Books like 'Not the Marrying Kind'
Readers who enjoyed Not the Marrying Kind by Jae also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary lesbian romance secret-relationship queer forced proximity small town competent heroine shy heroine tall-heroine asexual-heroine
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In the Long Run by Haley Cass
Free-spirited and easygoing Taylor Vandenberg left her hometown of Faircombe, Tennessee as soon as she could, and in the twenty-five years since, she has rarely looked back. She wouldn’t change anything about how her life has turned out – having traveled to nearly every country, never staying anywhere long enough to feel stifled...Categorized as:
queer small town f-f contemporary mature couple tennessee past-child-neglect lgbtqia hate -
![Just Three Words by Melissa Brayden]()
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...Categorized as:
forced proximity queer f-f contemporary bisexual friends to lovers length-medium open-door -
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![If I Don't Ask by E.J. Noyes]()
If I Don't Ask by E.J. Noyes
Rebecca Keane has it all figured out. With a successful career as an Army surgeon and a fresh promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, she loves her life leading a surgical team. Even if that life means she’s spent years hiding her sexuality and ignoring her desires under the Army’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy...Categorized as:
forced proximity queer f-f contemporary military boss & employee forbidden love first-person-pov -
![Mutual Benefits by H.P. Munro]()
Mutual Benefits by H.P. Munro
Coming out to your loved ones is stressful, so when Hannah Melville’s family not only accept but celebrate her accidental announcement, it should be a relief. Which it would be, if Hannah was gay.Ashley West isn’t looking for a relationship. When she’s set up by her mother on a blind date, she’s ready to nip any expectations in the bud. She’s less prepared for her love interest to be straight...Categorized as:
forced proximity queer f-f contemporary humor fake relationship length-short friends to lovers -
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![If the Shoe Fits by E.J. Noyes]()
If the Shoe Fits by E.J. 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...Categorized as:
forced proximity competent heroine queer f-f contemporary bisexual caretaking friends to lovers -
![Bachelorette Number Twelve by Jae]()
Bachelorette Number Twelve by Jae
At a singles auction where no one was bidding on love, a warmhearted ER nurse finds herself dating a prickly doctor in this enemies-to-lovers lesbian romance.Ellie Fisher loves most things about being a nurse in the emergency department…just not working with Regina Novak, an icy attending physician who acts as if she’s God’s gift to medicine.The dislike is completely mutual... -
![I Really Do by Emily K. Hardy]()
I Really Do by Emily K. Hardy
Brooke Kent hasn't spoken to a single member of her family in thirteen years. That's all changed when her younger brother calls her to invite her to his wedding. He tells her to bring her girlfriend, partner, spouse, or the woman she hooks up with on Tuesdays, he doesn't care who, just wants her there. Brooke would be tempted to take him up on that only she's painfully single... -
![The Fifth Surgeon by Faith Prize]()
The Fifth Surgeon by Faith Prize
Nadia Keating has barely started her cardiothoracic fellowship training, but she already has the archetype nailed—she’s direct, uncompromising, and suffering from a God complex.Before she can focus on her impressive research, deeply closeted Nadia has a personal project: getting her inconvenient attraction to women out of her system. She picks a stranger online for a one-night stand...Categorized as:
queer forced proximity secret-relationship f-f cold heroine office length-medium contemporary -
![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:
queer secret-relationship forced proximity sports f-f from hate to love contemporary soccer -
![Say Cheese by T.B. Markinson, Miranda MacLeod]()
Say Cheese by T.B. Markinson, Miranda MacLeod
In a small town teetering on the brink of collapse, will one woman's arrival seal a factory’s fate or open the floodgate for love and redemption?Elle Robinson's world is literally swept away when a raging flood sends her car careening toward certain doom, only to be rescued by Angela Lane – a spirited, self-reliant, and unexpected savior who pulls Elle back from the edge of calamity... -
