Jae

Sapphic Slow-burn romances

Sapphic books with a forced proximity theme (Sapphic Reading Challenge #49)

forced proximity books

This week’s Sapphic Reading Challenge features sapphic books with a “forced proximity” theme.

The two main characters are forced to spend time together. It could be because they are stranded somewhere, snowed in, or stuck together for some other reason that forces them to spend time together, even though they are reluctant to do so.

 

Send in your reading lists to be entered into the giveaway!

Next week, I’ll post the very last Sapphic Reading Challenge post, so the time to send in your reading lists is quickly approaching. The deadline to be entered into the big giveaway is December 31, at 10 am German time, so my advice would be to send in your list of books you read in 2021 on December 30 or sooner!

 

15 sapphic books with a forced proximity theme

I put together a list of 15 sapphic books with a forced proximity theme. I hope you find a few new favorites!

 

Just a Touch Away by Jae

An enemies-to-lovers lesbian romance with an ice queen whose frosty facade is melted by the power of touch.

Hannah Martin has an unusual job: she’s a professional cuddler. While she has a big heart for her clients, she hasn’t found someone special to snuggle up to in her personal life.

Winter Sullivan isn’t looking for love. She’s an aloof workaholic who’s built walls of ice around herself. She would rather drive toothpicks under her fingernails than cuddle, and she certainly doesn’t want to share her space with anyone.

When Winter’s estranged father dies, he leaves her one last surprise: she and Hannah, a perfect stranger, will inherit a building together. But there’s a catch: first, they have to live together for ninety-two days.

Winter is determined to dislike her rival, but soon finds Hannah isn’t what she expected at all. Thanks to a hilarious doormat war, a cuddle dare from Winter’s half sister, and a kiss in the most unusual of places, the frosty fortress around her heart begins to melt.

Will she be able to accept that love might be just a touch away?

Available at:

Amazon

Apple Books

Ylva Publishing

 

Lost in Paradise by Rachel Lacey

When a Manhattan businesswoman and a reclusive French artist are stranded together on a deserted island, opposites attract…and sparks fly. But with love on the horizon, will they survive to claim their happy ending?

Nicole Morella boards a private Mediterranean cruise with one goal: to reclaim herself after her divorce. When she sits next to a beautiful blonde in the ship’s lounge, she’s knocked off balance by the immediate attraction between them, and it’s not just because Nicole hasn’t found her sea legs yet. Fiona stirs things in Nicole that haven’t been stirred in a long time, but a fiery kiss turns dangerous when the ship is hijacked. The women launch a daring escape, leaving them adrift in an empty lifeboat.

Fiona Boone has been adrift most of her life, but never in such a literal sense. She’s a survivor, though, so when they land on a deserted island, Fiona’s ready to do whatever it takes to stay alive until they’re rescued. In the meantime, she can’t get enough of the feisty woman she’s stranded with, despite her usual fiercely independent nature. Although they’re lost, Fiona finds something unexpected in the comfort of Nicole’s touch. But when an injury puts her life in jeopardy, they begin to worry help won’t arrive in time. If she survives their ordeal, Fiona might just face her biggest challenge yet: falling in love.

Available at:

Amazon

 

Protecting the Lady by Amanda Radley

Former Protection Command Officer Eve Webb quit her job when a terrorist incident revealed that internal communication failures had caused multiple deaths. Now her former commanding officer and mentor has asked for a favor, and Eve can’t say no. It should be an easy job. All she has to do is guard one female civilian.

Lady Katherine Lovegrove is forty-something-ish in line to the throne and has lived a sheltered life until her father—a high profile judge—upsets the wrong people. She’s not exactly thrilled to need a full-time babysitter, uh, bodyguard, and is even less happy that Eve is an anti-monarchist who despises the upper class.

If Eve had known she’d be protecting royalty, she’d never have taken the job, but as the threat to Lady Katherine’s life draws closer, she’ll do whatever it takes to save her and may just lose her heart in the process.

Available at:

Bold Strokes Books

Amazon

Apple Books

Audible

 

Stranded by Blayne Cooper

Rachel Michaels is at the top of her profession, but she’s grown tired of trading barbs with her co-host/ex-husband on their popular morning radio talk show. Eager to stretch her wings, she takes a second job as the color commentator for Denver’s new professional women’s soccer team.

