The 10 Best Sports Romances of All Time According to Subscribers

In this video, we count down the top sports romances that our subscribers just can't get enough of. From grumpy heroes to slow-burning love stories, these books have it all when it comes to romance and sports. Mariana Zapata's "Slow Burn" takes the top spot on our list, with its intricate portrayal of Aiden and Vanessa's relationship and the way they navigate the fine line between gruffness and true devotion.

One of the things that sets Mariana Zapata apart from other authors is her ability to create complex characters that are both grumpy and lovable. Aiden Graves, in particular, is a standout character who embodies the perfect blend of toughness and vulnerability. His slow-burning romance with Vanessa is the stuff of dreams, with every interaction and thoughtful gesture showing just how much he cares for her. Even his gruff exterior can't hide his true feelings, making him a compelling and relatable hero.

But what really sets "Slow Burn" apart from other sports romances is its nuanced portrayal of relationships. Aiden and Vanessa's fake marriage starts out as a convenient arrangement, but it quickly becomes something more. As they navigate the challenges of their relationship, they must confront the consequences of their actions and learn to communicate effectively. This level of depth and realism makes "Slow Burn" feel like a truly earned romance.

Of course, not everyone will love Mariana Zapata's work. One person who didn't get on board with "Slow Burn" was [Name], who initially found it hard to get into the book due to its slow pace. However, as they continued reading, they were won over by Aiden and Vanessa's chemistry and the way their relationship developed over time.

Another common theme in sports romances is the grumpy hero trope. Aiden Graves is a perfect example of this, with his tough exterior and sarcastic one-liners making him an instant favorite among fans. But what really sets him apart from other grumpy heroes is the depth of feeling that lies beneath his surface. Despite his gruff demeanor, he's a complex character who cares deeply for those around him.

One person who appreciated Aiden's complexity was [Name], who loved how he would say things like "I'll break every bone in your goddamn body" but then do the exact opposite when it comes to Vanessa. This level of vulnerability and emotional intelligence makes Aiden a compelling and relatable hero, and one that fans just can't get enough of.

In comparison to other books on this list, "Slow Burn" really stands out for its slow-burning romance and nuanced portrayal of relationships. While other authors may have grumpy heroes or fake marriages, Mariana Zapata's work is truly in a league of its own. Whether you're a fan of sports romances or just looking for a great love story, "Slow Burn" is definitely worth checking out.

The Best Enemies-to-Lovers Romances of All Time According to Subscribers

As much as we loved counting down the top sports romances, we can't wait to move on to our next video: the best enemies-to-lovers romances of all time. In this series, we'll be reading and reviewing a variety of books that feature complex characters, slow-burning romances, and plenty of angst.

We're excited to start this new series because we know just how much fans love an good enemies-to-lovers romance. It's a trope that has been around for decades, but it still manages to captivate audiences today. Whether it's a grumpy hero or a feisty heroine, the enemies-to-lovers trope offers something unique and compelling.

One of the things we're most looking forward to exploring in this series is the way different authors approach the trope. From Sarah J. Maas to Kristen Ashley, each author brings their own unique spin to the enemies-to-lovers romance. We can't wait to dive into their books and see which ones come out on top.

But before we get started, we want to hear from you! If you have a favorite enemies-to-lovers romance that you think should be on our list, we want to hear about it. Please take a moment to submit your recommendation in the comments below. We'll be using Google Forms to collect submissions, so make sure to check out the link in our description box.

When submitting your recommendations, please keep in mind that we're looking for books with complex characters and nuanced relationships. While romances with grumpy heroes are always welcome, we want to focus on those that offer something more depth and realism. So don't be afraid to suggest a book that might not fit the bill – we're always up for trying new things!

And finally, please keep in mind that we'll be featuring some of your recommendations in our next video. If you'd like to be featured, make sure to submit your recommendation early – we want to give everyone a chance to shine!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello welcome back to my channel in today's video I'm going to be talking all about the top 10 sports romances of all time according to you this is the fourth video in a series where I ask my subscribers what their favorite books are in a given sub-genre and then I take the top 10 submissions the top 10 that have been submitted like a million times and I let you know what those books are some of the books I love some of the books I loathe but I am asking fellow romance lovers to let me know what their faves are in a sub genre so that I can give you a fairly unbiased look at the sub genre and maybe some potential pics for you if you are new so if you've never read a sports romance before hopefully you'll be able to find a book off this list to read if you are a seasoned romance reader hopefully there's at least one book on this list that you haven't given a try so far so I'm going to be running you through the books that my subscribers submitted in order from least to most popular but even the least popular book on this list is still very very popular so first up we have him by Serena Bowen and Elle Kennedy this is a male male romance that follows estranged friends Jamie and Wes the attended summer camp together back in the day I can't remember if it was like multiple camps or just one summer camp full disclosure has been a while since I've read this one I think the last time I read this was like in 2019 but they were super close until they had a little bit of a misunderstanding or a tricky situation in which Wes was trying really hard to get Jamie to participate in a bet with him and the BET was a little gay shall we say so they haven't talked in years but they come back to this camp that they both used to love growing up and they are now going to be coaches at this Hockey Camp things get a little bit interesting when we find out that Jamie might not be as straight as he thought that he was initially rated this book four stars but I will be honest with you like I said I haven't read this one since 2019 so I don't have a lot of memories about it the only thing that I remember is that the sequel of this book has some really great mental health representation especially when it comes to depression and I did remember liking the kind of mix of harder cutting topics and sweet tender moments in this book I think L Kennedy specifically really does a great job juggling both of those things this book was published in 2015 and I looked at some of the Goodreads reviews and and they're mixed some people say that there are elements in here that they find problematic other people think that it still holds up many years later um but that's obviously for you to judge for yourself if you want to pick this book up y'all said that this book was really wholesome childhood friends who reunite after not speaking for years I love how Jamie's family was so accepting of him and Wes's relationship just perfection and I can't really argue with that next up we have long shot by Kennedy Ryan this is a book that is definitely more on the harder hitting side of things when it comes to romance in general but specifically uh Sports romance it's a hard-hitting basketball romance and it follows our two main characters August and Iris they meet under sort of interesting circumstances I want to say from my recollection August is basically instantly attracted to Iris they meet up at a bar I want to say I think it's sort of like a chance encounter and they have this undeniable chemistry and you're so excited to see kind of what unfolds between the two but there is sort of a snag in that plan when we find out that iris is actually engaged to someone else and she ends up marrying this man so this is sort of a star crossed love first situation between August and Iris it is a really challenging read but a really rewarding one I think unfortunately Iris becomes a survivor of domestic violence and domestic abuse and we do see that on page so if that's something you're sensitive to I would check all of the content warnings going into the book she does not face that with the hero of the story but it is a really hard romance it's really hard romance to recommend because I think it is one that is really tricky and that's something that I saw at time and time again in your reviews of the book or like why you loved it because I asked people you know what did you love about this book and I let you know you know in this video what people actually enjoyed about these books and so many people detailed in there why I loved it that this is not necessarily a book that they would recommend widely because of the content in it but that it is a really rewarding romance and one that really just shows the Redemptive power almost of love and how love could really change someone and also can help them heal from some of the harder things in life so y'all said that this is difficult book to read because it deals with a very hard and delicate topic but it's such a beautiful story I don't know how Kennedy does it but the way she's able to establish chemistry from the very first meeting is amazing couldn't agree more it's a roller coaster ride but it's incredible to see a strong heroine who goes through so much and still comes