Jae

Sapphic Slow-burn romances

Sapphic workaholic character (Sapphic Book Bingo 2023 #20)

sapphic workaholic character

This week’s Sapphic Book Bingo category features sapphic books with a workaholic character.

The main character must be a person who works long hours and is unable to detach from work, rarely taking any time for friends, family, hobbies, or to just relax. Usually, that means she’s a successful businesswoman. There might even be some overlap with the ice queen category.

 

15 sapphic books featuring a workaholic character

Below, you’ll find 15 recommended sapphic books featuring a workaholic character.

 

Next of Kin by Jae

For years, ambitious Deputy District Attorney Kade Matheson has taken case files and law books, not lovers, to bed, ignoring her personal life in favor of her career. When she finds herself with a stalker, she tries to handle the situation the way she always does: on her own.

Lieutenant Del Vasquez has admired the standoffish lawyer for a while, and she’s determined to protect her at all costs.

When Kade’s stalker situation escalates and she and Del have to hide at her mother’s, Kade is finally forced to face her attraction to women for the very first time.

Suddenly, she’s no longer sure which one is more dangerous—the threat to her life or to her heart?

Available at:

Ylva Publishing

Amazon

Apple Books

Audible

 

Greener Pastures by Aurora Rey

Audrey Adams would do anything for her aunt Ernestine. When Ernestine suffers a stroke, Audrey takes a leave from her fast-track CPA career to care for her. Only Ernestine’s hobby farm needs more tending than the patient herself. Audrey’s bitten off way more than she can chew, or harvest, or plant, or… How does one do hobby farming, anyway?

Enter her neighbor Rowan Marshall, the sexy cider maker. Rowan’s only too happy to come to Audrey’s rescue. Which is all well and good until Audrey realizes Rowan’s angling to buy the orchard that makes up more than half of Ernestine’s pride and joy.

It’s not long before a reluctant truce gives way to a romantic spark and forces Audrey to make the biggest decision of her life.

Available at:

Bold Strokes Books

Amazon

Apple Books

Audible

 

Irregular Heartbeat by Chris Zett

After nearly a decade as a professional drummer, Diana Petrell leaves her rock-star life behind to continue her residency in emergency medicine. She’s determined not to let anything stop her—not even falling in love with her aloof mentor, Dr. Emily Barnes.

Emily has only ever focused on her career as a senior attending in the emergency department, and she isn’t happy about having to babysit a resident with a ten-year gap in her résumé, no matter how intriguing she is.

But every time they work together, it’s not just their patients’ heartbeat that gets a little irregular. Soon, the once-clear lines between work and personal life begin to blur.

When Diana’s unorthodox secret past is revealed, putting her job in jeopardy, Emily has to choose between her career and her relationship. A lesbian romance that asks how much we’d risk for love.

Available at:

Ylva Publishing

Amazon

Apple Books

Audible

 

Calling the Shots by Kelly Farmer

Retired superstar Regan Lane is known for being outspoken. She’s never been one to keep her opinions to herself. When she lands a head coaching job in the women’s pro league with the Boston Ice, her brash promise to win the championship in her first year shocks no one. Especially not Tierney McGovern, head coach of the rival New York Lady Libertys.

Single mom Tierney knows what it’s like to live in someone else’s shadow, and she won’t let Regan steal the spotlight. Besides, she knows exactly how Regan operates: when it comes to delivering on her promises, she falls pitifully short. At least she did when she ghosted Tierney after their long-ago amazing week together.

As their teams face each other game after game, it doesn’t take long for them to realize their hockey rivalry isn’t the only thing heating up. And that maybe the real victory is in taking big chances on the ice—and off.

Available at:

Amazon

Apple Books

 

The Master of Puppets: The War of Souls Book 1 by Molly J. Bragg

Jakari, an alien assassin, receives orders taking her to a primitive alien world. She expects the mission to be like any other. Get in, eliminate the target and get out again. Instead, when she arrives, she finds out that one of the leaders of the fascist Char Oram is there, seeking to turn the inhabitants into mindless soldiers that could tip the war in favor of the Char.

Hayami Takahashi follows a strange woman down a dark street and all she wants is to make sure the woman didn’t wind up as the next victim of a kidnapping ring working the streets of Dallas. Instead, she finds herself in the middle of a civil war between two factions of shape shifting cyborg aliens.

