For this week’s category of the Sapphic Book Bingo, read a sapphic book with a main character who’s a single parent–at least for most of the book. Some of the characters might find a new partner who takes on the role of a co-parent during the course of the book.
Sapphic books featuring a single parent
Here are 15 recommended sapphic books featuring a main character whose a single parent:
Falling Hard by Jae
Dr. Jordan Williams devotes her life to two things: saving patients in the operating room and pleasuring her latest conquest in the bedroom. Her idea of commitment is spending a few hours together in bed.
Single mom Emma Larson is Jordan’s polar opposite. Family and fidelity mean everything to her. After an ugly divorce from her wife, a plastic surgeon, she and her five-year-old daughter move in next door to Jordan. While she finds Jordan undeniably attractive, falling in love with another womanizing surgeon is the last things she needs.
When a bad fall leaves Jordan in need of assistance, Emma decides to help her while she recovers.
Could those six weeks turn out to be the beginning of a happily ever after, or will they both end up with a broken heart?
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Chef’s Kiss by Stephanie Shea
Valentina Rosas has always known what she wants. Mostly. Sort of. At least, she does now. And what she wants is the coveted staging role at Gia, San Francisco. With four years at the top of her class in culinary school and enough tenacity to fuel the entire Mission, no one doubts she is about to land the job of her dreams—including the three-person cheer squad made up of her best friend and adorably overbearing parents.
Renowned chef Jenn Coleman is not a people person. Her rise to the top of the culinary industry stems from a cultivated blend of top-tier schooling—from her nonna—and bouts of carefully managed misanthropy. Owning and operating two Michelin starred restaurants doesn’t leave time for much else anyway. Just ask her ex.
When the new stage at her restaurant trips into her with all the grace of a baby giraffe, it’s a sure recipe for disaster. But for all of Jenn’s reserve, Valentina has twice the allure, and the chemistry between them is just… chef’s kiss.
If only Jenn wasn’t Valentina’s boss with nearly ten years between them.
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The Loudest Silence by Olivia Janae
Rising star cellist Kate Flynn is new to Chicago and her job at the Windy City Chamber Ensemble. On day one, she is surprised by the board’s intriguing president, Vivian Kensington. Not only does the woman come with a formidable reputation, but she’s also Deaf.
However, between a familiar face Kate isn’t ready to see again and the difficulties of being a single mom, she isn’t sure Chicago is the right place for her.
When tendrils of friendship develop with Vivian, Kate finds beneath her prickly ice queen persona unexpected kindness and warmth. Is the promise of more enough to make her stay? Can two such different women, one from a world of sound and one a world of silence, truly understand one another?
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Always Believe by Aimée
Lieutenant-Colonel Greyson Walsden returns to her hometown of Gloucester after a fulfilling career as an Army doctor. She takes a position as a general practitioner while pursuing ordination as an Anglican priest. Overworked and naturally reserved, she doesn’t have time or patience for socializing, let alone for falling in love.
For Angela Arlingham, life as she knows it is over. God played a cruel trick on her by robbing her of her daughter, Sybil, and Angela refuses to believe in Him any longer. When she meets Greyson Walsden, she’s impressed by the handsome doctor, but struggling with her loss makes falling in love with a priest all but impossible.
As circumstances throw them together again and again, the choice to follow their hearts may be the most difficult one of all.
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Reading Her by Amanda Radley
Awkward teenager Hugo Whittaker doesn’t know a cross-trainer from an elliptical, but getting strong is the only way to fight off the bullies who won’t leave him alone. Lauren Evans loves her job as a fitness instructor, and she wants to guide him. Unfortunately, Hugo paid for his gym membership by stealing his mother’s credit card, and it doesn’t take his mother long to track down her wayward son.
In a courtroom, shrewd barrister Allegra Whittaker is unstoppable, but when it comes to her son Hugo, she’s afraid she’s losing her touch. She reluctantly allows him to continue using the gym as long as she can keep an eye on him—and his undeniably intriguing instructor.
As each encounter leaves them wanting more, Lauren and Allegra learn love and happiness are right where they least expect it. There’s just one little problem: Lauren has a huge secret she absolutely cannot tell anyone, and Allegra knows she’s hiding something.
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Other Girls by Avery Brooks
Once upon a time, Sam and Ashley were other girls.
