Book picks similar to
Always Allie by Melissa Tereze


second-chances
lesbian-romance
ku
fiction

Ready, Set, Bake


Sienna Waters - 2021
    But when her best friend Kate asks her to make up the numbers on a new baking show, she can hardly say no. Especially when the invitation means a chance to play private detective.But when things don't go exactly according to plan, Joey finds herself allied with top competitor Sophia. All Sophia wants is to save her cupcake store and pay off her sister's debts. All Joey wants is a chance to solve a mystery.Joey's flighty and Sophia's cold and neither one is looking for a one-night-stand, let alone love. Yet for some reason, they just can't keep their hands off each other.Somehow a rogue attack of chickenpox is about to turn into a love story with two very reluctant participants... And there's cake. A lot of cake.Ready, Set, Bake is a new stand-alone lesbian romance from Sienna Waters, the author of the Oakview and Monday's Child lesfic series, as well as the bestsellers The Wrong Date and A Perfect Mess.

Change Of Plans


K.J . - 2021
    After all, prudence keeps her safe. Lately, though, too many of those comforting plans are disintegrating and Emily is forced to function spontaneously which has spiked her anxiety so much, she’s put her therapist on speed-dial.Skye Reynolds, bike courier entrepreneur, knows all about exploding plans. That’s literally how she lost her job when her company blew up a 40,000-year-old world heritage site. But Skye is not someone who asks for help to reassemble her life blueprints, which is lucky as she nearly always lands on her feet whenever she happily ignores prudence to embark on any new adventure.When Skye’s ad hoc dirt track intersects with Emily’s carefully paved freeway, their lives are thrown into disarray, with the added complication of their unexpected attraction. Prudence plays tricks on both of them when they choose to navigate their true paths and explore the direction of their relationship.Sometimes a change of plans is all you need to see what lies ahead.

The Great Christmas Tree Mystery


Jamey Moody - 2021
    

Nothing But A Fling: A Carlsbad Village Lesbian Romance


Sabrina Kane - 2020
    But after the Covid pandemic hit, business is practically non-existent.Megan Baldwin started the year having her heart shattered by her girlfriend but now she has just gotten an exciting new job promotion which will force her to leave Carlsbad and move to New York City.But one day, Megan walks into La Vida Mocha and lays eyes on the gorgeous barista behind the counter.Their attraction to each other is out of this world.But with Megan leaving California soon for her dream job in New York, and Vanessa needing to focus solely on making sure her coffeeshop survives Covid, both women only want a harmless, no-strings-attached summer fling. Just a bit of fun.But what happens when a meaningless fling develops into so much more for each of these women?Does the other woman feel the same way?Or is this truly nothing but a fling?“Nothing But A Fling” is the first book in the new Carlsbad Village Lesbian Romance series by Sabrina Kane.

Six Feet


Michele M. Reynolds - 2021
    Six Feet is a contemporary, pandemic romance with the emphasis on romance.Henley Stones Smith, 42, is a psychologist with three foster daughters: Paloma, Jackie and Manhattan.Nicki Zabelle, 28, is a professional video gamer who sleeps in late and always orders take-out.The Covid pandemic hits and Nicki abruptly moves from Boston to Western Massachusetts where Henley is juggling working from home, remote school, and single parenthood.Little Jackie's early morning mishap brings Henley and Nicki together.Henley sees Nicki as an incredibly young neighbor who is kind enough to share her pool.Nicki sees Henley as an incredibly hot neighbor who she hopes is kind enough to share her bed.

Second Chances


M.J. Duncan - 2013
    Still hung up on her college sweetheart, a one-night-stand gone wrong convinces her that she needs to make a change. An offer for a one-year guest lecturer position from a small private university provides her the opportunity she needs to escape, and she jumps at it. All Charlie expected to find when she left Manhattan for rural New Hampshire was a little peace. Instead, she finds Mackayla Thomas. Eight years have passed since Charlie foolishly walked away from Mackayla, and Mackayla is determined to never let anyone hurt her that way again. For Charlie, their serendipitous meeting is a sign that happily ever after might finally be within her reach. First, however, she needs to find a way to convince Mackayla to let the past go, and to give her a second chance.

