Jae's Blog
September 25, 2025
Teaching the other character a skill (Micro-Trope #9)
It’s time for another Micro-Trope category. This one features sapphic books in which one character teaches the other character a skill.
It could be a practical skill such as cooking or fighting, a sport, or a craft such as pottery, woodworking, or knitting.
15 sapphic books with the “teaching the other character a skill” micro-trope
Below, you’ll find 15 sapphic books that include at least one scene in which one character teaches the other a skill.
Just for Show by Jae
What happens when a perfectionist, overachieving psychologist and an impulsive, out-of-work actress start a fake relationship?
Claire Renshaw thought she had it all: a successful career as a couples therapist, a publishing contract for her self-help book, and a happy relationship. But her perfect world falls apart when her fiancée calls off their engagement. Because of that, even her book deal might be off the table. After all, readers don’t want relationship advice from someone who can’t even make her own relationship work.
So Claire sets out to hire herself a fake fiancée.
Lana Henderson, the actress who shows up to audition for the role, is not exactly Claire’s ideal woman. Her frankness and the messes she leaves everywhere drive Claire up the wall. At least she won’t fall in love with someone like Lana.
But soon, Lana starts to win her over with her big heart, tickle fights, and—gasp!—carbs after six. The longer they pretend to be a love-struck couple, the less fake their kisses feel and the more the lines between reality and role begin to blur.
Once the book contract is signed, will they walk away or is their relationship no longer just for show?
Available at:
Learning Curves by Rachel Lacey
For Audrey Lind, working with clay still evokes memories of her favorite professor. The woman’s zeal for art history ignited Audrey’s own academic career—and her tweed blazers and British accent kindled her first female crush. After fate brings Audrey back to Northshire University to teach, she’s thrilled to be working alongside her former mentor, but the grumpy woman she encounters upon her return is nothing like the dynamo she remembers.
Divorce and a stalling career have turned Dr. Michelle Thompson bitter and guarded. When Audrey swoops in to teach the Women in Art class Michelle’s been pitching for years, she longs to hate her. But her young rival is too kind, too enthusiastic, too irresistible. And her passion for life slowly reawakens Michelle’s own.
Wary of age gaps and workplace politics, they suppress their smoldering attraction—until one wine-filled night at the pottery wheel puts their romantic truce to the test. Will they keep things on the tenure track or risk it all for love?
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No Shelter But The Stars by Virginia Black
Kyran Loyal is the last heir to the lost throne of a forgotten planet, the figurehead of a nomadic people fleeing the galactic tyranny of a brutal regime. Davia Sifane is the unrecognized daughter of an imperial despot. When happenstance pits them against each other in battle, neither expects the outcome: they are the only two people to survive. Marooned on a barren moon, their only hope of survival is to rely on each other, but what they learn will either kill them or change the galaxy forever.
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Just Marry Her by L.R. Martiny
Missy Greenwood moves to St. Croix to take on her dream job as the assistant to famous television dog trainer Quincy Adams. She’s long harbored a crush on her hot boss as she watched her from the mainland. But now she’s face to face with her idol, and the young protégé is lost in lust.
Quincy’ new assistant landed on her set just in time. Quincy’s ex is trying to weasel her way back into her life and the press is hounding her about her non-existent dating scene. Her solution: ask Missy to enter into a fake marriage that will get everyone off her back.
It all seems simple enough, but Missy wants more than a marriage of convenience with her boss. And when the honeymoon gets super steamy, she wonders if can she manage to train Quincy’s hardened heart.
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Holy Water and Whiskey Scars by Ali Spooner
Faith Wilson and Logan Bronson have family secrets to protect and a legacy to uphold to support their small rural Appalachian community. Their commitment to each other is strong, and their desire to aid the struggling families however they can, lead them both down an exciting but dangerous path. Will their love continue to grow and be the glue that binds the community together, or will they flee the withering community?
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Amazon
Sour Grapes by Eliza Lentzski
At this stage in her life, June St. Clare never imagined she’d be starting all over again—a new job, a new city, a new love? Looking for a fresh start after tragedy, June finds herself the unexpected owner of Lark Estates—a micro winery in the heart of Napa Valley. There, June is determined to learn the business and do her best, even if she’s convinced that her assistant winemaker, the beautiful but elusive Lucia Santiago, wants to see her fail.
Lucia Santiago grew up on vineyards, almost like a grapevine herself, working her way up from cellar rat to assistant winemaker. When the property where she works is suddenly sold to a woman with no prior experience, she can’t help but feel resentful of the winery’s lovely but inexperienced new owner. It’s too bad June’s helplessness is almost endearing, stirring up emotions Lucia didn’t quite expect.
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Sister Matthew and Sister Rose: Novices in Love by Carol Anne Douglas
Maureen Collins, recently named Sister Matthew in the novitiate at St. Euphrosnye’s convent in Western Maryland in 1962, doubts the existence of God. She entered the convent for several reasons: she thinks being surrounded by believers might help her believe; she knows she’s attracted to women and wants to avoid pressure to date men and marry; and she feels guilty about something that happened when she was in high school.
She quickly falls in love with Rose Clancy, now Sister Rose, another novice who also is attracted to women. Rose is more religious, but she reciprocates Sister Matthew’s feelings. She grew up with an alcoholic mother and found a refuge among the nuns who taught her.
As the two move through postulancy and the novitiate, they encounter many challenges from the strict rules to memories of their respective pasts. The memory of an old murder intrudes in the present.
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Out at the Plate: The Dot Wilkinson Story by Lynn Ames
“Dot Wilkinson was the greatest female catcher ever to play softball. A bold, pioneering athlete, she refused to let others define her and instead defined herself. Her story is an inspiration to people everywhere.” —Billie Jean King, Sports Icon and Champion for Equality
It’s not simply that Dot Wilkinson was one of the most decorated women’s softball players, bowlers, and athletes of all time and one of the original players from the three-time-world-champion PBSW Phoenix Ramblers softball team (1933–1965). Nor was it the length of her time here on Earth—over a century—although any of these things by themselves would be impressive.
The magic of Dot’s story is in the details. It’s the tale of a childhood spent in poverty, an indomitable, unbreakable spirit, a determination to be the very best to play whatever sport she undertook, the independence to live her personal life on her own terms, and her tremendous success at all of it.
Over more than a decade of countless conversations and interviews, Dot shared all of it with her dear friend, author Lynn Ames. Dot held nothing back. Out at the Plate, told through the lens of Dot and Lynn’s friendship, is the story of a forgotten era in women’s history and sports, and one extraordinary woman’s place at the center of it all.
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Hot Honey Love by Nan Campbell
Chef Stef’s passion for her profession is being severely tested. After a disastrous appearance on a cooking competition show, she has become a meme. The entire Internet now knows her as the Kitchen Bawler. Her ascent through the fine dining kitchens of New York City has been thoroughly derailed, but she has a plan to get her career back on track. She’ll make cooking videos on YouTube to foil the algorithm and overhaul her search engine results. One problem: she knows nothing about creating video content.
Enter Mallory Radowski. She’s a talented filmmaker currently earning a living as a wedding videographer, with complicated reasons of her own for her reluctance to help Stef. Mallory lives with anxiety, and is the pickiest eater imaginable. Food—Stef’s love language—is untranslatable to her. How can she make Stef’s food look delicious if she won’t eat any of it?
Stef has to trust that Mallory’s videos can get her cooking food she’s proud of again, but it’s out of the frying pan and into the fire when she starts to fall for her.
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Moon Over Cape Cod Bay by Renn Loraine
Marion has been discovered in a locked room, covered in blood, next to the lifeless body of her father – a man she hated. She knows she’s in trouble. She knows what it looks like. And what’s worse, no one believes her when she tells them she saw his killer.
Intent on protecting her young niece from a threat she knows still exists, Marion hires a woman to watch over her – the attractive and engaging Sena. But things get complicated when Sena awakens something in Marion that she has long suppressed.
Marion knows that the investigators are targeting her, and she’s running out of time. Because they’re going to find her guilty of murder – unless she can find the killer who walks through walls.
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The Relationship Mechanic by Karmen Lee
Jessica Jae-un Miller came to Peach Blossom, Georgia, for a visit, not a breakdown. But when her rental car dies on the outskirts of town, mechanic Lavenia ‘Vini’ Williams provides a tow — and a very welcome jump start to Jessica’s heart. It’s been a minute since Jessica’s last fling — her relationship specialty — and Vini checks all the right boxes. If only the sexy car whisperer seemed interested…
Vini knows herself and what she wants. She loves her job, her family, her hometown — but she’d love to fall in love. Jessica stirs up all the right feelings, but the city girl has no intention of staying in Peach Blossom. Why sign up for a broken heart?
But the temptation is real as Vini goes out of her way to drive a carless Jessica around town. The pair can’t seem to keep their distance — or their hands to themselves. With only six weeks to figure out where their red-hot chemistry might lead, Vini and Jessica will have to decide if home can be where the heart is when the heart only knows how to run.
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The Lily and the Crown by Roslyn Sinclair
Ariana “Ari” Geiker lives an isolated life on an imperial space station commanded by her father. The skilled, young botanist rarely leaves her living quarters, where she maintains an elaborate garden. When an imperious older woman is captured from a pirate ship and given to her as a slave, Ariana’s perfectly ordered life is thrown into chaos. Her nameless slave is watchful, intelligent, dangerous, and sexy, and seems to know an awful lot about tactics, star charts, and the dread, marauding pirate queen, Mir. What happens when the slave also reveals an expertise in seduction to her innocent mistress?
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Straight Girls Don’t Cry by S.E. Chandler
Canny, well, she goes by her last name because Rose never fit her anyway, is getting by week to week–and sometimes, table to table–after dropping out of art school. So what if she’s talented. Life isn’t supposed to work out for the daughter of an addict and get-rich-quick (get-broke-quicker) schemer.
Still Canny believes in humanity and helps out an overwhelmed mom of three, Ella, struggling to enjoy a meal out with a useless husband, Callahan. Ella offers Canny a nanny job, but she has reservations–and no idea what a nanny does. Of course, she falls in love with the Three Amigos, and can’t believe her luck with Ella’s generous offer.
She soon finds herself falling for Ella too. Useless Husband’s philandering pushes them together…but then drives them apart. Will her lost chances and found family go the distance or end in agony ever after?
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Witchbound: Book One by Sable Cross
A forbidden book…
A forbidden spell…
A forbidden love…
Strawberry has always struggled for recognition, among her magical superiors, hindered by her unconventional talents and her family’s disgraced legacy. Seeking the opportunity to prove herself, she takes an ancient and prohibited tome written in mysterious runes, and strikes a dangerous bargain with the formidable Eris Divine, the seductive and coldly regal vampire queen who rules the city’s supernatural underworld.
As Strawberry delves deeper into her magical studies under the irresistibly aloof Eris, forbidden passion blossoms, and an undeniable spark ignites between the optimistic witch and the immortal queen.
Eager to gain Eris’s approval, Strawberry performs a forbidden spell so powerful it almost kills her, and binds the unsuspecting vampire queen to the witch priestess.
Overcome with guilt, Strawberry struggles with the knowledge and subsequent result of the binding spell. And with the supernatural factions on the brink of war, how will she confess to the already overworked Eris what she’s done?
How does she face the woman she loves more than life with a secret and a betrayal so devastating?
And how will the supernatural factions react when they learn of Strawberry’s reckless disregard for the most powerful of all magic?
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Rand by Silvia Shaw
Three hundred ago, Rand’s most powerful talisman, a medallion called the “Circle of Sheda”, was taken through the portal into Earth and lost. When Dr. Savannah Cole is on an archeology dig in Algeria, she takes shelter from a violent sandstorm and discovers the mysterious artifact under a Berber ruin. She soon learns unknown forces are at play, powerful secret forces beyond her control.
Compelled to wear the medallion, she is swept through the portal into Rand. There, she must forge a new life and embrace her role as the wielder of ancient magic. Never before has someone from the “other world” been chosen to bear the medallion, someone not a warrior. It’s a puzzle Savannah must solve before it’s too late. Why has she been chosen? As she battles demonic creatures and dark sorcery, she fights to take her place as the rightful bearer in the long line of warrior women. But, the question remains; what is coming that the lost medallion must resurface after so many years?
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Leave a comment
What book will you be reading for the “teaching the other character a skill” micro-trope category? Let us know in the comments!
The post Teaching the other character a skill (Micro-Trope #9) appeared first on Jae.
September 18, 2025
Sapphic books that include an epilogue (Sapphic Book Bingo #20)
This week’s Sapphic Book Bingo square features sapphic books that include an epilogue.
An epilogue is a section at the end of the novel that typically takes place months or even years after the main events of the book have concluded. Epilogues are common in genres such as romance, historical fiction, and speculative fiction.
15 sapphic books that include an epilogue
Below, you’ll find 15 sapphic books that include an epilogue:
Just a Touch Away by Jae
Hannah Martin has an unusual job: she’s a professional cuddler. While she has a big heart for her clients, she hasn’t found someone special to snuggle up to in her personal life.
Winter Sullivan isn’t looking for love. She’s an aloof workaholic who’s built walls of ice around herself. She would rather drive toothpicks under her fingernails than cuddle, and she certainly doesn’t want to share her space with anyone.
When Winter’s estranged father dies, he leaves her one last surprise: she and Hannah, a perfect stranger, will inherit a building together. But there’s a catch: first, they have to live together for ninety-two days.
Winter is determined to dislike her rival, but soon finds Hannah isn’t what she expected at all. Thanks to a hilarious doormat war, a cuddle dare from Winter’s half sister, and a kiss in the most unusual of places, the frosty fortress around her heart begins to melt.
Will she be able to accept that love might be just a touch away?
Available at:
The Promise by Addison M. Conley
When the world keeps pulling you under, who do you reach for?
Life was stupidly hard enough, but when tragedy strikes Mika’s life, her high school world is flipped over and stepped on, hard. Aunt Val moving in sucks even more than she thought it would too. There’s just no way forward. Until the right girl shows up, that is.
Willow has it all. Popular, pretty, and perky, she’s got senior year wrapped up in a hot little bow. Mika can’t imagine why Willow not only wants to be her friend but is also determined to have her back. When feelings start to bloom between them, Mika wonders if just maybe things will be okay…
The world doesn’t work like that though, and when Mika is betrayed by her family and learns secrets that upend everything yet again, she isn’t sure how to get through. Can she find the strength to overcome and be the person she wants to be, or will she end up being forced into being someone she doesn’t recognize?
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Finding Molly Parsons by Alyson Root
Faith Parsons is finally 18 and eager to make her lesbian debut. But before stepping into this new chapter, she must escape the only world she’s ever known. Faith’s journey is not just a physical escape but a courageous leap into self-discovery, navigating uncharted territories with a heart full of hope. Guided by fate on a journey to find her long-lost Aunt Molly—the Parsons family’s sapphic secret—Faith is driven by a deep desire to break free from her toxic past and find a new familial embrace.
As Faith unravels a series of cryptic clues, she meets Carmen, a steamy self-made woman with a penchant for avoiding commitment, Mateo, her sequin-covered counterpart, whose life is a perpetual red-carpet event, and Enid Butcher, the cannabis-loving and self-appointed neighborhood watch. This motley crew navigate family, friendship, and love in this uproarious journey to find Molly Parsons.
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Binding Bricks by Ami Spencer
When your lost chance reappears…
Grace Khan is disappearing.
Ten years ago, burdened by the devastation of losing her best friend to a life which didn’t include her, she got swept up in a marriage she should never have agreed to. Now, with the relationship barely more than a contentious cohabitation, she dedicates all her energy to her son, the only light in her otherwise dull and uninspiring life.
Until across the crowded school playground she sees Mica Davenport. The lost love which has haunted her life with ifs and maybes is back, and their presence relights a fire in Grace that she thought was long extinguished.
