Book picks similar to
Face Off by P.J. Trebelhorn


fake-relationship
romance
netgalley
lesbian

Fair Trade


Sienna Waters - 2020
    After a tumultuous past, she finally thought she'd found a home in London. But if she can't find a visa sponsor soon, she'll be on the first plane back to the States.Rosie Fulton is a struggling market gardener. She dreams of owning her own nursery, but she's quite literally living in a shed.When a chance meeting in a dirty pub convinces Rosie that she and Leigh were fated to be together, it dawns on Ice Queen Leigh that Rosie just might be her ticket to stay in the country.And that should be that. Except... Leigh can't stop thinking about Rosie. And Rosie is still convinced that they were meant to be together. Sparks fly as their fake wedding nears until neither one is sure what's true and what's false anymore.Marrying someone you love is simple. It turns out that not marrying someone you love is a whole lot harder...Fair Trade is a new stand-alone lesbian romance from Sienna Waters, the author of the Oakview and Monday's Child lesfic series.

Marriage of Unconvenience


Chelsea M. Cameron - 2018
    She needs money, like ASAP. She lost her job, the rent is due, and her car needs repairs. Problem is, the inheritance left to her by her old-fashioned Granny has one stipulation before she can collect: she has to be married.Let’s just say suitors (of any gender) are not knocking down her door. And then Cara Simms, her best friend from childhood that she’s recently reconnected with, pours her heart out and confesses that she needs money to pay for grad school. Lo has a completely brilliant idea: they should get hitched.Not married married. Like, fake married. All they have to do is play the part for the lawyers, get the money, and then get the marriage annulled. Easy as hell.Well, it starts out that way, but being fake married feels a lot like being real married, and Lo is flipping out. She cannot be falling for her best friend. Can she?

At Her Feet


Rebekah Weatherspoon - 2013
    Suzanne isn’t exactly looking, but the request for a very specific type of submissive from the attractive mistress, Mami-P, is hard to resist. Though the two hit it off during their first online conversation, Suzanne never imagines how strong their real life attraction and compatibility will be. After a few missteps in training, trust, and communication, Suzanne finds a deep love with her mistress, Pilar.Overworked and overstressed in her daily life, Suzanne comes to crave their relationship for the visceral escape it provides, but before they can make the ultimate commitment, someone from Suzanne’s professional life threatens to disrupt their perfectly balanced bliss.**This title includes BDSM and sexual situations some readers may find objectionable.**

Juniper Lane


Dylan Morrison - 2016
    She certainly didn't expect to find herself striking up a strange, unexpected friendship with the intimidating Nadia Bahjat, the only other twenty-something on the street. But now that she's here, Mim thinks she might just do anything to stay – no matter the cost.Meanwhile, Nadia, a professional chef and a perennial disappointment to her parents, has been forced by her father's illness to return to Barn Ridge, Ohio. Though she loathes her wealthy, seemingly perfect neighbors as much as she always has, she's increasingly finding her growing friendship with Mim a balm to heal old wounds. But the longer she stays on Juniper Lane, the more she begins to suspect that when it comes to her family, not all is as it seems.An innovatively structured queer romance that encompasses both a cutting satire of suburban American life and a nuanced depiction of the psychological aftermath of abuse, Juniper Lane is a moving paean to the freedom of embracing the chaotic uncertainty of adulthood.

Catch and Cradle


Katia Rose - 2021
    After witnessing way too much drama in the past, Captain Becca Moore is intent on keeping her players’ love lives out of the locker room. Becca has no time or tolerance for any distractions from the game. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Hope Hastings has been since the day she showed up for tryouts: one walking, talking, charismatically dorky and way-too-kissable distraction. Hope knew she was headed straight to the danger zone from the moment she saw Becca’s flame-red hair and surly captain smirk. She’s spent the past two years writing off her attraction as a harmless crush, but starting a new semester fresh out of an awful relationship makes Hope realize just how far from harmless the heat between her and Becca really is. The friendships of a tight-knit team and their shot at the title are all lying on the line, but as Hope and Becca get closer to bending rules they’ve sworn never to break, they realize they’ve put their hearts on that line too. Losing has never been an option, but winning might cost more than they’re willing to pay.Catch and Cradle is a New Adult F/F romance from Katia Rose that’s filled with all the hilarity and heartache of finding your way through college while discovering love, friendship, and what it means to be yourself.

