Sapphic Paranormal Romances (IHS Reading Challenge #35)

Welcome to week 35 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.

Below you’ll find reading suggestions for Paranormal Romance. Better yet, 9 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 Paranormal Romance week: September 5 through September 9

 

Remember, November

by Cameron Darrow

FREE $3.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)

Britain may have won the First World War, but the witches of ADAM lost.

Now an embarrassment, the Allied Directorate for Alternative Means is to be disbanded and its witches scattered, their lives overturned and shattered once again. Presented with a final chance to keep their budding coven together, it will take more than magic for them to succeed.

When Millie Brown’s best friend goes missing from the program, she must track her down and bring her home before she’s hunted down by a government that no longer wants anything to do with witchcraft. If that weren’t enough, if Millie fails, not only will ADAM be disbanded, but the beguiling witch Elise will be sent back to France. Fearing that as much as her own feelings for Elise, Millie will have to look within herself to find the truth of her magic and hold together that which is most important to her or lose it all.

And a young woman known only as November wakes up on Christmas morning in an empty grave with no memory of who she is or why she can do impossible things. With no memory of her past, she must struggle to find out just who she was and why it has come back to try to kill her. The sudden manifestation of a power she can’t understand and barely control makes it all the more urgent, for the sake of everyone around her as much as herself.

 

Blood Bound

by Idella Breen

Permafree

An ice child, her protector, and a century-old prophecy..

In a world where monsters and humans live in relative peace..

Snow Bennett just wanted to get away from her overprotective parents. Transferring to the high school in the next town was the obvious solution. Monster High, isn’t an ordinary high school. It’s the perfect place for Snow who is human with a little extra. Snow has always wanted to spice up her boring life..then she met Cait Fallon, the spice to her everything nice.

Cait Fallon is a woman with secrets. Secrets, that have ruled her life preventing her from truly moving forward.

When Snow transfers into her class, Cait is reminded of a promise she made long ago to protect the girl.

Can Snow break down the walls Cait has spent centuries building? Or will they both fall victim to an age-old prophecy?

Before clicking on the buy button, please ensure it’s free in your marketplace. Sometimes, Amazon reverts titles back to the original price without the author’s knowledge. 

 

This Time

by S.W. Andersen

$0.99 $4.99 

Some people believe love transcends time and space.

Neuropsychologist Dr. Contessa “Tess” Kenner isn’t one of them. She can explain in detail how lust and desire cause the limbic system to battle the prefrontal cortex over ethical decision making, but ask her about her aversion to relationships and she’s completely at a loss. It’s not due to lack of trying. She’s just never felt the need or the connection to put in the effort.

Free spirited artist Elena Jake, on the other hand, wants to fall in love with the woman of her dreams—quite literally. Ever since her youth, her nights have been consumed by a beautiful stranger, so much so, that no flesh and blood woman has ever been able to measure up. When the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, she seeks guidance from her Native American roots.

Driven by strong astrological influences, the “powers that be” attempt an intervention between the two women. Their pasts and presents merge, sending Tess and Elena on an unimaginable journey, causing them both to question their sanities.

Will these two souls rediscover an epic love?
Or are they destined to forever be star-crossed lovers?

 

The Gargoyle Gets A Girlfriend

by Calandra Hunter

$0.99 $2.99 

She’s gone viral

Getting caught on camera was the last thing gargoyle shifter Gwen wanted. But because of the blurry images, a trio of college students has come down to the state park to get clearer footage. Even worse, Gwen’s fated mate is also in the park for a glimpse of the mysterious giant bat creature.

Adventurous Angie figured she’d have a nice holiday in the state park. Seeing the bat creature with her own eyes is just a bonus. Seeing that bat creature transform into a gorgeous woman is an even bigger bonus.

Together, Gwen and Angie have to deal with the nosy trio and their camera. They’ll have to debunk the existence of the creature once and for all, or risk exposing shifters to the world and attracting more nosy humans to the park.

Because the only human Gwen wants to attract, is Angie.

 

Improbable Heaven

by J.P. Noether

$0.99 $2.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)

Messenger angel Kel didn’t want an important assignment any more than her angelic superiors wanted to give it to her. She’s already lost the paperwork and taken an unauthorized shortcut when she falls into a trap that succubus scientist Alba has set on the demonic side of the hinterlands.

