Contemporary Books

Three amazing women. Two great loves. One impossible choice.

Hayden’s neurodivergence means that she struggles in social situations, but when she met Lizzie everything felt right with the world. They fell in love, got married, and moved abroad. When Lizzie was kidnapped and presumed dead, Hayden’s whole life fell apart.

Thoughtful, creative Kira picked up the pieces of Hayden’s broken heart and gave her a second chance at love. Now, after three wonderful years together, they’re ready to take the next step. That is, until Lizzie shows up, alive and well with nowhere to go except home to the woman she still considers her wife.

Overjoyed and overwhelmed, Hayden stalls for time by agreeing to go on five dates with each of the loves of her life before choosing. But the choice is unbearable. Secretly, she has another plan, one which could mean a happy ending for all of them—if she can just make it happen.

A fake bridesmaid, a socially anxious bride, and an unexpected love—what could go wrong?

It’s the strangest job that actress Meli has ever been offered—posing as a bridesmaid for an apparently friendless woman at her upcoming Caribbean wedding. Then she meets the shy bride-to-be, Hannah, and feels an instant connection that makes her put her doubts aside. She’s not only doing this because Hannah is gorgeous, even though she really is. Too bad she’s straight.

Hannah is ten steps beyond shy. Even connecting with her fiancé is difficult, despite how badly her religious parents want her to marry. But something about Meli makes her feel safe. A close encounter with Meli at the bachelorette party leaves Hannah shivery and warm, and wondering if she’s making a mistake by getting married.

To chase her real happily-ever-after, Hannah has to not only defy expectations she’s conformed to all her life, but also risk her heart getting broken and find the words—and the courage—to be her true self.

A new friendship evolves into something unexpected and extraordinary in Rainbow Overalls, a heartfelt college romance by debut author Maggie Fortuna.

All Ginny Holland wants is to skip over her dramatic coming out story and live a being out story. Arriving for her first year at an artsy, incredibly queer college in middle-of-nowhere Vermont, she’s ready to be her true bisexual self. But being out and welcomed doesn’t mean self-acceptance is so simple.

Natalie Becker knows exactly who she is, and she’s right where she wants to be—so why isn’t she happy? She shouldn’t be preoccupied by what awaits her after college: working at her mother’s Jewish deli and giving up on her dream of being an artist. With anxiety about the future always in the back of her mind, Nat is determined to live in the moment at all costs.

Nat and her friends welcome Ginny into their group, but there’s an undercurrent of something more between them. A friendship is safe—not too intimidating for Ginny, and not too serious for Nat—as long as they can keep it that way.

Charlie Dawson is really good at running away. After the loss of her parents, she’s stayed as far away from Manhattan and her parents' hotel empire as she could—an act made easier when her brother ruthlessly cut her off from the family fortune. Closing her art gallery, abandoning her dreams, and moving across the country weren’t simple, but that was easier than grieving the loss of the two people she loved most.

When her sister asks her to be maid of honor at her wedding, Charlie has no choice but to return to a city full of memories. As she faces a hectic wedding schedule and a hotel business in chaos, the last thing on her mind is romance. But the beautiful stranger she meets on her first night back changes everything. As family secrets are exposed and Charlie learns the truth about her stranger’s identity, she discovers that the only way to heal is to confront her past.

Is fifty-one too late to accept you’re a lesbian?

When the sexuality she swept under the rug as a teenager refuses to stay hidden, Erin finally accepts who she really is, divorces her husband, and sets about starting a new chapter in her life. Perhaps a reunion weekend with her three best high school friends will help her sort out what she really wants now. She’s especially looking forward to seeing Jodi, her not-so-secret crush whose kiss confirmed her teenage sexuality and sent her reeling. It can’t hurt to see if the spark is still there.

Jodi has been living out and proud since she moved away to go to college over thirty years ago. She’s happy with her life and career, but she’s a serial monogamist who always finds a reason to move on. She has no idea this reunion weekend has the potential to open old wounds.

Erin hopes it’s never too late to live as her true self. Can she convince Jodi to forgive her complicated past and accept her complex present after all this time?

A contemporary lesbian romance that illustrates the power of finding love again and the importance of reaching for your dreams.

Cate Colson has spent more than a decade building her successful law practice. After losing a woman she loved due to her single-minded career dedication, she’s done with serious relationships (aka she’s terrified of failure). Cate’s drawn to the magnetic widow of a former client, but Meg certainly isn’t the one-night-stand type. Besides, she might be straight. There’s no way Cate’s going to risk her heart again, if only The Meg Effect didn't leave her wanting more.

