What Makes 'Blue Lock: The Only Midfielder' Unique Among Sports Novels?

She is focused, disciplined, and determined to survive her first year at university. He is reckless, irresistible, and the most notorious athlete on campus. When fate throws them together, sparks fly and rules are broken. Falling for the bad boy athlete was never part of her plan, but resisting him could cost her everything. Secrets, rivalries, and a dangerous attraction push them to the edge. Can love survive when their worlds are at war?

Meet Madison Lane, a passionate sports journalist with a heart as resilient as the toughest hockey puck. When she's assigned to cover the upcoming championship series, Madison never expected that her professional life would collide with the rugged world of the Coldridge Icebreakers. The very man she cannot stand for his man whorish ways is to be the centerpiece of her coverage, when she has to cover him 24/7 AND move in with him. Alex Stone the man whore of the hockey scene has no time for a sports journalist living in his back pocket, especially not one that he can't take his eyes off and control himself with. She is everything he doesn't want in his life besides, she is becoming his biggest distraction. But when a fake dating scheme orchestrated by the team's public relations team throws Madison and Alex into a whirlwind of media attention, their worlds collide. They're forced to show the world they are a couple. Will their fake relationship become blurred around the edges and become the real thing?

One rule, the golden fucking rule of Apex Crest Academy, don’t get noticed by Knox Cole. The day I broke it, the moment I stood up and defended my best friend. Knox Cole noticed me. I became his target. A possession. Marked by the devil himself. *** Being a scholarship kid didn’t help Finn’s case in a prestigious school like Apex Crest Academy. In a world where money, power and secrets are tools of exchange, Finn finds himself lost, trying to navigate through the tunnels of attention, fame and lust. ​ The plan was simple: get a decree and fight his way into an Ivy League College. But destiny and fate don’t always play by the rules. All it took was a minute of bravery, and Finn was doomed. ​ Knox Cole doesn’t accept escape routes. Hockey captain, an untouchable legacy. Knox doesn’t ask; he takes, controls, and when he is done, he ruins. When Finn stands up to him, challenging his authority, Knox doesn’t destroy. He plots. He watches. ​ The school bends, closing in on Finn, making his world slowly dark. Knox offers a way out, a deal wrapped in danger. ​ How would Finn fight the man who breaks him, yet gives him kisses that make him want to never be saved? When the closet opens, and secrets spill, will Finn stand, or will he run to save the one dream he has always had? ​ Finn must decide: survive the boy that had chosen him, or surrender to something darker, scarier. ​ Because in Knox’s world, love isn’t given. It is taken, controlled.

I’m Oliver Lance. Yes, the Oliver Lance. The one that all men want to be and all women want to be with. Every Sunday a million fans watch me throw a ball down a field, win games, and sign huge endorsement deals. Everything was going perfectly, until a car accident tore it all away from me. I want it back, and only she can help me. At first, I think about ‘Doc’ Elsie the same way I think of every other woman. Just another possible conquest, another notch on my bedpost. Only Elsie is different. She’s not starstruck by me. She’s not interested in my money. She’s the most real woman I’ve ever met, and those tempting curves are making it hard to stay focused on my recovery. Now, I’ll do anything to keep her by my side. I’ll defy my manager, my coach, even lay down my career as quarterback to stay with her. It’s third and long, and I’m gonna make my play Hard and Deep. From New York Times bestselling author Krista Lakes comes this sexy story of sports romance!

My name is Christian Thompson, and once upon a time, I was the best striker in European football. That was until he came along—Ashford Ryder, young and carefree, 10 years my junior and the new shining star. I hate him. At least that's what I tell myself. Not just because he's taken my spot, but because he's everything I've struggled all my life to be, and not to be. He's vibrant, he's happy, and the worst of all, he's openly gay. I'm not homophobic, quite the opposite—I've lived in the closet all my life. All my life, I've had to hide who I am to please the people around me. European football hasn't always been this accepting of gay men, and I'd squeezed myself into a box to fit in with what they wanted of me. It isn’t that hard when you think about my family who'd rather disown me than have an openly gay son. So imagine how I feel when the world decides to be more accommodating to people like Ashford Ryder when they shoved me in a box. It's not so easy to hate the happy-go-lucky striker, when he does everything to get close to me, despite my insistent hatred for him. He's like a thorn in my side—a hot, sexy, blonde, 5ft9 thorn I can't stop thinking about. But when one day I lose my cool around the popular striker and land myself in bad press, I end up needing his help. It's supposed to be easy. Spend some time with Ashford Ryder, and show our fans that we can work together—it's what I need to do to save my career. But no one tells you how hard it is to hate someone you spend every waking hour dreaming about.

The night before the World Cup, Reid Callister made a post on social media. In the photo, he wore a Portugal jersey and was smiling at the woman beside him. He had written something sweet: [Officially done with Argentina. It's all Ronaldo from here.] Our mutual friends all went quiet. Everyone knew that the night Argentina won the championship four years ago, he had cried in my arms until dawn. That was also the night he slipped a ring onto my finger. He said, "Messi got his fairy tale. Let's go get ours." Someone in the comments section asked what happened to his Messi obsession. He replied, "I was young and stupid back then. Now, I know who's worth rooting for." I stared at the post for a long time. I did not comment. I just set down the divorce papers on the coffee table. Before I left for my flight, I tucked the ring into the pocket of his blue-and-white jersey. This time, I would not be watching the game with him.