out on top and the love story is just so beautiful it's definitely a right person wrong time situation and you're rooting for them to get back to each other so much the whole Hoops Trilogy is fantastic not something I also agree with I actually just read the second and third books in the Hoops Trilogy just a month or two ago at this point and I loved both of them someone else said that it is a beautiful love story set against the backdrop of basketball and then someone else said it's not super heavy on the sports but if you pick up this romance you won't be disappointed and honestly you know again can't argue with that next up we are moving back into the light-hearted territory and we have Blindside by candy Steiner now I haven't read much now I hadn't read much candy signer up until this point blindside's actually one of the first books that I read by this author and I was instantly drawn in by the writing style and just how fun the series as a whole is it's the second book in the Red Zone rival series I actually read this one before reading the first one I mean to this day I still haven't read the first one in the series so they just certainly be read as standalones but this book follows Gianna and Clay Gianna is a kind of good girl who is dreaming of romance and dreaming of the day when she finally gets to I don't know have sex with someone super super hot and Clay is in sort of like the opposite situation he is getting out of a long-term relationship and he's kind of facing some difficulty because of that he's getting some sort of bad PR from the like long-term girlfriend that he used to be with that he is now no longer in a relationship with and to kind of correct some of the bad reputation damage that he's gotten from his ex-girlfriend Gianna the pr coordinator for the football team steps in and tries to kind of clean up his reputation a little bit and this basically results in a mutually beneficial fake dating relationship in which Gianna will date clay so that clay can I guess kind of make his ex-girlfriend jealous and then Gianna has had her eyes set on this really like hot guy on campus who is a guitar player he's a musician she thinks that by dating clay she will um you know attract his attention and guitar playing guy will really be into her it does work I will say this fake relationship kind of works for both of them but it's a lot more complicated than that right like you get these two developing feelings for each other as they're supposed to be developing feelings for other people and it is such a delight to watch it's not exactly a revolutionary idea there's actually another book on this list that has a very similar premise but the execution is all candy it is so fun to read I love gems character I loved Clay's character and I loved seeing them develop a sexual relationship together but let me stop gushing and let you know what other people liked about this book you said that you love the character development for clay and the way he treats Gianna and her inexperience is gold this book is everything you want a sports romance and done well as a feminist I feel like I should hate the Trope where the experienced hero teaches the inexperienced heroine simply on principle because I have no desire to have a man Teach me anything especially when my own pleasure is considered but hot damn I love this book clay the hero is a perfect mix of respectful and filthy while Gianna the heroine is one of those characters who's scarily relatable plus he reads her tabbed romance books to figure out what she likes in bed which is how you know he is absolutely a man written by a woman while I can't argue with the fact that Clay is certainly the shed and definitely raises the bar for romance Heroes uh I do think that you should be able to find a partner in real life who can um I don't know read smut and uh listen to your needs so I'm just putting that out there between me and you but let's move on to the next romance we have a classic the score by Elle Kennedy so there are two books on this list from the off campus series by Al Kennedy which I know is widely loved for very good reason she has such a talent when it comes to writing series and getting you to be really hyped about the romances of upcoming Side characters or like romances of Side characters that are upcoming this book is my favorite of the bunch because the hero is pretty stand out so this story is about Ali and Dean so Ali is fresh off of a breakup at the beginning of the story and she's also about to graduate college with not a lot of ideas on what she wants to do and rebound sex with Dean is probably not the brightest move bloody proves too sexy to be turned down after one of passion Ali is super impressed with Dean's skills in the Boudoir but she's not really necessarily looking for a repeat she's definitely going to put Dean firmly in the friend zone but after this you know raucous night of passionate lovemaking Dean is not satisfied with just one night he wants more from Ally and this book is so fun because we have Dean relentlessly but respectfully pursuing Ally and I love that I love a guy who Falls first and a guy who is really intent and knows what he wants Bill said that you love seeing two characters who think they would never be good together find out that they're actually perfect for each other it's the perfect mix of angst and fluff and Beyond her I also like how this one isn't so traditional in terms of the sports plotline Dean isn't like dying to go pro or whatever most other sports characters try and do someone else said that they love the entire off-campus series but the third book is by far their favorite couldn't agree more I absolutely love Dean and Ali's relationship and getting to see them both grow as characters in the first book of the series Dean comes off as such an entitled guy but when I read the score I loved getting to see he really has a heart of gold this book also really shocked me with the grief representation that we got from all the characters involved overall I just have so so much love for the series and these characters oh and also Dean delaurentis um I will say yes there definitely is grief representation in this book so if that's something you're sensitive to or if you don't want to read about um people who are dealing with grief head on I totally understand why this book might not be the perfect pick for you but I really love the way it was handled and I also really loved again that this book had so many sexy lighthearted moments but also again that like signature combination of light-hearted moments with kind of harder hitting real life issues that Al Kennedy seems to do so so well so this book is definitely worth a read next up we have a another male male romance on this list he did rivalry by Rachel Reed so what I'm learning from this list and I think this is something that I've already talked about at this point is that a lot of the popular stuff on this list is stuff that I have not read in ages I actually read this book for the first time back in 2019 and it is the only time that I've read this book that I am definitely due for a reread because I do remember having such fond memories of this book I think at the time I called this my favorite sports Romance of all time maybe my favorite male male Romance of all time because it really does enemies to lovers in a way that I think is different than a lot of other books this book is about our two main characters Shane and Ilya they are both really really famous NHL players on Rival teams the media has kind of pitted these two against each other and this rivalry is very very real it's not just played up for the media they both don't like each other pretty much at all and anytime they come into contact there's like they butt heads for sure until one day the head butting definitely turns into something fueled by more than just hatred and so you have this delicious relationship between the two of them that is definitely very real with the enemies lovers component but is also you know Complicated by the fact that they're very attracted to each other so over a 10-year span they're having sex and sort of avoiding the feelings part of their relationship and you get to see them fighting on the ice fighting sexually and then also like fighting their feelings for each other and it is just such a fun progression to see I know that everybody has a different I guess view of enemies to lovers I think some people in the reviews I saw called this a rival still ever situation and the only real enemies lovers is in fantasy and I think it's all semantics honestly to me as long as there is a you know definite progression between them hating each other to them like each other it's all enemies to letters to me I don't really care that much it doesn't have to be that intense but this book is intense and I did actually really really enjoy that aspect of the book let's hear what y'all had to say I feel like this book is the first book I've read that completely Nails the rivals enemies to lovers Trope in my opinion couldn't agree more many people have different opinions on what a Rivals delivers around me it should look like but for me a perfect rival silverfish romance is more like a Rivals with benefits to lovers the tension in this book is literally chef's kiss the way the characters interact while still being enemies but also having sex in secret at the same time is absolutely perfect I also love the way they slowly develop actual feelings for each other it doesn't feel rushed or weird and unlike many other enemies to love your stories the tension doesn't disappear as soon as they fall in love which is so true I think that's something that I really really loved about this book is that even when they are like regularly having sex you still feel like there is more at stake there because they haven't developed that like love for each other yet someone else said that they actually read this book on a complete whim when they saw my review of it show up on Goodreads and absolutely devoured it in one day I've reread it since then and live it just as much