The Road Home


Erin Zak - 2020
    That’s when things go from bad to worse. Home to celebrate her dad’s birthday, Gwen discovers her mom is sick and might not have much time left. She stays to help and to repair the emotional rift that has kept them apart for so long. That’s easier said than done, though, because oh-so-perfect Lila Machowicz has all but replaced Gwen as Carol Carter's surrogate daughter. Gwen and Lila are forced to work together to support the woman they both care about, even though they’re rivals for a place in Carol’s life. The last thing either expects is an attraction as undeniable as it is inconvenient. When Lila helps Gwen rebuild trust with her mom, Gwen’s heart begins to thaw. But every family has a closet full of skeletons, and when she discovers the family secret, will she ever be able to trust Lila again?Cover Artist: Tammy SeidickGenres: Contemporary / RomanceTags: Enemies to Lovers Romance, Homecoming, Age Gap, Small Town RomancesWords: 86,000

The Devil Inside


Ali Vali - 2006
    Except when the battle is over love, all bets are off. Derby Cain Casey was groomed from birth to take the reins of the Casey family enterprises, which just happens to be one of the major crime organizations in New Orleans. Surviving by never turning away from a fight and knowing how to win at all costs, Cain is as careful with her heart as she is with her business - until she meets Emma Verde. The farm girl from Wisconsin puts a hit out on Cain’s heart and leads her down a dangerous road filled with great joy and devastating sorrow. The Devil Inside is the story of unexpected passion, a shattering betrayal, and the challenge of love put to the test.

Twice Upon A Time


Erica Lee - 2020
    She has her friends, family, and a dog. What else could she need? At least that’s what she keeps telling herself, unwilling to think about what she lost until it ends up next door to her.Kacey Caldwell was the one that got away. They were college sweethearts and had plans for the future until Kacey ripped those plans apart with no explanation. Now she and her young daughter own the house next door to Kari’s, and Kari is not sure how to act.Should she keep herself closed off like she has the past ten years or open up her heart at the risk of being hurt all over again? Kari has so many questions that only Kacey has the answers to, but she’s not sure if she’s ready to get them, afraid of the pain and heartbreak that could come along with it. She has to decide the answer to the age-old question: is love worth the risk?A second chance romance filled with love, angst, and one big HEA.

Fires of the Faithful


Naomi Kritzer - 2002
    But beyond the conservatory walls is a land blighted by war and inexplicable famine and dominated by a fearsome religious order known as the Fedeli, who are systematically stamping out all traces of the land's old beliefs. Soon not even the conservatory walls can hold out reality. When one classmate is brutally killed by the Fedeli for clinging to the forbidden ways and another is kidnapped by the Circle--the mysterious and powerful mages who rule the land--Eliana can take no more. Especially not after she learns one of the Circle's most closely guarded secrets.Now, determined to escape the Circle's power, burning with rage at the Fedeli, and drawn herself to the beliefs of the Old Way, Eliana embarks on a treacherous journey to spread the truth. And what she finds shakes her to her core: a past destroyed, a future in doubt, and a desperate people in need of a leader--no matter how young or inexperienced....

The Headmistress


Milena McKay - 2021
    An unforgettable night. And back home, trouble is brewing on the remote island of Three Dragons, where nothing feels like it used to. Alone and lonely, Sam Threadneedle wishes upon a star, hoping for change. But when said change comes, it’s with a roar and not a whimper.Torn between loyalty and lust, Sam is forced to re-evaluate everything.Can she and the Home of Dragons withstand the storm that is Magdalene Nox, or will any and all crumble? Not everything is as it seems, and as she slowly unravels the mysteries behind the centuries-old walls, Sam realizes that home is much more than oak and stone.

First Position


Melissa Brayden - 2016
    She’s sacrificed creature comforts, a social life, as well as her own physical well-being for perfection in dance. Even her reputation as The Ice Queen doesn’t faze her. Though Ana’s at the peak of her career, competition from a new and noteworthy dancer puts all she’s worked for in jeopardy.While Natalie Frederico has shown herself to be a prodigy when it comes to ballet, she much prefers modern dance and living on her own terms. Life is too short for anything else. However, when the opportunity to dance with the New York City Ballet is thrust upon her, it’s not like she could say no. Dealing with the company’s uptight lead is another story, however. When the two are forced to work side-by-side, sparks begin to fly onstage and off.

