Jae's Blog, page 20

A Touch of Truth by Nita Round

People have gone missing and no one knows where they’ve gone. The only clue left behind is blood, lots of blood, and a single silver brooch.

Magda Stoner, captain of the airship Verity, has questions, and the Order for which she works has no answers to give. She has been directed to enlist assistance from Lucinda Ravensburgh, a tower witch and truthsayer.

Lucinda sees truth in everything she touches, a gift, or curse, enhanced by the magic of the tower in which she resides. It’s a gift that comes with great responsibility and a duty to those she serves. When Magda asks for aid, Lucinda cannot refuse.

Whilst Magda and Lucinda seek the evil behind the disappearances, all manner of threats imperil their lives. Ascara is the warrior who must protect them as their search becomes more and more dangerous.

At the moment Lucinda touches the silver brooch, all three lives are changed forever. Three must become one if these strong women are to succeed when traversing the path of justice. But the path they tread is littered with lies, deception, betrayal, and dark forces.

No matter what, the Trinity of Truth must form and hold strong.

Available at:

Demon in the Machine by Lise MacTague

At the height of Britain’s Industrial Revolution, steam power and magic join forces to create wonders the world has never seen. But those wonders have a dark side—one that will soon force a reckoning few could have anticipated.

Half-demon Briar is content with her structured life as an archivist, a far cry from the chaos of her background and upbringing. Briar’s simple and predictable existence is rocked when she discovers something sinister powers one of the grand, new inventions of her era.

Isabella Castel, the only daughter of Viscount Sherard, is far from the brainless socialite she pretends to be. Isabella is everything Briar is not: passionate, creative and impulsive, but with secrets to rival even Briar’s own. Two more unlikely partners should not exist, yet if the women cannot find a way to work together, they will lose far more than their reputations.

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Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger

Imogene Hale is a lowly parlormaid with a soul-crushing secret. Desperate to understand her own desires, she takes work at a local vampire hive, only to fall in love with the amazing lady inventor the vampires have imprisoned in their potting shed.

Genevieve Lefoux is lonely, brilliant, and French. Obsessed with her cogs and devices she refuses to risk her heart. With culture, class, and the scientist herself set against the match, can Imogene and her duster win Genevieve’s love, or will the vampires suck both of them dry?

Available at:

Skin Deep by Violet Penrose

London, 1871. Dr. Alice Victor is an engineer of automata—advanced biomechanical constructs—a field dazzling in its possibilities but still in its infancy. When she meets the alluring Lady Glyde, her laboratory gains a benefactor and Alice a secret lover.

The lady and her husband have recently returned from Africa, and when Alice discovers they are secretly harboring members of a Malawian snake cult, it becomes clear that their ambitions for her work are far more sinister than it first seemed. Alice soon finds herself caught between pleasing her new lover and her loyalty to her colleague and best friend. As tension mounts, Alice must decide how far she is willing to go in her search for forbidden happiness.

Available at:

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

What if the African natives developed steam power ahead of their colonial oppressors? What might have come of Belgium’s disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier?

Fabian Socialists from Great Britain join forces with African-American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo’s “owner,” King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.

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The Adventure of the Incognita Countess by Cynthia Ward

It’s the easiest assignment a British intelligence agent could hope for. Lucy Harker needs only see the secret plans of the Nautilus safely across the Atlantic. As German spies are largely a fantasy of newspapers, she anticipates no activities more strenuous than hiding her heritage as Dracula’s dhampir daughter.

Then among her fellow Titanic passengers she discovers the incognita Countess Karnstein—and it seems the seductive vampire is in Germany’s service. Can Agent Harker stake Carmilla before her own heart—and her loyalty to the British Empire—are subverted by questions as treacherous as a night-cloaked iceberg?

Available at:

The Beast At The Door by Althea Blue

In this steampunk fairy tale, Patience is no proper young lady. Faced with the prospect of marriage, she runs away from home, from wealth, and a looming life of lies. She finds a garden guarded by a fantastic beast.

The beast also guards a young girl like herself, alone in the world. Ada is wise and beautiful. Their burgeoning friendship is by threatened outside forces. Only a clockwork menagerie of monsters can save them from an unfriendly world.

Available at:

The Magistrate (The Prisonworld Trilogy Book 1) by Keira Michelle Telford

Poverty is rife in twenty-fourth century London, England. Crime rates are at an all-time high, and living conditions for many are bleak. Capital punishment and public hangings have been reinstated, and Magistrates, in their new role, are tasked with patrolling the streets to enforce arrest warrants and ‘terminate’ any civilians who attempt to evade justice — which isn’t always a noble pursuit.

The laws are strict, illiberal, and unsympathetic. If you can’t afford to feed and clothe yourself, you’ll be sent to the workhouse. If you fall behind on your rent, you’ll be sent to debtors’ prison. If you’re gay, you’ll be hanged.

For Carmen Wild, the latter becomes a potentially deadly problem when the discovery of a murdered prostitute brings her back into the life of her first love — the Madam of an East End cathouse — and the illicit passions between them are swiftly reignited.

Available at:

The Dark Victorian: Risen by Elizabeth Watasin

“Way will open.”

She is Artifice.

A resurrected criminal and agent of HRH Prince Albert’s Secret Commission.

An artificial ghost.

A Quaker.

He is Jim Dastard.

The oldest surviving agent of the Secret Commission.

An animated skull.

A mentor to newly resurrected agents.

It is 1880 in a mechanical and supernatural London. Agents of Prince Albert’s Secret Commission, their criminal pasts wiped from their memories, are resurrected to fight the eldritch evils that threaten England. Jim Dastard and his new partner Artifice must stop a re-animationist raising murderous dead children. But while Art and Jim pursue him, Art discovers clues about her past, and through meeting various intriguing women—a journalist, a medium, a prostitute, and a woman in black—where her heart lies. A new beginning and new dangers await Art as she fights for the Secret Commission and for her second life.

Available at:

Subton Switch by Jessica Lucci

Subaquatic city, 1886. Verdandi, a fiery teen tinkerer, is held captive by an evil totalitarian government. She is blasted into a chaos of beauty and fear, depression and addiction.

Verdandi discovers that her only chance of liberty lies not only in trusting her friends, but in challenging her mind and body to fulfill her time travel quest. What begins in compulsion becomes necessity, and Verdandi finds herself torn between two very different worlds, with the only reconciliation being time.

The “Watch City” trilogy continues in “Subton Switch,” creating a testament of the power within us to change ourselves, and the world.

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Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

“You ain’t gonna like what I have to tell you, but I’m gonna tell you anyway. See, my name is Karen Memery, like memory only spelt with an e, and I’m one of the girls what works in the Hôtel Mon Cherie on Amity Street. Hôtel has a little hat over the o like that. It’s French, so Beatrice tells me.”

Set in the late 19th century—when the city we now call Seattle Underground was the whole town (and still on the surface), when airships plied the trade routes, would-be gold miners were heading to the gold fields of Alaska, and steam-powered mechanicals stalked the waterfront, Karen is a young woman on her own, is making the best of her orphaned state by working in Madame Damnable’s high-quality bordello.

Through Karen’s eyes we get to know the other girls in the house—a resourceful group—and the poor and the powerful of the town. Trouble erupts one night when a badly injured girl arrives at their door, beggin sanctuary, followed by the man who holds her indenture, and who has a machine that can take over anyone’s mind and control their actions. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the next night brings a body dumped in their rubbish heap—a streetwalker who has been brutally murdered.

Available at:

Leave a comment

Leave a comment and let us know which book you’ll be reading for the “sapphic steampunk fantasy” category!

The post Sapphic steampunk fantasy or gaslamp fantasy (Book Unicorn #8) appeared first on Jae.

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Published on August 20, 2021 00:00

August 19, 2021

Sapphic body-positive books (Sapphic Reading Challenge #32)

This week’s Sapphic Reading Challenge category features body-positive books that celebrate women of all sizes and shapes, e.g., a plus-sized protagonist.

The romance novel industry has a reputation for abiding by Hollywood’s standard of beauty. It’s rare to find plus-size characters in f/f romance novels (or any romance, for that matter). Most of the main characters are portrayed as slim, with perfectly sized breasts, and if they are a bit chubby, their goal in the story is probably to lose weight.

So let’s break with that tradition and search out diversity when it comes to how the main characters look.

By the way, body positivity includes not just fat or plus-sized characters; it also refers to characters who are skinny or flat-chested such as Eliza from Wrong Number, Right Woman or who otherwise deviate from society’s beauty standards.

I hope that going forward, there’ll be more body positivity in romance novels and that women of all shapes and sizes will find themselves represented in a positive way.

Read up on the rules of the Sapphic Reading Challenge

15 sapphic body-positive books

I put together a list of 15 sapphic books with a positive portrayal of women of all sizes and shapes. I hope you find at least one you’ll enjoy.

Just for Show by Jae

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:

Worthy of Love by Quinn Ivins

Nadine Bayani was at the top of her game. The brilliant, ruthless lawyer was in line to be White House chief of staff—until she confessed to campaign finance crimes that cost her party the election.

Now Nadine’s out of prison, broke, hated by millions, and stuck doing a menial retail job in rural Virginia where she barely earns enough to survive.

Bella Clarke has worked at Overstock Oasis since she flunked college. She wants to go back to school, but secretly doubts she’s smart enough. At least she’s not as clueless as her boss, who just accidentally hired the woman responsible for a national scandal.

However, Nadine seems to be nothing like the crook portrayed in the media, and Bella is drawn to her troubled, standoffish co-worker. As they grow closer, Nadine introduces Bella to the delights of Filipino food and opens Bella’s eyes to her own possibilities.

Before long, about the only thing harder to make sense of than Nadine’s past is their powerful chemistry together. Is Bella really falling for a woman who caused so much harm? And even if she is, how can two such different people ever be a match?

Available at:

Speak Low by Lynn Galli

Taking a job in Scotland shouldn’t be any different than Zoey’s other jobs. Three months to dive into the intricacies of a university, find its shiny component, flaunt it to the world, and move onto another university. Her niche occupation has served her roving lifestyle well. Just because this job is in another country shouldn’t affect her in any way. She doesn’t count on liking it so much, on reconnecting with a friend from grad school, or on meeting someone like Celia, who puts up with all her quirks. Celia is sensible about love and knows that taking a risk on someone unaccustomed to permanence is probably a bad bet.

Will the cynical wanderer and the reluctant romantic set aside their ingrained hesitancy to take a chance on love?

Available at:

Finding Home by Jamey Moody

How do you find something you didn’t know you’d lost?

Olivia King has had it. She’s out of shape and tired of being alone. When she takes a tour of a fitness center, she had no idea how much she would gain while trying to lose.

Frankie Dean and her two best friends own Your Way, a place where fitness means more than improving your body.

Can Frankie lead Olivia through this journey to repair her self-image and discover her self-worth? And will Olivia give Frankie something she didn’t know she’d lost.

Available at:

Mind Games by Cara Malone

Kelsey Granger is meticulous and careful, determined to turn her OCD into an advantage in her new job at the coroner’s office. There’s just one problem – her boss doesn’t think she’s ready. When Kelsey arrives at her first death scene to find the responding officer contaminating the evidence, she starts to wonder if her boss was right.

Zara Hayes hates death scenes. She’s been on patrol five long years but her chief won’t promote her until she can overcome her fear. So here she is, just feet away from a dead body while a pretty young investigator reads her the riot act because she thinks Zara screwed up her scene.

With a killer on the loose, there’s no time to argue so Zara and Kelsey team up to solve the case. As they get closer to the truth – and to each other – they must confront the mind games we play… in life, in love, and even in death.

Available at:

The Curvy Side of Life by Suzie Carr

With her divorce finally behind her, Faith Miller is ready to move forward. And then, life tosses her a few unavoidable curveballs. Before long, she finds herself traveling down to her sister’s house on the coast of Rhode Island with her seven-year old daughter.

What she hoped might be a reflective time for her turns into a whirlwind adventure, thanks to her sister’s live in in-laws and the gorgeous pet and house-sitting neighbor, Candace. Candace is sexy and fun, and pulls on Faith’s heart. Faith, trying to stay focused and get her life back on track, attempts to ignore her growing feelings for Candace to no avail. What starts out as a casual and steamy interlude evolves into something more serious.

Will Faith decide her heart is better closed off from potential heartbreak or will she open it back up again to see what this new love has to offer?

Available at:

Get It Right by Skye Kilaen

Finn is finally out of prison, which is great. Having no job, no car, and no place to sleep except her cousin’s couch? Not so great. Plus, her felony theft conviction isn’t doing wonders for her employment prospects, so she can’t afford her migraine meds without the public clinic.

The last thing she ever expected was for the gal who stole her heart to come walking down that clinic’s hallway: Vivi, the manicure-loving nurse who spent two years fighting the prison system to get proper medical care for her patients, including Finn.

Finn could never believe she imagined the attraction and affection between them. But acting on that in prison, especially as nurse and patient, had been a serious No Way. She’s had eight months to get over Vivi, who abruptly left her job without saying goodbye. Finn is over it. Honest! It’s totally and completely fine.

Except Vivi, here and now, doesn’t seem fine. And Finn couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t try to help.