![Beyond Any Experience by Anne E. Terpstra]()
Beyond Any Experience by Anne E. Terpstra
Olivia Northman’s world shattered the day she lost her wife to a drunk driver. Three years later, she still struggles with grief and the demands of being a single parent to their autistic son, Ben. After her first attempt at a new relationship crumbles, she retreats to the simple, the predictable. It’s what’s best for her son, and her heart.Ellie Vasquez isn’t simple or predictable...Categorized as:
queer competent heroine tall-heroine contemporary multicultural f-f age difference neurodivergent -
![Integrity by E.J. Noyes]()
Integrity by E.J. Noyes
It's an ordinary workday when intelligence analyst Lexie Martin learns about a horrific chemical weapon attack abroad. Just an ordinary day...until a stranger breaks into her house and warns her to forget what she saw and heard, setting off a chain of events Lexie thought only happened in movies... -
![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:
competent heroine queer f-f contemporary childfree-couple dual-pov third-person-pov cold heroine -
![The AM Show by T.B. Markinson, Miranda MacLeod]()
The AM Show by T.B. Markinson, Miranda MacLeod
Would you give up your lifelong dream for a shot at everlasting love?Amanda Morgan is a morning show host with a fierce reputation, but a bitter divorce has left her feeling all washed up. Being mistaken for a grandmother at her own son’s wedding has her teetering on the edge—until a stranger at the reception rocks her world...Categorized as:
queer forced proximity secret-relationship competent heroine humor f-f age difference office -
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![I Can't Think Straight by Shamim Sarif]()
I Can't Think Straight by Shamim Sarif
Tala, a London-based Palestinian, is preparing for her elaborate Middle Eastern wedding when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who is dating her best friend. Spirited Christian Tala and shy Muslim Leyla could not be more different from each other, but the attraction is immediate and goes deeper than friendship... -
![French Kissing: Season Three by Harper Bliss]()
French Kissing: Season Three by Harper Bliss
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsASIN B079Y3G6HS moved to the more recent edition Paris... City of lights, City of love... City of drama! It has been six months since Dominique and Steph came out publicly... -
![Perfect Rhythm by Jae]()
Perfect Rhythm by Jae
Pop star Leontyne Blake might sing about love, but she stopped believing in it a long time ago. What women want is her image, not the real her. When her father has a stroke, she flees the spotlight and returns to her tiny Missouri hometown. In her childhood home, she meets small-town nurse Holly Drummond, who isn’t impressed by Leo’s fame at all...Categorized as:
queer asexual-heroine small town forced proximity competent heroine f-f contemporary dual-pov -
![Spindrift by Anna Burke]()
Spindrift by Anna Burke
Can a hot summer fling mend the hearts of two broken women?Morgan Donovan had everything she ever wanted: a dream job as a large animal veterinarian, awesome friends, and a loving and supportive fiancée. But it all comes crashing down when her fiancée dumps her after realizing that Morgan’s job will always come first...Categorized as:
queer small town competent heroine tall-heroine f-f length-medium contemporary north-america -
![A Very Miller-Cooper Wedding by Erica Lee]()
A Very Miller-Cooper Wedding by Erica Lee
Charlie Miller and Reagan Cooper have been through a lot in the three years since they started dating. What started as a fake dating scheme between Reagan and Charlie’s brother, Jamie, turned into an everlasting love affair between Charlie and Reagan instead.Now the two are engaged and finally ready to plan their dream wedding. The countdown is on - one year until their big day… finally...Categorized as:
queer small town competent heroine f-f contemporary christmas length-short explicit-open-door -
![When We're Meant to Be by Skye Von Triessen]()
When We're Meant to Be by Skye Von Triessen
When Dr. Alexandra Edison’s world was ripped apart, the last thing she expected was to end up in a casual affair with Blake Westmore. Soon after she was forced to choose between her past and her present, when her strong sense of obligation forced her to leave the woman whom she shared one of the most unforgettable experiences with, and head back to L.A. to help the woman who broke her heart... -
![Reservations of the Heart by T.B. Markinson]()
