Books like 'Defensive Mindset'
Readers who enjoyed Defensive Mindset by Wendy Temple also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
lesbian romance sports cold heroine queer soccer
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She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Vol. 4 by Sakaomi Yuzaki
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsKasuga has realized she’s in love with Nomoto―and after the blast they had at their curry party, the two grow closer than ever! With Valentine’s Day approaching, Nomoto bakes up a storm and Kasuga hits the shops as they prepare the perfect treats to give each other, and they both turn to a friend for advice on expressing their feelings... -
Awaiting by Nicole Pyland
This is book #4 in the Royalty Series.Alexandria – or Alex, as she preferred to be called – would one day be the next Queen of the United Kingdom. She would also be the first out lesbian who would take that title... -
Buried Promises by Eliza Lentzski
Cold Case detective Cassidy Miller is no stranger to buried things—bodies, secrets, and memories she’d rather forget. Life with her fiancée, the brilliant but guarded defense attorney Julia Desjardin, is the closest thing she’s felt to peace. But as Julia begins the emotional process of fertility treatments, Cassidy finds herself caught between wanting a future and fearing she doesn’t deserve one... -
Lone Wolf by Persephone Black
I'm the perfect solider. Feared. Respected.And utterly alone.I don't need friends. I certainly don't need a partner. But the Styx Syndicate has paired me up with Sunny Santiago.She's everything I'm not—reckless, warm, alive. She laughs during missions, flirts during combat, and treats danger like a dance floor.I hate her relentless optimism almost as much as I hate how perfectly we work together... -
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Under Your Skin by Lee Winter
What do a stolen food-delivery robot, a woman from the past, and a bizarre scheme to microchip military veterans have in common? The infamous Caustic Queen, Washington DC bureau chief Catherine Ayers, would love to find out but she has a lot on her plate right now. She and her fiancée, reporter and Iowa girl Lauren King, are busy wedding planning in Lauren’s home town...Categorized as:
cold heroine queer f-f mystery age difference explicit-open-door length-medium audiobook -
Open Me Carefully: Emily Dickinson's Intimate Letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsFor the first time, selections from Emily Dickinson's thirty-six year correspondence to her neighbor and sister-in-law, Susan Huntington Dickinson, are compiled in a single volume. Open Me Carefully invites a dramatic new understanding of Emily Dickinson's life and work, overcoming a century of censorship and misinterpretation... -
The Echoes of Her Silence by Skye Von Triessen
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsTo the world, Dominique Fournier is the picture-perfect married to a powerful man, draped in wealth, and living a life most would envy. But behind closed doors, her world is anything but golden. Trapped in a loveless, suffocating marriage, each day is a carefully concealed nightmare—until the one person she never expects comes to her rescue... -
Back in Your Arms by Monica McCallan
Seventeen years ago, Quinn McKinley left her small town of Kingsford for a shot at a happier life. Now a successful real estate agent in New York City, she’s brought back on behalf of a client, begrudgingly accepting her return home in order to close the deal of a lifetime... -
Crossed Over by Santana Knox
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom international best-selling author Santana Knox, comes an LGBTQ, women’s fiction, coming out story like nothing you’ve ever read before. A tale that grips the hearts of those who failed to see eye-to-eye with a parent, and anyone who’s ever denied the truth about themselves... -
Western Shores by Lise Gold
Madison Wilson, a marine biologist, has recently graduated and is ready to start her adult life with her first job as a research technician in Santa Cruz. After moving to Capitola, a sweet and colorful beach town in Northern California, she is immediately enchanted by her new house, as well as her beautiful landlady, Ally... -
Along The Mystic River by Lise Gold
Rated: 4.62 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsRiley, a New-York workaholic, has health issues and that leaves her no choice but to move to a small town to lead a calmer life. She hates the huge mansion she bought on a whim and stands out like a sore thumb in the cheery community of Mystic.Quinn, a Mystic-based contractor, has once again missed out on purchasing the house her family built... -
Election Day by J.A. Armstrong
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsRunning a presidential campaign might seem the craziest thing in the world to most people. Candace Reid is not most people. The affable Governor of New York is used to controlled chaos... -
Shifting Gears by Jazz Forrester
A spicy, small-town, opposites attract lesbian romance about learning to let go, no matter the cost.Workaholic Eleanor Cromwell blows into rural Canada, laser focused on her real estate development project. Given the locals already hate her father’s company, she plans to hide away in a cabin and conceal her identity to get the job done... -
