The 12 Best Sports Romance Books On The Market Right Now

As a sports fan, there’s nothing I like more than reading a book where the sport is the central driving focus. However, I’m also a little bit of a romantic, so what I really like are novels that combine my two great passions in life.

Best Sports Romance Books

Sporting romance novels might seem like a niche genre, but there is plenty of diversity even within this unusual genre.

There are stories involving both women and men, ones that cover baseball, basketball, and tennis or ones that start in the locker room and end up at the altar. So what sporting romance novels are there?

Do any of them contain your favorite sport? What other themes are covered in sporting romance novels? Well, I’m going to go through some of my very favorites, giving you a scope of plenty of sports and plenty of romances.

Best Sporting Romance Novels

It will probably be better if I group all of these romance novels in terms of sports, covering everything from baseball to soccer to tennis and basketball. Then you can pick the right book for you based on your preference.

Baseball Romances

The Brentwood Boys

The Brentwood Boys

First up, we have baseball and a series of books that will get the blood racing… for more reasons than one!

This is a trilogy of books by Meghan Quinn, all of which track a baseball team from the college locker room right the way to the top of the leagues.

This comes with plenty of hunky baseball players and the women who fall in love with them.

This is a straight-down-the-line romance that will tug at your heartstrings and certainly make you weep a few times before you turn the last page.

Pros

  • A perfect mixture of fast-paced action and romance.
  • A popular series that has hundreds of good reviews.
  • Great books for young female readers.

Cons

  • Not aimed at male readers.

Basketball Romances

Hoops

Long Shot: A HOOPS Novel: Hoops Series, Book 1

This is the first novel in a series of basketball novels by Kennedy Ryan. This is an award-winning novel, featuring many twists and turns in a tale of unrequited and forbidden love in the world of NBA basketball.

This is a great novel for young women or even young gay men who want plenty of steamy stories of fit athletes at the peak of their game. This is a very easy read, with a lot of laugh-out-loud moments and a few tear-jerkers.

Pros

  • Exciting and riveting reading.
  • Great for those that enjoy a slam-dunking story.
  • Great for young readers.

Cons

  • A lot of readers have complained that these novels are too short.

Boxing Romance

Real Series

Real

Now we have something that explores the world of boxing that is very authentic and dark, with the main character being a boxer with bipolar disorder.

This follows the story of a woman who falls in love with an underground boxer with potentially dangerous consequences. The narrative in this story is very exciting, coming with plenty of ups and downs that will get your heart racing.

The depictions of boxing are particularly harrowing, add the romance element to that and you have a completely rounded story.

Pros

  • An exciting story about the dark side of boxing.
  • Sensuality and boxing intermingled.
  • A popular series that is available on audiobook.

Cons

  • Might be too violent for younger readers.

Football Romance Books

It Had To Be You

It Had to Be You (Chicago Stars Book 1)

This is the first in a series of 6 novels about the Chicago Stars football team and how they navigate the world of romance.

This first novel focuses on the unlikely love affair that develops between coach Dan Calebow and Phoebe Somerville who has just inherited the football team.

Although the two are at loggerheads from the start, an attraction develops between them that threatens to turn their whole world upside down.

This book features plenty of steamy scenes, as well as genuine heartwarming moments of good humor and real emotion.

Pros

  • An internationally bestselling novel.
  • Thousands of great reviews on Amazon.
  • One in a series of books on football.

Cons

  • Some readers have complained about the characters being two-dimensional.

Game On

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This is another novel about a young woman who falls in love with a tempestuous quarterback star. This novel is very raunchy in places, so it is only suitable for adults.

But there are plenty of ups and downs in this amazing story of love and passion.

This follows both the internal lives of Drew Baylor, the football star with plenty of charm and ego to go around, and Anna Jones, the college graduate who falls hopelessly in love with him.

This is a great novel for anyone who wants romance with some thrills and spills.

Pros

  • Strong core characters.
  • Can be enjoyed by both male and female readers.
  • Exciting and adventurous storyline.

Cons

  • If you aren’t a fan of football, I would recommend avoiding this one.

Hockey Romance

Pucked Series

PUCKED (The Pucked Series Book 1)

This next series focuses on the brutal and turbulent game of hockey. This is a wonderful series starting with Violet Hall, a woman who has been surrounded by hockey all her life, who then gets tangled up in a love affair with a playboy hockey star Alex Waters.

This is another adults-only book, but there is plenty to enjoy in this adventurous narrative. This book really stands out for its humor and there are plenty of moments in this novel that will have you rolling around with laughter.

Pros

  • A wonderfully humorous novel.
  • First in a hockey romance series.
  • Steamy and sensual.

Cons

  • Not suitable for younger readers.

Rugby Romance

The Hooker And The Hermit

The Hooker and the Hermit: Fake Relationship Sports Romance (Rugby Book 1)

If you like your rough and tumble on the pitch and in your personal life, then these might be the novels for you. This is a series that follows the trials and tribulations of an Irish rugby team.