While Grace and Mica navigate the potential of rekindling their friendship, they both also have to face the hand those missing years has dealt them. While Mica argues with themself about getting close to Grace again, Grace has to rediscover who she is outside of being a mother. Quieting the voice of self-doubt which has become her constant companion proves harder than she anticipated, especially when the person offering their unwavering support also reminds Grace of her biggest regret…
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The Others by Annette Mori
As a seer and brilliant scientist, Em convinces her wife, Lise, to prepare for the inevitable conclusion, after the chaos caused by foreign countries attacking the United States. Leaving behind a wake of destruction and a new world order. Forcing them to navigate a frightening reality. After ten months in their cozy bomb shelter, they emerge to a world where the vegetation is surprisingly unaffected. Should they band together with other survivors or try to make it on their own? There are others in this unknown world. On the first day outside of their shelter, they meet members of an alternate society. Are they friend or foe? Change is inevitable. But will they change in ways Em and Lise can live with, or will this altered world change them into something unrecognizable?
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Wolf Killer by C H Clepitt
“Honey, it’s the ’80s. You need to find yourself a woman who can hold your hand in public, not one who calls you her ‘friend’ and keeps you away from her boss. You don’t need that kinda heartache. You think it’ll be OK, but it won’t, trust me. It starts to eat away at you.”
FBI Agent Clara Hunter might not be girlfriend material, but as Red soon discovers, if you have a serial killer on your heels she is just the woman you want in your life!
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Just Kiss Her by Clare Lydon
When Brooke’s best friend Noah asks her to pose as his girlfriend for his sister’s resort wedding, she can’t refuse. Sure, she’s a lesbian, but it’s a free holiday. How hard can it be to fake it for a few days?
Harder than Brooke imagined when she meets Noah’s mum, Jen. Sophisticated, confident, and utterly gorgeous, Jen is everything Brooke wants. With each sizzling glance, casual touch, and chance encounter, an irresistible attraction pulls Brooke towards the one woman she can’t have.
As their holiday in paradise unfolds, this scorching love triangle is about to reach its breaking point under the hot Mexican sun. Jen is strictly off-limits, but Brooke’s heart doesn’t care for rules. Can she keep her feelings buried, or will she just kiss her?
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Bittersweet Homecoming by Eliza Lentzski
They say you can never go home again, but sometimes you have no choice. A phone call in the middle of the night and news of a death in the family has Abigail Henry catching the next flight out of Los Angeles and traveling back to the small hometown she hasn’t visited in a decade. Nearly everything and everyone looks untouched by time, but it’s Abigail herself who has changed.
A love story by genre, Bittersweet Homecoming grapples with the basic question: Can you really ever go home again? You might never be able to go home again, but it’s Charlotte, the beautiful bartender at the local pub, who can tempt Abigail into staying.
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Saving Summer’s Santa by Elle Armstrong
Ettia’s world is thrown into a spin when she is asked to go to the South Pole, to fill in for her uncle, the summer Santa, who has been taken ill. Upon arriving in Antarctica, Ettia is met with talking kangaroo’s and a sleigh that doesn’t like sand.
When Cherri gets a call to rescue a stranded vehicle, she doesn’t realise that she may end up saving far more than the cute woman dressed in a mini Santa suit. But can Cherri risk leaving the security of Australia for her damsel in distress?
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Sleepless Nights by Iona Kane
Rock singer Alex Knight is at the top of her game, dazzling fans and selling out stadiums worldwide on her most electrifying tour yet. Her life may be shrouded in secrecy and loneliness, but her meteoric success leaves everyone wanting a piece of her.
Tyra MacLean knows all too well the dark side of fame. Once a rising star herself, she’s scarred and disillusioned by the celebrity lifestyle, and just wants a quiet life. But when Alex insists on having Tyra and her band join the tour, Tyra has to sacrifice her peace and support her bandmates by returning to the relentless world that nearly broke her.
As they tour America, can Alex and Tyra overcome their fears and differences to forge a deeper connection? Amid the glitz and chaos of the music industry, love might just be the ultimate encore.
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A Perfect Fifth by Jaycie Morrison
Two divides perfectly into four, not five.
Zara Keller is a survivor turned piano phenomenon living for a big dream. When she’s invited to spend the weekend with four long-time friends outside of London, she has little use for luxurious Fullerhill Manor—but Lady Jillian Stansfield might be a different story.
The obligations thrust on Jillian Stansfield as Lady of the Manor center on home and family. Even her best friends expect her to put aside the desire for a meaningful life and carry on her legacy through marriage and children. Will the arrival of a fifth person be enough to tip the balance of their “gang of four” in her favor?
Zara challenges Jillian to pursue grander plans and stirs something new and profound, compelling Jillian to be true to herself and make the hardest decisions of her life. But when tragedy strikes, saving Jillian may cost Zara the goal of a position at the Royal College of Music, and the chance at love.
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Frosting on the Cake 3: Still Crazy After All These Years by Karin Kallmaker
From the cold winter dark of Alaska to the warm summer breezes of Hawaii, take a calendar year’s journey through the lives of women you already love.
Love finds its full bloom during a Simply the Best May. The glamour of Hollywood combines with a Because I Said So Halloween. Making Up for Lost Time serves up delicious cookies–and lots of kisses. All kinds of family are welcome at the Car Pool Thanksgiving table.
Inspired by classics like Wild Things and Painted Moon, as well as bestsellers and award-winners like Captain of Industry and Above Temptation, Karin’s third volume of follow-up stories shows the love, tenderness, and romance that stands the test of time.
Karin Kallmaker’s delightful and moving short stories have won Lambda Literary and Golden Crown awards and are sure to have you falling in love with her characters all over again.
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Love Never Dies by Laura G. Wiser
Long before their lives in Cornwall, Julie and Hilary lived in London where they met and fell in love. This is a story of new beginnings; one in which Julie discovers who she is without depending on anyone or any label to define her.
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Pursuing Pandora by Maggie Brown
Corporate Lawyer, Winter Carlyle has become jaded with romance after a messy public breakup.
When her aunt asks her to visit a high-end nightclub to check on her younger cousin, Winter reluctantly agrees. Poking her nose into his love-life is the last thing she wants to do. So what if he has a crush on Pandora, a lounge singer thirteen year his senior. The cougar might just teach him a thing or two.
For Pandora, the sultry siren in the low-cut gown facade is all an act. She dislikes adulation and the numerous advances, especially from the Russian gangster and the aging playboy. She has her reasons for being at the club and romance is definitely off the agenda.
But uptight, reserved Winter is a complication she hasn’t foreseen. And love has a way of striking at the most inopportune moments.
Available at:
E mbers by Tiffany E. Taylor
If fairy godmothers truly did exist, the only thing in this world Embry Novak would wish for would be the freedom to be herself and live authentically. Her conniving and “fragile” stepmother, however, has Embry’s father convinced he is destined to lose a second wife to illness and death unless Embry does what she says daughters should do: give up their own lives to take care of their parents. Knowing she will be cut off from her butch identity—but racked with guilt at the thought of leaving her still-grieving father to the mercy of her scheming stepmother and her two mean, selfish sons—Embry moves back into his house and bears her hellish life in silence for her father’s sake, dreaming of the day she can finally escape the toxicity.
Sapphire Keene is the incoming chief executive officer of Crunch, an organically sourced produce subscription box service headquartered locally. With one flagship brick-and-mortar store and thousands of online members, Crunch is wildly successful and Sapphire is looking forward to taking the reins from her retiring dad. But her socialite mother nags at her constantly to forget about this stupid career business and find a suitable man to marry—unaware that it has always been masculine of center females who have piqued Sapphire’s femme interest instead. While avoiding males as best she can, despite her mother’s strident efforts to find her a husband, Sapphire indulges in small, secret trysts whenever she has the opportunity—even though she knows those superficial connections have done little to satisfy her deep longing to find a butch mate with whom she can openly live and love.
When Embry—a trained chef—meets the store manager of the Crunch physical location while on a shopping trip, she is unaware that the gay, flamboyant matchmaker smells a probable match between Sapphire and Embry, and sets out to do everything he can to make sure the two of them have their happily ever after. But conniving stepmothers, selfish stepbrothers, nagging mothers, business and family obligations, and a rocky path to love seem determined to put a stop to any potential relationship, even though Sapphire and Embry are falling hard and fast for each other. It’s anyone’s guess if they can circumvent the obstacles the universe keeps throwing in their way.
Unless you have Marlow Matheson on your side, that is. Never underestimate the power of a gay fairy godfather with fabulous sequined sneakers who’s on a mission.
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Leave a comment
What book will you be reading for the “sapphic books that include an epilogue” category? Let us know in the comments!
The post Sapphic books that include an epilogue (Sapphic Book Bingo #20) appeared first on Jae.
September 4, 2025
Vegetarian or vegan character (Sapphic Book Bingo #19)
This week’s Sapphic Book Bingo features sapphic books with a vegetarian or vegan character.
For this category, read a book in which at least one of the main characters is vegetarian (doesn’t eat meat, poultry, or fish), vegan (doesn’t eat any animal product, including dairy and eggs), or a pescatarian (eats fish and seafood but no other meat).
15 sapphic books with a vegetarian or vegan character
Below, you’ll find 15 sapphic books featuring a vegetarian or vegan character:
Something in the Wine by Jae
All her life, Annie Prideaux has suffered through her brother’s constant practical jokes. But Jake’s last joke is one too many, she decides when he sets her up on a blind date with his friend Drew—neglecting to tell his straight sister one tiny detail: her date is not a man, but a lesbian.
Annie and Drew decide it’s time to turn the tables on Jake by pretending to fall in love with each other.
At first glance, they have nothing in common. Disillusioned with love, Annie focuses on books, her cat, and her work as an accountant while Drew, more confident and outgoing, owns a dog and spends most of her time working in her beloved vineyard.
Only their common goal to take revenge on Jake unites them. But what starts as a table-turning game soon turns Annie’s and Drew’s lives upside down as the lines between pretending and reality begin to blur.
Available at:
Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao
When a tall, stunning butch protects Mira from her ex-boyfriend at the club—and offers her a safe place to stay—Mira should be relieved. Not flustered. She’s not into women.
Yet this tough electrician with curves for days makes Mira’s heart race like never before.
But Isabel, wounded by grief, forces Mira to keep her distance. Until Mira’s desperate to win a union election at work—and only Isabel has the experience to teach her how.
Soon they’re lingering over dinner, teasing each other as the apartment heats up. And Isabel is making her coffee every morning, hanging her shelves, giving her smoldering looks before bed…
But Mira can’t afford temptation. Not after living with her nightmare ex.
No matter how well Isabel takes care of her…or how much Isabel needs healing, too.
She can’t risk her freedom—or her heart.
Available at:
The Wilding of Em’s Path by Ana K. Wrenn
Untamed and wild, Cynda is an outdoorswoman holed up in the Appalachian backcountry. Her solitary existence is shattered when Kadija, a fierce freedom fighter, tracks her down.
Kadija demands Cynda return to civilization to face the consequences of an out-of-control project Cynda worked on years ago. But how can she take on the destructive research institute preying on vulnerable, sensitive people when it almost destroyed her once? How can Cynda face the outside world again, now it’s awash in so much fear and violence that it suffocates her?
As the warring pair reluctantly journey into an oppressive world, the ties that bind them slowly draw them closer. But what happens if those delicate ties ever break?
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Curtain Call by C H Clepitt
When an assistant to the director role turns into P.A. to her favourite film star, Jen can’t believe her luck. Eleanor Francis is charming, kind and funny, but she has a secret, and when tragedy strikes, things threaten to unravel at an uncontrollable pace. Despite being out of her depth Jen has to adapt to her new role quickly, to protect Eleanor, with whom she is rapidly falling in love.
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The Condition: Impervious by CEON
This story will send your head spinning, and keep you guessing all the way…
Eden Dyson’s life is turned upside down by a series of events, one after the other; some are explainable. Most, not so much.
It begins with Eden visiting her wife in the hospital… and then inexplicably losing four days of her life after a strange and fearful occurrence.
Following her through her journey of trying to figure out what’s happening turns into a whirlwind of horror after horror; suffering loss, pain, love, danger, hiding, being on the run and accidentally committing crimes.
Available at:
Heart Failure by Chris Zett
Dr. Jess Riley’s life is perfect, ticking all the boxes—successful cardiologist, newborn daughter, and a luxurious condo. That is, until she suddenly collapses from acute heart failure. Her entire world crumples along with her exhausted body.
Jess is forced to face facts—she can’t keep working endless hours, and she’ll have to move back home to recover.
To her shock, her mother has already taken in Lena Walker, a struggling artist who isn’t a stranger to heartbreak either.
At first, an unimpressed Jess resents Lena’s cheerful presence. Gradually, though, the two women form a tentative friendship over tai chi, picking fruit, and evening walks with the baby. A sexy massage leads to friends-with-benefits fun. But is it all too soon? Should two barely mended souls try to risk a future together?
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Mistress: Found by Emily Alter
When Iria moved to Cádiz, Spain, and she became a member of the local kink club, she hadn’t been expecting Nerea. A sub who had been deemed unsafe to play with by most Dommes. After their first scene, Iria should’ve stayed away, but she didn’t.
Nerea had been drifting, going through the motions. Iria forced her to confront her demons, her past. She made her connect with all the emotions she’d all but blocked years ago.
If only she could learn how to do that, then she could enjoy everything Iria was offering. Every experience Mistress was willing to give her, to test her limits with.
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That Secret Something by Emily Wright
Rebecca Lawson is off-limits.
Jess knows this, but Rebecca has captured her heart for as long as she can remember. She’s sporty, tall and confident—all the things Jess is not—but most of all…she’s her best friend Lily’s sister. Nothing can ever happen between them.
Especially after that slip-up at prom night.
But when Lily announces her engagement, and Jess and Rebecca are forced to spend time together as the maids of honour, the forbidden feelings intensify and sparks begin to fly.
Amidst the chaos of raging bridezillas and other wedding disasters, can Jess resist temptation for the sake of her friendship?
Or will pursuing Rebecca Lawson finally send her life up in smoke?
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Thornfruit by Felicia Davin
There were two secrets in Varenx House, and Alizhan was one of them.
Alizhan can’t see faces, but she can read minds. Her mysterious ability leaves her unable to touch or be touched without excruciating pain. Rescued from abandonment and raised by the wealthy and beautiful Iriyat ha-Varensi, Alizhan has grown up in isolation, using her gift to steal secrets from Iriyat’s rivals, the ruling class of Laalvur. But Iriyat keeps secrets of her own.
When Alizhan discovers that she isn’t the only one of her kind, and that a deadly plot threatens everyone like her, there’s only one person she can trust.
Ev liked having a secret. None of the other girls in the village had a thief-friend.
Evreyet Umarsad—“Ev” to her parents and her one friend—longs to be the kind of hero she reads about in books. But the rest of the world feels impossibly far away from her life on a farm outside Laalvur. Ev will never lay eyes on the underground city of Adappyr, the stars of the Nightward Coast, or the venomous medusas that glow in the dark depths of the sea.
At least on her weekly trip to the market, Ev gets to see her thief—the strange young woman who slips by her cart and playfully steals a handful of thornfruit. When the thief needs help, Ev doesn’t hesitate. Together, they uncover a conspiracy that draws them all over Laalvur and beyond.
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Something New by Jacqueline Ramsden
Thea Cooper is heading to her sister’s wedding in Montana for Christmas. The problem is that her ex is going to be there and her mother is hoping they’ll rekindle their romance. All Thea wants is to enjoy the lodge, the holiday, and celebrate her sister.
Erin Foxglove, wedding planner extraordinaire, is giving up her Christmas to work the Cooper-Perez wedding. Despite her best friend’s hopes that she’ll at least reward herself with a fun little fling while she’s away, Erin isn’t interested. She’s there to do a job and she has her rules about not sleeping with clients.
That is, until she meets Thea.
As sparks fly between them, Thea realizes she might not be as straight as everyone thinks, and Erin finds some people are worth breaking her rules for. But, faced with an expiration date on their time at the mountain retreat together, will their romance fizzle out or will they get everything they’re wishing for?
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Cinnamon: A dairy cow’s (and her farmer’s) path to freedom by Janet Mason
Whoever heard of a talking cow? Meet Cinnamon, who in Cinnamon: a dairy cow’s (and her farmer’s) path to freedom, tells us about the joys and sorrows of her life. She has difficulty warming up to the farmer who “owns” her. Cinnamon reflects that “everybody knows that humans eat cows,” but overcomes her trust issues to pursue a friendship with Jody the farmer. Cinnamon trusts that it will somehow help her to become friends with the farmer and she is right. Cinnamon gets to know the farmer by spying on her through the kitchen window.
