Book picks similar to
Stardust Bound by Karen Cadora


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Seeking Sara Summers


Susan Gabriel - 2008
    How would your life be different if you were truly yourself? Sara Summers Stanton has raised three children and works as a high school teacher at the same school she attended growing up. Her 25 year marriage is showing cracks in the facade and now she's dealing with breast cancer. In a rare moment of taking care of herself instead of everyone else, Sara takes a sabbatical and goes on the trip to Italy she has always dreamed of taking. This search for a more authentic life leads to Julia, a friend she hasn't seen since they were inseparable as girls, nearly 30 years earlier. They reunite in Florence and their friendship continues where they left off, resulting in an unexpected attraction to one another that threatens to turn Sara's already shaky world upside down. Sara's inner conflict and subsequent choices reveal an unpredictable yet dynamic future for all the characters. Seeking Sara Summers is an emotional and lyrical novel, a timeless story about love, commitment and transformation. What Readers Are Saying About Seeking Sara Summers: "Gabriel renders Sara's growing attraction and conflict with insight. There is a real sense of what is at stake for all three of these characters: Sara, Julia and Grady. A beautiful and powerful story." -- Heather O'Neill, Book Reviewer, afterellen.com "I started reading Seeking Sara Summers with my breakfast tea and couldn't put it down until I had finished it--even missed my trip to the gym. I laughed and cried and felt warmed by the Tuscan sun." -- Ann B., Asheville, NC "I've read plenty of fiction in my life, everything from junky beach books to classic literature. I loved this book. Gabriel is a clever, funny, profound writer who quickly takes you into the inner world of her characters, while taking you on an external journey that keep you glued to the page. Sara's character jumps from the pages and her transformation has impacted and inspired me." -- Jackie W., Loveland, Colorado

In the Company of Women


Kate Christie - 2015
    Caroline “CJ” Jamieson gave up studying history and joined the Women’s Army Corps to live it instead. Along with her new WAC friends, she is ready to do her part to help boys like her brothers, fighting in the European and Pacific theaters, make it home sooner.The Army, however, has derailed her plans. Instead of the California post she anticipated, west Texas cacti and an artillery training base are the unexpected sights on her new horizons. Not one to question orders, she’s not sure how her skills in airplane engine maintenance will be of use in this desolate region.But when CJ meets fellow WAC enlistee Brady Buchanan, Fort Bliss might live up to its name.

Double Pleasure, Double Pain


Nikki Rashan - 2003
    Rashan takes readers along on a passionate journey for an answer to the common question, Who am I?, in this story of a young woman who must decide whether to continue a lopsided relationship with her boyfriend, or submit to the unfamiliar passions felt toward another woman.

Pelican's Landing


Gerri Hill - 2015
    The high-powered high life loses all its allure in the face of family tragedy.A return to the Gulf Coast life and a chance to reconnect and reclaim what really matters leads to unexpected passion and a final chance at true love in this tumultuous summer romance from best-selling author Gerri Hill!

Blind Bet


Tracey Richardson - 2010
    She’ll go back, after some rest and relaxation. When her best friend suggests a diversion, she’s quickly smitten with the allure of cards and the intriguing stranger who never seems to lose a hand. Surely she can play with dangerous temptation, just this once. Courtney Langford’s favorite date is with Lady Luck. Ever since she missed a connection and avoided a deadly plane crash, she always comes up aces. Cards, women...seduction is just another way to win. Why should the lovely Ellen be any different? But Ellen turns out to be a wild card in a game Courtney has been trying so hard not to play.Tracey Richardson puts all the cards on the table as two women decide if they’re going to bet on love.

Adijan and Her Genie


L.-J. Baker - 2008
    Shalimar, her wife, wishes Adijan would spend more time at home. Their landlord wishes Adijan would pay the rent. Adijan's brother-in-law wishes she would get trampled by a herd of camels so that he could marry his sister Shalimar to someone affluent and influential. And of all the wishes in the world, Adijan wishes the genie she's saddled with would grant her wishes instead of treating her with disdain. Be careful what you wish for in a world of genies, sorcerers, and flying carpets.

It's a Date


Claire Highton-Stevenson - 2020
    Sometimes your best friend is all you want for ChristmasFor Sally Braithwaite, a dedicated career woman, dating has never been a priority.But with Christmas looming, she finds herself wondering if it’s not the perfect time to find love.With best friend and fellow teacher Gabby Dickson in tow, Sally finds herself navigating the world of gay bars and dating apps.However, Sally and Gabby seem to be oblivious to the fact they are in love with one another.Year Eleven students Marie, Sarah, Mo, and Charlie have other ideas and embark on a daring campaign of their own to bring both teachers together.Will they be able to set their teachers up on a date before Christmas? Or will kismet step in and create its own magic?Pour a glass of mulled wine, grab a mince pie, and cuddle up with It's a Date, a Christmas friends to lovers romcom novella to warm those winter nights.30,000 words

Whitewater Rendezvous


Kim Baldwin - 2006
    As they battle the challenges of nature for survival, they discover that true love may be nothing at all like they imagined.

