Books like 'Leaving's Not the Only Way to Go'
Readers who enjoyed Leaving's Not the Only Way to Go by Kay Acker also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary lesbian romance queer bisexual slow burn neurodivergent small town competent heroine independent heroine single-mother
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On the Same Page by Haley Cass
Riley Beckett met Gianna Mäkinen – drop-dead gorgeous influencer, trilingual, daughter of world-famous models, yes, that Gianna Mäkinen – their first year at Boston University, and it changed everything for the both of them...Categorized as:
queer bisexual slow burn independent heroine competent heroine friends to lovers f-f contemporary -
When You Least Expect It by Haley Cass
Caroline Parker knows three things to be true. First, she is going to be Boston's most sought after divorce attorney by thirty-five. Second, given how terrible her romantic track record is, falling in love isn't in the cards for her. And third, Christmas only brings her bad luck - being broken up with not once, not twice, but three times during the holidays is proof enough of that...Categorized as:
single-mother competent heroine career professional bisexual slow burn queer f-f contemporary -
Tempting Olivia by Clare Ashton
Olivia Sachdeva’s life is flawless. With a first from Oxford and as the youngest partner at Bentley lawyers, she expects high standards from everyone. Her only indulgences are eating iced desserts and repeat watching romcoms, especially those featuring Kate Laurence – pure escapism and cinematic perfection...Categorized as:
queer slow burn bisexual neurodivergent competent heroine independent heroine contemporary humor -
These Thin Lines by Milena McKay
Some lines should never be crossed...In the heart of Paris, Chiara Conti is a Queen trapped in an Ivory Tower of haute couture, fortune and lovelessness. Lonely and dejected, she’s longing for inspiration, for direction, for understanding.When Vi Courtenay falls at her feet, losing her shoe like a veritable Cinderella, events are set in motion that will unravel their carefully fashioned lives... -
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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:
bisexual queer f-f contemporary friends to lovers forced proximity length-medium open-door -
Truth and Measure by Telanu
The Devil Wears Prada fanfiction:Andy doesn't leave Miranda in Paris, and learns that a single decision can change your life. But the main thing about decisions? You don't get to stop with one...Categorized as:
bisexual queer age difference f-f pregnancy contemporary from hate to love explicit-open-door -
Better Than Expected by Haley Cass
Hannah Dalton had a lot of expectations in her life. Growing up watching her mother struggle for everything they had, she resolved to make sure she did everything she could to make those hardships worthwhile... -
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:
bisexual competent heroine career professional queer f-f forced proximity contemporary caretaking -
The Forever and The Now by K.J .
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBron McIntyre, forty-two, has it all together. Terrific job. Loving family. No desperate need for a girlfriend but would be interested if one came along. Bron McIntyre is Teflon.Kate Agostino, forty-eight, is not Teflon. Yes, she has a terrific job. But a loving family? Not really. And her personal life is rapidly disintegrating and turning into dust... -
The Summer of Our Discontent by Robin Alexander
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsA fun summer read. Faith Leblanc is looking for that special someone, but her tactics have branded her somewhat of a womanizer. A few doors down, Rachel Chauvin is looking for the same, but her conservative style hasn’t yielded any keepers, either. Neither woman is willing to consider the other as a prospective partner, mostly because they’ve hated each other for nearly four decades... -
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... -
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... -
Love Next Door by Rachael Sommers
A sweet toaster-oven lesbian romance that asks whether the one we’re meant to be with might be right under our nose.Reserved tattoo artist Riley Foster has just moved apartments and can’t take her eyes off the single mom who lives next door...Categorized as:
queer competent heroine single-mother bisexual friends to lovers f-f contemporary queer-awakening -
Vanessa: A Mrs Middleton Novel by Melissa Tereze
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThey are made for each other. But can their love survive the ultimate test? After her white-roses-and-sunflowers wedding, Vanessa is living a dream. Her cold, lonely house finally feels like a home. She has her beautiful Emma to love for the rest of her life, plus a daughter and a grandchild to grow old with. What could go wrong?Plenty, her persistent insecurities whisper... -
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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 small town slow burn career professional competent heroine f-f contemporary dual-pov -
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... -
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 -
June by Erik Schubach
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsThe daughter of Mandy Fay Harris is all grown up and like her mother, is a force of nature. She is ready to come into her own and take London by storm!She never expected what what she would find while searching in New York for a scout for her music label and the new relationships she would form.This is set in the same world as Music of the Soul but is a standalone book... -
