Book picks similar to
The Art of Growing by Jacqueline Ramsden


romance
fauxmance
nonbinary
contemporary-romance

Wavering Convictions


Erin Dutton - 2019
    But the trauma has only just begun, and now she must face her attacker in court. A chance encounter with a beautiful woman in the courthouse café is the only bright spot in her day, until she finds out just who the woman is. Ally Becker has always been her brother’s hero, and she’s at the courthouse to support him as he faces up to his mistakes. When she discovers that the stranger she shared coffee with is actually Maggie, the victim of her brother’s crime, she is torn between family loyalty and an attraction she can’t seem to forget. Maggie and Ally have absolutely no intention of falling in love, but what they find in each other just might heal them both.

Courting the Countess


Jenny Frame - 2016
    The child of a loveless marriage, witness to her father’s infidelities and her mother’s pain, Harry has no intention of ever falling in love.Annie Brannigan is a survivor, remaining positive through hardships. As an agency housekeeper, she moves from post to post with her daughter Riley, taking care of people who have everything she will never have. Annie’s greatest wish is to find her happy ever after.Can love restore the countess’s heart and the crumbling Axedale Hall, or will the first foundations of love turn to dust?

Game of Hearts


Jea Hawkins - 2017
     The last thing Tori wants is to live her life by anyone else’s rules but her own. Ever since she left the world of country clubs and debutante balls behind, she has lived free of the standards imposed by others. But something is missing… …and that something is Madeleine, a carefree grad student from the same upper class social circles. The attraction is unexpected and, to Tori’s surprise, more liberating than the life she has cultivated for herself. Piece by piece, Madeleine takes down the wall that conflict and heartbreak have built around Tori’s emotions. Is loving Madeleine the key to Tori’s healing and happiness? And is Tori willing to step back into that world, even just a little, to take a chance on a love that could last?

Inner Secrets


Suzie Carr - 2011
    She's a lesbian. In a moment of weakness, she gets caught in a love affair. Now, she must start all over as a divorced woman with little clue how to navigate the complex world of being single. Along this new path, she gets tangled up in a web of euphoric highs and lows that test her character, friendships, and future. As Hope struggles to preserve what's left of her integrity, what ensues is a dance between right and wrong and truth and forgiveness. This book beats a tantric rhythm as it explores romance, sexuality, women in love, bisexuality, and infidelity.

Hairpin Curves


Elia Winters - 2020
    Now a wedding invitation lures her to Quebec…in February. When her ex-friend Scarlett offers to be her plus-one (yeah, that’s a whole story) and suggests they turn the journey into an epic road trip, Megan reluctantly agrees to the biggest adventure of her life.A week together in a car is a surefire way to kill a crush, and Scarlett Andrews has had a big one on Megan for years. The important thing is fixing their friendship.As the miles roll away, what starts as harmless road-trip games and rest-stop dares escalates into something like intimacy. And when a surprise snowstorm forces Megan and Scarlett to hunker down without the open road as distraction, they’ve got a bigger challenge than making it to the church on time: facing the true nature of their feelings for each other.Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.

Accidental Honeymoon


Miranda MacLeod - 2020
    Could things get any worse?All Ray wants is to finish her job and say adios to the world’s most high-maintenance client. But after being mistaken for Monica’s girlfriend, how can Ray walk away when going along with the charade would grant an old lady her dying wish? It’s not like Ray intended to be so charming that Monica’s grandmother would rewrite her will.Now the unlikely couple stands to inherit a vineyard in rural New England and a heap of cash large enough to change both their lives. The only hitch? They have to get hitched. And since Monica is a professional wedding blogger, they’ll have to make it the wedding of the century while convincing two million followers they’re madly in love.No problem, aside from the simple fact that they can’t stand each other. There’s a good chance the whole thing could end in disaster, but is it possible these enemies might find true love along the way?

Anyone But Her


Erica Lee - 2019
    Jamie has been there for her through everything. Plus, she's interested in learning more about the family he never speaks of.Living in California for eight years, Charlie Miller has been able to live authentically, but being back in her small Maryland hometown with her conservative family means going back into the closet. What she didn't expect was to be so attracted to her brother's girlfriend.54,300 words

Mending Defects


Lynn Galli - 2011
    Laid-back Glory Eiben learned long ago that keeping personal information and opinions to herself goes a long way toward staying hassle free in her chosen home town. Much adored by the residents, she’s maintained the life she’s always wanted with good friends, close family, and a successful career. For someone with a rare congenital heart defect, this life is more than she could have hoped for. Leaving behind big city excitement, a demanding position, and a failed relationship, Lena Coleridge thinks this small ski town may be exactly what she needs to come back from her wit’s end. She didn’t think that job politics or social landmines would exist in such a small town. Keeping to herself won’t be an option with these nosy locals. It doesn’t help that she lives next door to one of the more popular residents who seems too easy going and nice to be true. Friendship is inevitable, but as she gets to know Glory, friendship isn’t the only thing on her mind. After her last relationship, Lena doesn’t want anything to do with another complication, and dating her neighbor could definitely get complicated.

