Books like 'The Play'

Readers who enjoyed The Play by Beth Bolden also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  romance  friends-to-lovers  sports  mlm  lgbtq  workplace  billionaire  angst  boss-employee 

  • Free from Falling by E.L. Massey

    Free from Falling by E.L. Massey

    Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Justin “Matts” Matthews is good at a lot of things: Rubik’s Cubes, playing guitar, herding cattle, and most importantly for his career in the NHL, hockey. He’s not good at human interactions or social cues, especially when it comes to women. This deficiency is an annoyance rather than a problem, right up until he meets Sydney Warren. If it’s not love at first sight, it’s sure something close...
  • This Is Wild by Natasha Madison

    This Is Wild by Natasha Madison

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    From the best selling series, Something So comes the spin-off Series This is... Zoe When you grow up surrounded by hockey players you know one thing for sure, I was never going to settle down with one. Heck, I didn’t even know what icing was. I was too busy climbing the corporate ladder, becoming one of the most successful realtors in New York City...
  • Wheeler by Samantha Whiskey

    Wheeler by Samantha Whiskey

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    I’m the Seattle Sharks’ power player. Some call me the Wheeler. That’s because I score on and off the ice more than any other Shark. Well, until her. The one girl I’ve wanted for years. And her brother just convinced me to hire her as my personal assistant. Faith Gentry. Sharp. Sexy. Funny as hell. My best friend’s little sister. Now that I’m her boss, she’s twice as off-limits...
  • Still Beating by Jessie Walker

    Still Beating by Jessie Walker

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    THE END WAS JUST THE BEGINNING... I thought I was strong enough to say goodbye.I thought I was ready to leave him.It doesn't matter that I'll be seeing him in three days.I just have to get through three more nights.I'm dying now. Shattering. Breaking.I'm determined to show him I can manage on my own.What if he needs me?I need him...What if he doesn't?...but I want to be better for him...
  • Winning With Him by Lauren Blakely

    Winning With Him by Lauren Blakely

    Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Resisting the shortstop has never been my strong suit. I failed at it during my first spring training. It sure as hell looks like I'm about to fail at it again. The sport I love playing with my very soul hangs in the balance. But everything my heart craves lies with the guy I've got to resist. A guy who's asking me to make the toughest choice ever. But how do I become the man I want to be..
  • A Major Puck Up by Brittanee Nicole

    A Major Puck Up by Brittanee Nicole

    Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    There are only a few rules I live enjoy life, smile as often as possible, and don’t ever let a woman come between friends. Oh and hockey is life.For the past forty years I’ve done an excellent job at every single one of them.Until Millie Hall. To be fair, I had no idea who she was that first night. Can’t say the same about the second...
  • Limerence: A MM Rivals to Lovers Ballet Romance by Scarlett Drake

    Limerence: A MM Rivals to Lovers Ballet Romance by Scarlett Drake

    Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    FelixDancing is everything to me. It’s the mother I lost, the father who never sees me. It’s the fiery love of my life, and I’ll defend it to my last breath—that’s what it means to be the lead principal at one of the best ballet companies in the world. Just when I thought I was on top, my greatest rival—my eternal nemesis—waltzes back into my Nicoló Savini...
  • Right as Raine by Lucy Lennox

    Right as Raine by Lucy Lennox

    Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars
    · 19 ratings
    Tiller:As the first openly gay professional football player, I can’t afford to make any mistakes, on or off the field. And the absolute biggest mistake I could make right now would be to fall for Mikey Vining, my best friend, employee and, more importantly, Coach’s baby boy. I might fantasize about Mikey at night-—every night—but actually touching him would be a serious personal foul...
  • Seth by Carly Marie

    Seth by Carly Marie

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Be yourself because everyone else is taken. But what if that risks everything you know? Seth Johnson has worked his entire career to be remembered more for his skill than as an openly gay NHL player. Finding a boyfriend has been pushed to the back burner. As for exposing his softer side, the side that loves lace and lingerie? It’s not happening...
  • Loving the Legend by Kit Grey

