Here are 100 books that Chasing Dreams fans have personally recommended if you like
Chasing Dreams.
Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
I am a contemporary romance writer, mom, queer, dog-lover, and coffee enthusiast. I have a deep love of the genre, particularly sparkly and swoony, sapphic romcoms, with a borderline obsession with happily-ever-afters. Knowing I will always have a happy ending while smiling through pages gives me the comforting hug I sometimes need. My goal is to spread queer joy in my writing and provide a safe, celebratory, and affirming space for my readers to escape reality.
Salty, spicy, funny, and totally relatable, the main character, Delilah, became the most memorable character of the year for me. The story was funny, touching, and very, very (did I mention very) sexy. It dove into family dynamic complexities and explored what being an outsider is like.
I laughed out loud multiple times, rooted for the MC even when she was making terrible decisions, and wanted to read it again the moment it ended. Super fun read and so hard to put down.
A clever and steamy queer romantic comedy about taking chances and accepting love—with all its complications—from the author of Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail.
Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls—nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it’s a different woman every night, but that’s just fine with her.
When Delilah’s estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I’ve been writing lesbian and sapphic stories for a couple of decades now, and over time, I’ve gravitated to stories that have something else going on as well as pure romance. Romance doesn’t evolve in a vacuum, and the setting, scenario, and supporting characters can all help shape the main characters’ romance. I love these fun-filled books that also carry a deeper side, whether it’s a subplot or the main story. That’s what I love to write and read, and I hope you enjoy these recommendations as much as I do.
I love the fake romance trope! Characters pretending to be in a relationship for convoluted reasons get me picking the book up every time. This one is a cracker! Top neurosurgeon Samantha Thomson needs a wife like nowand advertises to find one. The ad is answered by Hayden Pérez, an ER nurse in the same hospital. Trouble is, Hayden dislikes the rude and aloof Sam and is only doing this for the generous payment for a year of her time.
Watching Sam and Hayden banter and snark around each other is delicious fun. As their relationship develops, the women start to understand and support each other through their individual problems in a very positive way. Readers who love a longer read will adore this one: the word count clocks in at 122,000.
Top neurosurgeon Samantha Thomson needs to get married fast and is tightlipped as to why. And with over $200,000 on offer to tie the knot, no questions asked, cash-strapped ER nurse Hayden Pérez isn’t about to demand answers. The deal is only for a year of marriage, but Hayden’s going into it knowing it will be a nightmare. Sam is complicated, rude, kind of cold, and someone Hayden barely tolerates at work, let alone wants to marry. The hardest part is that Hayden has to convince everyone around them that they’re madly in love and that racing down the aisle…
I’ve been writing lesbian and sapphic stories for a couple of decades now, and over time, I’ve gravitated to stories that have something else going on as well as pure romance. Romance doesn’t evolve in a vacuum, and the setting, scenario, and supporting characters can all help shape the main characters’ romance. I love these fun-filled books that also carry a deeper side, whether it’s a subplot or the main story. That’s what I love to write and read, and I hope you enjoy these recommendations as much as I do.
Unemployed lawyer, Nick, gets offered the chance to make quick bucks in the car repo business. With her repo partner, Frankie, she sets off across North Carolina on a series of zany (and dangerous) jobs to recover the cars. The jobs get more and more bizarre, the characters they meet are loveable and eccentric, and, despite not liking each other much in the beginning, along the way Nick and Frankie fall for each other.
Mixed in with the humour (and there are a lot of zingy one-liners, banter, and snort-coffee moments) are racial and small-town issues that give depth to an otherwise light-hearted story.
If you like novels with big heart, larger-than-life characters (including the cat, Carol Jenkins), an action movie feel at times and a banter-filled developing romance at others, this book will delight you.
Welcome to the National Recovery Bureau, where your assets are as sacred as God’s holy word.
Vera “Nick” Nicholson is an overtaxed and underpaid attorney wasting away on the bottom rung of the gilded ladder at Turner, Witherspoon, Anders, and Tyler in Winston-Salem, NC. When a high-priced luxury car belonging to one of the firm’s top clients goes missing, Nick gets saddled with the unenviable job of recovering the vehicle―and its mysterious contents―without involving the cops. Enter Fast Eddie and his quirky band of misfits at The National Recovery Bureau, a repo agency located in a sleepy town called K-Vegas.…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
I’ve been writing lesbian and sapphic stories for a couple of decades now, and over time, I’ve gravitated to stories that have something else going on as well as pure romance. Romance doesn’t evolve in a vacuum, and the setting, scenario, and supporting characters can all help shape the main characters’ romance. I love these fun-filled books that also carry a deeper side, whether it’s a subplot or the main story. That’s what I love to write and read, and I hope you enjoy these recommendations as much as I do.
