Book picks similar to
Inside Out by Susan X. Meagher


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Playing Passion's Game


Lesley Davis - 2011
    In matters of the heart, you play for keeps.Trent Williams’s entire world revolves around her love of gaming. She has little time for romantic distractions and prefers instead to be with her closest friends who, like her, live for the thrill that comes from a competition well played. Happy in her job, seemingly content with her life, Trent still finds herself haunted by the past that threatens to keep her alone forever. The self-imposed solitude she places on her heart only leaves her all too aware of just how lonely she is.All work and no play in her executive job forces Juliet Sullivan to search for a different direction in life. Disillusioned by it all, Juliet is desperate to seek out new horizons. When Trent unwittingly comes to the rescue of her younger sister, Juliet immediately finds herself drawn to Trent’s silent strength and undeniable charm. Now the new direction Juliet so desperately desires seems intent on leading her straight into Trent’s arms.

I Can't Dance Alone


Maggie Brown - 2014
    The overwhelming confusion she feels threatens her plans for a fresh start as a doctor in the inhospitable Australian Outback.Veterinarian Harry Roberts doesn’t need some city girl-pretty girl rocking her world. The Outback is no place for lightweights—and no place for women who ask too many questions.One touch, one unguarded look… The future could be promising, if neither of them had a past.

Now You See Me


S.Y. Thompson - 2013
    One fateful day, she shows an irritating new client, Carson Tierney, around the tenth floor space of her own building and her life takes an unforeseen direction.Carson is an awe-inspiring woman by anyone's standards. Possessing genius-level intelligence that has allowed her to become a self-made millionaire of a computer software company, Carson still has a dark secret that could be her undoing.When the two are thrust together to escape a deadly killer in a high-rise office building while a blizzard rages outside, they have no one to count on but each other. So begins an unexpected yet tender romance. However, unchecked love and desire isn't in their future. The murderer is still out there and he's coming for them. Will Carson's street-wise skills protect them both as Erin attempts to discover the killer's identity just as relentlessly as he is seeking their demise?

Barring Complications


Blythe Rippon - 2014
    So when the Court decides to hear a case about gay marriage, Justice Victoria Willoughby must navigate the press, sway at least one of her conservative colleagues, and confront her own fraught feelings about coming out. ­­Just when she decides she’s up to the challenge,­­ she learns that the very brilliant, very out Genevieve Fornier will be lead counsel on the case.Genevieve isn’t sure which is causing her more sleepless nights: the prospect of losing the case, or the thought of who will be sitting on the bench when she argues it."With flashbacks to the main characters’ time at Harvard Law, we plainly see what kind of choices and sacrifices that generation was forced to make, to achieve what they wanted to achieve.......The author is to be commended for portraying this historical backdrop without judgment but with full emotional intensity. Blythe Rippon leads the reader right into that maelstrom of history, which mangled so many gay lives.......This backstory enhances the importance of the main storyline and shows why the decision for marriage equality was a landmark case. And it is fitting that the story at the end points at the next frontier, the fight for transgender rights." --Lambda Literary

Tropical Storm


Melissa Good - 1999
    Tropical Storm took the lesbian reading world by storm when it was first written . . . Don't miss this exciting revised "author's cut" edition. Dar Roberts, corporate raider for a multi-national tech company, is cold, practical, and merciless. She does her job with razor-sharp accuracy. Friends are a luxury she cannot allow herself, and love is something she knows she'll never attain. Kerry Stuart left Michigan for Florida in an attempt to get away from her domineering politician father and the constraints of the overly conservative life her family forced upon her. After college she worked her way into supervision at a small tech company, only to have it taken over by Dar Roberts' organization. Her association with Dar begins in disbelief, hatred, and disappointment, but when Dar unexpectedly hires Kerry as her work assistant, the dynamics of their relationship change. Over time, a bond begins to form. But can Dar overcome years of habit and conditioning to open herself up to the uncertainty of love? And will Kerry escape from the clutches of her powerful father in order to live a better life? The answer to both questions is no - unless these two women can strengthen and cement the tenuous bond that forms between them. First they must face storms that neither expects . . . and live to tell the tale.

