Book picks similar to
The Fake Game by Kim Hartfield
fake-relationship
lesbian
romance
sapphic
All That Glitters
Ashley Quinn - 2012
Michelle is playful, determined and ambitious - Despite being the only child of a teenaged, alcoholic mother who sometimes lets her judgment of the men she allows in their home throw wrenches in her relationship with her daughter. Michelle knows what she has to do to leave the small, redneck surf town in Florida where she's lived her entire life to make it as a singer in Hollywood. Nothing - and nobody - will come between her and that goal. Alexis, who moves to Florida from New York City with her Jewish father, French Catholic mother and autistic younger brother, is wildly intelligent and becomes instantly enamored with the feisty Michelle after she accidentally wipes out in their driveway on her skateboard. Over the course of a year, the two girls become close, passionately involved best friends and, as high school starts, they begin to question whether their feelings toward one another are 'normal' and 'right', two things that Michelle desperately knows she needs to be in order to fit into their tiny, prying town. As high school progresses, rumors of their relationship surface among the other students. Michelle throws their friendship - and everything else - to the wayside, shattering Alexis's heart in the process and forcing Michelle to realize that no matter how much she tries to control her actions, she still can't control her feelings. Ten years after high school and Michelle is at the brink of stardom. Having just finished her first international tour, a guilty conscience forces the twenty-seven year old singer to return to Florida after her mother is involved in a bad car accident. Disillusioned with the direction of her career, she leaves her cautious, nit-picky agent and action movie star boyfriend - who is harboring a deep secret of his own that could ruin his image and career if it were to go public - to return home, tend to her mother and be back in Hollywood just in time to accompany Tyler to the premiere of his newest summer blockbuster. What on Earth could go wrong? What nobody, not even Michelle, counts on is crossing paths with Alexis Vlodosky again. Alexis is eager to move on after finishing her residency at the hospital as the harsh memories of high school have soured her taste of this small town. After one night, they quickly realize that the fire is still burning deep within each of them. Michelle has to make a decision, but when faced with scores of paparazzi, an alcoholic mother desperate to make amends before her own secret is revealed, run-ins with unsavory past acquaintances, gossipy nurses, a neurotic agent and a fake boyfriend that needs Michelle for his image just as much as she needs him for hers, who will run first?
Strawberry Summer
Melissa Brayden - 2017
She hated her name, was less than popular in school, and was always cast aside as a “farm kid.” However, with the arrival of Courtney Carrington, Margaret’s youth sparked into color. Courtney was smart, beautiful, and put together—everything Margaret wasn’t. Who would have imagined that they’d fit together so perfectly?But first loves can scar.Margaret hasn’t seen Courtney in years and that’s for the best. But when Courtney loses her father and returns to Tanner Peak to take control of the family store, Margaret comes face-to-face with her past and the woman she’s tried desperately to forget. The fact that Courtney has grown up more beautiful than ever certainly doesn’t help matters.
Rain Falls
Kelli Jae Baeli - 2014
She ends up with two assignments - one, to interview up-and-coming lesbian romance writer Tegan Lowry, and the other? To win a bet to write her own lesbian romance, thus securing for herself a job as an editor. There's a bit of an issue with the second of those. India writes science fiction, not romance. There's none of that confusing touchy-feely stuff in her science fiction novels. Hell, she doesn't even read romance, and as for the lesbian aspect, she's not sure how to define her sexuality, but if she's a lesbian, then she's so far in the closet, she doesn't even know where the door is. Maybe Tegan could give her some pointers on writing all those sex scenes she's probably going to have to stick in there? Tegan is thrilled to be interviewed, even by the awkward and socially-inept India. Not that Tegan views herself as anyone's fantasy - she's on crutches, and who would be interested in a cripple? Her deeply romantic fantasies are all lived out on the page. But when India suddenly asks if Tegan will join her in her writing cabin to get some serious work done, she jumps at the chance to leave her horrible basement apartment behind to concentrate on her writing in comfort and peace, with the fascinating, if rather emotionally-unavailable, India Bell. In the gorgeous cabin on the outskirts of the small tourist town of Rain Falls, Colorado, the two women find themselves struggling with temptation and absurdity. It's a situation they never thought they'd find outside of a romance novel.