    Loving the Legend by Kit Grey

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Since Pro basketball player Ty “Pretty Boy” Washington picked up a basketball, he’s only ever wanted one to make it to the pro league and win championships. As the number one pick in the draft, he defies the odds in his rookie year by beating the record of one of the greatest players in the league, Sid “The Wonder Kid” King...
  • Second-Rate Superstar by Siena Trap

    Second-Rate Superstar by Siena Trap

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Ever heard of imposter syndrome?Well, if you look it up in the dictionary, you’ll find my picture beside the definition.I’ve been living in my older brother’s shadow since the day I was born.Anyone would struggle to live up to the legacy of the great Jaxon Slate, hockey superstar and face of the league. But it’s worse for me. Everyone expects me to be Jaxon 2...
  • Just Winging It by Crea Reitan

    Just Winging It by Crea Reitan

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    One weekend can change everything. CaulderI’ve lived a very quiet life, keeping my deepest secrets close to my chest. I let no one in; not even my closest friends. When I’m invited to participate in the All-Star Games, I’m suddenly forced to share a hotel room, and a single bed, with a stranger. My carefully guarded world starts to come undone when he kisses me, and I can’t get enough...
    Categorized as:
    mlm  sports  lgbtq  workplace  athlete  angst  romance  contemporary
  • The Game by Vi Keeland

    The Game by Vi Keeland

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    It started out like any other Tuesday.I spent twelve hours writing algorithms for one of the largest companies in the world and then came home to work on a pet project of mine—feeding facts about the men I knew into a formula to find my perfect match before my twenties came barreling to a close.But then a man knocked on my door and handed me some papers that turned my life upside down...
  • Counting the Stars by Tracy McJames

    Counting the Stars by Tracy McJames

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Sometimes love comes when you least expect it.AlexI fell in love from the first moment I met her—seriously.And yeah, I realize that may sound ridiculous, but I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.Gabby is one of my best friends. She gets me and accepts me for who I am; unlike my stuffy family. But we’ve been stuck in the friend zone for more than a year and I’m getting restless...
  • Blitzed by S.E. Harmon

    Blitzed by S.E. Harmon

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    NFL tight end Andrew McAdams isn’t thrilled to be sidelined with an injury. He’s even less thrilled about his legal troubles. Community service is the only thing standing between him and jail so...yeah. That’s a no-brainer. It's not all bad news, though. He gets to work with Jesse Fox, who is as gorgeous as he is guarded. And there's no rule saying he can't do his hours and have a little fun...
  • The Final Play by Amie Knight

    The Final Play by Amie Knight

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    The Final Play isn’t always the end. Sometimes, it’s the beginning of something far more beautiful. As a professional linebacker, I lived and breathed football. The only thing I loved as much as the game was my twin brother, Max, who kept me almost as busy cleaning up his messes. The most recent of which landed him behind bars...
  • The Contractor by Raleigh Ruebins

    The Contractor by Raleigh Ruebins

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    He’s my best friend, my best worker, and it was just a silly crush.Then he kissed me. Now it feels like he's mine…I’ve shown my best friend Tristan everything: how to use a circular saw, how to lay grout, and how to do a kitchen renovation right. On the job, we became close friends—then even closer as we learned to share a camping tent.It was all harmless. Just like my crush on him...
  • Wanted: Understanding Daddy by Sammi Cee

    Wanted: Understanding Daddy by Sammi Cee

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Is it possible for a renewed friendship to lead to more? Dylan’s life changed for the worse back in middle school. Because of that, he ghosted his best friend, Brett, out of fear and embarrassment. Now, as things finally come together for him, he’s more concerned with earning a place back in Brett’s life than he is about finding the Daddy his friends think he needs...
  • Tell Me Lies by Hannah Gray

    Tell Me Lies by Hannah Gray

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    As a single father, I often feel like the weight of the world sits on my shoulders. When my daughter’s nanny gives me her two weeks’ notice, I’m sweating bullets. Fear that my NHL season with the New England Bay Sharks could be derailed consumes me...
  • For the Cameras by Raleigh Ruebins

    For the Cameras by Raleigh Ruebins

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Our fans get to see everything when we’re together on camera.But what’s between the two of us is strictly for the videos… right?I’ve been a socially awkward introvert for my whole life—and not a soul knows that I upload anonymous videos to an adult site. By day, I’m a shy office worker. At night, I have my hand, my phone camera, and a little secret.Chase is my polar opposite...
  • Meet Me in the Blue by A.M. Johnson