Is fate offering Finn a second chance? Or is finding love as likely as finding a job with health insurance?

Available at:

A Curious Woman by Jess Lea

Bess Campbell has escaped to the windswept Australian coastal town of Port Bannir, determined to begin her life again. She is loving her fresh start, thanks to her fun job running a hip gallery, her territorial chickens, and a lot of self-help books to find her new, better self.

Port Bannir local Margaret Gale runs an austere maritime museum, and rules her staff with an iron fist. She has no time for that crazy modern gallery or upbeat, earnest Bess sweeping around town on her hipster bicycle.

After a heated dispute over an antique collectible dildo, there’s little hope Margaret and Bess will ever see eye to eye.

But when Port Bannir is rocked by a senseless murder, both women find themselves implicated. Can they work together to expose the truth––or will the truth prove far too dangerous?

Available at:

At Her Feet by Rebekah Weatherspoon

During a night of Web surfing for celeb gossip and masturbatory material, digital marketing producer Suzanne Kim stumbles across an intriguing thread while checking her profile on kinklife.com. Suzanne isn’t exactly looking, but the request for a very specific type of submissive from the attractive mistress, Mami-P, is hard to resist. Though the two hit it off during their first online conversation, Suzanne never imagines how strong their real life attraction and compatibility will be. After a few missteps in training, trust, and communication, Suzanne finds a deep love with her mistress, Pilar.

Overworked and overstressed in her daily life, Suzanne comes to crave their relationship for the visceral escape it provides, but before they can make the ultimate commitment, someone from Suzanne’s professional life threatens to disrupt their perfectly balanced bliss.

Available at:

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Juliet Milagros Palante is a self-proclaimed closeted Puerto-Rican baby dyke from the Bronx. Only, she’s not so closeted anymore. Not after coming out to her family the night before flying to Portland, Oregon, to intern with her favorite feminist writer – what’s sure to be a life-changing experience. And when Juliet’s coming out crashes and burns, she’s not sure her mom will ever speak to her again.

But Juliet has a plan – sort of. Her internship with legendary author Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women’s bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff, is sure to help her figure out this whole “Puerto Rican lesbian” thing. Except Harlowe’s white. And not from the Bronx. And she definitely doesn’t have all the answers….

In a summer bursting with queer brown dance parties, a sexy fling with a motorcycling librarian, and intense explorations of race and identity, Juliet learns what it means to come out – to the world, to her family, to herself.

Available at:

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat- but real life isn’t always so rhythmic.

The only child of a single mum, her life is less privileged than her friends.

Her mum knows she’s bisexual, but Leah hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends.

Not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

Prom and college are on the horizon, and tensions are running high.

Can Leah still strike the right note, when the people she loves are fighting?

And how can she cope knowing that she might love one of her friends more than she ever intended?

Available at:

Vow of Celibacy by Erin Judge

Natalie has made a promise: a vow of celibacy, signed and witnessed by her best friend. After a string of sexual conquests, she is determined to figure out why the intense romantic connections she’s spent her life chasing have left her emotionally high and dry. As Natalie sifts through her past and her present, she confronts her complicated feelings about her plus-sized figure, her bisexuality, and her thwarted career in fashion design.

Piecing together toxic relationship patterns from her past, Natalie finds herself strutting down fashion runways and rekindling her passion for clothing design in the present. All the while, her best friend, Anastaze, struggles with her own secret—whether or not to reveal her true identity to the thousands of fans of her popular blog and her potential first sexual partner.

Available at:

Fight Fire with Fire by Sionna Fox

Frannie Thorpe is on the verge of getting everything she ever wanted, crowned by securing an exhibition of the work of late queer photographer Rian Sampson–until her funding is put in jeopardy by a would-be senator with an eye on slashing public funding for “pornography.”

Ashley Patterson, Sampson’s muse and erstwhile indie music darling, steps in to help close the funding gap. Working together to save the show creates sparks, but neither woman is prepared for the fire between them.

Available at:

Body Language by Renee Roman

Mika James is handsome, so what’s the problem if she uses her attributes to seduce rich women? There are worse ways to keep a roof over her head. After her latest lover calls it quits for a better offer and shows her the door by telling her she’ll never do anything of importance with her life anyway, Mika has a choice to make: keep searching for validation between the sheets or go back to college and prove she’s capable of more.

Professor Jennifer Long loves her job and she’s really good at it. Unfortunately, it’s the only thing she has under control. Her unrewarding yo-yo dieting and her mom’s unending suggestion that she lose weight because no one will want her the way she is has killed not only her confidence, but any belief she’s sexy.

Mika’s struggling with her coursework, but she isn’t keen on admitting she needs help, even if it’s from the beautiful Professor Long. When Mika realizes Jennifer could also use some tutoring—of the hands-on erotic variety—they strike a deal to help each other. If only their perfect sexy arrangement wasn’t so dangerous for their hearts.

Available at:

The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding

Seventeen, fashion-obsessed, and gay, Abby Ives has always been content playing the sidekick in other people’s lives. While her friends and sister have plunged headfirst into the world of dating and romances, Abby’s been happy to focus on her plus-size style blog and her dreams of taking the fashion industry by storm. When she lands a great internship at her favorite boutique, she’s thrilled to take the first step toward her dream career. Then she falls for her fellow intern, Jordi Perez. Hard. And now she’s competing against the girl she’s kissing to win the coveted paid job at the end of the internship.

But really, nothing this summer is going as planned. She also unwittingly becomes friends with Jax, a lacrosseplaying bro-type who wants her help finding the best burger in Los Angeles, and she’s struggling to prove to her mother—the city’s celebrity health nut—that she’s perfectly content with who she is.

Just as Abby starts to feel like she’s no longer the sidekick in her own life, Jordi’s photography surprisingly puts her in the spotlight. Instead of feeling like she’s landed a starring role, Abby feels betrayed. Can Abby find a way to reconcile her positive yet private sense of self with the image others have of her?

Available at:

Leave a comment

Leave a comment and let us know which book you’ll be reading for the “sapphic body-positive book” category!

The post Sapphic body-positive books (Sapphic Reading Challenge #32) appeared first on Jae.

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Published on August 19, 2021 02:00

August 12, 2021

Sapphic friends-to-lovers romance novels (Sapphic Reading Challenge #31)

This week’s Sapphic Reading Challenge post features sapphic friends-to-lovers romance novels.

For some reason, there are not a lot of true friends-to-lovers romances out there, which is weird, because so many same-sex couples start out as friends (85%, according to a study I recently read!).

Important definition: In a friends-to-lovers romance, the two main characters are already friends (sometimes best friends or childhood friends) at the beginning of the book. If they are strangers who meet at the beginning of the book, then become friends before becoming lovers, it’s not a friends-to-lovers romance in the narrower sense of the word.

Coming soon: Two free friends-to-lovers short stories for you

I have written two friends-to-lovers short stories that I’ll make available for free for you soon. One is a mini sequel to my recently published friends-to-lovers romance Chemistry Lessons, while the other is a standalone short story romance about two friends who fall in love. The first one, “The Principal’s Office,” will be available for download this weekend. If you’d like me to send it to your in-box, make sure you sign up to my newsletter.

Read up on the rules of the Sapphic Reading Challenge

15 sapphic friends-to-lovers romance novels

I put together a list of 15 sapphic friends-to-lovers romances. I hope you find at least one you’ll enjoy.

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?

Available at:

Painted Over by Sofi Keren

Is the unexpected reunion of estranged friends just another still life capturing a moment in time? Or could it be the beginning brushstrokes of a romantic masterpiece?

Back in the day, Paige and Ria were the best of friends. As they grew, they grew closer, always there for each other, even as Paige concentrated on literature and art while Ria cut a swath through every soccer field—and most of the cheerleaders. But something shocking happened during their senior year of college that ended their friendship. Big time.

In the years that follow, Paige becomes a successful artist and Ria a star soccer player. A chance meeting with Ria after all this time has Paige wondering if it’s finally time to forgive and forget. As the two become cautiously reacquainted, the possibility of a true reconciliation is complicated by the arrival of glamorous gallery owner, Cara, who definitely wants Paige’s work…and maybe something more. Then there’s the return of Ria’s gorgeous ex, Elena, who has a mind-blowing surprise for Paige.

Available at:

You, Me, U.S. by Brigitte Bautista

Best friends Jo and Liza are as opposite as night and day. Sex worker Jo swears by the worry-free, one-day-at-a-time dance through life. Salesclerk Liza has big plans for her family’s future, and there is nothing bigger than a one-way trip to the U.S.

But an almost-kiss, a sex dare, and news of Liza’s engagement to her American boyfriend unveil feelings Jo and Liza never thought they had. Deciding between staying together and drifting apart puts Liza’s best-laid plans and Jo’s laidback life in jeopardy.

When love clashes with lifelong ambitions and family expectations, someone has to give in.

Question is: who?

Available at:

Always Alex by Robin Alexander

Dana Castilaw grew up tossing coins in a well, hoping her wishes would come true, but the candy fountain, puppy, and love never seemed to manifest. At eighteen, she left her hometown of Barbier Point, Louisiana, longing to be free of her father’s chokehold on her life and with a heart full of dreams she hoped would come true. Years later, she is forced to return home with at least one granted wish—her daughter, Sydney.

Alex Soileau stood at Dana’s side for years tossing her coins into the well, making the same wish each time, a secret plea that she refused to reveal even to her best friend. Time and maturity insisted that she give up on her one fervent desire, but her heart never would.

Reunited as adults, both women realize that maybe there was magic in the well after all.

Available at:

Just My Luck by Andrea Bramhall

Genna Collins works a dead end job, loves her family, her girlfriend, and her friends. When she wins the biggest Euromillions jackpot on record everything changes…and not always for the best.

When Abi Kitson fell in love she always knew it would go unrequited. The woman of her dreams was so close yet seemingly untouchable for so many reasons. Reasons like – they are best friends, or the big age gap, or the ‘other’ woman, nevermind Abi’s own baggage.

And even when those reasons crumble it seems luck just isn’t on her side.

It’s a learning curve for both of them. But what if money really can’t buy you everything you want? What if the answers aren’t hidden in a big, fat bank balance? What if happiness is right in front of them? They just have to reach out…

Available at:

Hairpin Curves by Elia Winter

Megan Harris had hopes of seeing the world, but at twenty-five she’s never even left Florida. Now a wedding invitation lures her to Quebec…in February. When her ex-friend Scarlett offers to be her plus-one (yeah, that’s a whole story) and suggests they turn the journey into an epic road trip, Megan reluctantly agrees to the biggest adventure of her life.

A week together in a car is a surefire way to kill a crush, and Scarlett Andrews has had a big one on Megan for years. The important thing is fixing their friendship.

As the miles roll away, what starts as harmless road-trip games and rest-stop dares escalates into something like intimacy. And when a surprise snowstorm forces Megan and Scarlett to hunker down without the open road as distraction, they’ve got a bigger challenge than making it to the church on time: facing the true nature of their feelings for each other.

Available at:

Just Three Words by Melissa Brayden

Sometimes the one you want is the one you least suspect…Accountant Samantha Ennis craves order and structure. As the bookkeeper at the boutique advertising agency she owns with her three best friends, it’s her job to apply logic to the chaos.

When one of those best friends, laid back Hunter Blair, moves in to share her loft apartment, Sam’s carefully organized world is thrown wildly askew. Hunter Blair’s been the coolest one in the room since elementary school. Until recently, her biggest worry in the world was which of the girls in her cell phone to call on a Saturday night. But it’s not long before Samantha sparks a fire in Hunter that has her questioning her old habits and longing for new ones.

Isn’t it a bad idea to fall for one of your best friends? Samantha and Hunter are about to find out.

Available at:

Snow Globe by Georgia Beers

Mackenzie Campbell has no idea her life is about to fall apart. She’s bright and attractive with a good job, a comfortable home and an impending Christmas wedding she’s been planning for months. So when her girlfriend bails less than two weeks before the nuptials, Kenzie’s picture perfect Christmas world begins to crumble around her.

Determined to hold on to at least some shred of her dignity, Kenzie snags her best friend, Allison, and flees the cold of the Northeast to take the honeymoon anyway. The Rainbow’s Edge is an enormous LGBT resort in Southern Florida, and its atmosphere of sun and fun seems to be just what Kenzie needs to help take her mind off of her lost relationship. But can a few hot dances, a mysterious suitor, and a handful of rum runners help her figure out what it is she really wants?

Available at:

The Goodmans by Clare Ashton

The lovely doctor Abby Hart lives in her dream cottage in the quintessential English border town of Ludbury, home to the Goodmans.

Maggie Goodman, all fire and passion, is like another mother to her, amiable Richard a rock and 60s-child Celia is the grandmother she never had.

But Abby has a secret. Best friend Jude Goodman is the love of her life, and very, very straight. Even if Jude had ever given a woman a second glance, there’d also be the small problem of Maggie – she would definitely not approve.

But secrets have a habit of sneaking out, and Abby’s not the only one with something to hide. Life is just about to get very interesting for the Goodmans.

Things are not what they used to be, but could they be even better?

