Books like 'Playing Defense'

Readers who enjoyed Playing Defense by Julia Clarke also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  romance  sports  slow-burn  reverse-harem  forbidden-love  poc-mc  friendship  polyamory

  • Love's Ineligible Receiver by Love Belvin

    Love's Ineligible Receiver by Love Belvin

    Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    The league didn’t believe in me. I was the last pick of the first round.The Kings didn’t believe in me. They low-balled my contract and mandated therapy to begin immediately.My coach didn’t believe in me. But I get it; she’s a female.The General don’t halfway believe. He keeps threatening violence if I blow this opportunity...
  • End Zone Love by Love Belvin

    End Zone Love by Love Belvin

    Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    After losing an improbable opportunity at the Super Bowl, Trent Bailey still has something to prove. He’s come out, not only as America’s favorite redemption story, but also a married man; a marriage not yet known to the public. He’s trusting more, finding his home more comfortable and befitting a Connecticut King. Jade’s a new woman now. Her insecurities are under control at Trent’s side...
  • Love's Neutral Zone by Love Belvin

    Love's Neutral Zone by Love Belvin

    Rated: 4.83 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Maaz Zyad, number ninety-seven of the Connecticut Kings, wasn’t a big name in his first three seasons in the League. Thanks to his temperamental girlfriend posting and tweeting her every grievance about the League and Kings franchise, Zyad’s become one of the most talked about players in the media.The Kings cut him a contract extension with a huge pay increase under one condition...
    Categorized as:
    sports  poc-mc  romance  black-mc  contemporary  fiction  book  adult
  • Build It Up: The Donovans, Book 5 by Cee Bowerman

    Build It Up: The Donovans, Book 5 by Cee Bowerman

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Wes Donovan and his best friend Max aren’t like most guys. Having been friends since they were very young, they’ve shared almost everything. As single men, they’ve had their share of adventures together without any complaints from the woman lucky enough to be their focus, even if it was only for a short time...
  • Four Fantasies by Stephanie Brother

    Four Fantasies by Stephanie Brother

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    If given the chance, would you bring your fantasies to life?Alone for the first time after being married for twelve years, I never expected four younger men to tempt me with a good time.When I saw them dancing — and stripping — at Club Red, they filled my imagination with all sorts of filthy thoughts. The next morning, they turned up in my backyard as the landscapers I’d hired sight unseen...
  • Stripteased by Stephanie Brother

    Stripteased by Stephanie Brother

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    After being dumped at a strip club during my bachelorette party, I never expected to be rescued by four hot-as-sin men who work there.One moment, I’m staring at the gorgeous twin strippers up on stage. The next, I’m reading a devastating text from my fiancé. I moved across the country for that jerk, and now I have nowhere to go.Then four men step in to dry my tears...
  • Hard 5 by Stephanie Brother

    Hard 5 by Stephanie Brother

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Five ruthless ranchers have bought my farm, and they want to include me in the deal.After Pa dies and I discover he's mortgaged our farm to pay gambling debts, I'm forced to sell my home and only asset. On auction day, I watch my elusive neighbors, the Bradford brothers, buy the land that's been in my family for generations...
  • Just Say Yes by Brix McQueen

    Just Say Yes by Brix McQueen

    Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    I wasn’t good at making decisions.In fact, I was horrible at making them, and my recent breakup was proof of that. We had finally called it quits, and I was ready to move on. Quickly.I was ready for something fun — something to take the edge off of being newly single. My friends suggested dating, but I declined and took their generous offer of receiving a spa day instead...
  • A Daring Desire by Jeanne St. James

    A Daring Desire by Jeanne St. James

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Take two defense attorneys, add one troubled NFL QB who needs them, and what do you get? Hot, sexy conflict. Gryff Ward made a serious mistake when he hired the hot-as-hell defense attorney Rayne Jordan as an associate in his high-profile legal firm, even though she’s one of the best. Now he’s struggling to keep it professional, especially when she insists on calling him “Boss...
  • The Bird and the Beetle: The Academy Ghost Bird and Scarab Beetle Series Starters by C.L. Stone

