Book picks similar to
High October by Elena Graf


romance
lesbian
lgbt
second-chances

An Infatuation


Jennifer Lyndon - 2013
    A successful realtor in Aspen, Lise is married to her high school sweetheart and is the mother of two great kids, Michael and Candace. To her two closest friends, Kitty and Cheryl, Lise's life appears ideal, until her husband Scott is passed over for the partnership in the architectural firm where he works. At the party to welcome her husband's new boss, a woman she's determined to despise, Lise meets Juliana Rhodes. The attraction is immediate and unsettling for Lise, sending her perfectly balanced life into a tailspin.

Undone


Bryce Oakley - 2019
    The kind of songs that her rock band, The Shrikes, would never play. After their successful first album, the pressure for a perfect follow-up is crushing her creativity. Billie’s new songs and sound need an outlet, but she’s not just going to give them away to anyone.Vero De Luca is always in the limelight for making mistakes. The daughter of a famous musician, she’s trying to make smart decisions for the first time in her life as she sets off on a solo career after years in a popular all-female group. Though she knows she’s fully capable of writing her own songs, the label insists that her first single needs a major name behind it, not just her own.Both women think that working together sounds like a match made in hell. Though they can hardly stand each other, sparks start to fly when they’re writing the new single, “Undone.”Will they go up in flames or find a way to work together through the blaze?

Dating Sarah Cooper


Siera Maley - 2014
    Katie's welcoming, tight-knit family is a convenient substitute for Sarah when her distant parents aren't around, and Sarah's abrasive, goal-oriented personality gels well with Katie's more laid-back approach to life.But when a misunderstanding leads to the two of them being mistaken for a couple and Sarah uses the situation to her advantage, Katie finds herself on a roller coaster ride of ambiguous sexuality and confusing feelings. How far will Sarah go to keep up the charade, and why does kissing her make Katie feel more alive than kissing her ex-boyfriend Austin ever did? And how will their new circle of gay friends react when the truth comes out?

The Goodmans


Clare Ashton - 2018
    But Abby has a secret. Best friend Jude Goodman is the love of her life, and very, very straight. Even if Jude had ever given a woman a second glance, there’d also be the small problem of Maggie – she would definitely not approve. But secrets have a habit of sneaking out, and Abby’s not the only one with something to hide. Life is just about to get very interesting for the Goodmans.Things are not what they used to be, but could they be even better?97,600 words

Head Above Water


Emma Chamberlain - 2020
    Blonde and unpolished, Zoe struggles to fit in with the high-caliber rich crowd at Brentwood High. A scholarship honey, her athletics carry her far. Ryan Astor, on the other hand, has all the money and all the brains, but she can't seem to overcome her emotional struggles after a brutal year of disappointments and a disastrous summer away.When a random party lands Ryan in Zoe's lap, Zoe can't seem to shake her new addiction to the somewhat shy and obviously beautiful girl.

Lovestruck


Allie Keane - 2019
    Their weekend-long reunion brings back countless great memories from their youth. But it also revives a past crush that Colleen thought she buried away.Meanwhile, Molly is grappling with her own feelings of attraction—feelings she never expected and can’t ignore. She doesn’t have time for love, though, with a 7-year-old daughter under her sole care and a mounting pile of debt.Once they share a kiss, however, Colleen and Molly can no longer just be friends. They decide to give a long-distance relationship a shot. But busy lives, bad cell phone reception, and hundreds of miles between them prove to make it difficult. Will they be forced to give up each other, or will they find a way to make their love last?LOVESTRUCK is a standalone friends-to-lovers romance with an HEA.

Dare to Love


A.L. Brooks - 2020
    Her love life’s been a lot bumpier, though. Ever since a heart-breaking affair with a straight colleague, she’s vowed to steer clear of women unsure of their sexuality. Talent-agency executive Carmen Lyttleton is straight, career focused, and not prone to distraction from her occasional casual relationships. When her best friend gets a tattoo at Ash’s studio, Carmen finds herself unexpectedly impressed by Ash and her business. When they accidentally meet again, Carmen is shocked by the sparks between them and the realization that she feels a lot more than just admiration for Ash’s work ethic. It can’t possibly mean what it seems…can it? The pull between the women is powerful but so are their fears, old baggage, and stubbornness. Can they dare to love? A slow-burn lesbian romance about leaving the past behind and opening your heart to new possibilities.

Stars Collide


H.P. Munro - 2014
    Despite her own fame Freya has managed to keep one aspect of her life out of the public eye, however, a new job on hit show Front Line and a storyline that pairs her with the gorgeous Jordan Ellis, may mean that Freya’s secret is about to come out. In a world of glitz and glamor, Jordan Ellis has come to the conclusion that all that glitters is not gold. She has become disillusioned with relationships and is longing for a deeper connection, and is surprised when it comes in the form of the most unexpected package. Whilst their on screen counterparts begin a romantic journey, Freya and Jordan find themselves on a similar pathway.