If you like the coach relationship style of romantic novels, then this is the one for you. This novel involves a rugby hooker called Ronan Fitzpatrick who has to rebrand his bad-boy image if he is to play rugby again.

The only person who can help him achieve that is the celebrity blogger and ‘hermit’ of the story, Annie Catrel.

Pros

  • A rollercoaster of a novel crammed with sizzling scenes.
  • Great start to a series of rugby romance novels.
  • Thousands of great reviews on Amazon.

Cons

  • Some reviewers have claimed that the narrative seems constructed.

Soccer Romances

Challenge

Challenge (Harris Brothers Book 1)

This is a book about a soccer player that is laid up in a hospital with a busted knee. This is where he falls for one of the doctors who works there, Indie Porter.

Despite their apparent incompatibility, the two are drawn together, making for some fiery chemistry. This novel makes for great reading, and I especially loved the connection that developed between Camden Harris and Indie Porter.

This is a great novel that has received many thousands of great reviews on Amazon.

Pros

  • A tight narrative that doesn’t waste any time.
  • A great mix of romance and sports.
  • An intriguing read for people of all ages.

Cons

  • Some readers have complained that the main narrative is too short.

Water Polo Romances

Nothing But Trouble

Nothing But Trouble (Malibu University Series)

This is another book about someone who is excelling in the world of sports while also being drop-dead gorgeous.

This follows a water polo team as they struggle to master their sport as well as their emotions as each one falls head-over-heels in love. This is a great sports series for anyone who likes underwater romance.

These are distinctly adult books, so you’ll have to make sure that you keep them away from young eyes. However, there is plenty for you to enjoy in these books, especially if you are a 20-something woman.

Pros

  • This is a raunchy dive into the world of water polo.
  • An adult-only tale that will amuse and titillate.
  • A two-book series that only gets better.

Cons

  • Not suitable for younger readers.

Wrestling Romances

How To Date A Douchebag

How to Date a Douchebag: The Studying Hours

If you can look past the provocative title, here we have a book that combines the physical world of wrestling with the often-physical act of falling in love.

This is the story of Sebastian ‘Oz’ Osbourne, who has garnered a reputation as being something of a douchebag. However, there is one person who thinks she can rein him in and that’s Jameson Clarke, one of the university’s star students.

Sebastian is in for more than he bargained for when he meets Jameson, but can she change his ways?

Pros

  • Thousands of great reviews on Amazon.
  • An evocative fusion of wrestling with romance.
  • Some steamy scenes that are not for the faint of heart!

Cons

  • Not suitable for younger readers.

Variety Sports Romances

Unexpected Rush

Unexpected Rush (A Play-by-Play Novel Book 11)

This next sporting romance novel series is one that covers a whole range of sports, from baseball to hockey to basketball. This first novel focuses on Barrett Cassidy, a football player who is always used to getting what he wants.

However, when he falls for his best friend’s sister, he might violate the bro code that binds buds together. This series of novels mix lots of different sports with each book.

If you are a fan of racing, then this is a good series of books to get into, as it makes a brief appearance. There are plenty of steamy scenes in this novel, so make sure you aren’t getting it for younger readers.

Pros

  • A great holiday read for women.
  • Involves lots of different sports.
  • Engaging characters and enjoyable romances.

Cons

  • Not suitable for younger readers.

Sports Agent Romances

Hard To Handle

Hard to Handle: An enemies to lovers, second chance, hockey romance (The Play Hard Series (The Kincade Sisters) Book 1)

You might not think of sports agent as really being a sport in and of itself, but you can be sure there is lots of sports-based romance in this series of books by K. Bromberg.

This series follows a sporting agency family run by three sisters and some of their clients that they fall for.

This is a very entertaining series, with stories of love, lust, and loss mingled with basketball, baseball, soccer, and even a little bit of hockey.

These books are known for their superior sense of humor, so if you want to be laughing with each turn of the page, then you can’t go wrong with the Play Hard series.

Pros

  • A great series that involves sisters falling in love.
  • Features plenty of sporting activities such as racing, hockey, and soccer.
  • A hugely entertaining set of books.

Cons

  • Some readers have complained that these novels are too short.

Best Sporting Romance Novels Buyer’s Guide

Sporting romance novels are a very particular niche, ones that come with their own tropes. Here are some of the things you can expect to find in a sporting romance novel:

Love Stories

Obviously, there will be a lot of romance in a sporting romance story. A lot of the time these are tales of forbidden love between two people in their respective professions.

Steamy Scenes

There is a lot of physical contact in a lot of these novels, which means they are not for the faint of heart.

Hunks

There are plenty of descriptions of hunky men in these books, so if you want a little bit of eye candy in your sentences, then we would thoroughly recommend this.

Conclusion

Sports romances might be a very specific sub-genre, but that doesn’t mean there is not a lot of variety in them. You can usually find the sport you are looking for, you just need to specify when you are searching on Google.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Sporting Romance Books Popular?

These books might have their own niche, but you can be sure that they are popular with audiences. The main demographic for these types of novels are women between the ages of 20 and 40.

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Noah Burton