Cover of You Should Be So Lucky

You Should Be So Lucky

Cat Sebastian

Midcentury NYC #2

historical romance(17k)

A slumping baseball star and a grieving arts reporter circle each other in 1960 NYC — but one can't afford to be out.

Content Warnings
griefdeath of loved one

Description

An emotional, slow-burn, grumpy/sunshine, queer mid-century romance about grief and found family, between the new star shortstop stuck in a batting slump and the reporter assigned to (reluctantly) cover his first season—set in the same universe as We Could Be So Good. The 1960 baseball season is shaping up to be the worst year of Eddie O’Leary’s life. He can’t manage to hit the ball, his new teammates hate him, he’s living out of a suitcase, and he’s homesick. When the team’s owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’s ready to call it quits. He can barely manage to behave himself for the length of a game, let alone an entire season. But he’s already on thin ice, so he has no choice but to agree. Mark Bailey is not a sports reporter. He writes for the arts page, and these days he’s barely even managing to do that much. He’s had a rough year and just wants to be left alone in his too-empty apartment, mourning a partner he’d never been able to be public about. The last thing he needs is to spend a season writing about New York’s obnoxious new shortstop in a stunt to get the struggling newspaper more readers. Isolated together within the crush of an anonymous city, these two lonely souls orbit each other as they slowly give in to the inevitable gravity of their attraction. But Mark has vowed that he’ll never be someone’s secret ever again, and Eddie can’t be out as a professional athlete. It’s just them against the world, and they’ll both have to decide if that’s enough.

Midcentury NYC series

Books like this

Cover of The Prospects

The Prospects

K.T. Hoffman

contemporary romance
(8k)

A trans baseball player and his rival-turned-teammate rediscover each other in the minor leagues — and fall hard.

forced proximitysports settingworkplace romance

10 tropes in common

Cover of Cracks in the Ice

Cracks in the Ice

Ryan Taylor

sports romanceMohegan U Hockey #1
(1k)

A grief-frozen hockey coach and a sunshine pianist both swore off love — until they met each other.

forbidden romancesports settingworkplace romance

12 tropes in common

Cover of Kulti

Kulti

Mariana Zapata

contemporary romance
(159k)

She worshipped him as a kid — now he's her grumpy coach and nothing like the hero she imagined.

forced proximityslow burnsports setting

10 tropes in common

Cover of Wanted (Wanted, #1)

Wanted (Wanted, #1)

Kelly Elliott

new adult romanceWanted #1
(29k)

A linebacker pursues his best friend's guarded sister, but her painful past keeps pushing him away.

forbidden romanceslow burnsports setting

10 tropes in common

Cover of Let Your Hearts Be Light

Let Your Hearts Be Light

Fae Quin

christmas/holiday romanceChristmas Daddies #1
(7k)

Two grumpy-meets-sunshine single dads are forced into a Christmas Buddies program — by their own scheming kids.

forced proximityslow burnstrangers to lovers

10 tropes in common

Cover of On Thin Ice

On Thin Ice

Rebecca Norinne

sports romanceAustin Aces Hockey Club
(1k)

A closeted NHL veteran has one season left to retire safely — until a golden rookie makes him want everything he denied

forbidden romanceforced proximitysports setting

12 tropes in common

Cover of The Sea Ain't Mine Alone

The Sea Ain't Mine Alone

C.L. Beaumont

historical romance
(1k)

A Vietnam vet chasing surf glory finds something worth living for when a mysterious champion steps up beside him.

forbidden romanceslow burnsports setting

9 tropes in common

Cover of Beyond the Blue

Beyond the Blue

T.J. O'Shea

contemporary romance
(840)

A numbers-driven widow meets a golden retriever detective and discovers love wasn't in her calculations.

slow burnstrangers to loversworkplace romance

8 tropes in common

Cover of Until Him

Until Him

Cora Rose

new adult romanceInevitable #1
(10k)

A popular jock needs the cold, mysterious campus tutor to save his scholarship — and loses his heart instead.

sports settingworkplace romancegolden retriever hero

10 tropes in common

Cover of Honeytrap

Honeytrap

Aster Glenn Gray

historical romance
(2k)

A Soviet agent ordered to honeytrap his American partner falls for him instead — Cold War be damned.

forbidden romanceforced proximityslow burn

10 tropes in common

Cover of The New Guy

The New Guy

Sarina Bowen

sports romanceHockey Guys #1
(15k)

Two new guys — a traded hockey player and a single-dad trainer — can't resist each other despite everything at stake.

forbidden romancesports settingstrangers to lovers

10 tropes in common

Cover of For the Fans

For the Fans

Nyla K.

new adult romance
(83k)

A broody football star and his free-spirited stepbrother must fake it for the fans — but feelings aren't so easy to fake

forbidden romanceforced proximitysports setting

10 tropes in common

Cover of Strong Signal

Strong Signal

Megan Erickson

contemporary romanceCyberlove #1
(6k)

A scowling soldier and a charming gaming streamer fall hard online — but real life is messier than any game.

forced proximitysports settingstrangers to lovers

11 tropes in common

Cover of A Gentleman's Gentleman

A Gentleman's Gentleman

T.J. Alexander

historical romance
(4k)

A trans lord must marry a woman by Season's end — unless his devastatingly handsome new valet changes everything.

forbidden romanceforced proximityslow burn

9 tropes in common

Cover of Binding 13

Binding 13

Chloe Walsh

young adult romanceBoys of Tommen #1
(614k)

A popular rugby star refuses to give up on the shy, damaged girl trying to disappear into the background.

sports settinggolden retriever herogrumpy x sunshine

9 tropes in common

Cover of The Jock

The Jock

Tal Bauer

sports romanceThe Team #1
(11k)

A closeted college football star risks everything — fame, the NFL, his future — to love the man he can't quit.

forbidden romancesports settingstrangers to lovers

10 tropes in common

Cover of Season's Change

Season's Change

Cait Nary

sports romanceTrade Season #1
(4k)

A grumpy veteran and his annoyingly sunny rookie roommate can't hide from their feelings—or each other.

forced proximitysports settinggolden retriever hero

10 tropes in common

Cover of The Rest of the Story

The Rest of the Story

Tal Bauer

sports romance
(10k)

A commitment-phobe hockey player falls hard for his off-limits co-captain during a Cinderella season.

forbidden romancesports settingworkplace romance

10 tropes in common

Cover of Make Room for Love

Make Room for Love

Darcy Liao

contemporary romance
(4k)

A trans woman discovers she's bi when her gorgeous butch roommate — wounded by grief — starts taking care of her.

forced proximityslow burnstrangers to lovers

11 tropes in common

Cover of Marriage for One

Marriage for One

Ella Maise

contemporary romance
(105k)

A cold stranger proposes a business marriage — but her heart didn't get the memo that it isn't real.

forced proximityslow burnstrangers to lovers

11 tropes in common