Books like 'Cruz'
Readers who enjoyed Cruz by H.J. Bellus also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fighters suspense strong heroine mma-boxing forbidden love sports athletes
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Forever Paired by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.77 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsLandon Davies had worked hard to start his own restaurant. It was a very different path than most of his family had taken. He was one of the few family members that were not military or law enforcement. But his hard work had given him a restaurant that was beginning to take off when a woman’s scream in the alley outside his kitchen changed everything... -
Keeper of Secrets by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsThe final book in the Carly Moore series.Carly had every intention of heading to Dallas to bring down her father, but not as Wyatt Drummand’s hostage. After Wyatt kidnaps her at gunpoint and threatens to turn her over to her father--the man she’s spent the past nine months hiding from--she explains that his plan will get them both killed... -
Checkmate by Emilia Finn
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsBishop 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... -
The Wrong Bones by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsA frantic chase to catch a grave robber reveals a startling discovery in this tenth installment of the Widow’s Island novella series by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.Deputy Tessa Black spots a man disturbing a grave in the local cemetery and gives chase. But when Tessa catches him, she learns that the ghoulish trespasser wasn’t robbing graves; he was burying a box of bones... -
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Hart to Heart by M.E. Carter, Jacob Morgan
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsListening 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... -
Bitter Pill by Fern Michaels
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsNo one weaves a story as well as beloved New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels. In the latest in the Sisterhood series, a team of unscrupulous doctors is profiting from others’ distress—but these loyal friends know just the cure . . . For the Sisterhood, there’s a special satisfaction that comes with helping a friend in need, especially when it’s someone as dear as Charlotte Hansen... -
Hustle by Chelle Bliss
Vinnie Gallo's the hottest rookie in professional football. He's a smooth-talker, good with his hands, and knows how to score. Bianca Hernandez thinks she's immune to Vinnie's charms. She's not impressed by the glitz, glamour, or fame, but after a six month self-imposed break from men and sex, she feels her resistance slipping... -
Ryker by Nyssa Kathryn
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 22 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... -
A Cranberry Inn Christmas by Beth Ehemann
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsChristmas 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... -
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... -
Her One and Only by Becky Wade
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsRomance Fans Eagerly Anticipate Every New Release from Becky Wade Gray Fowler, star NFL tight end, is being pursued by a stalker, so his team hires a protection agency to keep Gray under the watch of a bodyguard at all times. When Gray meets Dru Porter, an agent assigned to him, he's indignant... -
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... -
Simon Says by Lori Foster
With his perfectly chiseled, lava-hot body, Simon Evans, an ex-fighter, also has a perfect life—great job, great girl, and more than enough dough. All that changes, though, when he catches his girlfriend cheating. To shake things up, Simon goes full force back into the ring, ready to take his rage out on his opponents... -
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... -
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Until May by Aurora Rose Reynolds
When May Mayson signed up with a popular dating app, she never thought she would get catfished. After being stood up for a date, she finds out that the man she’d been talking to for weeks was lying about who he is.After that horrible experience, she changes her number and deletes the app… only to have fate shove Aiden Bender right into her path... -
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
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... -
Last Chance by Christy Reece
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsPassion is their most dangerous move. Never Say Die McKenna Sloan saved Lucas Kaners's life and then vanished. Lucas moved mountains trying to find her again, and finally McKenna relented—for one fleeting night. The truth is, McKenna's life is all about the dark, deception-filled world of Last Chance Rescue, and for her, therers's no hope of love or Lucas...Categorized as:
suspense strong heroine sports contemporary rape mystery dangerous heroine length-medium -
Off Limits by Chelle Sloan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsProfessional football has an actual rulebook, but it’s the unwritten rules that come with the harshest consequences.The biggest one of all: don’t date your teammate’s sister. And if you do, don’t you dare fall in love with her.I never meant to fall, but when it comes to Brenna Donald, I never stood a chance. She’s everything I’m not--a light-hearted wild child who shines brighter than the sun...Categorized as:
sports forbidden love athletes friends to lovers contemporary humor siblings-bff length-medium -
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... -
Causing Havoc by Lori Foster
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 36 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... -
Freak Show by Lani Lynn Vale