Thornfruit


Felicia Davin - 2018
     Alizhan can’t see faces, but she can read minds. Her mysterious ability leaves her unable to touch or be touched without excruciating pain. Rescued from abandonment and raised by the wealthy and beautiful Iriyat ha-Varensi, Alizhan has grown up in isolation, using her gift to steal secrets from Iriyat’s rivals, the ruling class of Laalvur. But Iriyat keeps secrets of her own. When Alizhan discovers that she isn’t the only one of her kind, and that a deadly plot threatens everyone like her, there’s only one person she can trust. Ev liked having a secret. None of the other girls in the village had a thief-friend. Evreyet Umarsad—“Ev” to her parents and her one friend—longs to be the kind of hero she reads about in books. But the rest of the world feels impossibly far away from her life on a farm outside Laalvur. Ev will never lay eyes on the underground city of Adappyr, the stars of the Nightward Coast, or the venomous medusas that glow in the dark depths of the sea. At least on her weekly trip to the market, Ev gets to see her thief—the strange young woman who slips by her cart and playfully steals a handful of thornfruit. When the thief needs help, Ev doesn’t hesitate. Together, they uncover a conspiracy that draws them all over Laalvur and beyond. Thornfruit is the first book in The Gardener's Hand trilogy.

Nights of Silk and Sapphire


Amber Jacobs - 2016
    It is a strange world of blistering sun, rolling dunes, and wind-carved plains, ruled by the Scion Zafirah Al’Intisar, a powerful and mysterious woman with seductive eyes of sapphire blue.When Zafirah liberates the caravan the rescue Dae prayed for is not as it seems; Zafirah’s carnal appetite is legendary. Dae is taken into Zafirah’s harem, a decadent world of excess and sexual freedom. At first, Dae struggles with desires she has never before experienced, but as love and lust collide these two women slowly forge a bond as one learns to listen to her heart, and the other to the call of her awakening body.Length: 113,000 words

Divine Touched


Cassandra Duffy - 2012
    Her rest is cut short by a mysterious storm of divine origin, an attempted horse theft of her beloved mount, and the sudden appearance of a beautiful southerner who seems determined to capture Harper's heart. As the snows begin to fall, intrigue and romance heats up. The object of Harper's desire, the mysterious rogue Calista, appears destined to get everyone into fresh trouble with a mystical stew-brewing ogre, a greedy guild of Dwarven thieves, and finally an exalted march out of the snowy north bent on divine retribution. Harper must decide if her growing love for Calista is real or a product of the lies she's been told. Before the spring thaw, Harper will choose between the woman she loves and the Goddess that is the source of her magic.

The Caphenon


Fletcher DeLancey - 2014
    Another decision to give it away. Captain Ekatya Serrado has spent her career fighting the Voloth, who view less advanced civilizations as fuel for their empire. The choice between saving her ship or a world under attack is easy. The choices that come after are harder. Lancer Andira Tal, the leader of Alsea, believes her people are alone in the universe until a gigantic spaceship crashes near her capital city. Now she is thrust into a struggle between two powerful forces, and her planet is the prize. With a civilization and the galactic balance of power at risk, friendships and alliances may not hold against betrayal. Honor is easy when the stakes are low.

Proper English


K.J. Charles - 2019
    She’s visiting her old friend, the Earl’s heir Jimmy Yoxall—but she wants to spend a lot more time with Jimmy’s fiancée. The irrepressible Miss Fenella Carruth, with her laughing eyes and lush curves, is the most glorious woman Pat’s ever met, and it quickly becomes impossible to remember why she needs to stay at arm’s length.But while the women’s attraction grows, the tensions at Rodington Court get worse. Affairs, secrets, betrayals, and blackmail come to light. And when a body is discovered with a knife between the shoulderblades, it’s going to take Pat and Fen’s combined talents to prevent the murderer destroying all their lives.