This book puts together two very likeable main characters: Emily, an architect with a very rigid outlook on life, and Skye, who’s a freewheeling bike courier. Throw in some great chemistry, an Aussie setting, solid secondary characters, and overlay it all with KJ’s witty banter and amazingly lyrical sentences that seem to come from nowhere but just fit the narrative so perfectly, and you get Change of Plans, a perfect light-hearted romance.
But look a bit deeper and there’s insight into mental health, commentary on social housing, and a background of big megacorps overriding environmental and cultural issues for profit.
Emily Fitzsimmons, award-winning architect, creates meticulous plans for every aspect of her life, which is understandable considering her difficult childhood. After all, prudence keeps her safe. Lately, though, too many of those comforting plans are disintegrating and Emily is forced to function spontaneously which has spiked her anxiety so much, she’s put her therapist on speed-dial.
Skye Reynolds, bike courier entrepreneur, knows all about exploding plans. That’s literally how she lost her job when her company blew up a 40,000-year-old world heritage site. But Skye is not someone who asks for help to reassemble her life blueprints, which is lucky…
Halfway through my first novel, I realized that I was writing in a genre that had received little critical study and had almost no visibility. To find my way around the genre—and my place within it—I began reading heavily and before I knew it, I had read well over 200 lesbian mystery novels and devoured almost every serious review and critical study The dozen books I have written over the last decade reflect this study. In them, I hope I have succeeded in expanding the genre in some small way and adding to the menu of a hungry and discerning LGBTQ audience.
Like Nikki Baker’s novels,Tell Me What You Like is driven by its narration. Alison Kaine, the protagonist of the novel, works for the Denver Police Department. But unlike most protagonists of lesbian policiers—who tend to be sergeants or detectives—Alison is a lowly officer. Because she is an out lesbian, she is assigned to investigate the murder of a leather dyke outside a lesbian bar, and is slowly drawn into the stories of the bar’s other denizens. And, not quite against her will, she slides into the darker subculture of BDSM, with whips and collars and a dominatrix named Anastasia.
Alison Kaine, lesbian cop, enters the world of leather-dykes after a woman is brutally murdered at a Denver bar. In this fast-paced, yet slyly humorous novel, Allen confronts the sensitive issues of S/M, queer-bashers and women-identified sex workers.
I’m autistic, with a passion for narrative structure and my brain is exceptional at predicting twists, so something genuinely surprising is a rare treat I crave and value. As a queer and trans person, I’m always looking for content in which I can see myself and my loved ones. I’m obsessed with YA thrillers that don’t just keep me guessing but also give me messy, brilliant, unforgettable queer characters to root for. These are the books that stuck with me, made me lose sleep to finish, and gave me new queer icons to love. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
This book was a bloody delight—it’s sharp, gruesome, and fun in a way I should have guessed at from the amazing cover. It really kept me guessing!
I had no idea where the story was going, but I was fully in for wherever it took me, and I enjoyed every minute of the ride. The powerful team of girls (ghouls!), unapologetic queerness (in multiple flavours!!!), and the dark humour hooked me and kept me locked in all the way through.
From the New York Times bestselling author of My Dearest Darkest comes another incredible sapphic horror. When four best friends with a hunger for human flesh attend a music festival in the desert they discover a murderous plot to expose and vilify the girls and everyone like them. This summer is going to get gory.
Five years ago, the melting of arctic permafrost released a pathogen of unknown origin into the atmosphere, causing a small percentage of people to undergo a transformation that became known as the Hollowing. Those impacted slowly became intolerant to normal food and were only able…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
I have a wealth of knowledge and experience for living through tragic situations from my young adult life. I have overcome a traumatic childhood, alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental health. I find psychology fascinating; I have personally had many attempts by others to take my life. I have survived violent attacks, stalkers, and abuse. I love thriller books that have psychology embedded alongside many life lessons.
This book is a coming of age, thriller book that blew me away. I had no idea what the book was about when I read it and I did not even know which genre it was.
The storyline flicks between the past and present with the present chapters giving you a sneak peek into a troubled relationship between a lesbian couple. The past chapters are full of unanswered questions, heartache, and some truly shocking experiences.
The book is gripping and deep, it feels like you are inside the MCs mind. The traumatic life experiences she is forced to go through alongside becoming an adult is probably fascinating to others. I felt I could identify with many of the experiences so I enjoyed reading it for a comforting reason. The shocking ending is truly beautiful and satisfying.
“Your eyes are amazing. I’ve never seen a blue like that.”