Smoke and Sugar (Small Town Sparks #2)


Bel Blackwood - 2021
    You definitely can't plan for llamas.Practical, down-to-earth Kaia Kingsley loves life in the rural wilds of New Zealand. Even if country life comes with its own challenges: keeping the bank from repossessing her farm, keeping her jam-making business afloat, and... finding a llama in her strawberry patch?When she drags it back home, she doesn't expect its owner to be a gorgeous older woman. Tessa is icy, but Kaia can see the lonely woman under the surface… and she wants to see more.But when Kingsley Jams gets the chance to enter in a famous food competition, Kaia needs to focus. If she doesn't win, her jam business will go under, taking her farm with it.But the only person who can help her win is the biggest distraction of them all.Her jams are made to make a person crave more. But now, Kaia is the one wrestling with sweet temptation.She went searching for a new life. She found new love.It's been six months since high-powered lawyer Tessa's breakup, but her ex's words are still ringing in her ears: Tessa Wright, you're heartless.A small New Zealand town is the perfect place for Tessa to lick her wounds. But life in the country comes with challenges she wasn't prepared for—like her new neighbor, Kaia.The younger woman is as sweet as the jam she makes. Tessa needs to stay away from her. Kaia deserves better than a cold-hearted city lawyer.But when Kaia begs for her help saving her business, Tessa can't say no. As the competition day approaches, the two of them will have to work together. To save what Kaia holds dear, Tessa will have to learn to listen to her heart.Smoke and Sugar is the second book in the Small Town Sparks series, but can be read as a standalone novel.

The Burden of Happiness


L. Dreamer - 2021
    She would rather go through life with minimal interaction than learn to open up and trust others; keeping her emotional scars in the front of her mind so she won’t get hurt. When a visit back to her hometown doesn’t bring the answers or closure she’s yearned for, she wonders if she’ll ever be made whole again.While in town Sarah meets Kate, a professor at the local community college. The instant connection she feels with Kate confuses and scares her, but it also gives her a glimpse of a life she wished she could have. Will Sarah finally find it within herself to conquer her fears and pursue the life she’s always wanted but thought she could never have?Content warning: This novel deals with alcoholism and references a suicide, an abortion and a rape. They all occur off-page and are only mentioned as backstory with no graphic detail.

Your Hand Found Mine


Adrienne Marsh - 2021
    She was just really busy; the design studio she and her brother owned was really starting to make a name for itself, and the work was just flying in. That was the only reason she didn't go out much, or really even keep in touch with her friends anymore. It had nothing to do with her ex; she wasn't hung up on Sarah, or afraid to get back out there. She wasn't.But when she found that Sarah was getting married to some guy named Roger, on a day where everything else was also wrong, somehow it became harder to pretend that she was fine. She let her brother drag her away from work, just this once, to this quirky hole in the wall he knew called the One Toothed Shark. It wasn't her kind of bar at all--but something about it kept her coming back anyway. It was probably the drinks. Or, maybe, it was Hayley, that stupidly charming bartender full of idiotic ideas and armed with impeccable instincts for making Cass laugh despite herself.... no, it was definitely the drinks, because Cassie Vasquez wasn't looking for love, and it was just ridiculous to think that Hayley, who was just being nice to one of her most awkward customers, was offering anything of the sort.

Christmas with the CEO


Kaya LaSalle - 2020
    It seems like nothing has changed since she left...until she hears about the wealthy CEO who has taken up residence in town. All Allie Moore wants is some peace and quiet. She's built a life for herself in Cascade Falls, and she's happy with things just the way they are. But when a brash (and beautiful) woman comes storming into her office one day, Allie finds herself reevaluating things.Sparks fly between the two women, and Ivy swears the CEO is out to make her life miserable. But as she reluctantly spends more time around Allie, she wonders if she might have been too quick to judge the other woman.With a little help from the rest of the town, can Ivy and Allie find the spirit of the season--and maybe fall in love along the way?