The Devil Be Damned by Ali Vali
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsCain Casey is close to getting everything she wants. Her partner Emma is pregnant with their third child, her children are safe and happy, and her business is still thriving despite the FBI’s vendetta. Life is perfect on the surface, but it’s the underbelly that worries her... -
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Honor Guards by Radclyffe
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsWhen you're the president's daughter and the closest thing the country has to a first lady, your life is never really your own. When you're the woman charged to guard the first daughter, and you also happen to be her lover, every moment of every day is filled with challenges—and a mistake could cost you everything... -
그녀의 심청 (Her Tale of Shim Chong) #3 by 비완, Seri
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsEp 24 - 35Based on a Korean folktale, two very different women find themselves making the same wish - to leave this world behind. One is Shim Chong, a young beggar living off the kindness of others to support herself and her blind father. The other is the bride-to-be of old Chancellor Jang, sold off to him for the sake of her family... -
The Next Life by Lise Gold, Madeleine Taylor
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAfter the painful divorce from her husband, Reina Amari, wealthy mother of two, has lost her sense of self. No longer wife and homemaker, she feels low, lonely and purposeless in her huge mansion in the Hamptons. Her life suddenly changes when she meets Belle, her new pool technician, who brings back feelings long forgotten... -
The Flight Risk by Macon Leigh
Rated: 4.73 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThings are going great for Baylee Lawrence. Her writing has won awards, been adapted into an outrageously successful movie, and she’s just achieved her childhood dream of selling out a storytelling show at the Ryman. It’s incredible. Her life is perfect—a series of grand adventures. She has no intention of changing anything... -
March by Nicole Pyland
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSophie Santiago goes out with friends one night and ends up bumping into the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen, a tourist named Bryce. After a few hours with her, spent talking and dancing, Sophie knows that Bryce isn’t meant to be someone she knows for only one night, but something causes them to lose each other in the crowd... -
The Devil's Orchard by Ali Vali
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn book five of the Casey Family series, Cain and Emma are planning a wedding before the birth of their third child. Cain has done everything possible to protect her family and get their lives back to normal. Cain is strengthening her partnership with the Jatibons and Carlotti families, as well as trying to help her cousin Muriel heal from FBI agent Shelby Phillips’s betrayal... -
Cuffing Season by Monica McCallan
Maeve Murphy doesn't have much to celebrate this holiday season. Ten years ago, she moved from Kingsford with no intention of returning. But home came calling, in the form of her mother's unexpected death. The least thing Maeve wants is to make friends—she's only back in Kingsford to help her father keep the family business, Murph's, afloat... -
The Awkward Truth by Lee Winter
This funny opposites-attract lesbian romance digs up the awkward truth about what really matters in life.Ambitious ice queen and corporate lawyer Felicity Simmons has spent her life focused on one thing: scuttling up the career ladder. She’s achingly close to taking charge of a media empire for her boss when she’s sent to investigate a South Bronx charity that helps homeless people’s pets... -
April by Nicole Pyland
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsAsher Hahn is one of the top wedding planners in New Orleans, and her best friend, Linden Washington, is the other. They’ve both planned extravagant weddings and watched couple after couple share their love in front of their friends and families, all without ever really falling in love themselves... -
Hoops & Heartstrings by Eliza Lentzski
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen a devastating injury threatens Lex Bennet’s dream of playing in the women’s professional basketball league, her world is turned upside down. Despite the setback, Lex is unexpectedly drafted by the new expansion team in Boston... -
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Strangers in Paradise, Volume 2: I Dream of You by Terry Moore
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsCollects Volume 2 issues #1-9.Strangers in Paradise (SIP) is the story of three friends, Francine, Katchoo, and David and the people they fall in and out of love with. It's a tale of dark pasts and hopeful futures, double-crosses and true friendship, love, and hate... -
Impulse Buy by Jae
