Book picks similar to
Venus Rising by Ali Spooner


second-chances-theme
lesbian
o-love-triangle
chef-hospitality

Silent Light


Kate Genet - 2011
    The trouble is that she isn’t the only visitor – Trisha, another of Michaela’s lover’s conquests has invited herself around, just when Michaela wants to be alone. Worse, this feisty newcomer seems to delight in pushing Michaela’s buttons and soon she doesn’t know whether she wants to strangle Trisha – or kiss her. Then there's the distraction of the weird lights over the lake at night, and the haunting sound of a child's laughter, when as far as they know, there isn't a child for miles. Michaela's convinced something is going on and Trisha is looking at her like they should find out what. But what happens when two headstrong women start digging up long-forgotten secrets and can they pull together long enough to survive finding out?

Recipe for Love


Aurora Rey - 2019
    A recipe for love: One cup of homespun country farmer Two dollops of hotshot city chef A sprinkle of funky little restaurant Increase the heat until romance sizzles. Hannah Little doesn’t have much use for fancy chefs or fancy restaurants, but that’s exactly what Three Willows Farm needs to survive. When a local restaurant wants to feature her produce, she’s thrilled. But the contract means working with an egotistical, and (let’s face it) drop-dead-gorgeous head chef from New York City. Chef Drew Davis can’t wait to run her own kitchen. If taking a job at some trendy farm-to-table restaurant in the middle of nowheresville will get her there faster, she’s on board. She has no intention of staying though, and that means the feisty farmer who keeps trying to tell her how to do her job can’t be anything more than a pleasant distraction.

Lawyered


K'Anne Meinel - 2014
    Getting a promotion, finding new friends, learning you are attracted to women…. Nia Toyomoto has worked hard all her life to prove she was the best; she graduated early from high school, college, and got the dream job in Manhattan. Becoming a partner at the tender age of thirty she thought she had it all until the law firm made demands about her personal appearance and a few other things that made her change her life for the promotion. Then she realizes having everything isn’t all that it is cracked up to be without someone to share it with… A successful lawyer in the big city, choices have to made, sacrifices and surprises await this beautiful and talented woman….does she make the right ones though?

Bishop's Run


B.D. Gates - 2017
    Usually, she's good at getting out of it, but this time, the trouble was more than she bargained for and it almost killed her. Finding herself in a small town in Virginia, tucked away for safety by the Witness Protection Service, she is given a second chance at a new life. The security detail watching over her is headed by Detective Tess Hayes, a by-the-book police officer with a history of her own. Coming from a big city, the rural town of Tenley provides Bishop the opportunity to reclaim the better aspects of her former life and introduces her to the people who help her start over. Can Bishop run from her troubled past? How do you bury the truth and live the lie? WARNING: REVIEWS CONTAIN ENDING SPOILERS!

Hope & a Canoe


Michele M. Reynolds - 2014
    She’s just waiting until she turns eighteen and has enough money saved to run away from her unbearable life with her grandparents. Gracie has everything Tember never knew she was missing—a good education and a loving father, who is supportive of her sexual orientation and even tries to set her up with girls. When he introduces the two girls, Gracie’s blue eyes and strong character immediately catch Tember’s attention. But a summer romance is not Tember’s style, especially since she’s about to run away.

Mackenzie's Beat


Maggie Brown - 2015
    Rachel Anderson wants no help from a war-shocked journalist—what police detective ever needs an amateur tagging along, especially a damnably attractive one? But Brisbane is under siege and a serial killer’s body count is rising. With the clock ticking, no lead is too slim. Rachel needs Mac’s help, and there’s no chance Mac won’t take. Neither of them means for it to go as far as it does…

Three Days


L.T. Marie - 2011
    Her best friend Riann is getting married there, but Dakota doesn’t like the heat or the fact that she is going to be spending three days with twenty women she can’t stand. All she wants is a little free time and a warm body to fill her bed, that is until her world is upended by the introduction of her best friend’s cousin, the mysterious Shawn Camello.Shawn Camello has been invited to her cousin Riann’s bachelorette party at the last minute. She is reluctant to go but is persuaded by Riann in the hope that they can become reacquainted after not seeing each other for twenty-five years. The moment she meets the sexy, determined Dakota Riley, she tries avoiding her at every turn. The problem is, everywhere she looks, Dakota is there, and she’s becoming harder and harder to resist.In a town like Vegas where anything can happen, Shawn and Dakota find that the stakes are love at all costs, and it’s a gamble neither can afford to lose.

