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... -
![The Love Lie by Monica McCallan]()
The Love Lie by Monica McCallan
A year ago, Sydney King was a successful pro tennis player with a long-term boyfriend, a plan for the future, and a shot at fulfilling all her dreams.Now, she has a cheating ex-boyfriend and a career-ending injury, and—quite frankly—things could not be going worse for her... -
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![Like First Love, Again: a sapphic romance by J.J. Arias]()
Like First Love, Again: a sapphic romance by J.J. Arias
When the one who got away comes back...Real estate broker Tori Cruz has spent years building a life of structure and control — keeping her heart, and her past, carefully locked away. But when Mia Falcon, her childhood best friend and secret first love, crashes back into her life after fourteen years apart, everything Tori thought she buried comes rushing back.Mia didn’t mean to find Tori again... -
![The Flaw in Our Design by Monica McCallan]()
The Flaw in Our Design by Monica McCallan
Olivia Carver’s life in Lake Cabot, New York is simple. That’s how she likes it, even if she can’t stop the town she loves from being overrun by wealthy tourists each summer. When she’s not working at her family’s paddleboard shop or spending time with her lovable but infuriating brothers, she puts her energy into writing professionally, a dream that has yet to materialize... -
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![Paying Her Price by Maggie Brown]()
Paying Her Price by Maggie Brown
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPower has a price. So does falling in love.Harper Price has spent her career chasing the truth—ruthless, relentless, and never afraid to burn bridges to get the story. But when one reckless night leads to an unforgettable encounter, she finds herself entangled with the last woman she should ever want.Evelyn Voss is the head of one of the most influential global tech companies... -
![Buried Promises by Eliza Lentzski]()
Buried Promises by Eliza Lentzski
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCold 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]()
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... -
![Like a Power Play by Elle Sprinkle]()
Like a Power Play by Elle Sprinkle
From Elle Sprinkle, author of bestselling lesbian romance "Puppy Love", comes "Like a Power Play", a sapphic college hockey rom-com about a team captain who butts heads with her new student coach, until she begins to fall for her.The student coach. The team captain. They’re skating on thin ice— until one of them falls. Peyton Clarke has everything to prove... -
![Under Your Skin by Lee Winter]()
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]()
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... -
![Liar Liar by Olivia Lucas]()
Liar Liar by Olivia Lucas
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNew year, same disaster.My resolutions were lying.Get my life together.Maybe stop humiliating myself in public.It’s February, and somehow I’m in worse shape than when I started. I’ve lost my job, my girlfriend (don’t ask), and any remaining dignity. The lying? Still very much a thing... -
![Hedonism by Lise Gold, Madeleine Taylor]()
Hedonism by Lise Gold, Madeleine Taylor
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRuby Walsh has spent two years hiding behind merger agreements and corporate acquisitions, burying her grief in work since her wife's death. Her mansion in The Ridges, Las Vegas's most exclusive enclave, has become an empty shrine to a life no longer lived, but the night she confronts her neighbor about the music coming from her property, everything changes... -
![The Echoes of Her Silence by Skye Von Triessen]()
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... -
![Crossed Over by Santana Knox]()
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... -
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![Western Shores by Lise Gold]()
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]()
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... -
![Awaiting by Nicole Pyland]()
Awaiting by Nicole Pyland
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThis 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... -
![Election Day by J.A. Armstrong]()
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]()
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... -
![Back in Your Arms by Monica McCallan]()
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... -
![The Last to Leave by Erica Lee]()
The Last to Leave by Erica Lee
Courtney Fields and Nicole Dawson were high school rivals who thought they would never have to deal with each other again. Eight years after graduating, the two are thrown back together on a trip to Cabo with their two best friends. Throughout the trip, they quickly learn they get under each other’s skin in more ways than one...Categorized as:
sports queer soccer f-f from hate to love contemporary secret-relationship forced proximity -
![The Devil Be Damned by Ali Vali]()
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... -
![Honor Guards by Radclyffe]()
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]()
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... -
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![The Next Life by Lise Gold, Madeleine Taylor]()
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... -
![Awaiting by Nicole Pyland]()
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... -
![Ask Me Again by E.J. Noyes]()
Ask Me Again by E.J. Noyes
What do you do when the source of all your problems is the one thing you don’t know how to fix? With Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell nothing more than an unpleasant memory, US Army surgeon Sabine Fleischer is ready to move on with her life―if she can just figure out how to move past her PTSD... -
![March by Nicole Pyland]()
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... -
![Like a Power Play: A Novel by Elle Sprinkle]()
Like a Power Play: A Novel by Elle Sprinkle
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom Elle Sprinkle, author of bestselling lesbian romance "Puppy Love", comes "Like a Power Play", a sapphic college hockey rom-com about a team captain who butts heads with her new student coach, until she begins to fall for her.The student coach. The team captain. They’re skating on thin ice— until one of them falls. Peyton Clarke has everything to prove... -
![The Devil's Orchard by Ali Vali]()
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]()
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... -
![April by Nicole Pyland]()
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... -
![The Farmer Has a Wife by Sienna Waters]()
The Farmer Has a Wife by Sienna Waters
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShe needed a husband. She got a wife… and a whole lot of feelings.Eleanor Brewster is a proper English lady with a crumbling manor to prove it, and one inconvenient problem: she needs to marry to keep her family estate.Danni Franks is a no-nonsense farmer with a newly acquired (and deeply in debt) farm, a complicated family, and precisely zero interest in aristocratic drama... -
![Strangers in Paradise, Volume 2: I Dream of You by Terry Moore]()
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... -
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![Love Me Not by Eden Emory]()
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... -
![Hoops & Heartstrings by Eliza Lentzski]()
Hoops & Heartstrings by Eliza Lentzski
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 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... -
![Impulse Buy by Jae]()
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 -
![Spin Serve by Nicole Pyland]()
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]()
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]()
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... -
![Temptation by Kris Bryant]()
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 -
![Don't Cry for Me by Rachel Lacey]()
Don't Cry for Me by Rachel Lacey
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA 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... -
![Sparks Like Ours by Melissa Brayden]()
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 -
![Loser of the Year by Carrie Byrd]()
Loser of the Year by Carrie Byrd
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMattie Belman’s life has gone from dismal to desperate. After the loss of her acting career, her marriage, and her usual optimism, she’s back home teaching high school theater. Maybe it’ll be a fresh start.St. Rita’s arrogant soccer coach Jillian Reed sees Mattie’s musical as an outrageous distraction for her champion players. When Jillian declares war, Mattie is far too stubborn to back down...Categorized as:
queer cold heroine sports from hate to love contemporary f-f forced proximity office -
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![L.A. Metro by R.J. Nolan]()
L.A. Metro by R.J. Nolan
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDr. Kimberly Donovan’s life is in shambles. After her medical ethics are questioned, first her family, then her closeted lover, the Chief of the ER, betray her. Determined to make a fresh start, she flees to California and L.A. Metropolitan Hospital. Dr. Jess McKenna, L.A. Metro’s Chief of the ER, gives new meaning to the phrase emotionally guarded, but she has her reasons...Categorized as:
cold heroine queer f-f length-medium hurt-comfort competent heroine past-sexual-abuse -
![Side by Side by Nicole Pyland]()
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]()
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]()
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]()
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]()
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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