Book picks similar to
The Art of Growing by Jacqueline Ramsden


fauxmance
romance
nonbinary
contemporary-romance

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?

Tropical Storm


Melissa Good - 1999
    Tropical Storm took the lesbian reading world by storm when it was first written . . . Don't miss this exciting revised "author's cut" edition. Dar Roberts, corporate raider for a multi-national tech company, is cold, practical, and merciless. She does her job with razor-sharp accuracy. Friends are a luxury she cannot allow herself, and love is something she knows she'll never attain. Kerry Stuart left Michigan for Florida in an attempt to get away from her domineering politician father and the constraints of the overly conservative life her family forced upon her. After college she worked her way into supervision at a small tech company, only to have it taken over by Dar Roberts' organization. Her association with Dar begins in disbelief, hatred, and disappointment, but when Dar unexpectedly hires Kerry as her work assistant, the dynamics of their relationship change. Over time, a bond begins to form. But can Dar overcome years of habit and conditioning to open herself up to the uncertainty of love? And will Kerry escape from the clutches of her powerful father in order to live a better life? The answer to both questions is no - unless these two women can strengthen and cement the tenuous bond that forms between them. First they must face storms that neither expects . . . and live to tell the tale.

Contract for Love


Alison Grey - 2015
    She’s been raised by her rich grandmother, and her only goals are partying and bedding women.When her grandmother threatens to disinherit her if she doesn’t clean up her act, Madison has to find a way to convince her she’s changed.After a chance encounter with Sherry, Madison comes up with a crazy idea that will rock both of their worlds: she wants to hire Sherry to play her fake girlfriend.Themes: fake dating · fake girlfriend · fake relationship · play girl · pretend romance · rich girl/poor girl97,000 words

Taking a Shot at Love


K.C. Richardson - 2020
    She’ll never get there if she stays where she is, coaching for a small-town college. She wants to move on and move up, so a relationship is the last thing on her mind.English professor Celeste Bouchard is exactly where she wants to be teaching at Glassell University. Popular and on a first-name basis with her students, Celeste loves her job. She doesn’t love the gossip and rumors that followed her disastrous romance with a fellow professor, but she’s never getting involved with a coworker again.When Lisa’s star player has trouble in Celeste’s class, they have to work together to find a solution. The attraction is off the charts, but Lisa and Celeste are determined to block another shot at love.Cover Artist: Tammy SeidickGenres: Contemporary / Romance Tags: Sports, Workplace Romance, College Life

State of Grace


Addison Clarke - 2021
    Determined to find the truth, Blake hops on a plane and heads for Moonflower Cove, Maine, searching for answers. The last thing she expects to find is Alexis.Alexis Holland has watched Blake’s hit sci-fi TV show for years and is surprised when the actress shows up at the bar where she works. Despite the chemistry between them, she’s convinced it’s all in her head. After all, she’s a single mom with more baggage than a booked airplane. What could Blake possibly see in her?Will they be able to overcome their past mistakes and traumas to embrace the new love before them? Or will Alexis push Blake away and retreat back to her safe world?Content Warning: This novel references a rape that occurred off-page and is mentioned as backstory with no graphic detail.

Until We Break


Cynthia Dane - 2020
    The only thing missing from her picturesque, countryside life is companionship. But with a great distaste for dating – and the city – Stefani approaches an international service to make her marital dreams come true.Enter Yulia, the alluring Russian woman with a penchant for heavy flirtation. She occasionally puts her money where her mouth is, too, driving Stefani wild with fantasies that this marriage might be more than convenience.Yet she can’t shake the feeling that Yulia has an ulterior motive. Or maybe that’s the Valettis’ collective past coming back to bite them.YULIA PETROVAYulia Petrova will do whatever it takes to get to America. Specifically, the Pacific Northwest, where the only person who matters is waiting for her.She’ll even marry a total stranger. A woman, no less.The trick isn’t balancing her own preferences. No, the trick is keeping her new fiancée from finding out the truth too quickly. First, she must ensure that Stefani is in love with her. Then, Yulia must reveal the tragic truth that has brought her to America.DO SVIDANIYA, MI AMORETheir budding passion and rising trust in one another is about to be severely complicated by the illness sweeping the world. For Stefani, that means shutting down the winery and hiding behind her chronic anxiety. For Yulia, that means taking all matters into her own hands. The whole world could burn, and she would still get what she came here for.And she will do it alone – with or without the woman she’s come to love

Not Guilty


Brit Ryder - 2021
    No one expects their heart will.Claire Weaver’s only goal is to climb the ladder of success. After winning an unwinnable toxic tort case and securing a ninety-million-dollar verdict, she’s a shoo-in for a judgeship at Kansas City’s circuit court.The last person fire investigator Emery Pearson expects to see in court is the stranger she had the pleasure of dominating last night—only this time, Judge Claire Weaver is definitely in charge. To say she’s excited is an understatement. Claire is everything she needs—sexy, available, and not looking for a relationship. Their day jobs clash, even as their desire burns, and a discreet sex-only arrangement is the only option. But when pushing their sexual limits threatens the boundary of their hearts, will they be guilty of breaking their own rules, or allow love to tip the scales?

