Book picks similar to
Lightning Strikes by Cass Sellars
romance
lgbt
butch-femme
lesbian
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…
Battle Scars
Meghan O'Brien - 2009
Ray McKenna returns from the war in Iraq to find that she had attained unwanted celebrity status back home. As the only surviving American soldier of a well-publicized hostage crisis, she is the center of attention at a time when all she wants is solitude. Struggling to overcome the fear and anxiety that plague her, she relies on her psychiatric therapy dog Jagger to help her through the vicious symptoms of PTSD. Veterinarian Dr. Carly Warner hasn't yet figured out how to open her heart to the possibility of falling in love again after the death of her longtime partner. When Ray McKenna walks into the North Coast Veterinary Clinic with Jagger, she and Carly begin a friendship that takes them both by surprise. Brought together by their shared love of dogs, Ray and Carly discover that they are both capable of moving forward, if only they are brave enough to try
One-Off
Lynn Galli - 2015
As a cynic, she rejects the notion of marital bliss, but for a friend, she'll give it her best effort. That becomes more difficult the moment she learns that her old college nemesis, Ainsley Baird, will be playing an important role in the wedding. Brilliant, beautiful Ainsley has many talents, chief among them is irritating Skye. Knowing how easily Ainsley pushes her buttons, Skye just hopes to get through the wedding without needing someone to post her bail.
Brooklyn Summer
Maggie Cummings - 2020
Her ex dumped her for a guy, and she can’t seem to stop bumping into them in their suddenly way too small Brooklyn neighborhood. At least Mother Nature is on her side. Summer is here and the forecast is all sun. Ashleigh needs a little excitement, and things get exponentially hotter when Kellan Dwyer walks into her life. Fresh out of the army, Kellan is killing time apartment sitting before returning home to a scripted future in Colorado. Her itinerary consists solely of having a blast. Ashleigh and Kellan decide friends with benefits is hot, and fun, and sexy as hell, but romance? Terrible idea. With the New York City skyline as their backdrop, the summer heats up fast. They just have to keep their feelings in check before someone gets hurt. When opposites attract, can a summer of passion lead to a lifetime of love?
Friends Without Benefits
Dena Blake - 2018
Grace is smart, beautiful, and most unfortunately, straight. Life would’ve been perfect if Grace had only loved her back, but when Grace gets married, Dex knows it’s time to move on. Then Dex meets Emma Lawson, and her life takes a whole new direction. Only trouble is, she never expected to have to choose between her best friend and her new love.Emma Lawson is successful and happy except when it comes to love. She’s been alone for a year and has no intention of giving love another chance, until falling for Dex changes everything. When Grace comes between them, Emma refuses to be second best. Can Emma show Dex what true love really looks like?
Blend
Georgia Beers - 2018
She’s thrilled when her boss leaves her in charge (well, half charge) and tells her to feel free to make changes. Lindsay has tons of ideas that she's been dying to put into action, and this is her big chance to increase the success of the business and prove she’s more than ready to run things solo. But getting the boss's daughter on board is harder than expected. The uptight and annoyingly attractive Piper is blocking her every move. For Piper Bradshaw, Vineyard is not her job. She already has one. She's VP at a large tech company, and she's damn good at it. Who cares if people say she’s a workaholic and an icy bitch? She didn't get to the top by being prone to whims and experiments. She's not happy when her mother suddenly decides to gallivant all over the country and furious that the family business has been left in the hands of the happy-go-lucky, born-a-generation-too-late hippie who manages it. Good thing Lindsay can't make any changes unless they both agree, because Piper doesn't intend to. Lindsay and Piper are like night and day. Working together won’t be easy, but not falling in love might prove the hardest job of all.
The Set Piece
Catherine Lane - 2015
She’s working two menial jobs to make ends meet, barely a paycheck away from financial disaster, and women aren’t exactly lining up at her door. Enter soccer star Diego Torres, who’s keeping a big secret: he’s gay. His manager fears that if he’s found out, his endorsements and his chance to play for the national team will evaporate into the wind.Amy jumps at the chance to act as Diego’s fake fiancée, even though it means signing her life away in a non-disclosure agreement. On the surface, the job couldn’t be better: the money’s great; the living accommodations are luxurious, and she gets to watch her favorite soccer team from the players’ box at the stadium.But she soon realizes that this new life is even harder to navigate than her old one. Diego’s manager is as sleazy as they come, and this easy job soon turns complicated, possibly even dangerous. More important, all the lies Amy is forced to tell are starting to eat away at her soul, especially when she finds herself attracted to Casey Palmer, Diego’s pretty assistant.Will Amy watch from the sidelines, or will she find the courage to get back into the game?Length: 284 pages (approx. 64,000 words)Themes: blackmail · lesbian · soccer · sports
Beautiful Dreamer
Melissa Brayden - 2019
She’s pretty much blocked out her formative years in Dreamer’s Bay, where the most exciting thing to happen was the twice a year bake sale. Unfortunately, a distress call hauls her back home and away from the life she’s constructed. Now the question is just how long until she can leave again? And when did boring Elizabeth Draper get so beautiful? Elizabeth Draper loves people, free time, and a good cup of coffee in the warm sunlight. In the quaint town of Dreamer’s Bay, she’s the only employee of On the Spot, an odd jobs company. She remembers Devyn Winters as shallow in high school, but now everything about Devyn makes her lose focus. Though her brain knows Devyn is only home temporarily, her heart didn’t seem to get the memo.Cover Artist: Jeanine HenningGenres: Contemporary / Romance Tags: Homecoming, Small Town RomancesWords: 95,000
All the Pretty Things
Rae D. Magdon - 2013
She had enough to deal with running as a Republican and a closeted lesbian. But when Special Agent Robin Hart from the FBI arrives in Cincinnati to investigate a corruption case, Tess finds herself spending more time than she should with the attractive woman. Things get a little more complicated when Robin begins to display signs of affection, and Tess fears her own outing might erupt in political scandal and sink all chances of pursuing her dreams.