Sprinkled in the Stars by Violet Morley
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsAJ Beckett is just trying to get Parker, her seven-year-old autistic daughter, through life in one piece. As a paramedic, AJ puts others’ needs above her own; in her personal life, she keeps everyone an arm’s length away. That distance disappears when a chance run-in with actor Melanie Cooper leaves her sticky, angry, and fed up.Melanie Cooper has just signed her last movie...Categorized as:
neurodivergent single-mother queer f-f dual-pov contemporary age difference audiobook -
Jericho by Ann McMan
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWelcome to Jericho, Verginia.Librarian Syd Murphy flees the carnage of a failed marriage by accepting an eighteen-month position in Jericho, a small town in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. Her plans to hide out and heal her wounds fall by the wayside as she gets drawn into the daily lives of the quirky locals... -
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... -
Open Tab by J.A. Armstrong
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFallon Foster serves up more than the most potent drinks at Murphy’s Law, the local pub in Whiskey Springs, Vermont. Fallon is the keeper of the town’s secrets. She’s heard tales of broken hearts, torrid affairs, closet cases, and the dreams of hopeful romantics. With a sensitive ear and a warm bed, Fallon is a legend in her small town. One thing still eludes her—love... -
Pieces of Us by T.B. Markinson, Miranda MacLeod
The nanny is hot for her boss, but she’s been burned falling for a straight woman in the past. Julianna Bristol is on the brink of success as her fledgling video game design company goes after the opportunity of a lifetime. But her ex-husband is intent on making her fodder for late-night comedy...Categorized as:
queer bisexual slow burn competent heroine single-mother career professional small town f-f -
Party Animal by Ali K. Mulford
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsShe’s never done love long-term. But will faking it lead to forever?Finch Lachlan works hard and parties harder. But tired of her siblings judging her fun-loving ways, the head veterinarian at her family’s zoo vows to prove she can make it past the third date. And maybe she can begin with the hottie who just seized her attention with a sizzling kiss.Chef, Frankie Benedetti, craves a fresh start... -
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Mercy by Max Ellendale, Victoria Miller
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsEx-rock star, Dusty Song, abandons her music career to become a U.S. Marshal tasked with safeguarding vulnerable people from the criminals set on silencing them. When Dusty first encounters the illustrious Honorable Judge Bidwell, she sees a woman marked by the cases she's tried. Years later, Dusty remembers the strong-willed, audacious woman as the unlikeable star of the courtroom...Categorized as:
queer career professional single-mother f-f contemporary bodyguard-heroine north-america usa -
Paradise Pride by Lise Gold
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsLondon-based casino manager Meghan has no expectations of her two-week holiday in Spain; she’s just tagging along with her friend who’s visiting her love interest. When they arrive at a deserted hotel due to a booking fault and her friend leaves to see her boyfriend, she’s left with the bartender who stays on for the night... -
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 small town single-mother competent heroine career professional humor f-f contemporary -
Popcorn Love by K.L. Hughes
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA prominent figure amongst New York City’s fashion elite, Elena Vega is a successful businesswoman and single mother to an adorable three-year-old son, Lucas. Her love life, however, is lacking, as those closest to her keep pointing out.At the persistent urging of her closest friend, Elena reluctantly agrees to a string of blind dates if she can find a suitable babysitter for Lucas...Categorized as:
bisexual single-mother queer f-f contemporary age difference boss & employee length-medium -
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... -
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 Secret of St. Claire by Robin Alexander
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsLighthearted romance, sweet and funny.Idyllic, quaint, and straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting is St. Claire, Louisiana—at least on the outside. Beneath the veneer, it’s anything but. That’s the secret of St. Claire. Born and raised in St. Claire, Lindsay Juneau’s life was seemingly full raising a six-year-old daughter and caring for her widowed mother... -
The No Kiss Contract by Nan Campbell
Despite being the youngest partner at her firm, corporate attorney Davy Dugan is gunning for a recently vacant name partnership—it would mean finally having the power to make a real change in her conservative workplace. But eighty-hour workweeks don’t allow any time with her much younger half-sister, Tally, who doesn’t seem to need Davy in her life anyway... -
The Secret Pond by Gerri Hill
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsGrieving over the loss of her family and feeling like her life is unraveling, Lindsey McDermott quits her job, gets a puppy and retreats to her grandparents’ home in the Texas Hill Country. She spends her solitary days walking childhood trails and reminiscing, trying to reconcile the conflict within her as she struggles with survivor’s guilt... -
