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Rules of the Game
Series · 6 books · 2019

Books in series

Scoring Chance book cover
#1

Scoring Chance

2019

An NHL hotshot, a beautiful face from his past and a chance meeting at a bachelor party that could change both of their lives. Derek Parker is an NHL left wing hotshot. He’s as smoking hot on the ice as he is off. Women who get close enough can’t deny the heat. Newly divorced, he has no interest in relationships. Cora Locklyn is a face from the past. One Derek didn’t expect to see—half-naked doing a striptease—at his best friend’s bachelor party. She’s a mystery to him. One he can’t keep off his mind. He’s a distraction she doesn’t need. Making money and taking care of her sick mother are her only priorities. When they come together, sparks fly that neither can ignore. Can Derek win Cora's heart and heal from the pain his ex-wife caused him, or will she block his advances and ruin both of their chances at happiness? Fans of Samantha Whiskey and Odette Stone will find their kindles melting from the scorching hot chemistry between Derek and Cora in Scoring Change, a contemporary sports romance novel by USA Today Bestselling author, Emma Tharp! Scroll up and one click to read this high heat hockey romance from the Rules of the Game series today.
Defending Your Heart book cover
#2

Defending Your Heart

2019

He plays defense in the NHL. She’s a pediatrician whose fiancé is cheating on her. When they meet and become friends, will they be able to keep their relationship in the “friend zone?” And can they help heal each other’s past heartache? Just when everything in Alex’s life seems to be falling into place, she gets bad news that shakes her to her core. Her fiancé, NHL star Marcus Reid, has been cheating on her. With multiple women. Cole Shaw plays defense for the Wolverines’ NHL team. He keeps his life simple: play hockey, defend the goal, and don’t worry about relationships or love. It’s not what he wants or needs. That is until his teammate’s fiancée, Alex, asks Cole the truth about what Marcus has been up to behind her back. Alex appreciates Cole’s friendship and begins to feel things for him she knows she shouldn’t. Why would she want to be with another NHL player? They’re only ever looking to score. But Cole proves he’s different. If Marcus, can’t have her, he doesn’t want anyone to get her. Now Cole is at risk of losing his spot on the team. As much as Cole wants more with Alex, he can’t jeopardize everything he’s worked his whole life for. Even though Alex and Cole’s chemistry is ice-melting, can they figure out how to play the game together without losing everything?
Goal on the Rebound book cover
#3

Goal on the Rebound

2019

He’s a big-time player and a goalie in the NHL. She’s divorced and is just getting her life back on track. When she’s in need of a fake boyfriend, could he be the right guy for the job? Bri’s a changed woman. After she caught her husband cheating on her with her best friend, she knew she had to pick herself up, dust herself off, and move on. And that’s exactly what she does. With a new home and a new career, Bri knows she’s finally got her groove back. Teddy is the sexy starting goalie for the Nashville Wolverines. He’s never had a problem finding a woman to keep his bed warm at night and he’s not looking for anything more. Until he meets Bri. It seems like Teddy is the perfect man for the fake boyfriend job, until feelings start creeping in that Bri and Teddy don’t expect. Neither of them is ready to take their relationship to the next level, but sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants. Goal on the Rebound is book three in the Rules of the Game Series by USA Today Bestselling Author, Emma Tharp. Each book in the series can be read as a standalone. This book contains mature content. 18+ Other titles by Emma Tharp: 1.What About Her (The Bluff Harbor Series Book One) 2. What About Us (The Bluff Harbor Series Book Two) 3. Drawn to Dark 4. Keeping It Casual 5. Moving On (McLoughlin Brothers Series Book One) 6. All In (McLoughlin Brothers Series Book Two) 7. Alive Again (McLoughlin Brother Series Book Three) 8. Crashing Christmas: A Billionaire Office Romance 9. Always Just Us (Just Us Book One) 10. Forever Just Us (Just Us Book Two) 11. Scoring Chance (Rules of the Game Book One) 12. Defending Your Heart (Rules of the Game Book Two)
Unsportsmanlike Conduct book cover
#4

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

2019

Wes Jacobsen plays professional hockey for a living. Lydia Crow is a country music singer. They meet and have an instant attraction—but he’s twenty-three and she’s forty-two. Does age really matter in a relationship? Lydia and Wes have a whirlwind romance that lasts six months, but she ends it abruptly—leaving Wes hurt and with unanswered questions. Wes’s MO is to work hard on the ice and play harder off. That is until he meets Lydia, a beautiful woman who grounds him and fulfills him more than any bottle of beer or puck bunny could. It doesn’t take long for Wes’s feelings to develop for her. Lydia wasn’t expecting to have a connection with a man twenty years younger than she is. And when they meet, both agree that a casual relationship is all it would ever be. Until it isn’t. With the odds stacked against them, can a second chance be what they need to make it work this time, or will their differences pull them apart? This book is intended for a mature audience. 18+
Playing Dirty book cover
#5