Kel’s spotty record can’t take that many more black marks. She negotiates for Alba’s silence: she’ll do anything the demon wants for thirty days. She’s read a book or two about succubi, and the prospect of a month of no-strings sex with Alba beats doing penance hands down. Even when Alba shatters Kel’s lurid hopes, assigning her to organize the library, it’s still better than going back to Heaven. For the first time in her existence, Kel finds out that she’s good at something, and Alba’s no-nonsense encouragement makes her want more than meaningless sex.

Unfortunately, Alba isn’t the only demon in Hell.

 

Submitting to My Neighbor the Witch

by Riley Rose

$0.99 $2.99 

Elena Cortez loves Halloween. So when her new sexy neighbor Cassia invites her to a Halloween party, she’s super-stoked! Only problem: Elena thinks Cassia might be a witch. Like a real witch. Who’s using her magic to make Elena have the most epic orgasms of her life!

Will Elena be able to discover the truth about Cassia? Will she let herself become the ultimate witch slut? And will she let Cassia put her wand wherever she wants?

 

Cursed Hearts

by C. L. Cattano

$2.99 $4.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)

THE LOVE OF TWO souls has transcended time because a gift was given by a bored demon on All Hallows’ Eve. That gift has now turned into a curse. The souls now trapped in the demons’ game have lived many lives and had many names. Their love has brought them together many times, no matter their relationship status or their gender.

Along with the curse, they are followed through time by a moonstone pendant and a pumpkin seed that are both required to help break the curse. If the souls find each other, they have only one Halloween night to fight the curse or be ripped apart once again.

When the soulmates, the pendant, and a pumpkin grown from the seed are together, the story of their beginning is told and the riddle they must solve is revealed. The souls must join together in fighting the curse so they can finally live a lifetime with each other.

It is time again to fight the demons that have turned a gift into a curse…

 

The Grace of Sorcerers

by Maria Ying

$2.99 $4.99 

To be a warlock in this age is to trade in powers and promises and poisons, to bind demons and men to your will, to break them as you see fit…

Viveca Hua is the warlock of her era, and she has finally obtained her enemy’s greatest weapon—the demon Yves, an entity powerful beyond imagining… and far more alluring than any mortal woman.

But each ritual has a price. Yves has her own past, one brutally intertwined with the nemesis that killed Viveca’s mother. Her secrets will make or break the hunt.

Whatever the risk to her heart or her soul, Viveca is sure of one thing: she will have victory at any cost.

 

1140 Rue Royale

by Karen Badger

$2.99 $5.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)

Lia and Elliot are research scientists in New York City. Having met twenty-two years earlier, their lives have fallen into a ‘taken-for-granted’ daily routine. They agree to begin again in New Orleans, not only to further their careers, but to renew their relationship, away from the hustle and bustle of big city life in New York.

While house-hunting, they can’t believe their luck when they find an historical mansion in the French Quarter of New Orleans, securing the home for much less than appraised value.

Not long after moving in, they find out why their new home was such a bargain as a series of horrid events takes over their lives, and they learn the terrifying truth about 1140 Rue Royale.

 

Keep scrolling for more reading suggestions! 

 

Love, Blood, and Sanctuary

by Brenda Murphy

Haunted? Hunted? When you need a safe place from disaster, heartbreak, or gods trying to break you and drain your blood… come to Sanctuary. It’s New York’s most exclusive club for magical beings and the backdrop of three sexy stories from three award winning authors.

We Choose to Be by Megan Hart
Sanguine Faith by Brenda Murphy
Promises Made by Starlight by Fiona Zedde

 

V.A.M.P.

by Kimberly A. Todd

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Is it possible to find a second chance at love?
Being rich, powerful, and thirty years old for eternity has its perks. Being a heartbroken, 800-year-old lesbian vampire, not so much.

Serena Vanderen is chairman and CEO of V.A.M.P. Global. Advertiser by day; scientist, murderer, and cleanup artist for her pharmaceutical client by night.
Since her girlfriend was killed thirty years ago, Serena has been going through the motions of running her advertising agency while grieving and trying to armor her heart against any more pain. But when Katerina Davenport attends her company gala, everything changes.

Can this captivating, gorgeous, sexy redhead help Serena find love again? Will she reignite Serena’s long-dormant sexual desires? Will Katerina be able to accept that she is falling in love with a vampire? What dark secrets does the agency conceal that challenges their love—and Katerina’s safety?

 

Musings of a Madwoman

by Jazzy Mitchell

Three women’s lives interweave as they struggle to navigate life and love. And the effects of a meteorite.

