Book picks similar to
The Queen's Companion by Maggi A. Petton


lesbian
historical-fiction
romance
on-reader

Kept Animals


Kate Milliken - 2020
    There she rides for the rich clientele, including twins June and Wade Fisk. June begins to take an interest in Rory—but she is more drawn to Vivian Price, the beautiful teenager with the movie-star father, who lives down the hill, and Rory can’t help noticing, swims in her pool nearly every night. Rory’s ambiguous roots and blue-collar upbringing keep her largely separate from the likes of the Prices and the Fisks—until her stepfather is involved in a tragic car accident. From that moment on, the lives of these teenagers become inextricably linked—are they friends or foes, lovers or rivals?—sparking a series of events that come to a head the night a wildfire tears through Topanga Canyon, and Rory’s life is changed forever.Kept Animals is narrated by Rory’s daughter, Charlie, twenty years after that fateful 1993 fire. Rory is away on assignment as a war photographer, and Charlie knows the key to her own existence lies in the story of what happened during that unseasonably warm fall. And without her mother to tell her the truth, she must unravel it by herself.Taut, propulsive, and gorgeously written, Kate Milliken’s debut is a searing exploration of girlhood, class, and fate.

Fireflies


Lise Gold - 2018
    She doesn’t mind being busy; it provides distraction from painful memories and her daily struggle to stay sober. Captain Ava Alfarsi has just been promoted, carrying more responsibility than she’s ever had before. As a single, young and attractive captain, Ava has no problem meeting women, but her control issues and fear of people finding out she’s far from perfect stand in the way of connecting with others on a deeper level. When the two become aware of each other’s deepest secrets, they find comfort in the knowledge that they’re not alone. The attraction is undeniable as they embark on a healing journey together. Can Ava learn to let go, and can Mia somehow make peace with her past? Both searching for strength to fight their demons, they never expected to find strength in each other. But is passion enough to keep the fire burning?

Love’s Portrait


Anna Larner - 2019
    When Georgina Wright, the museum’s aloof benefactor, asks for Molly’s help in identifying the provenance of a 19th century portrait of social activist Josephine Brancaster, Molly welcomes the opportunity, even if it means spending time with the standoffish financier. But passions soon flare as the women uncover the heartbreaking story of doomed lesbian love behind the watercolor painted by Josephine’s lover, Edith Hewitt. As their love blossoms, Molly is determined to display Edith’s portrait of Josephine and to tell their story in the museum, but she needs the influential Georgina to help convince the board. When an unforeseen twist in the painting’s provenance forces Georgina to confront her own painful past, will history repeat itself, or can Molly and Georgina’s love prevail?

Not Single Enough


Grace Lennox - 2007
    A funny, sexy modern romance about two lonely women who bond over the unexpected and fall in love despite their determination to do the opposite.Giselle was having a ero week, in fact, she was having a ero life. Her ex had finally copped to the affair she’d been having for months and they’d broken up, Giselle had just watched an idiot get the promotion she wanted at work, and her mother had showed up for lunch with a gigolo she is set to marry.Life gets even more complicated when, after drowning her sorrows at her local bar, Giselle finds a newborn baby in a dumpster a block from her house and decides to keep it. Two days later, after she’s being calling in sick to work, her best friend Sandy visits, only to discover a fridge full of baby formula and Giselle reading a book on motherhood.Sandy has to act but she doesn't want to get Giselle in trouble, so she gets in touch with a friend who can deal with the situation, Detective Dale Porter. Dale has heard it all before. Nothing surprises her and she has no problem with the idea of picking up a dumpster baby, no questions asked, from a rescuer who got “carried away.” Only, Giselle seems so distressed when the baby is taken, avowedly single Dale finds herself wanting to make it up to her.

The Grass Widow


Nanci Little - 1996
    A moving novel of support, friendship and love, set in the tiny frontier community of Washburn Station, Kansas in the year 1876.

On Azrael's Wings


D. Jordan Redhawk - 2008
    Due to circumstances beyond her control she's thrust into the role of body slave for the infamous woman, and must learn to please her new mistress in all ways or end up on the slaver's block. Azrael only wishes to retire at her estate, but her king has other ideas. In fact, King Shonal has many ideas Azrael cannot abide, and one of them has to do with demanding sexual favors from her newly acquired body slave...the one she's unaccountably fallen in love with.

Illusions


Madeline J. Reynolds - 2018
    He has a sensitive heart and wants nothing more than to write poetry. Instead, he is apprenticing for Neville Wighton the Great, an aging magician who has become somewhat crazed over the years in his pursuit of fame. With Thomas’ help, Wighton is about to premiere the greatest illusion seen by man, for Thomas possesses something no other illusionist has: real magic. Many in the theatrical world are desperate to learn Wighton’s big secret. One such magician is Paolo il Magnifico. His apprentice, Saverio Moretti, is also seeking the answer. He has a scheme to get close to Wighton by seducing Thomas but seduction turns to real feelings. Now the young men must struggle to keep the secret of their romance, as well as the secret of Thomas’ magic, as both of these things could cost Thomas his life. Through journal entries, posters, letters, and other documents, ILLUSIONS is a story of love, betrayal, and of course, magic.

