Book picks similar to
Game of Hearts by Jea Hawkins


lgbt
contemporary
lesbian
queer-women

Winter Jacket


Eliza Lentzski - 2013
    It all started with a broken classroom heater…Graduate school prepares you for many things – the rigor of academic life, how to pull consecutive all-nighters, and living off a meager stipend without having to be roommates with cockroaches.Elle Graft might have made it through six years of graduate school, but she's not convinced she'll survive her first position as an Assistant Professor.Because for all she learned, graduate school never prepared her for dealing with a student crush.

An Unstill Life


Kate Larkindale - 2014
    Add in the request Jules has made of her and Livvie feels like she’s losing her mind, too.Her only escape is in the art room, where she discovers not only a refuge from her life, but also a kindred soul in Bianca, the school “freak”. Livvie’s always felt invisible, at school and at home, but with Bianca, she finally feels like someone sees the real Livvie. As the relationship deepens and it comes time to take the romance public, will Livvie be able to take that step?Livvie’s about to find out if she has what it takes to make the tough decisions and stand up for herself—for the first time in her life.

Learning To Swim


K.J . - 2019
    She’s an executive accountant. Her two best friends, Lauren and Hanna, tease her about being a workaholic, but she doesn’t deny it. Andrea likes to think she’s got a handle on all aspects of her life, but she doesn’t really. For example, Andrea has no idea that Lauren has been in love with her for six years. Andrea has no idea that her life is about to implode when her mum is rushed to hospital. Andrea has no idea that there are moves afoot at work to destabilise her world. Andrea has no idea about any of this and it takes a life changing experience and falling in love with the one who’s been right in front of her the whole time to stop her from drowning. Andrea discovers that changing your life is a little like learning to swim.

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

Unbreakable


Blayne Cooper - 2006
    An old promise leads to a reunion, which unearths memories, mistrust, and hidden agendas as the former friends—grown up and grown apart—reconnect and realize the impact they've had on each others lives. Real and perceived betrayals jeopardize the entire event...as well as the hopes of a rekindled romance.The bonds of love and friendship can be as strong as steel. But are they unbreakable.

Vixen


Felicia Fox - 2015
    I saw her almost every day and, God, she made my lady parts sing. But it wasn’t just what she did to me physically. Whenever I looked at her, my imagination ran away with me and I couldn’t help but picture her hands on me. I couldn’t help but wonder what her skin tasted like. I would imagine the heat of her body against mine. Feel the crush of her lips. She became the star of every one of my fantasies. And when we finally spoke, I was entranced by her voice, spurred to near climax by a wild encounter. It was then she began to unravel me and held me tight as everything in my world turned upside down. My Vixen.

Critical Hit


Em Stevens - 2016
    She's taking care of her sick father, struggling to make deadlines with her art, and keeping up with the bills. There's no room for dating unless it's for the long haul, and Kris's past experiences with women have left her full of doubts. Her relief comes from her weekly Dungeons and Dragons session with close friends. As Dungeon Master, this is one world she can actually control. Lacey Jenkins is getting over heartbreak. She's still full of resentment over her emotional vampire of an ex. The sole joy in her life comes from her little terrier, Barkley. Yep, she's reached crazy dog lady status and she doesn't care if you know it. But she knows the only way to move on is to start meeting new people, and her coworker offers her the perfect opportunity. Nice, easy, and no drama. Adventure comes easy while playing a game, but finding true love in the real world is quite a challenge. Are they up to it? It's a roll of the dice.

Misadventures of Victoria Davenport: Operation Matchmaker


Erik Schubach - 2013
    She finds a new roommate, Candice, and decides it is her duty to find her a boyfriend. Because "I'd so make an awesome matchmaker!" She inadvertently succeeds in her own hyper-loveable fashion. We also learn some of the reasons behind her dichotomy of genius and scatterbrained personality, and the reason she left her friends and family to attend Oxford.This is set in the same world as Music of the Soul but is a standalone story.The Misadventures of Victoria Davenport is a series of short stories featuring the hyper and loveable blonde Einstein, Vicky from A Deafening Whisper, and chronicle her adventures in England during her Oxford years. One misadventure will be released between each Music of the Soul book release.

Set the Stage


Karis Walsh - 2017
    She’s vowed never to repeat the mistakes she made the first time: no following her heart, no putting herself second to someone else, no relationship drama. She won’t let any woman keep her from reconnecting with her dreams.Arden Philips has stood on the outskirts of the festival for years, tending the gardens of nearby Lithia Park. She’s seen actresses come and go and only allows herself the occasional dalliance. But when she comes across Emilie rehearsing on a mossy riverbank, Arden realizes her heart might not listen to her head.The stage is set, the house lights dimmed. Is true love merely make-believe or can these two women write it into the script of their lives?