Reservations of the Heart by T.B. Markinson
Can two wounded souls find solace together? 41-year-old doctor Stella Gilbert used to have it all. Her career was on fire, and she had a picture-perfect family--until she was blindsided by her wife doing the unthinkable... -
![Reality In Check by Emily Banting]()
Reality In Check by Emily Banting
From the multi-award-winning, best-selling author of Broken Beyond Repair comes a new sapphic celebrity ice queen romance — read as a standalone or as the second book in the South Downs Romance series.Sculptor Arte Tremaine is thrown into the hospitality industry when her beloved late grandmother bequeaths her and her sister a charming yet rundown country hotel with zero guests...Categorized as:
queer forced proximity small town competent heroine f-f age difference bisexual from hate to love -
![Something New by Jacqueline Ramsden]()
Something New by Jacqueline Ramsden
The “something new” at your sister’s wedding is supposed to be your sexuality, right?Thea Cooper is heading to her sister’s wedding in Montana for Christmas. The problem is that her ex is going to be there, and her mother is hoping they’ll rekindle their romance. All Thea wants is to enjoy the lodge, the holiday, and celebrate her sister...Categorized as:
queer forced proximity secret-relationship small town competent heroine christmas f-f length-short -
![The Wedding That Almost Wasn't by Sienna Waters]()
The Wedding That Almost Wasn't by Sienna Waters
It’s time to fall in love. Literally.American Emily Jackson has been in love with her best friend’s oldest sister Savannah for as long as she can remember. Which is why a family wedding in far-off Scotland is a dream come true. A week trapped in the Highlands with Savannah is exactly what she needs to prove that they belong together.Harry Lorde has a problem... -
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![The X Ingredient by Roslyn Sinclair]()
The X Ingredient by Roslyn Sinclair
A smart, sexy lesbian romance about facing the truth about your desires…and risking everything. Laurie Holcombe is out of a job, out of luck, and out of time. When a prestigious law firm hires her as an assistant to one of its senior partners, it feels like she might finally get back on her feet. All she has to do is put up with the whims of her infuriatingly icy boss, Diana...Categorized as:
forced proximity queer secret-relationship f-f age difference office contemporary boss & employee -
![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:
forced proximity queer sports contemporary 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 forced proximity from hate to love contemporary f-f office cold heroine sports -
![Unadulterated Something by M.J. Duncan]()
Unadulterated Something by M.J. Duncan
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEmma Beauchamp and Campbell Jordan’s rivalry on the ice was legendary. Retirement should have closed that chapter of their lives, but when Campbell joins the faculty at Stonebridge—the prestigious Berkshires boarding school where Emma now teaches—it takes on a brand new life...Categorized as:
queer forced proximity tall-heroine competent heroine f-f sports from hate to love contemporary -
![Price of Honor by Radclyffe]()
Price of Honor by Radclyffe
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsHonor and duty are not always black and white—and when self-styled patriots take up arms against the government, the price of honor may be a life. Blair Powell and Jane Graves have much in common and even more that sets them apart in an invisible battle raging on home soil... -
![First Position by Melissa Brayden]()
First Position by Melissa Brayden
Anastasia Mikhelson is the rising star of the New York City Ballet. She’s sacrificed creature comforts, a social life, as well as her own physical well-being for perfection in dance. Even her reputation as The Ice Queen doesn’t faze her. Though Ana’s at the peak of her career, competition from a new and noteworthy dancer puts all she’s worked for in jeopardy...Categorized as:
forced proximity queer competent heroine f-f from hate to love office new adult contemporary -
![French Kissing: Season Five by Harper Bliss]()
French Kissing: Season Five by Harper Bliss
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsASIN B07S73K4SR moved to the more recent edition Paris... City of lights, City of love... City of drama! With a year remaining on Dominique's first presidential term, the Laroche camp is gearing up for her re-election campaign. Dominique herself, however, doesn't seem so keen on going through it all again.Aurore and Solange's relationship has been on and off so many times, nobody can keep count... -