Available at:

All the Wrong Places by Karin Kallmaker

Brandy Monsoon is looking for love. Since there’s never a shortage of casual playmates at the tropical resort where she works, most of the time she gets it, too. And if Brandy tires of the perpetually curious—but primarily straight—women, there’s always her best friend Tess for a friendly encounter.

When an all-lesbian tour group arrives for a week, Brandy is sure she’ll be in paradise on earth. Among the guests is lesbian celebrity comic Celine Griffin, who has an obvious interest in an after-dinner Brandy. Celine and Brandy do find explosive pleasure together,—so why does Brandy feel as if that’s no longer enough for happiness?

With days and nights so delicious…who cares about tomorrow?

Available at:

Big Girl Pill by KD Williamson

Maya Davis is done hiding. It’s left her empty and out of touch with her family. Now she’s a young woman on a mission: getting rid of residual feelings for her former best friend from college. Her plan is to put herself through a wringer by being in Nina’s upcoming wedding and burning away whatever emotions are left, so she can start anew. Her plan, however, has big holes, and everything she’s been feeling rushes through and leaves her thinking that this was a bad idea.

Nina Sterling is a work in progress, torn between being two very different things—the person others expect her to be and who she wants to become. For the past couple of years, it’s been easier to give in toher demanding, steamroller of a mother and her pleasant but controlling fiancé, but with Maya’s return for a lengthy stay in town, and encouragement from Nina’s hilarious cousin, seeds of rebellion are sown.

As Maya and Nina try to patch up the past and get closer, old sparks rekindle, and as they both grow into who they are meant to be, those sparks might just become a fire.

Available at:

Lucky Loser by Yolanda Wallace

In the high stakes world of women’s tennis, love means nothing. Or at least that’s how Sinjin Smythe sees it. Then she begins to fall for her friend and former doubles partner Laure Fortescue. Having had her heart broken by one player, Sinjin isn’t willing to have it happen again. The talented but oft-injured Brit enters Wimbledon fighting her feelings—and struggling to resurrect her career.

Laure Fortescue has fame, fortune, and a ranking inside the top ten. She has everything she ever wanted. Everything except Sinjin Smythe. As a rule, Laure doesn’t date other players. A rule she would gladly break if it means winning Sinjin’s heart.

Both women reach Wimbledon desperate to claim tennis’s crown jewel—Sinjin because it would be her greatest victory, Laure because it could be her last.

Where does love fit in a game that only one can win?

Available at:

Capturing Jessica by Jane Hardee

Michael, an up-and-coming hyperrealist sculptor from Atlanta, Georgia, is about to get her big break. An expert at carving the female form, she owes much of her success to her muse, best friend, Jess. Michael has been in love with Jess for years but treasures their friendship too much to risk it for uncertain romance.

Jess, a special education teacher, values Michael’s friendship above everything else in her life. Can one passionate kiss change everything she thought she felt about Michael? Can Michael make the choice between a dear, lifelong friendship and capturing Jessica?

Available at:

Firebird by Savannah Swan

Since her grandparents died, wildlife rehabber Reese Greeley became a hermit with only wild animals and her dog, Cocoa, for company. Juggling the care of dozens of injured and sick creatures in her barn, she’s forged a simple, if lonely, life for herself. Everything changes when her former best friend returns to town with a Purple Heart and a horrific story.

Jean Jardine left Big Woods for the Air Force Academy so she could escape her late father’s abuse. After a harrowing and widely-publicized experience in the Middle East, she’s back, but she’s not the same person she used to be. Hindered by pain and PTSD, she can only see a bleak and solitary future for herself. But when she finds an injured hawk in her backyard, she crosses paths with her best friend from high school.

Jean starts helping Reese with the animals, and the two friends rediscover the rapport they once had—as well as the fact that they’re both into women. But when more hawks are found injured and a wildfire threatens the barn, Jean finds she has to overcome her fears to save the animals. Will Reese be able to help her fly again?

Available at:

Learning to Swim by KJ

What do you do when your world flips upside down? You take a wild ride with your best friend, fall in love with the person you least expected, and find out that sometimes, instead of drowning, you learn to swim.

Meet Andrea. She’s an executive accountant. Her two best friends, Lauren and Hanna, tease her about being a workaholic, but she doesn’t deny it. Andrea likes to think she’s got a handle on all aspects of her life, but she doesn’t really. For example, Andrea has no idea that Lauren has been in love with her for six years. Andrea has no idea that her life is about to implode when her mum is rushed to hospital. Andrea has no idea that there are moves afoot at work to destabilise her world. Andrea has no idea about any of this and it takes a life changing experience and falling in love with the one who’s been right in front of her the whole time to stop her from drowning. Andrea discovers that changing your life is a little like learning to swim.

Available at:

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Leave a comment and let us know which book you’ll be reading for the “sapphic friends-to-lovers romance novels” category!

The post Sapphic friends-to-lovers romance novels (Sapphic Reading Challenge #31) appeared first on Jae.

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Published on August 12, 2021 00:00

August 5, 2021

Sapphic mystery novels (Sapphic Reading Challenge #30)

This week’s Sapphic Reading Challenge features sapphic mystery novels–a novel in which the plot revolves around a murder or another crime that needs to be solved.

Mystery novels with a queer female crime-solving badass have a strong tradition. Even before I discovered romance novels between women, I was reading mainstream-published books featuring lesbian detectives such as the Kate Martinelli series by Laurie King and the Kate Delafield series by Katherine V. Forrest or private investigators such as the Lauren Laurano series by Sandra Scoppettone.

I’ve included some of these classics along with more recently published mystery novels.

Read up on the rules of the Sapphic Reading Challenge

15 sapphic mystery novels

I put together a list of 15 mystery novels with a sapphic main character. I hope you enjoy them!

Amateur City (Kate Delafield Series #1) by Katherine V. Forrest

Tough and demanding LAPD Detective Kate Delafield is the leader of the investigation into a highrise office building murder. The case is intriguing but routine – until Kate interviews the only witness, Ellen O’Neil.

When Ellen O’Neil took her new job over the objections of her lover, she wasn’t expecting to become embroiled in murder. The curiosity that Kate Delafield rouses is equally unexpected. But it is never far from Ellen’s mind that she is merely a name on an interview sheet to the tight-lipped detective.

Kate’s thin trail of clues are enough to convince her that she is looking for an amateur, and amateurs are notoriously unpredictable and dangerous. She finds her path increasingly intersecting with that of Ellen O’Neil, who is proving unpredictable and dangerous in a far more personal way.

Available at:

Keeping Secrets (A Mimi Patterson/Gianna Maglione Mystery #1) by Penny Mickelbury

Someone is murdering wealthy, married–and deeply closeted gay people in their own automobiles while parked in deserted parking lots in Washington, DC. Someone the victims allowed into their cars late at night. Someone who knows their most guarded and protected secret. Five murders so far on the same day of the month.

Police Lieutenant Gianna Maglione, head of the DC Police Department’s Hate Crimes Unit, has a month to find and stop the killer or she’ll find Body #6. But she has another problem in ace newspaper reporter Mimi Patterson, who thinks the public, especially the gay public, has a right to know that a serial killer is on the prowl.Until Mimi, Gianna had managed to keep the murders a secret.

A newspaper story would create a sensation and most likely drive the killer underground. They clash, the reporter and the cop, but only in public. Their private attraction to each other is as dangerous to them as, well, as a serial killer. Secrets=Death, and almost everybody has at least one. Including cops and reporters.

Available at:

Death by the Riverside (Micky Knight Mysteries Book 1) by J.M. Redmann

Among the moss-covered trees and wrought-iron balustrades of southern Louisiana, Detective Michele Knight (Micky to her friends) takes on the seemingly simple job of shooting a few photos for a client, but the going gets rough as Micky finds herself slugging through thugs and slogging through swamps in an attempt to expose a dangerous drug ring.

The trail leads to the Hundred Oaks Plantation, a transvestite named Eddie, a beautiful doctor named Cordelia, and memories Micky thought she had buried twenty years ago.

Available at:

Hallowed Murder (Jane Lawless Mystery #1) by Ellen Hart

It’s almost winter in Minnesota. As the icy cold begins to grip the Twin Cities, restaurant owner, Jane Lawless, and her eccentric sidekick, Cordelia Thorn, are caught up in a spiraling chain of events centering on the university sorority, Kappa Alpha Sigma.

Allison Lord, a popular sorority member with a secret, is killed and the murderer continues to stalk the house amid charges of theft, lesbianism and religious intolerance.

Available at:

Addict (The Cassie Tam Files #1) by Matt Doyle

New Hopeland was built to be the centre of the technological age, but like everywhere else, it has its dark side. Assassins, drug dealers and crooked businessmen form a vital part of the city’s make-up, and sometimes, the police are in too deep themselves to be effective. But hey, there are always other options …

For P.I. Cassie Tam, business has been slow. So, when she’s hired to investigate the death of a local VR addict named Eddie Redwood, she thinks it’ll be easy money. All she has to do is prove to the deceased’s sister Lori that the local P.D. were right to call it an accidental overdose. The more she digs though, the more things don’t seem to sit right, and soon, Cassie finds herself knee deep in a murder investigation. But that’s just the start of her problems.

When the case forces Cassie to make contact with her drug dealing ex-girlfriend, Charlie Goldman, she’s left with a whole lot of long buried personal issues to deal with. Then there’s her client. Lori Redwood is a Tech Shifter, someone who uses a metal exoskeleton to roleplay as an animal. Cassie isn’t one to judge, but the Tech Shifting community has always left her a bit nervous. That wouldn’t be a problem if Lori wasn’t fast becoming the first person that she’s been genuinely attracted to since splitting with Charlie. Oh, and then there’s the small matter of the police wanting her to back off the case.

Easy money, huh? Yeah, right.

Available at:

Steel City Confidential (Steel City Series #1) by Anne Hagan

Clients hide things from their lawyers all the time. Pam Wilson makes it an art form.

Pam’s been on the run from the law for years and she was getting away with it. The statute of limitations ran out on most of her crimes. For her spouse Charlotte? Not so much. Though they were aging, they looked forward to enjoying their golden years and, hopefully, forgetting about the past.

Life got complicated when Charlotte became gravely ill, their daughter got pregnant with the child of a married man…a married man someone took shots at from a rare motorcycle Pam happens to own. When the man was shot again and killed in his office at Pitt a couple of weeks later, the police found all signs pointing to Pam.

Rochelle ‘Ro’ Rabinowitz, a second-generation Pittsburgh lawyer, and her little firm take on Pam’s case pro-bono. Ro thinks it’s a slam dunk for the defense and hands the case off to her new associate and – she hopes – her future partner in the firm, Dominique, to get her feet wet in a courtroom. Clients are never completely honest with their lawyers and Ro and Dominque soon learn this one is no exception.

Slam dunk? More like a pipe dream…

Available at:

Collide-O-Scope (Norfolk Coast Investigation #1) by Andrea Bramhall

An unidentified woman is found murdered on the North Norfolk Coastal Path and newly promoted Detective Sergeant Kate Brannon and Kings Lynn’s CID have the task of figuring out whom, how, and why. A job that’s made more difficult when everyone of the forty residents in the village has something to hide and answers her questions with a string of lies.

Georgina Temple has her own secrets to keep, and her own reasons to keep them. But her growing attraction to Kate makes it increasingly difficult to keep them.

Kate’s investigation into the woman’s death delves into the heart of the tiny fishing village where nothing and no one is quite what they seem.

Available at:

Left Field (Lillian Byrd Crime Series #5) by Elizabeth Sims

Lillian Byrd has been searching her soul after the gut-wrenching experience of killing someone in self-defense. Scrabbling to make ends meet, she takes a job as a quasi detective, solving life’s little mysteries for a pair of eccentric women in one of Detroit’s last prestigious neighborhoods. When she spots a corpse on the next-door lawn, she jumps back into honest work as an investigative journalist.

Her friend Mercedes reveals that the dead woman, Abby Rawson, played on a women’s softball team she manages and pressures Lillian into taking her spot. Softball turns to hardball when Lillian not only plunges into a love affair with the team’s sought-after pitcher but also goes undercover as an exterminator, a squatter, and a charity worker to investigate Abby’s death and the corrupt medical organization she worked for. No one on the team is above suspicion, and as they get closer to snagging the coveted championship title—and Lillian gets closer to discovering the dark truth behind Abby’s murder—she fights to keep her new love in her life and literally save her own.

Available at:

A Message in Blood (Chiara Corelli Mystery #3) by Catherine Maiorisi

A middle-of-the night phone call summons NYPD Detective Chiara Corelli and her partner, Detective P.J. Parker, to a politically sensitive murder scene. The victims—a U.S. Senator, the pastor of a mega church, and a self-made music industry billionaire—appear to have been killed during a sex orgy.

Pressure is mounting to cover up the circumstances. But Corelli and Parker are enraged by the words scrawled in blood on a mirror, and their hearts are broken by what they find hidden in a closet. Now the partners vow to find the killer and expose the unsavory lives of these men while seeking justice for the real victims in this case—the children.

Available at:

Blue (A Blue McCarron Mystery #1) by Abigail Padgett

Blue McCarron has a Ph.D. in social psychology. She teaches and writes while living reclusively in an abandoned motel in the middle of the California desert with her Doberman, Bronte. A minister’s kid, she has an imprisoned felon for a twin and a broken heart from grieving over her lost lover, Misha.