The Light in You
Lisa Elliot - 2020
Passionate and principled, she believes in yoga and wants to make a difference. Unfortunately, her studio is hanging by a thread after a slow start. She doesn’t have time for love, and isn’t attachment the root of all suffering anyway?Life isn’t going the way Emily Mackenzie had planned. She’s lost her high-powered corporate job and isn’t coping well. She’s spent her twenties sacrificing her personal life for her career and now she has nothing to show for it. Stressed and struggling, she might just be at her rock bottom. When Emily joins Heart Yoga she finds a lot more than just a good stretch.An unexpected kiss forces Angela to question everything she holds dear, and as Emily gets back on her feet is it wise for her to risk getting involved with someone who’s not looking for love?
Harmony
Karis Walsh - 2011
She arranges her career as a violist, her relationships with family and friends, and even her love life so she can avoid strife at all costs. Everything is going according to plan until she meets Brooke Stanton the night before Brooke’s wedding rehearsal and her ordered existence falls apart.When Brooke hires a string quartet to play at her rehearsal dinner, she doesn’t expect to meet a woman who threatens the security of her already predetermined future. Suddenly she has doubts about the conventional path she has chosen and desires she can no longer ignore.In an eclectic neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, these two women face a life-altering decision—will they fight the attraction that threatens their carefully structured lives or take a chance on finding the harmony only love creates?
Holiday Escort
Julia P. Lynde - 2013
During a job interview, she meets Karen Green. The job requires skills Madeline doesn't have, but Karen offers an unexpected alternative arrangement.She needs a fake girlfriend to help her get through the holiday season. Madeline's affections are not aligned towards women, but she accepts for the money and the chance to make more contacts.It turns out that being a fake girlfriend can be a very confusing job.Holiday Escort is a delightful tale involving two very different women. This story is sure to bring pleasure to the reader.This is a novella of 40,000 words, approximately 120 printed pages.
Desert Sky
Ellie Green - 2021
The only downside? When the nearest neighbour is hundreds of kilometres away, it’s hard to date.Newly qualified teacher, Grace, can’t wait to start a life away the town where she’s only known for one thing. Travelling across the country to take a job as a governess is about as far as she can get.Grace and Ari are easy friends, spending their time riding horses, swimming in waterholes and watching their favourite movies late into the night.But Ari’s feelings begin to extend beyond friendship. Ari has a crush, no matter how much she tries to talk herself out of it. What she doesn’t know is Grace is harbouring feelings of her own. And in close confines, the attraction is becoming difficult to ignore.Their connection is strong, but if they want to build a relationship, they will need to move beyond the shadows of the past.Can they find a way to each other’s hearts?
Something About You
Jea Hawkins - 2016
Dre’s life falls into a nice, predictable rhythm and that’s the way she likes it. But when an adorable, fashionable 20-something bursts into Dre’s flower shop to cancel her wedding order after her fiancé’s change of heart, Dre finds a distraught young woman on her hands. She doesn’t have the heart to shove her out of the shop, so she takes her out for sympathy and tea. The idea of befriending this woman who is clearly her opposite, however, is the last thing on Dre’s mind. Kelsey feels awful for canceling the order, but she’s sincere when she tells Dre she wants to be friends. When she offers to make up the loss by using Dre’s services for a major project at work, Kelsey sees a chance to get to know the woman who represents the life she’s always wanted for herself. And as Kelsey gets closer to Dre, she proves to her that they aren’t so different. Will Dre take a chance and break out of her comfortable routine to find love in an unexpected place? And will Kelsey finally embrace the life she’s always dreamed about? Or will this budding flower of romance be cut short before it blooms?