Awakenings by Susan X. Meagher
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDespite the questions of her roommates and the objections of her fiance, Jamie Evans persists in enrolling in a college course that seems an odd choice for a young woman of her background. What no one can know is that the course, The Psychology of the Lesbian Experience, will propel Jamie onto a journey of self-awareness and realization... -
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Saving Mia by Anna Stone
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTo break free, she auctioned off the one thing she’s been saving...Mia Brooks needs money, fast. Deep in debt to help pay her sister’s medical bills, her loan shark is coming to collect. Her solution? Auctioning off the one thing she’s been saving—herself.The highest bidder is Cassandra Lee, self-made businesswoman and CEO... -
If You Kiss Me Like That by Harper Bliss
Sometimes love shows up where you least expect it.Ashley ‘Ash’ Cooper is still reeling after her recent divorce, throwing all her energy into her job in The City. When she’s seated next to one of her mother’s friends at a family party, falling in love is the last thing on her mind.After losing her husband many years ago, Gloria Young rebuilt herself as a single parent... -
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...Categorized as:
competent heroine queer slow burn bisexual f-f contemporary dual-pov from hate to love -
I Do by Cheyenne Blue
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsA fabulous twin-swap lesbian romance where the toaster oven could double as a wedding gift.Accountant Allie Lane would do anything for her injured twin sister, including pretend to be her to save Sophie’s fledgling event-planning business. All Allie has to do is fake being a lesbian for a few weeks and co-ordinate a rural gay wedding festival. Simple... -
Lightning Strikes Twice by Erik Schubach
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsReturning home to Seattle from a twenty year absence in London...Victoria discovers that time has not erased her feelings for an unrequited love. It soon becomes obvious that with true love, lightning can sometimes strike twice.This is set in the same world as Music of the Soul but is a standalone book... -
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... -
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
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... -
Teaching Hope by Sienna Waters
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsIt’s time to learn a lesson...American high school teacher Ava Stanford has been betrayed in the worst way possible. So she takes a temporary job at a village school in England. She’s definitely not running away, but even she admits she’s got nothing to go home to.School receptionist Hope Perkins is hardly at her peak... -
Novel Problems: A Sapphic Small-Town Summer Romance by Elizabeth Luly
A sapphic summer romance featuring a reclusive fantasy author and a cinnamon roll cafe-bookstore owner, perfect for your next beach read! Hannah Taylor has some novel problems. The best-selling fantasy author, who writes under a secret pen name, is suffering from writer’s block after her long-term relationship collapses...Categorized as:
queer slow burn small town friends to lovers contemporary f-f length-medium north-america -
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Sunstone: Mercy Book Three by Stjepan Šejić
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo women deal with modern themes of sex, relationships, and fetishism in this erotic romantic comedy."MERCY," Part Three. Loving someone means building a shrine within your heart dedicated to them. A shrine made of good memories and treasured moments. As the mercy arc reaches its third volume Anne is about to find the shrine of her heart ransacked by none other than the person it was devoted to... -
Birds of a Feather by Laina Villeneuve
Adrienne Stecher has always known she’s different, and she’s fine with her place on the spectrum. She loves her job and her apartment, and she’s happy to help out her grandfather a few times a month. If she could just get the peacocks that plague his neighborhood to stop destroying his yard, she’d be set... -
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 career professional queer f-f contemporary doctors boss & employee dual-pov -
The Business of Love by Charley Clarke
The only thing worse than fake marrying a woman for a job is falling in love with her! An opposites-attract lesbian romance that puts the ache in fake relationship. Driven, reserved businesswoman Mackenzie Watson has one goal—take over her family company and secure her little sister’s future. The only wrinkle is her late grandmother’s decree that her company’s CEO must be married...Categorized as:
slow burn single-mother neurodivergent queer f-f class difference marriage of convenience dual-pov -
Jericho by Ann McMan
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsLibrarian Syd Murphy flees the carnage of a failed marriage by accepting an eighteen-month position in Jericho–a small town in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia... -
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 bisexual slow burn small town competent heroine single-mother contemporary f-f
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