I believe March Madness is about the place.

Enjoy these Basketball Romances with some snacks! These romances are hard to find but they are out there!

My lists are never in any particular order. 

1. Smooth Play  by Regina Hart

A passion for the game is what it takes to win. But off the court, it takes a different kind of savvy to heat things up. . .

He's part problem-solver and dream-maker. There's not a crisis he can't avert. And handling the NBA's most explosive team has put PR ace Troy Marshall at the top of his game. It also gives him a chance to give back to the community. But one determined reporter is messing with his flow. And he'll need way more than skill and charm to win this tempting one-on-one. . .

Andrea Benson's instincts tell her that something major is going on behind-the-scenes with this franchise. And a headline story is the only way she can regain the career and good name she let slip away. But Troy's sincerity is throwing her for an unexpected--and very seductive--loop. Can they trust each other enough to uncover the truth. . .or will too many secrets be their breaking point?

2. BB and the 'Baller by L. Langdon

Sara Mosby was a brilliant young history professor at a university near Seattle and loved teaching and her research. Lately, however, her life had turned sour. Several irresponsible students--particularly some athletes--sought to get easy grades by making trouble for her. They complained to her new department chair, who seemed willing to do anything to deny Sara tenure. She was intrigued when a tall handsome man watched one of her classes from the hallway, then asked for direction in a self-study program. Now if she could just keep her mind on History when he smiled at her... Joshua Weathers was a pro basketball player, and the toast of Seattle--constantly in the public eye. Seeking to continue his education, which he had cut short for a basketball career, he chanced upon a dynamic class given by a small, black woman. He was fascinated by her lecture as well as by the woman herself. Could she serve as his mentor? Could she become more?

3. How to Reprimand Your Rock Star by Mina Vaughn

Thea is a star basketball player at UConn on track to be Rookie of the Year. That is, if she can stay focused on the game. Lately that hasn’t been going so well, as her knee has been bothering her. But that’s not the only thing on her mind…

Ever since rock star Keaton Lowe surprised her in the girl’s locker room, Thea can’t stop thinking about him. On top of his status and enticing ways, he seems to know everything about her. But some of his actions cross the line, and Keaton needs to be punished. Will Thea keep her head in the game, or get distracted by her other favorite pastime—reprimanding her rock star?

4. What the Heart Knows by Kathleen Eagle

Thirteen years ago, alone and secretly pregnant, Helen Ketterling left her job as a school teacher on the Bad River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Her summer love affair with Reese Blue Sky had ended abruptly when he left the reservation to pursue his chance at a NBA career.

Now her new position, a dangerous assignment for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Reese's father's sudden death bring them both back to Bad River for a reunion at once fiery and bittersweet. Not only does Helen fear a custody battle if Reese learns that they share a son, but she can't reveal that she's working undercover at the reservation's casino.

And Reese has his own secret--one that ended his basketball career and could endanger his son. While much has changed in the years since he left home, he finds that his roots and his heritage still matter as he reaches for reconciliation with his past. Family ties are the basis of Lakota tradition, and all are threatened by political intrigue and corruption. Was Reese's father murdered because he planned to blow the whistle on the casino's outside management company?

As their investigation into his death leads them down a treacherous path, Reese and Helen struggle to bridge the memories and heartaches of a time when she was an idealistic young teacher and he was a lonely man on the verge of reaching for the stars. They'll have to search deep inside themselves to challenge the doubts that have kept them apart.

5. Playing the Game by Stephanie Queen

Superstar athlete Barry Dennis, needs to get knocked down a peg or two and Roxanne Monet thinks she is the woman to do it–
If she can keep herself out of jail after being accused of murdering her wealthy husband...

Since her disastrous marriage ended, Roxanne has sworn off serious relationships with men. Right now she has more important things to worry about, like being flat broke with no job and accusations of murder hanging over her head.
But when she meets the elite athlete Barry Dennis and he challenges her to a game of seduction, she decides to play ball. But the game turns serious and she unintentionally exposes the legend to be a flawed man.

Barry Dennis realizes too late that he picked the wrong woman to play games with when he decided to flirt with the enigmatic Roxanne. Being the best takes all he has. He can’t afford to let anything or anyone interfere with his first and only priority--Basketball. But as the attraction between him and Roxy heats up, he finds himself losing sight of his life’s game plan.

While the sports world’s microscope is trained on Barry’s game and the media hounds Roxanne about her husband’s mysterious death, the stakes are ratcheted up even higher when Barry’s young daughter, Lindy is injured. Roxanne gives Lindy the attention she needs while Barry struggles to cope with the demands of his new priorities.

Can Roxanne rely on Barry to do more than play ball? She takes the risk and gives him the last thing she owns--her heart.

6. Full Court Press by Mike Lupica

This is what happens when the desperate golden-boy owner of the worst pro basketball team in the world and his equally desperate golden-boy coach do the unthinkable: sign the first woman ever to play in the NBA. Her name is Dee Gerard, the daughter of a New York playground legend and the product of God having an exceptionally good day. A star in Europe, but weary of bad arenas, she retires-until the day a scout for the hapless New York Knights calls his boss: "I found you a point guard who is perfect, except for one thing." What, no heart? "It's not a heart, exactly. But you're close."

