Do you love sports romance? You know I do! That’s why I’m thrilled that Carina Press has selected Playing It Close to be part of their line-up for their first-ever Sports Week, a week celebrating sports romance!
On April 14, Playing It Close will be published along with five other sports romances, each featuring a different sport: tennis, football, hockey, MMA, baseball, and, of course, rugby.
We’re honored to be visiting some fantastic blogs as a group, and I’ve got some dates of my own lined up. I wanted to give you all the dates and links to where you’ll be able to find me over the next few weeks. I’ll update these links as the blog posts go live, so be sure to bookmark this page and come back often.
March 31: Giveaway at Kat Latham’s blog (right here – see below)
April 1: Give Me Books blog
April 2: Kat’s interviewed on Donna Gallagher’s blog
April 3: Kat’s at Lady Scribes
April 7: Kat’s in the spotlight at Harlequin Junkie
April 7-12: Fresh Fiction (Kat | Kate | Michele | Rhonda | Allison | Rebecca)
April 12: Kat’s at Book Reviews & More by Kathy
April 13: Romancing the Jock
April 14: RT blog
All About Romance
Contemporary Romance Cafe – Kat shares an excerpt
April 15: Dear Author
April 15, 16, 17: Carina Press blog
April 16: The Season for Romance blog
Harlequin Junkie
April 17: Twitter party hosted by @CarinaPress
Heroes & Heartbreakers
April 18: Just Contemporary Romance
April 20: Romancing the Jock
Here are the Sports Week books!
Love in Straight Sets by Rebecca Crowley
Regan Hunter came to tennis late in life, but she’s worked hard to become one of the world’s top players. Beating the odds has made her unstoppable on the court and neurotically controlling off of it. So when her manager hires a new coach, a has-been who left the sport after a scandal, Regan wants him gone, fast.
Ben Percy, a former Grand Slam winner, is well aware of Regan’s reputation for driving coaches away—usually screaming. But working with the notoriously mercurial Regan could be just the break he needs to take his career to the next level, and he’s never been one to scare easily. He must stick to only one rule: hands off Regan.
Keeping his distance from Regan is more difficult than Ben ever imagined. Behind her tough, sexy exterior is a woman he wants to get to know better. And Regan feels a connection with her patient, easy-on-the-eyes coach that’s hard to ignore. But with the biggest championship of all on the line, romance may be completely out of bounds…
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes & Noble | Carina Press | Google Play | iBooks | Goodreads
Book two of Men of the Show
“Love ’em and leave ’em” has been real estate agent Karen Bently’s motto for as long as she can remember. She doesn’t need a man, except to make her toes curl. Or so she thought, until her longtime crush, Ace pitcher Jerry Smutton, sets his sights on her.
After signing one of the largest baseball contracts in history with the Detroit Rockets, Jerry enlists Karen to help him find the house of his dreams. Their connection is instant and electric, but neither of them is the relationship type. When Jerry proposes a friends-with-benefits arrangement, that suits Karen just fine.
Passionate sleepovers soon turn into long, romantic evenings… Still, Karen and Jerry refuse to acknowledge they’re a couple. Karen insists that she’s immune to Jerry’s heart-melting charm. Jerry’s not ready to settle down. Denial is the name of the game, until one pitch changes everything…
Meet Jerry’s teammate Chase Patton in The Changeup!
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes & Noble | Carina Press | Google Play | iBooks | Goodreads
On the Surface by Kate Willoughby
Book One of In the Zone
Not every athlete is a player…
NHL player Tim Hollander lost his temper one time and threw a water bottle at an abusive fan. After “Bottlegate,” he’s traded to the San Diego Barracudas, where he’ll need to keep the bad publicity to a minimum while proving he can still compete with the younger guys on the ice.
Erin Collier is a pediatric nurse who’s never seen a hockey game, but gets in line for Tim’s autograph at a PR event in hopes of impressing the doctor she has a crush on. When an obnoxious fan gets pushy toward Erin, Tim rushes to defend the pretty stranger, throwing a punch in the process.
Grateful for the rescue, Erin agrees to stand by Tim during the resulting press conference and host him at a hospital charity event. Their chemistry is palpable, and soon their lives are intertwined. But Erin doubts a hockey player is capable of anything resembling a real relationship. And if Tim can’t get her to see beyond what’s on the surface, they’ll never last longer than a single season…
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes & Noble | Carina Press | Google Play | iBooks | Goodreads
Book two of Worth the Fight
Late-night shock jock Sophie Morelle has been fired, dumped by her network after an embarrassing incident cost them big bucks. But she knows just how to get back on her feet—by filming a raw, gritty documentary about MMA fighters, starring the hottest welterweight around. The only problem? He’s the one responsible for ruining her life.
