Dear lesfic fan,

Here are this week’s new ebook and audio releases and announcements.

Please click on this link for how to submit books (ebook and audio) for the newsletter. IHL will not include books unless they receive an email from either the author or publisher.

Happy reading and listening,

TB & Miranda

ROMANCE

GIRL LOVE HAPPENS

Season Three

by TB Markinson

Available in Kindle Unlimited

After accidentally coming out to her mother, Tegan’s life is turned upside down.

While Tegan’s mother struggles with the lesbian declaration, her father confides in Tegan about a secret he’s been keeping her entire life.

It’s not solely family drama that has Tegan pulling her hair out. Her friends are spiraling, one in particular with dire consequences. If that’s not enough, Tegan’s job is threatened by a conman and a cop trying to recruit Tegan into a leadership role at the university.

Whoever said college was the best years of your life never had to come out in a state determined to strip basic human rights from the LGBTQ community.

SUMMER PEOPLE

Hobbs: Book 6

by Elena Graf

Available in Kindle Unlimited

This sixth volume of the Hobbs series shows how a caring, inter-generational community can help everyone make the right connections. After a dark winter of loss and isolation, the summer people are returning, including forty-something Melissa Morgenstern, a trust lawyer from Boston. Melissa has been working remotely since the pandemic began. She has temporarily moved to Maine to comfort her widowed mother. Up to now, Melissa’s devotion to her tight-knit Jewish family and her legal career have made relationships difficult. Town doctor, Liz Stolz introduces her to the new assistant principal of the elementary school, Courtney Barnes. Courtney has a daughter and considers herself bi, which raises red flags for Melissa, but they make plans to live together. Then Melissa’s law firm insists everyone return to the office.

Liz has been hoping for a relationship with Rev. Lucy Bartlett, who is still in mourning. To demonstrate that she’s reformed from being mischief-making flirt, Liz tones down her behavior and helps Lucy study for her grad school exams. They seem headed for a relationship when their courtship is interrupted by the arrival of Lucy’s ex, the woman who inspired Lucy to become a priest. Susan secretly wants to rekindle the relationship, but that’s not the only secret she’s keeping.

SEARCHING FOR THE SPARK

by Kaya LaSalle

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Even the toughest armor can be shattered with the right leverage…

When Ayla Jacobs accepted a position as a K-9 handler working private security for a mysterious client, she had no idea she was about to be roped into the criminal underworld. Now she’s working for the most beautiful–and deadly–woman she’s ever seen in her life. She should be running away as fast as she can, but instead, she finds herself falling for her new employer.

Lina Beaufort has spent the last eight years building up her empire. As one of the most influential criminals on the West Coast, she has a business to run and a reputation to maintain. The new K-9 handler she hired was supposed to be just another member of her security team, but there’s something about Ayla that keeps her coming back for more.

Sparks fly between the two women, but Lina’s past is catching up with her. Can the unlikely pair find their happy ending? Or will they lose more than just their newfound relationship as they fight to stay alive?

Full content warnings are available at the start of the book, but it does include depictions of graphic violence and references to drug use and sexual violence.

MATCH TO LOVE

International Sports Romance: Book 1

by Johana Gavez

Available in Kindle Unlimited

An internet friendship becomes so much more in this light-hearted lesbian sports romance.

World-renowned tennis player Daniela Martinez has everything she could wish for, except love. When romance knocks on her door, she will have to find a balance between her athletic ambitions and her desire for a relationship or risk sacrificing one for the other.

Law student Ari Nunez is struggling with managing the expectations of her family and dedicating her life to a profession she dislikes more every day. Her relationship with Daniela, full of international travel and vacations, is the perfect escape, even if it feels too good to be true.

CHAMELEON

Forever Series: Book 7

by Jessa Stone

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Things are never what they seem and sometimes they are. Can you tell the difference?

They say curiosity kills the cat, but what will happen to Holly when she tries to put to rest her own nagging curiosity? Things take a rather unexpected turn, that not only shatters her quiet life but shows who she might really have been all along.

Playing the supportive role her whole life, Holly thinks that is all she has to offer, all of who she is. But when her curiosity is finally satisfied, Holly realises she wants to be the leading lady in her own life story.

NO MORE SECRETS

Lovers Landing Series: Book 2

by Jamey Moody

Available in Kindle Unlimited

When Krista Kyle’s world is turned upside down, there’s only one person that can save her.