Along with her new job comes an exciting assignment, travel to Venezuela to profile the team’s sizzling star recruit, Miranda Gutierrez. But Rachel begins to long for a little of her old routine when her boss forces her to extend her stay to accompany team big-wig, Nora Butler, and the headstrong player on a “bonding” adventure.

Their journey gets off to a bad start, and things go downhill from there. All three women are tested mentally and physically as they fight for their lives. They must learn to depend on each other, shape their own destinies, and, ultimately, risk everything for what matters most.

What would you do to survive? How much would you risk for love?

Available at:

Amazon

 

Mission Compromised by Graysen Morgen

Natalia Moreno is thrilled when she arrives in Fiji for a relaxing vacation. However, she soon discovers the overwater bungalow she’s staying in has been double booked for the entire stay, and the resort is full. Annoyed and frustrated, she has no other choice but to share her hut with a stranger.

Christian Garnier is sent to Fiji for what she refers to as a working vacation, until she finds out she has an ornery roommate for the next two weeks who is dead set on making her job twice as hard.

Soon, all hell breaks loose and the two women are sent around the world on a wild goose chase.

Available at:

Amazon

 

Two Pines by Tessa La Vella

Clara shifted her weight from one naked foot to the other.

“I’m cold,” she whispered.

Marie smiled. Of all the attempts to get into her bed – and over the years there had been quite many – this was probably one of the cutest and most charming ones and definitely impossible to resist.

Young photographer Marie Claythorn’s life seems to be changing for the better when a lawyer informs her that she is the sole heir to her grandfather’s house in Chesleyham. Upon arriving at the small village, however, she gets bad news: a distant cousin also poses claim to the house – which is already in a devastating condition. When she meets her cousin for the first time, Marie is immediately irritated. Clara Wright is convinced that she can buy Marie’s share of the house, but the matter is not resolved so easily. While the tension rises between the two women, a snow storm breaks out, blocking all roads and rail tracks. They have no option but to stay in the ruined property – together, despite their obvious dislike.

With electricity gone and the house playing tricks on them, they have to move closer together until eventually, tension turns into passion.

Available at:

Amazon

 

Snow Falls by Gerri Hill

Jennifer Kincaid, on her way to a writer’s workshop in the Colorado mountain town of Lake City, gets lost and is stranded by an avalanche.

Catherine Ryan-Barrett, running from the fame and fortune of her family name, wants nothing more to spend the winter alone and sequestered in her high mountain cabin. She is not prepared for a party crasher.

After spending two months together, they form an unlikely friendship that deepens even further. But after the spring thaw, Jen returns to her life in Santa Fe—and to the man who wants to marry her. All she knows of the woman who rescued her is her name… Ryan.

Available at:

Bella Books

Amazon

Apple Books

Audible

 

One Day Longer Than Forever by AJ Adaire

Dr. Kate Martin needs a vacation after a failed romance with her business partner nearly ruins her. Lee Foster is recovering from her first lesbian relationship that self-destructed when her partner moved several states away, leaving her behind.

Two failed romances, a double booked vacation cabin, and a blizzard—will fate intervene again and turn a passionate affair with a stranger, into something more?

Available at:

Desert Palm Press

Amazon

Apple Books

 

Carolyn For Christmas by Lucy Carey

Christmas. It’s supposed to be a time for peace, love, and goodwill to all men. But not for two women when it comes to nabbing the solo spot in the big Christmas concert. To get that spot, they’ll do whatever it takes…

Carolyn Roche and Saoirse Barrett have known—and hated—each other for a long time. Their lives have been dedicated to one-upping each other. Carolyn has worked hard to shake off her poor roots, landing a top job at a major accountancy firm. Saoirse has worked just as hard to set up her own business in the vain hopes of impressing her tough father.

They’re equally matched in life—and in vocal talent. But neither is willing to let the other woman win.

That is, until they find themselves trapped in their old school, with just a bottle of vodka and their memories for company. There, they discover that the hatred they feel for each other might not be hatred after all…

Available at:

NineStar Press

Amazon

Apple Books

 

The Island Between Us by Wendy Hudson

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.

Available at:

Ylva Publishing

Amazon

Apple Books

 

Thirteen Hours by Meghan O’Brien

Can you fall in love in thirteen hours? It’s her birthday but lonely workaholic Dana Watts is at the office late, drafting a proposal. The very last interruption she expects comes in the form of the most beautiful breasts she has ever seen. These belong to an incredibly hot woman, who is standing in front of her, stripping to music.

