The Deal by Elle Kennedy is about a boy named Garrett Graham. He’s the hotshot hockey player on campus but much smarter than people think. So, he has to keep up a certain GPA to be eligible to play hockey. Hannah has a huge crush on a football player in their class and has had difficulty finding guys who like to make her feel good. She likes football players. She keeps her on him during class and is constantly aware when he’s in the room, but she doesn’t talk to him.
So Garrett decides to ask her for help on his final because of the midterm retake because he has to bring up his grade to play hockey. He’s the team captain and a junior, and they like the entire championships thing. So he wants to take his team there again as the captain, as a junior, and he needs good grades. They all have their own thing, and they all develop, and their relationships develop.
Books like The Deal explore the emotional complexities of relationships, providing insights into human behavior and the intricacies of love. If you found the emotional aspects of “The Deal” rewarding, similar books offer even more perspectives to ponder. The college or young adult settings are environments you can relate to, making the story feel closer to home. It’s easier to put yourself in the characters’ shoes and consider how you would act in similar situations.
10 Books Like The Deal (Sports Romance)
In The Deal, Hannah works off-campus because her family isn’t very well off. She has something that happened to her where she never wants to return home. The one time she went back home, her dad ended up in jail because of something that happened, so she flew her parents to her or met up at their aunt’s house.
Then, she has to keep her grades up, so her life is rough. Hannah wanted nothing to do with Garrett, and then they started to hang out more and became friends. I am going to discuss ten romance books similar to The Deal. These books center around characters at transitional points in their lives, grappling with questions about identity, career, and relationships. Reading about characters who are growing and changing can be inspiring and thought-provoking. Let’s go!
1. The Bombshell Effect
This romantic book is about Allie, who inherits a professional football team from her father. When she returns to her late mom’s house, she meets her jerk neighbor, Luke, the quarterback on her football team. They try to be polite with each other at work, but behind closed doors, it’s an entirely different story like The Deal.
Allie has a powerful will, even though she knows nothing about football. She’s tried to be seen as much more than a pretty face. You will like the sparks flying between them, the pooling and pushing that keeps you wanting to read until the end.
Author: Karla Sorensen
Average Rating: 4.5/5
Category: Contemporary Sports Romance
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle | Audio CD
2. Focused
This book in the Ward Sisters series will be a four-book series following the Four Sisters of the story. The marriage effect introduces the girls, who will be the main characters in the Ward Sister series, showing a family dynamic. The marriage fact also introduces the two love interests in this book, Molly and Noah. They show what happened to them when they were younger, and they’re dynamic together before you get in here.
So, this book takes place when Molly is older. She has a job, and she’s part of the H.R. department. Noah was a younger college football athlete and a huge defensive player. Then, in this series, they reconnect, and Molly’s trying to do her job, be serious, and stay away from Noah. It’s a mix of hate-to-love romance and a friends-to-lovers romance similar to The Deal.
Author: Karla Sorensen
Average Rating: 4.5/5
Category: Romantic Comedy & Sports
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
3. The Marriage Effect
The Marriage Effect is book three and the last book in the Washington Wolves series. You do not have to read the rest of the books to read this book. It’s an NFL football romance, so it’s a made-up NFL team. The author writes in three different books three different plots of how an NFL player and a woman get together and their life like a glimpse of their life afterward and everything.
This book is about Paige and Logan. Paige is a retired model, and she’s redheaded and beautiful. She was on Sports Illustrated. Allie is the team owner, and they’re best friends. That’s how Paige is with the team. So her aunt, with whom she was close, left her in her will that she needed to marry to get her inheritance. Her inheritance was three million dollars, and Paige was the type of woman she did not want to marry. She’s a strong, independent woman who felt like no one was at her level if that makes sense.
But then we have Logan, a guardian to his four younger sisters. His mom and dad got divorced. So you learn his mom and dad got divorced, and then his dad marries this woman who’s 17 years younger than him because he wants to seem young. So then he has four new kids. Logan’s only option was technical to get married. Then Paige and Logan strike a deal, so they get fake married at first. Then it’s all about that, and it turns into a relationship. The plot and characters are matched with The Deal.
