Playing (Lainey Davis) Books in Order

The Playing series follows the Pittsburgh Fury, a professional hockey team surrounded by pressure, headlines, loyal teammates, and the wider Stag family. These are sports romances with plenty of heat, but the central players are often dealing with public scrutiny, old hurt, family expectations, and relationships that are much harder than a clean win on the ice.

Pittsburgh is a major part of the series. The team, local media, packed arenas, and Stag family connections put personal problems in public view. The hockey players are used to physical risk, but emotional honesty is another matter. Their love stories ask them to stop performing strength and start trusting the people who see them at their most uncertain.

Playing for Keeps starts with rookie goalie Gunnar, who wakes up married after a Vegas night with Emerson, a gifted cellist. Their impulsive marriage becomes more complicated when Emerson's controlling father begins feeding rumors to the press and Gunnar's place on the Fury feels less secure. It is a marriage-of-convenience story with a family that quickly decides Emerson belongs with them.

Playing for Payback shifts to Alder, a Fury player whose boyfriend's cheating becomes public in the worst possible way, on a kiss cam during a game. Lena, the team's new dentist, is betrayed by the same pair. Their shared humiliation turns into roommates, mutual support, and a fake relationship meant to make their exes regret their choices. The trouble is that their feelings stop being pretend.

The later books keep exploring the risks of falling for someone inside a close sports world. Playing with Fire brings a surprise pregnancy and a forbidden connection between Tucker and a woman linked to his teammate. Playing with Trouble centers on a hockey player who becomes drawn to his roommate's adult sister after she moves in. These setups bring family boundaries, career worries, and loyalty to the forefront.

The series continues with Playing It Safe, another Pittsburgh Fury romance. Across the books, teammates and relatives act as a found family, offering backup when careers, reputations, and relationships start to unravel.

The novels are connected standalones. Start with Playing for Keeps to meet the Fury and the current generation of Stag-connected characters. Reading in order lets the team dynamics, shared history, and recurring family moments build naturally from one book to the next.