Super excited to have the lovely Kate Willoughby here on Brain Candy today. I love all of Rachel Gibson’s books but have a special soft spot for her hockey series. If you’re a fan too, read on, because Kate’s going to give us some great new authors to check out!
I remember when I began thinking seriously about writing a romance novel, I heard that certain professions for heroes “just weren’t done,” among them were movie/TV star, singer/musician, or athlete. That was quite a few years ago and now readers are embracing all of those taboo heroes in books, especially the athlete.
Rachel Gibson
Gibson was a pioneer in this subgenre with her Seattle Chinooks series. See Jane Score is one of my favorite sports romances evah. When I read that book, I didn’t like sports at all. I didn’t know diddly about hockey, but I ended up loving Luc Martineau and his horseshoe tattoo. (Tattoos weren’t vogue yet either.) A hard, intense man with strong opinions, he falls in love with a petite reporter who, like me, didn’t know anything about hockey either. I adored learning things about the hockey culture, like the hazing of the rookies and the crazy superstitions. I loved seeing the players just being guys in the locker room and on their charter planes. Gibson hooked me on sports romance.
Kat Latham
Now, who among you has ever watched a rugby match? Probably not many, but a good sports romance author makes it easy for the reader to enjoy the story without being a fan of the sport. (Lucky for me because the only sport I enjoy watching is hockey!) Such is the case with RITA Nominee Kat Latham’s fun and sexy London Legends series. In Knowing the Score, I found humor, steamy sexual tension, and a refreshing contemporary British setting. Playing It Close just came out and it’s on the top of my To Be Read pile.
Michele Mannon
If you’re looking for sports romance that’s really hot and rising in popularity, grab one of Worth the Fight Mixed Martial Arts romances, like Knock Out, or the just-released Tap Out. I know even less about MMA than I do about rugby, but again, it doesn’t matter. In the hands of a good storyteller, you get transported into a world you wouldn’t normally have access to, and believe me you want access to these lean, intense fighters who have their guards up in the octagon ring, but who end up losing their hearts to some equally intense women.
Melanie Ting
I took a real chance when I bought How the Cookie Crumbles. It was originally a serial. I’d never heard of Ting before, and it was a New Adult novel, not one of my favorite genres, but I ended up really enjoying it. After being so accustomed to more mature men and women, it was refreshing to enter the hockey world and experience it as a young person. (I haven’t been young in a while! LOL) Book two, Fresh Air, sounds like just as much fun, plus…KITTENS!
Do you have a celebrity athlete crush? I would personally go for any of the players on the LA Kings hockey team, especially Justin Williams. Who would you choose? (Name, team and sport please.)
For more IF YOU LIKE contemporary romance recommendations, check out these posts!
BIO
An Uncensored Man-banter™ enthusiast, Kate Willoughby happily writes her hockey romances in Southern California. Her latest book On the Surface was just released with five other Carina titles during Sports Week. She is married and has two sons, a dog, and a fish. When she’s not writing, she’s watching hockey. When it’s not hockey season, she whines a lot.
Find Kate on Her Blog * Twitter * Instagram * Pinterest
Find On the Surface, Book one of the In the Zone series, at Amazon * Carina Press * B&N * iTunes * Google Play