The Gravity Between Us


Kristen Zimmer - 2013
    Payton Taylor is Kendall’s best friend since childhood, and the one person who reminds her of who she really is – her refuge from the craziness of celebrity life. With her career taking off, Kendall moves Payton to LA to help keep her sane. But Payton is hiding a secret that could make everything ten times worse. Because to her, Kendall is more than a best friend – she is the only girl that she has ever loved. Just as they need each other more than ever, they’ll have to answer the question of where friendship stops and love begins? And find out whether the feelings they have can survive the mounting pressure of fame… The Gravity Between Us is a daring, romantic, emotional story about friendship, love, and finding the courage to be yourself in a crazy world. New Adult novel: recommended for 17+ due to mature themes and sexual content

In Medias Res


Yolanda Wallace - 2010
    Suffering from amnesia, Sydney finds herself alone in the middle of O’Hare Airport with no idea how she got there, where she’s headed, or even who she is. Her only clues to her identity are the ticket to Key West in her hand and the items in the backpack slung over her left shoulder.Halfway around the world, Dr. Jennifer Rekowski, Sydney’s best friend and longtime confidante, holds the key to unlocking Sydney’s memory. But Jennifer, nursing a broken heart and trapped in the middle of a civil war, remains agonizingly out of reach.

Cheer


Mia Archer - 2017
    Isn't that how it always starts?The problem? Those pretty blue eyes are attached to Candice. We're talking Candice who's been my best friend forever. My partner in crime since before we could talk.Yeah, talk about taking "it's complicated" to a whole new plane of existence.So now I'm a cheerleader. And I totally have a crush on my best friend who may or may not be into me. Oh, and as if that wasn't enough I'm also dodging crazy Danielle who thinks I want to steal her man (not likely given recent developments in my sexuality) and crazy Chris who thinks he has a shot with me or Candice.Also not likely. See above about recent confusing developments in my sexuality.Yeah, high school was complicated enough before the whole cheerleader thing. And the whole Candice thing. And everything else. Now I don't know if I'm going to survive my senior year!Princess CharmingThe world thought being a princess was so cool, but Amelia knew the truth: it sucked.One kiss with another girl. One photograph that went viral. One international firestorm of gossip and Amelia finds herself banished halfway around the world to America to cool her heels and wait for the gossip to die down.A trip to Royal Realms was supposed to be the best part of Dani's school band career, but she was miserable.So she realized she was into girls. So she broke up with her longtime boyfriend. He didn't have to hold a grudge and do everything he could to ruin her trip. Dani was on her perfect vacation and all she wanted to do was escape.Two girls desperate to break free. Two girls who are about to be thrown together by a chance meeting. Royal Realms is supposed to be the place where dreams come true, and sparks will fly as princess meets band geek in an unexpected romance hot enough to cause an international incident!

Love and Devotion


Jove Belle - 2013
    All of that takes a backseat when her lover beckons. Lonnie is blond, beautiful, and willing. She’s also married and a lifelong friend of KC’s mama.KC knows the affair is a bad idea, but she just can’t help herself. When presented with the lush landscape of Lonnie’s body, KC subscribes to the philosophy of “orgasm first, think later.” Unfortunately, a secret that big is impossible to keep in a close-knit community where everybody knows everybody else’s business. The scandal would hurt her entire family.Emma is KC’s exception, the one woman she loves enough to not have sex with. When Emma confesses that she’s loved KC since high school, KC is terrified. One wrong move and she could lose Emma completely.Is she willing to let her family pay the price for her good time? Or will she turn to Emma to discover the true meaning of love and devotion?