    Meet Me in the Blue by A.M. Johnson

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Meet me… in the place where the sun kisses the horizon and sinks into blue shades of you and me.Meet me there… where everything was always perfect. You and me and the damp grass at dawn and the gray dirt in the late evening rain.Meet me where we were ourselves and not these two people who can’t even say I love you...
  • Himbo by Emmy Sanders

    Himbo by Emmy Sanders

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Surely I can’t fail at falling in love? CasNo one ever told me I might meet the love of my life on my knees in a coffee shop.I’m not one of those people who has everything figured out. I work at my dad’s company because it’s expected, not because I enjoy it...
  • Marked by Rebecca Barber

    Marked by Rebecca Barber

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Logan-freaking-Oliver. Sure the million-dollar pretty boy can play football. At least that’s what the papers lead us to believe. Me though, I’m not so convinced. Sure he's got a backside you could bounce quarters off, arms you want wrapped around you, dimples you’d drown in and hair you’d sell your mother to pull... but is he a nice guy or has he let fame go to his head...
  • Gravity by Tal Bauer

    Gravity by Tal Bauer

    Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars
    · 19 ratings
    C’est cela l’amour, et tu es mon rêve...Bryce:Hockey is my life. This game pulled me from my tiny Quebec hometown all the way to the NHL, and now? I’m the number one player in the league. Team capitaine for the Montréal Étoiles. I’m shattering records and packing arenas every night, and I’ve promised my team: we’re going to win the Stanley Cup this year.But I’m keeping big secrets...
  • The Wingman by Stephanie Archer

    The Wingman by Stephanie Archer

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    The best way to gain confidence after years with the wrong guy? Hayden Owens—the hottest defenseman in pro hockey, my confident best friend, and my new dating coach.

He’ll teach me to be a player, but convinces me to practice with him.We’ve been friends for years, but our flirting lessons and practice kisses push the bounds of friendship.We’re roommates, but sleeping in the same bed...
  • Hit the Brakes: A Fake Boyfriend Food Truck Romance by Beth Bolden

    Hit the Brakes: A Fake Boyfriend Food Truck Romance by Beth Bolden

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Can they fake it til Tate makes it?Tate Ward is in a bind. His food truck hasn’t been the runaway success he’d always dreamt it would be. When he tries to join a new food truck collective to gain a larger following, his sales aren’t even high enough to win a spot. What he needs is a high profile endorsement—and he knows just the guy.Tate hasn’t seen Chase Riley since high school...
    Categorized as:
    athlete  friends-to-lovers  lgbtq  mlm  multi-pov  sports  adult  book
  • Intermission by Lisa Suzanne

    Intermission by Lisa Suzanne

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    I’m in love with two men. I’m torn and need to choose which man from my past I want as a permanent part of my future. My heart leads me one way as my brain pushes me toward the other. I want them both, but each of them holds a secret that will change everything...
  • Gravity: Written in the Stars Book 2 by Mia Monroe

    Gravity: Written in the Stars Book 2 by Mia Monroe

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    He was only meant to be a hookup. Until he became my coworker.Only I could ruin the hottest potential hookup ever. One look at the gorgeous ginger, and I was done for. I summoned every bit of courage I had, then panicked. As is my way. I managed to put it behind me until he became my new coworker. Now, every day is a reminder of my insecurities and what might have been...
  • Playing by the Rules by Beth Bolden

    Playing by the Rules by Beth Bolden

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Ex-quarterback Davis Abernathy knows he’s on his last chance.If he strikes out as Paxton Kelly’s coach, nobody else is going to call him. Not to get back on the field, and not to stand on the sidelines.He’s got a lot to teach Pax, and as a second-year quarterback, Pax has a lot to learn. But Davis doesn’t anticipate the irresistible way they’ll be drawn together from their first meeting...
  • Winning the Season by Beth Bolden

