Rachel Lawston | LGBTQ Reads

Today on the site, I’m delighted to reveal the cover for It’s in Her Kiss by Dana Hawkins, a Sapphic rom-com releasing February 2, 2027 from Storm! Here’s the story:

Eve O’Kelly is the kiss of death.

Not literally. She’s never actually killed anyone. But kiss her, and within forty-eight hours you’ll be in a freak accident. By day, she sells crystals, incense, and hand-poured candles. By night, it’s another lonely evening in with the cat. But after her exes racked up broken bones, twisted ankles, and one memorable ER visit, Eve is protecting the world from her lips.

Private investigator Sloane Wright doesn’t believe in curses. But she does believe in the FBI consulting career that’s finally within reach, if she can prove the pretty shop owner peddling “magic rocks” is at the center of a string of fraudulent injury lawsuits. But the more time she spends with the sparkly shop owner, the harder it gets to ignore the one complication her career can’t survive: she’s falling for the woman she’s supposed to take down.

Neither of them should want this. And even if they give in to it, can they build anything lasting longer than forty-eight hours?

And here’s the sugar-sweet cover by Rachel Lawston!

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Dana Hawkins is a caffeine-fueled writer of contemporary romance stories. After living in Seattle for twenty years, she recently returned to her hometown in Minnesota. She is a huge romance-genre book nerd and borderline obsessed with happy-ever-afters. As a mom of three humans and a cat who ignores her, she spends her days writing, chasing kids, neglecting her last remaining bamboo plant, and searching for the perfect coffee mug.

Today on the site I’m delighted to welcome Dana Hawkins to reveal the cover of the first book in the new Meet Cute in Minnesota series, The Ex Effect, releasing August 19th from Storm Publishing! Here’s the story:

Morgan Rose has always been the girl with the plan. Color-coded calendars, backup plans for her backup plans, and a wedding business that’s her entire world. Only one woman ever managed to derail Morgan’s organized life and shatter her heart in the process. But Morgan doesn’t think about Frankie Lee anymore.

Until Morgan meets the photographer hand-picked by her latest clients and discovers that Frankie is not miles away in New York like she thought. She’s back in Spring Harbors, looking infuriatingly good, and Morgan’s carefully ordered world descends into chaos.

Morgan has just 87 days to pull off the wedding of her career and she’s not going to let Frankie derail this opportunity. She will not be distracted by Frankie’s new haircut or the shadowy dips between her shoulders and biceps. And she won’t care about Frankie’s unfairly salty attitude when she left Morgan.

But some sparks never die, and as the wedding approaches and the tension between Morgan and Frankie grows, can they face up to the mistakes that pulled them apart, or risk it happening all over again?

A perfectly spiced romance about learning that the best love stories are worth fighting for… twice. The next unputdownable read for fans of Ashley Herring Blake, Alexandria Bellefleur and Haley Cass.

And here’s the lovely cover, designed by Rachel Lawston!

Buy it: Amazon

Dana Hawkins is a caffeine-fueled writer of contemporary romance stories, including NOT IN THE PLAN, IN WALKED TROUBLE, and SO NOT MY TYPE. Her new series, “Meet Cute in Minnesota” first book, THE EX EFFECT, releases on August 19th, 2025. After living for twenty years in Seattle, she recently trekked back to her hometown in Minnesota. She is a huge romance-genre book nerd and borderline obsessed with happy-ever-afters. As a mom of three humans and one Saint Bernard, she spends her days chasing after kids and various animals, neglecting her last remaining bamboo plant, and searching for the perfect coffee mug. Find her on Instagram @d.hawkinsauthor

Queering up your shelf, one rec at a time!