First love is a mighty strong emotion. Krista knows this and has been given several chances over the years to have the life she dreamed of, but something always got in the way.

Melanie Zimmer has loved Krista Kyle for over half her life. She now has the courage to do something about it. All she has to do is help Krista find hers and she knows just the place.

Does Lovers Landing still have the magic that brought them together over thirty years ago? Will Krista finally be brave enough to hold on to her true love?

This is the second book in The Lovers Landing Series. Come along on this first love, second chance romance and see if Krista and Melanie can find their courage in one another.

COUNTRY AT HEART

by Char Dafoe

Falling in love was the last thing on Holly Moons’ mind when she moved from the city to the country, but after reuniting with an old childhood acquaintance, she discovers that fate has other plans. The more that Holly gets to know Brayden Sampson, the more she starts to change her feelings about love. But, as she starts to fall for the handsome farmer down the lane, Holly discovers that Brayden has secrets that will challenge them both.

A cozy story set in a small country town with residents who don’t always accept anything outside the norm and the people who do.

Trigger warning: scenes of depression and self harm.

EROTIC ROMANCE

WORTH THE WAIT

The Hollywood Series: Book 5

by Jae

Actress Jill and her girlfriend, stuntwoman Crash, explore new territory in this erotic lesbian short story that is part of Jae’s award-winning Hollywood series but can be read as a standalone.

When struggling actress Jill lands her dream TV role, she rushes home to celebrate with her girlfriend, stuntwoman Crash.

A steamy shower leads to sheet-rumpling passion as they try out a new sex toy.

Will their intimate celebration turn out to be worth the wait?

“Worth the Wait” won the Good Sex Awards 2021 in the Best Use of Sex Toys category.

LOVE BURNS

by Adrian J. Smith

A chef must learn to open her heart when challenged by her young but wise nanny, who has a knack for turning up the heat.

Kimberly Thompson—or Kim Burns, her stage name—is a celebrity chef whose career is taking off. As a single mom who has a penchant for being a bit of a bitch, she goes through nannies like the flavor of the month until Becca Kline is sent to her by Kiddie Academy.

Becca—known as ‘the fixer’—is often sent to homes considered to be troublemakers. In charge of caring for four-year-old Michael, she is determined to make this job her last before student teaching in the fall and finishing up her degree, which she has been working on for the better part of a decade.

Neither Kimberly nor Becca are prepared for the changes headed toward them, and they both have to learn the hard way that love doesn’t wait or discriminate.

ADVENTURE

THE ISLAND BETWEEN US

by Wendy Hudson

Lesbian romance and adventure collide in this gripping story of survival and second chances.

Georgia Hamilton is an adventurer. After a life spent exploring the most remote places on earth, she’s found her way back home to Scotland, where she teaches her expert survival skills.

Kelsey Campbell has spent her whole life acting, both personally and professionally, and has had it with the pressure of keeping everyone else happy. Craving somewhere far from the glaring spotlight, she signs up for a two-week team survival course.

It’s not just the remote island location that appeals to Kelsey. There’s the fact she met the course leader years ago and always regretted how they left things.

However, just as Georgia and Kelsey are renewing their long-lost connection over bushcraft, a storm hits, leaving them stranded. With the group’s lives now in Georgia’s hands, the race is on to find a way home.

As the reality of survival kicks in, their battle becomes about more than just facing the elements.

URBAN FANTASY ROMANCE

SHATTERED GRACE

The Camille Delacroix Chronicles: Book 1

by Josie R. Landry

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Camille Delacroix’s work as an agent provocateur is thrilling and dangerous. It is the perfect diversion from her troubled relationship and a past she’d rather forget. Violence all day, violence all night; she can’t seem to break the cycle.

When she meets Allison, everything changes.

Every good thing she has been missing–consent, love, and the trust it takes to just let go–Allison represents.

But escaping the darkness that plagues her won’t be that easy, and Camille will have to decide just how much she’s willing to risk for a chance at happiness.

Shattered Grace is a FF action adventure romance that follows Camille Delacroix’s journey through danger and peril on her quest for redemption and love. It features content suitable for adults only.

Trigger warning: This story contains dubious consent, meaning it’s unclear if consent has been established.