Three years after the loss of her wife to a brain aneurysm, 34-year-old Samantha Parker focuses her energy on caring for her young son, Jake. She can’t imagine ever falling in love again, so she focuses on putting one foot in front of the other and being the best mom she can be. It’s not a perfect life, but as long as her son is happy and her softball team keeps winning, everything is fine. That is, until Ashley Valence, the girl who bullied Sam throughout high school, moves back to New Orleans and joins the softball team. As tensions rise on the field, unexpected chemistry between the two women begins to grow.
No matter how much Sam wants to hate Ashley for the pain and anguish those teenage taunts caused, Ashley’s eyes hold only warmth now. And, as Sam slowly introduces Ashley into her life with Jake, she begins to let go of the past. But as their relationship progresses, all of the former hurts and resentments resurface for Sam, and she lashes out at Ashley. Sam understands that her anger is a byproduct of the events of the past and that Ashley isn’t the same girl she used to be. But when Sam begins to realize that she’s fallen in love with Ashley, she has to decide if she can truly trust her heart and find happiness with the woman who once hurt her so deeply.
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Hugs & Quiches by Candace Harper
Though for Zoe Cooper and Amelia Hughes, it’s the very first step toward their happy ending.
It’s been a year since Zoe Cooper packed up her daughter and fled her abusive husband with only the clothes on her back. But life as a waitress, food blogger, and “roommate” to her supportive mother has turned into a holding pattern, and her dream of launching her own catering company and cooking school feels like just another fairy tale ending–when she’s no Cinderella.
Until the newest cooking competition comes to town, and suddenly magic just might be at Zoe’s fingertips with the chance to audition for Heating Up the Kitchen.
If only she can beat Amelia.
Fresh out of a disastrous relationship and determined to prove her ex wrong, Amelia’s got a chip on her shoulder and is ready for a grudge match in the kitchen. When she locks horns with Zoe, there’s more steaming than their buns as the two competitive young chefs vie for the top spot on the show…
…and the top spot in each other’s hearts.
There’s more cooking in this kitchen than the food, and romance is on the menu. When hatred turns to heat and threatens to boil over, their rivalry might just end in disaster.
Or Zoe and Amelia might just find the future they need in each other–in between stolen hugs and quiches.
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And Then She Kissed Me by Harper Bliss
TV cop Sadie Ireland needs a break from her Hollywood life. She heads home to the beach town where she grew up to celebrate her 40th birthday with her family.
Devon Douglas can’t believe it when she comes face-to-face with Sadie again. They were inseparable in high school until Devon did something she has regretted for more than twenty years—she ruined their friendship on a lovestruck whim.
Sadie is as dazzling as Devon remembers—and she can still hold her own surfing the wild waves of Clearwater Bay.
Devon’s first priority is her five-year-old son, but getting to know Sadie all over again is taking up more and more of her headspace.
Sadie is inexplicably drawn to Devon. It could be nostalgia. It could be remnants of their old friendship flaring up. But what if it’s more than that?
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A Game of Two Hearts by Iona Kane
Tess Kennedy isn’t where she thought she’d be at forty-six. She’s focusing on keeping things together as a single parent as she returns to a town that holds mixed memories. As she tries to build a new life for her family, she’s relieved that she’s finally in control of her own destiny. The last thing she’s looking for is a relationship.
Rowan Russell is living her regular, predictable life. She works hard and plays harder, to drown out the voice in her head reminding her of all the bad choices she’s made. When Tess’s return stirs up old, complicated feelings, she has to question whether she’s happy letting life happen to her.
When Rowan and Tess end up working together, they both need to decide how much they’re willing to risk for happiness.
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Truly Wanted by J.J. Hale
After a chaotic childhood in a long line of foster homes, Sam McKenna found her version of serenity in her friendship with Brooke Fields. When tragedy forces Brooke to become a single mother, Sam is there for her. Sam ignores the crush she’s had on Brooke since college. Their relationship is too precious to risk.
After the loss of her husband, Brooke finally dips her toes back into the dating world only to have each encounter end in disaster. If it wasn’t for Sam by her side picking her back up, she might give up on ever finding love again.
After a night of unexpected passion when Brooke and Sam cross the line of friendship, Brooke can’t help but yearn for more with Sam. A chance encounter leads Brooke and Sam on a journey to Sam’s birth family, uncovering the ghosts of Sam’s past and revealing wounds that threaten the friendship both once believed to be indestructible, and any chance for something more.