every time it's an all-time fave Aaliyah and Jane have the perfect Dynamic The Angst is everything the conflict is everything it also has the whole saying I love you accidentally in my native language thing which may not be a thing but God it made me melt I want everyone to read and love this book and then lastly what's more Sports romance than two NHL Rivals falling into bed with each other in their rookie year and then following them for 10 years as they fall in love and earn their happily ever after this book does such a good job pacing out the romance it manages to make a 10-year Affair and never gets stale we see the main characters grow and mature while watching their feelings grow from competitive lusts to committed love the characterization of these two is also super strong they're so Charming in their own way but with those puzzle piece flaws that allow them to complement each other so well I mean y'all said it better than I ever could y'all are making me want to reread this book and I think that is part of the charm of this video is like getting to hear people really hype up the romances that they love oh also say hi to honey I am babysitting my sister's cats for spring break so we've got new co-stars in in the videos but let's move on to the next romance next up we have I think maybe the newest title on this list and it's I think the book I've read most recently give or take um we have Icebreaker by Hannah Grace so I read this book back in November and I think I read this book at the perfect time in this book's life cycle I think lately books have been going through a very particular life cycle with the Advent of book talk book talk tends to really hype up books then people will read them and maybe be disillusioned or like maybe the book doesn't live up to their expectations so then you see a lot of criticism for a book and a lot of like pushback and then the book and the hype just kind of dies down for a little bit and then you either have like a Resurgence of the book or you have like new people reading the book that have no expectations who end up loving it so things repeat things go through cycles and I think I picked this book up at the perfect time because it was going through that like critique cycle I hadn't really seen this book hyped up I'm not really a Bookshop girly like I'm not on book talk I don't get my recommendations from there but I knew that this book was really really hyped going into it and that a lot of people were like disappointed by it and I think that made for a very enjoyable reading experience because I thought this book was a whole lot of fun this book is about our two main characters Anastasia and Nathan anesthesia is a I'm just going to say hockey player she's an ice skater and Nathan is a hockey player and both of their respective teams uh have to share an ice rink together and after a series of events in which Nathan is not like kicked off of the hockey team necessarily um but I don't know through a series of events he ends up becoming the hairs figure skater to Anastasia she kind of has to teach him how to go from just being a simple hockey player to a amazing Paris figure skater um I feel like I mean I pulled this synopsis directly from Goodreads but I don't feel like the synopsis really does the book a whole lot of credit like the the plots are definitely more complex than that but I think that's okay so this book is kind of a semi enemies to lovers situation with a fair amount of smut and a lot of Side characters the latter of which is something that I know that people will complained about I think the two main complaints I saw with this book were that there were too many Side characters and that got confusing and that the writing style didn't work for people and for me I didn't really have issues with either which I appreciate the only thing thing that I didn't love was the fact that there were maybe a few too many subplots in this story if it had like played out exactly as I told you in the synopsis I think I would have been very happy there are some like other elements that come in that kind of irritated me that being said I just still had a really fun time with this one and I probably will be picking up book two but let's hear what y'all had to say because I know that y'all have some very strong feelings about this book first up all the gooeyness you could want in a romance and the communication between characters to back it up I haven't finished it yet so I can't speak on if there's a stupid third act conflict but I can already tell this is going to be one of my favorite books of the year there's just something about a golden retriever cinnamon roll guy that gives me major heart eyes someone else really loved the well-rounded plot with found family elements the romance was to die for she is grumpy and he is all Sunshine well done jealousy Trope Force proximity I loved how the main characters communicated so well not to mention the spice do not let this cover fool you some of the best funny scenes that I've ever read and then lastly grumpy girl goes to therapy and a man that does not hesitate to get on his knees this feels like gen Z is finally starting to get published and I am living for it got our main man and his group of friends repping healthy male relationships one is by slash queer one is I think supposed to be autistic one is in a wheelchair and none of these things are their entire personality the side characters feel like real people not just opportunities to add some diversity for the sake of saying it's there I adored this and I do have to say I really did love the side characters in this book yes there are many of them but they were all unique and all fun to read about and I do want to see their romances so I really liked this book it's not a super serious one I mean there are some serious issues in there but for the most part it's just a fun New adult romance all right before we drown in the sea of Mariana's Zapata Slow Burn let's talk about the sports romance that kind of started it all in my eyes the deal by Elle Kennedy it's the first book in off campus series and it is an oldie but a goodie our main character Hannah in this book is convinced that there is something wrong with her because she has a little bit of sexual baggage she wants to have sexual feelings for a man she wants to find the perfect guy to bang but it is not until recently where she has found someone that is like worthy of of her attentions right but there's an obstacle in the way for her in the form of the captain of the hockey team she needs to tutor in exchange for a pretend date to make the guy that she likes jealous so the premise for this book is very similar to Blindside by candy Steiner there are honestly dozens of sports romances that feel very similar to this one in terms of like the the tutor and the you know captain of the football team sort of situation but definitely between blind side and the deal there is like a lot of difference in terms of like how the plots play out and just how they're written I mean I wouldn't say read them back to back or anything but I think you could definitely read and enjoy both of these books like I mentioned for the score I really like that L Kennedy is so Adept at blending heart and humor it's one of the first books that I ever read that was set in college and I think it's the first sports romance that I ever read and it really got me down the path of just like totally following Hook Line and Sinker for sports romances there's just so much opportunity when you're able to tell a story about a team because then there's like you know ripe opportunity for you to write books about other team members and also just fun seeing other people like kind of around the main characters and kind of rooting them on so let's hear from you all about what you enjoyed about this book it's definitely the first hockey romance I ever read and it definitely stirred something within me this is a fun romance and it doesn't waste time once Hannah realizes she likes Garrett and not the other guy anymore we move on previous Crush isn't used as an annoying plot device for why they can't be together and I also love that Elle Kennedy makes fun of third act breakup within the book someone else said that this is one of their favorite sports romances it stood out to them because there was a tangible attraction but other than that there was so much chemistry the way the protagonist interacted with each other had them grooning and swooning because everything was so believably constructed chef's kiss honestly and lastly the banter between Hannah and Garrett is just so good I love how they start with a friendship and it grows to romance it felt really organic throughout which can be hard to do unfortunately it didn't make me care about hockey but that's really not the point and you know what that is very true I will say this is the first hockey romance I've ever read and I don't think I have seen a single hockey game since finishing this book however uh if you say it's a hockey romance sign me the up because Al Kennedy has conditioned me to believe that all hockey romances are gonna be fine so hats off to her for that all right now let's get freaky but in a Slow Burn Way with our queen of Slow Burn Miss Mariana Zapata she is by far and away the most popular sports romance author I guess I wasn't expecting that result I definitely did expect to see some of her Sports romances on this list but I did not expect that the top three romances like the most submitted the most voted for romances on this list all three of them would be Mariana Zapata books but you know what that's fine I get it the girlies love Slow Burn so let me walk you through them first up we have culti this book is about a professional women's soccer player named Sal who fall goals for her assistant coach call team culty is a famous former soccer player who has a bit of a reputation for being a little bit of an and Sal knows this better than anyone because he culty had sort of a weird run-in with our main character's older brother who is also a soccer player so the book is spent