    Winning the Season by Beth Bolden

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Coach Asa Dawson has fallen wildly in love only twice in his life.First with football.Then with Scott Callaway.But Scott isn’t just the one who got away.He’s the one person—the one man—Asa hoped might finally show him how all-consuming passion could be.Instead, fate (and football) intervened and they never got the chance to explore their attraction...
  • Catcher Interference by Haven Hadley

    Catcher Interference by Haven Hadley

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Marcus Warnes. The catcher at the top of his game.A knack for smack talking, a master play caller, and the quickest pop time in the league. The world saw the team playboy when all he wanted was to settle down with someone. To find the one. Marcus longed for holidays at home and a family to spend them with. His time in the spotlight didn’t make it easy to find...
  • Ineligible Receiver: A Friends-to-Lovers MM Sports Romance by Rheland Richmond, Emerson Beckett

    Ineligible Receiver: A Friends-to-Lovers MM Sports Romance by Rheland Richmond, Emerson Beckett

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    A sexy and emotional story about two best friends that secretly fall in love, but struggle to keep a heartbreaking secret from tearing them apart.When I met Greg Foster, the straight tight end for the Portland Pirates, the rookie needed a friend to bring him out of his shell. There was more to the shy twenty-two-year-old bookworm than met the eye, and I was the perfect person for the task...
  • Trade Deadline by Jodi Oliver

    Trade Deadline by Jodi Oliver

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    BLAINEWhen my name is involved in yet another scandal, I’m told to keep my head down and my stats up. The trade deadline is looming, and I don’t want to leave Chicago.But that night, I meet Alex. The guy with the bluest eyes and the kindest smile.My reputation precedes me, and he’s determined to resist me, but the more time we spend together, the harder it is to deny the chemistry between us...
  • Meant To Be: A Prequel Daddy Novella by Sammi Cee

    Meant To Be: A Prequel Daddy Novella by Sammi Cee

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    PJ couldn't be more surprised that he needs a Daddy in the bedroom...Joel and PJ met as pre-teens at Takoda Outreach Center. They’ve shared every secret, first as best friends, then roommates. But now that they’ve graduated from college, adulting presents circumstances and unforeseen problems that they never saw coming...
  • A Daddy In Cameron by Sammi Cee

    A Daddy In Cameron by Sammi Cee

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Indie’s determined to navigate this world alone, but he’s never come up against a determined Daddy before. Normally, everyone likes Cameron. As the General Manager of The Tap Tavern, he’s protective, empathetic, and considerate of his employees and their needs. Especially those who’ve come in through the Takoda Career Center. Indie knows betrayal. He’s lived with the consequences and survived...
  • To Catch a Fallen Leaf by Fearne Hill

    To Catch a Fallen Leaf by Fearne Hill

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Take one shy French gardener, mix in a naughty aristocrat, add a splash of water, a dash of sunshine, and wait for love to grow.If only it were that easy.Reuben Costaud counts his blessings daily. His run-in with crime is firmly behind him. He has a wonderful job gardening on the Rossingley estate, a tiny cottage all to himself, an orphaned cat named Obélix, and a friendly bunch of workmates...
  • Blindsided by Carly Marie

    Blindsided by Carly Marie

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    I sent my boss into subspace before lunch. Now what?Easton knows, in the world of professional hockey, he’s getting old and his body can’t take many more hits. When a job offer too good to pass up falls into his lap, Easton goes for it. What should be the start of a new chapter, opens another he thought had closed when he'd been drafted...
  • 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...
  • 过门 - Guomen by Priest

    过门 - Guomen by Priest

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” -Matthew 7:14Guomen, 過門/过门, meaning marriage in Chinese. If explained literally, it means going past the gates/door-a reference to the Bible(see above).“Through the Strait Gates”: to me, it’s the best way to explain it.The gate’s narrow, the road small for them...
  • Touch In Excess by E.M. Lindsey

    Touch In Excess by E.M. Lindsey

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    A man lost, and one found, and together they define the meaning of Excess. Gluttony's story coming soon...
  • Line Drive by Sloan Johnson