Cinnamon’s special cow friend Spice has a health emergency, which jolts the farmer into awareness. She is nursing Spice back to health only so that she can be sent to slaughter, with the other dairy cows, in a few years. As Spice recovers, she and Cinnamon have lively conversations in the field: What is money – and what does it have to do with them?
Cinnamon, the cow, and Jodi, the farmer, become friends and by loving Cinnamon, Jodi (nicknamed Sunflower by Cinnamon) discovers she can no longer eat animal products. Meanwhile, she finds that by eliminating animal products from her diet, she is able to heal her own health issues. As her previous unhappiness disappears, Jodi concocts a plan to turn her small farm into an animal sanctuary where Cinnamon, her special cow friend Spice, and the others can live out their natural lives in peace and harmony.
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The Hex Next Door by Lou William
What’s a little necromancy between family?
For the Crow Witch, Icarus “Rus” Ashthorne, Moondale seemed the perfect hiding place. But like they always say, you can’t go home again, and Rus finds out quickly that nothing is how she remembered, while at the same time very little has changed. Then she comes face to face with the only woman she’s ever loved, Az Elwood, and… well, things get messier than she thought they ever could.
The Elwoods are a staple of Moondale, respected, feared, powerful, and Azure Elwood was always happy with her place amongst them. Happy to play the part of the good little witch, until Rus Ashthorne. Eleven years ago, Rus got on a bus and left Azure behind, but she’s back, with two little girls trailing her like ducklings, and enough unspoken things between them to drown the town.
Now witch hunters are knocking at their proverbial door, the council of magic is being a real pain in the ass, and Rus wonders how much magic it’ll take to protect the people she loves from herself and the danger following her.
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Oh My Stars by S-Jay Hart
Can you ever find something you never knew you’d lost?
You can outgrow a place, it’s common knowledge. You can even outgrow people. Honey Rosenberg has spent her entire life in the small town of Verity Vale and it still fits her perfectly. She lives her life in certainties. She goes to work every day with her sisters at their family deli. She bakes sweet treats that the town clamor for and she spends her nights drinking cider and playing chess, under the moonlight, with her elderly neighbor and best friend.
Everything is idyllic.
But life can turn on a dime and when it does, she wonders if things will ever feel the same.
Liv Henderson thought she had it all, beautiful girlfriend, a luxury seventh-floor apartment with a city view and job she always wanted. But then she is handed something she never asked for. The deed to a place she barely remembers. Suddenly nothing is what it seems and Liv starts to question everything she’s ever known, including herself. As Liv’s life starts to unfurl around her she soon comes to learn that in order to find ourselves we have to be ourselves.
Sometimes all you have to do is look up.
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Striking Gold by Tiana Warner
When nature lover Ivy inherits a plot of land in the rugged interior of British Columbia, she sets off to escape city life and build her dream homestead. She instantly clashes with her beautiful but frosty neighbor, Annie, who wants to buy Ivy’s land to solve a centuries-old Gold Rush mystery.
Ivy instead offers to help Annie finish her grandfather’s lifelong quest if Annie will help her build her off-grid oasis. But as they draw closer, Ivy is caught between protecting her land and falling for the ice queen determined to dig it up.
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The Bigger Picture by Violet Morley
When Sage’s best friend Marshal asks if she would be his wife, she is prepared to spend the rest of her life helping his political campaign. Sage understands the life she is walking into and has come to peace with what it means for her.
After an unfortunate incident, Jayden must move back home. Luckily her twin, Marshal, offers her the guest house on his property. Jayden accepts, wanting nothing more than to provide a safe place for her nine-year-old daughter, Lila, while she reevaluates her life.
Sage and Jayden get off to a rocky start, but while Sage finds herself battling her carefully constructed walls, Jayden struggles to hide her growing feelings for her twin’s fiancée.
A feel-good romance about two women who find each other by looking at the bigger picture.
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Leave a comment
What book will you be reading for the “vegetarian or vegan character” category? Let us know in the comments!
The post Vegetarian or vegan character (Sapphic Book Bingo #19) appeared first on Jae.
August 28, 2025
Accidental admission of love (Micro-Trope #8)
It’s time for another Micro-Trope category. This one features sapphic books with an accidental admission of love.
One character accidentally confesses their love to the other. It could be an unguarded moment, an unplanned outburst, a heated argument, or an accidental slip of the tongue that changes everything between them.
15 sapphic books with an accidental admission of love
Below, you’ll find 15 sapphic books that include an accidental admission of love.
Chemistry Lessons by Jae
Kylie and Regan have been best friends since kindergarten, supporting each other through thick and thin.
While everyone thinks they would be perfect for each other, they insist there’s no chemistry between them—and Regan should know since she’s a chemistry teacher.
To prove it, they agree to a little chemistry experiment: they’ll go on three dates with each other.
So what if their gazes start to linger and accidental touches no longer feel platonic? They chalk it up to the romantic atmosphere—until a friendly good night kiss turns passionate.
Can their friendship go back to the way it was before? Do they even want it to? Or will they risk losing what they have for a chance at love?
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Book Lovers by T.B. Markinson & Miranda MacLeod
Librarian Bennet Webb’s dream trip to Bath was supposed to be perfect, a literary pilgrimage to honor Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, topped off with a proposal from her longtime boyfriend. Instead, Bennet finds herself alone in the city of her dreams. That is until she meets an unexpected companion who changes everything for the better.
Alice Higgins is a waitress by day, aspiring novelist by night, and sworn enemy of all things Austen. But when a flustered yet adorable American tourist stumbles into the restaurant where she works, Alice is surprisingly willing to reconsider her views.
Soon the pair strike up a transatlantic book swap. Alice will read Bennet’s beloved classics, and Bennet will try Alice’s contemporary picks. What begins as a literary experiment turns into a connection that deepens with every page. Could the love stories they share lead to a happily ever after they never expected?
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Shay’s Gamble: A Worlds Apart Romance by Amber Perez
In Sin City to celebrate her best friend’s upcoming nuptials, Shay, dealing with her failed marriage, is not in a party mood. But when she locks eyes with a mysterious woman across a crowded room, her strict, traditional upbringing wars against her long-hidden desires. She aches to embrace her true self, go all-in and hit the jackpot.
Allie, a student struggling to provide for her younger sister, heads to Vegas to celebrate her engagement. She thought she hit the big time when she landed the ridiculously wealthy and handsome Jackson Pemberton IV, but as his true colors are shown, it leaves her questioning everything. Maybe financial stability comes at too high a price. Perhaps it’s all or nothing in life. Responsibility battles against following her heart’s desires.
When the two bridal parties repeatedly collide, sparks fly, and they team up to make the most out of their Vegas experience. That decision tosses a wild card at Shay and Allie, forcing them to face feelings they never expected.
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Flipping Hearts and Homes by Chris Zett
Handywoman Rowan is rooted in her small-town community, accepting every odd job to keep her family’s hardware store afloat. When she inherits an old house, it’s the perfect opportunity to flip it to pay off her mom’s debt.
She never intends to get tangled up with beautiful, adorably nerdy Maia, a visiting big-city radiologist, staying at her aunts’ place to mend a broken heart.
Evenings at a nearby lake, renovation projects, and a wild storm keep throwing Maia and Rowan together, and an undeniable attraction sparks. But what future could there ever be for two people with such different goals?
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On the Same Page by Haley Cass
Riley Beckett met Gianna Mäkinen – drop-dead gorgeous influencer, trilingual, daughter of world-famous models, yes, that Gianna Mäkinen – their first year at Boston University, and it changed everything for the both of them. After all, when you find the person who just gets you, nothing feels quite “the same” right?
And in the ten years since, Riley has come to depend on Gianna more than anyone else in her life. She knows Gianna just as well as she knows herself – maybe better, some days. She knows Gianna is incredibly sex-positive, she knows Gianna doesn’t do romance or relationships, and she knows nothing could ever come between them.
This is what makes sense to her, all of this is status-quo. But when a holiday party mix-up sets in motion a domino effect of changes to these previously inalienable truths, Riley has to question everything she thought she knew about their relationship. What, exactly, does Gianna mean to her after all?
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Chrysalis and Requiem by Quinton Li
At Adraredon Academy, fervent passion, contemporary companionship, and forbidden desires intertwine with tall gothic spires, ancient halls, and centuries of history. Veaer Rosell can’t imagine a better place to satiate her craving for beauty, knowledge, and art.
Yet senior year shatters her illusion of tranquillity and civil intellect when she witnesses the headmaster’s daughter murder another student and is confronted by an unthinkable choice: avenging her fallen peer or taking this secret to the grave, one way or another.
But fate laughs at Veaer’s expense when the headmaster’s daughter requests her aid. Driven by an all-consuming thirst for answers, Veaer becomes an untimely partner in solving a murder they both know the answer to, unaware of the intricacies that come with learning the bigger picture and playing with death.
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Leveling Up by Jazzy Mitchell
Six years after completing her internship, Clarke Parson, a video game graphic designer and animator, finds herself back in the orbit of Haboob Software’s CEO, Fran Silvetti. Clarke contacts Fran to warn her that the game her company is developing was stolen from Clarke’s computer by an ex-girlfriend after an acrimonious breakup. As Clarke is swept into a torrid affair with the fascinating woman, she covets their time together, hoping Fran may someday return the love Clarke harbors for her.
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Returning Home to Her by Jutta Swietlinski
Linet, a single mother in her forties with a walking disability, is still grieving for her wife when she unexpectedly receives a letter: After long silence, her old friend Janet invites her to the opening of her art gallery. Linet flies to San Francisco with her son to visit Janet and her husband. The two women are soon able to revive their former friendship. On a walk, Linet surprisingly runs into Livia, the first woman she ever fell in love with. Their old feelings flame up anew and they begin a passionate romance again. But then a fatal accident happens. And everything will change forever …
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Like They Do In the Movies by Nan Campbell
The Dream: rich and famous screenwriter of hilarious sapphic rom coms.
The Reality: pushing out trashy celebrity gossip for cash.
The Grand Plan: advance career by engineering a celebrity takedown.
Fran Underhill’s adoration for the entertainment industry is in flames, transformed into a loathing of celebrity culture and all those who benefit from it. When a personal assistant gig for one of Hollywood’s most popular actresses falls into her lap, Fran is determined to use the experience to her advantage with a series of tell-all articles. Just enough clickbait to get her next screenplay sold. Now if only she can ignore that ferocious and inconvenient attraction to her new employer.
Chelsea Cartwright—actress, mother, and ex-wife to Hollywood royalty—is struggling. A competent new assistant will do much to ease her burdens, but who could predict the intense and long-buried feelings Fran would awaken. And what will the fallout be when she finds out Fran is a member of the gossip media—with Chelsea’s public destruction in her sights.
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A Perfect Place to Cry by S-Jay Hart
Rowan isn’t sure she believes in love. Not the romantic type, anyway. She’s been hiding from the prospect of it for years now, an easy thing to do when you live in the middle of an eighty acre campground. She likes her quiet existence, greeting campers, pitching tents, and kayaking on the little river that leads to Lover’s Lake. Besides, her best friend Amber fills her life with enough love related dama for the two of them.
Indie knows a thing or two about secrets. She’s good at keeping them and exceptional at being one. When her three year love affair comes to an abrupt end, heartbroken, she begins to question everything she thought she knew about life and love. But it’s not as easy as simply moving on. Not when her ex can’t seem to let her go. When an accidental invite forces her into close proximity with her secret lover, Indie decides to accept.
Will she be able to get through this and find the closure she’s looking for? Sometimes the answers we seek aren’t as important as the answers we find.
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Tour of Love by Shannon O’Connor
I didn’t think it would be hard to be her fake girlfriend, until I realized I was falling in love with her.
Heather Owens:
I didn’t plan on moving back to Lovers, Maine until we had found a place to live. But when I found my girlfriend tongue deep in another woman, I realized I was going to need my own place. Luckily, my high school best friend offered me her parents guest house for the summer. Except now my life consists of dodging my ex girlfriend and settling in. I busy myself with my photography especially the infamous Lovers’ Lighthouse— the last place I expected someone to catch my eye.
Sage Brooks:
Grad school and work are all I have time for, until a pink haired beauty walks in and I’m convinced this is love at first sight. My desire to know her leads us to the top of the lighthouse, where she blurts that she’s done looking for love. I’m sure my chances are over—until she jokes about needing a fake date to her best friend’s wedding. One in which her cheating ex is also in. I’m all too eager to jump at the chance, even if the idea of it not being real kills me.
But as Heather and Sage get to know each other will the lines between fake and real begin to blur?
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Zen Traveler’s Heart by T.J. Mindancer
Zen Benbrook, aka Zen Traveler, is a popular solo travel vlogger who walks around the world. Bri, aka Solo-ing With Bri, is the fedora-wearing queen of solo travel vloggers, who showcases cities and cultures.
Marquardt is a tiny country nestled in the Alps on the border of Austria and Italy that’s emerging from over a half-century of a repressive regime under a iron-fisted dictator. The new president is ready to embrace the modern world and capture the tourist trade. Zen and Bri, along with six other solo travel vloggers are invited to test Marquardt’s tourist-readiness. They soon discover that Marquardt is nowhere near ready for tourist.
For Zen, dealing with Marquardt’s stumbling attempt to open its borders to the world is simple compared to hiding the massive crush she has on Bri. Zen happens to know a small fact that Bri doesn’t mention in her bio that gives Zen a glimmer of hope. Zen has just seven days to win Bri’s heart or regret not trying for the rest of her life.
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Firelight by Sabrina Blaum
Sometimes fate doesn’t follow your wishes. Gwendoline Dagon is set to become queen—a role she never wanted—after the unexpected death of her sister. She clashes with Amara Payne, High Mage and royal magical advisor, who is tasked with preparing Gwendoline for the throne.
Amara has no patience for Gwendoline’s rage, given she has dedicated her life to duty and the crown. The two women struggle to understand each other and have different ideas on how the future should play out, not just for themselves, but also for the entire kingdom.
Along the way, they uncover hidden facets of themselves while navigating a world filled with political intrigue, magical lore, and societal expectations. They must learn to cooperate with each other as both outside and inside forces work to tear the kingdom apart.
firelight is a tale of forbidden romance set against the backdrop of courtly schemes where duty clashes with desire—a narrative exploring whether Gwendoline and Amara can carve out their own destiny despite being entangled in webs woven by tradition and power struggles within Reshaya.
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Of Light and Love by E.V.Bancroft
Carolyn Trent-Parker is one of her generation’s best artists but after losing her wife two years ago, she can no longer paint. In fact, she doesn’t want to do much of anything except hide away. Unwilling to move from her home but with no means of income, she’s forced to get a lodger.
Laura Kingston-Lopez is heartbroken and disillusioned, and she heads to England to pursue her masters in animation. She needs a place to stay but isn’t prepared for what she gets. Her new landlady, Caro, is unwelcoming, grumpy, and completely fascinating.
Opposites in every way, they push each other in unexpected ways. Can Caro rediscover her creativity? And even if she does, can Laura let go of her past so they can paint a new future?
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A Little’s Monster by Ellie Rose
Stuffie Hospital receptionist, Christie, has been bratting postal worker Dana pretty much since she started, but when Dana’s route changes without notice, Christie experiences a full autistic meltdown.
Dana is absolutely smitten by the lovely Little who brats her every day, and she wants to be her Daddy more than anything, but Christie is nervous and scared. Will this Daddy be able to support her Little girl?
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For The Record by Jen-Lea Mercy
Recently widowed, the last thing Sawyer Lavoie wants is to be dragged out for a night of dancing. And she especially doesn’t want to be hit on by a twentysomething, cocky lesbian overachiever. Not because she’s mourning her late husband, but because Sawyer has zero interest in entertaining women her daughter’s age.
McCoy ‘Coy’ Miller can charm her way into almost any woman’s bed. As a certified playgirl, she’s convinced the chase is sweeter than the capture. When she first meets the smokey-eyed beauty and her foolproof pickup lines crash and burn, Sawyer quickly becomes Coy’s biggest chase yet.
When a flat tire brings them together again, Sawyer can’t decide if it’s luck or misfortune, but learns that McCoy’s mechanical skills are—reluctantly—exactly what she’s been looking for.
