Hi everyone! How are you all?
As promised, here’s the second part to my romance recommendations list. You can check out the first part here – 10 Romance Book Recommendations
Disclaimer: I have not given a detailed description of my thoughts on these books. The reason is that most of these books are fast-paced fun reads that are enjoyable but not memorable and so, I don’t have much to say. A lot of books of this genre are cheesy and don’t have a very unique plot either. However, I think as long as the story is executed well and the writing is good, they are worth reading. All the books mentioned here are some of the better NA books I have read so far. I have also given their Goodreads blurb so you can read that also and decide if you want to pick any of these!
#Nerd – Hashtag series by Cambria Hebert
The Hashtag series by Cambria Hebert is my favorite romance series of all time. Its does have a nerd/jock trope and maybe a few others, but what makes this series so engrossing is the charcters. It’s imposssible to not get attached to them and root for them. I usually don’t read sequels of romance books because they feel unnecessary, but this series is an exception and I would recommend each book from it.
The first book #Nerd follows Rimmel, a college student who keeps to herself and prefers the company of animals to humans. She is assigned the job of tutoring the campus’s most popular football player Romeo. The book follows with romance between the two as well as Rimmel’s journey becoming more confident in herself.
This series also has amazing friendships which is the reason I kept on continuing reading it.
Goodreads Blurb
Two people from completely different worlds are about to be thrown together…
In more ways than one.
She wants to keep her scholarship. He wants to stay on the team. An awkward alliance doesn’t even begin to cover Rimmel and Romeo’s relationship.
But that’s about to change.
It starts with a dare. An initiation. A challenge.
Quickly, it turns into more. But when you’re a victim of your status, there is no room for anything real. The rules are clear and simple.
Stick to your circle.
And never fall in love with anyone on the outside.
The Deal – Off-Campus series by Elle Kennedy
You know what makes a light-hearted, fun, romance book even better? Good writing. And from all the books I have read so far by Elle Kennedy, she writes really well. The Off Campus series follows a different couple in each book. There wasn’t a single book in this series that I did not enjoy.
Goodreads Blurb
She’s about to make a deal with the college bad boy…
Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice… even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.
…and it’s going to be oh so good.
All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.
The Hook Up – Game On series by Kristen Callihan
Another really good sports-romance series. What’s interesting about this series is that every book’s protagonists are quite different so it doesn’t feel repetitive at all.
Goodreads Blurb
The rules: no kissing on the mouth, no staying the night, no telling anyone, and above all… No falling in love
Anna Jones just wants to finish college and figure out her life. Falling for star quarterback Drew Baylor is certainly not on her to do list. Confident and charming, he lives in the limelight and is way too gorgeous for his own good. If only she could ignore his heated stares and stop thinking about doing hot and dirty things with him. Easy, right?
Too bad he’s committed to making her break every rule…
Football has been good to Drew. It’s given him recognition, two National Championships, and the Heisman. But what he really craves is sexy yet prickly Anna Jones. Her cutting humor and blatant disregard for his fame turns him on like nothing else. But there’s one problem: she’s shut him down. Completely.
That is until a chance encounter leads to the hottest sex of their lives, along with the possibility of something great. Unfortunately, Anna wants it to remain a hook up. Now it’s up to Drew to tempt her with more: more sex, more satisfaction, more time with him. Until she’s truly hooked. It’s a good thing Drew knows all about winning.
All’s fair in love and football…Game on
This is a stand-alone romance book and follows a student-coach relationship. It’s fun and angsty. It has been a long time since I read this book but I remember really liking the female protagonist.
Goodreads Blurb
What started out as a joke— seduce Coach Wilder—soon became a goal she had to score.
With Olympic tryouts on the horizon, the last thing nineteen-year-old Kinsley Bryant needs to add to her plate is Liam Wilder. He’s a professional soccer player, America’s favorite bad-boy, and has all the qualities of a skilled panty-dropper.
• A face that makes girls weep – check.
• Abs that can shred Parmesan cheese (the expensive kind) – check.
• Enough confidence to shift the earth’s gravitational pull – double check.Not to mention Liam is strictly off limits . Forbidden. Her coaches have made that perfectly clear. (i.e. “Score with Coach Wilder anywhere other than the field and you’ll be cut from the team faster than you can count his tattoos.”) But that just makes him all the more enticing…Besides, Kinsley’s already counted the visible ones, and she is not one to leave a project unfinished.
Kinsley tries to play the game her way as they navigate through forbidden territory, but Liam is determined to teach her a whole new definition for the term “team bonding.”