The Time Slip Girl


Elizabeth Andre - 2015
    Agnes, a beautiful London shop girl, takes in the bewildered 21st century American lesbian, but, as Dara begins to accept that she is stuck in 1908, she also begins to accept that she has feelings for Agnes that go beyond gratitude. And the longer Dara stays, the harder Agnes finds it to hide her growing love for the accidental time traveller from the future. Will they overcome grief and prejudice to acknowledge their true feelings for one another? Or will Dara be snatched back to the 21st century before they can express their love?Excerpt:“When? When is this?” Dara asked, gesturing at the room.“It’s June 18th, miss,” Agnes said. “You really didn’t know?”Dara closed her eyes. “The year. What year, please?”“It’s 1908, miss,” Agnes said.Dara opened her eyes, opened her messenger bag, and pulled out her cell phone. She pushed the button to activate the main screen. It didn’t have a signal or the time and date. The battery was at 80 percent. She looked over at Agnes, whose eyes had gone wide. Agnes leaned over in her chair, trying to get a better look at the phone. Dara tapped a few buttons to pull up the photos she had stored on her phone. Yes, they were still there. The photos of Nick, their parents, and their friends were still there. The many pictures of Jenny, with and without Dara, were there. With Agnes still gazing at her and the phone intently, Dara went to her phone’s contacts and dialed Nick’s number. Nothing.“That still doesn’t mean I’m not dreaming,” she muttered.“Perhaps I should make us both some tea, miss.”Dara nodded yes, although she figured she could do with something a good deal stronger than tea. Agnes bustled out of the room.“Oh my God,” Dara said when she was alone. Her eyes darted around the room, taking it all in, the flower-patterned curtains on the one window, the shabby wardrobe standing in the corner, the night stand, the wooden chair, a small desk, the plain iron bed frame and the bedclothes that adorned it. One part of her couldn’t believe it was true, but another part could. That part urged her to accept the truth. It will go much easier on you if you do and soon, it said.She thought of her brother, who was probably frantic with worry wondering where she was. What would he tell their parents if he didn’t find her before they were supposed to fly out of Heathrow next week? Then there were her friends and the co-workers she actually liked. Most of all, though, there was Jenny. Jenny had been dead for over a year, so it wasn’t the fact that she wouldn’t see Jenny again that upset her. She had accepted that. No, it was the fact that she might never see the places she associated with Jenny ever again. She may never see all the little gifts Jenny had given her during their time together. In a panic, she clutched at the thin gold chain she wore around her neck. She kept her engagement ring on that chain. At least she had that. She kissed it tenderly and wept.

Pulp


Robin Talley - 2018
    It’s not easy being gay in Washington, DC, in the age of McCarthyism, but when she discovers a series of books about women falling in love with other women, it awakens something in Janet. As she juggles a romance she must keep hidden and a newfound ambition to write and publish her own story, she risks exposing herself—and Marie—to a danger all too real.Sixty-two years later, Abby Zimet can’t stop thinking about her senior project and its subject—classic 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. Between the pages of her favorite book, the stresses of Abby’s own life are lost to the fictional hopes, desires and tragedies of the characters she’s reading about. She feels especially connected to one author, a woman who wrote under the pseudonym “Marian Love,” and becomes determined to track her down and discover her true identity.In this novel told in dual narratives, New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley weaves together the lives of two young women connected across generations through the power of words. A stunning story of bravery, love, how far we’ve come and how much farther we have to go.

Hell's Belle


Marie Castle - 2013
    She could have done without the guardian bit that put a bull’s eye on her back. Being a guardian comes with so many risks and rules that immortality ought to be a fringe benefit. Whenever the New Orleans Supernaturals’ Crime Unit calls for her help she’d like to tell them to go to Hell—but they’re already in that particularly unpleasant part of the netherworld. Even a guardian has to pay her bills, and Cate has no intention of following in her mother’s footsteps as an enforcer for the Council of Supernatural Beings. Opening the Darkmirror Agency was a great idea. Her clients are mostly human, and they pay for everything from bounty hunting to process serving. But one day it all goes to Hell, figuratively. Then literally.Because that’s the day the Council’s detective Jacqueline Sloan slinks her way into Cate’s life. Jacq. So alluring. So powerful. So immortal. And up to her sexy neck in a secret that will unleash Hell’s Belle.Marie Castle’s unpredictable Darkmirror world is unveiled in this romantic, sizzling debut.

Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess Book 1: Captain Raven and the All-Girl Pirate Crew


Jeremy Whitley - 2016
    They’ve stolen everything that should be hers and now she’s going to get it back. But first, she needs a crew. Share the laughs, action, and adventure as Raven assembles the fearless crew of awesome ladies who will help her get her revenge.