The Proposal


T.B. Markinson - 2022
    The centuries-old shop is owned by Cleo Braithwaite, a woman with a fierce and frightening reputation. Cleo turns out to be nothing like the rumors but refuses to sit still long enough to be dazzled by the meticulous spreadsheets and slides Marley has prepared to seal the deal. Instead of making her proposal, Marley soon finds herself on an impromptu walking tour of London with the charming Cleo.Even though Marley has a dinner date that night with the woman she’s been chatting with online and was convinced was her soulmate, she can’t ignore the feelings her bewitching guide stirs up inside as they explore the historic city on foot. What’s more, the longer she’s with Cleo, the more Marley begins to question the business deal she’s been sent to make.Should Marley stick with the plan, or is a single life-changing day with Cleo worth blowing up the future Marley was so certain she wanted?

Redemptio Animae


Sydney Gibson - 2015
    When a high profile detail goes horribly wrong, her career is derailed, leaving her to fall into a bottle. Forced to pick up low level celebrity security details to keep herself afloat, Kit is set on a path of self-destruction and increasing isolation. Claire Avondale is a Senator in need of discreet protection that falls outside of the normal security details offered by the government. Increasingly targeted by religious fanatics for her progressive push of policies in support of genetic research, Claire soon finds herself being hunted by the very people who are supposed to protect her. When Kit is hired by Claire to be her bodyguard, she is forced to face her demons, as their mutual attraction escalates and Claire’s own secrets are revealed. Will Kit be able to save herself and Claire from the enemy hell bent on destroying them? This debut novel from Sydney Gibson will leave you guessing at every twist and turn, and sucked into the sweeping romance of the two leads. Leaving you wanting more page to page.

Sisters of the Great War


Suzanne Feldman - 2021
    While Europe enters a brutal conflict unlike any waged before, the Duncan household in Baltimore, Maryland, is the setting for a different struggle. Ruth and Elise Duncan long to escape the roles that society, and their controlling father, demand they play. Together, the sisters volunteer for the war effort--Ruth as a nurse, Elise as a driver.Stationed at a makeshift hospital in Ypres, Belgium, Ruth soon confronts war's harshest lesson: not everyone can be saved. Rising above the appalling conditions, she seizes an opportunity to realize her dream to practice medicine as a doctor. Elise, an accomplished mechanic, finds purpose and an unexpected kinship within the all-female Ambulance Corps. Through bombings, heartache and loss, Ruth and Elise cherish an independence rarely granted to women, unaware that their greatest challenges are still to come.Illuminating the critical role women played in the Great War, this is a remarkable story of resilience, sacrifice and the bonds that can never be vanquished.

Whiskey Sunrise


Missouri Vaun - 2016
    After her father passed, Royal inherited his part of the family business: running bootleg whiskey. The back roads of Georgia had been perfect for the dissemination of the much sought after illegal elixir until the local Baptist minister, Abraham Porter, decided to make prohibition his mission, and Royal the target of his evangelical wrath.Lovey Porter, Abraham’s daughter, is the living embodiment of chaste beauty, until she meets the charmingly handsome Royal Duval. Their growing attraction for each other challenges every belief that Lovey holds dear and calls into question every truth she felt sure was absolute. Even if she must defy her father, in the end, Lovey has to find her own path to faith and love. She alone must decide whether that path leads to Royal.

Complementary and Acute


Ella Lyons - 2015
    She’s captain of the Number Ninjas, her schedule is perfect, and her best friend Jacqueline Flores is going to be right by her side for all of it. But on the first day back at Dearington, Jac throws a wrench in Anabelle’s tidy plans. Not only has she rearranged her classes and dropped Number Ninjas, she’s joined the Girls who Like Girls Program, leaving Anabelle’s entire schedule in upheaval. Jac is never around anymore, and when she is, she’s got new friends (who Anabelle hates) or she’s running off to a lecture on alternative footwear. Anabelle is left to deal with the changes on her own, and suddenly, Jac’s inability to keep their dorm room tidy is the very least of Anabelle’s problems.

Fire and Water


Amanda Kayhart - 2020
     No one knows this better than Diane Hollenbeck, who has the settlement papers and scars to prove it. Determined to salvage her life from the ashes, Diane starts fresh, beginning with a long sabbatical in New England. A retreat to her friends' lake house seems idyllic--to ignite her writing career, rediscover herself, and rekindle her confidence along the placid shores of Lake Champlain. Until Diane encounters her new neighbor--a sexy recluse with a strong and stormy personality. Now navigating the small island town and finding her much-needed solace is impossible. Conflict swells. And sparks erupt. But as Diane draws closer to this fiery acquaintance, as discovers there's more behind her neighbor's stinging flames--a shared loss and longing that fuses them together.

Time of Grace


Gabriella West - 2002
    But beautiful Grace, with her mysterious past and her fierce dedication to Ireland's freedom, opens Caroline's eyes to worlds she has never imagined. As their friendship blossoms into romance, Caroline finds the greatest happiness she has ever known. But can their love survive the condemnation of a repressive society-and Grace's involvement in the approaching Easter Rising? A passionate story of personal, sexual, and national liberation, set against the backdrop of an unforgettable moment in Irish history.

The Moment


T.C. Anderson - 2013
    You love her.