Swelter

Southern Sapphics #1

by Jules Kelley

Grace has had a crush on her older brother's best friend, Maya, since before she knew she could even have crushes on girls. When Maya is the one who picks her up from the airport for her brother's wedding in their small hometown of Opelika, Alabama, she finally gets the chance to act on that crush. Besides, isn't it tradition for the best man to hook up with a bridesmaid?

Genres: Lesbian, Romance, Contemporary, Short Stories, LGBT, Adult, Queer

31 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 5, 2016

Reviews

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, sexy F/F short story about a wedding hookup between college student and bridesmaid Grace and her older brother's best friend and "best man," motorcycle-riding lesbian Maya. In Grace's old Sunday School classroom. You see, both of these ladies had been attracted to each other since high school, and the weather in Atlanta is just so hot and humid when Maya picks Grace up from the airport... well, you know how these things go.

Kelley does a great job of establishing just enough character personality and backstory to ground the sexual tension and make the fling specific to these two people, all within a short story, which is impressive. The flirting is impeccable. There's plenty of humor. I'm looking forward to whatever Kelley writes next!

Diversity notes: I interpret Grace as bisexual based on her interior narration ("she thought Maya was just as cute as Rob's friend Jason.") Maya is described as having brown skin, and the author has confirmed she is a woman of color.

[amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is now one of my favourite f/f romance books!! I loved it. the pacing, especially for such a short story, was amazing. there was such a nice amount of backstory and I feel like I really got to know the characters and where they were coming from in such a small amount of pages. i’m so impressed. I totally want to read more from this author.

[b.andherbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delicious short. For being a short, the character development and steam were absolutely divine, and I am excited to read the next in the series.

[Leigh Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swelter is the perfect title for this FF short story! College student Grace comes back to her hometown in Georgia for her brother's wedding and is picked up at the airport by his best friend Maya. The two hour ride to Opelika fans the flames of Grace's long-time crush and Maya doesn't shoot her down. This was a quick steamy read! I would have loved to read more about their wedding fling and whether it remains a one-time thing but this was a delicious morsel all the same.

Content notes: on-page sex, reference to Maya's parents briefly kicking her out when she came out to them in high school

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

SWELTER is a quick and sexy read about two women stealing a moment in time to be together. Grace has crushed on Maya for years now but Grace isn’t out to her family and isn’t even sure she wants to be. When Maya is the one to pick her up from the airport for her brother’s wedding, Grace sees a chance to finally flirt with Maya and prove that she’s not just Rob’s little sister any more. Maya can’t resist Grace but she also doesn’t want to ruin her friendship with Rob so they both agree that a wedding hookup is all this needs to be, especially since Grace will be returning to Colorado for college.

Their brief and stolen moment in Grace's old Sunday school room was incredibly sexy and this won’t be the last book I read by Jules Kelley because I really enjoyed her writing. Considering this is only 30 pages, there’s still a lot of story packed in. This ends on a Happy For Now note but I really enjoyed this one.

Content Warning: Reference to Maya’s family kicking her out after finding out she’s a lesbian

[Min · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gorgeous cover is not even close to the best thing about this short story. This hot, sexy romance between a southern girl and her brother’s lesbian best friend was just amazing, and made me want to read more and more and more, not only about these characters, but from the author in general. I adored both MCs and was surprised at how layered they were for such a tiny story! Here’s hoping Kelley will bring us more amazing sapphic content sometime soon!

[Maf (Bookworm Wanders) · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS SO SHORT?!?! I NEED MORE!!! I deserve more IM A GOOD PERSON GIVE ME MORE OF MAYA AND GRACE

[RoAnna Sylver · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read any romance, short or otherwise, and I'm glad I started with this one. The writing style is quick and fun - and as I'm sure you can guess from the title, hot as a Georgia summer. (Also, points for the 'Heartbreaker.' Fortunately, that's not what we get here. HEA!) If you want a delightfully steamy quick read you can get through in an hour before bedtime, pick up Swelter. It's well worth the 99 cents for a treat that will make you smile. And maybe need a fan - you might start to feel a little warm.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short and steamy f/f short story! Honestly, if you like good smut and girls with leather jackets go read this asap.

[Reece · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful short with memorable characters and a beautiful writing style. I can't wait to read more from the author!

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little sketch of a story - my kindle called it 20 pages long - that manages to both capture the feeling of being in an old children's Sunday school classroom and be quite a good sex scene.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, naughty, little short story. Perfect if you’re looking for a story with hot ff sex. Can’t wait for more from this author.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was hot.
F/f short story with extraordinary chemistry between a college student and her older brother's lesbian best friend.

[Briar · Rating 4 out of 5]

that was cute as heck, but I need more!

[Kayleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

i just wanted more 😫😫

3.5

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uhm, wow I’m still blushing! I’m so sad this story ended where it did because damn cliffhanger, but it didn’t feel rushed or unnatural in its pacing at all. The writing was fresh and not cluttered with cliches like typical romance/smutty writing (spoiler, this is very smutty). I really liked the characters and loved how the backstory fit in with the present story!
Overall, definitely worth reading and I’ll probably read it again and again! Excited to read more of Jules’ writing :) Go check it out!

[Cinnia Literary Raccoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

While things move fast, it's a hot fling, not a forever soulmates thing, mmkay?

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rep: bisexual MC, lesbian LI

Warnings: homomisia

[Nicole Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short little book was so quick to read and I had a lot of fun with it. If you want a quick steamy sapphic novella, definitely check it out. You can literally read it in like half an hour and for the short amount of pages, it was so well developed and I was really invested in it. My only complaint is that it felt unfinished but it was probably meant to be like that. I'd love to read a full-length novella about Grace and Maya.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. This was incredibly hot. Maya and Grace hook up at a wedding and it is filthy and I loved every single moment of it. It’s too short. I need more and I’m glad there’s a sequel but I wish this had been a full length novel because these two have potential for a really great and smutty story but for what it is it’s a very entertaining and hot read. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s an impressive amount of story in this short sapphic tale! Plus there’s brother’s best friend, slight age gap, a lady with car skills, and a smoking but secret Sunday school room hookup. The author achieved the perfect balance between a complete satisfying story and leaving the reader wanting more.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet short story these two characters make!

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings

Lesbomisia
Disownment

[Evalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but sweet, this was just perfection. Looking forward to reading the rest of these to get some more of Gracie and Maya!

[Cande · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a sexy and nice novella, it would definitely help if it was longer. I just felt a little bit disconnected with the characters because we barely know them.

[IV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read this just now. I remember loving it a few years back, but couldn’t for the life of me remember anything but the basic premise (ADHD and memory issues lol)

This story story DELIVERED. It's exactly what I want in a spicy sapphic short. Well-written with a believable dynamic and lots of tension between the characters. Enough plot/background to not feel boring or forgettable, but not so much it feels rushed. The spice was excellent and gets bonus points for a blasphemous location. 🤭

Highly recommend if you’re looking for a short, spicy, sapphic read!