with Sal and culty kind of I don't want to say fighting their feelings for each other the feelings don't come until much later into the book but they kind of trade barbs and then also trade kind gestures back and forth throughout the course of the story he helps her become a better soccer player he helps her stand up for herself and she in return um like helps him be a normal human being which I really really enjoyed reading about this gave me all of the like Bend It Like Beckham feels um but like fleshed out because I feel like there wasn't there wasn't really a fleshed out relationship in that movie but I desperately wanted there to be this I think might be my favorite sports Romance by Mariana Zapata I actually reread it recently for this video because it's the first book I read by her and I never reread it so I was like oh are my feelings is going to hold up and for the most part they did I will say I think the first time I read this book it gave it five stars I think upon reflection maybe like four and a half Stars the ending of this book just really does it for me I really love this book so y'all said this book felt like a great betrayal of a relationship with fully developed characters and realistic everyday conflict having the female main character be the main sports aspect also separated this from other more recent new adult sports romances and you know what you're right I I feel like a lot of the sports romances we read the heroine is not a part of the team now that I'm thinking about it though I think in the first book in that candy signer series The Red Zone rivalry series that first book does have a uh female football player so I need to go back and read that but that is that is a good point because that is a very rare thing to see in our Sports romance someone else said the French lovers was just Immaculate the way we got to see them doing mundane things like face masks or playing soccer together was just so swoony and they just love a slow burn and you know what I think a lot of you all do lastly I've recently gotten into sports romance and I've been having such a hard time finding a book that hits the emotional build up in a relationship along with fleshed outside character and actual information and seeds regarding the sport but culti gave me all that and more I loved the female Mainland character's relationships not just with culty but with her teammates and especially with her dad and I will say that is a standout part of this book I do think in some of Mariana Zapata's other books for the most part the heroines tend to have estranged relationships with their family or like deceased family members I don't know but this book definitely has like a good familial relationship situation and I really did like love the relationship between Sal and her dad and also um her dad and culty so sweet love this book it is it's a classic for a reason next up we have from Lugoff with love I couldn't decide on my favorite of Marietta Zapata's um Sports romances but I do think it's between from Lugoff with love and cruelty for me personally they're just both so phenomenal this one's actually an ice skating romance and ice skating is definitely something that I'm always going to pick up when it comes to a sports romance so this one's not a classic scenario where you have a like male hockey player who becomes a Paris figure skater we have an experienced Paris figure skater in our hero and we have a I would say a semi-failed singles figure skater and our main character Jasmine so Jasmine is kind of at the end of her career as a singles figure skater she's not had a lot of luck because she has a little bit of a mental block I believe when it comes to some of the more challenging elements of figure skating instead of hanging up her skates she gets the opportunity to work with lukov who is I believe the owner of her ice skating rinks son he's pretty wealthy he definitely has a bit of an attitude and a little bit of an arrogance to him and Jasmine's just really not sure that she wants to work with him neither of them have liked each other and they've known each other for quite a while and they have to kind of team up in kind of a forced proximity situation to you know work on their skills and become eligible for the Olympics so it was so fun to read because again for spark somebody I think is so crucial in a good sports romance you want to see these two characters have to interact and have to kind of like fight through their feelings for each other so that they can work towards a common goal and I also think if you really love a caretaking situation where maybe one person hates the other but one of them is sick and needs to be taken care of you're gonna love this I really loved that element of the story it's just a fun read and it's one that I need to reread soon to figure out if I love culty or this one better let's hear what gel had to say Ivan and Jasmine just were the perfect enemies to lovers they did for me with the hating game field to do someone else said I love a good enemies to love her story especially with two very competitive stubborn people skating is a sport I don't follow in real life but devour in books working together as partners requires so much closeness trust and passion what more could we want for a sports romance and lastly while I don't typically enjoy this author's writing style I do adore everything about this book Ivan and Jasmine are just deep complex characters with complicated backstories Myriad relationships and history with one another that makes the story that much more compelling combining that with the figure skating aspect which is severely underrepresented in the sports romance genre had me on the edge of my seat because I wasn't just rooting for them as a couple but also for them as a team there's just something extra magical about hate to love romance where both characters are aware of the other's Excellence not just of their flaws honestly I think I need to make you all write the scripts for my videos because y'all are so good at telling me why you love books that was killer alright lastly let's talk about everyone's favorite Mariana Zapata Romance the one that really I mean by and large had like the most amount of votes the wall of Winnipeg and me all right so I'll admit I read this book for the first time right after finishing cold tea it just didn't hit nearly as hard for me so I recently decided to reread this book I'm actually halfway through my reread I didn't get to finish it for this video but I think upon reread I am having similar feelings this time around that I did the first time which is to say that I think sometimes with a slow burn romance especially Mariana Zapatas it can be challenging to I guess walk the line between a grumpy hero and then an and I think in this particular circumstance I think Adrian kind of Falls more into the side of things than the grumpy hero side of things but a lot of people apparently disagree with me uh this book's about our main character who is Canadian but he plays football in America and unfortunately because of some situations with his Visa I don't know exactly how it works he needs to marry someone so that he is able to continue to play football in the States and who better to do that than his former personal assistant Vanessa so he asks Vanessa begs her really to marry him they get married in Vegas and then now they have to like kind of pretend to be married for five years so this man can continue to play the sport he loves and in exchange our heroine is going to get her student loans paid off which I feel like is so relatable I think if someone came up to me and was like hey do you want to fake a marriage to get your student loans paid off I'd say I'd say yes with no hesitation I like the setup for this book I do think that the idea behind it is super fun and I thought that I'd like this one more because it focuses on a sport that I love the most which is football but I just again I didn't totally love Adrian and um you know maybe my tune will change as I get farther into it Mariana Zapata book I tend to change my tune a little bit especially 50 mark on because her stuff you know before that like for the 50 work not much is happening so we shall see but let's hear what y'all have to say because so so many of y'all love this book honestly I didn't believe that I liked Slow Burn before I started reading Mariana Zapata I love the way you get to know Aiden character so slowly and how you see Aiden and Vanessa develop this wonderful connection also finally someone who actually seems to think about all of the consequences of a fake marriage before agreeing to it someone else said that a lot of authors don't seem to be able to handle the fine line between having a grumpy main character and one that's an absolute dick anymore okay I'll let you have it but they all can look to Aiden Graves as the blueprint I started this book not being able to stand Eden just like Vanessa every interaction and every thoughtful gesture Mariana Zapata really shows us how much Aiden cares for a Vanessa and vice versa it's everything also with Aiden not being much of a talker his lines just hit harder touch my wife again and I'll break every bone in your goddamn body sir and you know what I'll let you have that one okay I'll let you have it in comparison to Zapata's other books The Slow Burn really worked for me I really felt the yearning between the characters and the slow reveal of how much he has loved her all along was everything to me I also enjoy that Aiden is more of a grump because in all of my suspension of disbelief when reading romance I just cannot picture a charismatic and outgoing movie star or sports star not being a total in the World of Sports romance this has got to be the goat now we'll have to agree to disagree on that note but you know I definitely can appreciate y'all's excitement and love of this particular book and all of the books on this list almost all of these books I love but even for the ones that I don't I can totally see how other people could love them and um they'll just make great points