As they become closer, Coy’s ready smile and kind eyes threaten to destroy every defense Sawyer has built. Can she thaw long enough to let McCoy in, or will they forever be at an impasse?
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Leave a comment
What book will you be reading for the “accidental admission of love” category? Let us know in the comments!
The post Accidental admission of love (Micro-Trope #8) appeared first on Jae.
August 21, 2025
Ice queen or grumpy characters
This week’s Sapphic Book Bingo post features one of the most popular character types in sapphic fiction: ice queen or grumpy characters.
For this square of the bingo card, read a sapphic book featuring a main character who’s either an ice queen—cold, aloof, and powerful—or a grumpy character with a prickly personality.
Ice queen characters were featured in a couple of previous reading challenges too, so if you need more book recommendations, check out the ice queen post of the 2021 Sapphic Reading Challenge as well as the post on ice queens who are younger than their love interests.
15 sapphic books with ice queen or grumpy characters
Below, you’ll find 15 sapphic books with ice queen or grumpy characters.
Strap In by Lou Morgan
Jean is married to her job and there is no room in her life for romance. Until she meets someone who takes her breath away.
There’s just one catch. Ava’s a woman. And Jean’s straight… isn’t she?
The chemistry’s scorching but there’s no place for Ava in Jean’s world. But free-spirited Ava is irresistible. And open to a purely physical relationship. This way Jean gets to have her cake and eat it too.
Yet spending time with Ava makes Jean question everything she thought she knew.
Is it time to start again?
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Devil’s Advocate by TB Markinson & Miranda MacLeod
Ashley Tanner’s only desire after losing her father to a prescription overdose as a teenager has been to support her working-class family. Now an ambitious lawyer, she’s on the verge of achieving the coveted partnership she’s worked for her entire career. But with her goal in sight, the return of a mysterious woman from Ash’s past puts the promotion at risk and forces her to confront the sacrifices she’s made to win at all costs.
Caitlyn Brewster is a self-made woman who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Guarding that secret has kept her from cultivating meaningful relationships. In fact, only one woman has managed to pierce Caitlyn’s defenses. A woman who runs more cold than hot. A woman best forgotten. A woman who, when a family emergency forces Caitlyn to move back home to Boston and accept a job at her uncle’s law firm, suddenly becomes her biggest rival.
Their volatile chemistry makes them a powerhouse legal duo, but the energy crackling between them might be more than they’re willing to admit. The closer they work together, the harder it becomes to control their desires, even as they’re faced with a case with stakes that could change everything for them both.
They’re both used to doing whatever it takes to win. What happens when only one of them can be victorious in the end?
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The Roommate Arrangement by Jae
Comedian Stephanie Renshaw hopes to finally get her big break in LA. A chance encounter lands her the perfect apartment close to the comedy clubs, but it comes with a catch: she needs a roommate to afford the rent.
Enter Rae Coleman, a former police officer working the door at one of the top comedy clubs. After getting injured in the line of duty and losing her job with the LAPD, Rae guards her wounded soul behind a tough exterior.
At first, the two clash horribly before a tentative friendship develops. Bit by bit, Steph manages to break through the walls Rae has built around her.
But Steph has never been in a relationship, preferring casual flings, and Rae isn’t sure she’s ready to be happy again. Will they find the courage to open themselves up to love?
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The Mended Hearts Bookshop by Sienna Waters
When loner Ash Wells inherits a bookshop from an aunt she doesn’t remember, she thinks a jaunt to the seaside to figure things out is just what she needs to escape from her annoying London neighbors. The plan is simple: have a holiday, sell the bookshop, move on with her life. Oh, and maybe find out who this mysterious Aunt Mary is.
Plus-sized baker Pen Robson is an eternal optimist. So when she meets her grumpy new next door neighbor, she’s determined to win her over, no matter how many sticky buns and biscuits that takes. But her tall, dark, and handsome neighbor doesn’t even seem to like the ever-generous Pen, let alone want to settle into a story book grumpy-sunshine romance.
Yet when Pen comes up with a madcap plan to save the little bookshop, Ash decides she might as well stick around for a while, especially after an unexpected revelation leaves her wondering just who she really is.
Pen’s relentless optimism slowly starts to melt Ash’s frozen heart. But as the tiny seaside town begins to grow on Ash, and her plans for life begin to change, her suspicions are beginning to grow as well. And what happens if this all turns out to be a mistake? Does love really conquer all?
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Courtship by Anna Pulley
Reaux Briggs is no stranger to cruising; each night a different woman warms her bed. She doesn’t exactly mind it, as intimacy is something she gave up on long ago. But when her hot nights land her in hotter water and she’s ousted as drummer by her metal band, Reaux thinks things couldn’t possibly get worse. Then she walks onto the deck of a long-awaited holiday cruise only to run face-first into the woman who broke her heart.
Catherine “Fitz” Fitzgerald is an up-and-coming divorce lawyer too busy trying to make partner to care about her love life, or anything approximating one. But thanks to an antiquated norm at her family’s firm, Fitz needs to find a partner in order to get promoted. As if her mother setting her up on horrible blind dates wasn’t bad enough, Fitz also has to contend with being in forced proximity to Reaux, her high school sweetheart and the girl she’s never really been able to get out of her head.
Increasingly pulled together by feelings they can’t quite ignore—not to mention a tropical hurricane that threatens the lives of everyone aboard the ship—Reaux and Fitz must learn to navigate the emotional and literal storms swirling about them. Will they be able to mend their past hurts and reach safe harbors, or has their ship sailed once and for all?
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Boss of Her by Anna Stone
Small-town girl Jade Fisher has sacrificed everything for her dream of a high-powered career in Los Angeles. Fresh out of grad school, she’s one step away from landing the perfect job as executive assistant to Simone Weiss, LA’s hotel queen. So when her friend invites her to the opening night of Club Velvet, a luxury club for women to explore their wildest desires, Jade decides to let loose a little, just this once.
She isn’t expecting an encounter with a commanding older woman who makes her heart race and her body burn. And she’s even more surprised to come face to face with the same woman days later. Simone Weiss. Her new boss.
CEO by day, part owner of Club Velvet by night, Simone built her hotel empire from the ground up. She knows what she wants. She’ll stop at nothing to get it. And now, she has her sights set on her curvaceous new assistant.
One sensual night of surrender is all it takes for Jade to fall under her spell. Neither woman is looking for romance. Both bear scars from the past. But the more Simone awakens Jade’s submissive desires, the harder it becomes to ignore the feelings between them. Can love conquer all, even the walls around their hearts?
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The Floral Arrangement by Elizabeth Luly
Roz Kennedy has dedicated her life to a high-powered consulting career. That is, until she’s passed over for a promotion and learns that Red Tractor Farm—a place close to her heart—is on the brink of financial ruin. Fuming and ready for a change, Roz leaves her corporate life behind and buys the struggling business. But to keep the farm afloat, she needs to find an investor willing to fund some crucial changes—and get rid of those dreadful flower fields.
When Olivia Mitchell discovers the farm’s new owner plans to stop supplying flowers to her beloved flower shop—jeopardizing everything she’s worked so hard to build—she’s outraged. She’s even more shocked to find that the new owner is Roz, the stunning but infuriating woman she met at a lesbian bar six months ago.
When a potential investor mistakenly assumes Olivia is Roz’s girlfriend, the two play along, each hoping to further their own agenda. But as sparks fly, they begin to wonder: just how fake is this blossoming relationship?
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Christmas at Bergfels Palace by Claudia Haase
Charlotte Weinhold has a degree in history and is striving to complete her Ph.D. Her earnings from a newspaper job keep her just above water. When the editor-in-chief demands insider news about the Count of Bergfels-Blumenheide and his family, on whom she is writing her dissertation, she sees this as an opportunity to obtain previously unpublished documents at the same time.
Arriving in Bergfels, she unexpectedly gets a job in the only café in town – its owner is not only attractive but also happens to be the best friend of the Count’s publicity-shy daughter. What a unique opportunity to get the desired internal information about the Count’s family without much effort!
Countess Ida doesn’t care about her title. She lives in a city apartment and works for a non-profit children’s aid organization. When her father asks her to take over an archival tour of Bergfels Palace in his place, she agrees. In return, this gives her an excuse to spend the approaching Christmas holidays away from the Count’s clan.
But everything turns out quite differently than either Charlotte or Ida could ever have imagined.
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Highland Fling by Anna Larner
Eve Eddison describes her ideal woman to her best friend, Roxanne, over pints in their local pub a few days before she travels to the Scottish Highlands. There she falls head over heels for an enigmatic local, Moira Burns, and the usually reticent Eve wants more than a holiday romance. Forestry officer Moira Burns has no intention of letting go—either of past pain or for present pleasure. If that means she misses out on her chance at happiness, so be it. Convinced Eve is headed for heartbreak, Roxanne advises her to let Moira go…but has Eve found her ideal woman at last?
From the breathtaking Highlands of Scotland to the buzz of a Leicester gay bar, family and friendship are tested to breaking point, as letting go proves painfully hard.
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A Marine’s Conflict by Jax Meyer and Elle Armstrong
Mags Newsome has already given over a decade of her life to the Marine Corps. She’s learned to compartmentalize her life to survive the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that keeps servicemembers from serving openly. But that’s also kept her from any meaningful relationships.
Elaine ‘Lane’ Chapman moved to the US from England with her girlfriend who soon left her. Remaining in sunny southern California, Elaine built a life for herself as a college math professor, content to experience love through romance novels rather than risk her heart again.
A chance encounter in a bookstore cafe brings the two women together where they discover an off the charts attraction. As they battle their feelings to maintain their ‘friends with benefits’ agreement, another war looms in the Middle East, threatening everything they’ve built.
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The Brutal Truth by Lee Winter
Australian crime reporter Maddie Grey is working the night shift, out of her depth in New York, miserable, and secretly crushing on her twice-married, media-mogul employer.
Elena Bartell is a brilliant, fierce, ice queen boss who eats failing newspapers for breakfast and believes to her core that everything would be much simpler if people told each other the whole, unvarnished truth.
As work takes them to Australia, Maddie is goaded into a brief, seemingly harmless bet with her enigmatic boss—where they can’t lie to each other. The bet backfires spectacularly as Elena realizes that the brutal truth might not be what she wanted after all.
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Reverence by Milena McKay
It’s the carefree ’80s and Juliette Lucian-Sorel has it all. She’s the greatest dancer to ever grace the floorboards of Palais Garnier, she’s royalty to her adoring fans, and Paris is at her feet. Or so it seems…
Katarina Vyatka is defecting from behind the Iron Curtain, desperate to save herself and her career. Or so she claims…
What happens when the Princess of Paris rescues the brightest star in the history of Bolshoi? Will the Paris ballet stage be big enough for both of them? Sparks fly and rivals become lovers as they set their lives ablaze in a torrent of secrets, intrigue and grands jetés!
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Truth and Measure by Roslyn Sinclair
Jules Moretti is newly single, an aspiring writer, and the hyper-competent assistant to the most powerful woman in fashion. It’s a tough job, but her ice queen boss won’t settle for less than perfection.
Vivian Carlisle helms the internationally revered fashion publication Du Jour. She might be smack in the middle of a messy divorce, but you have to make sacrifices to be the best. That’s what she tells herself, anyway.
When the unthinkable happens, Vivian’s regimented world is turned upside-down. Her life is about power, success, and dominance—not a baby!
This single, shocking moment throws boss and assistant together into an intimacy neither could have imagined. With their lives in chaos, every day brings a new challenge bigger than the last. But everything will work out…just so long as they don’t do anything totally ridiculous.
Like fall in love.
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Rhapsody in Flames by Ryann Fletcher
Monsters among us!
Is anywhere safe?
Chaos in Verdance City!
In the aftermath of a cataclysmic rupture, beings previously believed to be mythical are revealed, and communities fracture as fear reigns supreme.
Virginia Vane is a disgraced former cop. Her ex is back in town, her lover is a siren, and her home has become a playground for vicious crews in their quest for ultimate power.
And someone is killing mythics.
How can one jaded P.I. protect her clients in a world where hiding in plain sight is no longer an option?
Being different has never been more dangerous.
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Spellbound by Tiffany E. Taylor and Lisa Caro
Noelle Fontaine, the proprietor of Wafflelicious specialty waffle shop in Angel Cove, Florida, has loved the Christmas season her entire life. Her sweet, bubbly personality and effervescent optimism sees the good and love in everyone—no matter what the season—making her one of the Cove’s most beloved locals. And it doesn’t take long for the dimpled, golden-haired femme to sense a wounded soul hiding under the stoic, cynical exterior of Angel Cove’s newest and most guarded resident. Noelle decides a little dose of Christmas magic is exactly what Quinn Williamson needs to break out of her shell.
A recent transplant from Chicago, Quinn has moved to Angel Cove looking for a fresh start after her ex-girlfriend abruptly left her. Guarded, jaded, and accustomed to not expecting much out of life, Quinn takes a job as the local news and crime reporter journalist for the weekly Angel Cove Observer, a far cry from the big city daily papers she has labored on over the past twenty years. Taken aback (and slightly irritated) by Noelle’s constant cheerfulness at first, she is eventually stunned to realize she is actually settling comfortably into small town life—in no small part because of a golden-haired sprite who refuses to let an increasingly spellbound Quinn hide away from the camaraderie of the town any longer.
However, when Noelle discovers not long before Christmas that the building housing Wafflelicious is going to be sold to an out-of-town property developer—who plans to demolish the structure to make way for luxury condos—the usually optimistic shop owner finds the blow to her heart more than she can handle. Sinking into depression, Noelle cuts herself off from everyone in town as she mourns the loss of her lifelong dream, unable to deal with the devastation.
But the residents of Angel Cove, led by a grumpy journalist hell-bent on restoring the sunshine in Noelle’s soul, scheme to save Wafflelicious from the wrecking ball. Through grit, resolve, and a refusal to lose the charm of their seaside town to a greedy developer only concerned with profit, the Angel Cove inhabitants set out to prove the magic of Christmas and family can overcome even the most seemingly-impossible obstacles when fueled by pure love.
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Breakout For Love by Valden Bush
Flick Colonna is stuck behind a desk at Department 6, itching for action but haunted by the fallout of her last mission. When a high-stakes rescue lands on her desk, ready or not, she’s thrust back into the field.
Zamira Saliev thought she’d escaped her past, but then she’s kidnapped by the regime that shattered her family. She’s left with no way out. And no one’s coming to save her.
As Flick fights to extract Zamira from a country on the brink, danger, secrets, and shared scars threaten to derail the mission. Getting out alive is one thing. Trusting each other may be the harder part.
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What book will you be reading for the “ice queen or grumpy characters” category? Let us know in the comments!
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August 7, 2025
Sapphic books set on an island (Sapphic Book Bingo #17)
This week’s Sapphic Book Bingo features sapphic books set on an island.
For this category, read a sapphic book where a significant portion of the story takes place on an island. It could be a tropical beach, a wind-swept, rocky archipelago, or a volcanic landscape with lush forests. Of course, you could also choose to read a book set on a completely fictional island.
According to Wikipedia, an island is “an area of land surrounded by water on all sides that is distinct from a continent.”
15 sapphic books set on an island
Below, you’ll find 15 sapphic books set on an island.x
When the Stars Sang by Caren J. Werlinger
Nearly twenty-five years ago, Kathleen Halloran’s brother drowned during the last summer they ever spent with their grandmother on a remote island off Maine’s coast. Like a siren’s call she can’t resist, Kathleen is pulled back to Little Sister Island. She leaves her job and her girlfriend, packs up her few belongings, and moves into her grandmother’s cottage. Molly Cooper loves life on Little Sister, where the islanders take care of their own. Kathleen Halloran doesn’t belong here, and her arrival stirs up unwelcome memories for the islanders—including Molly’s brother. Molly is certain Kathleen will pack up at the first big blow. When she doesn’t, Molly begins to see maybe there’s more to Kathleen than she thought. Sometimes, before you can move forward, you have to look back.
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Can’t Buy Me Love by Georgia Beers
London Granger gave up her modeling career for investigative journalism only to discover no one would hire her to write anything but fluff. The only way to get ahead? Investigate something people will actually read. That’s how her next assignment becomes “What’s it Really Like to Be a Billionaire?” Her boss hooks her up on a glitzy getaway to St. Kitts undercover, as the totally platonic companion of media mogul Miranda Northbrooke.