PARANORMAL ROMANCE

TRICKY LOVE

by Tabitha Rossi

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Ella is a faerie godmother in training, sent to complete her apprenticeship in Winslow, Arizona. A by-the-book student at the top of her class, Ella is keen to play by the rules, particularly the unspoken rule that all faeries learn when applying to the Academy to become godmothers:

Don’t fall in love with humans.

Don’t fall in love with the humans assigned to you.

Don’t fall in love with non-fae supernaturals.

Really, just don’t fall in love. But Ella can’t help it when she sees Addison Blaine. According to her assignment file, Addison needs a protector from a potential supernatural threat, but Ella sees something else the human should have in her life. Something a faerie godmother isn’t allowed to provide — love.

Ella has no choice, though, when she meets the other supernatural who has her sights set on the woman. Not only does the confluence of events reveal Addison for what she truly is, but it also tests Ella’s resolve to follow the rules… especially when the rules no longer apply.

This 34,000 word novella introduces you to a world where magic and love might just be one and the same.

PLEASURE OF THE FIRST MARK

Faerie Marked: Book 1

by Scarlett Knight

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Piper is a Pixie who lives her days passing as a human, but she is desperate to get away from her stressful dead-end office job and her conservative boss from hell. As she takes an extended lunch period to hang out at the local Faerie-friendly bookstore, she distracts herself from work by daydreaming about the bookstore’s manager, a reserved but sexy Dryad named Tory. But when she and Tory actually have a conversation for the first time, Piper realizes her dreams of getting to know her might be possible. Tory, however, still doesn’t know Piper’s true identity as a Fae. Could a Dryad actually fall for a Pixie? As her lunch period runs out, Piper realizes she has two choices: run back to the job she hates and play it safe, or take a chance on love.

HORROR

DEAD LEZ WALKING

by G Benson

One hospital. One zombie virus. One desperate group. One way out.

A new virus has appeared, and all Taren can do is groan. Being a nurse in Accident and Emergency has its downsides, and dealing with the flood of people freaking out over symptoms they don’t really have is definitely one of them.

Joy, an exhausted surgeon, is just trying to find somewhere to relax after a horrendous night on call—and somewhere she can avoid Taren, since Joy blew her off after an incredible date weeks ago. When she wakes up after an accidental nap, her pager has gone dead, and the doors outside are barricaded. This can’t be about the virus, can it?

Yes, it can. The dead are rising, and they are hungry. Joy and Taren are trapped with a group of others as they try to fight for their lives and get out. The rest of the group think it would be great if Joy and Taren would stop making moon eyes at each other when they are oh, you know, just trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.

MYSTERY

RED TIDE AT HERON BAY

by Gerri Hill

Lauren Voss has a nice, quiet, orderly life running her grandmother’s Heron Bay Resort on the Texas coast. Three years removed from a break-up that left her ex—and her life—behind in San Diego, she’s adjusted to the slow pace in Rockport, seeking out neither new friends nor lovers. Vandalism at the resort’s clubhouse—and a cryptic message written in blood—brings Detective Harley Shepherd, with her obnoxious Hawaiian shirts, into her life.

A tragedy sent Harley Shepherd running to the sleepy fishing village of Rockport, where violent crime is rare. So different from her life as a homicide detective in a large city, she embraced the quiet and easy-going attitude of the town, determined to put her past behind her.

Was it luck or fate that had her catch a case of simple vandalism? The lovely Lauren Voss made no attempt to hide her dislike of both her—she reminded Lauren of her ex—and her Hawaiian shirts.

Was the vandalism a prank, as Lauren suspects? When a body is found floating near the resort’s pier, Harley is convinced it’s related. As the formality and animosity between them changes and a friendship forms, the women find themselves growing closer as a killer terrorizes the peaceful town they both now call home.

ROMANTIC THRILLER / SUSPENSE

BEYOND THE SMOKE

A Manhattan Sloane Thriller: Book 3

by Stacy Lynn Miller

Old flames. New secrets. Delayed justice.

Now private investigators, Manhattan Sloane and Finn Harper have just landed their very first big job—a contract to clean up a hefty load of unsolved crimes in San Francisco. On day one, the two women step into a political quagmire that pits them against powerful competing forces in the city.

Feeling like a pawn in a high-stakes chess game, Sloane stumbles across an unsolved murder with ties to her past—the police officer who rescued her from her parents’ deadly accident. When evidence points to someone close to her, she becomes determined to solve the twenty-two-year-old murder. But her progress is slowed by old flames and new secrets that threaten to unravel her new life with Finn and her daughter Reagan.