The Blue Place
Nicola Griffith - 1998
Born in Norway into the failed marriage between a Scandinavian diplomat and an American businessman, she now makes Atlanta her home, luxuriating in the lush heat and brashness of the New South. She glides easily between the world of silken elegance and that of sleaze and sudden savagery, equally at home in both; functional, deadly, and temporarily quiescent, like a folded razor.On a humid April evening between storms, out walking just to stay sharp, she turns a corner and collides with a running woman, Catching the scent of clean, rain-soaked hair, Aud nods and silently tells the stranger Today, you are lucky, and moves on—when behind her house explodes, incinerating its sole occupant, a renowned art historian. When Aud turns back, the woman is gone.
Freshman Year
Annameekee Hesik - 2010
But when she orders French fries from the flirtatious Hot Dog on a Stick Chick, she gets more than deep-fried potatoes. Abbey tries to ignore the weird, happy feeling in her gut, but that proves to be as impossible as avoiding the very insistent (and—rumor has it—very lesbian) players on Gila High’s girls’ basketball team. They want freakishly long-legged Abbey to try out, and Abbey doesn’t hate the idea. But Kate made Abbey pinky swear to avoid basketball and to keep away from the you-know-who girls on the team.Sometimes promises can’t be kept. And sometimes girls in uniform are impossible to resist.
Rescue Me
Michelle L. Teichman - 2016
With a few good years under her belt and a promotion so close she can almost touch it, Staff Sergeant Kristen Bailey of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has everything figured out. Until she meets Ashleigh Paige.Beautiful, naïve, intelligent, and trusting, Ashleigh is the perfect possible lead for Bailey’s case. All she has to do is get close to her. The only problem is Ashleigh’s a paramedic, and in Toronto, paramedics and cops don’t mix.Undercover and searching for answers as a Toronto police officer, Bailey uses her charm to get Ashleigh to trust her and open up about what she knows surrounding the case of a dead police officer and the paramedics who might have murdered him.The trouble is, the closer she gets to Ashleigh, the more the line between informant and intimate gets blurred.272 pages(94,000 words)Themes: Canada · female police officer · lesbian · paramedic · police · Toronto
Dare to Love
A.L. Brooks - 2020
Her love life’s been a lot bumpier, though. Ever since a heart-breaking affair with a straight colleague, she’s vowed to steer clear of women unsure of their sexuality. Talent-agency executive Carmen Lyttleton is straight, career focused, and not prone to distraction from her occasional casual relationships. When her best friend gets a tattoo at Ash’s studio, Carmen finds herself unexpectedly impressed by Ash and her business. When they accidentally meet again, Carmen is shocked by the sparks between them and the realization that she feels a lot more than just admiration for Ash’s work ethic. It can’t possibly mean what it seems…can it? The pull between the women is powerful but so are their fears, old baggage, and stubbornness. Can they dare to love? A slow-burn lesbian romance about leaving the past behind and opening your heart to new possibilities.
The Road to Wings
Julie Tizard - 2017
She has to face thunderstorms, the death of friends, and male instructors who want to wash her out. Captain Kathryn Hardesty is the toughest and best instructor pilot on the base and the chief of flight safety. She’s demanding because she knows the price of failure is tragedy and a smoking hole. She looks out for all the students, especially the female ones. Casey has to learn to fly a supersonic jet, not get killed in the process, and face a growing forbidden attraction. Can she muster the intelligence, courage, and unbreakable determination to become an air force pilot? Does she have what it takes to earn wings, find love, and not crash and burn?
The Pleasure Planner
Larkin Rose - 2009
Logan Delaney is too busy trying to reconcile the legacy of her grandparents’ failed magazine company to invest in anything more than the occasional affair.Can two women who aren't looking for love find it in each other's arms?