Patricia Steitz, a successful romance writer, is flabbergasted when Rudi Singlewood shows up at one of her book signings and initiates a summer romance. She worries that the fantasies she’s harbored regarding the world-renown Broadway actress may prevent her from accepting who Rudi really is. She relates her fears to her best friend, Marcia Struthers, a successful Manhattan litigator.

Knowing that Patricia has dreamed of Rudi for years, Marcia urges her to give the actress a chance by getting to know who she is behind her public persona. While working a high-profile case, Marcia must confront her resurging feelings for lead opposing counsel, Lexie Yamin, and the appearance of an unrequited love. All is not as it seems, however, as Marcia deals with unexpected physical changes and developing mental abilities after an encounter with a meteorite. Marcia’s not the only one dealing with changes induced by an extraterrestrial rock, though.

Kiernan Connelly, who has received intriguing letters over several months, begins to question her lifestyle. Her casual sexual relationship with Rudi and passable acting career no longer fulfill her. As Kiernan makes changes in her life, she finds herself dealing with the strange reality of being able to hear others’ thoughts. Could it be related to her close encounter with a meteorite?

 

Unbeliever

by Karin Kallmaker

Professor Hayley Carnegie has no time for the puzzle of a large book of blank pages delivered to her doorstep. University politics don’t matter, her research doesn’t matter. Her entire life is wrapped around caring for her twin, Kylie. As the New England winter sharpens both sisters know that Kylie will not see the spring. New neighbor Aurora Lowell is immediately sympathetic, helpful … and alluring. But Hayley has no time for that either.

It’s a completely different side of Aurora that Hayley experiences when she chances to open the mysterious book near the firelight and muses aloud the vaguely familiar words that appear on the old pages… Love is magic is love in Unbeliever.

 

Angel’s Touch

by Siri Caldwell

Kira Wagner is in Piper Beach to make money. The small resort town needs a high-end hotel and spa for women. With everything she owns invested in the expensive land, she needs a local expert to get the project up and running. Megan McLaren’s name is at the top of her list.

Megan isn’t aware that the woman on her massage table is planning to offer her a job. She gives her healing touch as she would to anyone and turns down the invitation to dinner. But the persistent Kira soon awakens something else in Megan: memories of pasts they may have shared, none of which ended happily.

Megan agrees to consult with Kira, but her only goal is to make sure the new hotel doesn’t ruin the sacred spaces she knows are nearby. She wishes she could tell Kira the truth, but she’s deeply afraid that Kira will look at her like every other woman in her life has when she explains about the powerful ley lines… and the angels…

 

Fox on the Run

by C. A. Hall

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Love has no limits.

As the oldest wolf in her pack, Nan’s pretty sure her window for love has already come and gone. After years of taking in others off the streets, she’d much rather help those in need than chase down her elusive mate.

However, when she crosses paths with a younger fox, Nan realizes she might not have a choice.

Kari’s smart, timid, and one of Nan’s most difficult challenges yet. It’ll take a lot more than the promise of food and shelter to entice the fox.

And the longer Kari makes her wait, the harder Nan falls for the woman she so desperately wants to protect.

 

Rise of the Rain Queen

by Fiona Zedde

Nyandoro was born the favorite. As the only girl of her parents’ six children, she gets everything she wants without even asking for it. When the latest thing she desires is the wife of a village elder, she faces consequences she never had to before.

These consequences come with the dawn of a passion she didn’t know existed, a carnal feast of flesh she can’t get enough of. But on the night she gains the ultimate satisfaction from the woman she’d always wanted, she also loses every good thing she ever had. This loss takes Ny from the shelter of her family and home to the unknown wilds of a new world flush with ancient power, and into the arms of an old lover who has always been by her side.

 

Spellbound

by Jean Copeland & Jackie D

Hazel Abbot spent her whole life unaware she was a witch. When a spell thrusts her great-aunt Sarah Hutchinson forward from the Salem witch trials of 1692 and lands her in Hazel’s bookstore, everything Hazel thought she knew about herself changes. Complicating matters, Raven Dare, a supernatural hunter, informs her that they’ve all been summoned by the Queen Witch, Morgan le Fay.

Morgan compels Hazel, Sarah, and Raven to correct the shift in the realms of good and evil by ridding the world of the evil that followed Sarah into modern day. If they fail, the forces of white magic will be extinguished forever. But completing the perilous mission, convincing Sarah to return to Puritan life, and resisting their growing attraction for each other might prove more difficult than Hazel and Raven ever anticipated.