The league doesn't want the circus. The other players don't want her. The owner wants fannies in the seats. The sportswriters just want their column inches. What she wants . . . is to play in the best game there is. How she gets there, the hilarious and sobering things that happen to her, the personal and professional entanglements that spring up everywhere, the pitfalls of remaining old-school when all about her are tattooed, self-indulgent, young millionaires-this is the smart, funny, outrageous, wonderful story of Full Court Press.

7. Can't Get Enough of You by Bette Ford

Jenna Gaines has her Ph.D., a great teaching job at her alma mater, everything she ever wanted in life . . . almost. Once upon a time she wanted Scott Hendricks, but the NBA called and he left her to become a hoops star. Now hiscareer is over, and the only man Jenna ever loved is back at her school and in her life—too many years too late, as far as she's concerned.

Jenna would have given up her dreams to follow Scott, which was the last thing he wanted. All Scott can think about now is the taste of her lips and how it feels to caress her silky ebony skin, but Jenna won't give him a second chance to break her heart. She will, however, let him be her backup and support when she reconnects with her long-lost brother.

But anything could happen on their fateful trip—because Scott still has the moves . . . and the magic.

8. Rush to the Altar by Jamie Carie

Madeline Goode is devastated when her husband dies in a car accident. After moving back in with her parents with her two year old son, Max, she attempts to put the pieces of her life back together. But she didn’t plan on meeting Jake Hart, the star NBA player that she keeps bumping into at her new job as a charity coordinator for the Racers. And she certainly didn’t plan on learning that her husband’s accident may have been no accident at all.

Will Jake stick around while her life gets complicated? And if she gives in to her heart, will she just be making another mistake? Rushing to the Altar may be the most daring and risky move of her life.

9. Love Becomes Her by Donna Hill

Fate has one last zinger in store for Barbara Allen. His name is Michael Stevens, he is a basketball millionaire, he's little more than half her age and he wants to spend the night!

Does Barbara dare throw convention to the wind and enjoy her very own boy toy?

It's a decision she'll need the help of her three best friends to make. But as the trio weighs in on whether Barbara should or shouldn't, they come up with an outrageous plan that will mean a life change for them all.

10. In the Paint by Philana Marie Boles

Detroit art gallery assistant Danni Blair is frustrated. Her NBA Detroit Piston boyfriend has been acting shady, she and her best friend end up arguing more than laughing, and her job has been filled with endless drudgery and incompetent co-workers.

When her world suddenly shifts in every way imaginable--her cheating boyfriend breaks up with her and she's fired from her job--Danni goes on an emotional journey that she hopes will reunite her with a love of her life, bring peace to her tumultuous childhood, and reconnect her with her passion for painting.

Want more? I have more! Go to my Goodreads list: Hoops: Basketball Romance. 

Opening Line: "This would go a lot easier if you'd stop screaming in pain," Zoe told the muscular man lying beneath her."

OUT OF THE DARKNESS is the second book in the Offspring series which centers on a group of twenty-something’s who are the children of psychic parents that participated in a government experiment. These “offspring” have for the most part hidden their abilities and are only now discovering that others of their kind exist. Our heroine Zoë is a great character; interesting, wild looking and a tattoo artist who just happens to be able to move objects with her mind. However because Zoë has no control over her powers she’s shut off her emotions to remain a ‘closeted’ telekinetic and not be looked at like some sort of freak.

The first part of this story is super exciting as Zoë’s search into her father’s past sees some scary, gun toting bad guys pursuing her as she takes off into the Florida Keys. Unfortunately as soon as Zoë is rescued by the sexy and mysterious motorcycle man (what happened to him?) and deposited at a modernized bomb shelter where she meets others of her kind, it fell apart for me and I struggled to finish the remainder of this book.

Inside the shelter Zoë is introduced to several other “offspring” in particular Rand who is able to see into the future and likes what he sees with Zoë. Together the group learns to trust each other as they try to locate more of their kind, improve their powers and determine why “Dark Matter” wants them all dead.

Unfortunately this book just didn’t do it for me although in fairness I did buy it on a whim without realizing that it was the second part of a series and I probably would have liked it a whole lot better had I first read A Perfect Darkness and been able to understand the back story and secondary characters better. As it was I was bored with too many bland characters, silly made up slang words (in an attempt at youth and coolness) unnecessary trips out of the shelter to visit grandparents and a romance that took forever to get going.

However all the other reviews I’ve seen have been positive so if you like your paranormal romance with a sci-fi edge, loads of action and some cool chase scenes then you may enjoy Jamie Rush’s unique world of offspring. Cheers!

Clues left by her missing father lead Lyra to a gorgeous, mysterious Caido, a descendent of fallen angels. When she discovers that his brother is also missing, she's determined not to let the exasperating man shut her out.

The last thing Archer needs is an emotional Dragon at his side, especially one whose heat reaches beyond the icy walls he, and all Caidos, must erect for good reason. Working together? Smart. Falling in love? Foolish…and inescapable.

Review

The main romance of this start to a new urban fantasy series is enjoyable if rushed in its development due to the length.

The Angel (Caideo) and Dragon species are nicely developed and we have a good origin story. 

However, overall, I was just confused and because of that disengaged. 

There are others in this world--Deuces and Crescents. I have no idea what they are. In fact, not only are all the other species not detailed, all the side characters are barely developed as well. 

I wish this was known world to humans and not a hidden one. I am tired of the secret society of paranormals stuff. This kind of plot development takes away time from character and plot development.

This writer has talent. I am hoping a longer format gives us more depth and less confusion.

I was given this book for my honest review. So, there you have it!