Meg Mullins wants a relationship with Cate, but things are complicated. She dedicated herself to her family after becoming pregnant at twenty, burying her attraction to women and the dream of becoming a professional artist. As Meg the unMuzzled, she writes a popular anonymous blog, processing her true feelings. Now that her kids are adults, she’s ready to come out and move beyond the fallout of her marriage, but change isn't as easy as it seems, and not everyone is happy for Meg. 

Cate and Meg are so good for each other, but a second chance at love means untangling their pasts, learning to trust, and daring to let go of who they thought they were to discover who they’re meant to be together.

Joanne Billings knows what it’s like to lose people. Adopted from foster care as a child, she loses her parents all over again when they die unexpectedly in a car accident. Trying to come to terms with her grief, Joanne discovers the deed to a house among their possessions and moves on impulse. As if she doesn’t have enough tragedy, a hurricane threatens her fresh start, and Joanne flees to South Carolina with her neighbor.

Shanna Smith is recently divorced from a scary ex who still can’t let go, has no idea what direction her life will take, and is temporarily housing her mom and Joanne. The very last thing she expects is her undeniable attraction. When Shanna's mom falls ill, she and Joanne work together to help care for her, growing closer as she recovers.

As the hurricane rips through Florida, so too are Joanne and Shanna’s lives upended. It’ll take a force of nature to show them the love it takes to rebuild.

Things get complicated when Rory’s roommate Maya falls madly in love with Hollywood superstar London Green and Rory is dragged into the path of Ellis the uptight ice queen in this enemies-to-lovers lesbian romance.  

Hollywood talent agent Ellis Turner is at the top of her game. Her star client has landed the role of a lifetime, and all Ellis must do is get her to the set without scandal. Enter Rory Hatten, the nosy roommate of London’s latest questionable romantic entanglement, and an absolute nobody in the industry. Their disastrous first encounter seems destined to destroy everything that Ellis has worked so hard to achieve.

Rory doesn’t want to come between Ellis and London. Actually, she’d rather stay out of Hollywood altogether. But she begins to suspect Maya’s motives aren’t as pure as they seem, and she has no choice but to work with Ellis to save London’s reputation and the Ellis Turner Agency.

Will badly behaving celebrities, erotic sex tapes, and steamy scandals prevent Rory and Ellis from leaning in to love?

Rayne Thomas is an introvert and likes it that way. But after being spectacularly dumped and losing out on professional opportunities because she doesn’t put herself out there, she definitely needs to make a change. Enter her new personal trainer, Maggie Flanders. Kind? Yes. Fun? Yes. Sexy? Oh God, yes. But not even the most erotic dream of her life gives Rayne the confidence to risk this tentative new friendship.

Maggie Flanders has thrown herself into her work since her partner died eight years ago. There’s lots of opportunity to meet women and an occasional night of pleasure to satisfy her needs without letting anyone close. She lets everyone think she’s a player. It’s less lonely than the truth. But Maggie is never, ever falling in love again.  

As Rayne and Maggie work together in and outside the gym to build Rayne’s confidence, they struggle even harder at denying their attraction. Letting go of the past to embrace a better future takes herculean effort, but with love on the line, will Rayne be brave enough to tell Maggie how she really feels?

After their book club reads a romance about an American tourist falling in love with an English princess, Harper and her best friend, Alice, book an impulsive trip to London hoping they too will find the women of their dreams. When Chelsea, an old flame of Harper’s, offers a place to stay and to show them around, Harper welcomes the chance to reconnect. Chelsea had always been the one that got away.

But a chance meeting leads to an unlikely suitor, who lavishes upon Harper every romantic gesture she’s ever dreamed of. It’s irresistible, and exactly why she came to London. Or is it?

As her head is spinning, Harper’s heart reminds her that, this time, maybe happily ever after isn’t just something that happens between the pages—it can happen to her.

The residents of Ruth Miller’s small rural village took it upon themselves to guide her after her parents died. But she’s an adult now and determined to find her own path, starting with learning more about the parents she lost too soon. Maybe if she understands who they were and how they shaped her, she’ll be able to share her life with someone special without the cold fingers of anxiety locking her into the comfort of familiar surroundings.

Olivia Bell’s chaotic childhood has left her lonely. Her independence has served her well in everything except relationships, and she’s desperately searching for connection. She never had a happy home and left the minute she was old enough. The only person she can rely on is her little sister Grace, but Grace needs her help caring for their father—the last thing Olivia wants to do. 

When Ruth and Olivia meet, they become the one bright spot in each other’s days. But Ruth wishes more than anything for the family she lost, and Olivia would do almost anything to escape hers.  Could home ever be more than a four-letter word?