Love Under Glasse


Kristina Meister - 2019
     El Glasse’s mother controls her life. What she does, who she dates, even what she’s allowed to say. El only has two ways of holding onto her freedom. One is her popular anonymous blog, hidden from Mama Glasse. The other is what she so often blogs about: her feelings for Riley, the girl who works at the ice cream parlor. Riley is fierce, free, and rides a killer motorcycle, and El cannot help but love her. But Mama Glasse can never find out about her sexuality—unless El is willing to rebel. When El runs away, Riley feels responsible. She knows what it’s like to be alone, and she can’t deny her deep desire to learn El’s story. In a move she might end up regretting, she makes a devil’s bargain with Mama Glasse to hunt El down. Riley isn’t trying to bring her home though, because she knows an evil spell when she sees one—a spell of fear and shame El is finally starting to break. This huntress might lose her own heart, but it’s a risk she’s willing to take. Word count: 103,000; page count: 325

Learning Curve


Rachel Spangler - 2008
    Ashton Clarke, a local Casanova with a long history of falling into bed with a different woman every night, is perfectly content with her free and easy existence until she gives in to her best friend’s request to spend an evening helping out at the local gay and lesbian youth center. There, Ash meets Carrie Fletcher, a women’s studies professor who not only intrigues Ash but causes her to question the direction her life has taken. As if this disquieting attraction isn’t aggravating enough, Ash is forced to deal with Carrie’s teenage neighbor Tess, whose bad attitude and biting wit seem to complicate every situation. Ash doesn’t want to be attracted to Carrie, who isn’t looking for a relationship with anyone, and Tess is angry at the world, but especially, it seems, with Ash. Despite resistance on the part of all three women, it soon becomes obvious that the trio’s destinies are hopelessly intertwined and the lessons in store will change all their lives.

Come and Get Me


Julie Cannon - 2007
    Laura Collier doesn't fit the mold and Elliot knows she should walk away. Instead she finds herself in the unusual position of pursuing another woman.

Sequestered Hearts


Erin Dutton - 2007
    A popular artist suddenly goes into seclusion; a reluctant reporter wants to know why; and a heart locked away yearns to be set free.Sometimes the greatest test of love is the willingness to take a chance when there are no guarantees.At the peak of her career, painter Cori Saxton's life changes irrevocably. With her future suddenly uncertain, she seeks refuge at her country home in Upstate New York where she successfully manages to shut out most of the world—until journalist Bennett McClain is assigned to get the story. Soon Cori has to remind herself that the charming reporter is simply there to do a job, even though something about the woman makes her want to reveal all her carefully guarded secrets. When Bennett accepted the assignment, she didn't expect to find Cori so attractive, on so many levels. Cori's intensity and energy are more appealing than down-to-earth Bennett cares to admit. But when Bennett discovers the truth behind Cori's seclusion, she is torn between a desire to soothe away Cori's pain and the instinct to flee that is born of her own painful past.

The Kiss That Counted


Karin Kallmaker - 2008
    Contact with the good-hearted Karita Hanssen leaves CJ wishing for impossible things—friends, roots, a lover who knows her real name.With a life cheerfully balanced between all the things that she loves, Karita gives freely of her time and affection. She isn't looking for more until something in CJ's eyes suggests that there could be feelings deeper, stronger—and more dangerous—than any she has ever felt.CJ is committed to only tonight with her body and certainly no tomorrows when it comes to her heart. Karita has always lived for today while she waits for tomorrow to happen. One kiss couldn't change all that—unless it's the kiss that counted.Golden Crown and Lambda Literary award-winning author Karin Kallmaker's tale of two women, two outlooks and two futures trying to become one adds to her long list of best-selling and critically acclaimed lesbian romance novels.

Butch Girls Can Fix Anything


Paula Offutt - 2006
    That's true, except for the hole in her life left by the death of her lover, Anna. Her fix-it business provides the perfect hideout as she resolves other people's problems instead of focusing on her own shattered life. Grace Owens, single mother, is determined to stand on her own two feet and make a fresh start for herself and her nine-year-old daughter, Lucy. Lucy has a goal of her own: she wants to master her math homework, and that's a hard task with a mother who doesn't understand division. The three meet under a leaky kitchen ceiling. What each has to give, the others need. They must learn when to take risks and when to trust each other. Together, can they find the tools that will allow them to fix what most needs to be rebuilt?

Hard to Please


Cynthia Dane - 2019
    With red hair as captivating as the fires of the sun and curves that entrance Eva for days, it’s no wonder that the most sought-after lesbian heiress in New England has found the woman of her dreams. Yet not everyone is happy for Eva. Such as her mother, the monstrous Isabella Warren. If this woman has one goal in her life, it’s to harangue her daughter for not only her “licentious” lifestyle, but her inability to be the object of Isabella’s ladder-climbing ways. What good is a daughter, after all, who refuses to date men, let alone marry them and beget their children? (Especially if there’s a very discerning rich man willing to take her!) Eva’s life is turned upside-down when her mother delivers an ultimatum: dump Nadia and go out with a man selected for her, or forfeit her entire inheritance. One of the country’s most experienced alpha lesbians doesn’t simply roll over for her mother. When Eva discovers a loophole in her parents’ will that can forever ensure her inheritance, she knows she has to take it. That means marrying Nadia. Now. But before Nadia will consent to marriage, she needs to know that Eva is truly the love of her life. Can they weather the storm of Eva’s business crumbling beneath her? Can Nadia look her future mother-in-law in the eye and reclaim her pride? Can Nadia be assured that Eva won’t get bored of her vanilla ways the moment their relationship is official? They have three months to sort it out and say “I Do.” With any luck, they’ll survive. Otherwise, it may mean saying goodbye to the only love that’s ever mattered.