Will cutthroat politics prevent her from getting justice for her hero? Will Sloane finally get her happily ever after?

ILLUSION LAKE

by Sheryl Wright

A secret consortium, a bent banker, and a desperate lawyer are all that stand between Elliott Snowmaker and the inheritance of her great-uncle’s failing aircraft restoration business. Elliott doesn’t think twice about leaving her home in Toronto and making the long trip to New Mexico and Illusion Lake. Once there, she soon discovers that somebody wants her gone, and gone fast.

Staying was not the plan. But there’s something about Illusion Lake that definitely deserves her consideration. Besides, her new lawyer is hot as hell and worth a second or third look too.

Kiva Park is only at Illusion Lake for the winter. With a thriving criminal practice up north, handling the mundane chores of her dad’s general law office is a little on the dull side. But her plans for a quiet winter fly out the window when Elliott walks in the door. Elliott sets off all sorts of bells, but most disturbing is the way Kiva wants to reach out and brush Elliott’s bangs from those captivating blue eyes.

Kiva’s job is to manage Elliott’s inheritance, not investigate the strange demands of her father’s law partner. But with everyone gunning for her new client, it doesn’t take long for Kiva to figure out that there’s much more than Elliott’s inheritance and her own heart that are at risk.

LOOKING FOR TROUBLE

by Jess Lea

Available in Kindle Unlimited

In this quirky lesbian romantic mystery, a reporter and a party volunteer who can’t stand each other join forces to find the truth behind an ice queen derailing Australia’s weirdest election.

Nancy is sick of living in the share house from hell, getting dumped by women who aren’t that into her, and being stuck in dead-end jobs. It’s time to chase her dream to become a political journalist, get her own funky inner-city Melbourne place, and meet Ms Right.

Instead, she meets cranky George, a butch, tattooed bus driver and party volunteer who’s dodging a vengeful ex-girlfriend. George thinks Nancy is stuck up; Nancy thinks George is the rudest woman she’s ever met.

The warring pair is caught up in the crazy election campaign of Clara West, a maverick running on the bizarre promise to shut down the internet. Rich, sexy, and dangerous, Clara will stop at nothing in the pursuit of power.

Nancy and George must learn to trust each other and act fast if they want to stay alive.

THE SAND SWALLOWS EVERYTHING

by R. A. Williams

Available in Kindle Unlimited

“Surprise me,” Kelly O’Malley says to the big older guy at the beach bar, the one who asked, “What are you drinking?” He’s buying drinks all around, and it’s her table’s turn. He seems harmless, if odd—some big spender on a spree, singing corny old songs, taking selfies. Kelly’s twenty-one, gay and out, in love with her new girlfriend, bartending in Rehoboth Beach for the season, before their senior year of college. Tonight, she’s partying with her squad, out dancing on their night off. For her it’s just another hot summer night at the beach.

But never say “surprise me” to a stranger in a strange bar.

Minutes after downing his “surprise” she’s dizzy, throwing up and blacking out. When she comes to hours later, she’s gagged and naked in an unfamiliar beach house—and the stranger who drugged and abducted her is raping her. He’s still crooning the same corny tune, while she’s suffocating behind something jammed down her throat. Surprise me.

Kelly is running out of air, and out of time to make life-or-death decisions: Try to keep breathing—or give up? Fight for her life, against an angry attacker twice her size—or try to run? Following her instincts leads her to some unexpected discoveries, about herself and her rapist. She’s tougher, and maybe smarter, than she thought. He’s got unholy political connections, in Washington D.C. and the White House. He’s the best friend of a disgraced Supreme Court nominee, and the two share a past of alleged sexual assaults. And he has secrets: He’s abducted, raped and murdered many other victims.

But how many? Where are they now? Buried in the sand? Kelly finds she cares as much about finding those missing women as her own survival. But the FBI is suddenly taking an interest in this case—and in Kelly.

THE SAND SWALLOWS EVERYTHING is by turns a thriller, a murder mystery, a lesbian romance and an LGBTQ+ coming-of-age story. Readers will find suspense, humor, love, political intrigue, a lot of courage, resilience and anger—and a little hope.

Trigger warning: Rape and graphic violence.