Tennyson Security protects the rich and famous, and Kayla Tennyson built it from the ground up. She has more money than she can spend, but sorting through the fakes and finding someone honest and genuine is tough. She tried with Miranda Northbrooke, and it ended in disaster. But the gorgeous writer she meets while protecting a movie star on St. Kitts just might be the real deal. Until she learns London and Miranda are at the resort together.
London isn’t sure what she expected of Miranda’s ex, but it certainly wasn’t strength and beauty. And while Kayla would like to write London off as Miranda’s new plaything, she can’t get past how smart and funny she is. London and Kayla are perfect for one another, but if London reveals the ruse, she risks not only the opportunity of her career, but Kayla’s trust as well.
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Posing in Paradise by TB Markinson & Miranda MacLeod
Margo Wells hates everything about Hollywood. Especially actors. But she loves her job as a wardrobe supervisor, until a spoiled film legend has her fired for an accident on set that wasn’t even her fault. Margo faces the real possibility of returning home to Minnesota in defeat. That is until a friend suggests a crazy solution: pose as his cousin’s fiancée for a family wedding in Hawaii and earn some cold, hard cash.
There’s just one problem. It turns out the cousin in question is none other than Caroline Jacobs, the woman responsible for Margo losing her job. Unfortunately, there’s too much at stake to back out, especially after a desperate Caroline offers to triple Margo’s pay to go through with the charade.
What could go wrong?
How about three of Caroline’s most famous exes showing up at the same exclusive island resort at the same time?
Now Caroline and Margo will have to turn in the performances of their lives to avoid being caught in a lie. But can Margo survive being trapped for two weeks in paradise with so many Hollywood A-listers without choking on her lines? Or worse, falling madly in love with the beguiling blond she’s sworn to hate?
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The Dating Countdown by N.G. Peltier
Remi Daniels knows what she wants: Maxine King. She screwed up when they were teenagers, but now that Maxine is divorced and back on the island their chemistry can’t be denied. And Remi is ready to pick up right where they left off.
Maxine King has only ever fooled around with one woman: Remi Daniels. And being back in each other’s orbits they can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. Maxine has enough to deal with as single mom to her gorgeous daughter and trying to prove herself at work. She can’t add lusting after Remi to that list. To prove that their relationship can be more than just sex, Maxine suggests they keep things casual and go on 10 friend dates. After all, if they can do that it would mean they’re serious about each other right?
But their dates keep getting reset as they keep breaking their pact. Remi’s getting restless because not making it to the 10 days by their imposed deadline means failure which sucks because each date just shows her how much more she wants Maxine. As the two women try to navigate this budding relationship they both have to combat their Maxine’s of falling for a woman and Remi’s of worrying that Maxine will reject her at the end of their deal.
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See You Next Month by Jamey Moody
Web designer Kelsey Kenny always dreamed of spending Christmas at the beach, but when her daughters make other plans, she is left on her own. A chance call from her client in the Virgin Islands has her packing her bags for an exciting stay at their resort while she views the property for a website redesign.
After her divorce, the idea of spending her first Christmas without her two young sons had Isabella Burns anything but merry. To keep from ruining Christmas for the rest of her family, Isabella decided to put her energy into her work. Her newest client was a brand renovation for a resort in the Virgin Islands. There would be plenty of sunshine, tropical drinks and not a hint of snow.
On their first night, Kelsey and Isabella realize they are the only singles at the resort and quickly become friends. While brainstorming ideas with the CEO they come up with a unique marketing plan that has them returning every month to highlight a specific vacation.
As their friendship deepens, sparks begin to fly. Is this the island magic the locals talk about? Why does it feel like they’re leaving their hearts in paradise? Could they bring paradise home?
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No One But You by Catherine Maiorisi
Having been abandoned on her wedding day, bestselling novelist Lily Alexander is understandably cautious about dating again. Wealthy tech entrepreneur and notorious playgirl Robin DiLuca, on the other hand, loves to date. She just doesn’t do commitment.
When beautiful blond Lily and handsome butch Robin lock eyes across a crowded bar, the current flowing between this unlikely pair is more electrifying than anything either has felt before. Thus begins a long and sultry dance that will lead them to the altar and the promise of the perfect future.
But when the premature birth of their baby awakens horrendous secrets from Robin’s long-repressed past, she believes the only way to protect Lily and their daughter is to leave. Her decision devastates both women and all those who love them.
Can Robin’s unexpected encounter with a stranger on a beach be the catalyst for healing these two shattered hearts?
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Calling Home by Jen Silver
Sarah Frost enjoys her dream job as director of the Frost Foundation making her home at one of their writers’ retreats, The Lodge on the Lake. The general manager of The Lodge is Berry Fields, an old childhood friend.
Galen Thomas arrives at the island to fill the post of handy person, taking an extended break from her vet’s practice to help her decide how to shape her future life and career.
When the next group of writers arrives for their two-week retreat, along with Sarah’s grandmother, tensions start to surface. Magda Frost doesn’t approve of the appointment of the “vet” and still questions Sarah’s decision to hire Berry.
The island idyll is soon undermined by the revelation of events from forty years earlier, threatening the lives and loves of Sarah, Berry, and Galen. Calling home and what they now call home—all are affected by the disturbing legacy from the past.
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Paradise Lost and Found by K. Aten
“Welcome to Paradise Island Resort, where we specialize in sun, sand, and self-improvement.”
Jess Parker has entered middle age single, bitter, and emotionally wounded. Even her friends have noticed her downward spiral into anger and resentment. Then she wins a self-help vacation to the beautiful Paradise Island Resort. Despite spending the past few years with her emotions on ice, the warm tropical climate and hotter resort manager, Lucia Cruz, succeeds in thawing her heart. Jess falls for Lucia, even knowing that her island stay is limited. Four weeks is hardly long enough when love is on the line.
Jess will need to make some tough choices about the rest of her life when her time is up. She’s vowed to be a better person and has started making positive changes, but it’s on Jess to put her heart and soul into it. She also holds onto the hope that some connections, no matter how unexpected, simply can’t be broken.
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Lost in Paradise by Rachel Lacey
When a Manhattan businesswoman and a reclusive French artist are stranded together on a deserted island, opposites attract…and sparks fly. But with love on the horizon, will they survive to claim their happy ending?
Nicole Morella boards a private Mediterranean cruise with one goal: to reclaim herself after her divorce. When she sits next to a beautiful blonde in the ship’s lounge, she’s knocked off balance by the immediate attraction between them, and it’s not just because Nicole hasn’t found her sea legs yet. Fiona stirs things in Nicole that haven’t been stirred in a long time, but a fiery kiss turns dangerous when the ship is hijacked. The women launch a daring escape, leaving them adrift in an empty lifeboat.
Fiona Boone has been adrift most of her life, but never in such a literal sense. She’s a survivor, though, so when they land on a deserted island, Fiona’s ready to do whatever it takes to stay alive until they’re rescued. In the meantime, she can’t get enough of the feisty woman she’s stranded with, despite her usual fiercely independent nature. Although they’re lost, Fiona finds something unexpected in the comfort of Nicole’s touch. But when an injury puts her life in jeopardy, they begin to worry help won’t arrive in time. If she survives their ordeal, Fiona might just face her biggest challenge yet: falling in love.
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Saltblood by TC Parker
A remote island. A group of prisoners. And an evil as old as time.
Robin didn’t mean to break the law. Didn’t know at first what law she’d broken. And now she’s on her way to Salt Rock – a new-model prison for a new kind of criminal, way out in the remote Northern Isles of Scotland. On Salt Rock, she’ll meet other prisoners like her – men and women from all over the world, spirited away from the lives they knew for crimes they didn’t know they were committing. She’ll uncover the complex web of conspiracy that connects them all, confronting some of the darkness of her own past in the process. And she’ll come face to face, finally, with an evil as old as the land itself.
It’s hell in those waters.
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Between Boat & Shore by Rhiannon Grant
When Aleuks arrives in Otter Village, she’s looking for shelter from a storm and somewhere to trade. In Trebbi, she finds much more: a beautiful, confident woman who is serving her community and making space for love – for Aleuks. As the people of Otter Village come to terms with the death of their previous leader and work to appoint a new one, Trebbi comes into her own strength and Aleuks, previously a committed traveller, begins to realise that this is a place where she could settle down.
This is a gentle romance story with a happy ending. It’s set in the neolithic period, just as farming arrives in Britain and when people are building megalithic tombs, stone circles, and other monuments which survive to intrigue us today. The novel describes the Orkney Islands in the north of Scotland, where the famous Ring of Brodgar, Maes Howe, the Tomb of the Eagles, Skara Brae village, and many other ancient remains give clues about what life would have been like at the time.
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Islands of Mice by Lucy Jacobs
Norway. 1942.
The islands of Smøla are darkened not just by the long nights, but by blackout and Occupation. Solveig Eik dreams of being a hero. She’s bored of her everyday life, of tearing propaganda posters off walls, listening to hidden radios, and arguing with Liv Sunde – the islands’ glamourous schoolteacher and the girlfriend of the German colonel.
Opportunity steps out of the shadows when she finds a man, hiding from the Germans in a cave. As Solveig navigates treacherous waters and her plans spiral out of control, she finds that all too often the line between patriot, hero and traitor is razor thin.
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Broad Awakening by Mickey Brent
After kissing at the Belgian coast, Hélène and Sylvie find ruts in their road to eternal bliss. In this sequel to Underwater Vibes, Hélène struggles to avoid Sylvie, her sexy Greek swimming coach. Attempting to shun her deepest emotions to save her marriage, inner turmoil makes Hélène react in bizarre, self-destructive ways. An intimate dinner turns sour as Sylvie’s tempting ex lurks nearby. When Sylvie heads to the airport with a mysterious, gorgeous woman, and a psychic reveals unexpected news, Hélène must face up to her feelings or risk losing Sylvie forever.
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Under Her Roof by Allison Temple
My name is Gillian and I have three problems:
A fallen tree through the roof of my family’s remote island cottage.
A sister trying to sell said cottage out from under me.
A dead body in the living room. Sadly, it’s not my sister’s.
Actually, make that four problems: my ex, Amanda, just showed up uninvited. Apparently, she’s a spy, undercover to investigate the luxury wine auction hosted by my conniving sister.
We’ve got no connection to the mainland and a murderer on the island, so tonight Amanda and I have three missions:
Find the killer
Stay alive
Escape by sunrise
Actually, make that four missions: Do not fall in love, because apparently Amanda and I are far from over.
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Blade of the Crown by Cara N. Delaney
When crown princess Zhenya’s father dies, she knows what her future holds. With weak magic of her own, she is expected to marry someone who will bring true power back into the bloodline. But before she can make her decision, Zhenya narrowly survives an ambush – and finds herself in a new predicament.
Keryth has spent years fighting her way up the ranks of the royal guard, but her ambitions reach even higher – commander, or even the monarch’s personal entourage. When the king dies, she sees an opportunity, but before she has a chance to impress her new queen, she has to make a rash decision to save both their lives.
Stranded on a remote island and trapped by a strange fog, Zhenya and Keryth are forced to work together to survive. In such close proximity, it doesn’t take long for the lines between royalty and commoner to blur, and feelings blossom that neither woman is sure they can afford.
Their fragile peace is shattered when they make a harrowing discovery – their misfortune was not an accident. Now in a race against time, they both need to find their strength and unravel the mystery of the island to return home, or risk losing everything – and each other.
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Encrypted Hearts by E.V. Bancroft
Cam Langley, a sharp-witted codebreaker at Bletchley Park, dresses like a man and makes no secret of who she is. Gloria Edwards, eager to escape her domineering father, joins the war effort and is quickly drawn into Cam’s orbit.
Cam feels an immediate attraction, while Gloria is caught off guard, having only ever been with men. As they work closely together, their connection deepens, but a spy within Bletchley threatens to destroy everything.
Can they survive the chaos of war, or will secrets tear them apart?
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Crowns & Swords by J.L. Meyrick
Freddie, a runaway princess, is determined to elude her parents’ attempt to sell her into a loveless marriage.
Grace, captain of the Sea Dragon, is trying to keep her crew out of trouble.
Suddenly immersed in an alternative way of life, Freddie must weigh whether she’s ready to overhaul everything she was raised to expect. She’s introduced to an entire community of people just as they’re thrown into peril. Drawn into the war, she fought so hard to avoid.
When the tri-kingdom war reaches the shores of their little hideaway, Grace must lead her crew and her people against the dangerous villain invading the community.
Can they win against Valentine, or will their newfound romance be lost to the sea?
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What book will you be reading for the “sapphic books set on an island” category? Let us know in the comments!
The post Sapphic books set on an island (Sapphic Book Bingo #17) appeared first on Jae.
July 31, 2025
Watching fireworks together (Micro-Trope #7)
It’s time for another Micro-Trope category: Watching fireworks together.
For this square of the Sapphic Book Bingo, read a sapphic book with a scene in which two characters watch a fireworks display together, e.g., on New Year’s Eve or the Fourth of July.
15 sapphic books in which the characters are watching fireworks together
Below, you’ll find 15 sapphic books in which the main characters are watching fireworks together.
Just for Show by Jae
What happens when an overachieving psychologist with OCD tendencies and an impulsive, out-of-work actress start a fake relationship?
Claire Renshaw thought she had it all: a successful career as a couples therapist, a publishing contract for her self-help book, and a happy relationship. But her perfect world falls apart when her fiancée calls off their engagement. Because of that, even her book deal might be off the table. After all, readers don’t want relationship advice from someone who can’t even make her own relationship work.
So Claire sets out to hire herself a fake fiancée.
Lana Henderson, the actress who shows up to audition for the role, is not exactly Claire’s ideal woman. Her frankness and the messes she leaves everywhere drive Claire up the wall. At least she won’t fall in love with someone like Lana.
But soon, Lana starts to win her over with her big heart, tickle fights, and—gasp!—carbs after six. The longer they pretend to be a love-struck couple, the less fake their kisses feel and the more the lines between reality and role begin to blur.
Once the book contract is signed, will they walk away or is their relationship no longer just for show?
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Lexi’s Cup of Tea: A Worlds Apart Romance by Amber Perez
Lexi Nichols thought she was on the verge of fulfilling all her dreams: a successful modeling career, one-of-a-kind friends, a degree in pediatric nursing, and a drop-dead gorgeous girlfriend. But when her job aspirations hit a dead end and she finds out her “girlfriend” may not feel the same way, her world comes crashing down around her. With nothing in life living up to her expectations, she runs to her sister in Tennessee in an attempt to find the purpose she’s lost.
Van Astor, queen of one-night stands, thought she was content to spend her days at a nine to five, pursuing her passion of skateboarding on the weekends, and partaking in random hook-ups whenever the desire struck. But when her boss’s exotic sister visits for the summer, she finds herself rethinking her devil may care attitude.
When the two cross paths at a party for Lexi’s sister, their chemistry is instantaneous and undeniable, even as Lexi insists Van isn’t her type. It seems life has offered them the perfect summer setup: friends with benefits and no strings attached. With Lexi’s unwavering insistence that she return home to prove she can make it without the help of her sister, the end of summer approaches and they find themselves struggling with feelings that weren’t part of the arrangement.
Can they find a way to overcome their pasts and expectations? Or will Lexi decide Van just isn’t her cup of tea?
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Whisk Me Away by Georgia Beers
Whisk Me Away is must-see TV. When the famous host arranges a retreat for up-and-coming pastry chefs, Regan Callahan applies. Everything she’s been working for is served up hot and delicious right under her nose: recognition of her self-taught skills, learning from a master, there’s even been a secret prize hinted at that just might give her the means to buy her boss’s bakery when he retires. It’s not supposed to be a competition, but if it is, she’ll do anything to win.
Ava Prescott has no intention of allowing that to happen. Not that she’s worried. Regan doesn’t have what it takes. Just like she couldn’t excel with Ava as her boss when they worked together at the high-end restaurant in New York City. Their rivalry sharp as a lemon tart, Ava’s going to win, then she’ll ditch the high-pressure kitchen and open a small restaurant where she’ll have the creative freedom to follow her instincts, and her unique desserts will blossom.
