Book picks similar to
Christmas in July by Rachel Maldonado


ff-romance
ff-short-story
lesbian-fiction

Life After Love


K.G. MacGregor - 2014
    Facing unrelenting heartbreak, she learns to embrace it, oblivious to the toll her grief is taking on her body and spirit. Her only hope is for Melody to realize her mistake and come home.Bea Lawson notices Allyn’s decline because she too once suffered a shattering loss and struggled to put her sorrow to rest. While neither is yet the woman she wants to be, it soon becomes clear their lives are better together…until their budding love is threatened by choices they never expected to face.

Never Let Go


Graysen Morgen - 2016
    She loves her job, is well respected by her peers, and has been given an opportunity to take her career to the next level. The only thing missing is the love of her life, who walked out, taking their daughter with her, seven years earlier. When Finley gets a call from her ex, saying their teenage daughter is coming to spend the summer with her, she’s floored. While spending more time with her daughter, whom she doesn’t get to see often, and learning to be a full-time parent, Finley quickly realizes she has not, and will never, let go of what is important.

Say Yes


Mish Daniels - 2014
    In the past, it has always been followed with disappointment. Now, when it comes to relationships, she's more than a little skittish. When her best friend asks her to be best "man" at his wedding, how can she decline? Through a series of coincidences and mishaps, she and the gorgeous maid of honor end up sharing Jess's apartment for a long weekend. In that short amount of time, Jess discovers something very significant. Things are so much better when you let go and just say yes…

The Long Journey Home


Kat Smith - 2019
    Her eclectic group of friends, a Producer, a Pop Star, and a Professional Dancer keep her from falling off the deep end. It is only when a new face, Jenna Graham, joins the group that Morgan's world begins to right itself, and she learns there can be life and love after loss.

Learning to Flirt


Kallie Mont - 2022
    Cue the nervous flop sweat.In a tiny town on the coast of Rhode Island, Maggie has built a quiet life running her family’s bookshop. But as much as she loves her work—and the eclectic town she calls home—something is missing. Then one day, an absolute smoke show walks through the front door and throws Maggie off her (arguably, very small and unreliable) game.Parker’s entire life blew up a few months back when she walked away from her home, job, and longtime girlfriend, all in a single day.When a new job presents itself in the next state over, she jumps at the chance for a fresh start, determined to avoid romance this time around. But, because life always has a way of knocking Parker on her ass, she finds the most alluring, adorably nervous woman standing behind the register of a local bookshop.Add in that Maggie’s over a decade younger than Parker and has a really hard time finishing a sentence around her, and everyone ends up flustered.WarningThis book contains snark, lesbian age gap butterflies, husbands you’ll fall in love with, and just so much gay panic. Please read at your own risk.

The RV Ranch


Tey Holden - 2020
    When neither her military accolades nor the exploits of her new Bohemian lifestyle fill the void in her life, she takes to the road in her RV in search of purpose and meaning to her life. An early blizzard leaves her stranded in the middle of Wyoming, where she meets Kate Nolan. After her career dreams were crushed, Kate Nolan returned home to find her grandmother (Grams) ill, and her ranch falling apart. Her plans to rebuild go up in flames when a fire destroys the newly built cabins. Matters get worse when the bank manager shows up with default papers to repossess the property, and when bullets fly because outsiders with an interest in the ranch try to take it by force. When all seems lost, Jo asks Kate for the one thing that is most difficult for her to give, her trust. Jo calls her Army buddies to help solve the mysterious circumstances happening at the ranch. Grams thinks Jo is the person who can restore Kate’s ability to trust again, and Kate the person who can heal Jo’s hurts and bring purpose to her life. Have the forces of nature conjured a plan to bring these women together to heal their wounds, save each other, and the ranch? Was Grams right about Kate and Jo? Or will the appearance of an ex-girlfriend and would be lovers ruin their chance for love?

Girl Games


Mia Archer - 2016
    We were totally wrong for each other, so why does this feel so right? Lisa was the good girl. Prom queen. Captain of the cheer squad. Geeky games weren't her thing, but she was home from college and bored. And when she heard Kylie was going to be there she knew she had to at least check things out. Kylie was a proud geek who didn't care what the world thought. Kylie figured it was game night as normal until Lisa stepped into the game room reigniting old feelings she never thought she'd nave to deal with again after going to college. Two girls who've spent years hiding who they truly were. Two girls afraid to admit how much they need each other. Two girls who are tired of denying who they really are. Especially to each other. What was supposed to be a simple game quickly becomes a game of love that will change both of their lives! But will they be able to let go and finally let it happen?