Author: Karla Sorensen
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Category: Sports Romance
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
4. From Lukov with Love
This book is about a girl named Jasmine Santos, and she is pissed. She seems to be at the end of her figure skating career. She’s not getting any awards. All of the notability and recognition goes to Ivan Lukov, the golden boy of the figure skating world. We don’t always like the characters initially, but we see the growth throughout the story.
Jasmine is well known for not working well with others, but she works with Ivan Lukov. It starts as this enemy-to-lovers thing, and they butt heads. Mariana did such a beautiful job of gradually getting to that romance, but there was something stilted about how they ended up becoming together. This book goes on for months and months. Together, they become friends, and they start as enemies. They’re clashing with each other, and their romance theme is similar to The Deal.
Author: Mariana Zapata
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Category: Contemporary Romance On Sports
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
5. The Villain
Like The Deal, The Villain is an age gap with many good tropes. We follow Persephone and Cillian Fitzpatrick. Persephone has always had a crush on Cillian, and the problem is it felt one-sided. He never acknowledged her presence. She felt like he was always focused on her sister, Belle. Persephone has a bit of a situation at one of her friend’s weddings where she accidentally poisons herself and has to rescue her.
Skip flashes back to Cillian running his family’s oil business years later, and Persephone struggles. She’s married, and her husband has skipped town with many debts she must pay. She’s been threatened and physically assaulted because she has to pay $ 100,000, which she does not have.
Cillian has his issues. He has to marry someone to secure his place as the CEO of his company and please his parents to get an heir for their billion-dollar business to secure his place in the company. He lists people he wants to marry because he knows he doesn’t date. Persephone is a kindergarten teacher. She tries to help Cillian. It was enemies to love, but this was pining.
Author: L.J. Shen
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Category: Romantic Suspense
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
6. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
This book features love, redemption, and the power of choice. It challenges the idea that love can transform a person, questioning how much one can change for the sake of love.
Setting: The story predominantly occurs on a college campus, much like “The Deal.”
Characters: Abby is a good girl with a troubled past, and Travis is the college bad boy. Their chemistry is undeniable, leading to a relationship between intensely passionate and volatile.
If you enjoyed “The Deal,” you’ll likely find “Beautiful Disaster” intriguing because of its compelling characters and intense emotional rollercoaster. However, the relationship dynamics can be polarizing for some readers.
7. Wait for You by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Wait for You explores emotional healing, self-forgiveness, and the timing of love. Set in a college environment, the book follows a similar backdrop to “The Deal,” adding a sense of familiarity.
Characters: Avery has a traumatic past that she’s running from, while Cam is charming but has his own set of issues. The book focuses on their emotional growth as much as their budding relationship.
If you appreciated the emotional depths of the characters in “The Deal,” “Wait for You” offers a similarly engaging romance combined with complex backstories.
8. Easy by Tammara Webber
Easy deals with consent, sexual assault, and healing and empowerment.
Setting: Like “The Deal,” it’s set on a college campus and tackles issues that can be prevalent in such environments.
Characters: Jacqueline and Lucas have secrets and traumas but find strength and healing through their relationship.
This book provides a compelling romance and tackles serious social issues. It’s a deeper read that still maintains a captivating love story.
9. Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
This book discovers sexual identity, friendship, and second chances are central to this story.
Setting: The backdrop combines a summer hockey camp and college life.
Characters: Jamie and Wes were childhood best friends who reunite and must confront their past and evolving feelings for each other.
If you enjoyed the sports and college elements in “The Deal,” “Him” offers a heartfelt LGBTQ+ romance set against a similar backdrop.
10. Losing It by Cora Carmack
The story focuses on the societal pressures around virginity, growing up, and taking control of one’s life.
Setting: College life forms the primary backdrop, making it relatable to “The Deal.”
Characters: Bliss is a theater major trying to take charge of her life, while Garrick is a mature and attractive British theater professor.
This book adds a taboo element by exploring a student-teacher relationship but remains a light and amusing read.
Each of these books offers something that fans of “The Deal” may enjoy, whether it’s the college setting, emotional depth, or complex characters. By branching out into similar titles, you can enrich your reading experience while discovering new authors and stories you love.
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