Technically Faking


Robin Hale - 2019
    It hasn’t made her many friends, but it has made her a fixture on all the best ‘Under 30’ lists in Silicon Valley and the CEO of SparkSignal, a company she built from nothing. And now it’s about to make her unemployed. The Board of Directors wants her out. They say she’s difficult. Abrasive. They’ve already set the date to vote in her replacement: someone charming and easily controlled. Her assistant has a plan. One last-ditch effort to overhaul her image. Amber Kowalczyk has lived the hustle so long she is the hustle. And she loves it. She loves her little social media empire and everything it takes to keep on top of it. What she doesn’t love is the rising cost of rent that makes staying in her corner of San Francisco look more and more impossible. But when a cheeky caption on a photo of one of Silicon Valley’s prickliest entrepreneurs results in a clandestine meeting, Amber might have a way out of her mounting debt. It’s simple: Iris Spark has money, Amber Kowalczyk has public opinion, and SparkSignal’s popularity goes up when people think the two of them are dating. It’s only a few weeks. It’s only pretend. What’s the worst that could happen? Technically Faking is a fake relationship F/F romance between a grumpy tech CEO and a charming (but poor) social media darling set in the high-stakes world of Silicon Valley’s start-up scene. Buy now for staged kisses and real feelings!

Big Girl Pill


K.D. Williamson - 2019
    It’s left her empty and out of touch with her family. Now she’s a young woman on a mission: getting rid of residual feelings for her former best friend from college. Her plan is to put herself through a wringer by being in Nina’s upcoming wedding and burning away whatever emotions are left, so she can start anew. Her plan, however, has big holes, and everything she’s been feeling rushes through and leaves her thinking that this was a bad idea.Nina Sterling is a work in progress, torn between being two very different things—the person others expect her to be and who she wants to become. For the past couple of years, it’s been easier to give in to her demanding, steamroller of a mother and her pleasant but controlling fiancé, but with Maya’s return for a lengthy stay in town, and encouragement from Nina’s hilarious cousin, seeds of rebellion are sown.As Maya and Nina try to patch up the past and get closer, old sparks rekindle, and as they both grow into who they are meant to be, those sparks might just become a fire.

The Interrogation


Robin Roseau - 2013
    She spends the weekend in The Bay Area prior to a Monday morning job interview only to meet the dark and dangerous Katrina. Katrina is a domme and introduces Bethany to a world she's only imagined in her darkest fantasies. This novel is 61,000 words. This story features sex between two women, bondage, domination and submission.

What Memories are Made of


Diana Jayne - 2021
    She’s had to rebuild her whole life from scratch since losing her daughter and her marriage. But Chelsea’s a people person with hope and humour and love to spare.She’s a woman on a mission now; throwing herself into her job at a motorcycle shop, and dedicating her free time to taking disabled children for rides on her motorbike. Walled-up, divorced banker Madeleine Jones is not an impulsive person. But for some reason, that’s exactly how she acts around Chelsea, the cute woman with a love for motorbikes that she meets in the most unlikely of places. Is it her son giving her a nudge from the other side? Why does she suddenly need to know everything about Chelsea?Before long the two women bond over their shared experiences and reflections of a life that didn’t go to plan. But are they ready to put aside the past and discover something new? Something fresh and exciting?A heart-warming, slow-burn lesbian romance about finding love through loss.

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

Satisfaction Guaranteed


Karelia Stetz-Waters - 2021
    . .When it comes to her career, Cade Elgin has it all figured out. Only “professional talk” has become her default mode, relationships are nonexistent, and don't even mention the word “orgasm.” All work and no play makes Cade a dull human. But when she inherits a sex toy store, Cade is caught between business and a store filled with every imaginable kind of pleasure—including her infuriatingly irresponsible and deliciously sexy new co-owner.Selena Mathis learned the hard way that she can have too much of a good thing. Which is precisely why she's taken an oath of celibacy and is focusing on how to make Satisfaction Guaranteed a success. She won't mess this up. Not this time. But once again, Selena's emotions are getting in the way, and tempting her with a serious attraction to buttoned-up Cade.But the shop isn't exactly vibe-ing, and Cade and Selena are on the verge of losing both their income and the possibility of love. Can they find a way to work together . . . before Satisfaction Guaranteed runs out of batteries?

Her Pretend Christmas Date


Alexa Woods - 2020
    Too bad, her mom didn’t get the memo and regularly bombards Laney with requests for grandbabies. When her mom promises to stop nagging for a year if Laney brings a date to her brother’s Christmas wedding, Laney agrees. A fake date, one night of deception for a year of peace? Yes, please!Morgun Hewat knows exactly who Laney Sterling is— the bitch who stole Morgun’s dream job. OK, so stole is an exaggeration, and if Morgun is honest, Laney isn’t a bitch, but a tough, hard-working, and gorgeous woman. Not that Laney is attracted to Morgan. No, not at all. The only reason Morgun agrees to be Laney’s fake date is to get a foot up in the photography industry. Nothing more.A win-win situation. A practical deal. Zero emotions involved. Until the actual date. Because when sparks fly between the two women, Morgun has to decide how hard she’s willing to work to melt the walls around Laney’s heart. As for Laney, for once, she’s not so sure that choosing her career over love is the right choice.Will a Christmas miracle happen and bring these two women together?

The Fling


Rebekah Weatherspoon - 2012
    Wrapped in the arms of another woman—her trainer, Oksana Gorinkov—Annie experiences a physical heat she never knew existed. Soon the one-night stand meant to be her final farewell to the single life stretches into a consuming month-long affair, the genuine intensity of which neither woman can ignore. Annie sees where her heart belongs, and though the objections from her family and friends and the scars from Oksana’s ex threaten to drive them back to their respective sides of Los Angeles, Annie knows she must fight for this relationship, a real love worth much more than any fantasy she’s ever dreamed up.