Mother of the Bride


Kim Hartfield - 2019
    Things get more complicated when she realizes the groom's mother was her best friend back in high school - the first woman who ever made her heart beat faster, as well as her first kiss. Gloria and Bethany reconnect during the engagement, and Gloria begins to wonder if she could have her own fairytale romance. Is it too late for Gloria to find love? Or could the mother of the bride be the star of her own story?

Smooth Sailing


Susan X. Meagher - 2011
    Laurie Nielsen is so overworked and overstressed that she's forced to take a vacation—on one of her companies' kid-centric cruise ships. It's a slow torture, but she eventually makes the best of it and gets off the boat in St. Maarten. There, Laurie meets and insultsKaatje Hoogaboom, a woman who has very little of Laurie's work obsession. But they still manage to hit it off—to her great surprise.Once Laurie returns home they stay in touch, getting to know each other via phone calls and e-mails. But Laurie isn't an ideal girlfriend. Work is at the top of her priority list and toppling it might be more than Kaatje is able, or even willing to do.Kaatje and Laurie both have to do a lot of soul searching; what do each of them want and need, and how far is each willing to compromise? They're both strong-minded women who've adjusted to being single. The adjustment to being coupled can be just as, if not more, trying.

Something True


Karelia Stetz-Waters - 2015
    That's why she first started working at Out in Portland Coffee-it was her way of repaying the shop's owner for taking her in as a homeless teenager. Nine years later, the coffee shop is floundering and Tate feels like she's letting life pass her by . . . until she shares an unforgettable night with a beautiful stranger. When the mysterious woman disappears the next morning, Tate doesn't even know her name.Laura Enfield was supposed to be in Portland for only a few days-just long enough to oversee a simple business deal before joining her conservative father on his political campaign. But when the closeted Laura romances an employee of the coffee shop her company is shutting down, things get suddenly complicated. Now, the lies she's told for years are beginning to unravel, and her biggest secret is about to be exposed. Laura can't stop thinking about the barista with the soulful eyes, but after a lifetime of deception, can she finally embrace something true?

Burning Desire


Rachel Maldonado - 2016
    In a harrowing rescue during an apartment fire, she meets young Candace Beacon. Candi becomes displaced when everything she owns is ruined and her apartment is deemed a hazard by the fire department.In an attempt to help Candi, Suzanne invites her to move in with her until she can find a place of her own. What ensues is a push and pull relationship when the two women discover that they are at odds with one another. Will Suzanne find that she is in over her head? Or will they discover they had more in common than they initially thought?

Infiltration


Jackie D. - 2015
    Her future takes a painful turn when a roadside bomb banishes her to the halls of Camp Peary, tasked with teaching a group of prospective CIA analysts hand-to-hand combat, in six short weeks. Recruit Brooke Hart was never in Tyler’s plan, and keeping her at arm’s distance is proving to be her most difficult mission yet.Tyler unknowingly created an enemy of Michael Thompson the last time she was in Iraq. Michael has now teamed up with a terrorist organization hell-bent on obtaining every bit of confidential CIA information available at Camp Peary. An insider at Camp Peary lights the way for revenge and power. Tyler must protect both her government and her heart, while trying to find a new path.

A Long Way From Home


Olivia Lucas - 2020
    She is looking to tie things up quickly and get the hell out of there, but her meeting with the charming and gorgeous manager Tessa Fitzgerald sends her into a complete tail-spin.Her serene, together life is soon turned on its head and her colorful adventure in the Outback begins. Australia proves to be full of surprises, laughter and tears, and nothing like she expected.Lesbians are an all but extinct species out at Cobargo station so Tessa is not sure what to make of the attractive American who just dive-bombed her way into her life. Yet as much as she tries, she can’t seem to stay away.Despite being from different worlds, the two of them are inexplicably drawn to one other and begin something they are not sure they can finish. As secrets unravel, their connection is tested and it soon becomes a battle of the hearts. With the odds stacked against them, they find that they will need to put everything on the line to keep this once-in-a-lifetime love alive or risk losing it all.