    The Bird and the Beetle: The Academy Ghost Bird and Scarab Beetle Series Starters by C.L. Stone

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Read the first books from both of C. L. Stone’s USA TODAY Bestselling (and swoon-inducing) Academy Series, together for the first time with the exclusive that fans have been begging for: Meeting Sang, an alternate POV story of how the Ghost Bird Series began...
  • Off the Record by Chelle Sloan

    Off the Record by Chelle Sloan

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Fans of the Nashville Fury come to me for all things regarding their favorite professional football team. Stats, rumors and even what the players like on their pizza. What they don’t turn to me for is information about how their offensive coordinator is in the bedroom. The answer? It’s too hot for print...
    Categorized as:
    slow-burn  sports  adult  book  contemporary  fiction  humor  romance
  • Problem Child by Heather Long

    Problem Child by Heather Long

    Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Enrollment begins this autumn. Born into Hollywood royalty, I’ve been making the hot sheet and generating internet buzz since before I could even walk. Doesn’t matter that my parents divorced prior to my second birthday, I can’t escape the shadows—or scandals—of my movie star mother and my rock star father...
  • Offside by Bianca Sommerland

    Offside by Bianca Sommerland

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    A pace ahead of the play can send you back to the start. And put everything you’ve worked for at risk. Single mother and submissive Rebecca Bower abandoned her career as a sports reporter to become a media consultant with her brother’s hockey team. A failed marriage to a selfish man makes her wary of getting involved with another...
  • Hopeless by Cheryl Douglas

    Hopeless by Cheryl Douglas

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    When Jay Cooper has to hire a new black belt instructor for his karate studio, he doesn’t expect the most promising applicant to come with a huge chip on her shoulder. He knows there must be a story behind those tortured brown eyes, if only she would let him get close enough to find out why she seems so determined to keep her past a secret. Victoria Pierce grew up in the foster care system...
  • Resurrect by Bex Dawn

    Resurrect by Bex Dawn

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    EllaWill it ever end? The constant battle for survival. Will I ever claw my way out of the darkness that’s begging to take me under?I will. I have to.Because now that I’ve had a taste of true happiness and safety, I refuse to let it go.My entire life, I’ve been a victim. A pawn in everyone else’s messed-up plans.No more.I will not cower. I will not hide. I will find my strength, and I will fight...
  • The Changeup by Nicole Falls

    The Changeup by Nicole Falls

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    For the entirety of her life Geffri Robinson has known that being a girl who plays baseball was a novelty. At some point, however, the novelty wore off and she stepped away from playing the sport until a chance exhibition places her at the center of attention once again...
  • The Heartbreakers by Melissa Adams

    The Heartbreakers by Melissa Adams

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    “𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙨. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣.“The rival 𝘴𝘬𝘺𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴- the 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝘀 and the 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹𝘀 - have been at each other’s throats since the Devils came to 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦...
  • Spur It On by Kitty Cox

    Spur It On by Kitty Cox

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Things can change in the spur of the moment.I'm qualified for the Professional Bull Rider's top series, even if a few people don't like it. Sadly, being a woman is going to make this harder than I expected. I've got three men on my side - or so I thought.Until we get to Cheyenne...
  • Dare to Surrender by Jeanne St. James

    Dare to Surrender by Jeanne St. James

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Can two men deeply in love survive the addition of a woman running from danger? Olivia Holloway’s life has never been easy. On her own at sixteen, she’s fought to survive ever since. When she finds herself in a dangerous situation that even she can’t handle, she has to break down and ask for help. She reluctantly seeks it by showing up at her estranged brother’s law firm...
  • Follow You Down by Ripley Proserpina

    Follow You Down by Ripley Proserpina

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    They say you can never go home again? Well, Susanna Arroyo is about to prove them wrong.Twenty years ago, Susanna ditched her hometown to pursue a career as an artist on the East Coast.Did she have it all? Money? Success? Love?Ha! Ha, ha, ha. No.Hiking up her practical granny panties, Susanna moves back to Blue Hollow, Colorado, with the teenager she inherited and no idea what she's doing...
  • Lock 'em Down by Gina Azzi