![Foxy Lady by Cara Malone]()
Foxy Lady by Cara Malone
Foxes make terrible pets but they’re fantastic wingmen.Sydney Young has dedicated her life to animals. She’s a wildlife rehabilitator on call around the clock for rescue missions all over the state and every last one of her friends are veterinarians. Waiting at home for her is a rambunctious fox too tame to be released...Categorized as:
queer forced proximity small town tall-heroine competent heroine humor f-f contemporary -
![A Life Worth Living by Monica McCallan]()
A Life Worth Living by Monica McCallan
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsNora Gallagher can begrudgingly admit that she and Gray Ferris are both stellar Philadelphia real estate agents, but that’s the beginning and the end of the similarities between them.Nora’s life has been in a self-imposed holding pattern for half a decade. Depending on people in her personal life only leads to disappointment, and she has no plans of making that mistake again...Categorized as:
forced proximity queer contemporary f-f office from hate to love age difference length-medium -
![The Awkward Truth by Lee Winter]()
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... -
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![In Development by Rachel Spangler]()
In Development by Rachel Spangler
From a young age, Cobie Galloway made a career of playing the girl-next-door on the silver screen. Only, she's not a teenager anymore. Ready to challenge herself artistically and earn the part she's always dreamed of, she's forced to face the realization that in order to win the roles afforded to edgier actresses, she might first have to audition by playing someone edgier in her day-to-day life... -
![The Trip by Robin Alexander]()
The Trip by Robin Alexander
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWho wants to take a road trip with two old, bickering women and a complete stranger? Not Jill Savoy. She finds herself behind the wheel of her father’s sacred Winnebago anyway, responsible for her grandmother and adopted aunt, both of whom are mischievous teenagers in old bodies, and then there’s Shay. The last thing on Shay Macaluso’s mind was a vacation... -
![Lucky in Love by Cara Malone]()
Lucky in Love by Cara Malone
Sometimes luck means landing exactly where you need to be.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...Categorized as:
queer forced proximity small town competent heroine f-f length-short contemporary queer-awakening -
![A Shot at Gold by Nicole Pyland]()
A Shot at Gold by Nicole Pyland
Elodie Booker was a phenomenon. No one had ever taken the sport of archery by storm the way she had. Trophies and accolades piled up around her even in her first years in the sport. Then, something terrible happened. She lost the only father figure she had ever known after losing person after person in her life...Categorized as:
queer shy heroine secret-relationship competent heroine sports f-f age difference contemporary -
![Paper Love by Jae]()
Paper Love by Jae
Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan in this lesbian romance from best-selling author Jae. Susanne Wolff isn’t thrilled when her mother sends her all the way across the country to Freiburg to save her uncle’s stationery store from bankruptcy. Freiburg is too provincial for her taste, and besides, pen and paper are outdated anyway... -
![Scaredy Cat by Robin Alexander]()
Scaredy Cat by Robin Alexander
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBlake Taylor isn’t the queen of horror, but she’s certainly a member of the royal court. Blake has made a career out of writing novels that make her readers want to leave the lights on at night. What Blake’s fans and very few people realize is that Blake Taylor is scared of her own shadow and just about everything else... -
![Not Only One Bed by Sienna Waters]()
Not Only One Bed by Sienna Waters
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsNot falling in love has never been so hard...Trix Winchester has been promoted to head of romance acquisitions for London’s leading literary agent. The problem? Trix hasn’t believed in romance for years.Kel Bradshaw’s looking for a sugar mommy to pay her way through art school. But she just can’t bring herself to be mercenary enough to trick someone into it... -
![Capture the Moment by KC Luck]()
Capture the Moment by KC Luck