Slow Burn in Tuscany


Giselle Fox - 2016
    So when the rich, beautiful Madison signs up for the same tour of Italy that Bree is taking with her BFF, it’s almost enough to ruin the trip before they start. As if that’s not bad enough, a nosy, loud-mouthed journalist starts poking into the tourists’ private lives -- and turns Bree’s upside down. Suddenly, everything she thought she knew is wrong … and the woman she was sure she hated is hotter than the Tuscan sun and firing all Bree’s fantasies.The tour becomes a journey of unexpected discoveries, full of sweet seduction and vivid emotion … until Bree realizes that she stands in the way of Madison’s deepest desire. Will Bree sacrifice her first-ever chance at real romance for the sake of Madison’s dream? And if she does, can love find a way to bring them together again?61,700 words

The Plus One


Natasha West - 2016
    Shoes? £60. The perfect date? Priceless... Charlie Black has found the one. And this time it’s for real. Not like the last time. Or the time before that. Or the time before that… And now she’s going to parade the one in front of everyone at her sister’s upcoming wedding. She wants to prove that her new girlfriend Lucy is special. She’s going to show everyone she can make it work. Especially her judgmental sister Maddie, Bride-Zilla herself. But a few weeks before the wedding, Charlie gets dumped. Again. And she can’t face the humiliation of going to Maddie’s wedding stag. Not after loudly and repeatedly telling her family that this one is different. She needs a date to the wedding and fast. Maybe she could get someone to go with her, but how the hell is she supposed to convince anyone to pretend to be Lucy, her very serious girlfriend of four months? It’s too humiliating. But the wedding creeps closer and closer, with no obvious solution in sight. Then Charlie happens across a website. ‘Rent-a-Date. It's just the thing Charlie needs to save her from the embarrassment of admitting that her sister was right again. That’s one wedding gift Charlie refuses to give her. So after booking herself a date from the company, she’s guaranteed that a hot woman will show up to the wedding with enough knowledge to pretend to be the real Lucy, at least for the length of the big day. But when Charlie turns up at the church, her date has a surprise in store…

To Have Loved & Lost


Eliza Andrews - 2016
    She's number 17, point guard, MVP, all-star, co-captain of the Lady Raiders NCAA Division I women's basketball team. But there's a darkness growing inside of her, a darkness that started the night her beloved died in her arms, and if she doesn't turn things around soon, the darkness just might swallow her whole.Graham Griffin knows a thing or two about darkness. That's been her zip code ever since the car accident that took her boyfriend's life — the car accident she caused. When she meets Alex, she sees a reflection of her own sorrow. And she can't help but want to fix it.About This BookIf this book were a movie, it would be rated "R" for explicit sexual content, mature topics, and strong language. If that's not your cup of tea, you shouldn't buy this book.This is also a lesbian romance. If that's not your cup of tea, you shouldn't buy this book.But if you're in the mood for a lesbian love story, one that's got some dark, gritty moments but ends happily ever after by the final scene, you'll enjoy this.

Falling for Jillian Ashley: A Carlsbad Village Lesbian Romance


Sabrina Kane - 2021
    

The Gravity Between Us


Kristen Zimmer - 2013
    Payton Taylor is Kendall’s best friend since childhood, and the one person who reminds her of who she really is – her refuge from the craziness of celebrity life. With her career taking off, Kendall moves Payton to LA to help keep her sane. But Payton is hiding a secret that could make everything ten times worse. Because to her, Kendall is more than a best friend – she is the only girl that she has ever loved. Just as they need each other more than ever, they’ll have to answer the question of where friendship stops and love begins? And find out whether the feelings they have can survive the mounting pressure of fame… The Gravity Between Us is a daring, romantic, emotional story about friendship, love, and finding the courage to be yourself in a crazy world. New Adult novel: recommended for 17+ due to mature themes and sexual content

Because of Her


K.E. Payne - 2014
    Big time. Forced to move to London thanks to her father’s new job, she has to leave her friends, school, and, most importantly, her girlfriend Amy, far behind. To make matters worse, Tabby’s parents enroll her in the exclusive Queen Victoria Independent School for Girls, hoping that it will finally make a lady of her.But Tabby has other ideas.Loathing her new school, Tabby fights against everything and everyone, causing relations with her parents to hit rock bottom. But when the beautiful and beguiling Eden Palmer walks into her classroom one day and catches her eye, Tabby begins to wonder if life there might not be so bad after all.When Amy drops a bombshell about their relationship following a disastrous visit, Tabby starts to see the need for new direction in her life. Fighting her own personal battles, Eden brings the possibility of change for them both. Gradually, Tabby starts to turn her life around—and it’s all because of her.

All That Matters


Susan X. Meagher - 2006
    She's a very successful real estate agent, happily married to a man who encourages her to live the independent life she loves; and they're actively working to have a baby.The wrench in the works is that Blair favors adoption, while her husband David desperately wants to have a biological child. The fates are against them, and they finally seek the help of a group of reproductive specialists. One of the doctors, a surgeon named Kylie Mackenzie, eventually becomes a good friend to Blair. And she needs all of the friends she can get when things start to go horribly wrong at home. As her marriage teeters on the brink of collapse, she relies more and more on Kylie's friendship.Kylie's happily gay; Blair's happily straight. But the way they structure their relationship leads friends and family to privately question whether the pair is setting themselves up for heartache. They eventually come to a crossroads, which could either destroy their friendship or turn it into what each of them has been seeking. The question is whether each woman can change her view of herself and her needs. The answer is all that matters.