    Lock 'em Down by Gina Azzi

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    I’m a carpe diem, live-in-the-moment, kind of woman. But waking up in Vegas with a rock on my finger and a gorgeous man in my bed? Well, now I’m redefining what it means to roll the dice… Especially because my new husband is Tennessee Thunderbolts center, Leif Bang. Yes, he has electric blue eyes that pierce me to my core. For sure, I’ve never seen forearms quite like his...
  • Saving the Halfback by Aly Westman

    Saving the Halfback by Aly Westman

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Traumatic past, dark secrets, found family.I spent most of high school as a ghost. Avoiding, blending, disappearing. It wasn’t until my ex slipped into a coma after a freak accident that something inside me shifted. I was able to breathe again, find myself. I even joined the football team, something my ex never would’ve allowed...
  • Vaughn by Alyssa Clark

    Vaughn by Alyssa Clark

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    It seems that at the start of all of this, Gavin knew exactly what he was doing. He was putting me into a position where I would be falling for all three of them, and now I’m glad that I let Austin in when I had the chance.But Vaughn… He started out as the thorn in my side before becoming a piece of the growing puzzle that I didn’t think fit...
  • Wicked: A RH Stepbrother Romance by Melissa Adams

    Wicked: A RH Stepbrother Romance by Melissa Adams

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Summer is back with all its secrets, foes and passions.Last summer I found out I was Perfect for Them. I’m back in Star Cove with my men, and we’re gearing up for the biggest wedding this family has ever seen.But my heart is still missing a piece or two. And this event is bringing together dangerous secrets, deadly betrayals, and lovers—both lost and new. Secrets that could destroy our family...
  • Evolve by Bex Dawn

    Evolve by Bex Dawn

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    This is a reverse harem, mafia/gang, mystery romance with plot twists/turns, steamy and smutty scenes, hot alpha-possessive-assholes, sweet love, and grungy content. Our FMC goes through it but she definitely has her come back. Her badassery comes through and she becomes a warrior with the support of her men behind her...
  • Crash & Burn: A Contemporary Reverse Harem Romance by Adell Ryan

    Crash & Burn: A Contemporary Reverse Harem Romance by Adell Ryan

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Keeping my distance to avoid getting emotionally involved, failed.Remember that game of car-crew tug-of-war? Well, the rope snapped, leaving me alone in the center, unable to reach either dangling end. The tension force in the rope and the resistance between the crews? That was my fault...
  • Burn by Bex Dawn

    Burn by Bex Dawn

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    This is a reverse harem, mafia/gang, mystery romance with plot twists/turns, steamy and smutty scenes, hot alpha-possessive-assholes, sweet love, and grungy content. Our FMC goes through it but she definitely has her come back. Her badassery comes through and she becomes a warrior with the support of her men behind her...
  • Delayed Penalty by Bianca Sommerland

    Delayed Penalty by Bianca Sommerland

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    All choices have consequences, only sometimes they’re . . . delayed. Cortland Nash fled Dartmouth to avoid being arrested for murder, but his best friend, Ford Delgado, is in danger. Cort returns, prepared to keep his head down, and do whatever it takes to keep Ford breathing, but when he finds a beautiful young woman out in the snow, frozen in fear, his plans change...
  • Tristan by Karla Sorensen

    Tristan by Karla Sorensen

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    There's one thing you should know about Tristan Whitfield: he’s been in love with Anna for years. There are two problems with that: she has no idea, and she's married. Or at least, she was. Anna Callahan knows three things about her brother’s friend, Tristan: he's quiet, incredibly handsome, and has a smolder that could set the room on fire...
  • The Pact by Belle Harper

    The Pact by Belle Harper

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    When we were ten we made a pact.When we were twelve she moved away.Now she’s sixteen and returned home.Hunter:We made the pact when we were ten.It would be the end of our friendships, we said.We all agreed. Mila was off limits.I broke the pact when I was twelve…I won't break it again.Jace:Mila was my best friend, my neighbor and first crush.But she wasn't just mine...
  • You Can't Kiss the Nanny, Brady Banks by Piper Rayne

