Books like 'In the Shadow of the Past'
Readers who enjoyed In the Shadow of the Past by J.E. Leak also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
From the author of Daisy Jones & The Six—an entrancing novel “that speaks to the Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor in us all” (Kirkus Reviews), in which a legendary film actress reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine... -
Backwards to Oregon by Jae
"Luke" Hamilton has always been sure that she'd never marry. She accepted that she would spend her life alone when she chose to live her life disguised as a man. After working in a brothel for three years, Nora Macauley has lost all illusions about love. She no longer hopes for a man who will sweep her off her feet and take her away to begin a new, respectable life...Categorized as:
f-f single-mother historical historical western slow burn queer length-long open-door -
Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis
From the highly acclaimed, award-winning author of The Gods of Tango, a revolutionary new novel about five wildly different women who, in the midst of the Uruguayan dictatorship, find one another as lovers, friends, and ultimately, family.In 1977 Uruguay, a military government crushed political dissent with ruthless force... -
Open Me Carefully: Emily Dickinson's Intimate Letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor the first time, selections from Emily Dickinson's thirty-six year correspondence to her neighbor and sister-in-law, Susan Huntington Dickinson, are compiled in a single volume. Open Me Carefully invites a dramatic new understanding of Emily Dickinson's life and work, overcoming a century of censorship and misinterpretation... -
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Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn defiance of the brutal military government that took power in Uruguay in the 1970s, and under which homosexuality is a dangerous transgression, five women miraculously find one another--and, together, an isolated cape that they claim as their own... -
Silver Wings by H.P. Munro
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsWINNER - 2014 Golden Crown Literary Society - Historical FictionWhen in 1943, twenty-five-year-old Lily Rivera is widowed, she finally feels able to step out of the shadows of an unhappy marriage. Her love of flying leads her to join the Womens Airforce Service Pilots, determined to regain her passion and spread her wings, not suspecting that she would experience more than just flying... -
Hidden Truths by Jae
Lesbian Fiction: Historical Fiction - Sequel to Backwards to Oregon - Commuter Novel - 19 hours reading - "Luke" Hamilton has been living as a husband and father for the past seventeen years. No one but her wife, Nora, knows she is not the man she appears to be. They have raised their daughters to become honest and hard-working young women... -
Observations on the Danger of Female Curiosity: Including an account of the unnatural tendencies arising on the over-stimulation of the mind of a lady by Suzanne Moss
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratings“At once the easiest truth to know, and the hardest to realise”Thea Morell, Georgian heiress and eligible lady, is not normal. At least, that’s what she has come to believe. She loves nothing more than spending hours at the study of natural history, collecting fossils, insects, dead fish, bones and even the odd spider... -
Letters Never Sent by Sandra Moran
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"The story unfolds like a flower; the impact of it on each person is profound. It’s a spectacular offering of love gained, lost, and struggled with over a lifetime—a poignant tale with a marvelous reveal at the end."—Anna Furtado, Lambda Literary ReviewThree women, united by love and kinship, struggle to conform to the social norms of the times in which they lived... -
Heart's Home by L. Dreamer
Rated: 5.00 of 5 stars · 3 ratingsIn the final installment of the Heart Series, join Thomas, Rachel, TJ, Charlotte, and all of your favorite side characters as they continue to navigate the highs and lows of the lives they’ve created... -
The Complete Oregon Series (The Oregon Series) by Jae
Rated: 5.00 of 5 stars · 3 ratingsThis box set contains two lesbian historical romance novels and seven short stories featuring a cross-dressing character, a single mom, and a fake relationship set in the Old West.The award-winning Oregon series is an all-time favorite of many readers, even those who don’t normally read historical fiction. Get both novels and seven short stories in one box set and save 30%... -
Paths of Peace by T. Novan, Taylor Rickard
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 4 ratingsIn the months following the end of the Civil War, the South is in turmoil. Some men return, some do not, and of the ones who do return, many were carrying permanent injuries. Addiction to opium based pain killers is epidemic, as men who had started the war as hale and fit workers can no longer even climb stairs or hold a pen, or an axe or a hoe. The Redmond family is no different... -
Neither Present Time by Caren J. Werlinger
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCan a house save the lives of the people who live in it? Can an inscription written in a book over sixty years ago change the fates of people not even born when it was written? Beryl Gray is solid and dependable – her partner, Claire, thinks so, her family thinks so, her colleagues think so. She has a long-term relationship and a job she likes as a university librarian... -
Avatar: The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee, Michael Dante DiMartino