After Jakari saves Hayami from becoming a test subject in a Char lab, the two of them are working together to stop a war that’s been raging for nine thousand years.

Available at:

Desert Palm Press

Amazon

Apple Books

 

The No Kiss Contract by Nan Campbell

Despite being the youngest partner at her firm, corporate attorney Davy Dugan is gunning for a recently vacant name partnership—it would mean finally having the power to make a real change in her conservative workplace. But eighty-hour workweeks don’t allow any time with her much younger half-sister, Tally, who doesn’t seem to need Davy in her life anyway.
Davy aims to get back into Tally’s good graces by throwing her a big birthday party, but that means dealing with Tally’s other half sister, Anna. To say Davy and Anna don’t get along is putting it mildly.

When a misunderstanding leads to her boss’s assumption that she and Anna are headed to the altar, Davy sees a way to leapfrog over the competition straight into one of the top spots at her firm. She just has to convince Anna to be her faux fiancée in order to do it and keep her growing attraction in check, of course.

Available at:

Bold Strokes Books

Amazon

Apple Books

 

The Woman I Found In Me by Jamey Moody

Ella Gallaher wants to be taken seriously. She has lived a privileged life, but there’s more to her than shopping all day and partying all night. She wants a second chance at life to show she can make a difference. The owners at Make It Easy Designs recognize the promise in Ella and ask her to join them.

She is well on her way to a meaningful career when Gia Augustino comes to live with her Aunt Dru. Ella finds a friend in Gia who sees her for the woman she wants to be. However, Gia’s determined to put a little fun back into Ella’s too-serious life.

One night at an industry conference for work, Ella and Gia make a spur-of-the-moment decision and their world is suddenly upended. Have they gone too far?

Will they lose the hard-earned respect of their families? But more importantly, will they lose each other?

Available at:

Amazon

Audible

 

A Masc for Purim by Roz Alexander

Every year, tomboy-femme Liza plans the perfect party for Purim, and every year she goes alone. She’s convinced her role as holiday host is enough to find happiness, but lately, the nights have gotten lonelier.

Carrie, a.k.a. Liza’s first love, a.k.a. the butch who broke her heart into a million pieces, is back in town and determined to win Liza back. Carrie has spent the last ten years unlearning the internalized ableism that reared its head after her diagnosis of progressive vision loss.

And ten years of regretting leaving Liza.

Their inexperience and inability to be vulnerable with one another may have driven them apart the first time, but has the last decade taught them both to be brave? Luckily, they have the whole megillah to figure it out.

Available at:

Amazon

Apple Books

 

What the Heart Sees by KC Luck

Four years after a horrible car accident takes her sight and kills her parents, Sage Montgomery has learned to adapt to her new circumstances in Spruce Creek, Oregon. A new life that includes running the Montgomery horse ranch, which has been in her family for generations. As the place where she grew up, Sage has only the fondest memories. But when she learns her home is at risk because of unpaid taxes, Sage must find a way to raise the money. While the bank threatens and unwanted buyers circle, she is faced with decisions she doesn’t want to make for the ranch… and her heart.

With two decades of hard work on Wall Street, Julie Aspen has everything she wants. A career she loves, the perfect Manhattan condo, and a sexy, young girlfriend. People envy what Julie has and she could not be happier. At least until the firm she works for is accused of fraud. Suddenly stripped of everything and risking indictment, Julie returns to where she grew up. The small town she hates—Spruce Creek. Things couldn’t be more miserable until she meets the daughter of a long-lost friend. Suddenly, Julie has second thoughts about what may be important in life and if it is too late to change.

Available at:

Amazon

Audible

 

Vesting Period by Monica McCallan

App designer Carter Montgomery has thrown herself into being a successful co-founder of LadyLuck for the last half decade. Until now, she’s been content to focus on work mixed with a little light fun. It takes a horrible date with an infuriating woman to make her realize that maybe she isn’t so satisfied with things and that it’s time she got serious about investing in her love life.

Jamie Prescott spends her time working in different cities, always with a new startup to wrangle as she avoids putting down roots. It’s worked well for her so far, at least as well as living out of hotels and having casual flings can for a person. When Jamie ends up in San Francisco, she expects some carefree hookups from the LadyLuck app. She isn’t expecting to meet Carter, a woman who’s as frustrating as she is attractive.