Food for Love
C. Fonseca - 2018
When Jessica Harris flies home to Australia to sort out her late brother’s estate, the last thing she wants to face is his altruistic investment—an eatery on the rural Bellarine Peninsula.The injured British/Indian elite cyclist just wants to settle up, move on, get rehab, and certainly not have to deal with the restaurant’s beautiful owner and artisan foodie, Lillian McAllister, or her sweet, four-year-old daughter.In order to win, Jessica’s disciplined life is dedicated to controlling her emotions, and she isn’t sure she’d survive letting her walls down now.A lesbian romance about how nourishment is so much more than the food we eat.Themes: artisan foodie · Australia · Bellarine Peninsula · elite cyclist · four-year-old daughter · rural eatery · south-west of Melbourne96,000 words
Desperate Times
Hildred Billings - 2018
When the two tough butches meet at a small town bar, they think they're getting the femmes of their dreams. So begins the awkward - yet sordid - acquaintance of the only two lesbians in town. Local rancher Tess doesn't have time for women who aren't her type, and new-girl-in-town Sidney isn't interested in someone who only sees her as a piece of fresh meat.
Yet they keep bumping into each other... is it fate, or just small town karma?
A bad date turns into a one-night stand. A one-night stand turns into a casual relationship. A casual relationship becomes Sidney's greatest amusement, and Tess's biggest nightmare as she's slowly forced out of the closet in conservative River Rock. Desperate times are afoot in the sleepy, gossipy hamlet of rural America. It's going to take more than nerves of steel to survive the isolationism and people with nothing better to do than ruin their neighbors' lives. It's going to take a whole lotta introspection - and love. (And no-holds-barred carnality. Let's be real.)
Like Jazz
Heather Blackmore - 2013
Just as the two begin to understand how extraordinary their friendship is, another cross-country move wrests Cazz away.Ten years later, Cazz unexpectedly runs into Sarah during a fraud investigation at Sarah’s charitable foundation. The women are inexorably drawn to each other, but Cazz’s investigation into the foundation's finances limits her ability to be entirely honest with Sarah.Already wary of Cazz for not keeping in touch after Claiborne, Sarah demands the truth. Will Cazz own up to her feelings for Sarah? Or is she too late? And will Cazz’s investigation bring a killer to justice, or will she sacrifice herself to protect Sarah from a man desperate to conceal his crimes?
Almost Straight
Justice Serai - 2015
Good grades were the key to my future. And I wanted a boy to take me to prom. Then Liv happened. The way her eyes smiled when she watched me made my stomach do somersaults. Mysterious and flirty, she inspired me to question things about myself I took for granted. People seem to think certain traits are engrained in you from the moment you’re born. Personality, special talents, sexual identity, things like that. But what if some things aren’t so black and white? What would people say if they knew Audrey, the good church girl, was actually...almost straight?
An Infatuation
Jennifer Lyndon - 2013
A successful realtor in Aspen, Lise is married to her high school sweetheart and is the mother of two great kids, Michael and Candace. To her two closest friends, Kitty and Cheryl, Lise's life appears ideal, until her husband Scott is passed over for the partnership in the architectural firm where he works. At the party to welcome her husband's new boss, a woman she's determined to despise, Lise meets Juliana Rhodes. The attraction is immediate and unsettling for Lise, sending her perfectly balanced life into a tailspin.
Revel
Bryce Oakley - 2020
There’s just one teeny-tiny problem — the room has one bed. But they’re mature adult friends who can handle a sleepover. Right?What happens when love is in the air and suddenly, kissing one of your closest friends seems like the world’s best idea?Get your sandals out for a beachy friends-to-lovers novella with one last sweet ending to The Shrikes' love stories.
Fireflies
Lise Gold - 2018
She doesn’t mind being busy; it provides distraction from painful memories and her daily struggle to stay sober. Captain Ava Alfarsi has just been promoted, carrying more responsibility than she’s ever had before. As a single, young and attractive captain, Ava has no problem meeting women, but her control issues and fear of people finding out she’s far from perfect stand in the way of connecting with others on a deeper level. When the two become aware of each other’s deepest secrets, they find comfort in the knowledge that they’re not alone. The attraction is undeniable as they embark on a healing journey together. Can Ava learn to let go, and can Mia somehow make peace with her past? Both searching for strength to fight their demons, they never expected to find strength in each other. But is passion enough to keep the fire burning?