F. C. Yee’s The Rise of Kyoshi delves into the story of Kyoshi, the Earth Kingdom–born Avatar. The longest-living Avatar in this beloved world’s history, Kyoshi established the brave and respected Kyoshi Warriors, but also founded the secretive Dai Li, which led to the corruption, decline, and fall of her own nation... -
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Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff
Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church hierarchy think she's far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she's no closer to ending the men who destroyed her familia; in fact, she's told directly that Consul Scaeva is off limits... -
A Hero's Tale by Catherine M. Wilson
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsIn Book III of the trilogy, Tamras must make her own hero’s journey. She ventures into the unknown and encounters a more formidable enemy than any she has ever faced. Character is destiny, and the destiny of Tamras and all her people will depend upon choices that come less from the skills she has been taught than from the person she has become, from her own heart... -
A Journey of the Heart by Catherine M. Wilson
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsIn Book II of the trilogy, Tamras’s apprenticeship as a warrior isn’t turning out quite the way she expected. Her unconventional choices lead to her crossing swords, almost literally, with Vintel, the war leader of Merin’s house. She finds herself embroiled in a power struggle she is doomed to lose, but the loss sends her on a journey that will change her destiny and decide the fate of her people... -
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 61 ratingsIt's first the story of two women in the 1980s, of gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode telling her life story to Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age... -
Longshadow by Olivia Atwater
Proper Regency ladies are not supposed to become magicians—but Miss Abigail Wilder is far from proper.Abigail Wilder’s father may be the Lord Sorcier of England, but that does not mean that society is willing to accept her as a magician... -
The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri
The prophecy of the nameless god—the words that declared Malini the rightful empress of Parijatdvipa—has proven a blessing and curse. She is determined to claim the throne that fate offered her. But even with the strength of the rage in her heart and the army of loyal men by her side, deposing her brother is going to be a brutal and bloody fight... -
The Iron Edge by Lexa Luthor
Spartan warrior, Halcyon, has always placed duty above all else – until one day her true nature as an Omega undoes everything.Thora is a gorgeous female Alpha slave with foreign features, capturing the attention of Halcyon, who must have her. Like all Alphas, Thora is prideful and thinks an Omega owner will be manageable... -
Clear and Muddy Loss of Love / 泾渭情殇 by 请君莫笑
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA natural moat called the Luo river split the great land into two. Jing of the north, and Wei of the south.One was the Prince of the grass plains who had no worries nor sorrow. One was a lawful Princess who received exclusive favour of the Emperor... -
Scatter by Molly J. Bragg
When Deputy US Marshal Danielle ‘Danny’ Martin was told she’d gotten a promotion, she expected to be leading her own fugitive retrieval team. Instead, she got transferred to Pontian Florida of all places, and assigned to a Superhero support detail for Focus, a seemingly immortal superhero who is also one of the most famous lesbian icons on the planet...Categorized as:
fantasy time travel superheroes f-f science fiction age difference office shapeshifters -
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
A rollicking space adventure with a lot of heart. When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The patched-up ship has seen better days, but it offers her everything she could possibly want: a spot to call home, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and some distance from her past... -
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He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHow much would you give to win the world?Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.But Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial ambitions... -
Rock and Riot by Chelsey Furedi
With all the fashion and quirks of the 50's comes the vintage queer love story that you've never heard before. Rock and Riot follows the tales of teenage delinquents learning about gender and sexual orientations while still maintaining their fabulous hair... -
Naamah's Blessing by Jacqueline Carey
Returning to Terre d'Ange, Moirin finds the royal family broken. Wracked by unrelenting grief at the loss of his wife, Queen Jehanne, King Daniel is unable to rule. Prince Thierry, leading an expedition to explore the deadly jungles of Terra Nova, is halfway across the world... -
The Devil that Broke Us by S.C. Wilson
Rated: 4.71 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsJesse McGinnis has it all—the woman she loves—two beautiful children—a successful career... -
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhat’s more important? Knowing the truth or keeping the peace?Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she's uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Avery’s mom and Mama Letty makes for a frosty arrival and unearths past drama they refuse to talk about... -
Every Exquisite Thing by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAnna Lightwood, eldest child of Gabriel and Cecily, is mad, bad and dangerously dapper. Every rake has an origin story, though: now under Brother Zachariah’s eye we see Anna’s doomed love story unfold...
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