Their styles are different. Their personalities are miles apart. Regan’s a gorgeous flake. Ava, a beautiful untouchable ice queen. Let the competition, and the ovens, heat up. Everyone knows the best recipes come straight from the heart.
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I Knew I Loved You by Amy DeMeritt
Dani is an introvert and has more walls than a Roman fortress. Her – gorgeous – best friend, Taylor, is an extrovert and one of only two people who’s ever been allowed inside Dani’s walls. They’ve been best friends for over seventeen years, and Dani has secretly been in love with her for nearly just as long. For the past several years, life and people have caused them to somewhat drift apart.
But when Taylor invites Dani to go on an all-expenses-paid trip to a luxury resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida, they get the space and solitude they need to hash out the reasons Dani has slowly closed her walls against Taylor and heal their friendship. And through the emotional reconnecting, something else blossoms between them, something Dani had always dreamed about and nearly lost hope of ever experiencing.
As their relationship transitions from one of friendship to one of passion, romance, and commitment, Dani and Taylor reevaluate their career paths, both helping each other to achieve what they want for their future. To follow her dreams to become an artist, Dani will have to learn how to control her ego, overcome her fears, and tear down the walls she’d spent most of her life erecting around her mind and heart.
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Partly For Love by Anne-Marie Pellow
Life can change in a heartbeat.
It happens to Kezia Pope when she comes face to face with a woman who reminds her of Hannah, the only girlfriend she ever had.
Hannah was the one person who understood her. Hannah never judged her and always looked out for her. Until one night when a prank goes too far.
Events of the past come flooding back to Kezia, and old addictions she thought she’d laid to rest creep up on her again.
Olivia Cruz is eleven years older than her wife, Emma. At the end of a working day, all Liv wants to do is put her feet up or go to bed—exhausted and fragile. But Emma has other ideas, and the thought of a night out is too tempting after months of all work and no play. After all, you’re only here once and life’s for enjoying, right?
The downward spiral begins. A chance meeting. A wrong decision. A sequence of events turns three women’s worlds inside out.
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Treasure by Chance by Brenda Murphy
Fire Investigator and legendary stud about town Mel Michaels is not looking for love. Raising her niece, Nicole, after her sister’s death is her full-time job. Who needs a potential heartbreak when Mel’s natural charm and swagger has opened every bedroom door she’s ever knocked on?
Music teacher Sofia Ortega has spent the last three years putting her life back together after a bitter breakup. Back in her hometown she is content with her life and sworn off relationships. After their chance encounter ends in a torrid one-night stand, both women are forced to choose, protect their hearts or take a chance?
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Ready for Love by Catherine Maiorisi
After watching the woman she’s professed to love for more than twenty years marry someone else, Renee Rousseau vows to free herself of the unrequited love before she and her friends meet the married couple in Paris. In ten weeks.
Then Renee encounters Lady Constance Martindale—the only other woman she’d ever imagined a future with—and she’s sure the universe is playing with her. Sixteen years ago they’d agreed to a casual, time-limited relationship. But when it turned to love, they both panicked and Constance dumped Renee before Renee could dump her. A first.
But the past is the past and sixteen years is a lifetime. Can passion be renewed? And what about her love for the woman who just got married?
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Reservations by Donna Jay
When a mysterious stranger rescues Rose Collins from the date from hell, she’s intrigued despite her scepticism about fate. The last thing this curvy office manager expects is for her alluring saviour to reappear with a job offer.
Alex Carpenter can’t stop thinking about the confident woman she rescued. Her dream of opening an exclusive women’s retreat with fantasy-themed suites finally feels within reach – if only she can convince Rose to join her business venture. But what started as professional admiration is quickly complicated by undeniable chemistry.
Rose never imagined her next career move would involve managing a hotel where every room tells a different story, each more provocative than the last. Worse, her new boss seems more interested in her organisational skills than exploring their sizzling attraction.
As they work in close quarters, maintaining professional boundaries becomes increasingly impossible.
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Hoops & Heartstrings by Eliza Lentzski
When a devastating injury threatens Lex Bennet’s dream of playing in the women’s professional basketball league, her world is turned upside down. Despite the setback, Lex is unexpectedly drafted by the new expansion team in Boston. Her jubilation is short-lived, however, when she finds herself on the same roster as Eva Montgomery, her long-time college rival and the woman responsible for her injury.
Once adversaries on the court, Lex and Eva must navigate their new dynamic as teammates. As they confront their past and strive to find common ground, unresolved emotions and an undeniable attraction simmer between them, becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
For Eva, the pressure of professional sports is compounded by her struggle with coming out. Her evolving relationship with Lex—from fierce adversaries to something more complicated—adds layers of tension and uncertainty.
Can they overcome their past and build a future together, both on and off the court? With the scrutiny of fame threatening to expose their relationship, will Eva find the courage to embrace a future with Lex? And will Lex’s support be enough to guide them toward happiness?
Old rivals, new teammates—will their unresolved past lead to love or disaster?
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Novel Problems by Elizabeth Luly
Hannah Taylor has some novel problems. The best-selling fantasy author, who writes under a secret pen name, is suffering from writer’s block after her long-term relationship collapses. With the deadline for her next novel fast approaching, Hannah flees Manhattan for Sapphire Springs, New York, planning to hide away until she finishes her book. But when she’s forced to visit the local cafe-bookstore, she accidentally finds herself with a new job and one very attractive new boss. Distractions she definitely doesn’t need with her looming deadline… or does she?
George O’Grady worked hard to turn Novel Gossip into the cafe-bookstore of her dreams, but staff shortages are putting the normally unflappable lesbian under pressure. Hannah’s appearance is a godsend. Although it would be easier if her new employee was less distractingly lovely, because George has a strict rule against dating employees.
Over the course of the summer, Hannah and George grow closer. But can the two book lovers overcome their novel problems, rules, and relationship baggage to write their own happy ending?
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A Troublemaker in Her Eyes by Genta Sebastian
It’s a hot, humid summer on the island of Terceira in1969. Young Capt. Traf Mendes is vengefully bitter after her gorgeous gypsy girlfriend, Carmen, suddenly married a man. The original Troublemaker takes her sense of betrayal out on all the island femmes, creating mischief by starting a contest between the butches to see who can collect the most panties before the American long Thanksgiving weekend. Determined never to trust another woman, Traf becomes the Ice Butch, quickly collecting trophies, not girlfriends.
But Capt. Betty Sullivan, the pretty blonde American nurse, keeps distracting her. Sometimes it seems like she’s setting Traf up, waiting to trap her into admitting she’s a lesbian to destroy her career. Other times, the guitar playing hippie from San Francisco seems to be only a lonely woman far from home, looking for a friend.
Traf’s attraction is undeniable, but she keeps it under control through the trauma of a plane crash, the pleasures of showing Betty her island, and a festive American style Thanksgiving dinner. But when Betty asks Traf to set her up with a lesbian lover, what’s an Ice Butch Troublemaker with serious trust issues to do?
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The Hues of Me and You by Morgan Lee Miller
Arlette Adair has always done what’s right. From the day she was born, she’s lived the life her parents forced upon her. Now, she’s stuck in a sparkless relationship and a job she never wanted. Her father’s presidential campaign will forever root her in the world of politics that she’s trying to escape from.
Brooke Dawson has always made her own rules. She’s a struggling freelance artist by day and a catering bartender at night, but her heart is full…almost. When she picks up a bartending shift at a high society party, she hopes to bring home enough money to pay her rent. She never expects to run into Arlette Adair: her former best friend, the girl she spent all of college secretly crushing on, and the one who got away.
Now face-to-face with their unresolved past, Arlette and Brooke quickly fall back into their old ways while dancing around the biggest question: Why hadn’t they fallen in love all those years ago?
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The Forever and The Now by KJ
Bron McIntyre, forty-two, has it all together. Terrific job. Loving family. No desperate need for a girlfriend but would be interested if one came along. Bron McIntyre is Teflon.
Kate Agostino, forty-eight, is not Teflon. Yes, she has a terrific job. But a loving family? Not really. And her personal life is rapidly disintegrating and turning into dust.
When her orange smoothie explodes all over her business suit while she’s on her afternoon walk, Kate simply shakes her head in resignation.
Bron, having witnessed the smoothie eruption, races to help, and suddenly her life takes an unexpected turn.
Falling in love is like watching the grandest sunset on the calmest ocean where the tiniest ripples wear silver sparkles as their hats. Kate and Bron find that sunset on that ocean with those ripples of love, but what happens when you take that love for granted? What happens when your person disappears? The answers are hard to hear and Bron chooses not to listen.
After a relationship break, a family intervention, and conversations that rip apart seams, Bron and Kate eventually find themselves, each other, and their now. And what they discover is that love is the large and the deliberate, and the simple and the small.
So when tragedy strikes, they call on its strength because, when you think about it, love can live on in the forever, particularly if it lives courageously in the now.
A beautifully poignant story about life, love and a loss so tragic that sometimes even the grandest sunset on the calmest ocean with the ripples wearing hats is too heartbreaking to bear.
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Halcyon Nights by MJ Duncan
Emerson Riis has a job she loves, friends she considers family, and her goofy malamute Sasha for company. As far as she’s concerned, life in the small town of Mystic is pretty much perfect. Enter Mari Davenport, a Hollywood screenwriter with a dozen blockbusters to her name, who arrives in a car that is completely unfit for the north woods of Minnesota. Their paths cross in a way that could have been plucked straight from one of Mari’s romcoms, and though their attraction is instant and their chemistry off-the-charts, the fact that Mari must return to LA at the end of her six-month writing sabbatical looms ominously on the horizon. As Emerson and Mari’s feelings grow, will they find a way to rewrite the ending to their story, or are they meant only for this sweet but short-lived season of halcyon nights?
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Back In Your Arms by Monica McCallan
Seventeen years ago, Quinn McKinley left her small town of Kingsford for a shot at a happier life. Now a successful real estate agent in New York City, she’s brought back on behalf of a client, begrudgingly accepting her return home in order to close the deal of a lifetime.
Coming back opens doors she’s done her best to keep closed all these years, namely, how she felt about her childhood best friend, Sawyer Kent.
Sawyer’s spent her whole life in Kingsford, working at her family’s antique store and trying to make everyone happy. Quinn’s return is unexpected, knocking her routine existence more than a little off balance. She’s still frustrated at how Quinn left things between them, and even if she has all kinds of unresolved feelings, she’s got bigger problems to worry about right now.
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What book will you be reading for the “watching fireworks together” category? Let us know in the comments!
The post Watching fireworks together (Micro-Trope #7) appeared first on Jae.
July 24, 2025
Characters with a strong initial dislike (Sapphic Book Bingo #16)
This week’s Sapphic Book Bingo category features characters with a strong initial dislike. That animosity might develop into an enemies-to-lovers romance, but the dislike between the characters won’t always go that far. Sometimes, their personalities simply clash or they are rivals competing for the same goal. In any case, the two characters can’t stand each other in the beginning of the book.
15 sapphic books featuring characters with a strong initial dislike
Below, you’ll find 15 sapphic books in which the characters start out not liking each other.
Bachelorette Number Twelve by Jae
At a singles auction where no one was bidding on love, a warmhearted ER nurse finds herself dating a prickly doctor in this enemies-to-lovers lesbian romance.
Ellie Fisher loves most things about being a nurse in the emergency department…just not working with Regina Novak, an icy attending physician who acts as if she’s God’s gift to medicine.
The dislike is completely mutual. Regina thinks Ellie is a starry-eyed romantic with a sentimental attitude that has no place at work.
When Regina gets talked into volunteering at a singles auction, Ellie accidentally bids on her—and ends up winning. Oops!
Since the money raised is for a good cause, they reluctantly decide to go through with the dates.
Thanks to a baking class that turns into a competition and a hot-as-hell road trip snack incident, the ice between them starts to thaw. Is it possible the ER isn’t the most unromantic place on earth after all?
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Cabin Fever by Addison M. Conley
Kate Minton’s life is collapsing. She’s fired, her estranged father dies, and her girlfriend dumps her. Her older half-brothers inherit everything, and all Kate gets is a remote, rundown Idaho cabin that no one knew existed. But if Kate lives there for a year, she’ll inherit half a million dollars. The move leads her to family secrets and an infuriating, and inconveniently sexy, contractor. She goes for the money, but will she stay for something deeper?
Riley Anderson lives in rural Idaho, helping her aunt run the family store and maintaining her construction business, while also avoiding dealing with a past that continues to haunt her. When she takes on Kate’s cabin renovations, she’s not impressed with the city slicker. But as they’re forced to spend time together, they find they have more in common than either of them could have ever imagined.
Will the pull of the big city be too much to resist? Will Riley find the strength to trust Kate, or will cabin fever be too much to bear?
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No Shelter But the Stars by Virginia Black
Kyran Loyal is the last heir to the lost throne of a forgotten planet, the figurehead of a nomadic people fleeing the galactic tyranny of a brutal regime. Davia Sifane is the unrecognized daughter of an imperial despot. When happenstance pits them against each other in battle, neither expects the outcome: they are the only two people to survive. Marooned on a barren moon, their only hope of survival is to rely on each other, but what they learn will either kill them or change the galaxy forever.
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She Sings of Old, Unhappy, Far-off Things by Caren J. Werlinger
Margaret Braithwaite was a rising Regency scholar and an acclaimed author. Thirty years later, she’s a one-book wonder, a fifty-something college professor with the dubious distinction of being an expert on Jane Austen, hidden in the shadow of her famous husband and his Civil War novels. “Too young to retire, and too old to start over,” Margaret feels as dried up and dead as the neglected gardens her husband took such pride in before he became ill.
Wyck Fitzsimmons is the Asheville landscape architect Gavin Braithwaite hires to restore his precious gardens to their former glory. She learned a long time ago that plants and trees are safer and more reliable companions than other people.
Under Wyck’s care, the gardens begin to come back to life, but the flowers aren’t the only thing blossoming. For the first time in decades, Margaret feels the stirrings of love, but those long-buried feelings frighten her more than the prospect of withering away alone in her ivory tower of academia.
Gavin, more observant than most people give him credit for, sees the attraction developing between his wife and his gardener. Using every means at his disposal, he arranges things so that Margaret has no choice but to remain faithful to him, even after death.
Margaret, confused and faced with losing everything that offers her any kind of security, flees to England – to Austen and Wordsworth country – where she tries to forget Wyck and all the feelings she has awakened.
Back in North Carolina, Wyck must come to terms with her own past and somehow find a way to forgive before it’s too late to make amends.
Love, it seems, can take root in even the most barren hearts, if only Margaret and Wyck can find the courage to let it grow.
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A Calculated Risk by Cari Hunter
Detective Jo Shaw has it all worked out. She’s good at her job, she has loads of mates, and she likes being single. She doesn’t need complications, but an emergency call to the stabbing of a young woman brings plenty of those. Jo has to risk her career to save the woman’s life, and a bad night gets worse when the trauma surgeon turns out to be Isla Munro, Jo’s only real love, who walked out on her fifteen years ago and never came back.
With the victim’s children missing and the husband the prime suspect, Jo’s investigation is stonewalled by a community living in fear. As one dead end leads to another, she and Isla are forced to put their differences aside and work together. But the case is far more dangerous than Jo realizes, and her determination to sort the truth from the lies may put her own life on the line.
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Loser of the Year by Carrie Byrd
Mattie Belman’s life has gone from dismal to desperate. After the loss of her acting career, her marriage, and her usual optimism, she’s back home teaching high school theater. Maybe it’ll be a fresh start.
St. Rita’s arrogant soccer coach Jillian Reed sees Mattie’s musical as an outrageous distraction for her champion players. When Jillian declares war, Mattie is far too stubborn to back down.
But as Mattie discovers there might be more to Jillian than spectacle, fire, and ego, she gets dangerously close to her iron-willed colleague. Can she avoid temptation? Or will the growing flame in Jillian’s dark eyes ignite them both?
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Ready to Score by Jodie Slaughter
Jade Dunn has spent years trying to climb her way to the top of the southern high school football food chain. Now, the only thing standing between her and that future head coach spot is years of small-town good ‘ol boy politics. When she scores an invite to a highly coveted monthly poker game perfect for networking, she jumps at the chance for a seat at the table. Only to find the one person with the ability to shake her there. An infuriatingly sexy art teacher who plays her cards like she’s gunning for Jade’s deserved spot.
