Bec @ bec&books

This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke

This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke

In the middle of Budapest, there is a river. Csilla knows the river is magic. During WWII, the river kept her family safe when they needed it most–safe from the Holocaust. But that was before the Communists seized power. Before her parents were murdered by the Soviet police. Before Csilla knew things about her father’s legacy that she wishes she could forget.

Now Csilla keeps her head down, planning her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Antisemitism
Homomisia
Death of a parent recounted
Police brutality
Gun violence
The Holocaust

The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport

The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport

The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen’s deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.

For his granddaughter, Ikenna, the only thing steady in her life was the man who had saved Mareen. The man who had trained her in secret, not just in martial skills, but in harnessing the blood gift that coursed through her…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Misogyny
Racism
Alcohol consumption
Blood depiction
Emesis

Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse

Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse

The great city of Tova is shattered. The sun is held within the smothering grip of the Crow God’s eclipse, but a comet that marks the death of a ruler and heralds the rise of a new order is imminent. The Meridian: a land where magic has been codified and the worship of gods suppressed. How do you live when legends come to life, and the faith you had is rewarded?

As sea captain Xiala is swept up in the chaos and currents… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Misgendering
Suicide
Self-harm for blood magic
Alcohol consumption
Blood & gore depiction
Body horror
Death of a parent recounted
Murder
Torture
War themes

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind.

Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery mentioned
Homomisia mentioned
Abandonment
Child abuse & neglect
Emotional & physical abuse
Suicide
Alcoholism
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Drug use
Blood depiction
Physical injury
Beheading
Forced blinding
Scarring
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a parent
Death of a child
Mass murder
Poisoning
Kidnapping
Physical assault
Imprisonment
Cult
Animal death

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.

Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Domestic abuse
Pregnancy & childbirth mentioned
Miscarriage mentioned
Blood & injury depiction
Death of a child
Death of a sibling
Vivisepulture (being buried alive) mentioned

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Chloe Green is so close to winning. After her moms moved her from SoCal to Alabama for high school, she’s spent the past four years dodging gossipy classmates and a puritanical administration at Willowgrove Christian Academy. The thing that’s kept her going: winning valedictorian. Her only rival: prom queen Shara Wheeler, the principal’s perfect progeny.

But a month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Cheating
Religious queermisia
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use mentioned

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall

Freya Scott is getting married. Her wedding to Matthew, her long-term boyfriend, is the first of eight in her calendar this year, and as someone who prides herself on being meticulously organized, Freya is intent on making it the perfect day to remember.

But when Matthew calls things off hours before they walk down the aisle, Freya’s entire life plan goes up in smoke. Humiliated and heartbroken, the last thing she wants is to attend a summer of other peoples’ nuptials on her own….. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Divorce

Burn Down, Rise Up by Tirado Vincent

Burn Down, Rise Up by Tirado Vincent

For over a year, the Bronx has been plagued by sudden disappearances that no one can explain. Sixteen-year-old Raquel does her best to ignore it. After all, the police only look for the white kids. But when her crush Charlize’s cousin goes missing, Raquel starts to pay attention—especially when her own mom comes down with a mysterious illness that seems linked to the disappearances.

Raquel and Charlize team up to investigate, but they soon discover that everything…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Misogyny
Blood & gore depiction
Hospitalisation
Burns & scarring
Gun violence
Police brutality
Fire

Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson

Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson

Jamal Lawson just wanted to be a part of something. As an aspiring journalist, he packs up his camera and heads to Baltimore to document a rally protesting police brutality after another Black man is murdered.

But before it even really begins, the city implements a new safety protocol…the Dome. The Dome surrounds the city, forcing those within to subscribe to a total militarized shutdown. No one can get in, and no one can get out…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism & racial slurs
Gun violence
Police brutality
Strangulation

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippencott

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippencott

Alex Blackwood is a little bit headstrong, with a dash of chaos and a whole lot of flirt. She knows how to get the girl. Keeping her on the other hand…not so much. Molly Parker has everything in her life totally in control, except for her complete awkwardness with just about anyone besides her mom. She knows she’s in love with the impossibly cool Cora Myers. She just…hasn’t actually talked to her yet.

Alex and Molly don’t belong on the same planet, let alone the same college campus. But when Alex, fresh off a bad (but hopefully not permanent) breakup… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Internalised racism
Slut-shaming
Parent with alcoholism
Alcohol consumption