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You Matter by Jazzy Mitchell
Chrissy Kramer became pregnant during her senior year of high school and was abandoned by her parents, her boyfriend, and her friends. She became a loner, working hard to provide for her son. It was her and him against the world. She eventually earns a paralegal degree and works for a powerful female attorney, Reggie Esposito, a senior law partner at a leading Boston law firm.
Chrissy’s smitten from the beginning, but she refuses to jeopardize her job by acting on her feelings. When a disgruntled former client attempts to kill Reggie after she loses his lawsuit, Chrissy prevents him from shooting Reggie, but she’s hurt in the process. While Chrissy and her son, Ben, stay in Reggie’s home to recuperate, Chrissy’s connection with Reggie deepens, and they embark on a romantic relationship.
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Flight To The Horizon by Julie Tizard
Airline captain Kerri Sullivan has a perfect life. Only one thing is missing—a woman to share it with. She’s had plenty of women on the road to success, but she’s never met “the one.” Flight attendant Janine Case is beautiful beyond measure, but comes across as aloof and untouchable. When Kerri and Janine are crewmembers on a flight to Hawaii, an unexpected kiss leads to smoldering attraction.
After Kerri is forced to make an emergency water landing mid-flight and the two women survive a harrowing rescue mission, all Kerri wants to do is follow her heart into Janine’s arms. But Jeanine is hiding a dark secret from her past, one that makes falling in love impossible. She’s on the run from her abusive ex-husband, and she’ll stop at nothing to protect her daughter, even if the cost is her own happiness.
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Love Bites by Lila Bruce
The last person Ashley Baldwin expected to see when she walked into Ridgeview Animal Clinic was the gorgeous ex-love-of-her-life, Peyton Maxwell. Their break-up in college had been an explosive one, and now, some twelve years later, Ashley was still picking up the pieces of her broken heart.
Peyton Maxwell knew better than anyone that life rarely turned out the way you planned. After spending more than a decade away from her hometown, she’d finally decided to move back in order to raise her young daughter closer to family. She was just beginning to settle into her new job when Ashley walked into an exam room at the vet clinic and back into her life. Peyton thought she’d put that part of her life firmly in the past, but one look at her former lover and it all comes rushing back.
Ashley has waited a long time for answers, but walks away from their encounter with only questions. Could it really hurt to pursue a friendly, platonic relationship as Peyton suggests? Or will Ashley find herself rekindling a flame that never really died?
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Presidential by Lola Keeley
High-flying pediatric surgeon Emily Lawrence is new to Washington DC. Her first week in her new job puts her on a collision course with the most powerful woman in America, President Calvin.
Constance “Connie” Calvin’s first term is proving turbulent thanks to trying to juggle work and life as a widowed single mother to a 12-year-old boy. Running for re-election is imminent, and the critics are gunning for her. Worse, her famed icy cool is in danger of melting in the face of Emily’s passion, commitment, and charm.
Admitting the rising sexual tension between the women is just the start. How can they act on it while in the public glare? Giving into temptation comes with such risk. In a world that lives and dies on opinion polls, what will the country make of them?
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Sprinkled in the Stars by Violet Morley
AJ 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. The media keeps portraying her as cold and hard to work with, and Mel has absolutely nothing more to give. As she begins to imagine a new life, a challenging part of her past comes back on the scene, determined to cause problems for Mel.
After a series of coincidental meetings, AJ battles her desire for control while Mel struggles with trust. Despite the challenges and complications, Mel finds herself drawn to the Beckett ladies, and AJ can’t deny their connection, either.
Falling in love has never been so sweet.
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Heal Their Hearts by Claire Highton-Stevenson
Georgia Samuels lives her life with no commitments other than the love of her job, and the flashy little apartment overlooking the Thames.
That is until tragedy strikes and her sister, Aston, and Aston’s husband Ben are both killed when the plane they’re returning home on crashes, leaving the family rocked, and three kids orphaned.
Will Georgia step up like her sister wanted? And what happens when her sister’s best friend, Pippa, turns out to be someone worth hanging around for? Can Georgia give up her dream life and hot hook-ups, for a ready-made family, village life, and maybe, the love of her life?
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Leave a comment and let us know what book you’ll be reading for the “sapphic book with a single parent” category!
Where the Heart Leads by Ally McGuire is the book I read.