people are fantastic at this so those are the 10 best sports romances of all time according to you so many of these again are not only my favorite sports romances but also some of my favorite romances of all time so I hope you were able to find at least one book on this list to give a try like I said at the beginning of this video I have such a fun time filming these and I don't want to stop here so I've decided that I am going to continue on with this video idea where I gain subscriber recommendations for a particular uh sub genre or particular Trope and I'm going to actually start moving into the Trope territory so instead of just like telling you the best contemporary romances of all time we're gonna talk about the best enemies to lovers romances of all time this corresponds pretty perfectly with the series that I'm doing on my channel where I pick a particular book Trope and read like five or six books in a week in that particular Trope to see like which Trope is the best and you know it just got me curious like what are the best books within a Trope right like I'm I'm picking the books based on a couple of different people's recommendations but I want to see like time and again what are the best enemy slivers romances right like I think this this video series is a good way to explore that so if you would like to participate and submit a book for consideration for the enemies to lovers like best most popular whatever I am going to leave a Google form in the description down below completely Anonymous give me the title of the book the author's name and then also why you loved the book you can skip that latter part if you want to but I would love to know why you love the book so that way maybe you could be featured in the you know subscribers tell me part of the video there are a couple additional instructions on the form itself mostly uh just please don't submit any why a titles or why a adjacent titles like please just know Sarah J Maas love her um I don't really need any sjm books for an enemies lovers recommendation video thanks so much for watching this video I hope you were able to find a recommendation uh in the comments down below let me know if you have any other great Sports romance recommendations so that whoever comes to this video whether it's tomorrow or 10 years from now you can find even more uh Sports romances to love I love you all so much thanks so much for watching and until next time thank youhello welcome back to my channel in today's video I'm going to be talking all about the top 10 sports romances of all time according to you this is the fourth video in a series where I ask my subscribers what their favorite books are in a given sub-genre and then I take the top 10 submissions the top 10 that have been submitted like a million times and I let you know what those books are some of the books I love some of the books I loathe but I am asking fellow romance lovers to let me know what their faves are in a sub genre so that I can give you a fairly unbiased look at the sub genre and maybe some potential pics for you if you are new so if you've never read a sports romance before hopefully you'll be able to find a book off this list to read if you are a seasoned romance reader hopefully there's at least one book on this list that you haven't given a try so far so I'm going to be running you through the books that my subscribers submitted in order from least to most popular but even the least popular book on this list is still very very popular so first up we have him by Serena Bowen and Elle Kennedy this is a male male romance that follows estranged friends Jamie and Wes the attended summer camp together back in the day I can't remember if it was like multiple camps or just one summer camp full disclosure has been a while since I've read this one I think the last time I read this was like in 2019 but they were super close until they had a little bit of a misunderstanding or a tricky situation in which Wes was trying really hard to get Jamie to participate in a bet with him and the BET was a little gay shall we say so they haven't talked in years but they come back to this camp that they both used to love growing up and they are now going to be coaches at this Hockey Camp things get a little bit interesting when we find out that Jamie might not be as straight as he thought that he was initially rated this book four stars but I will be honest with you like I said I haven't read this one since 2019 so I don't have a lot of memories about it the only thing that I remember is that the sequel of this book has some really great mental health representation especially when it comes to depression and I did remember liking the kind of mix of harder cutting topics and sweet tender moments in this book I think L Kennedy specifically really does a great job juggling both of those things this book was published in 2015 and I looked at some of the Goodreads reviews and and they're mixed some people say that there are elements in here that they find problematic other people think that it still holds up many years later um but that's obviously for you to judge for yourself if you want to pick this book up y'all said that this book was really wholesome childhood friends who reunite after not speaking for years I love how Jamie's family was so accepting of him and Wes's relationship just perfection and I can't really argue with that next up we have long shot by Kennedy Ryan this is a book that is definitely more on the harder hitting side of things when it comes to romance in general but specifically uh Sports romance it's a hard-hitting basketball romance and it follows our two main characters August and Iris they meet under sort of interesting circumstances I want to say from my recollection August is basically instantly attracted to Iris they meet up at a bar I want to say I think it's sort of like a chance encounter and they have this undeniable chemistry and you're so excited to see kind of what unfolds between the two but there is sort of a snag in that plan when we find out that iris is actually engaged to someone else and she ends up marrying this man so this is sort of a star crossed love first situation between August and Iris it is a really challenging read but a really rewarding one I think unfortunately Iris becomes a survivor of domestic violence and domestic abuse and we do see that on page so if that's something you're sensitive to I would check all of the content warnings going into the book she does not face that with the hero of the story but it is a really hard romance it's really hard romance to recommend because I think it is one that is really tricky and that's something that I saw at time and time again in your reviews of the book or like why you loved it because I asked people you know what did you love about this book and I let you know you know in this video what people actually enjoyed about these books and so many people detailed in there why I loved it that this is not necessarily a book that they would recommend widely because of the content in it but that it is a really rewarding romance and one that really just shows the Redemptive power almost of love and how love could really change someone and also can help them heal from some of the harder things in life so y'all said that this is difficult book to read because it deals with a very hard and delicate topic but it's such a beautiful story I don't know how Kennedy does it but the way she's able to establish chemistry from the very first meeting is amazing couldn't agree more it's a roller coaster ride but it's incredible to see a strong heroine who goes through so much and still comes out on top and the love story is just so beautiful it's definitely a right person wrong time situation and you're rooting for them to get back to each other so much the whole Hoops Trilogy is fantastic not something I also agree with I actually just read the second and third books in the Hoops Trilogy just a month or two ago at this point and I loved both of them someone else said that it is a beautiful love story set against the backdrop of basketball and then someone else said it's not super heavy on the sports but if you pick up this romance you won't be disappointed and honestly you know again can't argue with that next up we are moving back into the light-hearted territory and we have Blindside by candy Steiner now I haven't read much now I hadn't read much candy signer up until this point blindside's actually one of the first books that I read by this author and I was instantly drawn in by the writing style and just how fun the series as a whole is it's the second book in the Red Zone rival series I actually read this one before reading the first one I mean to this day I still haven't read the first one in the series so they just certainly be read as standalones but this book follows Gianna and Clay Gianna is a kind of good girl who is dreaming of romance and dreaming of the day when she finally gets to I don't know have sex with someone super super hot and Clay is in sort of like the opposite situation he is getting out of a long-term relationship and he's kind of facing some difficulty because of that he's getting some sort of bad PR from the like long-term girlfriend that he used to be with that he is now no longer in a relationship with and to kind of correct some of the bad reputation damage that he's gotten from his ex-girlfriend Gianna the pr coordinator for the football team steps in and tries to kind of clean up his reputation a little bit and this basically results in a mutually beneficial fake dating relationship in which Gianna will date clay so that clay can I guess kind of make his ex-girlfriend jealous and then Gianna has had her eyes set on this really like hot guy on campus who is a guitar player he's a musician she thinks that by dating clay she will um you know attract his attention and guitar playing guy will really be into her it does work I will say this fake relationship kind of works for both of them but it's a lot more complicated than that right like you get these two developing feelings