Trope · 370 books

Small town hockey romance

Small town hockey romance trades arena lights for a local rink, one diner and a whole town that knows everyone's business. Retired pros come home, minor league players get adopted by the locals and nobody keeps a secret for long.

Top small town hockey romance books

370 ranked · showing 48
Pro · MM Rachel Reid
●●●●●Spicy
Second chance · Small town · Friends to lovers
Retired · MF Rachel Gibson
●●●●●Slow burn
Small town · Opposites attract · Holiday
Pro · MF Shelly Laurenston
●●●●●Spicy
Forced proximity · Opposites attract · Small town · Found family
Pro · MF Courtney Walsh
●●●●●Sweet
Fake dating · Holiday · Opposites attract · Small town
Pro · MF Elsie Silver
●●●●●Spicy
Friends to lovers · Small town · Forced proximity
Pro · MF Beth Ehemann
●●●●●Slow burn
Single parent · Small town · Forced proximity
Juniors · MF Cate Cameron
●●●●●Warm
Small town · Opposites attract
Minor · MF Emma St. Clair
●●●●●Sweet
Fake dating · Brother's best friend · Second chance · Small town
Juniors · MF Lynn Painter
●●●●●Sweet
Fake dating · Friends to lovers · Second chance · Small town
Retired · MF Deirdre Martin
●●●●●Slow burn
Opposites attract · Small town · Enemies to lovers
Other · MF Juliana Stone
●●●●●Slow burn
Second chance · Small town · Enemies to lovers
Pro · MF Beth Ehemann
●●●●●Slow burn
Single parent · Small town · Found family
Pro · MF Laura Pavlov
●●●●●Slow burn
Second chance · Small town · Forbidden
Retired · MF Paisley Hope
●●●●●Spicy
Brother's best friend · Small town · Friends to lovers · Forbidden
Pro · MM Eden Finley
●●●●●Spicy
Small town · Age gap · Opposites attract
Pro · MF Samantha Whiskey
●●●●●Spicy
Enemies to lovers · Forced proximity · Forbidden · Small town
Pro · MF Deirdre Martin
●●●●●Slow burn
Second chance · Small town
Pro · MF Lauren Landish
●●●●●Spicy
Brother's best friend · Secret relationship · Small town · Forbidden
Pro · MF Catherine Cowles
●●●●●Spicy
Single parent · Forced proximity · Small town · Found family
Pro · MF Piper Rayne
●●●●●Slow burn
Second chance · Single parent · Friends to lovers · Small town
Juniors · MF Kelsey Clayton
●●●●●Spicy
Brother's best friend · Secret relationship · Small town · Friends to lovers
Retired · MM Lane Hayes
●●●●●Slow burn
Second chance · Enemies to lovers · Small town · Brother's best friend
Pro · MF Siena Trap
●●●●●Slow burn
Second chance · Surprise pregnancy · Single parent · Small town
Pro · MF Beth Ehemann
●●●●●Warm
Single parent · Found family · Small town
Pro · MF Sarina Bowen
●●●●●Spicy
Second chance · Surprise pregnancy · Single parent · Small town
Retired · MF Jill Shalvis
●●●●●Spicy
Friends to lovers · Second chance · Small town · Opposites attract
Minor · MF Stephanie Julian
●●●●●Spicy
Opposites attract · Small town
Pro · MM A.E. Wasp
●●●●●Spicy
Age gap · Opposites attract · Small town
Retired · MM E. Davies
●●●●●Slow burn
Small town · Opposites attract · Found family
Retired · MF Veronica Eden
●●●●●Spicy
Brother's best friend · Secret relationship · Holiday · Small town
Pro · MF Melanie Harlow
●●●●●Spicy
Surprise pregnancy · Small town · Opposites attract
Retired · MF Jessica Clare
●●●●●Spicy
Second chance · Small town · Enemies to lovers · Forced proximity
Pro · MF Victoria Denault
●●●●●Slow burn
Second chance · Friends to lovers · Small town
Juniors · MF Cate Cameron
●●●●●Sweet
Opposites attract · Grumpy / sunshine · Small town
Pro · MF Penelope Bloom
●●●●●Spicy
Surprise pregnancy · Brother's best friend · Marriage of convenience · Small town
Retired · Why choose Brittanee Nicole
●●●●●Spicy
Why choose · Grumpy / sunshine · Holiday · Small town
Pro · MF Sawyer Bennett
●●●●●Spicy
Second chance · Single parent · Small town
Pro · MF Laura Pavlov
●●●●●Slow burn
Forbidden · Small town · Forced proximity · Enemies to lovers
Pro · MF Brenda Rothert
●●●●●Slow burn
Small town · Opposites attract
Pro · MF Meredith Trapp
●●●●●Spicy
Friends to lovers · Second chance · Small town · Single parent
Pro · MF Helena Hunting
●●●●●Spicy
Enemies to lovers · Fake dating · Forbidden · Small town
Pro · MF Alina Jacobs
●●●●●Spicy
Enemies to lovers · Holiday · Grumpy / sunshine · Small town
College · MF Victoria Denault
●●●●●Spicy
Enemies to lovers · Forbidden · Small town · Secret relationship
Pro · MF Elizabeth Lynx
●●●●●Slow burn
Grumpy / sunshine · Brother's best friend · Small town · Forbidden
Retired · MF Kristen Proby
●●●●●Slow burn
Friends to lovers · Small town · Forced proximity · Found family
Pro · MF K.A. Tucker
●●●●●Slow burn
Single parent · Small town · Opposites attract
Minor · MF Samantha Wayland
●●●●●Spicy
Enemies to lovers · Forbidden · Found family · Small town
Pro · FF Kate Cochrane
●●●●●Slow burn
Holiday · Small town · Brother's best friend · Age gap