    Line Drive by Sloan Johnson

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    PJ Nolan just has to get through this year. He’d been hoping for a trade to Milwaukee, where he wouldn’t have to hide the fact that he was gay, but that didn’t pan out. He’s close enough to achieving his goal that he can’t walk away, no matter how hostile the Miami clubhouse had become...
    Categorized as:
    angst  athlete  lgbtq  mlm  multi-pov  sports  adult  age-gap
  • Love & Other Inconveniences by Catherine Cloud

    Love & Other Inconveniences by Catherine Cloud

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Morgan Boyle wants two things in life: to play hockey and to be left alone. Noah Andersson is loud, outgoing and probably hasn’t stopped talking since he learned how to say words. When Morgan ends up on a team with Noah at the Olympics, they get closer than either of them expected, and even when they’ve returned home Morgan still finds himself drawn to Noah...
    Categorized as:
    athlete  lgbtq  mlm  slow-burn  sports  abuse  adult  book
  • Angel Ink by Ali Lyda

    Angel Ink by Ali Lyda

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    No one's ever caught me thinking with my manhood.Being demisexual means attraction doesn't always come easy. And it has a way of knocking me off my feet. I can't want Joel. I'm pretty sure he's scared of me, and we're working together.It's a recipe for disaster.Too bad my emotions say otherwise. And once they start talking, my body starts listening. I've been screwed by love before...
  • Waiting On Forever by E.M. Lindsey

    Waiting On Forever by E.M. Lindsey

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    “Heat cannot be separated from fire, nor beauty from the Eternal.”-Dante AlighieriOf all the Sins, Sloth is the most deceptive. A baby face and a disarming smile hides the dangerous pleasures lurking beneath.Jet Denton has always been the sort of person who knows what life will offer.Unfairness.Inequality.Abandonment...
  • Bear by Jacki James

    Bear by Jacki James

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    When two big, strong men who are both accustomed to being in charge fall in love, you have to wonder… Who’s the Daddy?One thing Ty Ingalls knows is when you’re six-foot-three and two hundred and twenty-five pounds, people make assumptions about you. And Ty doesn’t like to disappoint people. He has been the go-to guy for everyone’s problems for as long as he can remember...
  • Infamous Park Avenue Prince by Ella Frank, Brooke Blaine

    Infamous Park Avenue Prince by Ella Frank, Brooke Blaine

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Who are we? Like you even need to ask. We’re the seven richer-than-sin legacies causing debauchery at the prestigious Astor University in Manhattan.Some call us spoiled.Some call us trouble.But everyone calls us the Park Avenue Princes.Weston LaRue“The Playboy”I’m never one to turn down a bet. Especially not when it comes to retaliating against the dean for pulling a dick move before summer break...
  • Don't Bang Your Stepbro by D.J. Jamison

    Don't Bang Your Stepbro by D.J. Jamison

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    I'm not one for rules, but Don't Bang Your Stepbro is kind of a no-brainer.Until I wake up naked in a Vegas hotel bed with my stepbrother, Beckett, each of us with a hell of a hangover and a matching wedding ring...
  • Taste of Greed by E.M. Lindsey

    Taste of Greed by E.M. Lindsey

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    "If the present world go astray;the cause is in you;in you it is to be sought."-Dante AlighieriKing doesn't speak about his past, and with good reason. Who wants waste time talking about their experience behind bars when there are sins to indulge in? King turns Greed into an art form, and his reputation for bringing people to their knees is unmatched...
  • The Linebacker by Emerson Beckett, Rheland Richmond

    The Linebacker by Emerson Beckett, Rheland Richmond

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Is it wrong for me to want the world to know I’m in love with Patrick Griffin and have been since we were eight-years-old? Patrick Griffin I hurt him. I didn’t mean to.Now he’s gone, and I deserve it.As a linebacker in the NFL, I've never found the right time to come out of the closet. Not even when I promised Cole I would...
  • Playing Deep by Beth Bolden

    Playing Deep by Beth Bolden

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Kenyon Ellis knows getting involved with Julian Anderson is an enormous mistake—but from the very first night, he finds him annoying, intriguing and ultimately, irresistible.One, Kenyon is a player, and Julian is a reporter, so hooking up with him, no matter how spectacular the nights are, is a terrible idea.Two, he’s falling for him, even if Julian continues to be prickly and impossible...
The Play by Beth Bolden
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