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsSometimes all it takes to find love is a little courage.After being fired from her job and faced with a dwindling bank account, Jennifer Harris finds herself at a crossroads, uncertain of her next move. When her best friend suggests that she stay at a cabin on the edge of her family’s property for a few weeks, Jennifer reluctantly agrees... -
![A Perfect Place to Cry by S-Jay Hart]()
A Perfect Place to Cry by S-Jay Hart
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRowan isn’t sure she believes in love. Not the romantic type, anyway. She’s been hiding from the prospect of it for years now, an easy thing to do when you live in the middle of an eighty acre campground. She likes her quiet existence, greeting campers, pitching tents, and kayaking on the little river that leads to Lover’s Lake... -
![Making It: A Novel by Laura Kay]()
Making It: A Novel by Laura Kay
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the author of Wild Things comes a heartwarming and relatable queer rom-com about an isolated young woman whose artistic celebration of her pet chinchilla suddenly launches her into the professional art world, reality TV fame, and first love.Isobel's life is just her, her mum, and her pet chinchilla, Abigail, in their council flat on the Kentish coast... -
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![Just Jorie by Robin Alexander]()
Just Jorie by Robin Alexander
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsSome believe that special someone is out there just waiting to be found. Jorie Andolini is one of those people and has spent a lot of time envisioning that moment. She bumps into a woman at a grocery store, the woman drops a can of peas, Jorie picks it up, their eyes meet, and two souls connect... -
![That Woman Next Door by Harper Bliss]()
That Woman Next Door by Harper Bliss
Sometimes what you're running from is exactly what you needOlivia Chevalier is perfectly happy living a quiet life of solitude with her two cats in the tempestuous countryside of Brittany.Olivia’s peace is disrupted when heartbreaker extraordinaire Marie Dievart moves in to the holiday home next door after an event at work makes her flee her everyday life... -
![Against Doctor's Orders by Radclyffe]()
Against Doctor's Orders by Radclyffe
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsThere’d been a Rivers at the helm of Argyle Community Hospital for six generations, and Harper Rivers was set to take her father’s place whenever he decided to hang up his shingle. Unfortunately, the board of directors had other ideas—they accepted a buyout offer from a health care conglomerate with plans to close the hospital’s doors to the community that depended on it...Categorized as:
competent heroine queer f-f contemporary doctors boss & employee dual-pov third-person-pov -
![Aubrey McFadden is Never Getting Married by Georgia Beers]()
Aubrey McFadden is Never Getting Married by Georgia Beers
All of Aubrey McFadden’s college friends are tying the knot, and she’s been invited to five weddings. Five. In one year. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate so much love and romance?Aubrey, that’s who.She’s going anyway, of course. It’s not her friends’ fault her college boyfriend left Aubrey on the day of their wedding. Lies, selfishness, unhappy surprises…no, thank you...Categorized as:
queer forced proximity small town competent heroine contemporary f-f bisexual slow burn -
![Different Worlds by Lily Seabrooke]()
Different Worlds by Lily Seabrooke
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNatasha Seychelle, heiress to the vast Seychelle Enterprise, has been on a crumbling road ever since losing her mother. Losing her friends, falling away from her work responsibilities, and sinking deeper into depression, rumors are she won’t be able to succeed the company at the end of the summer.Annelise Benson just lost her kitchen job and is in freefall...Categorized as:
forced proximity queer f-f from hate to love boss & employee contemporary new adult length-medium -
![Whenever You're Ready by Rachel Runya Katz]()
Whenever You're Ready by Rachel Runya Katz
After reconnecting on a road trip, two friends must decide if love is the ultimate risk worth taking in this funny, emotional sapphic romanceNia and Jade had been inseparable ever since their best friend, Michal, introduced them at her tenth birthday party...Categorized as:
forced proximity queer humor contemporary f-f friends to lovers found-family length-medium
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