Driven


Suzanne Falter - 2019
    should be in the library of ever LGBTQ person ..." -- US Review of Books Who says you can’t find the love of your life while you’re getting your tire fixed? Even IF your boss is actively trying to close her garage? Driven is the oldest woman-owned garage in Oakland – and the pride of the lesbian community. At least, it is until the uber-competitive former race car driver Mindy Rose shows up and opens her own garage, complete with chair massages and a sushi bar. Mindy’s out to destroy Driven, a fact that galls her good-hearted, and very ethical Irish assistant Kate. This is just reinforced when Kate has an emergency blow out, and is forced to go into Driven for a repair. Instantly, she finds herself drawn to the tall, tantalizing co-owner Lizzy. That’s when things get … well … complicated. Especially because Kate is an undocumented worker who seriously needs her job. Soon Kate finds herself hatching a secret scheme to save Driven, while falling hard for Lizzy. Yet, Lizzy has no idea she’s part of Mindy’s nasty operation. Or even that Mindy is out to get her. Can sweet Kate and passionate Lizzy finally find the love they’ve been looking for forever? Or will Mindy find out and bring them and Driven down – and get Kate deported in the process? And when is Kate going to tell Lizzy who she actually is? It’s just the beginning of the wild ride that is the Oaktown Girls series.

Just Friends


Mia Archer - 2016
    Spend a couple years running her hometown library, get job experience, then get the hell out of Small Town, USA. The last thing she expected was to meet someone like Savannah. Savannah loved life in the small town slow lane, even if it meant hiding who she really was. She was content until she met Kirsten and remembered what was missing in her life. Girl meets girl and everything is perfect. Almost. Sort of. Except for the part where they have to keep their budding relationship secret because Kirsten is worried about getting fired and Savannah never told her mother that she was into girls. Oops. To the world they might be just friends, but they'll have to stand up to prejudice and their own fears if they want their girl meets girl story to have a happy ending!

Food for Love


C. Fonseca - 2018
    When Jessica Harris flies home to Australia to sort out her late brother’s estate, the last thing she wants to face is his altruistic investment—an eatery on the rural Bellarine Peninsula.The injured British/Indian elite cyclist just wants to settle up, move on, get rehab, and certainly not have to deal with the restaurant’s beautiful owner and artisan foodie, Lillian McAllister, or her sweet, four-year-old daughter.In order to win, Jessica’s disciplined life is dedicated to controlling her emotions, and she isn’t sure she’d survive letting her walls down now.A lesbian romance about how nourishment is so much more than the food we eat.Themes: artisan foodie · Australia · Bellarine Peninsula · elite cyclist · four-year-old daughter · rural eatery · south-west of Melbourne96,000 words

Off Balance


L.E. Royal - 2020
    Eager to prove herself a successful adult and win back custody of her young daughter, Maya is determined to excel at the Mars Fund. Her new boss, New York’s notorious ice queen, Elena Mars, could prove difficult to please. Their relationship gets off to a rocky start and Maya learns from her coworkers, some who love her while others loathe her, that Elena has Cerebral palsy.Embarrassed by her assumptions, Maya avoids Elena until the appearance of her Elena’s young daughter at the office opens a line of communication and provides some common ground. A tentative connection blossoms between them and Maya realizes there is much more to Elena than the outward appearance. Between the complexities of learning about disability and navigating the distance between them in age and wealth, they find that what matters in the end is the family we choose.