MMA-champion-turned-model Caden Kelly is hell-bent on reestablishing himself as the best fighter in the country. He’d been on a roll, too, until that loudmouth reporter hit him in the head with a camera on national TV. The headaches he’s suffered since are nothing compared to the one he gets when she shows up, seeking an exclusive. That Sophie’s gorgeous is undeniable…but she’s also the most infuriating woman he’s ever met.
Stepping into the ring with Caden Kelly is not for the faint of heart, but Sophie’s never been the delicate type. This champion may have finally met his match—both in and out of the bedroom.
Don’t miss Knock Out, available now!
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes & Noble | Carina Press | Google Play | Goodreads
Follow Michele: Twitter | Facebook | Blog: The Violet Femmes
Imaginary Lines by Allison Parr
Book three of the New York Leopards
Tamar Rosenfeld has been in love with New York Leopards linebacker Abraham Krasner since they were twelve years old. She’d always considered it destiny that they’d end up together…until Abe was drafted and she professed her feelings in a moment of blind excitement. The sting of his rejection was like nothing she’d ever felt before, and it’s nothing she’ll ever forget.
Older and wiser, Tamar has landed a dream job as a reporter for one of New York’s premier athletic websites. Determined to stop being the safe, boring girl she’s felt like for most of her life, Tamar makes a list of all the things she wants to do and see in her new city, and Getting Over Abraham is priority number one.
But destiny has finally chosen to interfere. Just as Tamar’s decided to move on, Abe’s realized she’s the only woman for him. When he confides the truth, Tamar has to decide if she can put her crush behind her, or take a chance on the very man who’s been holding her back all these years.
Read more about the New York Leopards in Rush Me and Running Back, available now!
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes & Noble | Carina Press | Google Play | iBooks | Goodreads
Playing It Close by Kat Latham
Book two of the London Legends
Where do you go to escape everything when you’re one of the most famous rugby players in the world? For Liam Callaghan, that place is a remote lodge on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. Perfect, except he doesn’t exactly want to be alone with his thoughts. Enter Tess Chambers, the ultimate distraction.
Still reeling from a professional disaster that’s made her all but unemployable, Tess understands the desire to move through life as somebody else. So when instantly recognizable Liam uses a fake name, she runs with it and creates a temporary new identity of her own.
Their time spent together in paradise is idyllic but brief—after one passionate night, Liam wakes up to find Tess gone. Returning to London, he’s shocked to learn she’s taken a job with his team’s new sponsor. As the Legends’ captain, he’ll have to not only figure out how to work with the one woman who ever left him wanting more, but also convince her that their feelings in the present mean more than any lies they’ve told in the past.
Meet Liam’s teammate Spencer Bailey in Knowing the Score, out now!
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes & Noble | Carina Press | Google Play | iBooks | Goodreads
Follow Kat: Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter | Website | Pinterest
Giveaway!
The lovely authors are here today to do our first giveaway. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post before April 8, 2014. I’ll announce the winners on April 8.
There will be six winners. Each randomly selected winner will receive a digital copy of one book. Here’s what you could win:
Knowing the Score (London Legends 1) by Kat Latham
Rush Me (New York Leopards 1) by Allison Parr
Knock Out (Worth the Fight 1) by Michele Mannon
The Changeup (Men of the Show 1) by Rhonda Shaw
On the Surface (In the Zone 1) by Kate Willoughby
The Striker’s Chance by Rebecca Crowley
Also, don’t forget that I’m running a separate giveaway for readers who help me spread the word about Playing It Close. Visit the Playing It Close page and enter using the Rafflecopter form for your chance to win a $50 gift certificate and other goodies!
Those all look great! Can’t wait to get them 🙂
Interesting books
These all look so great!
Woot woot!!! Looks like it’s going to be a fun Month!!!
This is a great idea! I am going to check a few of these right now . . . .
I’m a big sports fan, so I really enjoy sports romances.
Wow! Congrats! Loved PLAYING IT CLOSE! Good luck with the launch and to all the other authors as well. Sound like some fantastic reads….
Your review was awesome, Veronica. Thank you so much!
These all look amazing! Can’t wait to read your book, Kat!
Thank you! Hope you enjoy it!
I’ve a soft spot for sport romances – am adding so many to my to-read list right now!
Woohoo! I love discovering new-to-me authors!
Oh wow, it’s going to be a great month for sports romance fans like me!
ty for the chance
Wow! So glad you did this. My GR TBR pile just grew. I”d love to be entered.
🙂
I love sports romances, really looking forward to these. 🙂