Emma Landry is tough, independent, beautiful, and smart. Being an outcast unable to identify with her classmates, she was willing to do whatever it takes to climb her way out of poverty.
“What color would you say they are?”
Like Sapphire Blue
Having never known a mother’s love, her father “Bear”, raised her on the wrong side of the tracks in a wealthy town.
When success beckons, the woman she’s been in love with is, finally, within her grasp. Life is now worth living and loving.
Halfway through my first novel, I realized that I was writing in a genre that had received little critical study and had almost no visibility. To find my way around the genre—and my place within it—I began reading heavily and before I knew it, I had read well over 200 lesbian mystery novels and devoured almost every serious review and critical study The dozen books I have written over the last decade reflect this study. In them, I hope I have succeeded in expanding the genre in some small way and adding to the menu of a hungry and discerning LGBTQ audience.
Nikki Baker is the first African-American writer of lesbian mysteries and her character Virginia Kelly—who works as a financial analyst in Chicago—is the first African-American lesbian sleuth. This makes it important, but what makes the book outstanding is the writing, especially the voice of the protagonist. The plots are slick and entertaining, but it is Virginia’s internal musings and interpersonal relationships that make this—and the other 3 books in the series—a clear 5-star winner.
When businesswoman Virginia Kelly meets her old college chum Bev Johnson for drinks late one night, Bev confides that her lover, Kelsey, is seeing another woman. Ginny had picked up that gossip months ago, but she is shocked when the next morning's papers report that Kelsey was found murdered behind the very bar where Ginny and Bev had met. Worried that her friend could be implicated, Ginny decides to track down Kelsey's killer and contacts a lawyer, Susan Coogan. Susan takes an immediate, intense liking to Ginny, complicating Ginny's relationship with her live-in lover. Meanwhile Ginny's inquiries heat up when…
In my day job I’m a professor in a hard science and, unsurprisingly, a lesbian. I love sapphic fiction, especially speculative sapphic fiction, but it can be hard to find as the books are seldom labeled as such. Because I write in this genre I’ve been able to ferret out a lot of them, and have made it a mini mission to read as many as possible. I’m particularly drawn to those that get science right (bad science to a science professor is like nails on a chalk board), and those that have at least a little bit of kissing.
Finally, a sapphic space book with a humanly complex protagonist. Alana Quick lives in poverty, barely making ends meet as a spaceship mechanic. Her chronic illness takes whatever money she can come by, for her meds. She finally takes life by the wolf-paws (read the book, you’ll get it) and stows away on a ship, determined to find a better life. Of course then chaos ensues, there’s a hot captain to fall in love with (yes, fight authority, Alana. It makes it that much more fun when you two eventually kiss), and Alana must continually navigate her disease, save her sister, and negotiate for a position on the spaceship Tangled Axon.
Alana Quick is the best damned sky surgeon in Heliodor City, but repairing
starship engines barely pays the bills. When the desperate crew of a cargo
vessel stops by her shipyard looking for her spiritually-advanced sister Nova,
Alana stows away. Maybe her boldness will land her a long-term gig on the crew.
But the Tangled Axon proves to be more than star-watching and plasma
coils. The chief engineer thinks he's a wolf. The pilot fades in and out of
existence. The captain is all blond hair, boots, and ego... and Alana can't keep
her eyes off her. But there's little…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
Halfway through my first novel, I realized that I was writing in a genre that had received little critical study and had almost no visibility. To find my way around the genre—and my place within it—I began reading heavily and before I knew it, I had read well over 200 lesbian mystery novels and devoured almost every serious review and critical study The dozen books I have written over the last decade reflect this study. In them, I hope I have succeeded in expanding the genre in some small way and adding to the menu of a hungry and discerning LGBTQ audience.
Like the novels in my first 3 picks, this one is part of a series. Nea Fox, the protagonist, is a private eye working out of London. The story contains a series of intricate puzzles with exotic characters and engaging relationships. Think of the Fu Manchu novels if they had been written by Patricia Highsmith. In this one, Nea investigates an alleged haunting and reveals a great deal of monkey business. And if it’s action you like, this may be the most exciting lesbian mystery of all.
An icy wind blows over the Thames, the lights of Westminster Bridge cast pale sparkles on the cold water, December in London. The young private detective Nea Fox takes on an unusual case. She is to investigate the haunting of a secluded country estate in the North. An ancient puzzle seems to hold the key to solving the mystery, but Nea is not the only one interested in the hidden clues. Her investigation not only puts her at odds with a mysterious secret society, which will stop at nothing to achieve its sinister goal, her heart is put to the…