    You Can't Kiss the Nanny, Brady Banks by Piper Rayne

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Brady Banks.The Kingsmen’s best wide receiver.Rich AF.Hot as hell.A stallion in the sack.How do I know that last fact? I may have shared a one-night stand with him six months ago when I was rebounding from a broken heart.I didn’t forget him, but I was done with him, until I discovered he’s the single dad of the boy I’ve been hired to nanny...
  • Stunt Doubled by Stephanie Brother

    Stunt Doubled by Stephanie Brother

    Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Movie star Aiden Hunt is as arrogant as he is handsome. It also turns out that:• He’s my stepbrother• We hate each other on sight• I have to move in with him, his twin brother, and their best friendWhen my career goes up in flames, I have no choice but to call my estranged father. He gets me a job on the set of a movie, but there’s a catch. The stepbrothers I never wanted to meet work there, too...
  • Huge Players by Stephanie Brother

    Huge Players by Stephanie Brother

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    My five stepbrothers love playing games…and I’m their favorite toy. When I fly cross-country, I’m expecting my dad to be at the airport to collect me. Instead, I’m faced with five huge stepbrothers who’ve tripled in size since I last saw them. Jameson, Jessie, and Joshua are triplets with wicked green eyes and bodies made for games...
  • Changing the Player by Jacob Chance

    Changing the Player by Jacob Chance

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    FlynnYou know that voice in the back of your head telling you not to do something? Well, I don’t have one, at least not one that functions properly. Mine eggs me on, daring me to do my worst. Which is how I’ve found myself in my current situation—on the verge of being traded from my team.Coach gave me one last chance to prove myself, so I begged my agent, Nadia, to help me out...
  • Devilish Charm by Kasey Martin

    Devilish Charm by Kasey Martin

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Jones Sullivan is a sexy, successful, confident womanizer that owns a provocative erotic club. One day, he's stopped in his philandering tracks by a gorgeous, voluptuous woman with golden brown skin and honey brown eyes. When Jones is suddenly thrust into the role of protector, his whole life changes, and his obsession with the sultry beauty grows...
    Categorized as:
    poc-mc  sports  adult  book  contemporary  fiction  insta-love  romance
  • Working Man by Melanie Schuster

    Working Man by Melanie Schuster

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Funny and feisty true-crime writer Dakota Phillips has "almost" everything she wants. She's still looking for the perfect man: very tall, very educated and very cultured--all wrapped up in rich chocolate brown. So far, her insecurities about her generous curves and her independent streak have kept her searching. Nick is a self-made mogul who works hard, plays hard and loves life's finer things...
    Categorized as:
    friendship  poc-mc  adult  book  contemporary  fiction  romance
  • Teaching Abby by Becca Jameson

    Teaching Abby by Becca Jameson

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    It’s a summer internship.Never mind that the owners are hot.Never mind that there are three of them.Never mind that they are twice her age.Never mind that they have a secret “play" room in the basement.Never mind that she’s never been more intrigued in her life.She only has three months...
  • Ruthless by Ivy Fox

    Ruthless by Ivy Fox

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    My heart has always been his. Since before I could even spell the name Grayson, I only had eyes for one boy—my perfect, larger than life best friend, who always managed to bring his bright light into my very dark existence with just one of his boyish smiles.With Chad, I could forget the dismal life I had of being the flawless privileged daughter of a cruel, evil man.He was my escape.My solace...
  • Flourishing Heart by Elizabeth Read

    Flourishing Heart by Elizabeth Read

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Knowing that somewhere out there your soulmates are waiting for you sounds like a dream come true, and most people grow up imagining the perfect fairy-tale life they will lead once they find them.But Grace, however, can't help but dread the day she might find hers...
  • And Then by Taylor Fitzpatrick

    And Then by Taylor Fitzpatrick

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    David Chapman has achieved almost everything he's ever wanted. He may not have been anyone's first pick, and he may not have the respect he knows he deserves, but he also knows he has no shortage of chances to prove himself. And he has Jake. So it doesn't make sense for him to feel so dissatisfied. And it really doesn't make sense for him to feel so afraid...
  • Forever Our Virgin by Charlie Hart, Frankie Love