When a body is found trussed up in a public freezer and widow Muffin Crandall claims she killed an intruder in self-defense and then did some dumb things, including freezing the corpse for five years, Muffin’s brother Dan hires Blue to free his much older sister by analyzing her.

It is apparent to Blue and forensic psychiatrist Rox that Muffin’s story is a hoax. But who is Muffin protecting? Who wants her dead? And, maybe more important, will Blue ever resolve her love for Misha and love again?

Available at:

Bywater Books

Dying on the Vine (An Ari Adams Mystery) by Ann Roberts

When Ari Adams journeys to Oregon’s wine country with best pal Jane Frank, she envisions sipping pinot noir on a gorgeous deck and staring at the sunsets across the Willamette Valley.

But then they arrive at Sisters Cellars only to find that the sommelier, Dion Demopolous, has been murdered. Dion had been favored to win the Master Sommelier title at the world’s most prestigious wine competition, and now more than a few people are happy to see him gone.

Mina Sommer, Jane’s childhood friend and the owner of Sisters Cellars, asks Ari to investigate. Ari’s romantic assumptions are quickly shattered as she delves into the cutthroat world of winemaking—where suspicion is routine, reputation is coveted, and passion for the drink of goddesses and queens is just another motive for murder.

Available at:

Payback by Charlotte Mills

Detective Constable Kate Wolfe is sent to a Cheshire backwater after falling foul of a disciplinary hearing in London. But before she even has a chance to settle in, Kate finds herself in a situation there’s no coming back from. She’s reported as a troublemaker to her new boss, Detective Chief Inspector Helen Taylor, a no-nonsense veteran who once had an esteemed, high-profile career.

The pair investigate a spate of arson attacks, a dead body found in a burnt out building, and a missing architect while fighting their growing attraction for each other. The discovery of a dumped vehicle in a quarry lake sparks a series of events that will change their lives forever.

Available at:

Gallows Humor by Carolyn Elizabeth

Corey Curtis is coasting. At thirty-three, she’s in the best shape of her life and has a satisfying position at Jackson City Memorial Hospital. With a good paycheck, great friends, and occasional relationships with smart, beautiful women, she couldn’t be happier. She thinks.

Dr. Thayer Reynolds, whiling away some time before the start of her Emergency Department fellowship at JCMH and intrigued by the stories she’s heard, crashes the morgue to get a look at Corey—the woman her young colleagues are whispering about.

Totally spinning from her first interactions with Thayer, Corey throws herself into the post mortem exam of a construction worker who fell to his death, which isn’t at all suspicious—until it is. With no support from her boss or the police, Corey investigates the death on her own. Making bad decisions with good intentions, she recklessly endangers her own life and Thayer’s. Even worse—she potentially dooms any chance of a real relationship with Thayer before it even gets started.

Available at:

Criminal Gold (Cantor Gold Crime Series #1) by Ann Aptaker

Midnight, New York Harbor, 1949. Cantor Gold, dapper dyke-about-town, smuggler of fine art, waits in her boat under the Brooklyn Bridge for racketeer Gregory Ortine. In the shadow of the bridge, he’ll toss Cantor a satchel of cash, and she’ll toss him a pouch containing a priceless jewel.

But the plan, and the jewel, sink when a woman in a red sequined dress drops from the bridge and slams onto Cantor’s boat. She is Opal Shaw, Society Page darling and fiancée of murder-for-hire kingpin Sig Loreale.

Through a night of danger, desire, and double-cross, Cantor must satisfy Loreale’s vengeance, stay ahead of an angry Ortine, and untangle the knots of murder tightening around Opal’s best friend and keeper of her dirty secrets, Celeste Copley, a seductress who excites Cantor’s passion but snares her in a labyrinth of lies. The lies explode in a collision of love, loyalty, lust…and death.

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Rainey Days (A Rainey Bell Thriller #1) by R.E. Bradshaw

Special Agent Rainey Bell is on medical leave and has been for over a year, after a horrific attack left her scarred both inside and out. She drinks too much and hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in months.

On a hung-over morning, in June, a request for help from an old friend plunges Rainey back into the world of stalkers, rapist, and serial killers. The next thirteen days will change Rainey’s life forever, if she survives. On top of all that, the woman she is supposed to protect brings out feelings Rainey didn’t know she had.

Thrown together, by a bizarre series of events, they learn to depend on each other for survival.

Available at:

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Leave a comment and let us know which book you’ll be reading for the “sapphic mystery novels” category!

The post Sapphic mystery novels (Sapphic Reading Challenge #30) appeared first on Jae.

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Published on August 05, 2021 00:00

July 29, 2021

Book starts with the first day of a new job (Sapphic Reading Challenge #29)

This week’s Sapphic Reading Challenge features sapphic books that start with the first day of a new job.

For the book to count for this category, pick a novel in which the main character starts a new job within the first three chapters.

Read up on the rules of the Sapphic Reading Challenge

15 sapphic books that start with the first day of a new job

I put together a list of 15 sapphic books that start on the first day of a new job for the main character. I hope you find at least one you’ll enjoy.

Under a Falling Star by Jae

Falling stars are supposed to be a lucky sign, but not for Austen. Her new job as a secretary in an international games company isn’t off to a good start. Her first assignment—decorating the Christmas tree in the lobby—results in a trip to the ER after Dee, the company’s second-in-command, gets hit by the star-shaped tree topper.

Dee blames her instant attraction to Austen on her head wound, not the magic of the falling star. She’s determined not to act on it, especially since Austen has no idea that Dee is practically her boss.

Available at:

Irregular Heartbeat by Chris Zett

After nearly a decade as a professional drummer, Diana Petrell leaves her rock-star life behind to continue her residency in emergency medicine. She’s determined not to let anything stop her—not even falling in love with her aloof mentor, Dr. Emily Barnes.

Emily has only ever focused on her career as a senior attending in the emergency department, and she isn’t happy about having to babysit a resident with a ten-year gap in her résumé, no matter how intriguing she is.

But every time they work together, it’s not just their patients’ heartbeat that gets a little irregular. Soon, the once-clear lines between work and personal life begin to blur.

When Diana’s unorthodox secret past is revealed, putting her job in jeopardy, Emily has to choose between her career and her relationship.

A lesbian romance that asks how much we’d risk for love.

Available at:

Perfect Timing by Dena Blake

Lynn Monroe is finally living life on her terms. The niece she raised as her own has finished medical school and started an internship, and she’s healing from a painful divorce that was long overdue. But when she runs into a ghost from her past, the stable life she’s worked so hard to build begins to crumble.

Dr. Maggie Randall is focused, driven, and in love with her best friend’s aunt. When she unexpectedly bumps into Lynn it’s like no time has passed. She’s sure it’s a sign they’re meant to be. But all Maggie ever wanted in life is to raise children, and Lynn’s not ready to start a second family.

The choice between love and family has never been so difficult, and different visions of the future may end their romance before it’s begun.

Available at:

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.

Available at:

The Bartender’s Pride by TJ Dallas

Lara’s world is turned upside down when her boyfriend cheats on her with her best friend and she’s forced to move to a new city.

Desperate for money, she lands a job in an LGBT nightclub, but her racing heart and inappropriate thoughts about the club’s owner, Harry, must have everything to do with the stress she’s under. She’s not gay.

There’s something about Harry. She’s stunning, cocky, and looks far too good in a shirt and tie, ignoring the fact she’s telepathic and can read Lara’s emotions like a book. Harry is one of seven managers at the Cardinal, and she has a set of skills that can help Lara, but she has to manage her own feelings about three of the other managers in the meantime—Lust, Gluttony, and Envy.

When things go downhill for Lara, can Harry ultimately make her proud of who she is without admitting their deadly secret? Or will Lara’s shame, depression, and her homophobic parents, lead her down a path of destruction?

Available at:

Whatever Gods May Be by Sophia Kell Hagin

Jamie Gwynmorgan doesn’t believe in prayer. She doesn’t believe in anything much. Except that people can’t be trusted—certainly not anyone she’s ever met.

But Jamie knows some things. From experience. She knows if she died, nobody would give a damn. Nobody would even notice. She knows the better she can fight, the safer she’ll be. That’s why she can’t resist the sleek, dark lethality of the weapon—and the recruiter’s promise that yes, if she’s strong enough, good enough, she’ll get to fire that weapon in combat. She doesn’t care about the uniform. And screw the pretend-camaraderie. Only Safe matters—and if she can do combat, then maybe she can fight her way to Safe.

Jamie expects a grueling fight that she might lose. What she never expects is to win love.

Available at:

Heartlines by Simonetta Pastorini

Dianna Laydon is an actress starring in one of TV’s top series, Treasure Hunt, but she has never gotten used to fame. In her heart, she’s still the simple Southern girl who had moved to Los Angeles years ago to make her dream come true. She’s also a control freak, a play-by-the-book kind of girl, and a totally rational person.

Her life, though, is turned upside down when a new actress is cast as a recurring character in Treasure Hunt.

Vivien Reese has spent her whole life under the spotlights, being the wild daughter of a renowned British director, and a famous actress herself since she was just eighteen years old. With her party girl reputation and her go-with-the-flow attitude, she seems Dianna’s polar opposite, so when the two girls meet sparks start flying, and not necessarily in a good way.

But as they work together and they get to know each other, they discover that they might be more similar than they had initially thought, and more importantly, they’re terribly drawn to each other.

Available at:

Lucky in Love by Cara Malone

Jules Wakefield’s family has rescued rabbits for decades, but with her parents gone and her veterinary practice demanding all her time, Jules desperately needs a successor. She decides to run an essay contest – the winner must love bunnies.

Parker Rose is exactly who Jules is looking for – warm, smart, not afraid to get her hands dirty, and a gorgeous country girl to boot. She’s the answer to Jules’ prayers… and a few unspoken fantasies, too.

Summer days at the rescue turn into autumn nights of passion, but when Jules finds out that Parker’s been keeping a secret, her problems start multiplying again like rabbits.

One little lie has the power to tear everything apart, but what if it leads her home, to a fur-ever kind of love?

Available at:

A Road Through Mountains (Love’s Encore Book 1) by Miranda MacLeod

When Cecily Parker volunteers backstage at the Oakwood Theater, the only thing she wants is a few hours of relief from the doldrums of her upper class suburban existence. The last thing she expects is to be reunited with the only person she ever truly loved, a woman she left behind almost twenty years ago.

Rorie Mulloy has built a career as an award winning production designer in Hollywood, but her personal life is anything but a success. When she agrees to design the sets for a community theater production of A Streetcar Named Desire in Connecticut, she has no idea that the woman who broke her heart and ruined her for love will be assigned to her crew.

As the sparks are rekindled between them, these star-crossed lovers just might have a second chance at a life together. But only if they can overcome the ghosts of their past, and survive the evil suburban soccer moms and reality television divas determined to keep them from their happily ever after.

Available at:

Prescription for Love by Radclyffe

Flannery Rivers is content to let her sister Harper carry on the family dynasty—at the Rivers hospital where they both work and on the home front. Now that Harper is settled and soon to be happily married, Flannery can ease back into her life of casual flirtations and find all the excitement she needs in the ER. She’s even got her next playmate all lined up, or so she thinks.

Abigail Remy is a city girl who accepts a position at the imperiled country hospital in the hope of finding a stable, safe community for her teenaged trans son. Unfortunately, when she arrives to work, she discovers the current ER chief is less than happy to be replaced by a fresh-out-of-residency newcomer.

Add unexpected attraction to the incendiary mix of city and country, fire and ice, tradition and change—and the prescription is combustible.

Available at:

The Music and the Mirror by Lola Keeley

Anna is the newest member of an elite ballet company. Her first class with her mysterious idol, Victoria, almost ruins her career before it starts. When she shows she might be a potential star, Victoria chooses Anna to launch a new season around.

Now Anna must face down jealousy, sabotage, and injury, not to mention navigate the circus of friends and lovers within the company. The pressure builds as she knows she must pour everything she has into opening night and prove to her rivals and herself that Victoria’s faith in her is not misplaced.

In the process, Anna discovers that she and the daring, beautiful Victoria have a lot more than a talent for ballet in common, and that not every thrilling dance can be found on stage.

Available at:

Hunter’s Way by Gerri Hill

Homicide detective Tori Hunter was used to doing things her way. But even after six different partners in seven years, she was not prepared for the hot-tempered Samantha Kennedy.

Samantha, on the other hand, was trying to juggle a new job, a demanding boyfriend, and now finds herself with an even greater challenge — being partnered with the most difficult detective in the entire squad.

After a brief terrorist scare disrupts their serial killer investigation, the two women find themselves growing closer. Sam begins to question the relationship with her longtime boyfriend, and Tori, never one to allow anyone to get too close, begins to feel her defenses slipping in Sam’s presence.

A serial killer and drug deals gone bad; the two detectives struggle with their feelings, trying to maintain their professional relationship while keeping their nearly flammable physical relationship in check.

