Book picks similar to
Don't Let Go by Cynthia Dane


ku-tbr
romance
erotica
mental-health

Escape & Freedom


Claire Highton-Stevenson - 2018
    One stuck in the past, the other a very real present. Lucy Owens’ life was irrevocably changed in a matter of seconds. Life as she knew it was over in the blink of an eye. Moving away from all that she knew, Lucy now lives a solitary life in her cabin on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Filled with guilt and pain, she keeps herself to herself, and for years she manages to avoid immersing back into society. Nicole Granger has three small children to worry about. Always looking over her shoulder, they arrive at the lake with very little to call their own. Haunted by years of physical abuse, she longs to belong again, to bring normality to her girls’ lives for the first time. Both women are pulled towards one another in an attraction that could bring both of them their freedom.

Taking Flight


Siera Maley - 2015
    Being born and raised in Los Angeles, California by her movie star mom and ex-child-star father sounds like an ideal childhood, but with a mother who’s always busy and a father who suffers from alcoholism, Lauren’s already parentless childhood and her resulting rebellious streak are made worse when her mother passes away and she’s left alone with her father, who doesn’t care how little school she attends, how much alcohol she drinks, or how many girls she sleeps with.When she puts too many toes out of line and a judge deems her father unfit to be her guardian, she’s shipped across the country to the rural mountains of northern Georgia, where a personal friend of the judge lives with his wife and two kids on a farm. David Marshall is a professional counselor known for “reforming unruly youth”, and as part of David’s program, Lauren will be required to work with farm animals, go to church once a week, attend counseling sessions with David, and go to a new school, all for seven months until her graduation. So naturally, her plan is simple: to have her best friend come pick her up two months early on the day she turns eighteen, and to be as difficult as possible in the meantime.Her plan doesn’t account for David Marshall’s daughter.

Tats


Layce Gardner - 2011
    Deciding she’s done the last of her now ex’s laundry, Lee hops on the Harley, ripe for adventure. One thunderstorm, a brief stint as a funeral crasher, two ruined shoes and several cheerleaders later, she’s still planning to run away. Better yet, she’s got one of the cheerleaders along for the ride.Not just any cheerleader, either. Vivian Baxter is that cheerleader, the one that made Lee certain back in high school that she was never going to be like all the other girls.Destination? Someplace not Oklahoma. Possibilities? As many as the wide open road can offer. Problems? None at all. Except perhaps Lee’s ex, a hopping mad stripper who wants her Harley back.Vivian’s feminine wiles prove invaluable in solving their transportation problem just as her own past catches up to them. And Vivian’s past has two legs, a lot of henchman and a very big gun. Lee and Vivian may never get out of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma may never be the same.First-time novelist Layce Gardner’s love story sparkles with irreverent wit, unexpected developments and features two women in the race of their lives on the trip of a lifetime.

Not Guilty


Brit Ryder - 2021
    No one expects their heart will.Claire Weaver’s only goal is to climb the ladder of success. After winning an unwinnable toxic tort case and securing a ninety-million-dollar verdict, she’s a shoo-in for a judgeship at Kansas City’s circuit court.The last person fire investigator Emery Pearson expects to see in court is the stranger she had the pleasure of dominating last night—only this time, Judge Claire Weaver is definitely in charge. To say she’s excited is an understatement. Claire is everything she needs—sexy, available, and not looking for a relationship. Their day jobs clash, even as their desire burns, and a discreet sex-only arrangement is the only option. But when pushing their sexual limits threatens the boundary of their hearts, will they be guilty of breaking their own rules, or allow love to tip the scales?

The Girls From Alcyone


Cary Caffrey - 2011
    Sold into slavery to save their families from financial ruin, the girls are forced to live out their lives in service to the Kimura Corporation, a prestigious mercenary clan with a lineage stretching back long before the formation of the Federated Corporations. Known only to Kimura, the two girls share startling secret—a rare genetic structure not found in tens of millions of other girls.But when their secret becomes known, Sigrid and Suko quickly find themselves at the center of a struggle for power. Now, hunted by men who would seek to control them, Sigrid and Suko are forced to fight for their own survival, and for the freedom of the girls from Alcyone.

Behind the Green Curtain


Riley Lashea - 2013
    As vicious as she is beautiful, Amelia threatens Caton’s position and her sense of decorum.As the attraction between the two women spirals into a torrid affair, Caton is drawn deeper into Jack and Amelia’s world of privilege and prestige, where everything is at stake and nothing is what it seems.

All I See Is You


Lily Hammond - 2020
    Birds with unknown songs. People with strange accents.In 1932, Eliza Sparrow walks straight off the boat from England to New Zealand into a nightmare. Unable to speak or write, and with the death of her mother during the voyage, Eliza is alone, without any means, without any hope. Unless she meets someone willing to help her.Maxine and Ruth have opened their home to destitute women, sheltering those they can from the worst of the Depression. When they find Eliza, they are determined to aid and protect her.Never though, did they think they’d have to protect Eliza from their dear friend Clemency. Like them, Clemency loves other women, but unlike the happily ‘married’ Maxine and Ruth, Clemency is lonely, unable to find a lover she really connects with. When she meets Eliza, no one thinks it could be serious and Clemency would simply be taking advantage of the speechless Eliza, her attraction never possibly other than a passing desire.No one took into account however, that the heart has its own language, and it’s one that Eliza can speak perfectly well.