Laurel Stanley performs strip-o-grams to pay her way through school. She has never encountered a more ungrateful recipient than Dana. The uptight project manager makes it clear that she is furious to be distracted from her work by the “gift” a colleague sent and equally appalled by Laurel’s occupation. After Dana is rude and insulting, and insists on escorting Laurel from the building, the two women take an elevator ride that changes everything.

Stuck with each other for thirteen long hours after the elevator breaks down, they discover how wrong first impressions can be and how right two strangers can feel together. Can everything change in less than a day? Dana and Laurel set out to discover if their passionate elevator encounter can mean more in this fast-paced, erotic story of lust, loneliness, fantasy, and desire.

Available at:

Bold Strokes Books

Amazon

Apple Books

Audible

 

Truth or Dare by C. Spencer

It’s a long weekend among six friends whose lives have intertwined through years of U-Hauls and regrets, almosts and what-ifs. As that poorly timed snowstorm whirls into town, it threatens to kick pent-up desires and tightly held secrets over the edge—especially for Jessie, who can’t stop thinking about her best friend Hadley.

Meanwhile Brie’s past overshadows her present-day, and the Lasleys just hope to enjoy their much-anticipated wedding anniversary. If everyone would just keep it together for the next few days, and if this snow would taper off, they just might pull off Sunday’s celebration. Drama free.

Available at:

Amazon

 

Ice by Lyn Gardner

The last time Maggie Campbell and Alexandra Blake worked together, they both received two-week suspensions. This time…it’s worse.

Ice begins when a boy is kidnapped from a London park and Detective Inspectors Alex Blake and Maggie Campbell are brought together to work on the case. While their goal is the same, their work ethics are not. Intelligent, perceptive and at times disobedient, Alex Blake does what she believes it takes to do her job. Maggie Campbell has a slightly different approach. She believes that rule books were written for a reason.

Unexpectedly, their dynamics mesh, but when her feelings for Alex become stronger than she wants to admit, Maggie provokes the worst in Alex to ensure that they will never be partners again.

Three years later, fate brings them together again. Their assignment is simple, but a plane crash gets in their way. Now, in the middle of a blizzard, they have to try to survive…and fight the feelings that refuse to die.

Available at:

Amazon

Apple Books

 

Depths of Blue by Lise MacTague

For Torrin Ivanov, life is a bargaining table. Every planet is a new business opportunity. Legality is optional and supplying one side in a local civil war always adds up to profit.

Jak Stowell is at war within a war. A woman hidden in the heart of a male-only army, her brother’s murder has left her desperate for vengeance. Her skill as a sniper gives her both the disguise she needs and paves the way ever closer to her real goal. She kills efficiently, without remorse. Putting down an off-world smuggler will be no different.

A moment’s hesitation. A flicker of doubt. Two women on a collision course set off a chain reaction of intergalactic intrigue—and awaken a dangerous passion that could cost them their lives.

Available at:

Bella Books

Amazon

Apple Books

 

Pedal to the Metal by Jesse J. Thoma

Max Winters is comfortable in her behind-the-scenes wunderkind role on Holt Lasher’s crime fighting team. Eventually, she’d like more responsibility in the field, but that only happens after Holt says you’re ready.

When Holt’s team is asked to help bust an organized car theft ring and Whitney “Dubs” Williams is released from prison with the sole purpose of helping Holt in that pursuit, Holt turns to Max to be Dubs’ minder. As in, handcuffed together, 24/7 minder of an unreformed, young, hot, cocky thief.

The lines blur between legal and illegal, real and façade, the longer the two women spend together. But Max isn’t willing to risk her heart for the entertainment of a criminal. In order to prove herself, Dubs has to make sure her feelings can’t be misinterpreted. But will she survive her grand gesture?

Available at:

Bold Strokes Books

Amazon

Apple Books

 

Leave a comment

Leave a comment and let us know which book you’ll be reading or have read for the “forced proximity” category!

 

The 2022 Reading Challenge: Sapphic Book Bingo 

There will be a year-long reading challenge in 2022 too! I’m working on putting together a Sapphic Book Bingo. Make sure you subscribe to my blog to get the Sapphic Book Bingo posts sent to your in-box starting on January 1!

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2 Responses

  1. I actually went for a slightly creative option for this category and read your novel Heart Trouble for this category, Jae. :)

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