Available at:

Turbulence by EJ Noyes

Stockbroker Isabelle Rhodes has a lot of money, a lot of trust issues, and a whole lot of reasons to believe her ex-girlfriend was right when she said that Isabelle sucked at relationships. With that accusation stuck in her head, Isabelle throws caution to the wind and dives into her first one-night stand. Checking that off her bucket list should be something to celebrate—except it turns out that the woman she just spent an earth-shattering night with is actually her newly hired company pilot, Audrey Graham.

Ms. Never-See-You-Again just turned into Ms. See-You-Constantly.

Concerned about the stigma of workplace dalliances, Isabelle vows it can’t go further than the one night. Good plan—if not for an insistent libido and an even more persistent Audrey who conspires to break Isabelle’s resolve. Soon their no strings arrangement starts to feel a lot like dating, and Isabelle finds herself wanting more than just casual nights together…

Available at:

Comrade Cowgirl by Yolanda Wallace

For cattle rancher Laramie Bowman, family always comes first. After her brother is injured in a rodeo accident, she accepts a lucrative position in remote Godoroye, Russia, to help pay his medical bills. When she meets the woman assigned to be her interpreter, however, her heart might end up getting lost in translation.

Anastasia Petrova would prefer to remain on the front lines of the seemingly futile fight for gay rights in her conservative homeland, but dwindling finances force her to leave Moscow to take a full-time job working as a translator for a pair of American trainers on a start-up cattle ranch. If she comes out to her new coworkers, she could lose the job she so desperately needs. But when she meets gorgeous cowgirl Laramie, how can she possibly deny her feelings?

Available at:

Cowgirl 101 by Laina Villeneuve

What Jo Harding loves most about the summer is being able to retreat from annoying humans. Though her friends say she’d be happier with someone sleeping by her side, she insists that all she needs to be happy are her mules, her dog, and a trail into the backcountry. She has absolutely no time to teach the incompetent, if attractive, newcomer.

Daisy Lucero is an eager student from the start. Hired for work in the café, her real dream is to explore the High Sierra wilderness on horseback. While she would love to earn the respect of the handsome woman who inspired her adventure, she may have to settle for pestering her with songs and questions.

In the vast classroom of the California wilderness, each woman finds herself tested. Tests of perseverance for Daisy as she learns to ride, and tests of patience as Jo considers whether life is about more than riding alone.

It doesn’t take either of them long, however, to realize that neither one of them needs a lesson in chemistry.

Available at:

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Published on July 29, 2021 01:06

July 22, 2021

Character rocks a power suit (Sapphic Reading Challenge #28)

This week’s Sapphic Reading Challenge features books with a main character who rocks a power suit.

Nowadays, women’s business attire is a little more casual and leaves room for individuality, but if the main character works in certain professions–as a lawyer, CEO, executive, or politician, for example–she might still be regularly seen wearing a pantsuit or a skirt suit, looking self-assured and in control.

Read up on the rules of the Sapphic Reading Challenge

15 sapphic books featuring a character who rocks a power suit

I put together a list of 15 sapphic books featuring a character who rocks a power suit. I hope you find at least one you’ll enjoy.

Next of Kin by Jae

For years, ambitious Deputy District Attorney Kade Matheson has taken case files and law books, not lovers, to bed, ignoring her personal life in favor of her career. When she finds herself with a stalker, she tries to handle the situation the way she always does: on her own.

Lieutenant Del Vasquez has admired the standoffish lawyer for a while, and she’s determined to protect her at all costs.

When Kade’s stalker situation escalates and she and Del have to hide at her mother’s, Kade is finally forced to face her attraction to women for the very first time.

Suddenly, she’s no longer sure which one is more dangerous—the threat to her life or to her heart?

Available at:

Out of Practice by Carsen Taite

Attorney Abby Keane’s vacation is perfect, especially her steamy interlude with a beautiful stranger. But her newfound zen crumbles when her biggest client, a chain of bridal stores, leaves hundreds of brides without dresses. As if reentry isn’t bad enough, a new wedding blogger is doing her best to stoke the anger of the already unhappy brides, and has chosen Abby as the villain.

Roxanne Daly’s blog has finally hit the sweet spot, and her popularity is soaring. With a regular TV spot on the line, she’ll do whatever it takes to impress the network producers. Running point for a horde of angry brides against a hotshot lawyer seems like the perfect plan until her crusade collides with Abby, the woman she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about since she left her in a tropical paradise.

Available at:

Hotel Queens by Lee Winter

Over one long night at a bar in Las Vegas, two powerful hotel executives meet, flirt, and challenge each other—having no clue they’re rivals after the same dream deal.

Brilliant ice queen Amelia Duxton is a hotel vice president who thrives on control, truth, and efficiency. She’s in no mood for love or the mess it brings. All she wants is to buy the coveted Mayfair Palace—a massive deal that could finally help her land the CEO job in her family’s hotel empire.

Fiery Kai Fisher is charming and chaotic and renowned for closing ambitious deals. Her sights are set on snatching the Mayfair Palace out from under the nose of her hated arch rivals, the Duxton family.

But when secrets emerge and everything starts to fall apart, how can either of the warring women win—especially when they’ve just met their match?

Available at:

Uncommon Emotions by Lynn Galli

As a turnaround specialist, Joslyn Simonini spends her days analyzing corporate profit margins and trying to keep her likeness from being turned into a voodoo doll by company employees. If she does her job well, they often lose theirs. So, it comes as a surprise when she finds herself being kissed one day at work. She’s even more shocked to find out that the mysterious kissing bandit is a woman.

Not in the habit of kissing women, Joslyn tries to brush off the unintentional mistake. But before long, she’s forced to examine the rush of emotions that accompanied the kiss, especially when she meets Raven Malvolio. At first, she needs Raven to complete her analysis, but she doesn’t expect to need the friendship that Raven offers. When those friendly feelings escalate to something more, Joslyn’s confusion and underdeveloped emotional range might ruin her chance at a relationship that could surpass even her dreams.

Uncommon Emotions takes a look at how someone can think she’s happy with her life only to be surprised by the passion she’s yet to feel.

Available at:

If the Shoe Fits by EJ Noyes

Jana Fleischer loves her life—wonderful family, best sister in the world, awesome soon to be sister-in-law, fabulous job, and a never-ending stream of men to chew through and spit out. So what if everyone says she’s too picky and she’s never had a real relationship?

When a chance meeting with Brooke Donnelly leaves Jana literally and figuratively off-balance, it doesn’t take long for her initial annoyance to turn into the first sparks of friendship. Jana always thought she was happy with her life, but the more time she spends with Brooke, the more she realizes something is missing. And maybe not just in the friendship department.

But how do you make that leap when you’ve never even considered kissing a woman, and have spent your whole life avoiding romantic commitments? Being brave, taking the first step, and admitting she wants to try to make things work with

Brooke is only the beginning. Whether it’s the beginning of a disaster—or everything Jana hadn’t realized she wanted—depends on if Brooke can also be brave enough…

Available at:

Trial by Fury by KG MacGregor

When a coed is viciously assaulted on the campus of Harwood University, performance studies professor Celia Perone learns a brutal truth—star athletes can get away with whatever they want. Threatened with her job if she goes public, Celia pays a secret visit to celebrated women’s rights attorney Theodora Constantine.

Theo’s riding high after winning a very public sexual harassment claim against a cable news network. Next up for her firm is a class action suit that will strain her small staff. She can’t afford to get sidetracked by another case, but Celia won’t take no for an answer.

The case is compelling and so is Celia—so much that Theo finds herself falling hard. But before they can win love, they have to win justice.

Available at:

One Way Or Another by A.L. Brooks

Corporate lawyer Sarah Connolly keeps her love life simple—no strings, no complications, and definitely no falling in love. It works for her, even if it’s getting a little, well, boring.

Demure teacher Bethany Keane has been out of the dating pool for ages but is ready to dip her toe back in. She would love to be swept off her feet by some beautiful, romantic soul.

A chance encounter outside a sex shop in London draws the unlikely pair together and the attraction is immediate and powerful. But how can two people so different even connect, let alone fall in love? Can Ms. Wrong ever be right?

Available at:

A Heart This Big by Cheyenne Blue

Australian country girl Nina Pellegrini runs a program for city kids to experience a taste of rural life at Banksia Farm. But when a child is hurt and a lawsuit threatens, Nina is determined to find the best legal assistance to help her save the farm.

Enter high-flying lawyer Leigh Willoughby, whose city world is far from the farm’s chaotic mix of kids and animals. She certainly doesn’t have time for small cases that don’t pay or farm visits that wreck her cool—and her clothes.

Still, the warm-hearted Nina and her challenging, twelve-year-old daughter, Phoebe, are awfully hard to say no to. What on earth has she gotten herself into?

Available at:

The Love Factor by Quinn Ivins

Molly Cook is almost thirty, with dismal career prospects, and has given up on saving the world. It might be the nineties, and everything’s shoulder pads, Doc Martens, and The X-Files, but people won’t budge on gay rights. Molly decides to give a PhD a whirl but finds herself more interested in campus politics…and her strict and sexy statistics professor.

Professor Carmen Vaughn is stuck in small-town Maryland with smarmy blowhards for colleagues and ungrateful students who can’t handle her high standards. She has no intention of coming out, least of all to Molly, a troublemaking grad student who can’t stop picking fights with the conservative faculty.

But when Molly discovers evidence implicating a homophobic colleague in a scandal, Carmen can’t ignore it—even if the subject hits too close to home. As the two women work together to make their case, they grow closer than Carmen ever imagined. But she absolutely refuses to get involved with a student.

The thing is, as the chemistry builds between them, Molly isn’t sure she wants to be a grad student anymore…if she ever did.

Available at:

Don’t Let Go by Cynthia Dane & Hildred Billings

Rose Wu’s ordinary life as a concierge clerk was only meant to be a means to a financial end. Yet there is one resident in her high-rise luxury building who makes coming to work worth it.

Cindy Ling, the enigmatic businesswoman who always has a lady on her arm, also has a wink to spare the mild-mannered clerk looking her way.

When chance brings Rose up to Cindy’s penthouse suite, her life isn’t simply changed forever. It’s transformed.

From the moment she first sees her, Cindy knows that Rose is a font of endless potential. For a woman who has spent her whole life running away from a core part of her identity, taking Rose as a lover is not only the greatest escape, but Cindy’s best chance at reformatting her image as Taiwan’s foremost playgirl.

Except whenever Cindy makes such drastic changes to her life, she discovers that the old ghosts she attempts to lock away come hurtling back. Falling in love with Rose is a blessing and a curse from the very deity Cindy has held a grudge against since the tragic death of her father.

But Cindy knows they’re a match made in the stars. This time, she’ll overcome her inner demons.

Yet when Cindy is inevitably consumed, Rose persists. She’ll overcome her traditional family, her sheltered upbringing, and her insecurities if it means not only bringing Cindy out of the darkness, but reclaiming the world Rose knows they deserve to inhabit.

No matter how hard Cindy pushes her away, their carnal connection and fairy-tale romance are too pure to spoil. Rose has nothing to fear.

She won’t let go.

Available at:

Apple Book

You Matter by Jazzy Mitchell

A disgruntled former client attempts to kill Reggie Esposito, a senior law partner at Hawk, Esposito & Associates—a leading Boston law firm, after she loses his lawsuit. Chrissy Kramer, her paralegal, prevents him from shooting Reggie, but she is hurt in the process.

While Chrissy and her son, Ben, stay with Reggie to recuperate, their connection deepens, and they embark on a romantic relationship.

Available at:

Desert Palm Press

Too Close to Touch by Georgia Beers

Life gets complicated when love turns out to be nothing like you expected – and the woman you want is too close to touch. Gretchen Kaiser is a workaholic corporate honcho with issues – she’s got daddy issues, she’s got female-executive-in-a-man’s-world issues, and she’s got one night stand issues.

What she doesn’t have are love issues. She isn’t looking for it, she doesn’t feel she needs it, and she doesn’t expect to find it…certainly not right under her nose.

Kylie O’Brien is the kind of girl who believes in true love and is willing to wait until it shows up at her door. Her best friend Mick would sweep her off her feet given the chance, but Mick doesn’t make Kylie feel the way true love should. And now Kylie has to worry about her new boss – Gretchen Kaiser’s icy reserve makes life as her administrative assistant a challenge.

It doesn’t matter one damn bit that Gretchen is extremely attractive with a voice as rich and smooth as melted chocolate. It absolutely doesn’t…

Available at:

Getting Back by Cindy Rizzo

Elizabeth Morrison has ascended the ranks of her industry and now runs one of the most successful publishing companies in the US. But even after three decades, she has never been able to get past the devastating end of her relationship with the beautiful and brilliant Ruth Abramson. As Elizabeth approaches her 30th college reunion, she must face the woman who long ago acceded to the demands of her father, a famous Russian dissident, and married the young man who’d been chosen for her. It doesn’t make it any easier that Ruth, now divorced and living openly as a lesbian, is the class luncheon speaker.

As the two women face one another and attempt to reconcile their past, Elizabeth finds she must wrestle with a number of issues she has avoided confronting. And she must carefully decide whether she is more distrustful of Ruth or of herself. Is she headed for another fall with this woman? Or does she want to get close again, so she can be the one to walk away?