Educating Eve


Anna Archer - 2019
    Her purple hair and unapologetic approach to her sexuality has been the talk of the Women’s World Cup. A magical player who seemingly has it all, until one horror tackle changes everything. Going from hero to zero, Manny’s career comes to a grinding halt. Wanting to hide away from the humiliation, she returns to school to focus on her studies in the hope she can one day have another life. Twenty-three-year-old PE teacher, Eve Eden, isn’t a fan of soccer, she prefers hockey. She’s not starstruck like everyone else at Ridgecrest Academy, which makes her the perfect tutor for Manny. They couldn’t be more different, but a spark between them quickly turns into a flame. Can the two women teach each other the lessons they both need to learn before their explosive affair is exposed? With a cast of fun characters, Anna Archer, delivers a delectable lesbian romance that’s enchantingly naughty yet nice.

Twist of the Magi


Caren J. Werlinger - 2014
    When two young women are hired at the shop where she works, Penny begins to think her luck may have changed. Penny is about to learn that, when Christmas works its magic, what you hope for isn’t always what you get.Words: 11,150

Good Spin


Monica McCallan - 2019
    Not because she needs a girlfriend, but because she needs an easier way to come out to college friends that she hasn’t seen in five years. Her job is about controlling the narrative, and as she sees it, there's no reason why that can't extend to her personal life. When her next door neighbor ends up single a few weeks before the wedding, problem solver Emery realizes inviting Jordan along and faking romance for a week in Hawaii could be perfect for both of them. Jordan Davis doesn’t worry about much, especially what will happen tomorrow. Life’s too short to plan every second, and it usually doesn’t work out anyway. When Emery invites her on an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii, it’s not a hard sell. She’ll get to enjoy a tropical vacation with one of her closest friends, and she’ll get to spend more time with Emery, away from Emery’s hectic work schedule back in Austin. But, there’s more to the request than Emery’s letting on, and there’s more to Jordan’s willingness to help than she wants to admit. It’s only eight days, but time passes differently when there’s nowhere to be and nowhere to hide. Faking it is all about the spin, but when lines begin to blur, both women have to decide if falling in love for real is worth the jump.

Chain Reactions


Lynn Ames - 2019
     Now in her adult years and a sought-after scientist herself, Diana learns that Nora is dying. She hires private-duty nurse Brooke Sheldon to care for Nora. Over the days and weeks spent in Nora’s company, Diana and Brooke are privy to Nora’s long-held secrets, along with her deep-seated regrets. Trapped in a failing body, but with a keen mind, Nora Lindstrom watches as the spark of attraction between her great-niece and her caregiver grows into a flame. Determined to help the two younger women find the kind of deep love they so richly deserve, Nora makes a fateful decision that brings the past and the present directly onto a collision course. After all this time, it’s still about chain reactions.

Love Bites


Lila Bruce - 2015
    Their break-up in college had been an explosive one, and now, some twelve years later, Ashley was still picking up the pieces of her broken heart. Peyton Maxwell knew better than anyone that life rarely turned out the way you planned. After spending more than a decade away from her hometown, she’d finally decided to move back in order to raise her young daughter closer to family. She was just beginning to settle into her new job when Ashley walked into an exam room at the vet clinic and back into her life. Peyton thought she’d put that part of her life firmly in the past, but one look at her former lover and it all comes rushing back. Ashley has waited a long time for answers, but walks away from their encounter with only questions. Could it really hurt to pursue a friendly, platonic relationship as Peyton suggests? Or will Ashley find herself rekindling a flame that never really died?

Shadowboxer


Jessica L. Webb - 2018
    Desperately trying to make a difference, she focuses on becoming a social worker and helping street kids find their way. But someone is targeting her kids, luring them to an underground political group whose protests are becoming increasingly more provocative and dangerous. When Ali Clarke―Jordan’s first love and first broken heart―walks back into her life and becomes intertwined with the youth boxing program, Jordan is torn between past and present. Dedicated to keeping her kids safe, Jordan fights old fears that she will never be good enough, while trying to believe she might have a future with Ali.