Prickly emergency physician Regina has never liked romantic gestures, but when her girlfriend, ER nurse Ellie, surprises her with a gift right after Valentine’s Day, rejecting it is not an option.Little does she know the impulse buy will have unexpected consequences.“Impulse Buy” is a short story sequel to Jae’s lesbian romance Bachelorette Number Twelve...Categorized as:
cold heroine queer f-f contemporary childfree-couple dual-pov third-person-pov competent heroine -
Appointing by Nicole Pyland
This is book #2 in the Royalty Series.Elin, the Princess of Norway, never planned to become the country’s Queen – her twin brother, older by minutes, would be the next King. When her father decided to retire, and her brother abdicated to continue his career in the military service, Elin was thrust into being not only the next in line, but the new Queen... -
Love Me Not by Eden Emory
𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 is a sapphic billionaire age gap ceo x nanny romance set in the Club Pétale romance filled with angsty and of course... spice.I’ve been broke before, but never like this.After our parents' accident, I vowed to pay for my brother's college, but with my mounting debt, I couldn't even afford my own life, let alone his.I needed cash. Fast.An auction. One night. No feelings... -
Consequences by Skyy
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSchool's back in session and there's a lot of unfinished business to handle. As Lena prepares for her wedding day, she can't help but think about Denise, her sexy b-ball roommate who almost stole her away. A summer isn't enough time to get over a true love. Denise just can't shake the feelings she developed for soon-to-be-married Lena... -
And Then I Met You by Erica Lee
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHave you ever met someone and known from that very first moment that they were going to have a big impact on your life? That’s how it was with Willow Stone. She was that person to me. She will always be that person to me.And this is her story.Before you get your hopes up, I need to issue a warning about this story. There’s happiness. And there’s an ending. But there’s not a happy ending... -
Guava Flavored Lies by J.J. Arias
All’s Fair in Love and (Pastry) WarSylvie Campos and Lauren Machado have hated each other since before they were born. For generations, the Campos and Machado families have blamed each other for stealing pastry recipes they claim their great-grandfathers originated before fleeing Castro’s Cuba... -
Nightingale by Andrea Bramhall
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Charlie Porter meets Hazaar Alim her first year of university, she's instantly smitten. Hazaar has it all: beauty, talent, and brains. What she doesn't realize is that Hazaar's future has already been decided, and Charlie has no place in it. Hazaar desperately wants to break with her traditions and stay with Charlie, but when forced to choose, she chooses her family over love... -
Untold by Nancy Ann Healy
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsFive years have passed since Alex Toles walked away from the covert world of international espionage.Alex spends her days as an instructor at the police academy, and her evenings coaching the local high school track team. Life in the Toles household has fallen into a familiar routine... -
HOWL: Home of the Wayward Lovers by Lucy Bexley
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsLou McCallister owns Howl, the only surviving queer bar in Boston. When an investment opportunity to save the floundering bar is inadvertently sabotaged by Clementine Darby, Howl’s newest employee, Lou is ready to give up... -
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Commander in Chief by J.A. Armstrong
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter a grueling political campaign, New York Governor Candace Reid is about to take the oath of office as the first woman president. Life as Chief Diplomat and Commander in Chief takes on multiple meanings in Candace’s world... -
Temptation by Kris Bryant
Cassie Miller is broke. Her parents cut off all funding when she dropped out of medical school, and graduate school is expensive. A full-time nanny job at the Wellington estate is the answer to her problems, except working for beautiful, successful Brook Wellington wasn't in the job description. Brook has always had a head for business...Categorized as:
cold heroine queer contemporary f-f office class difference single-mother length-short -
Executive Order by JA Armstrong
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAdjusting to life as the first family takes time. As Candace and Jameson learn to embrace their home in the White House, life all around them continues to change. Jameson navigates the sometimes rocky landscape of motherhood with Cooper. Relationships are reinvented as Candace’s adult children look to establish roots in new places. Marianne and Scott make a move to Connecticut... -
Passion's Bright Fury by Radclyffe
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsSaxon Sinclair, the broodingly secretive Chief of Trauma at a busy Manhattan hospital is less than pleased to learn that her new resident is going to be the subject of a documentary film. The arrival of Jude Castle, a fiery independent filmmaker, soon sets sparks flying as the two driven women clash both personally and professionally... -