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsWelcome to the Circus is a brand-new series that centers around a family that owns a circus, 6 sisters and one brother. This is book 1 featuring Val & Felix... -
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 suspense sports new adult friends to lovers contemporary second chances length-medium -
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... -
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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... -
Camden by Sawyer Bennett
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsCamden Poe is the last of The Lucky Three, the surviving Pittsburgh Titans who weren’t on the team plane the night it went down. By all outward appearances, he’s adjusted to post-crash life well but inside he’s wrestling with the guilt of living. The catastrophe that killed the Pittsburgh Titans changed my entire world. My teammates were more than my friends—they were my brothers...Categorized as:
sports athletes forbidden love friends to lovers contemporary single-mother death hockey -
Star Crossed by Kele Moon
Heavyweight MMA fighter, Romeo Wellings comes from the hard streets of New York where his family ties to the mafia cause him nothing but pain. His life takes a surprising detour when he crosses paths with the twin sister of his long time enemy. After a steamy one-night stand, he faces the fight of his life, but it’s not in the cage...Categorized as:
suspense fighters athletes sports strong heroine forbidden love mma-boxing contemporary -
Love To Love You: A Love/Hate Novella by Isabelle Richards
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter a long year of heartache and loss, Chase and Arianna pulled together the shattered pieces of their hearts and rebuilt a relationship that is stronger and more secure than ever before. Letting go of the mistakes of their past, their focus is on the future—their happily ever after... -
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... -
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... -
Risky Game by Tracy Solheim
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsIn the next sizzling sports romance from the author of Foolish Games, Brody is at the top of his game… until Shannon changes the rules. Baltimore Blaze tight end Brody Janik is a natural-born football star. At twenty-seven, his record-breaking athletic performance and his cover-boy good looks have turned him into a household name... -
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... -
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... -
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I Need You To Save Me by Genicious
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPerhaps the stars aligned, but fate had other plans…Ace and Calla face the ultimate test as they navigate through the harsh realities of his arrest. The stakes are higher than ever before. With their future crumbling and their past lurking in the shadows, they must confront the demons that threaten to consume them... -
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 suspense sports mma-boxing contemporary alpha male friends to lovers -
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... -
Six Secret Babies by Layla Valentine
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsHe tried to keep their fling under wraps,But six adorable babies aren’t going to stay hidden for long…HERThe Wenstown Wolves were in need of a new physical therapist, and apparently I was the only one they were interested in,Now I’m halfway across the country, making twice what I made in Seattle, and the team’s new management is an even more welcome surprise…Jason Munro is the buff, big-headed... -
Revived by Tia Lewis
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsI'll stop at nothing until Julia Chase is safe in my arms. I had it all—fame, fortune, a woman who loved me, and the start of a family—until one tragic night took them all away... Now, only my nightmares keep me company. I haven't stepped in the cage since, keeping my distance from everything I once loved to avoid the pain of losing anything or anyone again... -
Undefeated by Stuart Reardon, Jane Harvey-Berrick
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA Rugby RomanceWhen your world crashes downWhen they all say you’re outWhen your body is brokenI will rise.I will return.And I will be undefeated. Nick Renshaw is the golden boy of British rugby. When a serious injury threatens his career, he starts to spiral downwards, a broken man.Feeling abandoned and betrayed by those closest to him, he fights to restart his life... -
Believe by Natalie Gayle
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhat Reviewers are Saying: "a wonderful slow burning love story of trifling ordeals and the power of the human spirit" Kawehi Reviews "I fell even more in love with Natalie Gayle's stories, characters, and writing style. She knows how to knock you out with inspiration, heat, and heart." Rochelle's Reviews "Dane... -
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 sports mma-boxing new adult contemporary alpha male friends to lovers -
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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... -
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...Categorized as:
athletes fighters sports strong heroine mma-boxing contemporary possessive hero tycoon -
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... -
In Jack's Arms by Roxie Rivera
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 27 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... -
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... -
Playing The Field by Jennifer Seasons
Single mother Sonny Miller has spent years avoiding love. A rotten childhood and an even rottener ex-boyfriend left her determined to protect her son—and herself—against the risks of romance. That is, until hotshot ballplayer JP Trudeau swaggers into her carefully constructed life, all sin-with-me eyes and irresistible grin...
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