When it comes to reuniting with the love of your life, it’s not always easy to know the difference between getting back together and just getting back.

Available at:

Amazon
Apple Books

Climbing the Ladder by Amanda Radley

Chloe Dixon has landed her dream job, working for Europe’s top lesbian magazine: Honey.

The magazine, under the leadership of the impressive Helen Featherstone, shaped Chloe’s life and all she wants to do is give something back.

When she trusts the wrong person, she finds herself in the middle of a PR storm.

Join Chloe for her first week at Honey and experience the multiple office romances, unrequited crushes, and captivating characters that make up the Honey team. And find out if Chloe will survive her first week.

Available at:

Never Say Never by Rachael Sommers

Ambitious corporate shark Camila Evans might have just lost her marriage but she decides she doesn’t need love to build a television empire and raise her young son alone. What she does need is a nanny, but the incompetent idiots sent her way make her lose faith in ever finding anyone useful.

Enter Emily Walker—fresh out of college, bright, a little naive, and new to New York City. Emily is everything Camila is not and frankly it’s a little unsettling how innocent and gentle the young woman is.

That’s not all that’s unsettling. Camila’s growing feelings for Emily are making it hard to maintain a professional distance. Surely she can’t possibly be falling for the nanny? God, it’s such a mid-life crisis cliché. But would it be too impossible?

As time goes on, Camila starts to wonder if maybe even she can get her happy ending after all.

Available at:

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Leave a comment and let us know which book you’ll be reading for the “character rocks a power suit” category!

The post Character rocks a power suit (Sapphic Reading Challenge #28) appeared first on Jae.

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Published on July 22, 2021 00:00

July 16, 2021

Nonbinary character (Book Unicorn #7)

It’s Nonbinary Awareness Week, so what better time to celebrate books with nonbinary characters?

Nonbinary people still don’t get to see themselves represented in books, but there are some great books featuring nonbinary protagonists.

What does nonbinary mean?

Nonbinary is an umbrella term for gender identities that fall outside of the gender binary. Nonbinary people—sometimes called Enby (from NB)—don’t identify as male or female (at least not exclusively or all the time).

Under that umbrella fall a wide range of experiences: Some nonbinary people don’t feel they have a gender, while others move back and forth between feeling male and feeling female or have two genders at the same time. Check out the Nonbinary Wiki for more details on different nonbinary identities.

Some (but not all) nonbinary people who are attracted to women and feminine-aligned people identify as sapphic; others use the term trixic, and some identify as nonbinary lesbian. Here’s a wonderful thread by Rachel Gold, one of the nonbinary authors whose book I listed below.

Read up on the rules of the Sapphic Reading Challenge

10 books with sapphic nonbinary characters

I put together a list of 10 books featuring nonbinary characters. I hope you enjoy them!

The Holiday Detour by Jane Kolven (nonbinary main character)

Sometimes it takes everything going wrong to make you see how right things are.

Dana Gottfried is a stressed-out Jewish lesbian who’s just quit her job and wants to get home to see her grandmother. When her car breaks down in Indiana on Christmas Eve, Dana is stranded—until she’s rescued by Charlie, a pig farmer who doesn’t identify as male or female. Although they come from different worlds, Dana is intrigued by Charlie’s sense of humor and kindness. Despite her better judgment, Dana says yes when Charlie offers a ride.

But the journey home is paved with detours. From car accidents to scheming ex-girlfriends to a snowy and deserted Chicago Loop, everything that could go wrong on their road trip does, but it leads Dana on a path of self-discovery that just might end in love.

Available at:

In the Silences by Rachel Gold (YA novel about a nonbinary character)

Fourteen-year-old Kaz Adams just wants to read comic books and spend every day with Aisha Warren. And maybe get up the nerve to ask her out, if Kaz turns out to be a gender that Aisha’s into.

Kaz had always expected to be targeted for gender nonconformity, but loving Aisha opens Kaz’s eyes to the prevalence of racism in their town. Trouble is, none of the other white people are seeing it, even when Kaz points it out. By the time they reach sophomore year, Aisha is fighting on all fronts and their school system is crushing her.

Kaz’s gender expression was something the two of them could tackle together in private. The issues Aisha is up against are different and there’s no place they can hide. Kaz can’t magically undo centuries of systemic racism—but must find a way to change minds at school and among their friends before Kaz loses the sweetest, smartest, comic-book-reading girl in the world.

Available at:

Christmas Inn Maine by Chelsea Cameron (nonbinary/demigirl character)

All Colden Hayes wanted was to spend Christmas by herself in a cottage by the sea where the cheer of the holiday season couldn’t reach her. Everything was going according to plan until the cottage she rented turned out not to exist and she ends up snowed in at a charming inn that happens to be owned by the family of her most-hated coworker, Laura Sterling. Talk about bad luck.

Colden ends up saying yes to Laura’s mother when she insists on giving her a room. It’s only for a night, but she somehow finds herself agreeing to spend Christmas with the Sterlings as well. She blamed the festive atmosphere that she couldn’t seem to escape. Maybe there’s something in the mistletoe?

Against her will, Colden finds herself being sucked into the comfort and joy of the season, even though she can’t seem to escape Laura, who is literally everywhere Colden is, like she’s doing it on purpose. Things get even worse when they’re forced to share a bed when there’s a fire at a local farm and the inn offers all the available rooms to the family.

Colden finally realizes there’s a thin line between annoyance and attraction, and she and Laura definitely crossed it. She’s also pretty sure that Laura’s mother is shipping them hard and so is the rest of her family, right down to her great-grandmother whose main companion is a two-hundred-pound pig named Minnie.

Will the magic of the holiday season melt Colden’s heart? Or will she go back to Boston alone, with only the memories to keep her warm?

Available at:

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller (genderfluid character)

Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class—and the nobles who destroyed their home.

When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to become a member of The Left Hand—the Queen’s personal assassins, named after the rings she wears—Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge.

But the audition is a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers. A childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the trials. And as Sal succeeds in the competition, and wins the heart of Elise, an intriguing scribe at court, they start to dream of a new life and a different future, but one that Sal can have only if they survive.

Available at:

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall (genderfluid main character)

In a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic, a desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial lady find a connection on the high seas.

Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl takes on the identity of Florian the man to earn the respect and protection of the crew. For Flora, former starving urchin, the brutal life of a pirate is about survival: don’t trust, don’t stick out, and don’t feel. But on this voyage, Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is headed to an arranged marriage she dreads. Flora doesn’t expect to be taken under Evelyn’s wing, and Evelyn doesn’t expect to find such a deep bond with the pirate Florian. Neither expects to fall in love.

Soon the unlikely pair set in motion a wild escape that will free a captured mermaid (coveted for her blood) and involve the mysterious Pirate Supreme, an opportunistic witch, double agents, and the all-encompassing Sea herself.

Available at:

Dithered Hearts by Chace Verity (nonbinary character)

A gender-confused farmer desperate to reclaim her farm and escape her stepparents’ abuse. A closeted prince more interested in helping his people than finding a bride. A fairy godfather with a ton of secrets and no powers. In this diverse fairy tale, everyone is searching for a happy ending.

The masquerade ball to find Prince Longhollow’s future bride might be Cynthia Lynah’s best chance at getting her family farm back. If she can marry him, she’ll have all the money and power she needs. Her newly discovered fairy godfather is ready to help her, but his magic can’t do anything to stop her heart from falling for two women she shouldn’t be attracted to–her stepsisters. In the midst of her flirtations, she causes her fairy godfather to lose his magic and stirs trouble for the prince desperate to save his nation from a famine.

Everyone gets a chance to be the hero of their story, but happy endings seem impossible when they need more than magic to make them happen.

Available at:

The Flowers of Time by A.L. Lester (nonbinary character)

Jones is determined to find out what caused the unexpected death of her father whilst they were exploring ancient ruins in the Himalayas. Along with a stack of books and coded journals, he’s left her with the promise she’ll travel back to England for the first time since childhood and try being the lady she’s never been.

Edie and her brother are leaving soon on a journey to the Himalayas to document and collect plants for the new Kew Gardens when she befriends Miss Jones in London. She’s never left England before and is delighted to learn the lady will be returning to the mountains she calls home at the same time they are planning their travels. When they meet again in Srinagar, Edie is surprised to find that, out here, the Miss Jones of the London salons is “just Jones” the explorer, clad in breeches and boots and unconcerned with the proprieties Edie has been brought up to respect.

The non-binary explorer and the determined botanist make the long journey over the high mountain passes to Little Tibet, collecting flowers and exploring ruins on the way. Will Jones discover the root of the mysterious deaths of her parents? Will she confide in Edie and allow her to help in the quest? The trip is fraught with dangers for both of them, not least those of the heart.

Available at:

Simply Connected by Alex Washoe (nonbinary main character)

Once a celebrated child prodigy, Blaise Noether is now a struggling widowed mom trying to keep her head above water while she pursues her Ph.D. Only two things make her really angry: her kid’s math textbooks and jocks. In her mind, all athletes are like the bullies who terrorized her in high school. So when she crosses paths with rising basketball star Christie Dillard, Blaise’s interest is a null set. Christie is everything Blaise fears, fiercely competitive, brashly confident, and totally devoted to her game. That she is also endearingly awkward and irresistibly gorgeous is irrelevant data.

But when Blaise glimpses a paradigm-shifting epiphany in the geometry of Christie’s jump shot, she begins to suspect this jock might be the missing variable that could balance the equation of her life.

Available at:

Life Minus Me by Sara Codair (nonbinary character)

Mel is half Angel, but despite her ability to heal and read minds, she feels powerless to help anyone. When a prophecy shows a local pet supply store owner driving their car off a bridge, Mel sets out to stop it.

Baily, owner of Barks and Bits, is barely holding it together. Things keep going wrong, and their depression spirals out of control. Just as they start wondering if they’d be better off dead, a new friend provides a glimmer of hope. But is that enough to keep living?

Mel never thought saving Baily would be easy, but she can’t figure out when, where, or why Baily’s suicide will happen. As her confidence fades away, she wonders how she can help anyone when she needs so much help herself.

Available at:

Little x by Elna Holst (nonbinary/intersex character)

Sofie Andersson is a dyslectic born under the star sign Aries, who drives the local buses for a living. Her hobbies include knitting terrible hats and intermittent lesbianism.

This December she is on the point of moving into her first flat of her own, figuring out her place in the world, when an instant attraction to a handsome stranger leads her to question everything she’s taken for granted.

Available at:

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Leave a comment and let us know which book you’ll be reading for the “nonbinary characters” category!

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The post Nonbinary character (Book Unicorn #7) appeared first on Jae.

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Published on July 16, 2021 02:35

July 15, 2021

Shy or socially awkward character (Sapphic Reading Challenge #27)

This week’s Sapphic Reading Challenge post features sapphic books with a shy or socially awkward character.

Note: Being shy isn’t the same as being introverted, although there might be some overlap. Introverted characters (and people) can be very confident…or they can by shy or uncomfortable in social situations.

Read up on the rules of the Sapphic Reading Challenge

Free ebook for you

If you don’t already have my short story “Lucky Yellow Shoes,” you can download the free ebook here. It’s a mini sequel to my romance Wrong Number, Right Woman, which features shy butch Denny as a main character. “Lucky Yellow Shoes” is part of an anthology that Ylva Publishing authors put together.

15 sapphic books about a shy or socially awkward character

I put together a list of 15 sapphic books that feature a shy or socially awkward character. I hope you find at least one you’ll enjoy.

Wrong Number, Right Woman by Jae

Flirting has never been Denny’s strong suit, but so what if she’s too shy to ask women out? She’s content with her simple life, working as a cashier and helping her sister raise her niece.

But then she gets a wrong-number text message from a stranger named Eliza, asking her of all people for dating advice!

Eliza is Denny’s total opposite: witty, outgoing—and straight. Despite their differences, the accidental text sparks an unlikely friendship. Soon, Eliza—self-proclaimed queen of disastrous first dates—would rather banter back and forth with Denny than to keep trying her luck at online dating.

When they meet in person, there’s an instant connection. But what Eliza is feeling can’t be attraction, right? It doesn’t mean a thing that she’s starting to wish the guys she dates would be more like Denny. Or does it?

Can the wrong number lead to the right woman after all?

Available at:

Something Tragic by Jessica Yeh

When they met, it was not of their own accord. In fact, they never would have crossed paths if it wasn’t for the school project. They were juniors. Addison was the quiet, new girl. Having to move in with her uncles after the fire was one of the most difficult things she had ever endured. Tragic, really. Life always seemed to turn out that way for Addison.

When Addison first started at Parkville High, she knew exactly who Crisa Grayson was, even if Crisa didn’t know her. Crisa was the focus of hallway gossip, infamous for her wild parties and golden hair. On the surface, she seemed like the typical high school cliché. She was bubbly, fun-loving and sometimes even larger-than-life.

But appearances can be deceiving, and Addison never expected to interact with the enigma, let alone fall in love with her.

Available at:

Desert Palm Press

Must Love Silence by Lucy Bexley

Reese Walker doesn’t like people. What she likes is silence and being left alone. The thing she loves most about recording audiobooks is that she doesn’t have to leave her Chicago apartment to do it. And she hasn’t for nearly a year. But with an unavoidable bill going to collections that puts her sister’s treatment at risk, she has no choice but to take a job that pushes her out of her comfort zone.

