Holly Garland is a successful lawyer from London, England. At just 28 years of age, her drive, ambition and smarts have firmly secured her position as one of the most established in her field. It seems as though she has everything she ever wanted, but the pressure of a long-term relationship looms, leaving Holly with a tough decision to make. When she meets a promising, young paralegal named Brooke Jacobs, her world is turned upside down. The complexity of family becomes Brooke’s burden to hold as she tries desperately to understand the intensity of her feelings. This is a story of two halves, of heart break and love, but inevitably one of choice and consequence.
Although love always seems so powerful, sometimes it simply isn’t enough.
📍 From Lancashire, currently sipping matcha in South Yorkshire. 📚 Writer of sapphic romance, dreamer of big dreams.
Hi, I’m Nicole — a 32-year-old writer, quote collector, basketball fanatic, and proud wife of 7 years. Originally from Lancashire, I now live in South Yorkshire with my incredible wife and our three chaos-loving dogs.
For the last decade, I’ve been crafting quotes, short stories, and LGBT novels — mostly for fun, always from the heart. When I’m not glued to my laptop with a cup of matcha in hand, you’ll probably find me hopping on a plane, watching / playing basketball, or dreaming up my next big story idea from the comfort of my sofa . . . or coffee shop.
Sapphic romance is more than a genre for me — it’s a mission. Growing up, I didn’t see myself in the pages I read. The world was full of heterosexual love stories (some of which I adored), but none quite hit home. So now, I write the stories I wish I’d had: honest, modern, relatable tales where queer women can finally see themselves as the main character.
My goal? To create an escape, a spark, or even just a little moment of connection for anyone who picks up one of my books — especially for the LGBT+ community who deserve to feel seen, celebrated, and swooningly in love.
A few fun facts:
🗽 If I could live anywhere, it’d be New York City — because why not dream big? 📖 Favourite book: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (yes, I own a first edition, and yes, I cried) 🏀 Ride-or-die Lakers fan ✍️ Favourite quote? Easy: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” (Thanks, Wayne Gretzky — and Michael Scott, kind of.)
Let’s connect — you can find me on Instagram @nss_writings. Come for the sapphic feels, stay for the travel pics and dog content.
I’ve heard it said that art is determined by the ability to evoke emotion in the audience. If disgust is counted as one of those emotions then I suppose this is a work of art.
No story needs to be guaranteed a happily ever after in order to be good. It’s not a requirement, nor necessary. Lucky for ‘Choose Me’ because if it was, then it would be right out the door as ‘good’.
What is there to like about this book?
Very little. The words are spelt correctly I suppose. The chapters have cute art around the numbers.
The MC is a bit of a Mary Sue. “I am a thoroughly average woman, who is 28 and one of the best 100 lawyers in the country of 70 million people’. She writes ad nauseam about how she loves her girlfriend, and how she does everything in her power to make her happy as she did at one time love her. While doing not a single thing to make her happy.
The MC is a high powered lawyer with no power of communication. She doesn’t tell her partner that her partners family annoys her. She doesn’t tell her partner that she wants to go out and party. She doesn’t tell her partner x and y and z. Instead she just does whatever she wants.
This seems to be a theme with this author. There is no compassion. No self reflection. No empathy from the Main Character, just the MC doing whatever she would like whenever. Fine. Whatever.
The MC while in a relationship meets another girl through work. They just ‘Click’. Hooray. Then they text all the time. While the MC is in a relationship. Then the MC breaks up with the woman she is in a relationship with, with pretty much 0 fanfare from here because the MC doesn’t care about other people, only about herself, and as she doesn’t feel anything for the ex, it’s a meaningless event.
The MC and the new girl start amping things up. Kisses. Conversations. Texts. Then the new girl, who is 25, her daddy starts getting in the way. She can’t abandon daddy because her mommy, who died of a sudden and abrupt brain aneurysm, somehow reanimated after dying and made the daughter promise to watch after the controlling, homophobic old coot because otherwise he’d work himself to death.
So daddy dearest interferes. Takes control. Decides that the girl can’t see the MC. The story ends with daddy taking a job and dragging the daughter and her brother to Japan, where they will continue allowing the bigoted old bastard to control their lives.
So the end all result of the story is… bad things happen to bad people because they let even worse people do whatever they want. Hooray!
Trigger Warnings: alcohol/drinking, break-up, past death of a parent, grief, homophobia, sex
Representation: Lesbian
Choose Me is a sapphic romcom about Holly Garland, a successful lawyer from London, England. At just 28 years of age, her drive, ambition and smarts have firmly secured her position as one of the most established in her field. It seems as though she has everything she ever wanted, but the pressure of a long-term relationship looms, leaving Holly with a tough decision to make.
When she meets a promising, young paralegal named Brooke Jacobs, her world is turned upside down. The complexity of family becomes Brooke's burden to hold as she tries desperately to understand the intensity of her feelings.
This is a story of two halves, of heart break and love, but inevitably one of choice and consequence.
