When it comes to a YA Contemporary Romance, we all have our favorite sub-genres. One of mine is the ever popular “sports romance”, a sub-genre featuring books where the main character’s life usually revolves around a sport. While I am not at all athletic, I love reading about people who are, so here’s a list of my favorite sports romance authors.
1. Miranda Kenneally.
When I think “sports romance”, the first name that pops into my head is Miranda Kenneally. Her Hundred Acres series has completely rejuvenated the genre, starting with Catching Jordan (a girl quarterback!), and ending with Coming Up For Air (about two swimmers), which releases soon. While none of the books are direct sequels to each other, each book has characters from at least one of the others, so they’re all connected, and it makes me so happy.
2. Julie Cross.
When I think about my all time favorite endings, Julie Cross’s Whatever Life Throws At You immediately comes to mind. I reread the ending of this baseball romance over and over again, whenever I need a quick dose of happy feels. Her latest, Off The Ice, is a hockey romance, and I am dying to get my hands on it!
3. Cate Cameron.
A few months ago I needed a series to binge, and I was ecstatic when I found this series on sale. Cate Cameron’s hockey series completely stole my heart, and I can’t recommend it enough if you want a quick, cute, sports romance series to binge. There are three books – Center Ice, Playing Defense, and Winging It, with each book featuring a different teammate, and I am dying for more books in this world.
4. Michelle Smith.
Sweet and simple on the surface, these small town baseball romances are perfect for breaking out of a reading slump. I hadn’t read anything in three months when I picked up Play On, and the moment I was finished, I ordered Game On. Smith is an expert when it comes to making you dig deep into something while still feeling like you’re reading a light, fluffy romance, and her take on depression was something that I won’t forget for quite some time.
5. Kendra C. Highley
I am a sucker for love triangles with the best friend vs. the bad boy, and Defying Gravity was exactly what I was craving. This snowboarding romance hit all the right spots, and I am dying to read Highley’s latest, a baseball player/ballerina romance called Swinging At Love. I’m sure it will be just as swoony!
While I could go on and on about this – I didn’t even get to books like All Laced Up and Girl Against The Universe – I’ll stop there. Who are some of your favorite sports romance authors? I’m always looking for more!
Brett Jonas is a writer, reader, Christian, lover of chocolate, and over-user of smiley faces. After being homeschooled her whole life, she’s now taking classes at the local community college, working for the Chapter One Conference for Young Writers, and working in her family’s business, Goat Milk Stuff, with her seven younger siblings. When she’s not working or writing, you can find her wasting time on Twitter as @BookSquirt, where she loves making friends and using too many exclamation points. http://brettjonas.com
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