Welcome to week 20 of the 2022 IHS Sapphic Reading Challenge.
Before we get to the books, we want to remind you of two ways you can interact with other readers to enhance your experience during the challenge this year.
First, you can join the I Heart SapphFic Facebook reader group. Every Monday we will announce the category for the week, and every Wednesday you will have the opportunity to post what book you are reading and be entered into the monthly drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card. (For those who are not on Facebook and still want to enter, remember you can email your reading selection to tbm@iheartlesfic.com).
Second, we have created a Goodreads group where readers can discuss books, swap recommendations, and generally have a good time.
Now, to get to the task at hand. Below you’ll find reading suggestions for enemies to lovers. Better yet, 7 of them are on sale, so scoop up some fantastic reads at bargain prices. Before you click any buy buttons, please ensure the sale price matches. (Some international prices may vary.)
The following books are on sale for Enemies to Lovers week: May 23 through May 27
by Eva Reddy
FREE $6.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)
Elkie Kransky was just six years old when a man grabbed her older brother, Bryan, from a playground near their home in Perth, Western Australia. He’d yelled for her to run and not to look back and she’d done as he’d ordered; running straight home to tell her mother.
Bryan was never seen again and Elkie’s distraught mother was unable to cope with his loss. She sent Elkie to boarding school and told her “…it was for her own safety.” A six-year-old Elkie assumed this meant the man might come back for her, too.
Now a grown woman. Elkie has become a nationally respected investigative reporter, writing for newspapers across Australia and internationally. She investigates and exposes pedophiles and paves the way for the justice system to deal with them.
But the ‘law is an ass’ and in Elkie’s opinion so is Detective Sergeant Steven Jolly of the Major Crimes Squad. Legal trickery and police bungles provide a means for some of these men to slip through the legal system and receive minimal if any punishment.
A new investigation leads Elkie to mother of two, Leila White with whom she falls instantly and hopelessly in love. Unfortunately, the door is slammed shut on what might have become a beautiful friendship when Leila’s son dies from an overdose of veterinary tranquilizers. Elkie later discovers the overdose the young boy took had been traded for sex with a pedophile veterinarian. The vet insists the drugs had been stolen and it’s difficult to prove otherwise.
Incensed and frustrated by the injustice of it all, Elkie begins to plot how she might dispense justice on behalf of the victims. Unable to save her own brother, perhaps she can save someone else’s. She’s not afraid of bad men anymore – bad men are afraid of her. And so they should be.
by Scarlett Knight
$0.99 $4.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)
Bass player Jackie Hernandez has landed a permanent gig with the respected all-female rock band The Neon Fishnets. There’s only one problem: Ivy Finch. In the past, Jackie and The Fishnets’ keyboardist engaged in an ugly online feud. Jackie is ready to put the feud behind them, but fiery Ivy holds a grudge. Amid recording a hot new album, spending late nights out at wild parties, and navigating the media as they prepare to go on tour, Jackie and Ivy realize they have more in common than they originally thought. And things get really complicated when their attraction to one another heats up, taking an unexpected, sexy turn.
by S D Simper
$0.99 $3.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)
A devout mermaid. A disgraced princess. A feud as ancient as the gods.
Worlds collide when Tallora is kidnapped from her ocean home and forced to be a pet to a tyrannical foreign empire. Her only hope for rescue lies with a sworn enemy—Princess Dauriel, infamous for her stone heart and conflicted past. But when Dauriel’s kingdom comes to the cusp of war, could their uneasy alliance be the key to defeating a common foe? Or will their growing feelings for each other lead them to ruin?
From the world of FALLEN GODS comes a tale of ancient magic and cutthroat politics—and finding redemption through love.
by Mar Delaney
$0.99 $2.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)
If the moose festival doesn’t blow up Maggie’s life, the hot motorcycle-riding cheerleader just might…
Big, shy, and clumsy, Maggie “Moose” McKenna has been dogged by her hated nickname ever since childhood. Worse, she lives in the small Alaska town of Moose Point, which never lets her forget it. From the annual Moose Madness Festival to the moose bumper stickers to the giant sign for the Moose Point Pub where she works, this town loves its moose.
Worst of all? Maggie really is a moose. A moose shifter, to be specific. It’s just that no one knows. No one can ever know.
Except one person …
Wolf shifter Fiona Barton was one of the mean girls in high school … and Maggie’s desperate crush. Years after shaking the dust of Moose Point off her heels, she’s back in town for a pack event and runs headlong into Maggie—and this time she recognizes what she didn’t before: the tall girl with the shy, beautiful smile is her fated mate.
