Book picks similar to
Following Chance by Baxter Brown
second-chance
lgbtq
angst
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Girls Who Pray
Evelyn Dar - 2019
Yep, those Amish. Claire’s latest release, a tell-all memoir about growing up Amish, reveals startling truths and intimate details about a passionate, secret love affair between herself and another woman. Claire now stands accused of libel and finds herself locked in a legal battle against the very community she once called home. Can Claire defend the truth of her words while still protecting the privacy of the woman she once loved? And perhaps still does?
Behind the Pine Curtain
Gerri Hill - 2006
Her family was the largest employer in the county, owning Pine Springs Lumber, and her father was mayor of this small town. Her mother could not accept the fact that her only child was gay, could not tolerate the gossip about her family. So, with a hundred dollars in her pocket and a one-way bus ticket out of town, Jacqueline was told not to come back until she had come to her senses. And that included being prepared to marry the son of a business associate of the family. Fifteen years later—long after she’d hitch-hiked to Los Angeles, long after she’d worked nights to put herself through college, and long after she’d written her first best seller, No Place For Family—Jacqueline is persuaded to go back to the tiny town of Pine Springs after her father’s death. The quick trip she’d envisioned for the funeral turns into weeks as she learns her father’s business is suddenly hers to manage. And she is also again face-to-face with the woman who, as a teen, had been Jackie’s first crush. She and Kay had been inseparable as kids, and later as teens. They find themselves falling back into their old habits, and Jackie is soon fighting the same feelings she’d had when she was seventeen. But living behind the pine curtain, Kay is afraid of her love for Jackie, afraid of what her family will say, afraid of how the town will react. Jackie refuses to hide, refuses to crawl back into the closet, so once again, she leaves Pine Springs . . . alone.
Aurora
Emma L. McGeown - 2020
Except the night before turns out to be eight years ago and Elena has no memory of the time she’s lost. Family feuds, breakups, and sexual awakenings―all forgotten. For Keelin Jax, Elena’s wife, the long nightmare only continues upon Elena’s awakening when Keelin becomes a platonic roommate overnight. While Elena struggles to adjust to her new present and find the life she left behind, someone from Elena’s past finds a way to seize the opportunity after years of silence.Cover Artist: Tammy SedickGenres: Contemporary / RomanceEditor: Barbara Ann WrightProduction Design: Stacia SeamaneBook Design: Toni WhitakerWords: 71,000
All the Way Home
Nancy Ann Healy - 2018
Katelyn (Kat) Summers’ family has just moved to Webster, Massachusetts. It’s the day before her twelfth birthday, and all Katelyn wants to do is go back home to Pennsylvania. That is until a ten-year-old boy named Neil Masters crashes into her bicycle. When Katelyn looks up from her position on the ground, she finds a hand stretched out to greet her. As she’s pulled to her feet, Katelyn meets with the inquisitive gaze of Sarah Masters. Within minutes, Katelyn will never think of any other place as home again. Best friends from the moment they meet, Katelyn and Sarah are inseparable. Looking in, they have an idyllic life in a quaint New England community. But, life is not always as simple and charming as it seems. It’s messy. As the pair of friends grow, so do their feelings—Sarah’s for Katelyn, and Katelyn’s for Sarah’s brother, Neil. Sarah has spent her life loving Kat at a distance. Once her best friend, Kat has now become Sarah’s sister-in-law. While Sarah struggles to let go of Kat, Kat yearns to hold onto Sarah’s presence in her life. Through ups and downs, hopes and dreams, celebrations and disappointments, Katelyn and Sarah struggle to maintain the bond they formed in childhood. There are lessons in everything; in the paths taken, and the paths left behind. An unexpected fork in Kat’s road will challenge their entire family. Time has a way of revealing the truth. If you are willing to listen, and to speak it, life has a way of leading you All the Way Home. Nancy Ann Healy is the best-selling author of five novels in lesbian fiction. She is best known for the political thriller series featuring Alex and Cassidy. In 2015, Nancy began writing under the pen name, J.A. Armstrong. She currently writes five best-selling series as J.A. Armstrong: Off Screen, By Design, Special Delivery, First Course, and Open Tab. In addition to the series she pens, Nancy is also the author of Falling Through Shooting Stars, and the play, Spin. Nancy lives in Connecticut with her wife, Melissa, and three dogs, Maggie, Sydney Bristow, and a husky named Jameson.
