Striker
by Ana Huang
★ Top 10 book of 2024 · #10 on Best Books of 2024
Asher Donovan is a living legend of the Premier League, arguably the greatest footballer in the world, but his reckless antics and a recent transfer are testing him. She is the only woman he wants and the only one he cannot have.
Best for: Sports romance fans who like forbidden-love plots.
Striker is #18 on BookWard's Rising chart for October 2026: the hottest new books published in the past two years.
What Striker is about
Asher Donovan is the darling of the Premier League and arguably the best footballer in the world, but his reckless antics and a recent transfer have stirred up controversy. When his feud with a rival-turned-teammate costs their team a championship, the two are forced to bond during off-season cross-training. There Asher meets the new trainer, who is talented and beautiful, and he cannot stop thinking about her. The catch is that she is his rival's sister, which makes her strictly off limits. Ana Huang's glossy, steamy romance mixes sports culture with ambition, trust and vulnerability. It is a good pick for fans of forbidden love and rivalries that turn into something else.
Why Striker is on the Rising chart
352 readers have shelved it on Open Library since 2024; 27 are reading it right now. The Rising score blends six public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 against the other new books and weighted as shown.
| Signal | This book | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reader pace | 77 | 28% |
| Buzz | 32 | 24% |
| Growth | 20 | 18% |
| Being read right now | 83 | 12% |
| Reader love | 85 | 10% |
| Newness | 42 | 8% |
New and popular Ranked on reader activity only; no Wikipedia page to measure.
The numbers behind it
- Wikipedia: no article yet, so this book is ranked on reader activity alone and we make no claim about its direction.
- Open Library readers: 315 want to read, 27 reading now, 10 have read it.
- Ratings: 4.33 out of 5 from 6 Open Library ratings.
Striker on the Rising chart: history
First on the chart this month. The history grows with every monthly update.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | #18 | 55 |
Striker on the Best Books of 2024
Striker came out in 2024. Of the 33 books first published in 2024 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #10 on our Best Books of 2024 list.
Why it made the list: 345 readers have shelved it on Open Library; 27 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2024 list
- All Fours Miranda July, #8
- We Solve Murders Richard Osman, #9
- Someone You Can Build a Nest in John Wiswell, #11
- King of Sloth Ana Huang, #12
See all Best Books of 2024 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2023 Best Books of 2025.
Questions about Striker
Is Striker a new book?
Yes. Striker by Ana Huang was first published in 2024, and BookWard's Rising chart only includes books published in the past two years.
Why is Striker on the Rising chart?
352 readers have shelved it on Open Library since 2024; 27 are reading it right now.
More new books readers are finding
- Can We Be Strangers Again? Shrijeet Shandilya
- King of Sloth Ana Huang
Prefer proven favorites? See the Top 100, or all Rising books.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views. The description is paraphrased from real source text (Open Library or Wikipedia). A book is on the Rising chart only if it was published in 2025 or 2026 and its readers are active and its interest is not falling. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales. Read the full methodology.
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