for each other as they're supposed to be developing feelings for other people and it is such a delight to watch it's not exactly a revolutionary idea there's actually another book on this list that has a very similar premise but the execution is all candy it is so fun to read I love gems character I loved Clay's character and I loved seeing them develop a sexual relationship together but let me stop gushing and let you know what other people liked about this book you said that you love the character development for clay and the way he treats Gianna and her inexperience is gold this book is everything you want a sports romance and done well as a feminist I feel like I should hate the Trope where the experienced hero teaches the inexperienced heroine simply on principle because I have no desire to have a man Teach me anything especially when my own pleasure is considered but hot damn I love this book clay the hero is a perfect mix of respectful and filthy while Gianna the heroine is one of those characters who's scarily relatable plus he reads her tabbed romance books to figure out what she likes in bed which is how you know he is absolutely a man written by a woman while I can't argue with the fact that Clay is certainly the shed and definitely raises the bar for romance Heroes uh I do think that you should be able to find a partner in real life who can um I don't know read smut and uh listen to your needs so I'm just putting that out there between me and you but let's move on to the next romance we have a classic the score by Elle Kennedy so there are two books on this list from the off campus series by Al Kennedy which I know is widely loved for very good reason she has such a talent when it comes to writing series and getting you to be really hyped about the romances of upcoming Side characters or like romances of Side characters that are upcoming this book is my favorite of the bunch because the hero is pretty stand out so this story is about Ali and Dean so Ali is fresh off of a breakup at the beginning of the story and she's also about to graduate college with not a lot of ideas on what she wants to do and rebound sex with Dean is probably not the brightest move bloody proves too sexy to be turned down after one of passion Ali is super impressed with Dean's skills in the Boudoir but she's not really necessarily looking for a repeat she's definitely going to put Dean firmly in the friend zone but after this you know raucous night of passionate lovemaking Dean is not satisfied with just one night he wants more from Ally and this book is so fun because we have Dean relentlessly but respectfully pursuing Ally and I love that I love a guy who Falls first and a guy who is really intent and knows what he wants Bill said that you love seeing two characters who think they would never be good together find out that they're actually perfect for each other it's the perfect mix of angst and fluff and Beyond her I also like how this one isn't so traditional in terms of the sports plotline Dean isn't like dying to go pro or whatever most other sports characters try and do someone else said that they love the entire off-campus series but the third book is by far their favorite couldn't agree more I absolutely love Dean and Ali's relationship and getting to see them both grow as characters in the first book of the series Dean comes off as such an entitled guy but when I read the score I loved getting to see he really has a heart of gold this book also really shocked me with the grief representation that we got from all the characters involved overall I just have so so much love for the series and these characters oh and also Dean delaurentis um I will say yes there definitely is grief representation in this book so if that's something you're sensitive to or if you don't want to read about um people who are dealing with grief head on I totally understand why this book might not be the perfect pick for you but I really love the way it was handled and I also really loved again that this book had so many sexy lighthearted moments but also again that like signature combination of light-hearted moments with kind of harder hitting real life issues that Al Kennedy seems to do so so well so this book is definitely worth a read next up we have a another male male romance on this list he did rivalry by Rachel Reed so what I'm learning from this list and I think this is something that I've already talked about at this point is that a lot of the popular stuff on this list is stuff that I have not read in ages I actually read this book for the first time back in 2019 and it is the only time that I've read this book that I am definitely due for a reread because I do remember having such fond memories of this book I think at the time I called this my favorite sports Romance of all time maybe my favorite male male Romance of all time because it really does enemies to lovers in a way that I think is different than a lot of other books this book is about our two main characters Shane and Ilya they are both really really famous NHL players on Rival teams the media has kind of pitted these two against each other and this rivalry is very very real it's not just played up for the media they both don't like each other pretty much at all and anytime they come into contact there's like they butt heads for sure until one day the head butting definitely turns into something fueled by more than just hatred and so you have this delicious relationship between the two of them that is definitely very real with the enemies lovers component but is also you know Complicated by the fact that they're very attracted to each other so over a 10-year span they're having sex and sort of avoiding the feelings part of their relationship and you get to see them fighting on the ice fighting sexually and then also like fighting their feelings for each other and it is just such a fun progression to see I know that everybody has a different I guess view of enemies to lovers I think some people in the reviews I saw called this a rival still ever situation and the only real enemies lovers is in fantasy and I think it's all semantics honestly to me as long as there is a you know definite progression between them hating each other to them like each other it's all enemies to letters to me I don't really care that much it doesn't have to be that intense but this book is intense and I did actually really really enjoy that aspect of the book let's hear what y'all had to say I feel like this book is the first book I've read that completely Nails the rivals enemies to lovers Trope in my opinion couldn't agree more many people have different opinions on what a Rivals delivers around me it should look like but for me a perfect rival silverfish romance is more like a Rivals with benefits to lovers the tension in this book is literally chef's kiss the way the characters interact while still being enemies but also having sex in secret at the same time is absolutely perfect I also love the way they slowly develop actual feelings for each other it doesn't feel rushed or weird and unlike many other enemies to love your stories the tension doesn't disappear as soon as they fall in love which is so true I think that's something that I really really loved about this book is that even when they are like regularly having sex you still feel like there is more at stake there because they haven't developed that like love for each other yet someone else said that they actually read this book on a complete whim when they saw my review of it show up on Goodreads and absolutely devoured it in one day I've reread it since then and live it just as much every time it's an all-time fave Aaliyah and Jane have the perfect Dynamic The Angst is everything the conflict is everything it also has the whole saying I love you accidentally in my native language thing which may not be a thing but God it made me melt I want everyone to read and love this book and then lastly what's more Sports romance than two NHL Rivals falling into bed with each other in their rookie year and then following them for 10 years as they fall in love and earn their happily ever after this book does such a good job pacing out the romance it manages to make a 10-year Affair and never gets stale we see the main characters grow and mature while watching their feelings grow from competitive lusts to committed love the characterization of these two is also super strong they're so Charming in their own way but with those puzzle piece flaws that allow them to complement each other so well I mean y'all said it better than I ever could y'all are making me want to reread this book and I think that is part of the charm of this video is like getting to hear people really hype up the romances that they love oh also say hi to honey I am babysitting my sister's cats for spring break so we've got new co-stars in in the videos but let's move on to the next romance next up we have I think maybe the newest title on this list and it's I think the book I've read most recently give or take um we have Icebreaker by Hannah Grace so I read this book back in November and I think I read this book at the perfect time in this book's life cycle I think lately books have been going through a very particular life cycle with the Advent of book talk book talk tends to really hype up books then people will read them and maybe be disillusioned or like maybe the book doesn't live up to their expectations so then you see a lot of criticism for a book and a lot of like pushback and then the book and the hype just kind of dies down for a little bit and then you either have like a Resurgence of the book or you have like new people reading the book that have no expectations who end up loving it so things repeat things go through cycles and I think I picked this book up at the perfect time because it was going through that like critique cycle I hadn't really seen this book hyped up I'm not really a Bookshop girly like I'm not on book talk I don't get my recommendations from there but I knew that this book was really really hyped going into it