Grave Mistake by Eliza Lentzski
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsWilliam Desjardin was dead: the victim of an interrupted home burglary, according to the police. Cassidy returns to Embarrass with Julia to support her with the funeral details, rehoming Julia’s mother, and settling the Desjardin estate. For Cassidy, being back in the small, northern Minnesotan town has brought back a number of good memories—most starring Julia herself... -
Mirror by Max Ellendale
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsIn the final installment of the Four Point Trilogy, Sali and Maggie, despite their retirement, find themselves tirelessly recruited by civilians asking for their help. When a desperate mother appeals to Sali's sensitivities to search for her missing daughter, the duo, reluctantly, give in... -
Spin Serve by Nicole Pyland
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSports Series Book #8. This series is related by a sports theme, not by characters.Aspen Ashley had been a beach volleyball star on the court for years now, but due to an issue with a previous partner, this was her first real shot to represent the US at the Olympics... -
Crashing into Love by Nicole Pyland
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSports Series Book #7. This series is related by a sports theme, not by characters.Drew Oakes had her first chance to take home an Olympic gold medal taken away from her when another rider crashed into her in the first race of the competition.Four years later, she is determined to get on that podium, and preferably, at the top of it... -
Marking Time by Sherryl D. Hancock
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsRaine Mason has never been in a relationship with a woman… or anyone for that matter. Then she meets Natalia, the feisty Latina dance teacher. A dancerturned cop, Raine captivates the eyes of the dance teacher and with a little push from their friend, they embark on a whirlwind romance... -
Sparks Like Ours by Melissa Brayden
Gia Malone wants one thing and one thing only: to be the best surfer in the world. Her biggest obstacle is the annoyingly perky Elle Britton. Not only is Elle number one in the rankings, she’s also a fan favorite. But there’s a lot about Elle that Gia never noticed, like her surprising sense of humor and picture-perfect mouth. Elle Britton is tired...Categorized as:
sports queer contemporary forced proximity f-f from hate to love cheerful heroine heroine athlete -
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Don't Cry for Me by Rachel Lacey
A frosty television host, a bubbly bar owner, and a litter of abandoned kittens. The recipe for ratings gold...or heartbreak?Eve Marlow has her eyes on the prize: a third season of her popular business makeover show, Do Over. But when her ratings take an unexpected dive, Eve needs a blockbuster new client, or she can kiss season three goodbye... -
Side by Side by Nicole Pyland
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSports Series Book #6. This series is related by a sports theme, not by characters.As teenagers, Belle Elrod and Chandler Wolfe had been chosen to be part of Team USA figure skating’s elite training program. But when something happened, and Belle left the program, they were both left wondering what might have been... -
Last Chance by Claire Highton-Stevenson
An injured athlete desperate for a comeback. A career-driven team owner. Passion ignites when they meet, but will victory cost them true love?Nora Brady has one last shot at the career she adores. After a devastating injury knocks her off the women’s football A-list, the tenacious midfielder accepts an offer to play for a struggling young team longing to compete in the big time...Categorized as:
sports queer contemporary f-f length-long explicit-open-door boss & employee england -
Tricky Chances: The Clinical Years by Camryn Eyde
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMoving into the final years of Harvard Medical School, Darcy Wright matures with every fatigue-riddled experience she endures, however, the rigorous schedule of clinical rotations clashes with her attempts to navigate her sanity and her happiness... -
Forbidden Melody by Magnolia Robbins
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsEmma Harvey is a brilliant and gifted young pianist, accepted into one of the most prestigious music conservatories in the country and prepared to do whatever it takes to accomplish her dreams of playing professionally. With a renowned jazz musician for a father and a world-famous mentor growing up, she is convinced her path is easy. Until her world is suddenly silenced when she loses her hearing... -
Tricky Wisdom: Year I by Camryn Eyde
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsDarcy Wright is a closeted lesbian who has been infatuated with her best friend, Taylor, since junior high. Leaving her small northeast Minnesota town for Harvard in a quest to become a doctor, she moves in with med-student Olivia Boyd, a neurotic, anal, gigantic pain in the backside. The first year of juggling medical school is gruelling, but it’s nothing compared to living with Olivia...
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