After a disastrous blow to her career, Arden Abbott needs a comeback. Step one: a successful book launch, including an audiobook. She doesn’t trust anyone else to oversee every aspect of the project. It has to be flawless. Arden knows she’s ready to resume the life she had before her dreams fell apart, all she has to do is prove it to everyone around her.

When Reese and Arden meet, sparks fly and then they combust. Will Reese crack under the constant pressure from Arden? Can she possibly read a sex scene with the woman who wrote it interrupting to correct her pronunciation of words she is saying 100% correctly? Or can they step outside their comfort zones long enough to meet in the middle…

Available at:

Solve for i by A.E. Dooland

Maths wiz Gemma Rowe has found the one problem her maths can’t solve: she’s fallen for her female & very heterosexual best friend.
Gemma Rowe is a shy maths nerd from Sydney who, despite having an affinity for probability and logic, only just worked out at 28 that she’s not actually straight. Not only is she not straight, but she’s developed feelings for her best friend Sarah.
Sarah and Gemma go way back—since they met at university, they’ve been completely inseparable. They’ve travelled together, got jobs at the same company, and shared each other’s triumphs and sorrows. There was even that one memorable time when Sarah, completely drunk, told Gemma she couldn’t live without her. A relationship seems like the perfect solution.
There’s just one teensy little problem with this whole equation: Sarah is straight.
Gemma knows the logical thing to do is to get over Sarah. She wants to be in her own happy relationship and not caught up on her straight best friend. But how is she supposed to get over Sarah when, despite all those advanced problem-solving skills, she can’t even work out who she’s attracted to anymore?

Available at:

Uncovered by Mildred Gail Digby

Lindsay Ryan spends her days hidden in the basement of a medical university’s archives and her nights online as a pro mah-jong player. She is invisible, anonymous and most of all, safe. Lindsay lives only through the novels she devours every spare moment of her time.

Dr. Gwen Mukherjee invades Lindsay’s sanctuary with coffee dates and conspiracy theories—both of which wreak havoc on Lindsay’s solitary existence. Inexorably attracted to the odd but charismatic doctor, Lindsay can’t keep her distance from Gwen. Neither does she want to. For the first time, Lindsay experiences romance outside the pages of a book.

When Gwen discovers a horrible truth about the town they live in, the unscrupulous company responsible will do anything to keep their secrets safe. And that includes setting Lindsay up as a wanted fugitive to use her as bait to trap Gwen.

Lindsay is thrown into the spotlight.

Now all she has to do is make it out alive.

Available at:

Flashpoint Publications

Under Her Influence by Amanda Radley

Fraser Park, the award-winning Scottish nature reserve and theme park, means everything to Beth Fraser. She’s more than a little preoccupied saving her family’s legacy and struggling against a board of directors who all seem to hate her. The last person she wants to need is selfie-obsessed, filtered to perfection, social media influencer Jemma Johnson. But she’s got to protect Fraser Park from a corporate takeover, and according to her brother, that means boosting their online presence. Jemma might be necessary, but Beth doesn’t have to like her, or follow her, or whatever it’s called.

Jemma Johnson, an Insta-success with hundreds of thousands of followers, is proud of her perfectly curated life. When she’s invited to stay at Fraser Park, the trip sounds like a fun adventure for a good cause, until she meets Beth, the only woman who sees beneath her sparkly facade and reminds her that not everything is as easy or flawless as it seems.

On their path to #truelove, will Beth and Jemma discover that reality is even better than illusion?

Available at:

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?

Available at:

Waltzing on the Danube by Miranda MacLeod

Jeanie Brooks is a small town history teacher who sometimes leaps before she looks, but when she books a last minute river cruise for lesbian singles, she knows she’ll have no regrets. Two weeks of beautiful women and glorious adventure against the backdrop of Europe’s most famous cities—what more could she want?

Eleanor Fielding is an actuarial accountant from Manhattan, and an expert at assessing risk from every angle. Analytical and reserved, the only thing worse than spending the summer floating around with a gaggle of desperate single women is the prospect of her sister nagging her for all eternity if she refuses to go.

But thanks to a ticketing error, Jeanie and Eleanor unexpectedly find themselves the only two eligible women on the Danube. What starts as an awkward alliance to salvage some enjoyment from the trip soon transforms into something more.

Available at:

The Weight of Living by M.A. Hinkle

When she arrives in Cherrywood Grove for a working vacation, shy photographer Trisha Ivy expects to kick back and relax, enjoying her last summer of freedom before turning into a real adult with a mortgage and a nine-to-five. After all, her real life is back in Chicago with her best friend Bella, not a sleepy small town. But Trisha keeps running into beautiful, confident Gabi Gonzalez, a caterer working all the same weddings…and she’s the daughter of Trisha’s favorite local TV star. Trisha can’t resist getting to know her. After all, she’s only in town for the summer, and Gabi is straight. What harm could it do?

Gabi Gonzalez has spent most of her life trying to escape Cherrywood Grove and find something bigger and better. During an internship in Milwaukee, she thought she’d finally found it. But after her father’s sudden death, she returns home and tries to squeeze back into the same childhood roles: kid sister, cool aunt, tireless worker. She’s just resigned herself to going through the motions when she meets Trisha, someone who finally sees Gabi for her own self instead of putting her in a box. Can Gabi open up to Trisha about what she really wants before Trisha leaves town for good?

Available at:

Stoner McTavish by Sarah Dreher

Meet lesbian travel agent turned reluctant detective, Stoner McTavish and her friends, on their first adventure to Grand Teton National Park, where she falls in love with her dream lover, Gwen, whom she must rescue from almost certain death.

Available at:

The Muse by Meghan O’Brien

Erotica author Kate McMannis has crippling writer’s block and a deadline in less than two months. When a beautiful woman named Erato appears at her house and claims to be her muse, Kate isn’t certain whether Erato is mentally ill or truly her supernatural savior. Either way, when the incredible sex Erato offers leads to genuine inspiration, Kate isn’t inclined to refuse her unusual brand of help.

When a little fantasy fulfillment with Erato inadvertently leads her to the shy and gorgeous Olive Johnson, unexpected feelings threaten to derail Kate’s motivation once again. Erato is just as determined to keep her writing on track as Kate is to explore her very real attraction to Olive—which leads to friction that threatens not only Kate’s ability to meet her deadline, but also her burgeoning romance with Olive.

Caught between a contractual obligation and her heart, is there any way for Kate to have it all?

Available at:

Conquest by Ronica Black

What Jude Jaeger seeks is simple. What she needs is complicated. Woman. She has one a night at Conquest, sometimes two. And she gives them what no one else can or will. Pleasure. But outside the club, Jude isn’t interested in women, keeping them at arm’s length. That is until she’s meets Mary, a woman who responds to her touch like none of the others. When Mary shows up at the college where Jude teaches, all the emotions Jude thought she could live without come rushing back stronger than ever.

Mary Brunelle is a socially awkward loner who goes to a private club and finds herself in the arms of a beautiful stranger who conquers every last inch of her and then disappears into the night. Mary tries to find her, desperately wanting to see her again, but has no success until one day in class she looks up to see that the mystery woman is there. And she’s her professor. Mary soon sets forth on her own conquest, but can she tame the ultimate dominatrix?

Available at:

No More Pretending by Bette Hawkins

Alluring screen actress Lauren Langham excels at the roles she plays both on- and off-camera. She’s so good at pretending, in fact, that no one watching her popular rom-coms or dazzling red carpet appearances would assume she was anything but charming, outgoing…and straight.

While preparing to shoot a new film in a small Texas town, Lauren wonders what she would be like if her own life had followed a different script. Then she meets Harper Ward, a waitress at the local diner, whose natural beauty leaves her speechless. Harper mistakes Lauren’s reaction for being stuck up and takes an instant dislike to her.

Like Lauren, Harper isn’t exactly what she seems—and also wonders what her life would be like if family obligations hadn’t turned her world upside down. When the film’s lecherous director hires Harper to work as his assistant, she and Lauren find themselves fighting a powerful attraction that quickly escalates into an overwhelming passion. But where can they go from here?

Available at:

Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before by Karelia Stetz-Waters

Shy, intellectual, and living in rural Oregon, Triinu Hoffman just doesn’t fit in. She does her best to hide behind her dyed hair and black wardrobe, but it’s hard to ignore the bullying of Pip Weston and Principal Pinn. It’s even harder to ignore the allure of other girls.

As Triinu tumbles headlong into first love and teenage independence, she realizes that the differences that make her a target are also the differences that can set her free. With everyone in town taking sides in the battle for equal rights in Oregon, Triinu must stand up for herself, learn what it is to love and have her heart broken, and become her own woman.

Available at:

Treasure by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Her sister’s bachelorette party is the highlight of a miserable year for Alexis Chambers, but once her bridesmaid’s dress is packed away, she’s back to coping with her life as a once popular athlete and violinist turned loner and the focus of her parents’ disappointment. She isn’t expecting much from her freshman year of college until she finds herself sharing a class with Treasure, the gorgeous stripper from her sister’s party.

Trisha Hamilton has finally gotten the credits and the money together to transfer to a four-year university. Between classes, studying, and her job as a stripper, she has little time for a social life, until she runs into the adorably shy baby butch from the club. Trisha can’t seem to hide her feelings for Alexis, even when Trisha discovers what she has been through, but will Alexis have the strength to be just as fearless about their new love?

Available at:

Leave a comment

Leave a comment and let us know which book you’ll be reading for the “shy or socially awkward character” category!

The post Shy or socially awkward character (Sapphic Reading Challenge #27) appeared first on Jae.

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Published on July 15, 2021 00:46

July 8, 2021

Character was adopted or in foster care (Sapphic Reading Challenge #26)

This week’s Sapphic Reading Challenge post features sapphic books about characters who were either adopted or grew up in the foster system.

Read up on the rules of the Sapphic Reading Challenge

15 sapphic books about characters who were adopted or grew up in foster care

I put together a list of 15 sapphic books about characters who were adopted or grew up in the foster system. I hope you find at least one you’ll enjoy.

Heart Trouble by Jae

Dr. Hope Finlay loves her job as an emergency room physician, especially since it allows her only brief encounters with her patients. She learned early in life not to get attached to anyone because it never lasts.

Laleh Samadi, a waitress at her aunt’s restaurant, is the exact opposite. She easily connects with people and loves her big, boisterous Persian family, despite their tendency to meddle in her life.

When Laleh needs to be rushed to the ER with heart trouble, Hope saves her life. Afterwards, strange things begin to occur: Why does Laleh suddenly know even the most obscure diseases, while Hope is fluent in Farsi?

Soon, they can no longer deny that there’s a mysterious connection between them—one that becomes stronger with each passing day.

Are they losing their minds…or their hearts?

Available at:

Year of the Monsoon by Caren Werlinger

Leisa Yeats has always defined herself by the things that are important to her – a good family, a loving relationship and a meaningful job working with kids. Life is good. But within a span of a few weeks, all of that changes. She’s always known she was adopted, but newly revealed lies and secrets kept by her parents make her question everything she thought she knew about her beginnings. Her ten-year relationship with her partner, Nan, is unexpectedly on shaky ground when she discovers that Nan, too, has kept a secret from her all these years.

Suddenly, everything Leisa believed – about her life, about the people around her, about herself – everything is turned upside down, and nothing is as she thought it was. Pulling away to try and sort things out, Leisa reaches out to the wrong people and, in the process, nearly loses herself. Buffeted at every turn by storms that shake the very foundation of her world, Leisa must figure out whom and what she can hold fast to as the winds of change blow.

Available at:

Words Unsaid (Book 5 in the Shaken series) by KG MacGregor

As parents, Anna and Lily’s guiding principle is to help their children reach their potential and capture their dreams. Ten-year-old Eleanor is a STEM whiz already building apps for her mobile phone, while her twin brother Georgie is climbing the youth tennis rankings in Southern California. Andy continues his love affair with cars, but his dream is threatened when Anna decides to sell her empire of dealerships and move on to her next career challenge.

At her wits’ end with sixteen-year-old Andy, Anna can’t fathom how he got to be so strong-willed and stubborn. Lily has a pretty good idea, but she’s mostly keeping those thoughts to herself. Now a family court judge, her experience playing peacemaker is coming in handy at home.

What they need is a family vacation, a chance to draw closer and reaffirm their love for one another. Those plans are suddenly upended when Andy goes missing.

Available at:

When Sparks Fly by Kristen Zimmer

The room is dark, except for the streetlights coming through the blinds. I can barely see her, but I feel her. She pushes me up against the wall and we kiss harder than we ever have before. I’ve been waiting so long for it to happen, and finally, it’s going to. Then the bedroom door flies open, and someone screams her name…

Britton Walsh has never had a home. After a lifetime in the care system, she doesn’t expect she’ll ever find one. But beginning her senior year with new foster parents in a new city, means starting over yet again. Tom and Cate Cahill seem okay. The hitch? Their daughter, Avery.

