2021 Best Of Part 4: Sports Romances
I love a good year in review. There’s something so satisfying of seeing it all laid out there, to be able to reflect on the journey, and hopefully to help others find a couple great reads. Like I’ve mentioned I’m approaching 400 titles read this year, which is pretty wild if you ask me, and totally fine if you’re speaking to my therapist.
I’m still reading (🙄obviously) at the time of writing this blog, so we might have a couple late editions, who knows. Below I’m going to call out my fave reads of the year, continuing with the Sports Romance sub-genre and will do my best to sell-em’ to y’all.
(Disclaimer: this is *my * best of 2021 reads, not books that were published in 2021!)
I spent the better half of my early life playing competitive soccer and basketball, so finding this lil SPORTS ROMANCE (screams in collegiate athlete) sub-genre late in 2020 was a real highlight.
I dipped my toes in with Kristen Callihan’s Game On series, which I just immediately fell in love with. There is something really fun about athlete’s falling in love–speaking from experience. We are fun AF and understand how to be good partners (aka teammates), plus athletes are hot, deal with it.
I’ve read a lot of these this year, and notably left perennially popular Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus series out of my best-of’s. I read it early in 2021 (mid January) and liked each of the stories well enough, they are good quick reads, but these ones just hit me a little deeper in my feels, and being on the closer side to 40 (gasp), something about 19-22 year olds finding love felt a little too out of reach. I’m only human, and my ex-collegiate basketball knees creak too much.
Kulti by Mariana Zapata
Oh reindeer, how I love you. Kulti, one of the few physical books I bought this year, is the story of a professional soccer star Sal Callisas and her coach, world famous retired soccer star Reiner Kulti. And yes, this is another ’Zapata’, so expect a slow burn, and spice around the 90% mark. This book is another one that dug itself deep into my heart and mind.
Sal is brilliant, talented and such a hard worker, seeing her with her friends and teammates will make you happy and fall in love with her. Kulti on the other hand, WOOF. He’s a closed off, arrogant dick-face that you’ll have a hard time with at first. Soon though, much like Sal you’ll become friends with the big German, and that friendship will slowly evolve into love. Also, that endearment will kill you.
Hard to Lose by K. Bromberg
We can thank Tim Apple (iykyk) and his algorithm with this Apple Books recommendation. Hard to Lose is the fourth book in the Play Hard Series that pits one of the Sports Agent Kinkade sisters with an athlete or in this case ex-athlete.
Chase and Gunner are really quite sweet, and you’ll immediately feel their deep chemistry (right from the lego night) with each other. You’ll also see the inevitable breakup coming almost from the beginning, which makes it even more heart wrenching when it happens. The theme of sacrifice is pretty present throughout, and you’ll come to love how these two find, lose and recover their love for each other.
Always Only You by Chloe Liese
Chloe Liese is another epic author find for me this year, and I continually sing her praises wherever and whenever I can. This is the second book in the Bergman Brothers Series that follows Big-Red and professional hockey player Søren “Ren” Bergman as he pines his epically romantic heart out for team social media manager Frankie.
Frankie is such a complex heroine, living with both autism and chronic rheumatoid arthritis, you get a glimpse into the barriers she experiences. Annnnd when you get to see how much Ren cares for and LOVES the shit out of her, I defy you not to literally squeal with delight right from the weed gummies, and magnetic button shirt night all the way to the final page of this stupidly wonderful story of two people that have never really felt like they fit.
The Knockout Rule by Kelly Siskind
Over on the workplace romance list you’ll find book one in the Showman Series, and here we are with book 2, following boxing heavyweight Eric ‘Brick’ Kramarov and physiotherapist Isla Slade. This one was unexpectedly sweet, and the first book I read in this series (I know, I know, I’m an out of order reader).
You’ll love the depth between Eric and Isla, especially their shared love of poetry, and how Kelly describes an Eric hug should come with a content warning, you’ll want ALL the Eric hugs after reading. Isla is no stranger to the violence and danger of boxing and is struggling with her feelings, and fears throughout. You’ll immediately root for these two to go all the way, and love watching them go for it. Plus there’s a bulldog named Whit.
The Perfect Catch by Meghan Quinn (Free on KU)
This is a classic forbidden workplace romance, between grumpy professional baseball player Walker and team PR manager Kate. I fully did not expect for this book to catch me off guard with so much deep emotion. In expected fashion Meghan Quinn creates such great, emotionally romantic moments between the two characters, and their relationship felt so visceral throughout the whole book. This is one of the latest books of her ‘Boys of Brentwood’ series, you can pick it up as a stand-alone, and you’ll love Walker and Kate and how much they get each other.
Blindsided by Amy Daws (Free on KU)
What did I tell y’all about my Scottish-brogue issues. Here we are again with Scottish professional midfielder Mac and lovely seamstress Freya. Ah this one has a few just delightful tropes: the over 30 virgin, the I’ll be your bed-sport coach, the oh shit now I have deep feelings for this person and I don’t know how to process it. This one is another journey, for both of our main characters. Freya, is a 30-year-old virgin who, wait for it, is not the standard-stick-thin-perfection that often times fills the pages of these romance novels.
Seeing Mac and Freya’s legitimate friendship become a tension filled anything-but-platonic-love fest is quite something. And for those of you out there that aren’t the stock standard sample size, it’s refreshing to read that level of representation.
Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen
First in the series about the fictional Brooklyn Bruisers hockey team pairs PR manager and ex collegiate tennis star Georgia with her ex-sweetheart Leo Trevi. Although its not on page, this one deals with some heavy themes of past rape, PTSD and sexual assault, so read with caution. I thought Sarina did a great job illustrating how an event of this magnitude affects those around a survivor and how sometimes, love (in the moment) might not be enough.
You’ll love their first re-meet cute and Leo’s bold assertion on who Georgia is to him.
Swing and a Mishap by Tara Sivec (Free on KU)
Book two of the Summesweet Island Series has single mom Wren and her grown up high school crush turned professional baseball player Shepherd figure out this whole I love you thing. Summersweet Island is a wacky place full of classic small town shenanigans.
This one is fun, quick read with a lot of funny moments. Is Shep a little over the top? Sure is. Is Wren a true badass that learns to find her assertive voice and tell a certain someone to go to hell, you better believe it. Pick this one up for a fun island getaway.
Hard Hitter by Sarina Bowen
Book two of the fictional series about the Brooklyn Bruisers features the team enforcer and the massage therapist, in another surprisingly deep read. We’re dealing with touch aversion from a man who had an extremely hard and abusive childhood, and a woman who heals folks through touch, so you can imagine the level of trust building these two go through.
Sarina also really knows how to write all the spice and you’ll absolutely die during *that* massage scene. 🥵
There you go, you’re all sweaty and ready for the game to start. Something on the list stand out? Missing a great 2021 read? Slide into my DMs and let me know!