100 Books Like The Player

This is the first book in a great hockey romance series. Bad-boy college hockey player Garrett is in desperate need of tutoring. After relentlessly pestering classmate Hannah, she finally agrees to tutor him. But, despite his playboy reputation, Hannah seems immune to his charms. She’s crushing on another guy, and Garrett hatches a plan to help Hannah reel him in: He’ll date her to elevate her social status and make the guy jealous. Except Garrett is getting increasingly interested in Hannah himself.

I love books where one kiss changes everything, and this is a great slow-burn of a book, with lots of banter and an unlikely friendship leading to a beautiful relationship. It’s fun and sexy with just the right amount of seriousness.

No one writes college football romance like Ilsa! I fall in love with every football book she writes and this one was no different. From the banter, to the push and pull between the characters, to the legend of the bonfire kiss, this book has it all! You're going to love it!

I literally could not stop reading this book. To this day, it’s my favorite book by Kennedy Ryan.

It is an achy, angst-ridden novel that I couldn’t put down. Both Iris and August were compelling characters, and when they first met at the bar, their chemistry was undeniable. But Iris was in a relationship, and each time she and August met in the story, I could feel the longing. 

The book covers tough subject matter involving domestic violence, and it’s quite graphic. I skipped over the parts that were “too much” and focused on the burgeoning relationship between Iris and August. He showed her in so many ways how much he loved her, and I spent the entire novel rooting for the happily ever after they both deserved. 

Tara Sivec, in my mind, is like that crazy aunt who has an unfiltered mind and says what she wants and it’s funny every time! Her words make me cackle and this story is filled with crazy fun, witty banter, and a really hot rainstorm scene! Kiss My Putt is a friends-to-lovers mixed with enemies-to-lovers mixed with second chance romance. The story revolves around a cool, calm, and collected pro-golfer who is forced to take some time off after throwing a royal tantrum on television during a tournament.  He goes home, to Summersweet Island, where everybody knows everybody and there’s no place to hide. Especially when he runs into his best friend, Birdie Bennett. This book is a must-read!

This college romance is full of steam and humor. A star football player has a chance encounter with an edgy nerd at a party. My first novel is based on a hook up at a party, so I am in mad love with this story. A true relationship unfolds between these two that goes deeper than witty bits and coed antics. You will definitely stay up all night to finish this book. 

Semi-spoiler alert: this book has the best ending line ever so don’t flip to the end or you’ll rob yourself of something very precious. I adore a nice ending twist and although not so much an O’Henry plot twist (love his stories) as an “aha” shift in perspective, it has stuck with me more than any other element of the story.

The book’s blurb very aptly describes The Sea of Tranquility as “... a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.” I’m a sucker for second chance stories, especially following an injustice. The beauty of this story lies not in the how the protagonist, Nastya, recovers her power by confronting and righting the injustice but in how she subtly and simultaneously learns to look forward instead of backward.

This one is set in North Korea and is by a sanctioned North Korean writer. As a result, there is no criticism directed at the North’s restrictive society and on the surface it isn’t at all political. Instead, it shows the mundane existence of a judge and his wife, ordinary people who work hard to contribute to the development of the nation. It seems to be about traditional values, and the rising prevalence of divorce is seen as a problem. Those of us who follow Korea rarely get this kind of insight into what life in the North is really like, and while these characters may be relatively privileged, their existence is tellingly monochromatic.

Imagine The Little Mermaid but the mermaid is actually a killer siren and the prince is actually a siren hunter/pirate, and you’ve got To Kill A Kingdom.

If you’re not sold by that alone (because I certainly was) well, this standalone fantasy also has seafaring action, a variety of vibrant kingdoms, strong character arcs, morally grey characters, dashing pirates, siren magic, and of course, a slow burn enemies to lovers romance (you may have noticed I’m a sucker for those.)

I only wish this was a series and not a standalone.

This is the book that made me want to write a historical romance. The protagonist, Miss Jane Fairfield, is outlandishly rich. But she can’t get married and leave her younger sister, who has epilepsy, to the well-meaning but cruel treatments recommended by their uncle, who is also their guardian. Since her money makes her an appealing target for many an impoverished rake, Jane has to work extra to become unappealing while still seeming like she’s trying to attract a man. She wears obnoxiously bright clothing, insults people with the kindest tone, and—in one desperate attempt to make a man be mean to her—takes the food right off his plate. This is a book about people trying to put you in your place and keep you small. And let me give you a hint: it’s a romance, so there’s definitely a Happily Ever After, and that includes small-minded people getting their… show more.

John Berger was a fantastic cultural observer and art critic, this book is erotic both in its observation of culture and context but also of human fallibility, and psychic and psychological transportation of love itself. It had a big influence on me as an art student and for the brief years when I was a sculptor. What I love about it is its empathy for both the female and male inner erotic life, although it is set in England and Europe at the end of the 19th century, Berger’s razor-sharp, succinct blending of the internal and external world is both moving and sensual.