Fiona is openly out; Maggie isn’t. But Fi has a lot to make up for, and Maggie has a lot of soul-searching to do before a wolf and a moose can ride off into the sunset together.
by TB Markinson
$0.99 $5.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)
Can the sassy American win the shy Brit?
Josie Adams had a brilliant speechwriting career in American politics—until a scandal destroyed everything. Unsure what to do with the rest of her life, she moves home with her mother in the Cotswolds.
Journalist Harriet Powell ditched London after getting sacked and divorced within six months of each other. She hopes to find peace in the village, but after meeting Josie, Harry’s world will never be the same.
While the two don’t see eye to eye on the professional front, it’s hard to deny their connection, even if Josie’s mum is determined to set Josie up with anyone who isn’t Harry.
Can the two conquer their personal and professional struggles to let the other in?
by Maria Jackson
$2.99 $3.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)
Chloe is smart, witty, motivated… and too scared to let the world see any of those qualities. Interacting with her restaurant coworkers makes her want to melt into the floor. They’re all beautiful, outgoing, and confident – terrifying to a shy lesbian. When Chloe somehow catches the most intimidating girl’s eye, she wonders if their mutual attraction could develop into more.
Waitressing isn’t Jennie’s passion, but then neither is anything else. Adrift in life, the tattooed beauty only cares about weed and her motorcycle. At least this job’s paying the bills until she can move on to better things. Fooling around with coworkers isn’t in her plans – but once she notices the resident wallflower is drop-dead gorgeous, those plans change. Falling for Chloe, though? That’s another matter.
Will Jennie chew Chloe up and spit her out? Or could Jennie be the first person to see Chloe for who she really is?
by Nicole Pyland
$2.99 $6.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)
Ten years ago, Ada Cramer’s brother went missing. Her brother had always been the favored child, and Ada had been the only witness to his disappearance. Her life changed the day the police officer assigned to the case made Ada a promise that she’d find Noah Cramer.
Dylan Easton had many cases over the course of her career as a detective, but only one she would describe as the one she’d never let go of. It had started the day she’d made a promise to a fourteen-year-old girl that she would find her brother.
Ten years after Noah’s disappearance, the two women are reunited when a true crime series wants to highlight the anniversary of the missing boy. Ada is now ten years older and still bitter about the way her life had taken a turn that day, and Dylan is now a detective, on her way to running her own team. When the two women meet up after all these years, there’s an unwanted spark between them that they attempt to deny.
A new lead in the case, mixed with some startling discoveries, has these two women attempting to balance their new and confusing attraction to one another along with the possibility of finding Noah Cramer.
Keep scrolling for more reading suggestions!
by Maria Ying
Olesya Hua, narcotics empress
…has everything: power, wealth, and a city that’ll soon be hers. But her hunger is endless. She covets more still—and what Olesya Hua wants, she always gets.
Dallas Seidel, syndicate fixer
…lost her chosen family to bloody violence ordered by the Huas. She’ll stop at nothing to avenge them—she’ll stop at nothing until the Hua sisters are in the ground.
Their goals are in brutal opposition. Deceit and plots-within-plots will put them at each other’s throat. They careen toward not just mutually assured destruction, but toward a fatal passion that’ll mark them both forever.
by Lee Winter
Ice meets fire in this opposites-attract lesbian romance, as layered, sassy, and smart as its characters.
Over one long night at a bar in Las Vegas, two powerful hotel executives meet, flirt, and challenge each other—having no clue they’re rivals after the same dream deal.
Brilliant ice queen Amelia Duxton is a hotel vice president who thrives on control, truth, and efficiency. She’s in no mood for love or the mess it brings. All she wants is to buy the coveted Mayfair Palace—a massive deal that could finally help her land the CEO job in her family’s hotel empire.
Fiery Kai Fisher is charming and chaotic and renowned for closing ambitious deals. Her sights are set on snatching the Mayfair Palace out from under the nose of her hated arch rivals, the Duxton family.
But when secrets emerge and everything starts to fall apart, how can either of the warring women win—especially when they’ve just met their match?
by Rachel Lacey
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Books are Rosie Taft’s life. And ever since she took over her mother’s beloved Manhattan bookstore, they’ve become her home too. The only thing missing is her own real-life romance like the ones she loves to read about, and Rosie has an idea of who she might like to sweep her off her feet. She’s struck up a flirty online friendship with lesbian romance author Brie, and what could be more romantic than falling in love with her favorite author?