Playing Dirty

2019

Can a player ever really be redeemed? Marcus Reid is an NHL forward and a big-time playboy. Chloe Williams is a sports journalist. Can Chloe finally be the one to tame this player? Marcus gets traded to the Toronto Cyclones. A new team and a new city—Just what he needs. A fresh start away from his old teammates, his ex-fiancé, and his past. Soon after the move, he meets Chloe. She’s smart, sexy, and damn, can she write a good story. Chloe works hard to make her boss proud and be the best sports journalist she can be. Meeting Marcus Reid and having instant chemistry with him wasn’t in the plan. Everyone knows that sports journalists don’t mess around with athletes. With chemistry that’s off the charts, Marcus and Chloe come up with an arrangement that should be mutually beneficial. Can Chloe be the good luck charm that Marcus needs to get his game and his life back on track? Or will past indiscretions tear away their shot at happiness? This book is intended for a mature audience. 18+ Other titles by USA Today Bestselling Author Emma Tharp: 1. The Bluff Harbor Series Boxed Set 2. What About Us (The Bluff Harbor Series Book Two) 3. Drawn to Dark 4. Keeping It Casual 5. Moving On (McLoughlin Brothers Series Book One) 6. All In (McLoughlin Brothers Series Book Two) 7. Alive Again (McLoughlin Brother Series Book Three) 8. Crashing Christmas: A Billionaire Office Romance 9. Always Just Us (Just Us Book One) 10. Forever Just Us (Just Us Book Two) 11. Scoring Chance (Rules of the Game Book One) 12. Defending Your Heart (Rules of the Game Book Two) 13. Goal on the Rebound (Rules of the Game Book Three) 14. Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Rules of the Game Book Four)
A New Season book cover
#6

A New Season

2019

Nick Parker was just drafted into the NHL—following in his father’s footsteps. Loralei Shaw is a sexy software engineer that came back home for a fresh start. They’re friends who haven’t seen each other since that night four years ago… Nick Parker has played hockey for as long as he can remember. Everything he’s worked for pays off when he gets drafted to the Nashville Wolverines. His parents throw him a party—a celebration for all his accomplishments. It’s there that he comes face-to-face with Loralei Shaw. His long-time friend that he hasn’t seen or talked to since the day he left for college. And, man, has she changed. Loralei Shaw returns home to Nashville after getting her degree. She’s offered an exciting new job and a fresh start away from her controlling ex-fiancé. Loralei has changed, physically and emotionally since she left Nashville to go to college. Everyone can see it. When Nick and Loralei reconnect at his party, she can tell that he likes what he sees. Oh, how the tables have turned. She’s always had a huge crush on Nick, like all the rest of the girls. Now he’s the one pursuing her. Maybe she’d give him the time of day if he hadn’t left things the way he did four years ago—and broken her heart in the process. With chemistry that’s impossible to ignore, and Nick doing all he can to break down the walls Loralei has up, could now be the right time for a second chance between them? Or will past hurts and a broken heart be too much to risk for Loralei? This book is intended for a mature audience. 18+ Other titles by USA Today Bestselling Author Emma Tharp: 1. What About Her (The Bluff Harbor Series Book One) 2. What About Us (The Bluff Harbor Series Book Two) 3. Drawn to Dark 4. Keeping It Casual 5. Moving On (McLoughlin Brothers Series Book One) 6. All In (McLoughlin Brothers Series Book Two) 7. Alive Again (McLoughlin Brother Series Book Three) 8. Crashing Christmas: A Billionaire Office Romance 9. Always Just Us (Just Us Book One) 10. Forever Just Us (Just Us Book Two) 11. Scoring Chance (Rules of the Game Book One) 12. Defending Your Heart (Rules of the Game Book Two) 13. Goal on the Rebound (Rules of the Game Book Three) 14. Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Rules of the Game Book Four) 15. Playing Dirty (Rules of the Game Book Five)

Author

Emma Tharp
Emma Tharp
Author · 28 books

Emma Tharp is the USA Today Bestselling Author of The Bluff Harbor Series, Keeping It Casual, Drawn to Dark, and the McLoughlin Brother Series. She was raised in upstate New York. Being an only child, she spent a great deal of time alone, dreaming up characters who would keep her company on long family road trips. Putting her writing on the back burner, she went to college and became a chiropractor. After spending twelve years healing patients, Emma decided—with the help of her amazingly supportive husband—to use the creative side of her brain and let her characters come to the page. If she’s not writing, Emma can be found at the gym, one of her kids sporting events, Starbucks, or a live music event. A perfect day for Emma would be spent at her lake house with her husband, two ginger-haired children, and Vizsla, reading a book and drinking a large cup of coffee (or wine) with music playing in the background.

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Rules of the Game