What a great debut! I’ve read other books from this author but this is her debut that has been tweaked and added to. Let me tell you, it’s great! I love her writing style so another romcom series is exactly what I am looking for and she delivers every time! I also love learning about England through her writing! The book is a quick and easy read and I recommend it to everyone!
I feel cheated and am angry. Where, anywhere, does this say ‘Book 1 in a series of 3, expect a brick wall ending?’ Nowhere. Book 2 says “Book 2,” Book 3: “book 3.” Too late. No more Nicole Spencer Skillen books for me.
Earlier today I binged the last 100 pages of this book and WOW. I was not expecting the ending! I kinda feel like this book falls into the right person, but wrong time trope. The two lovers had an obvious and dear affection towards each other and that was evident in the writing.
“Love was love and it shouldn’t matter whether it’s with a man or a woman.” I absolutely loved this quote and there are so many more like it in the book. It is clear that the author is passionate about writing and she articulated her thoughts nicely. I think the writing clearly captures the character’s passion and there story depicts a big struggle many LGBTQ+ couples face. I enjoyed the fast-paced writing and that each chapter was filled with a few events that contributed to the plot. At some points it was a bit slow, but it usually picked up soon after.
I thought Holly was a great character! It was nice seeing a strong, young, and successful women that is chasing her career dreams. And although her job is consuming, she takes time to appreciate the things she loves and goes out of her way to make others feel special. I would have liked to see more of Paula, because it seemed like she was just forgotten at the end of the story. And a few characters frustrated me beyond regard, but it was because of their role in the story. I wish we could’ve learn more about some other characters such as Holly’s friend in Japan. I was really rooting for Brooke, but she kind of let me down. I would’ve loved to see her have a bigger character arc and stand up to her family.
I enjoyed how the last few pages ended the story. It just seemed to fit the circumstances of the characters. Overall, it was a good debut novel and I am happy to have read it!
Usually don’t leave bad reviews, but I feel so underwhelmed with the book. Plot sounded good, but then the story jumped about all over the place. Would have been nice to see relationships between Holly and her friends properly developed.
After breezing through this book in less than 2 days, I have to say, I definitely enjoyed it. The relationship was bittersweet and reflected so many true stories that happen every day to lgbt+ couples. I was a bit sadden with the ending but not every ending can be happily ever after. I found myself able to relate to both characters in different ways, bringing me closer to the story. My only critique is that on my kindle version there were some grammar errors and spacing errors, and sometimes the dialogue was hard to tell who was speaking. I had to reread it a few times to make sense of it. With that aside, I think the author did a great job at developing her characters and the relationship they shared. Overall, worth the read!
A debut novel about your great love. A daunting task, but one accomplished here. The story begins with each main character in a underwhelming relationship. Holly in an 8 year partnership with a woman Danielle who loves her more than she can return. Brooke in with a fellow who doesn't appreciate her. Each woman works through their situation to find that sometimes it's what before you that matters. The person who you wake thinking about, text at all hours, talk & lose track of time with, that inevitable magic pull to them. That love that makes you more than you were before.
Holly is a successful lawyer. Brooke is her paralegal. Holly is out and proud, but Brooke is under her homophobic father's thumb. Will things work out for them? You can feel the love between the two of them. Nicole puts you right in the middle of their feelings. Is it a HEA. Read Choose Us ( book 2) to find out! 5 stars!
You can’t rip out a reader’s heart like that!There better be a sequel. For all that is good in this world, if you’re favorite book truly is the Notebook, then there better be a sequel. Now that I’ve calmed down, I’ll continue. 😉 I’ve said it before, if a writer has the ability to bring out solid emotion from the reader, that’s a sign of a well written story. That’s what happened here. I’ll be honest, I think I was more confused about what Holly wanted than she was. She left a relationship with a person she cared about, but no longer loved which I can respect. But then she somewhat tried to get in a relationship with someone who had absolutely no clue what she wanted, who sent mixed signals left and right and several red flags. It took me a bit to warm up to Holly but wow, I’m not sure how she was still functioning after the world record of rollercoasters. That poor woman deserves a holiday. (Maybe to Japan?) More often than not, I forgot Brooke was 24 because she acted much younger. I sort of understand what she was going through when it came to her dad, but I think she was more scared to lose another parent (understandable) and used the excuse that she promised her mom she’d take care of him. When I say lose I mean clearly he was not a fan of her relationship and would cut her off. He’s a full grown healthy man with two adult children, I’m not sure what exactly she needs to take care of. I honestly think she’s flat out scared. It’s okay to be scared, but at the same time, she has her own life she needs to live. Take a chance and follow your heart Brooke! Life isn’t a fairytale, but it’s not a tragedy either. Follow your heart! Holly, don’t give up! Like I said, the author did a wonderful job, because this brought out all the emotion in me for sure! Can’t wait to read what’s next!
Great that it’s written in first person to really allow you to connect with the main character, so much so that I found myself wondering about the characters whilst I was going about my day to day work life!
Such a ‘real life’ story, with a great ending ... a ‘happy-sad’ tear was shed for sure!