Cowgirl Up


Ali Spooner - 2014
    Her co-workers are surprised when Coal turns out to be female. Coal, used to the reaction, quickly earns the respect of the crew with her work ethic and skill with horses. Coal uses the strenuous work and friendship of the ranch hands to try and forget her broken past. Melissa Conway, owner of MC2, offers Coal a place to live in her home. They both are shocked to find they are linked in a way neither of them imagined. Mary Leah, Melissa’s sister, arrives at the ranch to recover from a recent tragedy. The attraction between Mary Leah and Coal is instant and mutual. Can the three women survive their personal dilemmas? The love and friendship they develop certainly helps but will it be enough to bring them together. Ride along with the MC2, for boot scootin’, butt kickin’, dirt eatin’, rodeo adventures, with a love story thrown into the mix.

Being Hers


Anna Stone - 2018
    By day, she studies at law school, and by night, she serves drinks at an exclusive club to afford her tuition. But the hard-working Melanie will never admit her true desire: to escape from her fast-paced, high-pressure life, if only for a moment. When Melanie meets Vanessa, a glamorous executive and a regular at the club, she is drawn to the enigmatic black-haired woman. Vanessa is relentless in pursuing what she wants—and what she wants is Melanie. Soon, Melanie finds herself caught up in Vanessa’s sensual games of submission, power and control. Melanie insists that her affair with Vanessa remains purely physical. But as her limits are tested, so is the line between lust and love. When ghosts from the past reappear, both women must face their deepest fears. Can Melanie surrender her everything to Vanessa, or will old wounds prove too great?

Curious Wine


Katherine V. Forrest - 1983
    The intimacy of a cabin at Lake Tahoe provides the combustible setting that brings Diana Holland and Lane Christianson together in this passionate novel of first discovery.

Sweet Surrender


Anna Cove - 2017
     Julia has it all. Fame, fortune, and all the ladies she can get her lips on. But she can’t write her next book. She’s as blocked as a teenager’s pores. Could it be because of the one who got away? Susan had it all, and now it’s gone. She moves through life like a zombie, doing only what she needs to do to get by. Then Julia returns, and her irreverence and impulsiveness sends a tiny electrical pulse to Susan’s heart. When Susan and Julia are reunited, they try to ignore the flying sparks. There’s too much baggage—Julia is almost half Susan’s age and was once her student. But they need each other now more than ever. As their bond strengthens and heals, the attraction between them becomes impossible to ignore. Do Julia and Susan have a future together? Or just a past?

Elena Undone


Nicole Conn - 2011
    A wife who will not question her loyalty to a husband she does not love nor her duty to a church whose tenets she does not fully accept.Peyton. A lesbian trapped in an arid relationship and a life that has brought her success but scant emotional sustenance.Their eyes first meet across the distance of a public park. One glance is all it takes for ignition. A slow-building sexual fire soon becomes a conflagration that engulfs both their lives.But no matter how compelling the attraction, no matter how intensely love may reach into the depths of either of their souls, reality is inflexible. Elena’s husband is pastor of a church; her son is the center of her life; and she is haunted by a burden of grief and guilt that fixes her firmly in the conventional life she leads.From Nicole Conn, novelist and multi-award-winning director of little man, writer-director of the legendary lesbian film Claire of the Moon, comes this powerful love story--a luminously romantic film as evocative as it is erotic (and already famous for its Longest Kiss in Cinema History)—and now a novel that reveals every moment of Elena’s unforgettable journey.

Slow Burn in Tuscany


Giselle Fox - 2016
    So when the rich, beautiful Madison signs up for the same tour of Italy that Bree is taking with her BFF, it’s almost enough to ruin the trip before they start. As if that’s not bad enough, a nosy, loud-mouthed journalist starts poking into the tourists’ private lives -- and turns Bree’s upside down. Suddenly, everything she thought she knew is wrong … and the woman she was sure she hated is hotter than the Tuscan sun and firing all Bree’s fantasies.The tour becomes a journey of unexpected discoveries, full of sweet seduction and vivid emotion … until Bree realizes that she stands in the way of Madison’s deepest desire. Will Bree sacrifice her first-ever chance at real romance for the sake of Madison’s dream? And if she does, can love find a way to bring them together again?61,700 words