Book picks similar to
Swelter by Jules Kelley
romance
contemporary
lgbt
short-stories
Who'd Have Thought
G. Benson - 2017
And with over $200,000 on offer to tie the knot, no questions asked, cash-strapped ER nurse Hayden Pérez isn’t about to demand answers.The deal is only for a year of marriage, but Hayden’s going into it knowing it will be a nightmare. Sam is complicated, rude, kind of cold, and someone Hayden barely tolerates at work, let alone wants to marry. The hardest part is that Hayden has to convince everyone around them that they’re madly in love and that racing down the aisle together is all they’ve ever wanted. What could possibly go wrong?Words: 122,000
Hotel Queens
Lee Winter - 2020
Over one long night at a bar in Las Vegas, two powerful hotel executives meet, flirt, and challenge each other—having no clue they’re rivals after the same dream deal.Brilliant ice queen Amelia Duxton is a hotel vice president who thrives on control, truth, and efficiency. She’s in no mood for love or the mess it brings. All she wants is to buy the coveted Mayfair Palace—a massive deal that could finally help her land the CEO job in her family’s hotel empire.Fiery Kai Fisher is charming and chaotic and renowned for closing ambitious deals. Her sights are set on snatching the Mayfair Palace out from under the nose of her hated arch rivals, the Duxton family.But when secrets emerge and everything starts to fall apart, how can either of the warring women win—especially when they’ve just met their match?Tags: fire queen, hotel executives, ice queen romance, Las Vegas, opposites-attract romance104,000 words
Vibe
Liza James - 2020
No, I should be working on solidifying my ladder of ascension. No matter what the cost or what I had to give up. No matter what they made me do. Their little wildflower, that’s who I am. Quiet, meek, gullible. Until I met the one person who changed all of it and became something more. She’s my filthiest secret. And one I intend on taking to the grave. Ruby Another night at the club I work at—Pandora’s Box. Another dance, another tease, another round of shots and callously thrown dollar bills. Until her. Until the energy shifted and one moment became the only thing that mattered. Because she changed everything, claiming my attention and making it hers. My dangerous little mistake, my favorite enticing regret.My Vibe Girl.Trigger Warning: This book confronts several issues that could be potential triggers. It also contains sexual scenes written in explicit details. It is incredibly dark, please be aware when stepping into this world.
One Last Stop
Casey McQuiston - 2021
She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time.
Paper Love
Jae - 2018
Freiburg is too provincial for her taste, and besides, pen and paper are outdated anyway.Anja Lamm, Paper Love’s only full-time employee, takes an instant dislike to the arrogant, digital-loving snob who’s supposed to be her temporary boss.But thanks to a meddling cat, a business trip to a stationery fair, and an armada of origami boats, Anja soon starts to see beneath Susanne’s aloof exterior, and Susanne discovers how sexy pens and notebooks can be—at least when Anja handles them.As the end of Susanne’s three-month stay approaches, will she stick to her plan to leave, or will she open her heart to more than just paper love?Themes: enemies to lovers · geek romance · office romance · set in Germany · workplace romance89,000 words
Budding Romance
Lara Kinsey - 2020
Dorothea has fled the structure of dreary old England for the Côte d'Azur. She’s opening a school for elegant young ladies, but it’s a disheveled lady gardener who has caught her eye. Madame Laurent works with her hands, but it’s her words than cultivate Dorothea’s fallow heart.
The Story of Lizzy and Darcy
Grace Watson - 2017
As much as they try to avoid it their paths keep crossing, and they each start to see a different side to the other. Their tentative friendship is soon tested, but will they realise how they really feel?The Story of Lizzy and Darcy is a modern day, same-sex adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Flavor of the Month
Georgia Beers - 2020
A penthouse in Manhattan, a beautiful girlfriend, and a circle of perfect friends. Or so she thought. When her girlfriend sends her packing, Charlie ends up unemployed. Without a place to live or money of her own, she’s forced to do the one thing she vowed she never would: go back to Shaker Falls, Vermont. Back to her parents, back to the bakery where she worked as a teen, back to the small town life―and the people―she left behind.Emma Grier thought Charlie was the love of her life until that uppity Manhattan entrepreneur swept Charlie off her feet and made her a trophy wife. Charlie left everything in Shaker Falls behind, including Emma’s shattered heart. But Emma picked herself back up and now owns a popular restaurant in Shaker Falls. As for her love life? She doesn’t need one. Something else she doesn’t need? Charlie waltzing into her restaurant to sell her the bakery’s pie.What happens when Charlie and Emma realize their differing paths have led them right back to each other?