and that a lot of people were like disappointed by it and I think that made for a very enjoyable reading experience because I thought this book was a whole lot of fun this book is about our two main characters Anastasia and Nathan anesthesia is a I'm just going to say hockey player she's an ice skater and Nathan is a hockey player and both of their respective teams uh have to share an ice rink together and after a series of events in which Nathan is not like kicked off of the hockey team necessarily um but I don't know through a series of events he ends up becoming the hairs figure skater to Anastasia she kind of has to teach him how to go from just being a simple hockey player to a amazing Paris figure skater um I feel like I mean I pulled this synopsis directly from Goodreads but I don't feel like the synopsis really does the book a whole lot of credit like the the plots are definitely more complex than that but I think that's okay so this book is kind of a semi enemies to lovers situation with a fair amount of smut and a lot of Side characters the latter of which is something that I know that people will complained about I think the two main complaints I saw with this book were that there were too many Side characters and that got confusing and that the writing style didn't work for people and for me I didn't really have issues with either which I appreciate the only thing thing that I didn't love was the fact that there were maybe a few too many subplots in this story if it had like played out exactly as I told you in the synopsis I think I would have been very happy there are some like other elements that come in that kind of irritated me that being said I just still had a really fun time with this one and I probably will be picking up book two but let's hear what y'all had to say because I know that y'all have some very strong feelings about this book first up all the gooeyness you could want in a romance and the communication between characters to back it up I haven't finished it yet so I can't speak on if there's a stupid third act conflict but I can already tell this is going to be one of my favorite books of the year there's just something about a golden retriever cinnamon roll guy that gives me major heart eyes someone else really loved the well-rounded plot with found family elements the romance was to die for she is grumpy and he is all Sunshine well done jealousy Trope Force proximity I loved how the main characters communicated so well not to mention the spice do not let this cover fool you some of the best funny scenes that I've ever read and then lastly grumpy girl goes to therapy and a man that does not hesitate to get on his knees this feels like gen Z is finally starting to get published and I am living for it got our main man and his group of friends repping healthy male relationships one is by slash queer one is I think supposed to be autistic one is in a wheelchair and none of these things are their entire personality the side characters feel like real people not just opportunities to add some diversity for the sake of saying it's there I adored this and I do have to say I really did love the side characters in this book yes there are many of them but they were all unique and all fun to read about and I do want to see their romances so I really liked this book it's not a super serious one I mean there are some serious issues in there but for the most part it's just a fun New adult romance all right before we drown in the sea of Mariana's Zapata Slow Burn let's talk about the sports romance that kind of started it all in my eyes the deal by Elle Kennedy it's the first book in off campus series and it is an oldie but a goodie our main character Hannah in this book is convinced that there is something wrong with her because she has a little bit of sexual baggage she wants to have sexual feelings for a man she wants to find the perfect guy to bang but it is not until recently where she has found someone that is like worthy of of her attentions right but there's an obstacle in the way for her in the form of the captain of the hockey team she needs to tutor in exchange for a pretend date to make the guy that she likes jealous so the premise for this book is very similar to Blindside by candy Steiner there are honestly dozens of sports romances that feel very similar to this one in terms of like the the tutor and the you know captain of the football team sort of situation but definitely between blind side and the deal there is like a lot of difference in terms of like how the plots play out and just how they're written I mean I wouldn't say read them back to back or anything but I think you could definitely read and enjoy both of these books like I mentioned for the score I really like that L Kennedy is so Adept at blending heart and humor it's one of the first books that I ever read that was set in college and I think it's the first sports romance that I ever read and it really got me down the path of just like totally following Hook Line and Sinker for sports romances there's just so much opportunity when you're able to tell a story about a team because then there's like you know ripe opportunity for you to write books about other team members and also just fun seeing other people like kind of around the main characters and kind of rooting them on so let's hear from you all about what you enjoyed about this book it's definitely the first hockey romance I ever read and it definitely stirred something within me this is a fun romance and it doesn't waste time once Hannah realizes she likes Garrett and not the other guy anymore we move on previous Crush isn't used as an annoying plot device for why they can't be together and I also love that Elle Kennedy makes fun of third act breakup within the book someone else said that this is one of their favorite sports romances it stood out to them because there was a tangible attraction but other than that there was so much chemistry the way the protagonist interacted with each other had them grooning and swooning because everything was so believably constructed chef's kiss honestly and lastly the banter between Hannah and Garrett is just so good I love how they start with a friendship and it grows to romance it felt really organic throughout which can be hard to do unfortunately it didn't make me care about hockey but that's really not the point and you know what that is very true I will say this is the first hockey romance I've ever read and I don't think I have seen a single hockey game since finishing this book however uh if you say it's a hockey romance sign me the up because Al Kennedy has conditioned me to believe that all hockey romances are gonna be fine so hats off to her for that all right now let's get freaky but in a Slow Burn Way with our queen of Slow Burn Miss Mariana Zapata she is by far and away the most popular sports romance author I guess I wasn't expecting that result I definitely did expect to see some of her Sports romances on this list but I did not expect that the top three romances like the most submitted the most voted for romances on this list all three of them would be Mariana Zapata books but you know what that's fine I get it the girlies love Slow Burn so let me walk you through them first up we have culti this book is about a professional women's soccer player named Sal who fall goals for her assistant coach call team culty is a famous former soccer player who has a bit of a reputation for being a little bit of an and Sal knows this better than anyone because he culty had sort of a weird run-in with our main character's older brother who is also a soccer player so the book is spent with Sal and culty kind of I don't want to say fighting their feelings for each other the feelings don't come until much later into the book but they kind of trade barbs and then also trade kind gestures back and forth throughout the course of the story he helps her become a better soccer player he helps her stand up for herself and she in return um like helps him be a normal human being which I really really enjoyed reading about this gave me all of the like Bend It Like Beckham feels um but like fleshed out because I feel like there wasn't there wasn't really a fleshed out relationship in that movie but I desperately wanted there to be this I think might be my favorite sports Romance by Mariana Zapata I actually reread it recently for this video because it's the first book I read by her and I never reread it so I was like oh are my feelings is going to hold up and for the most part they did I will say I think the first time I read this book it gave it five stars I think upon reflection maybe like four and a half Stars the ending of this book just really does it for me I really love this book so y'all said this book felt like a great betrayal of a relationship with fully developed characters and realistic everyday conflict having the female main character be the main sports aspect also separated this from other more recent new adult sports romances and you know what you're right I I feel like a lot of the sports romances we read the heroine is not a part of the team now that I'm thinking about it though I think in the first book in that candy signer series The Red Zone rivalry series that first book does have a uh female football player so I need to go back and read that but that is that is a good point because that is a very rare thing to see in our Sports romance someone else said the French lovers was just Immaculate the way we got to see them doing mundane things like face masks or playing soccer together was just so swoony and they just love a slow burn and you know what I think a lot of you all do lastly I've recently gotten into sports romance and I've been having such a hard time finding a book that hits the emotional build up in a relationship along with fleshed outside character and actual information and seeds regarding the sport but culti gave me all that and more I loved the female Mainland character's relationships not just with culty but with her teammates and especially with her dad and I will say