Sports romances, especially hockey romances, have gained an enormous fan base in the last year with TV adaptations making them more popular to wider audiences. However, readers have loved this subgenre for years. I think I am not the only one who would say that I love a good sports romance book. They are always a fun read.Â
- Off Campus Series by Elle Kennedy.
Set at the fictional Ivy League school, Briar University in Massachusetts, Kennedy’s series focuses on a group of hockey players living in an off-campus house. One of my favorite aspects of this series is that even though each book focuses on a different couple, the friendships between the characters are a main aspect in each of them. Their banter as well as their loyalty to each other makes this series one of my favorites.
- Windy City Series by Liz Tomford.Â
This series is another interconnected stand-alone series; you can see a pattern in my reading preferences here. Set in Chicago, this series focuses on multiple players from different professional sports teams in the city and their stories. One thing that was refreshing to me was that we got to explore different sports within one series. Tomford’s first book is a hockey romance, which is popular, but for everyone getting bored of this trope, Tomford’s next books focus on baseball and basketball players. Additionally, one of my favorite aspects of this series is that we have multiple sets of siblings getting their own love stories. I personally love the found-family trope and this series does it better than most.Â
- D.C. Stars Series by Chelesa Curto.Â
Lastly, the D.C. Stars series might be a hockey series, however, it is not your usual. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if a female player was on the men’s team? What would it be like if we had professional athletes falling in love with strong female characters? Curto’s series has all of these aspects and more. I really enjoyed this because it challenged certain stereotypes often concerning female characters in romance books.Â