Driven


Shei Darksbane - 2015
    It seems like every truck she touches ends up dead, but Raelya kindly offers to teach her anyway. Her first lesson in a secluded lot seems to be going pretty well, until someone ends up dead there too. A sleepless night. An untold tale. A deadly betrayal. Dakota stumbles upon a long-held secret that could tear the pack apart. Tasked with settling a decades-old score, Dakota is driven to seek justice and set things to rights before an unforgivable crime goes unpunished forever. Books in the Auralight Codex: Dakota Shepherd series: Awakened - Start here. Hunted - Book 2, Available now. Driven - A novelette #2.5 - (Don't Start Here. Grab Awakened first!) Blooded - Coming Fall 2015 (Soon!) Risen - TBA And many more!

The Crimson Dragon


Cinnamon Jay - 2021
    Year after year, the only thing that changes is the number of human-eating fey that stalk the night. Each night, Bryn ventures out to reduce those numbers and protect a family she's no longer sure deserves protecting. But if the last member of the bloodline of Arthur dies, darkness will fall and the earth will crumble.Elaine Hughes is just a regular young woman with a regular job who lives in a regular house in Los Angeles. Each weekend, she comes home to an empty house, and each Monday she drives back to her nine-to-five with chagrin that nothing has changed. When she's attacked in the same parking garage she's been using for years, she's saved by a beautiful warrior maiden with red wings and golden eyes, and she's confronted with the possibility that things in this world are not as they seem.The Crimson Dragon combines the real world of Los Angeles with the magical world of dragons and the legends of King Arthur. As Bryn and Elaine face their worst fears and emotional trauma, they also face the real chance that the two of them are in for more than they bargained for.

Grasping at Straws


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

Lady In Waiting


Jea Hawkins - 2017
    We don’t belong together, but I want her anyway. Ah, the ren faire. A time to discard the trappings of everyday life and be someone completely different... with a fancy dress, to boot. For goth Annabelle, it's an opportunity to feel like there's more to her life than just cashiering at a major chain, tending to people who are rude, stuck-up, and all-around jerks. Instead, she gets to be a lady-in-waiting to the Queen of the faire, a prized position. At the fair, she gets to tend to someone who is rude, stuck-up, and an all-around... Oh. Elizabeth is different, though. It isn't just that she's jaw-dropping gorgeous. Or the way she presents herself regally, even when she transitions back to real life. Annabelle loved her Queen while helping serve her during the faire, but when the silk and corsets come off, she finds her attraction remains. After losing the backdrop of the faire, though, Annabelle wonders if a tattooed, nerdy cashier can ever have enough in common with the educated, composed, and successful Elizabeth to act on the attraction that she thinks they both share.

Privateer


Robin Roseau - 2013
    Along with her brother's wife and children, she finds herself held hostage for ransom aboard the privateer Fleetwind. Sorri Westmere, captain of the Fleetwind, sets out to tame the fiery redhead, but she is soon captivated herself.Striving to teach Rani that being a hostage isn't as bad as it might sound, Sorri learns that perhaps her choice of careers is an impediment to personal happiness.Privateer is a fantasy novel of 140,000 words and is the first in the Five Kingdoms series.

Winter's Knight


Bridget Essex - 2020
    Her name is Winter, and her quiet life is upended when her sister abdicates the throne. The throne cannot remain empty. Winter must be queen. But Winter would give anything not to be.Since Winter’s sister fled in a hurry, she left her guardian knight behind. Her name is Alia, and her life is about to be upended, too, because when she and Winter meet for the first time, sparks fly and catch fire, and Winter’s heart begins to melt.A royal assasination might be on the horizon, though Winter never wanted the throne in the first place. And now she’s falling in love with her sister’s protector. In a magical, snowy land full of strong women, anything is possible. Including true love.Bridget Essex’s beloved Knight Legends series gets a new chapter in this, the first romance of the Seasons Quartet.

Passionate Kisses


Megan Carter - 2006
    Their strong bond earned them the nickname of the Three Musketeers. When Taylor turned 14 and announced she was gay, James and Sara stood by her. When James and Sara began dating, Taylor hid her love for Sara and moved on with her life.

Necessary Sacrifice


Noelle Winters - 2017
     Running a domestic violence shelter keeps Emma Stevens on her toes, and serves as a living reminder of her mother’s legacy that falling in love can hurt you in more ways than one. But when one of her clients is murdered, Emma comes face to face with a detective who makes her question her resolve to remain safely unattached. Reeling from her wife’s death, Nick Tanner fled her life as a homicide detective in the big city. But when a brutal murder rocks the police department in sleepy Battle Creek, she isn’t prepared for the haunting memories, or complications, it brings - especially stubborn therapist Emma, who is determined to solve the case all by herself if she has to. But when Emma becomes the target for a killer, both their lives - and the love building between them - are put in danger. Is it better to love with the risk of losing, or not love at all?