that is a standout part of this book I do think in some of Mariana Zapata's other books for the most part the heroines tend to have estranged relationships with their family or like deceased family members I don't know but this book definitely has like a good familial relationship situation and I really did like love the relationship between Sal and her dad and also um her dad and culty so sweet love this book it is it's a classic for a reason next up we have from Lugoff with love I couldn't decide on my favorite of Marietta Zapata's um Sports romances but I do think it's between from Lugoff with love and cruelty for me personally they're just both so phenomenal this one's actually an ice skating romance and ice skating is definitely something that I'm always going to pick up when it comes to a sports romance so this one's not a classic scenario where you have a like male hockey player who becomes a Paris figure skater we have an experienced Paris figure skater in our hero and we have a I would say a semi-failed singles figure skater and our main character Jasmine so Jasmine is kind of at the end of her career as a singles figure skater she's not had a lot of luck because she has a little bit of a mental block I believe when it comes to some of the more challenging elements of figure skating instead of hanging up her skates she gets the opportunity to work with lukov who is I believe the owner of her ice skating rinks son he's pretty wealthy he definitely has a bit of an attitude and a little bit of an arrogance to him and Jasmine's just really not sure that she wants to work with him neither of them have liked each other and they've known each other for quite a while and they have to kind of team up in kind of a forced proximity situation to you know work on their skills and become eligible for the Olympics so it was so fun to read because again for spark somebody I think is so crucial in a good sports romance you want to see these two characters have to interact and have to kind of like fight through their feelings for each other so that they can work towards a common goal and I also think if you really love a caretaking situation where maybe one person hates the other but one of them is sick and needs to be taken care of you're gonna love this I really loved that element of the story it's just a fun read and it's one that I need to reread soon to figure out if I love culty or this one better let's hear what gel had to say Ivan and Jasmine just were the perfect enemies to lovers they did for me with the hating game field to do someone else said I love a good enemies to love her story especially with two very competitive stubborn people skating is a sport I don't follow in real life but devour in books working together as partners requires so much closeness trust and passion what more could we want for a sports romance and lastly while I don't typically enjoy this author's writing style I do adore everything about this book Ivan and Jasmine are just deep complex characters with complicated backstories Myriad relationships and history with one another that makes the story that much more compelling combining that with the figure skating aspect which is severely underrepresented in the sports romance genre had me on the edge of my seat because I wasn't just rooting for them as a couple but also for them as a team there's just something extra magical about hate to love romance where both characters are aware of the other's Excellence not just of their flaws honestly I think I need to make you all write the scripts for my videos because y'all are so good at telling me why you love books that was killer alright lastly let's talk about everyone's favorite Mariana Zapata Romance the one that really I mean by and large had like the most amount of votes the wall of Winnipeg and me all right so I'll admit I read this book for the first time right after finishing cold tea it just didn't hit nearly as hard for me so I recently decided to reread this book I'm actually halfway through my reread I didn't get to finish it for this video but I think upon reread I am having similar feelings this time around that I did the first time which is to say that I think sometimes with a slow burn romance especially Mariana Zapatas it can be challenging to I guess walk the line between a grumpy hero and then an and I think in this particular circumstance I think Adrian kind of Falls more into the side of things than the grumpy hero side of things but a lot of people apparently disagree with me uh this book's about our main character who is Canadian but he plays football in America and unfortunately because of some situations with his Visa I don't know exactly how it works he needs to marry someone so that he is able to continue to play football in the States and who better to do that than his former personal assistant Vanessa so he asks Vanessa begs her really to marry him they get married in Vegas and then now they have to like kind of pretend to be married for five years so this man can continue to play the sport he loves and in exchange our heroine is going to get her student loans paid off which I feel like is so relatable I think if someone came up to me and was like hey do you want to fake a marriage to get your student loans paid off I'd say I'd say yes with no hesitation I like the setup for this book I do think that the idea behind it is super fun and I thought that I'd like this one more because it focuses on a sport that I love the most which is football but I just again I didn't totally love Adrian and um you know maybe my tune will change as I get farther into it Mariana Zapata book I tend to change my tune a little bit especially 50 mark on because her stuff you know before that like for the 50 work not much is happening so we shall see but let's hear what y'all have to say because so so many of y'all love this book honestly I didn't believe that I liked Slow Burn before I started reading Mariana Zapata I love the way you get to know Aiden character so slowly and how you see Aiden and Vanessa develop this wonderful connection also finally someone who actually seems to think about all of the consequences of a fake marriage before agreeing to it someone else said that a lot of authors don't seem to be able to handle the fine line between having a grumpy main character and one that's an absolute dick anymore okay I'll let you have it but they all can look to Aiden Graves as the blueprint I started this book not being able to stand Eden just like Vanessa every interaction and every thoughtful gesture Mariana Zapata really shows us how much Aiden cares for a Vanessa and vice versa it's everything also with Aiden not being much of a talker his lines just hit harder touch my wife again and I'll break every bone in your goddamn body sir and you know what I'll let you have that one okay I'll let you have it in comparison to Zapata's other books The Slow Burn really worked for me I really felt the yearning between the characters and the slow reveal of how much he has loved her all along was everything to me I also enjoy that Aiden is more of a grump because in all of my suspension of disbelief when reading romance I just cannot picture a charismatic and outgoing movie star or sports star not being a total in the World of Sports romance this has got to be the goat now we'll have to agree to disagree on that note but you know I definitely can appreciate y'all's excitement and love of this particular book and all of the books on this list almost all of these books I love but even for the ones that I don't I can totally see how other people could love them and um they'll just make great points people are fantastic at this so those are the 10 best sports romances of all time according to you so many of these again are not only my favorite sports romances but also some of my favorite romances of all time so I hope you were able to find at least one book on this list to give a try like I said at the beginning of this video I have such a fun time filming these and I don't want to stop here so I've decided that I am going to continue on with this video idea where I gain subscriber recommendations for a particular uh sub genre or particular Trope and I'm going to actually start moving into the Trope territory so instead of just like telling you the best contemporary romances of all time we're gonna talk about the best enemies to lovers romances of all time this corresponds pretty perfectly with the series that I'm doing on my channel where I pick a particular book Trope and read like five or six books in a week in that particular Trope to see like which Trope is the best and you know it just got me curious like what are the best books within a Trope right like I'm I'm picking the books based on a couple of different people's recommendations but I want to see like time and again what are the best enemy slivers romances right like I think this this video series is a good way to explore that so if you would like to participate and submit a book for consideration for the enemies to lovers like best most popular whatever I am going to leave a Google form in the description down below completely Anonymous give me the title of the book the author's name and then also why you loved the book you can skip that latter part if you want to but I would love to know why you love the book so that way maybe you could be featured in the you know subscribers tell me part of the video there are a couple additional instructions on the form itself mostly uh just please don't submit any why a titles or why a adjacent titles like please just know Sarah J Maas love her um I don't really need any sjm books for an enemies lovers recommendation video thanks so much for watching this video I hope you were able to find a recommendation uh in the comments down below let me know if you have any other great Sports romance recommendations so that whoever comes to this video whether it's tomorrow or 10 years from now you can find even more uh Sports romances to love I love you all so much thanks so much for watching and until next time thank you\n"