ANTHOLOGY

MILESTONES

by Serena J. Bishop

Available in Kindle Unlimited

This romantic short story bundle contains three humorous and heart-felt relationship tales that occur after the events of the novel Dreams, and before the events of the novel Miracles.

Rocky Start: Aurora and Leela go through a series of awkward, inconvenient, and sometimes painful incidents during their first date.

Fancy Pasta: Leela wants Aurora. Aurora wants Leela. An intimate dinner at Leela’s home leads both to get what they want…even if they never get to eat the pasta.

Meet the Makers: After almost a year together, Leela and Aurora have an argument because Leela seemingly does not want to meet Aurora’s parents. After their friends intervene, the couple shares their fears, expectations, and thoughts about what kind of future they might have together.

NEW AUDIOBOOKS

BLACKER THAN BLUE

Vampire Sorority Sisters: Book 2

by Rebekah Weatherspoon

narrated by Keira Grace

The beginning of Cleo Jones’ life as a vampire was the end of her relationship with her first love and only submissive, college senior Benny Tarver. Mutual resentment and heartache have kept them apart for the past three years, but their responsibilities to the sisters of Alpha Beta Omega sorority have held them in each other’s sights.

With graduation looming, Benny knows it is time for her to move on from the sorority and her lingering feelings for Cleo, but when Cleo realizes she may lose Benny forever to a powerful demon, she must put her fears aside to discover if they can find the strength to let go of their pain and accept that the love between them is true.

CALUMET

by Ali Vali

narrated by Lula Larkin

Jaxon Lavigne left the small town of Chackbay, Louisiana, to escape disapproving parents and has never looked back. She’s now a popular English lit professor. Life is good. Really. The only problem is the invite in her mailbox. Who in their right mind has a 15-year high school reunion?

Iris Long’s days are predictable. She did the safe thing and married the high school quarterback. While her life isn’t a grand love affair, it’s comfortable, and as the secretary at the local high school, she can see her daughter and son throughout the day. Her family is great, but Iris longs for the one person she can’t have.

Jaxon comes back to town amid gossip that started 15 years earlier and never really died down. After crushing on Iris in high school, seeing her again is a welcome surprise. But it’s Iris’ daughter, Sean, whose dark hair, green eyes, and brilliant mind are startlingly like Jaxon’s own that exposes scars from small-town secrets. Jaxon has been kept in the dark by those she loves most, including Iris. But when the truth is finally revealed, will she leave for good?

LOVE IN THE LIMELIGHT

by Ashley Moore

narrated by Keira Grace

Marion Hargreaves is a Hollywood legend and the finest actress of her generation. She’s navigated her career with aplomb for nearly 30 years by being intensely private about her personal life and her sexuality. But a year on from her third Oscar, nothing seems interesting anymore until she becomes a voice actor for Petunia’s Potion, an animated movie based on her favorite children’s book. That role becomes the challenge of a lifetime when she discovers her costar is the out and proud global pop icon Jessica Carmichael – the woman Marion fell in love with and whose heart she abruptly broke without explanation.

The last thing Marion wants is to work in such close proximity to Jessica. She can’t forgive herself for the way she left but can’t resist the attraction that has only gotten stronger with time. Being true to herself and her passions isn’t going to be easy and may set the stage for love in the limelight.

VOTE FOR BOOK OF THE MONTH

2022 IHL READING CHALLENGE

Beginning in January, IHL will launch the I Heart Lesfic 2022 Reading Challenge. We will feature 2 new book categories each week, along with a recommended reading list for books that qualify for each category.

We have collected a lot of suggestions for categories, so our first task is to narrow the list to 90 choices based on the number of nominations we receive for each.

Authors can submit a total of 5 books for consideration.

Click here for the Book Submission page.

INTRODUCING FRIDAY FEELS

At I Heart Lesfic, we’re always looking for ways to help authors find more readers and for readers to discover new books, while also having fun. So, we’re going to launch a new feature this fall called: Friday Feels.

That’s great, but what the heck is it?

Click here to find out.

PROJECT KINDNESS

At I Heart Lesfic, we believe the world could use a bit more kindness after one of the hardest and longest of years. Many authors have signed up to help IHL spread kindness in the world.

MA Binfield shared It Started with Fishfingers. Also, MA is giving away 1 ecopy of Never Be The Same.

Laney Webber penned New England Kindness. Also, Laney is giving away 1 ecopy of The Real Thing.

SAPPHIC READING

CHALLENGE

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