father. Maximillian Cash is her bodyguard, a blond, blue-eyed giant sworn to protect her. Gentle despite his imposing presence, he seems to be just right for her...
  • Brazen Steele by Ali Dean

    Brazen Steele by Ali Dean

    Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Beckett Steele knows what he wants and he’s finally going after it. But there’s one thing that might complicate his mission. It was easy to sign the legally-binding contract prohibiting a public relationship when he had no intention of falling in love...
Fantastic book recommendations by romance book lovers for romance book lovers.
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

romance book finder

Looking for more inspiration? Enter another book title to get more suggestions on what to read next.


Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.