Why small town works on the ice

Hockey is a small-town sport in a lot of places, built on community rinks, junior teams and parents freezing in the stands at 6 a.m. These books lean into that.

They run cozier and less spicy than most, with plenty of second chance stories and a lot of holiday books set around winter festivals.

If you like your romance with quirky side characters and a town that roots for the couple, this is the place to start.

Readers who love these books often reach for opposites attract hockey romance, second chance hockey romance and forced proximity hockey romance next. You can also browse every hockey romance trope or go back to the full hockey romance directory.

New to the genre? Wikipedia covers the history of the romance novel and how a game of ice hockey works.

Best M/M small town hockey romance books

Pro · MM Rachel Reid
●●●●●Spicy
Second chance · Small town · Friends to lovers
Pro · MM Eden Finley
●●●●●Spicy
Small town · Age gap · Opposites attract
Retired · MM Lane Hayes
●●●●●Slow burn
Second chance · Enemies to lovers · Small town · Brother's best friend
Pro · MM A.E. Wasp
●●●●●Spicy
Age gap · Opposites attract · Small town
Retired · MM E. Davies
●●●●●Slow burn
Small town · Opposites attract · Found family
Retired · MM Kate Sherwood
●●●●●Spicy
Second chance · Friends to lovers · Small town · Secret relationship

Best college small town hockey romance books

College · MF Victoria Denault
●●●●●Spicy
Enemies to lovers · Forbidden · Small town · Secret relationship
College · MF L.A. Cotton
●●●●●Slow burn
Grumpy / sunshine · Small town · Opposites attract
College · MF Melanie Ting
●●●●●Slow burn
Forced proximity · Opposites attract · Grumpy / sunshine · Small town
College · MF Mila Kane
●●●●●Scorching
Forbidden · Age gap · Dark romance · Small town
College · Why choose Abby Millsaps
●●●●●Scorching
Why choose · Dark romance · Found family · Small town
College · MM Ava Olsen
●●●●●Spicy
Forbidden · Age gap · Enemies to lovers · Small town

Slow burn small town hockey romance: lower-heat picks

Retired · MF Rachel Gibson
●●●●●Slow burn
Small town · Opposites attract · Holiday
Pro · MF Courtney Walsh
●●●●●Sweet
Fake dating · Holiday · Opposites attract · Small town
Pro · MF Beth Ehemann
●●●●●Slow burn
Single parent · Small town · Forced proximity
Juniors · MF Cate Cameron
●●●●●Warm
Small town · Opposites attract
Minor · MF Emma St. Clair
●●●●●Sweet
Fake dating · Brother's best friend · Second chance · Small town
Juniors · MF Lynn Painter
●●●●●Sweet
Fake dating · Friends to lovers · Second chance · Small town

Questions about small town hockey romance

What is the best small town hockey romance book?

Readers' favorite is The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid, followed by The Trouble With Valentine's Day by Rachel Gibson and Beast Behaving Badly by Shelly Laurenston. Our ranking blends how many Goodreads readers rated each book with how often it appears on readers' own hockey romance lists.

Are there M/M small town hockey romance books?

Yes. 86 of the 370 books here are M/M, led by The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid and Charming Puckboy by Eden Finley.

How spicy are small town hockey romance books?

36% are rated spicy or scorching on our five-point heat scale. 238 are slow burn or sweeter, such as The Trouble With Valentine's Day by Rachel Gibson.

Are small town hockey romance books set in college or the pros?

216 are set in pro hockey and 19 on college teams; the rest follow minor league, junior or retired players.

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