This is my first romance novel ever and I freaking loved it! Finishing in just hours, it has been the fastest I’ve ever read a book, I couldn’t find myself putting it down. Reading details on a fictional book that the LGBT community is constantly faced with in real life gives it a whole different meaning to this book. Everything fit so perfect from the characters to their struggles, I felt every emotion expressed and it is one of the few that truly kept me engaged.
Holly was definitely my favorite character as she showed to be such a strong, powerful and determined woman. Her confidence and mindset is similar to many of those in the real world not afraid to open up and simply ignore those who have different opinions. One detail I loved the author sharing, was how Brooke’s character showed fear and did as expected from those who think different, which is something that also happens to many who can’t seem to speak up on how they truly feel and it is heartbreaking to know they live in constant fear. Although things don’t always end the way one expects, Holly and Brooke definitely knew their love was strong despite the obstacles they faced. The ending was perfectly sad, that’s my way to explain it but it was very different from other books and that’s what made the story remarkable.
I just simply loved everything about this book and it is definitely in my favorites and recommended lists. Nicole Spencer-Skillen is truly talented and it shows in her work. I can’t wait to see what’s next!
Holly and Brooke’s story is so unique, emotional, affectionate, kind, and warming. The novel analyzes the complexity of love, its power during most challenging times, and how it fights against arbitrary expectations of societies. I’ve identified deeply with the characters from their sense of love, empathy, lust, and pain. It’s also such an important novel when the LGBTQ shelves don’t present us with many alternatives.
Overall, I’m so glad to witness this love story and wouldn’t change it for any other book. In life, our choices define the person who we’ll become and the life we’ll have. I hope love will always guide our decisions, and it’ll be the love that’s worth living.
Holly and Brooke! Where to even begin!? I won’t give a synopsis of this novel; that’s already available to readers. What I will say is that this novel was exciting and gut-wrenching! When we’re young we think we have found our one true love. Then life happens and things may not work out how we think, right? Holly and Brooke get a taste of this in the novel. Holly may be looking for something she may not be able to find in a relationship. Read this novel and see what you think!
This was a solid debut book. It was told in Holly's point of view. It would have been nice to get some of the story in Brooke's point of view but all in all it was an enjoyable read. The only part I wasn't keen on was the ending. I suppose we can't read about an HEA in all books. It would be nice if there was a sequel.
I would recommend giving it a read. Looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.
It’s hard to believe this is a debut book. It’s very well written, with super flow and a great story. Didn’t want to put it down. It has deep and meaningful dialogue full of emotions. Endearing and heartwarming. And the end? Oh wow- we need a sequel Nicole ;) Totally recommend this super book by a talented writer. Can’t wait to read more from this author.
I love this little book, it only took about 4 hours to read but I am an avid reader. It’s difficult to find modern lesbian romance novels that I can relate to and I could genuinely relate to the main character Holly. I hope there is a sequel because the ending is such a cliff hanger....I won’t spoil it for anyone else but all I will say is give it a read. I can’t wait for another one by this author ☺️
I have read a lot of LGBT based novels and this one is right up there with the best of them! It’s such a simple storyline which makes it so authentic, you know that the plot could happen to any one of us and that’s why I got so invested. I really hope there is a sequel because I need to know what happens next!!
I’m not an avid reader, but I read this book in 2 days! You will be absolutely hooked from the first page. This book is so relatable, and has you really invested in the characters, I do hope there will be a second as this was such a great read! Would recommend to everyone, such a bittersweet love story!
3.5 First I do not care for first person writing but it worked right for the narcissistic attorney. The story is a tough one to read and am sure to write. I liked Danielle but seriously disliked the 2 main characters, which is actually skillful writing.
Amazingly written. I have read this in one sitting. I could not stop reading and wanted so much for the happy ending. I can't wait and I'm hoping that there will be a follow up into the life of Holly Garland. Definitely recommend this book. Can't wait to read more from this author.
Absolutely loved the modern romance in this book. It’s nice to see some characters I can resonate with. I felt like I could’ve been Holly and I could relate to the things she felt! I hope there’s a sequel!!
This is a sweet lesbian romance that sucks you in from the beginning. I follow this author on Instagram and I am looking forward to the next novel Are You Still Mine. If it’s anything like this one it’ll be a great read 😊
I’m really not much of a reader but I’m so happy I decided to pick it up and read it. I was hooked from the very beginning, I usually find that I get bored and never get to the end but I couldn’t put choose me down.
This wasn’t the typical ending and I liked that! I am hoping for a sequel though, would love to see where the characters are now all these years later ☺️ Amazing work, I’ll be reading you next book soon!
Very frustrating book but it has me intrigued enough to want to read the second one, especially because this one ended in such an unsatisfactory way. Not sure I like the MC who is completely controlled by her father. So weak. Anyway, I'm in for the next installment. And if I'm going through all this angst, the spice better improve. I've lost all compassion.
I adored this book. So easy to read and heartfelt. You could really feel what the characters were going through especially towards the end! I can’t wait for another book by this author 😊