Destiny's Bridge


Carrie L. Carr - 2000
    When her car is washed into a rising creek, it could be the last thing she does. Lexington (Lex) Walters has run the Rocking W Ranch for the last ten years, alone except for hired hands and her feisty housekeeper, Martha. She doesn’t have the time or inclination for dating, but when fate drops a beautiful woman into her path, how can she resist? With the bridge out of service and the weather against them, Lex and Amanda work together to take care of the ranch. When they stumble across a group of rustlers also stranded by the weather, will the stress destroy their budding relationship?

Being Hers


Anna Stone - 2018
    By day, she studies at law school, and by night, she serves drinks at an exclusive club to afford her tuition. But the hard-working Melanie will never admit her true desire: to escape from her fast-paced, high-pressure life, if only for a moment. When Melanie meets Vanessa, a glamorous executive and a regular at the club, she is drawn to the enigmatic black-haired woman. Vanessa is relentless in pursuing what she wants—and what she wants is Melanie. Soon, Melanie finds herself caught up in Vanessa’s sensual games of submission, power and control. Melanie insists that her affair with Vanessa remains purely physical. But as her limits are tested, so is the line between lust and love. When ghosts from the past reappear, both women must face their deepest fears. Can Melanie surrender her everything to Vanessa, or will old wounds prove too great?

Snow Falls


Gerri Hill - 2012
    Catherine Ryan-Barrett, running from the fame and fortune of her family name, wants nothing more to spend the winter alone and sequestered in her high mountain cabin. She is not prepared for a party crasher. After spending two months together, they form an unlikely friendship that deepens even further. But after the spring thaw, Jen leaves and returns to her life in Santa Fe—and to the man who wants to marry her. All she knows of the woman who rescued her is her name . . . Ryan.

96 Hours


Georgia Beers - 2011
    Free spirit Abby Hayes is flying into New York City to visit her mother before jetting off again. Both end up in Gander, Canada, when their flight is diverted because of 9/11. For ninety-six hours they share a rollercoaster of emotions and find themselves drawn to one another. Will their nascent connection survive everyday life when they return home?

Read Between the Lines


Rachel Lacey - 2021
    And ever since she took over her mother’s beloved Manhattan bookstore, they’ve become her home too. The only thing missing is her own real-life romance like the ones she loves to read about, and Rosie has an idea of who she might like to sweep her off her feet. She’s struck up a flirty online friendship with lesbian romance author Brie, and what could be more romantic than falling in love with her favorite author?Jane Breslin works hard to keep her professional and personal lives neatly separated. By day, she works for the family property development business. By night, she puts her steamier side on paper under her pen name: Brie. Jane hasn’t had much luck with her own love life, but her online connection with a loyal reader makes Jane wonder if she could be the one.When Rosie learns that her bookstore’s lease has been terminated by Jane’s family’s business, romance moves to the back burner. Even though they’re at odds, there’s no denying the sparks that fly every time they’re together. When their online identities are revealed, will Jane be able to write her way to a happy ending, or is Rosie’s heart a closed book?

Wicked Sweet


Chelsea M. Cameron - 2018
    At twenty, she already knows exactly who she is and who she’s going to be: queen of her own media empire. She’s just started her junior year of undergrad to get her business degree, and everything is going according to her meticulous plan. That is until Seven Sutter careens back into her life. Seven Sutter, the girl who had it all in high school. Now here she is at the same college as Dove, in two of the same classes no less. Seven Sutter, who Dove has been paired with for a semester-long partnership. Oh, and Seven is now living down the hall from Dove. Because of course. Dove braces herself for disaster, but what she doesn’t expect is to find Seven off-the-charts sexy. And interesting. And not the evil monster she always made her out to be. She’s just as driven as Dove, determined to have a goth café, filled with skull cookies and drinks named after dead people. Dove’s opinions of Seven start to change. Those opinions turn into something else: a crush. A big life-altering one. Can Dove let their history go and give herself permission to fall for the girl with the killer brown eyes who makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the world?

Dead Lez Walking


G. Benson - 2021
    One zombie virus. One desperate group. One way out.A new virus has appeared, and all Taren can do is groan. Being a nurse in Accident and Emergency has its downsides, and dealing with the flood of people freaking out over symptoms they don’t really have is definitely one of them.Joy, an exhausted surgeon, is just trying to find somewhere to relax after a horrendous night on call—and somewhere she can avoid Taren, since Joy blew her off after an incredible date weeks ago. When she wakes up after an accidental nap, her pager has gone dead, and the doors outside are barricaded. This can’t be about the virus, can it?Yes, it can. The dead are rising, and they are hungry. Joy and Taren are trapped with a group of others as they try to fight for their lives and get out. The rest of the group think it would be great if Joy and Taren would stop making moon eyes at each other when they are oh, you know, just trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.