Perspective


Monica McCallan - 2019
    Clair never expected her first novel to catapult her to success. She should be excited that she’ll be consulting on the movie adaptation, but she’s struggling. Her ability to write her newest novel has been practically non-existent, she’s all but given up on having a social life, and with the recent loss of her father, she’s trying to understand what she wants for her future. Sloane Murphy's career has been careening forward for the last decade, so it doesn’t matter that she doesn’t like being an actress. The movie is a great opportunity for her, and in spite of her ambivalence, the show must go on. She’s done this enough times that she just needs to follow the script and hit her lines. But she wasn’t expecting to see Campbell St. Clair, at least that’s what she goes by now, on set, and her presence sends Sloane’s already precarious life into a tailspin when their paths collide again. Neither are the same people they were when they’d met in college, but do either of them know who they are now? In a world of playing pretend, it’s hard to know what’s real, even if it’s right in front of them.

The Proposal


T.B. Markinson - 2022
    The centuries-old shop is owned by Cleo Braithwaite, a woman with a fierce and frightening reputation. Cleo turns out to be nothing like the rumors but refuses to sit still long enough to be dazzled by the meticulous spreadsheets and slides Marley has prepared to seal the deal. Instead of making her proposal, Marley soon finds herself on an impromptu walking tour of London with the charming Cleo.Even though Marley has a dinner date that night with the woman she’s been chatting with online and was convinced was her soulmate, she can’t ignore the feelings her bewitching guide stirs up inside as they explore the historic city on foot. What’s more, the longer she’s with Cleo, the more Marley begins to question the business deal she’s been sent to make.Should Marley stick with the plan, or is a single life-changing day with Cleo worth blowing up the future Marley was so certain she wanted?

The Writing on the Wall


Nicole Pyland - 2022
    Her only love has been writing and working on this novel she’s been trying to finish for years now. Finally, feeling like she’s ready to put it out to the world, she decides to get a literary agent to help her get published. Little does she know, her book getting published would be the second best thing to happen to her this year.Annie Halifax is the third generation part-owner of The Halifax Agency, a literary agency that’s been dying on the vine for years with the advent of self-publishing. Her job is to carry the torch for the family and ensure the agency doesn’t go under on her watch. When her father decides to retire and, instead, puts her uninterested and sometimes flighty older sister in charge, Annie is left to figure out why and find her new place, either at the agency or somewhere else entirely.When Weston meets Annie, she’s taken aback instantly, but navigating through getting her first book published while also falling in love with the agent representing her, isn’t easy. And with Annie trying to find out what her future looks like at the agency on top of it, things get complicated.Watch these two women try to make things work just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Pas de deux


E.J. Noyes - 2021
    Or more accurately—under her horse’s hooves. With the 2016 Rio Olympics just around the corner, nothing is going to derail her long-held dream of winning a medal or two in Olympic dressage. Not even the reappearance of a childhood so-not-a-friend throwing her perfectly balanced life into disarray.Addie Gardner’s career is at its peak, and accepting a last-minute fill-in position as the veterinarian for the US Olympic Dressage Team was a no-brainer. The fact that her old crush from Pony Club is on the team is just a bonus. Not a distraction at all. And it might just offer the chance to be friends with the girl who wouldn’t even give her the time of day twenty years ago.But Caitlyn and Addie have very different memories of their time together at Pony Club and their first meeting as adults is less like a reconnection and more like a butting of heads. With the Olympics looming, they’ll need to set aside their history and learn to work together. And maybe Caitlyn and Addie will realize childhood memories aren’t always accurate, and that they have more in common than they would ever have thought. Maybe. Just maybe.Genre: RomanceEditor: Cath WalkerCover Designer: Judith Fellows

Knowing Her (The Barreras Book 2)


Raquel De Leon - 2019
    Things are better for her than they were then. She's out as a trans lesbian, has a good job, and is in the promising start of a new relationship. To top it all off, she's back in contact with her sister, who has completely accepted her. She's not ready to tell the rest of her family, but that's okay. Lian Hui, a private investigator who had searched for Teresa for years, is surprised when they become friends. Not much of a people person and prone to bouts of anxiety, she finds herself drawn to Teresa's kindness and patience. When Teresa's relationship turns sour, Lian steps up as the friend Teresa needs most. As Teresa and Lian become closer, they find the line between friendship and romance can be a blurry, confusing thing.