Carter is finally ready for something serious, and Jamie wants anything but emotional vulnerability. Why is it that everyone around them seems to think that might just make them the perfect match?

Available at:

Amazon

 

Too Close to Touch by Georgia Beers

Life gets complicated when love turns out to be nothing like you expected – and the woman you want is too close to touch. Gretchen Kaiser is a workaholic corporate honcho with issues – she’s got daddy issues, she’s got female-executive-in-a- man’s-world issues, and she’s got one night stand issues. What she doesn’t have are love issues. She isn’t looking for it, she doesn’t feel she needs it, and she doesn’t expect to find it…certainly not right under her nose.

Kylie O’Brien is the kind of girl who believes in true love and is willing to wait until it shows up at her door. Her best friend Mick would sweep her off her feet given the chance, but Mick doesn’t make Kylie feel the way true love should. And now Kylie has to worry about her new boss – Gretchen Kaiser’s icy reserve makes life as her administrative assistant a challenge.

It doesn’t matter one damn bit that Gretchen is extremely attractive with a voice as rich and smooth as melted chocolate. It absolutely doesn’t…

Available at:

Bold Strokes Books

Amazon

Apple Books

Audible

 

Change of Plans by KJ

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 as she nearly always lands on her feet whenever she happily ignores prudence to embark on any new adventure.

When Skye’s ad hoc dirt track intersects with Emily’s carefully paved freeway, their lives are thrown into disarray, with the added complication of their unexpected attraction. Prudence plays tricks on both of them when they choose to navigate their true paths and explore the direction of their relationship.

Sometimes a change of plans is all you need to see what lies ahead.

Available at:

Amazon

 

Fall into Me by Terri Cutshall

Audrey Maddox is fed up with her love life. After discovering her now ex-fiancé had been cheating on her throughout their engagement, vacation with her two best friends cannot come soon enough. She needs a break in a serious way.

Liv Sutton works at a popular Colorado mountain resort providing skiing lessons during the day and bartending at night. Since her divorce, casual relationships have worked just fine for her. She’s not up for getting her heart stomped on again. Once was enough.

Two women in the right place at the right time. Will a casual fling be the tonic that soothes Audrey’s broken heart and keeps Liv going? Or will a one-night stand become more than either of them bargained for?

Available at:

Amazon

 

The X Ingredient by Roslyn Sinclair

Laurie Holcombe is out of a job, out of luck, and out of time. When a prestigious law firm hires her as an assistant to one of its senior partners, it feels like she might finally get back on her feet. All she has to do is put up with the whims of her infuriatingly icy boss, Diana. How hard could that be?

Diana Parker is Atlanta’s top lawyer and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it. She’s driven, ruthless, demanding, and stuck in a failing marriage. Too bad she can’t run her personal life as well as she runs her ordered office.

When a young assistant shows up with bright blue eyes, a cute Southern accent, and a streak of pink hair, Diana’s sure she’s all wrong for the job. And yet something seems to be pulling her and Laurie Holcombe together, drawing them into a secret, thrilling dance that’s far too dangerous for a boss and employee.

Can they make rules for this powerful attraction, a way to keep each other at arm’s length? But how do you resist the irresistible?

Available at:

Ylva Publishing

Amazon

Apple Books

Audible

 

Major Surgery by Lola Keeley

Skilled surgeon Veronica Mallick runs her London hospital department like she runs her surgeries: with hawkish efficiency. Then her perfect world is turned upside down by the arrival of a new Head of Trauma.

Cassie Taylor is a brash, no-nonsense army surgeon, fresh from the front lines, and trying to find her way in civilian life. She’s all action and sharp edges, not too interested in rules. She’s even less interested in bureaucracy, or playing nice with her uptight, paper-pushing colleague, Veronica.

While they’re circling each other warily at St. Sophia’s hospital, Cassie becomes entangled in some shady financial dealings.

Their shared search for the truth draws them closer together, sparking heated moments as they try to see justice done. But in exposing a scandal, can they also find some common ground? How will they both deal with being attracted to a woman they don’t even like?

Available at:

Ylva Publishing

Amazon

Apple Books

Audible

 

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