Book picks similar to
The Fifth Stage by Margaret A. Helms


lesbian
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romance
lesbian-fiction

Rum Spring


Yolanda Wallace - 2010
    When she meets Dylan Mahoney, however, the rules go out the window. During Rebecca's rumspringa—the four-year period during which Amish teenagers decide whether to join the church or leave it for the outside world—Dylan, a film buff and aspiring movie critic, shows Rebecca a world she never dreamed of. The pair make plans to spend the rest of their lives together until a rift forms between their families and forces them to part ways. After much soul-searching, Rebecca decides familial loyalty is more important than her own happiness. But when Dylan develops feelings for another woman, Rebecca's loyalty is put to the test.Love or tradition? Which path will she choose?

Snow Moon Rising


Lori L. Lake - 2006
    Every day since her birth, she and her extended family have been on the road in their vardo wagons meandering mostly through Poland and Germany. She learned early to ignore the taunts and insults of all those who call her people "Gypsies" and do not understand their close-knit society and way of life. Pauline "Pippi" Stanek has lived a settled life in a small German town along the eastern border of Poland and Germany. In her mid-teens, she meets Mischka and her family through her brother, Emil Stanek, a World War I soldier who went AWOL and was adopted by Mischka's troupe. Mischka and Pippi become fast friends, and they keep in touch over the years. But then, the Second World War heats up, and all of Europe is in turmoil. Men are conscripted into the Axis or the Allied armies, "undesirables" are turned over to slave labor camps, and with every day that passes, the danger for Mischka, Emil, and their families increases. The Nazi forces will not stop until they've rounded up and destroyed every Gypsy, Jew, dissident, and homosexual. On the run and separated from her family, Mischka can hardly comprehend the obstacles that face her. When she is captured, she must use all her wits just to stay alive. Can Mischka survive through the hell of the war in Europe and find her family? In a world beset by war, two women on either side of the conflagration breach the divide-and save one another. Snow Moon Rising is a stunning novel of two women's enduring love and friendship across family, clan, and cultural barriers. It's a novel of desperation and honor, hope and fear at a time when the world was split into a million pieces.

Class Reunion


Linda Hill - 1997
    But when she comes face to face with her first lover, she is overcome by the rush of desire that threatens to ignite the dangerous flames of rekindled passion.

Photographs of Claudia


K.G. MacGregor - 2010
    Her efforts—and inspiration—get a boost when Claudia Galloway, a teacher intern in town for only a few months,volunteers to model.For Claudia, the sensual poses offer one last chance to flaunt her independence before settling into the scripted life her wealthy fiancé has planned for them in California’s exclusive San Simeon community.Leo has always seen her subjects as objects of shadow and light on the other side of her lens—until now. Every photograph of Claudia brings her feelings into sharper focus,feelings she fears Claudia will never share. As their series of sessions come to a close, Leo decides to risk her heart. But Claudia has declarations of her own.Art transforms passion into love in this timeless tale by best selling Lambda Literary and Golden Crown award-winner KG MacGregor.

Of Drag Kings and the Wheel of Fate


Susan Smith - 2001
    Using an ancient myth reset in the queer community in Buffalo, New York, it explores gender fluidity, sexual diversity, and the deeper questions of love and identity.

Awakening to Sunlight


Lindsey Stone - 2010
    Lizzy Mayfield, a filmmaker who lost her lover three years ago, comes home from a business trip to find Judith and her child unexpectedly living in her apartment.Lizzy wants nothing more than to be left alone, but as Judith has nowhere else to go, Lizzy allows her to stay. While Judith struggles to create a new life for her daughter and herself, Lizzy is confronted with the vibrancy their presence brings to her emotionally barren existence. As Lizzy and Judith gradually become involved in each other’s lives, they are both forced to confront the ghosts of their pasts.

Date Night Club


Saxon Bennett - 2007
    What happens when four friends set upon a quest to find the perfect mate? Now in their late thirties they all know about bad luck in matters of the heart but instead of giving up they're getting out.What's love without trials and tribulations for these friends looking to live happily ever after?Date Night Club is a dark romantic comedy about the pitfalls of dating in your thirties...

Grasping at Straws


Jae - 2009
    On one of her secret inspections, she makes a surprising discovery.

Substitute for Love


Karin Kallmaker - 2001
    She risks everything and sets out to pierce the deep shroud of mystery surrounding the woman she has come to love.

Hearts Aflame


Ronica Black - 2007
    Real estate guru Krista Wyler is soon at the mercy of the Arizona desert when she learns she has inherited her family's business, Wyler Ranch. Her aunt is dying and her uncle is no longer capable of making decisions. Krista reluctantly moves in, but her plan is to sell the ranch as soon as possible. Rae Jarrett, the strong, stubborn vet who has cared for the ranch as well as the horses, objects to her selling and offers her aid. Krista resists the help as well as her attraction to the mysterious vet, but decides instead to turn the ranch into a dude ranch. Soon city folk are knocking at the door ready to pay good money to get a chance to herd the Wyler cattle across Arizona. The plan seems full proof until Krista herself, along with Rae, has to set out on the trail with them. The journey leads to a life changing adventure neither woman could have foreseen and will never forget.

The Promise


Claire Highton-Stevenson - 2018
    Their life together is mapped out on a one-way path to happiness, that is until Susan is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Ali refuses to accept it - her world is shattered. Susan's last act of love is to make her wife promise that one day she will open her heart again and let somebody else love her. But will Ali keep her promise?60,000 words

Sanctuary


I. Beacham - 2009
    The only obstacle is her attraction to the woman she has vowed to destroy.Young Cate Canton dreams of becoming a designer and running Seraphim, the Boston fashion house her late mother started. Born into a loving family, and with everything to live for, she loses it all when misfortune and tragedy strike. In the aftermath of betrayal, Cate vows to reclaim her destiny. Fueled by revenge, she becomes a ruthless businesswoman with her own successful fashion empire, plotting to one day take over her mother’s business by any means necessary.But one person stands in her way—Dita Newton, the beautiful, gifted designer who now runs Seraphim. Cate will need to crush her lifelong adversary to succeed, but Dita strikes back in the most unexpected way—by stirring Cate’s fragile, hidden heart. A contemporary high-stakes drama between two driven, passionate women.

Call Me Softly


D. Jackson Leigh - 2011
    So with her last breath, she implores her beautiful granddaughter, Lillie, to flee to the family’s polo estate in South Carolina and seek the protection of someone Abigail has come to trust—Swain Butler. What Lillie doesn’t know is that she is putting herself in the hands of a woman who may be the biggest family secret of them all.“Be careful,” Abigail cautions Lillie. If sleeping dogs must be roused, then call them forth softly.

Side by Side


Isabel Miller - 1990
    Lesbian lovers in New York City during the time of Stonewall.

Flight Risk


Kim Baldwin - 2007
    For Blayne Keller, being in the wrong place at the wrong time just might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to her - once she stops running for her life.