Running the Tides
Amanda Kayhart - 2018
Love runs fast. And Avery Greene . . . runs the hell away. Left with scraps from several broken relationships, carpenter Avery Greene builds herself a safe and steady life in Upstate New York. No love. No loss. No problem. But when she makes a jarring discovery in her grandmother’s attic, it cracks her stable life at its vulnerable foundation. In search of a permanent fix, Avery finds herself at the Sea Springs Inn, a bed and breakfast in the Outer Banks—where the rip currents roll, sand dunes shift, and her strikingly gorgeous hostess throws her plans completely off course. Embarking on a new journey doesn’t come without squalls, and just as Avery adapts to her surroundings and the possibility of love, a violent storm strikes the North Carolina coast. Will the fear of heartbreak keep Avery anchored to the same, drawn-out plans? Or will she revise her design, remodel her heart, and finally add love to life’s blueprint?
The Art of Us
K.L. Hughes - 2017
She never imagined an art student with a penchant for cheesy pick-up lines and stealing parking spaces would crack her rigid exterior and claim her heart.For four years, theirs was an enviable love—evergreen and growing. Unbreakable…Until it broke.Now, after five years on the opposite side of the country, Alex’s work brings her back to Boston. When, by chance, they meet again, Charlee and Alex are swept up in a whirlwind of heart-rending history, tossed between past and present, and lovers old and new. Will their lingering connection be enough to convince them that some loves are meant to last? Or should the past remain in the past?79,500 words
Every Slow Song
Erica Lee - 2020
Unfortunately, five years into their marriage, happily ever after didn't seem so happy anymore. Reaching the end of her rope, Kennedy asked for a divorce and the two separated.After six months of being separated, Skylar still hasn't told her family about the impending divorce. When the time comes for the annual family beach vacation, what choice does she have but to ask Kennedy to come along and pretend they are still together? Telling the truth isn't an option since it will only make her already-strained relationship with her family even harder.Two weeks pretending to be madly in love. How hard could it be? It turns out the hard part might not be faking it. The hard part is not getting their hearts broken all over again when the two weeks comes to an end.BONUS: Don't miss the winner of the short story contest, Intimacy, included at the end of the book!
Separate Like Stars
Diana Kane - 2018
With numerous bestsellers under her belt, a number of blockbuster movie adaptations to her credit, and a high profile relationship with one of Hollywood’s most prominent stars, what more could she possibly ask for? Maybe for Olivia Bradley, the only woman to ever break her heart, to exit her life as quickly as she’d re-entered it. When an ongoing case of writer’s block triggers a series of unforeseeable events, Jordan is forced to face the tragedies of her past and reevaluate the life she has been contentedly coasting through. As she reaches a crossroads, she must decide if she’ll be able to forgive her former best friend, and just how much is she willing to sacrifice in the name of happiness. 137,000 words
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.