The X Ingredient


Roslyn Sinclair - 2019
     Laurie Holcombe is out of a job, out of luck, and out of time. When a prestigious law firm hires her as an assistant to one of its senior partners, it feels like she might finally get back on her feet. All she has to do is put up with the whims of her infuriatingly icy boss, Diana. How hard could that be? Diana Parker is Atlanta’s top lawyer and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it. She’s driven, ruthless, demanding, and stuck in a failing marriage. Too bad she can’t run her personal life as well as she runs her ordered office. When a young assistant shows up with bright blue eyes, a cute Southern accent, and a streak of pink hair, Diana’s sure she’s all wrong for the job. And yet something seems to be pulling her and Laurie Holcombe together, drawing them into a secret, thrilling dance that’s far too dangerous for a boss and employee. Can they make rules for this powerful attraction, a way to keep each other at arm’s length? But how do you resist the irresistible?

Vibe


Liza James - 2020
    No, I should be working on solidifying my ladder of ascension. No matter what the cost or what I had to give up. No matter what they made me do. Their little wildflower, that’s who I am. Quiet, meek, gullible. Until I met the one person who changed all of it and became something more. She’s my filthiest secret. And one I intend on taking to the grave. Ruby Another night at the club I work at—Pandora’s Box. Another dance, another tease, another round of shots and callously thrown dollar bills. Until her. Until the energy shifted and one moment became the only thing that mattered. Because she changed everything, claiming my attention and making it hers. My dangerous little mistake, my favorite enticing regret.My Vibe Girl.Trigger Warning: This book confronts several issues that could be potential triggers. It also contains sexual scenes written in explicit details. It is incredibly dark, please be aware when stepping into this world.

All That Matters


Susan X. Meagher - 2006
    She's a very successful real estate agent, happily married to a man who encourages her to live the independent life she loves; and they're actively working to have a baby.The wrench in the works is that Blair favors adoption, while her husband David desperately wants to have a biological child. The fates are against them, and they finally seek the help of a group of reproductive specialists. One of the doctors, a surgeon named Kylie Mackenzie, eventually becomes a good friend to Blair. And she needs all of the friends she can get when things start to go horribly wrong at home. As her marriage teeters on the brink of collapse, she relies more and more on Kylie's friendship.Kylie's happily gay; Blair's happily straight. But the way they structure their relationship leads friends and family to privately question whether the pair is setting themselves up for heartache. They eventually come to a crossroads, which could either destroy their friendship or turn it into what each of them has been seeking. The question is whether each woman can change her view of herself and her needs. The answer is all that matters.

Her Name in the Sky


Kelly Quindlen - 2014
    The last thing she wants is to fall in love with a girl--especially when that girl is her best friend, Baker. Hannah knows she should like Wally, the kind, earnest boy who asks her to prom. She should cheer on her friend Clay when he asks Baker to be his girlfriend. She should follow the rules of her conservative Louisiana community--the rules that have been ingrained in her since she was a child.But Hannah longs to be with Baker, who cooks macaroni and cheese with Hannah late at night, who believes in the magic of books as much as Hannah does, and who challenges Hannah to be the best version of herself. And Baker might want to be with Hannah, too--if both girls can embrace that world-shaking, yet wondrous, possibility.

Greetings From Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer


Mari SanGiovanni - 2006
    But when she inherits her grandmother’s estate and everyone turns nice and caring, Marie knows it’s time to hit the road to Los Angeles, but not before one final family vacation.In Jamaica, Marie meets the woman who could change her life. But will she even talk to Marie after her family tells one too many of Marie’s secrets? Don’t miss this hilarious tale of lesbian love and family togetherness run amok.Greetings from Jamaica is a runner-up for the first annual Bywater Prize for Fiction.

Dark Angel


Bridget Essex - 2014
    She'd stayed out at the bars until last call, and on her way home was cornered in an alleyway by four men. That night might have been her last...until she was saved by an angel. But first impressions aren't everything, and Cassandra soon realizes that the captivating woman who saved her life is no angel. In fact, Elle is a powerful vampire who was exiled from Boston fifty years ago. But Elle has returned now to exact revenge. And Cassandra is caught in the middle of it. Elle is cruel and has a very dark past, but despite everything, Cassandra feels herself drawn to the mesmerizing vampire. Is there more to Elle than meets the eye, or is Cassandra falling for a woman far past saving? A dark and sensual romance that explores power and love, the novel DARK ANGEL, will leave you spellbound.

Kiss the Rain


Larkin Rose - 2011
    What more could a girl want?Fashion designer Eve Harris has it all: perfect career, satisfying single life, and her very own phone sex operator in her back pocket. Lexi fills the sexual void when Eve’s hectic life leaves no time for relationships—relationships she has no desire to find.Jodi Connelly enjoys the few phone sex clients she has left—one in particular, Eve, who makes her close her eyes in dreamy lust with sharp, lonely cries of release. How will Jodi hide her secrets when the stunning Eve lands on her side of the Atlantic for London fashion week, the picture-perfect reality of her fantasy woman? And how will Eve react when she discovers the new woman in her life, Jodi, and her secret fantasy phone date, Lexi, are one and the same?

Witch Wolf


Winter Pennington - 2010
    Whenever there's a murder or a mystery to solve that involves the preternatural; she's the witch they call. When she's called in to help the local cops work on a mysterious murder case, she finds herself needing all the help she can get. A bloodthirsty werewolf is loose in the city and on a killing spree. As if her plate weren't full enough, a strange she-wolf seeks Kassandra's aid, asking her to help find her missing brother. Kassandra soon learns that the strange she-wolf serves two masters, and one of those masters has taken quite an interest in her. In a world where vampires have charmed their way into modern society, where werewolves walk the streets with their beasts disguised by human skin, Kassandra Lyall has a secret of her own to protect. She's one of them.