Beautiful, popular and cool, Avery is everything Britton is not. She’s all Britton could ever ask for in a sister, or even a friend––but having survived without either for so long, Britton knows the way her heart races whenever Avery enters the room can only mean one thing…

But Avery has a secret. Something that is eating away at her and stopping her letting anyone in, least of all Britton. Will Avery’s insistence on punishing herself for a mistake in her past make Britton’s last year of high school, and finding a place to call home, impossible? Can two such different people ever find common ground, friendship, or maybe even something more?

Available at:

Bloodring by Mildred Gail Digby

Lark Greenpool became a Guardian at just the wrong time. A forbidden artifact known as a Bloodring has been awoken. It released a malevolent energy that threatens to destroy the barrier that protects Lark’s world from the Outside and it’s the Guardians’ job to put it right.

Help arrives in the form of an ambassador from the Ringsworn, the people who made the Bloodring. Violet Ironwrought is prickly, most likely very dangerous, dislikes everyone, and is completely fascinating to Lark. After a rocky start, friendship blossoms between the two women, and slowly grows into something much more than that.

When circumstances threaten to separate them, Lark has to decide where her loyalties lie, and what she is willing to risk to protect not only herself, but the woman who has become the most important part of her life.

Available at:

Flashpoint Publications

Inked with a Kiss by Jennie Davids

Sometimes everything you shouldn’t want is exactly what you need.

Tattoo artist Jamie Winston is used to caring for others. Between her assistant manager position at a tattoo parlor, single-parenting her twelve-year-old daughter, and supporting her alcoholic parents, Jamie rarely prioritizes her own needs—unless Sierra Clark is in her chair. The bubbly, younger woman somehow manages to make Jamie feel like the carefree teenager she never got to be, making anything seem possible.

For Sierra, time with Jamie is a much-needed escape. She takes her work as a social worker seriously, but with budget cuts threatening her job, there’s a lot riding on the fundraiser she’s planning with Jamie. The fact that it means working closely with the sexy, older tattooist is a bonus—a deliciously tempting bonus. Sierra isn’t one for relationships, but she’s never felt such a strong desire to mix business with pleasure.

Sizzling chemistry quickly erodes Jamie’s fears of being too old for Sierra, but navigating a romance with someone who’s at such a different stage in life is no easy task. They’ve each come to rely on themselves more than anyone else, but having a future together will mean letting their guards down, and accepting each other as a safe place to fall.

Available at:

Second in Command by VK Powell

Lieutenant Jazz Perry finds a young girl wandering the downtown streets alone late at night. As the child becomes attached to her, Jazz is reminded of her own experiences in foster care and takes a personal interest even when she knows she should maintain professional distance.

Social worker Emory Blake is good at her job helping children in challenging situations. She believes in the system and knows it works if you let it. When Jazz starts interfering in the case and bypassing the rules, Emory is torn between her responsibilities and an unwelcome attraction she can’t deny.

When on the job responsibilities collide with desires of the heart, becoming personally involved is the only choice.

Available at:

Taking Chances by Erin McKenzie

Children’s librarian Valerie Cruz has worked hard to make a comfortable life for herself since aging out of the foster care system. She loves her job but avoids intimate connections—life has taught her that she can only count on herself. When she gets the opportunity to become a foster parent, Val decides to take the leap. If she can help kids, she’ll do it, even if it means reentering the system.

Foster care case worker Paige Wellington is passionate about her work, and she’s been a foster parent herself. When she meets the beautiful Valerie Cruz, she is drawn to her in a way she can’t explain, even though Valerie seems to want nothing to do with her. But when they clash over what is in the best interest of the children in Valerie’s care, the children may be the ones who teach them that it’s worth taking chances for love.

Available at:

All That Matters by Susan X. Meagher

Life is going damned well for Blair Spencer. She’s a very successful real estate agent, happily married to a man who encourages her to live the independent life she loves—and they’re actively working to have a baby.

The wrench in the works is that Blair favors adoption, while her husband David desperately wants to have a biological child. The fates are against them, and they finally seek the help of a group of reproductive specialists. One of the doctors, a surgeon named Kylie Mackenzie, eventually becomes a good friend to Blair. And she needs all of the friends she can get when things start to go horribly wrong at home. As her marriage teeters on the brink of collapse, she relies more and more on Kylie’s friendship.

Kylie’s happily gay; Blair’s happily straight. But the way they structure their relationship leads friends and family to privately question whether the pair is setting themselves up for heartache. They eventually come to a crossroads, which could either destroy their friendship or turn it into what each of them has been seeking. The question is whether each woman can change her view of herself and her needs. The answer is all that matters.

Available at:

Invictus by Aska J. Naiman

Shla will never be the same again, but she’s getting back on her metaphorical feet.

As a professional athlete, she’s prepared for the hours of relentless training. She’s been putting everything else off, her friends, her family and her studies, and her PT is coming along great. Nothing but walking again matters. Then she takes her first steps and realises she has to find somewhere to go.

Available at:

Missing by PJ Trebelhorn

Olivia Andrews is a team leader on an FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team. With the goal of trying to erase the void left in her life by her tumultuous childhood in the foster care system, Liv has dedicated her professional life to reuniting kidnapped children with the parents who want and love them. The problem is, more kids have turned up dead lately than alive.

Sophie Kane is a new member of Liv’s team and has training in hostage negotiation. She grew up in an ultra-conservative family and was shunned when she came out to her parents at the age of sixteen.

A child abduction case in rural Pennsylvania brings the two women together, and they find themselves trying to deny the mutual attraction they have while working together to stop the kidnapper. But the ghosts of the past, and the kidnapper himself, threaten to derail their budding relationship before it can even begin.

Available at:

Kiss the Girl by Melissa Brayden

Sleeping with the enemy has never been so complicated.

Twenty-eight-year-old Brooklyn Campbell is having a bad day. A speeding ticket, a towed car, and a broken heel are all working against her laid-back vibe. To top it all off, her birth mother, whom she’s never met, has requested contact. The only bright spot is an impromptu date with a beautiful and mysterious brunette.

Jessica Lennox is what you would call a high-powered executive. She’s the head of a multimillion-dollar advertising firm in New York City, and it didn’t happen by accident. But when the blonde head turner from the wine bistro turns out to be her number one competitor, her life gets infinitely more complex.

Is New York big enough for both Brooklyn and Jessica? Maybe it’s just time they experienced it together…

Available at:

The Courage to Try by C.A. Popovich

From Great Danes to Pomeranians to polydactyl cats, in the rural town of Novi, Michigan, veterinarian Dr. Jaylin Meyers treats them all. But being brought up in the foster care system, she’s learned not to count on anyone staying around.

New vet tech Kristen Eckert has no time for a relationship. She’d much rather take care of horses, shoot skeet, or ride her Appaloosa. Their mutual attraction takes them both by surprise, and they are drawn into a relationship.

But Jaylin is frightened by the idea of relying on someone else and withdraws. When Kristen is injured in an auto accident, can Jaylin find the courage to risk her heart with Kristen or will she let her chance at love vanish forever?

Available at:

Wishbone by Elaine Burnes

It’s 2004, the year same-sex marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts, the year the Red Sox break the curse, and the year everything changes for Meg Myers.

Meg is an animal control officer who doesn’t much like people and doesn’t believe wishes come true. She grew up in state care, bouncing between foster homes and her alcoholic mother. Left physically and emotionally scarred, she is guarded about her past and pessimistic about her future. So she focuses on her job and her dream of opening an animal shelter.

Meg’s world is rocked by three women: Pam and her foster daughter, Violet; Gina, twin to Meg’s best friend Jeff; and Samantha, the vet who shares an uncomfortable past with Meg. Through her relationships with these women, Meg is forced to explore mother-daughter bonds, loss and grief, and what defines friendship and gender in her quest to find security and love for the first time in her life.

Available at:

Pieces by G Benson

Orphaned Carmen is sixteen, newly homeless and will do almost anything to survive and keep her and her kid brother safe, together, and out of foster care. Ollie, also sixteen, has a life that’s all about parents, school pressure, friends and dreams of summer. The two fall into each other’s orbit, and one kiss changes everything. Ollie is captivated … but then Carmen vanishes. When they cross paths months later, everything is different.

Available at:

Leave a comment

Leave a comment and let us know which book you’ll be reading for the “character who was adopted or grew up in foster care” category!

The post Character was adopted or in foster care (Sapphic Reading Challenge #26) appeared first on Jae.

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Published on July 08, 2021 00:15

July 1, 2021

Your favorite author’s favorite sapphic book (Sapphic Reading Challenge #25)

For this week’s category of the Sapphic Reading Challenge, I’d like you to read a novel that is one of the favorite sapphic books of one of your favorite authors.

It doesn’t need to be your TOP favorite author or their TOP favorite book, just ONE of your favorites authors and ONE of their favorite books.

So, how do you find out your favorite author’s favorite books? Maybe you have heard them talk about their favorite books featuring queer women in an interview. Or you could just send them an email or reach out on social media and ask. Most author I know are avid readers too, and they’ll happily share some of their favorite books.

To make it a bit easier for you, I have also reached out to several popular authors of WLW and lesbian fiction who often get named as people’s favorite authors in my Facebook group for readers.

13 popular authors of sapphic fiction named their favorite books featuring women-loving women:

Jae’s favorite sapphic books:

Ask, Tell by E.J. NoyesAnd Playing The Role Of Herself by KE LaneJericho by Ann McManFor a longer list of my favorite slow-burn romance novels, also check out this post.

Georgia Beers’s favorite sapphic books:

The Magician’s Assistant by Ann PatchettAnd Playing the Role of Herself by KE LaneAnything by Melissa Brayden, especially Heart Block, First Position, and Kiss the Girl

Harper Bliss’s favorite sapphic books:

Alone by EJ Noyes

Melissa Brayden’s favorite sapphic books:

And Playing the Role of Herself by KE LaneLetters Never Sent by Sandra MoranStarting From Scratch by Georgia Beers

Kris Bryant’s favorite sapphic books:

Life in Death by M. UllrichStrawberry Summer by Melissa BraydenAbove All, Honor by RadclyffeAll That Lies Within by Lynn AmesFear of Falling by Georgia BeersModern English by Rachel Spangler

Lise Gold’s favorite sapphic books:

Poppy Jenkins by Clare AstonYou’re My Kind by Clare LydonDisobedience by Naomi AldermanComing Home by KJ

Karin Kallmaker’s favorite sapphic books:

A Grave Talent by Laurie R. KingBeing Emily by Rachel GoldDreaming in Color by Fiona Zedde (writing as Fiona Lewis)Under the Southern Cross by Claire McNabCaptive in Time by Sarah DreherSay Jesus and Come to Me by Ann Allen Shockley

Erica Lee’s favorite sapphic books:

Hammers, Strings, and Beautiful Things by Morgan Lee MillerThen & Now by Monica McCallan

Clare Lydon’s favorite sapphic books:

Cow Girl by Kirsty Eyre And Playing The Role Of Herself by KE LaneIn At The Deep End by Kate DaviesAll The Little Moments by G BensonXX by Angela Chadwick

Ann McMan’s favorite sapphic books:

Slow River by Nicola GriffithAsh by Malinda LoThe Metaphysical Touch by Sylvia BrownriggWritten On the Body and Gut Symmetries by Jeanette WintersonAnd just about anything by Sarah Waters

Jamey Moody’s favorite sapphic books:

Neither Present Time by Caren J. WerlingerAll That Matters by Susan X MeagherCan You Hear Me by Geonn Cannon

EJ Noyes’s favorite sapphic books:

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth DickinsonBreaking Character by Lee WinterWild by Meghan O’Brien

Ali Vali’s favorite sapphic books:

Fated Love by RadclyffeCourtship by Carsen TaiteCrescent City Confidential by Aurora Rey

Lee Winter’s favorite sapphic books:

The Lily and the Crown by Roslyn SinclairA Curious Woman by Jess Lea

More favorite sapphic books

Your favorite author of women-loving women fiction isn’t on the list above? Here are a few more additional resources to check:

Join my Facebook group for readers . Authors will share their favorite books this week, and readers who have already reached out to their favorite authors will report back and let us know what the answer was.Check the Ylva website for a list of favorite WLW novels of Ylva Publishing authors such as Andrea Bramhall, Cheyenne Blue, AL Brooks, Sacchi Green, Wendy Hudson, Quinn Ivins, Cori Kane, Lola Keeley, Catherine Lane, Jess Lea, Jenn Matthews, Faith Prize, Quinn Ivins, Roslyn Sinclair, Wendy Temple, Jane Waterton, Fiona Zedde & Chris Zett. LezReviewBooks has a series of interviews in which authors name their “Desert Island Books.” If you scroll down, you’ll find the Desert Island Books of authors such as Rachel Spangler, Haley Cass, Clare Ashton, and others.If you read in German, check out the German version of the Sapphic Reading Challenge with and scroll down to the reading suggestions (PDF) that lists several authors’ favorite German-language books.

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Readers: If you asked one of your favorite author for their favorite sapphic book, please report back and let us know which books they named as their favorites!

Authors: Please leave a comment and tell us about your favorite sapphic books!

The post Your favorite author’s favorite sapphic book (Sapphic Reading Challenge #25) appeared first on Jae.