Jane Breslin works hard to keep her professional and personal lives neatly separated. By day, she works for the family property development business. By night, she puts her steamier side on paper under her pen name: Brie. Jane hasn’t had much luck with her own love life, but her online connection with a loyal reader makes Jane wonder if she could be the one.
When Rosie learns that her bookstore’s lease has been terminated by Jane’s family’s business, romance moves to the back burner. Even though they’re at odds, there’s no denying the sparks that fly every time they’re together. When their online identities are revealed, will Jane be able to write her way to a happy ending, or is Rosie’s heart a closed book?
by Jae
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan in this lesbian enemies to lovers 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.
Anja Lamm, Paper Love’s only full-time employee, takes an instant dislike to the arrogant, digital-loving snob who’s supposed to be her temporary boss.But thanks to a meddling cat, a business trip to a stationery fair, and an armada of origami boats, Anja soon starts to see beneath Susanne’s aloof exterior, and Susanne discovers how sexy pens and notebooks can be—at least when Anja handles them.
As the end of Susanne’s three-month stay approaches, will she stick to her plan to leave, or will she open her heart to more than just paper love?
by Barbara Winkes
Available in Kindle Unlimited
KENDALL
I swore to avenge my father’s death. I have to do it not only for my peace of mind, but to make sure everyone, from my family to the Biancos, knows that I am in charge now.
It’s lonely at the top. Jess is exactly who I need by my side, and I can’t let her go, even knowing about the danger that’s coming. Even after I learn of her true identity…
JESS/ROBYN
I began this undercover mission with good intentions and an infatuation for my target, Kendall Mancini, heir to a crime empire. My mission: to convince her to give up her vendetta and work with the authorities instead. For that, I had to get close to her.
I did get close to her. I couldn’t resist.
Now there’s no way back.
If we both want to survive this, we must do the impossible: Trust each other.
by Fiona Zedde
Available in Kindle Unlimited
The two thrilling halves of Fiona Zedde’s lesbian superhero book series come together in The Mercy Chronicles.
In The Power of Mercy, shape-shifter Mercy is a blade that can cut both ways. To her family, she is weak. Her power is nowhere near as impressive as their abilities to alter the world around them.
But when Mai Redstone puts on the costume to become Mercy, a rooftop-climbing chameleon with a thousand disguises and at least nine lives, she feels almost invincible. Until the day she must make the cruellest of choices, between family loyalty and self-preservation. How can she decide?
In A Lover’s Mercy, Mai returns to prowling Atlanta as its hero, Mercy. For all her new strength and heightened powers, her heart remains good and kind. Her passionate lover, Xóchitl, is the opposite. The softest thing about her is her love for Mai. Xóchitl hunts and punishes anyone who dares to break her people’s rules.
When Mai ends up in an enemy’s crosshairs, Xóchitl is terrified. She’s used to being the most dangerous one in the room, but when she suddenly isn’t, will she allow herself to surrender to her lover’s mercy?
by Jean Copeland
Kendra Blake is having her best year ever. At forty-five, she’s finally fulfilled her lifelong dream of writing a lesfic novel and is excitedly awaiting its publication. Alison Chatterley, a British au pair, aspires to stay in America and become a journalist. While neither woman has finding romance on their radar, when their paths cross, their chemistry and connection are instant, and they’re swept into a passionate relationship. But is it too much too soon?
Before long, the bloom falls off their rose when a nasty book review, Alison’s secrets, and baggage from Kendra’s past derail their promising future. Despite a career change taking Alison’s life in a new direction, she is determined to prove what they had is worth fighting for. But convincing a skeptic like Kendra will be harder than she thinks.
by Stephanie Shea
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Mia Stone isn’t looking for romance. Not after her engagement crashed to an end when her fiancé was caught on viral video kissing another woman. She has time and space for three things in her life. Her family, her best friends Darby and James, and Flippin’ Fantastic Renovations—the house flipping company they co-own.
Lauryn Matthews gets a bad rap. The women, the scandals… It’s not her fault drama follows her everywhere. In fact, the instant fame thing gets to her more than anyone knows. Except maybe her therapist. All she wants is a place to call home, and all roads lead to Denver.
Mia and Lauryn collide at a local lesbian bar on New Year’s Eve, and fireworks go off. The good, bad and the ugly. But when Lauryn turns out to be Mia’s newest client, can they put aside their differences long enough to acknowledge the undercurrent of romance between them? Or will an unspoken grudge forever keep them at odds?
by Melissa Brayden
Sleeping with the enemy has never been so complicated.