Francesca Lim never thought she’d be happy in a small town, not after living and breathing hardcore Texas football her whole life. But two years ago, the promise of forever love had her leaving behind a burgeoning coaching career for a new life – only for it to burst into flames. Now, she has a chance to gain back a piece of her life she thought she’d left in Houston. The only one standing in the way? The prickly assistant coach that Francesca can’t keep her mind or hands off of.
Not wanting to risk losing out on a dream job, Jade and Francesca can’t afford to give in to the iron hot attraction that simmers beneath their biting interactions, so they try desperately to ignore it. Too bad their hearts don’t seem to be as on board with the game plan.
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A Heart Full of Hope by Cheyenne Blue
Smalltown handywoman Hazel Lee has learned to live her best life regardless of what the universe throws at her. But her patience is sorely tested when a bossy, big-city executive blows in and starts questioning Hazel’s motives for helping an elderly friend.
High-powered businesswoman Imogen Alexander has her career all set. Then her elderly uncle takes a bad fall in his home. Imogen figures she can surely run his life as tightly as her work, but she doesn’t count on an annoying local woman being all up in his business.
Hazel has one leg, two jobs, and a whole bunch of opinions. Worse, now meddling old Uncle George seems intent on match-making the women together.
But what could an icy standoffish executive in hot skirt suits possibly have in common with a cute butch with charm to burn?
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We Met in a Bar by Claire Forsythe
Wealthy nightclub owner Erica turns undercover bartender on a mission to catch a thief. The ridiculous idea seemed comical when her brother proposed it. After all, Erica has never worked a day in her life. But when her pushy mother plays matchmaker with yet another woman Erica isn’t interested in, she escapes on a train to London, to a club she hasn’t set foot in since inheriting it. There she meets no strings, no commitments Charlie, who couldn’t be further from Erica’s type. Erica has never met anyone who gets under her skin so much, and that’s surely a bad thing, right?
Charlie lives for the thrill of the chase. She loves women a little too much to imagine herself settling down. The very thought of a relationship is a terrifying prospect. It doesn’t matter anyway because she’s never met anyone who has held her interest for anything longer than a quick fling. All that changes when she meets the mysterious new bartender at her local club. Getting to know the obnoxious yet beautiful woman is a challenge she can’t resist. She just hadn’t bargained on her heart getting involved.
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For Love and Liberty by Eden Hopewell
Abigail Caldwell never expected to inherit her family’s textile empire. Now, burdened by a legacy built on exploitation, she’s determined to make things right. But changing a system ingrained in centuries of tradition and prejudice is harder than she imagined. Especially when her heart yearns for something—someone—society forbids.
Sarah Moore knows the mill’s harsh realities all too well. Every day is a struggle for survival, a battle against a system designed to grind down those deemed unworthy. When a workers’ strike erupts, Sarah finds herself leading the charge, her fiery passion igniting hearts and minds. But she never expected to find hope—and forbidden love—in the arms of the mill’s beautiful, enigmatic new owner.
As their paths collide amidst the tumult of social unrest, Abigail and Sarah find themselves drawn to each other, their connection defying the chasm that separates their worlds. But the more they fight for a just future, the more their forbidden love threatens to unravel everything they hold dear.
Will they risk their hearts—and their futures—for a love that could shatter the very foundations of Philadelphia society?
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Reel to Real Love by Elle E. Ire
Finding the right romantic partner is always a challenge—especially when your first spouse turns out to be a greedy, business-obsessed hardass who winds up on her CEO office floor with a bullet through her brain.
After the murder of her first wife, Elaine is ready for a vacation and a solid relationship with a woman who only has time for her. Thanks to some found alien technology, Elaine can get what she wants… sort of. Okay, so a computer-generated tangible holographic image of a twentieth-century film star is about as far from “solid” as it gets. But as her themed pleasure cruise on a passenger starliner progresses and an additional plot to murder Elaine reveals itself, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to her fantasy companion.
Ricky might be the result of exceptional programming, but she proves to be more than the sum of her particles. She shows Elaine more affection, and eventually more protection, than any so-called “real” woman in her life ever has, leaving Elaine to wonder—are Ricky’s feelings for her truly artificial? Or is this REEL TO REAL LOVE?
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Where the Waves Kiss the Shore by Iona Kane
Kasia Wojcik has poured her heart and soul into running the charming hotel she now calls home on the breathtaking Irish island of Inishderry. If only the indifferent Walsh family who own the place shared her dedication.
Enter Tierney Walsh, a free spirit who believes life is too short for commitments. She sees her family’s island home as a place for laughter and leisure, not responsibility and hard work.
As winter’s chill sets in, Kasia and Tierney find themselves thrown together on the island. Can they bridge their differences to save their cherished hotel? And amid their struggle, will they also discover a love that can weather any storm?
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Score to Love by Johana Gavez
Antonia Carvalho left her native Brazil in search of a dream: a professional soccer career and better opportunities for her and her brother. The plan is simple; score as many goals as possible with the Houston Starlight and become one of their top players. She won’t let anything get in the way. Not even Camila Sánchez, her attractive but annoying teammate.
Camila Sánchez spent all her life in the shadow of her father, a former soccer star and coach. There’s no time for distractions as she fights to show everyone she deserves her spot on the team. Playing for the Houston Starlight is her opportunity to shine. She won’t let Antonia steal her spot on the team, no matter how much chemistry they have in bed.
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An Unlikely Partnership by Katie Trapp
Rue Lovelace was not accustomed to change. She enjoyed her mundane life. So, when her mentor abruptly skips town leaving her in his place as Head Custos witch and new owner of a mystery ring, she doesn’t handle it the best, especially when she finds out part of her new role is to assist the police with Other-world issues. If it got out that she was working with the cops, her family business would be ruined.
An uptick in Other-world crime has workaholic Detective Niko Moscato running on empty, or at least that’s what she’s telling herself. When a man is murdered, her whole world flips upside down upon meeting the sassy witch currently in the Head Custos position. She’s met with a wall of ice that doesn’t help the case. And neither do the new feelings fluttering in her chest.
Both women struggle to navigate the new partnership while keeping a few secrets hidden away. But when the murders start getting a little too close to home, they have to begin doing something neither is good at relying on each other. The pressure is on to solve the case quickly before anyone else is killed. Or their partnership implodes. Either way, it’s going to get messy before it’s all over.
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Tapping into Love by Monica McCallan
Lucy Parsons wants absolutely nothing to do with the Westmoore family or the maple syrup they produce. When Sierra Westmoore blows back into town after her father’s death and tries to rent a room at Lucy’s family’s bed-and-breakfast, The Maple Inn, Lucy kicks her out on the spot. It doesn’t matter that Sierra hasn’t set foot in Maple Run in fifteen years—the Westmoores are not allowed.
But small towns don’t leave a lot of room to hide, and Sierra and her brother, Drake, have set their sights on improving the town’s opinion of them now that their father is gone.
Lucy doesn’t believe any Westmoore could have good intentions, and although she may have to play nice with Sierra, it doesn’t mean she’s going to like it.
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Hate to Love You by Shannon O’Connor
Two unlikely roommates, hot summer nights & a forbidden sapphic romance.
Ryleigh:
When Alana suggested I move into the second house on the Lovers Estate, I took her up on it. Even though that meant sharing the space with Alana’s little sister, who happened to hate my guts.
Wrenn:
Of course my older sister just had to open her big mouth and invite her friend to stay with me. It was bad enough having to see her in my sister’s wedding, but to see her at my kitchen table? I thought after we hooked up that it might be the start of something, until the next morning when I woke up alone. Now all she wants to do is talk about what happened and I just want to avoid her.
Ryleigh and Wrenn are sure they still hate each other but as the summer nights heat up, so do their feelings.
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What book will you be reading for the “characters with a strong initial dislike” category? Let us know in the comments!
The post Characters with a strong initial dislike (Sapphic Book Bingo #16) appeared first on Jae.
July 17, 2025
Character rides a motorcycle (Sapphic Book Bingo #15)
This week’s Sapphic Book Bingo features sapphic books in which the main character rides a motorcycle. Picture rumbling engines, sexy leather jackets, and that rush you get on a bike ride!
Maybe the character is a proud member of Dykes on Bikes, or they just enjoy the freedom of the open road.
15 sapphic books in which the main character rides a motorcycle
Below, you’ll find 15 sapphic books with a main character who rides a motorcycle.
Don’t Give a Nix by Ali Williams
Being a Nix is bad enough, what with water pollution and the world’s aversion to river demons, but when the River Arun’s Goddess turns matchmaker, nothing will be the same again for the Nixes of her river.
Kit
Running a pub by a river isn’t easy for a Nix, but I’m determined to have an ordinary life. So what if my hands are covered in burns from accidentally touching steel kegs? It’s a small price to pay to see my best friend Marla every day. To be normal. But the river goddess Trisantona wants more from me, and I’ll be damned if I comply…
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Incendiant by Virginia Black
War witch Joan Matthews wants little more than to build a life with Leigh Phan. Their hometown is rebuilding under Joan’s protection, but not everyone is happy with her solution to the most recent vampire crisis.
Meanwhile, Leigh’s bloodling powers lead to unforeseen consequences, and Joan is forced to honor a favor owed to a dangerous foe. Neither knows a greater threat lurks behind seemingly unrelated attacks across the land.
Together, Joan and Leigh once saved the town of Calvert. Now that they are separated, each must learn to save herself, or all their gains will be forfeited—and everyone they know will pay the price.
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One Golden Summer by Clare Lydon & TB Markinson
Would you trade fame for love?
Saffron Oliver is the golden girl. Golden hair. Golden skin. Golden movie career.
Only one problem: she hates it.
She flees to her sister’s seaside town – where she meets the confident & charming Kirsty McBride.
Kirsty is everything Saffron wants to be. Perhaps also, everything she wants.
But Saffron can’t have it all. So now, she has to decide: does she crave Kirsty enough to blow up her golden life?
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For Better or Worse by Amy DeMeritt
When Toni’s wife, Corinne, receives a mysterious letter that sends her flying out of their apartment without explanation, their once perfect and happy marriage and life become embroiled in doubts and fears.
What was in that letter? Who was it from? Is Corinne in danger?
Before Toni can learn the answers to those questions, she learns something about her own past that shatters everything she thought she knew about herself and her family. Her father and uncle didn’t just teach her and her brother, Nico, how to protect themselves against schoolyard bullies and street thugs. With distant ties to the Italian mafia in New York, they were always under a certain undefinable level of danger, even in Denver, Colorado.
While mending their marriage, and preparing their minds and bodies for their new reality, the past catches up to them. Caught in the middle of a war between mafia factions, the promise of for better or worse that Toni and Corinne made to each other on their wedding day over five years ago, is put to the ultimate test.
Can they survive the mafia assassins hunting them? And if they do, will their marriage survive?
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Last Chance by Claire Highton-Stevenson
Nora Brady has one last shot at the career she adores. After a devastating injury knocks her off the women’s football A-list, the tenacious midfielder accepts an offer to play for a struggling young team longing to compete in the big time. With matches to win and a reputation to prove, nothing can disrupt Nora’s laser-focus on her goal…except her ridiculously sexy new boss.
Gabriella Dean will do whatever it takes to build a top-tier program. Even if it means signing the hot, confident player who awakens her long-slumbering passion. The more Gabby gets to know Nora, the more her attraction and feelings for the younger woman grow, but giving into her desires could lead to professional failure, public embarrassment, and the heartache she’s guarded herself against for so long.
As Nora and Gabby’s connection deepens, it threatens their careers and the future of the lovable, motley group of young women they’ve both come to view as family. With the weight of the entire team’s hopes and dreams resting on them, will they risk everything to follow their hearts?
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Stormy Ink by Diana Jayne
Art graduate Jade O’Connor is on a mission. She needs an intricate tattoo—something elegant and beautiful—to cover her perceived imperfections. Her search for the right artist brings her to a Hawke’s Bay tattoo studio and the surprising discovery that her crush from eight years ago owns it.
Quiet, confident tattoo artist Taylor King is proud of her business and the life she’s built for herself. When Jade walks into her store, a spark ignites that goes beyond skin deep.
As the women get swept up in each other, disaster strikes. Can Jade and Taylor’s newfound relationship survive the pressure of being forced into each other’s space? Is it all too much? Or is it true there are some things you can only learn in the darkness of a storm?
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Don’t Call Me Hero by Eliza Lentzski
It’s been over a year since Cassidy Miller retired from the United States Marine Corps, but try telling that to her nightmares. She knew that coming back after eight years in a war zone wouldn’t be easy, but she’d underestimated the real difficulties of transitioning back to civilian life. War is hell, but the aftermath is endless. Looking for a fresh start, she’s left her friends and career in Minneapolis to be a police officer in northern Minnesota.
It’s in the tiny town of Embarrass where she learns more about Julia Desjardin. The city prosecutor is cool, professional, and untouchable. But she and Cassidy have history, and Cassidy isn’t going to let her easily forget that.
For all their surface differences, Cassidy and Julia have more in common than they first realized—both are reluctant to hand over their pasts to be judged and studied. But it might take someone just as damaged as the other to help each cope with the skeletons in their respective closets.
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Stunted Heart by Helena Harte
A stunt rider who lives in the fast lane. An ER doctor who can’t take chances. A passion that could turn their worlds upside down.
Taryn Taylor lives for adrenaline, on the bike and in the bedroom. Settling down has never been part of the plan. But when she meets brilliant, guarded ER doctor Cassandra Kennedy in Vegas, one night turns electric. Neither of them expects the spark to last… But what if this fire was meant to burn forever?
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Loving Artemis by Janet Mason
Artemis found the love of her life when she met Linda, but their passionate relationship fizzles when Artemis lands herself on the other side of the law. Pulling the pieces of her life together, Artemis rekindles her relationship with Linda, and together they raise a daughter.
Meanwhile, Grace, running from her past, starts a life with Thalia. At a pride parade, Grace spots someone who reminds her of Artemis, who she was briefly involved with in her youth. Old feelings are rekindled. A lifetime of rejection, abandonment, and fleeing rears its head. Now she must come to terms with her past, put her relationship with Artemis to rest–or risk losing everything.
Artemis and Grace embark on a journey of revolution, love, and marriage and discover that love finds us when we least expect it.
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The Found Jar by Jaycie Morrison
Horror fiction writer Emily Harris just wants to be left alone with her work. But plagued by writer’s block, she reluctantly agrees to join her friends at their luxurious beach house for the summer. Maybe a change of scenery will inspire her.
Local housekeeper Beck Reynolds keeps her life simple—saving for a boat and avoiding the town bullies while she attends art classes. Meeting successful but prickly Emily leaves her feeling awestruck, and she wants to make a good impression, even though Emily seems determined to run her off. But Beck’s not the one who is just visiting.
Emily knows all about loss, and guilt, and rejection. Opening her heart has always gotten her hurt, and she’s absolutely not letting anyone in, even someone good, or good-looking, like Beck.
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Straight Girls I’ve Loved Before by S.E. Chandler
Sometimes one word is worth a thousand pictures.
Perpetual player, Frankie, is dumped by her latest straight girlfriend for her serial philandering. But this time, Frankie knows Megan is worth fighting for. She vows to change her wandering ways to win her back. Her BF Sam encourages her soul-searching as Frankie pens letters to former lovers apologizing for how she hurt them.
An online group of exes emerges revealing one of the very vulnerable letters Frankie sent. After it goes viral, Sam tries to help Frankie see the bright side. Frankie’s grandmother cooks up more than incredible Italian, and an unexpected revelation from an unrequited lover sends Frankie reeling…and right back to Megan.
Will she earn her way back into Megan’s familiar arms with how much she’s changed, or will she take a chance on the woman who’s been there all along?