Best Lesbian Romance 2011


Radclyffe - 2010
    . . She looked at me like she could fall for me, fall in love with me, or maybe like she already had. She looked at me like she wanted to know everything I had to say, to peek inside my brain and tease out the parts I kept deliberately tucked away." — "Mother Knows Best" by Rachel Kramer BusselRomance is an experience that encompasses a panoply of emotions: euphoria, despair, exhilaration, the thrill of sexual awakening, the excitement of new beginnings, and the quiet contentment of the familiar. This collection of love stories features the best romance writers around, including Anna Meadows, Charlotte Dare, Miel Rose, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Rebecca S. Buck, Radclyffe and a dozen others. The juicy, seductive tales of Best Lesbian Romance 2011 capture the eroticism and lyricism of love, from the first blush of recognition to the forever embrace of shared hearts.

Checking the Right Box


Nicole Pyland - 2019
    She has a new job at the Health Department, a tiny apartment, and has dealt with being unlucky in love for most of her adult life. She’s hoping a new city and a fresh outlook will help her find the woman she’s been waiting for.Keira Worthy has had a rough few years. She lost her best friend and business partner almost immediately after starting their dream event planning company. She’s barely hanging on financially and takes a job for the Health Department in hopes of landing more customers if it goes well. When she meets her liaison, Emma, under not the best circumstances – sparks fly. And not the good kind of sparks.When they bump into one another at a lesbian singles night, they have to decide if they want to take the chance on something that could possibly be forever. Recommended order of reading the books in the series: Checking the Right Box (San Francisco Series Book #1) Keep Tahoe Blue (Tahoe Series Book #1) Macon's Heart (San Francisco Series Book #2)

Ladyfish


Andrea Bramhall - 2012
    Coerced into picking up a new trainee from the airport, Oz has no idea that her life is about to change in every imaginable way.Daniela Finnsbury-Sterling, Finn to her friends, is trying to break away from an overbearing father, a man intent on making her life fit his plans. Desperate to make her own way, she escapes to Florida to train as a diving instructor. She knows it won’t be easy. She knows her father will do anything he can to force her back into line. Unfortunately, she has no idea exactly what anything will be!

Risk: Three Crime-fighting Women RISK All for Love, Lust and Justice.: A Lesbian Fiction Thriller


Sam Skyborne - 2017
    Guaranteed to thrill! *** 2019 - Award-Winning Finalist in International Book Awards *** *** 2018 - National Indie Excellence Award - FINALIST! *** *** 2018 - NYC Big Book Award - DISTINGUISHED FAVOURITE! *** It is not bad enough 'coming out'.... Never mind unwillingly being wrenched from the closet in the midst of a dangerous serial killer case by your new nemesis and your long time best friend. "Another gripping, racy page-turner, starring three strong, sexy female protagonists on the hunt for a psychotic killer." "In the dark domains of crime, lust and love - innocence and guilt mix like blood and water. Will Toni RISK it all to catch the psychotic killer?" Toni Mendez, an ex-cop turned private investigator in London, takes on a case to find the truth behind the violent murder of the young wife of a successful entrepreneur, Lucille Ransom-Evans. Little did she know that this case would bring to her door Maxine Bennett, a feisty, opinionated, American detective, on the hunt for a serial killer. Maxine not only infiltrates Toni's working life presenting a sore reminder of a profession she once loved, as a British detective, she also invades her private life by seducing her best friend, Lizbeth Du Cannon. As the action-packed investigation continues, Toni is engulfed, both professionally and privately, into a racy subculture she knew only from a distance - the LGBTQ+ world. She is forced to reassess everything she thought she knew about herself, her sexuality and the foundations (repressed romantic feelings) of her long-term friendship with Lizbeth.

Club Storyville


Riley Lashea - 2014
    Her grandmother Mary - Nan to those close to her - does them all. She drinks what she wants, speaks when she wants, and doesn't hesitate to help a colored boy on the street with no concern for who might see. In awe of her grandmother, Elizabeth also wants to be a good daughter, and no one is more concerned with what people think than her mother, so different from Nan it's sometimes hard to believe she came from the woman's womb. When Nan gets sick and needs full-time care, she invites Yankee nurse Ariel Brandt into their lives. Smart, funny and beautiful, Ariel is a lot like Nan in a lot of ways, and Elizabeth is drawn to her at once. As her feelings for Ariel grow out of her control, Elizabeth finds herself torn between her own desires and the deeply-ingrained rules of the society in which she lives. Her brother at war, a new suitor trying to court her, and Ariel keeping a safe distance, Elizabeth is charged with an errand. Nan wants her to travel to New Orleans to find someone she once knew and pass along a wooden box that holds an important letter. Can the unexpected journey into Nan's past help Elizabeth find her future?

Off Screen


J.A. Armstrong - 2015
    But, Emma spends most of her nights alone wondering how her life became so secluded. Surrounded by people constantly, she remains lonely. Skeptical of people’s true motives, and guarded in her personal attachments; it seems the one thing Emma craves most in life is destined to allude her; love. Addison Blake is a charming and witty aspiring writer. She sees life as an endless adventure full of possibility and prides herself on taking chances. When Addison accidentally collides with Emma; sparks immediately ignite. Friendship and companionship are rivaled by an attraction that neither woman has ever experienced. But, Addison seems reluctant to pursue a romantic relationship with the popular television star, challenging Emma to finally demolish all of her self-imposed walls. Off Screen is the story of two women’s discovery of love and passion and the courage to embrace both.