Learning Curves
Ceillie Simkiss - 2018
She can't afford distractions. She doesn't have time for love. And she has no idea how much her life will change, the day she lends her notes to Cora McLaughlin. A freelance writer and MBA student, Cora is just as career-driven as Elena. But over weeks in the library together, they discover that as strong as they are apart, they're stronger together. Through snowstorms and stolen moments, through loneliness and companionship, the two learn they can weather anything as long as they have each other--even a surprise visit from Elena's family. From solitude to sweetness, there's nothing like falling in love. College may be strict...but when it comes to love, Cora and Elena are ahead of the learning curve.
She Gets the Girl (Export)
Rachael Lippincott
She knows how to get the girl. Keeping her on the other hand…not so much. Molly Parker has everything in her life totally in control, except for her complete awkwardness with just about anyone besides her mom. She knows she’s in love with the impossibly cool Cora Myers. She just…hasn’t actually talked to her yet.Alex and Molly don’t belong on the same planet, let alone the same college campus. But when Alex, fresh off a bad (but hopefully not permanent) breakup, discovers Molly’s hidden crush as their paths cross the night before classes start, they realize they might have a common interest after all. Because maybe if Alex volunteers to help Molly learn how to get her dream girl to fall for her, she can prove to her ex that she’s not a selfish flirt. That she’s ready for an actual commitment. And while Alex is the last person Molly would ever think she could trust, she can’t deny Alex knows what she’s doing with girls, unlike her.As the two embark on their five-step plans to get their girls to fall for them, though, they both begin to wonder if maybe they’re the ones falling…for each other.
I Think I Love You
Auriane Desombre - 2021
. . and finding out that real life romance is better than anything on screen.Emma is a die-hard romantic. She loves a meet-cute Netflix movie, her pet, Lady Catulet, and dreaming up the Gay Rom Com of her heart for the film festival competition she and her friends are entering. If only they’d listen to her ideas. . . Sophia is pragmatic. She’s big into boycotts, namely 1) relationships, 2) teen boys and their BO (reason #2347683 she’s a lesbian), and 3) Emma’s nauseating ideas. Forget starry-eyed romance, Sophia knows what will win: an artistic film with a message.Cue the drama. The movie is doomed before they even start shooting . . . until a real-life plot twist unfolds behind the camera when Emma and Sophia start seeing each other through a different lens. Suddenly their rivalry is starting to feel like an actual rom-com.
Spindrift
Anna Burke - 2020
But it all comes crashing down when her fiancée dumps her after realizing that Morgan’s job will always come first. And, while Morgan still has the job and friends, her heart is broken into a million tiny pieces.Emilia Russo is a burned-out shelter vet. When the unexpected death of her father triggers a mental breakdown that hastens the end of her relationship, she retreats to his house in Seal Cove, Maine. She plans on spending the summer renovating it while she figures out how to pull the pieces of her life back together. But when she runs into Morgan at the dock where her father’s sailboat is moored, her plans for a quiet summer of healing and reflection sink like a stone—the attraction is immediate and obvious, and Emilia finds herself slipping seamlessly into Morgan’s world.Each woman knows this fling will end when Emilia returns to Boston at the end of the summer, but they’re unprepared for the intensity and depth of their attraction. And, as the gales of fall begin to drive leaves like spindrift upon Seal Cove, Morgan and Emilia must each come to terms with how much they’re willing to give up to stay together.
Mutual Benefits
H.P. Munro - 2020
Which it would be, if Hannah was gay.Ashley West isn’t looking for a relationship. When she’s set up by her mother on a blind date, she’s ready to nip any expectations in the bud. She’s less prepared for her love interest to be straight.What do you get when you combine a fake relationship with two meddling mothers? A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that will have you glued to the page!
About That Kiss
Harper Bliss - 2021
Maybe this movie can be an opportunity to finally burst out of the closet she's forced herself into.Faye Fleming has been at the top of her acting game and collecting awards for the past few years. When she's cast in a huge blockbuster opposite the legendary Ida Burton, she's over the moon.Ida and Faye hit it off. The chemistry on set is through the roof… until their characters' first kiss.
Strength Check
Katherine McIntyre - 2021
Instead, she’s picking out shards from her last relationship and handling her perpetually drunk mother, both of which strain her finances and fuel the need for a roommate.Melody Roberts finally got the promotion she’d been aiming for—across the country in San Francisco. The perfect escape from her stagnant life and the toxic relationship with her now ex-boyfriend.The moment Mel answers Roxie’s ad for a roommate, the connection between them is explosive, warm, and real—everything they’ve both been longing for. Between horror movie marathons, board game nights, and deep talks, Mel and Roxie are falling for each other hard. Except the only problem with romance is they both seem to fail every single time, and when the grenade of exes, family drama, and their own insecurities drop, neither will escape unscathed.