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Starting Over by Jen Silver
Ellie Winters, a successful potter, is living on a remote hilltop farm inherited from her parents. Her well-ordered life is shaken apart when her past meets her present. Robin Fanshawe, Ellie’s philandering long-term lover, has a fragile truce with Ellie. The arrival of women from Robin’s present threatens to break that tentative pact. Charming Dr. Kathryn Moss, an archaeologist and an old lover of Ellie’s, arrives on the farm searching for a new site to dig. When she discovers a previously unknown Roman settlement and ancient burial site on Ellie’s farm, Ellie allows her to start an archaeological dig of the area. Will Ellie also allow the rekindling of an old romance or will she stay with Robin? Can that long term relationship, albeit tentative, recover from this collision or will an old romance trump everything she knows? Will Robin, seeing the interaction between Ellie and Kathryn, leave her womanizing ways behind? Will she take a chance on giving herself wholly to the woman she loves? These questions and the mystery of whose royal resting place is disturbed at Starling Hill are answered in this classic romance of simmering passions, anguished loss, and the wonder of love.
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For The 1000th Time by Jen-Lea Mercy
Years ago, Abi left Vancouver heartbroken. Now she’s back — older, wiser, and sexier. Tess won’t know what hit her.
Abi Young is well acquainted with unrequited love and the void it leaves behind. While she had hoped moving to a different city would extinguish any residual feelings for her best friend’s older sister, it turns out absence really does make the heart grow fonder.
As the maid of honor, all Tess Moore wants is to give her sister the wedding of her dreams. Even if it means stepping out of her comfort zone and organizing a pre-wedding bridal party adventure. To make matters worse, the woman whose heart she shattered years ago will be participating. A woman she’s never been able to forget.
After what happened between them, two weeks in proximity to Tess should be hell for Abi. Instead, she deems it one last chance to show Tess the woman she’s become.
Will Tess be able to relax her role as the responsible sister long enough to notice? Or will Abi forever be seen as the kid with a silly crush?
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Ignis by KJ
Felicity Davis, principal of Rawson Girls Grammar School, is a passionate educator, an inspirational leader, some say even an ice queen, although she’s not sure about that last one. But one thing Felicity knows is that she is perfectly happy with her life. That is until the trauma, the darkness of her past, comes crashing into her present, revealing a deeply buried secret, and placing Felicity and those she loves in incredible danger. Inspector Tal Diamandis takes on the case, attempting to extinguish the flames of Felicity’s past before they consume her. Matters become complicated as Felicity and Tal realise their mutual spark of attraction but when they finally connect the shocking links, the explosive conclusion will leave everyone reeling.
Can Felicity play with fire or will the fire become an inferno?
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It’s All About Bex by Melissa Tereze
Ellis Patterson can’t lie, the unexpected visit of her best friend’s auntie could be the most exciting thing that’s happened since Ellis drifted to this small town several months ago. She pictures Bex Naylor as a typical favourite aunt: eccentric, childless, probably flitting about in flowered dresses, burning sage.
But Bex defies every stereotype. Black leather on her long, slim body, motorcycle to match, Bex has been following the wind for a year. And when those bright green eyes lock with Ellis’, she feels like she’s died and gone to heaven.
Bex’s attraction to Ellis is instant and electrifying. Despite the younger woman’s butch appearance, there is a softness to her that Bex finds appealing. When she discovers how easy it is to make Ellis blush, Bex suspects making those dimpled cheeks bloom pink could become her favourite hobby while she’s back in town. But being home again is…complicated. The last thing she wants is to let old grudges and tangled family emotions touch Ellis’ sweetness.
Though Bex can forgive, certain people will never forget. And one of them would like to see her gone—permanently.
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Coffee, Cars, and Necromancy by Neen Cohen
Stuck in a perpetual nightmare, Lily just wants a break. But a dead body stands in her way of a good cup of coffee and a day basking in the sun. As a necromancer, this job wasn’t hers to take. But this time she can’t turn away as the dead leads to the living—the one living person Lily never wanted to see again.
Detective Larissa Alanor has been a pain in Lily’s existence. Ever since her baby sister died, Alanor has blamed one person and one person only, Lily. But the connections can’t be denied, as the past and the present collide.
Will these two enemies come together to solve the real mystery? Or will they stick to their guns while more lives are at risk?
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Leave a commentWhat book will you be reading for the “character rides a motorcycle” category? Let us know in the comments!
The post Character rides a motorcycle (Sapphic Book Bingo #15) appeared first on Jae.
July 10, 2025
Sapphic sloth-burn romance (Sapphic Book Bingo #14)
This week’s Sapphic Book Bingo category features sapphic slow-burn romance novels!
“Sloth burn” is a tongue-in-cheek term for a very slow slow-burn romance in which the romance between the main characters develops at such an excruciatingly slow pace that it makes a sloth look speedy in comparison! I heard the term for the first time when I was working on my latest duology, Enemies by Nature and Shifting Nature, in which it takes the characters two entire novels to turn from enemies into lovers!
15 sapphic sloth-burn romance novels
Below, you’ll find 15 sapphic sloth-burn romance novels:
Damage Control by Jae
An actress practically since birth, Grace Durand has finally made it in Hollywood. When a photo of her in a seeming compromising situation with another woman is plastered all over the tabloids, she fears for her career as a lead in romantic movies.
Desperate for a publicist who’ll convince America that she’s straight, Grace hires Lauren Pearce, one of Hollywood’s leading PR agents, not knowing that she’s a lesbian.
Lauren has dealt with PR nightmares for years, so doing damage control for one more rich, spoiled client shouldn’t be a problem—or so she thinks. But the more time she spends with Grace, the more she realizes how different she is from her television persona.
Getting involved with her client is not in her game plan, especially since it would confirm the rumors and ruin Grace’s career, but the attraction between them is growing as they run the gauntlet of the paparazzi together.
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The Love Project by TB Markinson & Miranda MacLeod
Joni Fisher is facing economic ruin. The once successful advice column she runs with her mother is on the brink of cancellation, and it’ll take a miracle to turn things around. Joni’s last-ditch effort to save her job and preserve her mother’s legacy is The Love Project, a web series she’s developing to bring the Help Me Henrietta franchise alive for a new generation. All she needs is a willing victim…er, star.
Hope Alvarez dreams of falling in love, but she’s always suspected she’s different. Physical attraction is a foreign language to her. After her only prospect for a meaningful relationship falls through, Hope has to face the fact that she’s completely hopeless when it comes to love. Can her favorite advice columnist, Henrietta, save her from a lonely future?
As the series gets underway, fans swoon for the lovable yet unlucky Hope, and they’re not the only ones. Joni is smitten, too. But she’s been down that road before, vowing never again to fall for a straight woman who will keep her forever in the friend zone. Except, what if she’s been reading the situation all wrong? Helping Hope make sense of her identity might save Joni’s job, but will it also bring her love?
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The Blank White Page by Ali Spooner
Tatum Chastain, Corporate Officer of Chastain International, her family’s real estate empire, accepts the challenge her father, Charles, has set forth. Charles has tasked Tatum and her brother, Charlie, to survive in the wilderness for six months to prove their skills in taking over the family business once he retires. Charles fails to realize that Tatum would fall in love with the southeastern Alaska cabin he has chosen for her to test her resilience and creativity. Tatum prepares for life in the bush, and shortly after she arrives, Poe, a beautiful raven, becomes her companion and guardian. When River Foster, a designated hunter for her village, crosses Tatum’s path, she finds a different kind of love awaits her.
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Only Mostly Dead by Alli Temple
No one tells you how much paperwork there is after you die.
I expected to wake up on a cloud where angels played harps and fed me grapes. Instead, I’m a ghost stuck in suburban Toronto. The only one who can see me is an unemployed grim reaper who’d rather play video games.
Turns out the business of dying is a train wreck. But if there was ever a girl boss who could get it back on track, it’s me. All I need is a little help from my new undead roommate, whether they want to be involved or not.
Nothing at Afterlife Incorporated moves quickly and if I don’t find a way out soon there won’t be anything left of me to cross over. They say death can be easy, but being only mostly dead sucks.
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Meeting Millie by Clare Ashton
Oxford – celebrated city of dreaming spires and class warfare – is an ambition come true for lesbian, geeky, upper-middle-class Charlotte and straight, charismatic, working-class Millie.
Against the odds, theirs is an instant, best friendship. Forever.
Exuberant Millie is a breath of fresh air for polite Charlotte and a force of nature within the university’s hallowed walls. And they are going to be the best lawyers of their year and change the world.
But their world changes instead when things go queerly sideways, and they haven’t seen each other since.
Ten years on and Charlotte returns to where it all began. She has a new job at a prestigious law firm and Oxford is as beautiful as ever. She’s a safe distance from her overbearing barrister mother Nicola and three office floors from her snappy college mentor, Olivia.
Then Millie bounds around the corner wanting to be friends again and it’s as if the last decade never happened. Will it be different the second time around? Can they be friends again? Or will love and attraction change things?
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Remember Me by Del Robertson
Sarah Lindley followed her brother into the untamed Wild West in search of adventure. She found it – in the form of a woman unlike any she’d ever met before.
Buckshot Bailey Bowen thought she had settled down as a ranch hand. That was until a chance encounter with a feisty, Irish redhead turned her world upside down.
Sarah and Bailey meet again in San Antonio in an old, crumbling mission. As the infamous thirteen-day siege rages about them, they fall hopelessly in love. Surrounded by enemy forces, their future looks uncertain. Will they – and their love – survive against such insurmountable odds?
The cry “Remember The Alamo” has long echoed throughout history. Now, the women that were at the Battle of The Alamo ask you to Remember Me.
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Lighthouse Keeper by Eliza Lentzski
In 1874, in the quaint coastal town of Provincetown, Massachusetts, the ocean’s waves echo with tales of lost love. Lizzy Darby, a resilient young woman with a heart marked by past sorrows, seeks refuge in the familiarity of her parents’ general store. Scarred by the loss of her first love to the unpredictable sea, Lizzy strives to find solace in the routine of her daily life.
Joana Maria Pascoal is a spirited immigrant from the Azores Islands. In her quest for a brighter future for her family, Joana adopts the guise of a man to secure a lucrative position as the town’s lighthouse keeper. As Lizzy and Joana’s lives become intertwined, an undeniable connection forms, one that transcends the boundaries imposed by their society.
Haunted by the wreckage of her past romance, Lizzy grapples with the fear of opening her heart again. Joana, trapped by a disguise that shields her from prejudice but endangers her livelihood, battles the urge to succumb to a forbidden love. Her dual identity hangs in the balance, a secret that, if exposed, could shatter the financial support crucial for her family’s survival.
Clandestine meetings, stolen moments, and the heart’s yearnings collide with the harsh realities of a world bound by tradition and familial expectations. Will the secrets that Lizzy and Joana harbor tear them apart, or can their burgeoning relationship overcome the circumstances that threaten a promising new love?
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Speak EZ by Elle E. Ire
On New Year’s Eve, in 1923, someone walked into Michelle “Mickey” McFadden’s queer speakeasy hidden beneath the Big City Little Theater and shot her and her dog, EZ, dead. Or . . . sort of, mostly, kind of dead, maybe? Because instead of crossing over, they become trapped within the bar’s cinderblock walls. And though EZ eventually manages to wriggle his way free, Mickey remains, her spirit frozen in time.
In 2022, employees of the Big City Little Theater begin encountering a stray dog sneaking in and around the premises. When Ciara, the theater’s bookkeeper, saves the dog from being hit by a truck, she begins to suspect there’s something odd about the mysterious canine and makes it her mission to catch him and either return him to his owners or keep him as her own.
That is until Ciara and her friends happen upon the sealed-up speakeasy in the theater’s subbasement —and find the dog inside. But how did he get in there when the door was locked? And why are there bullet holes in the otherwise beautifully preserved bar? Their discovery launches them on the investigation of a lifetime, complete with an ancient murder to solve, strange occurrences to explain, and a missing person to find.
When Mickey’s spirit, which has been trapped in the mysterious in-between for the past hundred years, begins to find her way out, she and Ciara finally come face-to-face. And it’s more than the speakeasy’s old wiring that makes sparks fly. Ciara’s falling hard for Mickey and Mickey for her. Can they solve the murder and figure out how EZ returned to the world of the living before the clock strikes midnight on the next New Year’s Eve?
Because if they don’t, they’re pretty certain Mickey’s time will finally be up—this time for good.
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Disconnected by Annette Mori
Vanna has always felt like something was off with her parents, leaving her feeling oddly disconnected. She decides to move across the country and establish a new and independent life after college. On the way to her new position in Flagstaff, Arizona, Vanna meets out and proud Trey, who loves to flirt.
Trey has never forgotten the beautiful young woman she met briefly and is determined to ensure their paths cross again.
Thousands of miles from home, Vanna finds out more about herself, but not her feeling of being disconnected from her parents. Will Vanna ever form the connection she desperately seeks? Does Trey’s determination work out?
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Thunder by Barbara Winkes
She wants her, but she has a job to do.
Get it done, and get out of town. Kelli Jameson is tasked with finding a missing teen accused of a crime he’s never been held accountable for. Neither the town’s authorities nor the residents are forthcoming with information.
She finds a reluctant ally in teacher Merin Burke, but Merin has secrets of her own. Attraction flares between them, but giving in to it would come at a cost.
Will they make it through the storm that’s about to break lose?
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Unexpected Entanglements by Angela K. Crandall
Vela’s life has always been relatively mundane. Working at the pharmacy wasn’t exactly her dream come true, but it paid the bills. And Brant… she’s lucky to have such a doting husband who supports her views and sexuality. When Vela goes out for a night on the town with her best friend, she isn’t looking for any prospects, mysteries, or intertanglings. It’s supposed to be a fun girls’ night with no strings and no dilemmas —until she awakens with a stranger in her bed.
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In Bloom by Kat Jackson
Nicole Callahan is certain she has endured the worst heartbreak possible, and she’s in no hurry to dive back into the tumultuous waters of love. She insists that she’s absolutely fine being alone, but a part of her still wonders…
To Avery Pullman, owner of a flower shop filled with thorns less prickly than her exes, the idea of love is just a disaster waiting to happen. She sees no reason to invite pain in, especially when she’s still tending to fresh wounds on her heart.
Neither expects—nor wants—the tiny spark that ignites the moment their eyes lock. If they get too close to it, they might each have to face an uncomfortable truth—that they’ve never really known true love before. And that might be more terrifying than any heartbreak.
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46 by Lynn Ames
It’s November 3, 2020, and Emma McMasters has just been elected the 46th president of the United States. She’s facing a divided Congress and nation, allies that no longer trust America, enemies that have been emboldened, and the legacy of destruction left by the last administration. She must rebuild and reestablish trust in government, in the media, and in the electoral system, all the while carrying the mantle of first female president, and along with it, the hopes and dreams of millions of women and little girls who need her to prove that a woman can get the job done.
Palmer Estes has devoted her life and her career to the military, rising to become the highest-ranking female officer in the US Army. An enigmatic, battle-tested hero, she’s the perfect choice to brief the new president on one last, urgent, highly sensitive mission before she retires.
Two strong women, both driven to serve the country they love, neither prepared for the sparks that fly between them.
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Holiday Hostage by Rita Potter
Life for Chicago’s rebellious rich girl Cassidy Kavanaugh isn’t as perfect as everyone thinks. She’s miserable and can’t work out why, given all her privilege.
While Christmas shopping for her pseudo-girlfriend at the trendy Graffiti Chic, her whole world changes in a split second.
Meeting an intriguing woman amid the colorful graffiti art is just the start. Then she’s caught up in a terrifying botched robbery with the stranger.
As police close in, tempers fray, and chaos reigns, Cassidy is forced to face who she really is, deep down. And what she stands for.
But can love ever come from such an adrenalin-charged meeting? Or is it just an illusion spun from high stakes and danger?
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A Calculated Risk by Cari Hunter
Detective Jo Shaw has it all worked out. She’s good at her job, she has loads of mates, and she likes being single. She doesn’t need complications, but an emergency call to the stabbing of a young woman brings plenty of those. Jo has to risk her career to save the woman’s life, and a bad night gets worse when the trauma surgeon turns out to be Isla Munro, Jo’s only real love, who walked out on her fifteen years ago and never came back.
With the victim’s children missing and the husband the prime suspect, Jo’s investigation is stonewalled by a community living in fear. As one dead end leads to another, she and Isla are forced to put their differences aside and work together. But the case is far more dangerous than Jo realizes, and her determination to sort the truth from the lies may put her own life on the line.
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Leave a commentWhat book will you be reading for the “sapphic sloth-burn romance” category? Let us know in the comments!
The post Sapphic sloth-burn romance (Sapphic Book Bingo #14) appeared first on Jae.