    Forever Our Virgin by Charlie Hart, Frankie Love

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    For the first time in her life, Chloe believes she's found unconditional love. 
But then everything changes:
 Chloe is pregnant.
 She's in love with four men, but only one is the father. 
Tensions are high when doubt weaves its way into paradise, and love is on the line...
  • Speechless by Renee Williams

    Speechless by Renee Williams

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    ConnorI know what she thought. She thought that she was just the experimental black girl for me. She thought that I couldn’t give her my heart. But, she had underestimated me. She didn’t know what type of man I was. She was going to learn. I meant every word that I said. I was going to make her a believer. I was going to show her that she was more than just an afterthought...
  • Rough and Ready by Mari Carr

    Rough and Ready by Mari Carr

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    A steamy friends to lovers romance that breaks the bro-code…big time!Gio is blessed with a big family and lots of friends. Unfortunately, there’s an unspoken code amongst his buddies…one where sisters are off-limits. That wouldn’t be a problem if he and his best friend, Rafe, could stop thinking about Kayden’s vivacious, fun-loving little sister, Keeley...
  • California Sunshine by Chris Mor

    California Sunshine by Chris Mor

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Two thousand six hundred and sixty four miles.The Pacific Crest Trail is a big endeavor. But after the way my year started, it might be just what I need. So I’ll take five months alone on a trail. Five months to clear my head and figure out my life. It’ll be good for me.At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.That is, until I meet Nova on the morning I start my trip...
  • Breakaway by Kris Butler

    Breakaway by Kris Butler

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    It was time to breakaway from the past. I made a choice to fight on my terms and show my ex and the hockey world what a woman could do. The Society made me immediately regret it by demonstrating exactly how far their reach was. But the people in my life refused to let me buckle under the pressure, reminding me what a team was really about—teamwork, camaraderie, and hope...
  • The Auction: Not Your Pucking Bunny by Melissa Adams

    The Auction: Not Your Pucking Bunny by Melissa Adams

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Three hot hockey players to take me on dates. This is my sister’s recipe to help me rebound from a broken heart. The kicker? She bought those dates for me at an auction. There’s the left winger playboy prince, followed everywhere by gaggles of adoring puck bunnies. The scholarship goaltender who has as much ambition as he has muscles...
  • No Backing Down by Becca Seymour

    No Backing Down by Becca Seymour

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    When we’re both needy and tactile AF, it’s no wonder everyone thinks my best friend and I are an item. But that’s so not what’s going on.Cassius Britton, the mouthy basketball player for the Minnesota Eagles, is my soul mate. He has been since he shared his gummy bears and let me have all the red ones.Because that’s the kind of person he is—selfless and sweet. But he’s so much more than that...
  • Ice Cold Hearts: A Single Mom, Hockey, Reverse Harem Romance by Sofia T. Summers

    Ice Cold Hearts: A Single Mom, Hockey, Reverse Harem Romance by Sofia T. Summers

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Kiss my single-mom routine goodbye. Three drop-dead gorgeous hockey players just iced my world. Dating one of them would be a media circus, but three? Their team is called ‘Cold Hearts', a joke considering the way they make me feel.Guess opposites attract, even on the ice. Alexei, the captain is a frozen tundra on the rink, but a volcanic eruption in bed...
  • All Our Next Times by Jennilynn Wyer

    All Our Next Times by Jennilynn Wyer

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    "One of the boys I have loved since I was six years old is in front of me, declaring his heart to mine, trusting that I won't break it."In this captivating romance from award-winning author Jennilynn Wyer, the lines of love are blurred, and every decision has a consequence. For Elizabeth Fairchild, choosing between her three best friends becomes a life-altering decision that changes everything...
  • Scoreless Nights by Katie Rae

    Scoreless Nights by Katie Rae

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    "I knew I wouldn’t be strong enough to resist her anymore."Our parents wanted us to spend quality time together, but I’m not sure this is what they meant….CruzAs the goalie of the Miami Inferno FC, it was my job to keep everyone scoreless.So how did I end up being the one that couldn’t score?The answer: Lily Harris. My step sister, and apparently my new roommate...
Playing Defense by Julia Clarke
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