Junior associate Elizabeth Taylor has just landed her dream job at New York City’s largest and most elite law firm. Situated on the top floor of a Manhattan skyrise, it’s everything this Southern girl could want. She’s determined to prove herself, but when Lizzy meets managing partner Darcy Hammond during orientation, her focus begins to shift to her undeniable attraction. Soon, Lizzy is actively flirting, and much to her surprise, Darcy reciprocates. No matter—nothing ever came from a little harmless banter...right?

Darcy Hammond is strictly business. She doesn’t have time for distractions, no matter how good they may look in a pencil skirt. As the youngest and only female managing partner, she has both hands full. But when Elizabeth catches her eye, Darcy goes against her better judgment and puts her on as co-counsel for a huge upcoming trial.

As the line between business and pleasure blurs, the jury is out on whether getting up close and personal will lead to the love of a lifetime, or career disaster.

Nancy and Sam have no intention of playing nice. Each aims to win the bid for the abandoned Narragansett Island Lighthouse, and compromise isn’t in the cards. It’s preservation versus profit, but the lighthouse’s dissatisfied governing board insists on better from both women.

Ironically, a battered old book at the lighthouse just might provide the key to success. Inspiring parallels are discovered in the dog-eared pages: the struggles, dreams—and love—between two Danish women braving WWII’s desperate days, guided by a valiant lighthouse they know well. 

The heroic tale could navigate Nancy and Sam to success, if they stop floundering long enough to see love coming to their rescue.

Alice Johns and Bridget Moore were young nuns when a forbidden spark lit between them. After being discovered, they were released from their convent and lost touch. But they never forgot their intense connection.

Twenty-five years later, they meet again, and the old spark is just as strong. Outside the convent, they couldn’t be more different from one another. Alice is quiet, still attached to the church, and very much in the closet. Her life at Oceana is the only thing that keeps her from disappearing behind the closet door permanently. Bridget, an outgoing sales executive who embraces her sapphic nature, has sworn off religion. When they’re alone, their passion runs deep. But when they’re out in the world, Alice’s discomfort with her sexuality leads to trouble.

For their love to survive, they must find a way to reconcile the most important passions in their lives—devotion to the church and each other.

Jessica Monroe is not going to her sister’s bachelorette party. She hates weddings, she hates her sister’s friends, and she hates everything having to do with her sister’s maid of honor, Tanner Caldwell.

Jessica knows Tanner from high school and has vowed never to speak to that preppy know-it-all again. When Jessica’s mother holds her inheritance hostage unless Jessica agrees to be a bridesmaid and attend all her sister’s pre-wedding events over the next six months, she must fly to Ashville for what’s sure to be the longest weekend of her life. It’s one thing to be blackmailed into obligatory heteronormativity, but it’s quite another to be continually thrown into situations with Tanner, who seems to enjoy getting under her skin.

As the wedding gets closer, Jessica’s hatred for Tanner is a bit more complicated than she thought. Maybe it’s not just hatred that’s getting under Jessica’s skin, but something more?

Asha has worked hard to get where she is: a great job, a beautiful apartment and the city life she always wanted. But everything is turned upside down when her dad falls ill and she has to return to the hometown she once vowed to escape from. The only thing that could make this bad situation even worse? Seeing Jody, the mean girl who made Asha’s high school years unbearable.

Jody has tried hard to move on from who she used to be. When she runs into Asha again, painful memories are stirred up, but Jody is determined to prove to Asha that she’s changed for the better. Especially since Asha seems to have life all figured out while Jody has so many insecurities and baggage.

Asha and Jody deny the growing attraction between them, but when tragedy forces Asha to a turning point, both their lives will change forever.

Teague Maxwell, a brilliant, reclusive inventor, knows two things about herself—she prefers the company of animals, and she will die in the next year following her fortieth birthday. Resigned to the inevitable, she hires Baye Cobb from a local pet rescue to find new homes for her menagerie of pets.    

When Baye decided to turn her late grandmother’s farm into an animal rescue operation, she had no idea so many animals would land on her doorstep. In dire need of more funding, more space and much better business management, Baye has no choice but to accept the lucrative offer from Teague—her very eccentric, but largest, donor. She agrees to help rehome Teague’s pets despite her disgust for someone who would adopt so many animals, only to rehome all of them. 

Neither woman expects Teague’s desperation and Baye’s disapproval to explode into undeniable attraction. The more time they spend together, the more they realize it’s not just animals Baye is adept at saving—she could be the one to rescue Teague from her catastrophic fate.