The sports aspect was heavy in the book which I didn’t really enjoy. Still, a fun romance book.
Goodreads Blurb
What he wants he gets…
Knox Masters is a quarterback’s worst nightmare. Warrior. Champion. And…virgin. Knox knows what he wants–and he gets it. All American Football player? Check. NFL pros scouting him? Check. Now, he’s set his sight on two things. The national title. And Ellie Campbell. Sure, she’s the sister of his fellow teammate, but that’s not going to stop him. Especially not when he’s convinced Ellie is the one.
…but he’s never met her before.
But Ellie isn’t as sure. She’s trying to start a new life and she’s not interested in a relationship…with anyone. Beside it’s not just her cardinal rule of never dating her brother’s teammates that keeps her away, but Ellie has a dark secret that would jeopardize everything Knox is pursuing.
Knox has no intention of losing. Ellie has no intention of giving in.
Sincerely, Carter by Whitney G.
A really sweet friends-to-lovers romance!
Goodreads Blurb
Just friends.
We’re just friends.
No, really. She’s just my best friend…Arizona Turner has been my best friend since fourth grade, even when we “hated” each other. We’ve been there for one another through first kisses, first “times,” and we’ve been each other’s constant when good relationships turned bad. (We even went to colleges that were minutes away from each other…)
Throughout the years, and despite what anyone says, we’ve never crossed the line.
Never thought about it.
Never wanted to.Until one night changed everything.
At least, it should’ve …
Just friends.
We’re just friends.
I’m only saying this until I figure out if she’s still “just” my best friend…
All Lined Up – Rusk University series by Cora Carmack
Cora Carmack is another author who stands out for me in the NA romance and I would read anything by her. The first book is set in Texas and it is also a sports romance. The author does an amazing job at showing the longing and chemistry between the characters.
Goodreads Blurb
In Texas, two things are cherished above all else—football and gossip. My life has always been ruled by both.
Dallas Cole loathes football. That’s what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers, and put the playing field (and the players) in her past.
But life doesn’t always go as planned. As if going to the same college as her football star ex wasn’t bad enough, her father, a Texas high school coaching phenom, has decided to make the jump to college ball… as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again.
Carson McClain is determined to go from second-string quarterback to the starting line-up. He needs the scholarship and the future that football provides. But when a beautiful redhead literally falls into his life, his focus is more than tested. It’s obliterated.
Dallas doesn’t know Carson is on the team. Carson doesn’t know that Dallas is his new coach’s daughter.
And neither of them know how to walk away from the attraction they feel.
Losing It series by Cora Carmack
Another good series by Cora Camrack, this one came before Rusk University.
Goodreads Blurb
Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, Bliss Edwards decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible – a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if that weren’t embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She’d left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.
A slow-burn romance book with sensitive topics,
Trigger Warning- attempted assault, sexual abuse
Goodreads Blurb
Rescued by a stranger.
Haunted by a secret.
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…
The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.
Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth – and find the unexpected power of love.
A groundbreaking novel in the New Adult genre, Easy faces one girl’s struggle to regain the trust she’s lost, find the inner strength to fight back against an attacker, and accept the peace she finds in the arms of a secretive boy.
Romance between two writers. I really liked the plot and characters of this book.
Goodreads Blurb
What happens when the kink between the pages leads to heat between the sheets?
All Blake Crawford wants is to pass his creative writing course, get his university degree, and take over his dad’s ailing family business. What Amanda Newland wants is to graduate at the top of her class, as well as finally finish her novel and prove to her family that writing is a respectful career.
What Blake and Amanda don’t want is to be paired up with each other for their final project, but that’s exactly what they both get when they’re forced to collaborate on a writing piece. Since Amanda thinks Blake is a pushy asshole (with a panty-melting smirk and British accent) and Blake thinks Amanda has a stick up her ass (though it’s a brilliant ass), they fight tooth and nail until they discover they write well together. They also may find each other really attractive, but that’s neither here nor there.
When their writing project turns out to be a success, the two of them decide to start up a secret partnership using a pen name, infiltrating the self-publishing market in the lucrative genre of erotica. Naturally, with so much heat and passion between the pages, it’s not long before their dirty words become a dirty reality. Sure, they still fight a lot, but at least there’s make-up sex now.
But even as they start to fall hard for each other, will their burgeoning relationship survive if their scandalous secret is exposed? Or are happily-ever-afters just a work of fiction?
I hope you all enjoyed this post and got some recommendations!