 

Working For Truth

by Natalie Debrabandere

Available in Kindle Unlimited

WHEN DOES ‘DIFFERENT’ STOP BEING OKAY?

In the small village of Kenbey, Leicestershire, rumour has it that a new spiritual organisation could be a dangerous cult in the making. British writer Holly McKay aims to find out if this is true, and perhaps win herself a Pulitzer Prize in the process… Or at least, a front cover!

The leader of the group, Raven Black, is just as unusual and intriguing as she is charismatic. A woman who claims to channel Pleiadian entities… Someone who can even change the weather at will, apparently! Is she nothing but a deluded guru? A talented liar? Something else?

As Holly delves deep into her world on a 5-day retreat, she can only be sure of one thing:

on the far side of ‘out there’, anything is possible.

 

Her Wolf in the Wild

by Rien Gray

The Hounds of God MC live outside the law and protect their own. They only have three rules:

(1) look out for each other

(2) obey the club president

(3) never show a human your werewolf form.

Christiana Arjean needs to get out. She tried to fix her relationship, but making a break for it is her only shot. She almost doesn’t make it, until a butch biker with a shock of white hair tosses Christiana on the back of her bike. Micah is as mysterious as she is attractive, and Christiana wants to know what’s under that tough exterior.

Micah Nubilo knows a little bit about keeping secrets. Rescuing Christiana is a bad idea, and letting her hang around is even worse. But there’s something calling to Micah: an impossible bond no werewolf should ever feel for a human, even one as beautiful as Christiana.

Their growing intimacy is threatened when they realize their pasts are connected in ways they never could have imagined. Christiana and Micah must fight against threats both outside the pack and inside themselves for a chance at putting it all behind them and finding a way forward—together.

 

Fox You

by Yuna Lee

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Fox spirits are supposed to seduce and drain their victims… not fall in love with them!

Eunice, a modern-day fox, thought that giving up her party girl ways and turning over a new leaf would be easy. But she’s getting nagged by her Very Asian Mom (TM), hosting a foxy cousin who insists on holding orgies, and incompetent at cooking anything but ramen. When a beautiful Black woman teaches her the magic of Southern cooking, Eunice is smitten. How can she control her desires around someone so delicious?

Mary Jean is a gifted cook who dreams of opening her own restaurant. Right now, she has trouble making ends meet while supporting her sick ma. She’s giving cooking lessons to a gorgeous Asian woman—after all, everyone deserves great jambalaya—and maybe falling for her too. But after a break-up with the rich ex who thought that golf mattered more than her ma’s health, Mary Jean isn’t sure she’s ready to open her heart again.

Can two women find romance together while reinventing Southern cuisine?

 

Once Upon a Twilight

by Winter Pennington

Millicent and Malinda Hearthwell couldn’t be more different. Though the two sisters have always been close, Millicent is often frustrated by her sister’s inability to be what she perceives as mature and realistic. Too often, Malinda surrenders to her impulses, throwing herself thoughtlessly and headlong into flights of reckless fantasy.

On the day before Malinda’s wedding, Millicent finds herself dragged yet again on another of her sister’s wild and imaginative quests. Convinced that she will beseech the Fey Ones to help her escape the dull world around her and her betrothed, Malinda persuades Millicent into riding out in the forest near their home. When things do not go as planned, Millicent realizes she’s lost not only her sister in the deep heart of the forest, but her own way as well.

Just when she thinks she can go on no longer, a strange woman from the forest offers Millicent shelter from the storm. As Millicent comes to better know the generous and beautiful stranger, she begins to wonder if perhaps her sister’s far-fetched beliefs might have some merit to them after all, and that maybe, just maybe, fairytales and romance actually do exist beyond a page.

 

Happy reading!

Faith, Em, Miranda, & TB


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About TBM

TB Markinson is an American who's recently returned to the US after a seven-year stint in the UK and Ireland. When she isn't writing, she's traveling the world, watching sports on the telly, visiting pubs in New England, or reading. Not necessarily in that order. Her novels have hit Amazon bestseller lists for lesbian fiction and lesbian romance. She cohosts the Lesbians Who Write Podcast (lesbianswhowrite.com) with Clare Lydon. TB also runs I Heart Lesfic (iheartlesfic.com), a place for authors and fans of lesfic to come together to celebrate lesbian fiction.
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