Twenty-eight-year-old Brooklyn Campbell is having a bad day. A speeding ticket, a towed car, and a broken heel are all working against her laid-back vibe. To top it all off, her birth mother, whom she’s never met, has requested contact. The only bright spot is an impromptu date with a beautiful and mysterious brunette.
Jessica Lennox is what you would call a high-powered executive. She’s the head of a multimillion-dollar advertising firm in New York City, and it didn’t happen by accident. But when the blonde head turner from the wine bistro turns out to be her number one competitor, her life gets infinitely more complex.
Is New York big enough for both Brooklyn and Jessica? Maybe it’s just time they experienced it together…
by Clare Lydon
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Can The City Girl Win the Village Sweetheart?
Single since forever, Natalie Hill has all but given up on love. She’s convinced herself and everyone else she wants a quiet life. But if a tall, dark and gorgeous stranger turned up on her doorstep, her plans might change…
Enter Ellie Knap, who’s jump-starting her life in the Cotswolds after bailing on her relationship and her career. Her plan? To open an ice cream shop and melt into the village.
When the two meet it’s far from love at first sight, but then slowly, they become friends. Then one night, on a moonlit bridge, everything changes… But can Ellie pack up her old life in time to embrace the new? And can Natalie hold on tight when her quiet life suddenly gets deafeningly loud?
by Abby Crofton
Carly Branning has gotten used to cleaning up the messes of Hollywood legend Cybil Caron and her lovable but scandal-prone family. But she’s never worked with Tess, the eldest Caron sibling who is not like the rest; she’s a science nerd whose work is poised to revolutionize the world. She also looks great in a tux, much to Carly’s consternation.
When Carly is ordered to work with Tess on a campaign for a prestigious scientific award they disagree about almost everything. But as Carly and Tess spend time together both in and out of the lab Carly realizes that Tess has a heart just as big as her brain.
Falling in love with the boss’s daughter is probably a bad idea. Even if she’s sexy, sweet, and makes a perfect lasagna.
by Jac Sherry
After losing the love of her life, sex with no strings is the only thing that Angel Lux is interested in. Seducing straight women seems the best way to keep her plan from going sideways. But this time she’s gotten herself involved with another man’s fiancé. And he’s hell-bent on getting revenge.
Soon Mike has convinced his friend Chris to help set a trap to steal away his ex-fiancé and teach Angel a lesson. At first reluctant, Chris soon finds herself knee deep in the scheme, complete with high heels, lipstick, and a sexy red dress.
What starts as a ruse for one and a game for the other quickly turns to a connection neither Chris nor Angel expected. The chemistry between them might just finally be a force strong enough to heal Angel’s broken heart. If Chris’s lies don’t come between them first.
by Georgia Beers
Nothing’s ever been handed to Olivia Santini, and she’s proud of her work ethic. After seven years as the assistant manager of the Evergreen Resort and Spa, she has ideas to improve the bottom line and increase reservations. When her manager resigns, Olivia puts in her résumé and waits for the interview. The job is practically hers—all she needs is the paperwork.
Hayley Boyd Markham is the youngest Markham, the only girl, and the most spoiled. An artistic soul in a family of business-minded type As, she’s always felt like a bit of a screwup. After an embarrassing party situation, her father puts a hold on her allowance and gives her an ultimatum: Spend the winter as manager of the Evergreen Resort and Spa and show him it can turn a profit. Only then will he reconsider her future (and her inheritance).
A chance encounter in the woods is filled with chemistry and promise, and though neither Olivia nor Hayley is looking for love, they both feel the possibility. Until they get to work…
by VK Powell
The cure for grief is action, but is it worth the risk?
Greer Ellis is a hard-working homicide detective who excels at her job and values her reputation and her privacy. Since the death of her partner two years ago, work is the only thing that interests her. Until Eva Saldana, an internationally renowned journalist comes to town looking for answers in her brother’s death. Eva is convinced the overdose label so hastily applied to his case is not only wrong but is also a cover for murder. When evidence seems to point to a fellow officer, Greer is torn between her quest for the truth, allegiance to her profession, and her growing desire for Eva.
But is the risk they must take to be together justifiable?
Happy reading!
Miranda, Em, Faith, & TB
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Heya. Is there a National Sorry day that’s somewhere other than Australia? Or did you mean the National Sorry Day that is commemorated on May 26 in Oz?
Oh my goodness, thanks for bringing this to our attention. We selected the date from a generic list of national days and clearly I didn’t do my due diligence. We’ve removed the mention. Again, thanks for letting us know.
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