Book list · 13 books
The Best Hockey Romance Books, From Sweet to Very Spicy
Big guys, cold rinks, and a lot of feelings in the penalty box. Here are 13 hockey romance books ordered from sweetest to spiciest, with tropes, a spice rating and content notes for every one.
By Melanie Juarez
2 min read · Updated Oct 2026
The short answer
Start with The Deal by Elle Kennedy: a tutoring deal, a fake relationship and a hockey captain who's sweeter than he looks. Want MM? Heated Rivalry is the rivals-to-lovers favorite, and it's very spicy. Prefer something gentler? The Year We Fell Down is warm, funny and lighter on the heat.
Quick picks
Best first hockey romanceThe Deal · Elle Kennedy
Best rivals to loversHeated Rivalry · Rachel Reid
Sweetest on the listThe Year We Fell Down · Sarina Bowen
Hockey romance is sports romance on ice: a player (or two), a season with real stakes, and a love story that keeps getting in the way of practice. The books split roughly into college hockey, where it's parties and exams and team houses, and the pros, where it's road trips, press and much bigger egos. (Picking your next read by trope? Here's how a blind date with a book works, too.)
We've ordered this list from sweetest to spiciest. Fair warning: hockey romance rarely closes the bedroom door, so even the start of the list has some heat. Every book has our spice rating, its main tropes and content notes you can open or skip.
The full list
Corey was supposed to start college on the women's hockey team. Instead she arrives in a wheelchair, across the hall from Adam Hartley, a star hockey player hobbling around on a badly broken leg.
If you liked: Him, Game Changer
Content notes
Spinal cord injury and disability, sexual content.
Pro hockey star Scott Hunter is convinced a smoothie broke his slump, so he keeps going back to the juice bar for another. Mostly for Kip, the funny guy who makes them.
If you liked: Heated Rivalry, Him
Content notes
Closeted athlete, homophobia in pro sports, sexual content.
On his first day with the brand-new Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo Trevi finds out the team's publicist is Georgia, the ex he never stopped loving. She'd like to keep things strictly professional.
If you liked: The Year We Fell Down, Behind the Net
Content notes
Sexual content.
Can't decide?
Let us pick your next romance
Pick romance and we'll hand-pick a brand-new book, wrap it so you can't peek, and tuck in snacks, stickers and a bookmark. You can rule out themes you'd rather skip, and switch genres any month.
Jamie and Ryan were inseparable at hockey camp until a drunken bet on their last night ended the friendship. Four years later, their college teams are about to meet at the national championship.
If you liked: Game Changer, The Deal
Content notes
Coming out, homophobia, explicit sex.
Hannah wants her crush to notice her. Hockey captain Garrett Graham needs a tutor or he's off the team. So they strike a deal: she gets him through his exam, he helps make her crush jealous.
If you liked: The Chase, Icebreaker
Content notes
Sexual assault in backstory, an abusive parent in backstory, explicit sex.
Summer Di Laurentis moves into a house full of Briar hockey players, including Colin Fitzgerald, a tattooed, video-gaming defenseman who has decided she's shallow and has made it clear he's not interested.
If you liked: The Deal, The Graham Effect
Content notes
Explicit sex.
Gigi Graham wants a spot on the women's national team and a life outside her famous father's shadow. To level up, she needs help from Luke Ryder, Briar's rude new co-captain and her sworn rival.
If you liked: The Chase, Collide
Content notes
Explicit sex.
Summer Preston, an honors student set on becoming a sports psychologist, gets an ultimatum from her thesis advisor that puts her in the path of hockey captain Aiden Crawford. He confirms every worst assumption she has.
If you liked: The Graham Effect, Icebreaker
Content notes
Explicit sex.
Pippa takes a job as assistant to Vancouver goalie Jamie Streicher, the grumpy guy she crushed on in high school. He can't seem to stand her. Then he insists she move in.
If you liked: Mile High, Rookie Move
Content notes
Explicit sex.
Stevie is the new flight attendant on the Chicago hockey team's private plane. Zanders, the league's favorite player to hate, decides to make her quit by the end of the season.
If you liked: Behind the Net, Pucked
Content notes
Explicit sex.
Figure skater Anastasia Allen is training for a shot at Team USA. Then a facilities mix-up forces her to share the rink with the hockey team and its captain, Nate Hawkins.
If you liked: The Deal, Collide
Content notes
Explicit sex.
Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are the two biggest stars in hockey and built their careers on beating each other. Off the ice, they've been secretly hooking up for years.
If you liked: Game Changer, Him
Content notes
Very explicit sex, closeted athletes, homophobia in pro sports.
Violet's stepbrother plays pro hockey, and she has zero interest in his teammates. Then she meets Alex Waters, and one night turns into a lot more than she planned.
If you liked: Mile High, Heated Rivalry
Content notes
Very explicit sex, crude humor.
Where to start
If you want to ease in, start with The Year We Fell Down or Game Changer. For the classic college setup, read The Deal, then The Chase or Icebreaker. If you want the pros, try Behind the Net or Mile High. Save Heated Rivalry and Pucked until you're sure you want the spice turned all the way up. And if you'd rather not choose at all, a romance blind date does the picking for you.
How we rate spice
Our spice rating is our own editorial call, from 1 (closed door) to 5 (very explicit). It's about how much is on the page. Most hockey romance sits at 3 or above, so on this list the scale mostly tells you how often and how detailed, not whether.
Questions readers ask
Why are hockey romance books so popular?
What's a good first hockey romance?
Are there MM hockey romance books?
Are there hockey romances without spice?
How do you rate spice?
Are the content notes complete?
Can't decide?
Let us pick your next romance
Pick romance and we'll hand-pick a brand-new book, wrap it so you can't peek, and tuck in snacks, stickers and a bookmark. You can rule out themes you'd rather skip, and switch genres any month.
About the author
Melanie Juarez
Co-founder, Blindly
Melanie is Blindly's co-founder and resident bookmom. She reads every reader's quiz answers and hand-picks each blind date herself, from the family-run Blindly home in California. Nothing makes her happier than matching someone with their next favorite read.
Read Melanie's story →