Blurred Lines
K.D. Williamson - 2016
Only a select few know her as a loyal, loving friend. To a fault, she is committed to her family, friends and her job.As a surgeon, Nora Whitmore is used to being in control. The hospital is her life. There is little else. Respected by her colleagues but ridiculed by the residents, Nora takes what she needs and keeps everyone else at arm’s length, creating unexpected enemies.Tragedy brings them together in a clash of personalities. As the chaos around them continues, they find the lines between them blurring. A friendship forms, understanding grows, and attraction soon follows. Together, they may conquer their own misgivings, but will the outside forces keep them apart?Themes: lesbian · medical · police
The Goodmans
Clare Ashton - 2018
But Abby has a secret. Best friend Jude Goodman is the love of her life, and very, very straight. Even if Jude had ever given a woman a second glance, there’d also be the small problem of Maggie – she would definitely not approve. But secrets have a habit of sneaking out, and Abby’s not the only one with something to hide. Life is just about to get very interesting for the Goodmans.Things are not what they used to be, but could they be even better?97,600 words
The Road to Madison
Elle Spencer - 2019
Falling in love with her childhood friend Ana Perez was not in the cards. As Madison’s father puts it, “A gay daughter? Married to the maid’s daughter? Running my company? Over my dead body.”By the time George Prescott dies, it’s been 15 years since Madison and Ana were ripped apart by his lies. They haven’t spoken since, but Madison has spent every minute waiting for this day to come. Unfortunately, it turns out time doesn’t heal all wounds. Why was Madison willing to give up everything in the face of her father’s threats, and why can she never tell Ana the truth about what really separated them?Caught between a present they can’t trust and a past they can’t forget, Madison and Ana must decide if this is their second chance, or their final heartbreak.Editor: Barbara Ann WrightCover Artist: Tammy SedickGenres: Contemporary / Romance Tags: Financial gap/Class disparity, New York City, Multicultural, Big City, Friends to Lovers Romance, Reunion Romance, Virgins/First Love, Second Chance at Love
What the Heart Remembers Most
M. Ullrich - 2020
Jax Levine and Gretchen Mills fell madly in love in college and never looked back. They built a great life together, but careers, a baby, and years of mounting tension later, they are living separate lives and their once grand love is forgotten. After an accident, Gretchen suffers a brain injury that erases years of her memories. She wakes in the hospital with Jax at her side and everything seems normal…except Jax won’t look her in the eye and their baby boy is now a rambunctious toddler. Every line drawn between Jax and Gretchen starts to blur while Gretchen fights to figure out which of her most haunting recollections are real, and which are fake.Is it possible for this accident to be the second chance neither Jax nor Gretchen knew they wanted?Cover Artist: Tammy SeidickGenres: Contemporary / Romance
The Secret Chord
Virginia Hale - 2019
Joan of Arc, she expected to deal with rowdy adolescents, strict nuns, and memories of her intense friendship with her old roommate, Tilly Wattle. The last thing Kate expected, however, was for Tilly to show up as the substitute teacher.The last time the two had seen each other, Tilly had her heart set on joining the sisterhood of nuns that had raised her as an orphan. Tilly longed for a simple life devoting herself to God while Kate longed for a simple life devoting herself to Tilly. Now, twelve years since she forced herself to say goodbye, Kate realizes that she never really got over her sweet, beautiful friend—or the secret kisses they shared as girls.In her heart of hearts Kate believes that Tilly can match her passion with equal intensity. When Tilly steadfastly refuses to talk about their past, what choice does Kate have but to try to control her own longings and concentrate on renewing their friendship?But what if Kate isn’t the only one desperate to hide her true feelings…Genre: RomanceEditor: Cath WalkerCover Designer: Judith Fellows
Chemistry Lessons
Jae - 2021
Sometimes the perfect person has been right in front of you all alongKylie and Regan have been best friends since kindergarten, supporting each other through thick and thin.While everyone thinks they would be perfect for each other, they insist there’s no chemistry between them—and Regan should know since she’s a chemistry teacher.To prove it, they agree to a little chemistry experiment: they’ll go on three dates with each other.So what if their gazes start to linger and accidental touches no longer feel platonic? They chalk it up to the romantic atmosphere—until a friendly good night kiss turns passionate.Can their friendship go back to the way it was before? Do they even want it to? Or will they risk losing what they have for a chance at love?73,000 wordsTags: friends to lovers, slow burn romance