Author Archives: Bec @ bec&books

Bec @ bec&books A late-20s student & librarian who reads, games, drinks coffee, cuddles cats and tells the world about stories.

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

Geeta’s no-good husband disappeared five years ago. She didn’t kill him, but everyone thinks she did–no matter how much she protests.

But she soon discovers that being known as a “self-made” widow has some surprising perks. No one messes with her, no one threatens her, and no one tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It’s even been good for her business; no one wants to risk getting on her bad side by not buying her jewelry… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Misuse of prescription drugs
  • Emesis

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

Geeta’s no-good husband disappeared five years ago. She didn’t kill him, but everyone thinks she did–no matter how much she protests.

But she soon discovers that being known as a “self-made” widow has some surprising perks. No one messes with her, no one threatens her, and no one tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It’s even been good for her business; no one wants to risk getting on her bad side by not buying her jewelry… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Classism
  • Fatmisia & body-shaming
  • Rape & attempted rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic violence
  • Alcoholism
  • Murder of a husband
  • Acid attacks mentioned

Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick

Stevie and Nora had a love. A secret, epic, once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. They also had a plan: to leave their small, ultra-conservative town and families behind after graduation and move to California, where they could finally stop hiding that love.

But then Stevie has a terrible fall. And when she comes to, she can remember nothing of the last two years—not California, not coming to terms with her sexuality, not even Nora… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Queermisia including parental disownment and forced outing
  • Religious trauma
  • Child abuse, on-page (sc)
  • Toxic friendship
  • Amnesia
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Teen pregnancy mentioned
  • Coma
  • Hospitalisation

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.

Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption–yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it)… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism discussed
  • Parental abandonment
  • Panic attacks
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  • Hospitalisation for a broken arm

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

It’s been two years since Maya’s ex-boyfriend cheated on her, and she still can’t escape him: his sister married the crown prince of a minor European country and he captured hearts as her charming younger brother. If the world only knew the real Jordy, the manipulative liar who broke Maya’s heart.

Skye Kaplan was always cautious with her heart until Jordy said all the right things and earned her trust. Now his face is all over the media and Skye is still wondering why he stopped calling… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Bimisia
  • Sexism
  • Cheating recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Hospitalisation for injuries sustained during a car accident, off-page
  • Drowning

Rivals by Katharine McGee

Beatrice is queen, and for the American royal family, everything is about to change.

Princess Samantha is in love with Lord Marshall Davis—but the more serious they get, the more complicated things become. Is Sam destined to repeat her string of broken relationships…and this time will the broken heart be her own?

Beatrice is representing America at the greatest convocation of kings and queens in the world.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Misogyny
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use & abuse
  • Death of a parent
  • Car accident

Reign by Katharine McGee

A queen’s life hangs in the balance, and her siblings’ decisions—about what to do, and most of all, who to love—could change the course of history. Romance. Duty. Power…only one can triumph in this stunning conclusion to the New York Times bestselling American Royals series.

America’s royal family is in shambles. Queen Beatrice is in a coma and Princess Samantha has gone missing—from the look of things, she ran away with her boyfriend, Lord Marshall Davis… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity
  • Retrograde amnesia

Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

Daisy sees dead people—something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto. She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she’s completely unprepared to be dumped by her boyfriend. So when her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario where she spent her childhood summers, Daisy jumps at the chance to escape. But the house is nothing like Daisy expects, and she begins to realize that her experience with the supernatural might be no match for her mother’s secrets, nor what lurks within these walls… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism mentioned
  • Fatmisia & body shaming discussed
  • Sexual assault of a child recounted
  • Grooming
  • Physical child abuse & neglect recounted including confinement, off-page
  • Suicide mentioned, off-page
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Teen pregnancy mentioned
  • Body horror
  • Loss of autonomy (possession)
  • Animal attack (birds)
  • Animal death (goat), off-page

Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin

Tana Fairchild’s fate has never been in question. Her life has been planned out since the moment she was born: she is to marry the governor’s son, Landon, and secure an unprecedented alliance between the witches of her island home and the mainlanders who see her very existence as a threat.

Tana’s coven has appeased those who fear their power for years by releasing most of their magic into the ocean during the full moon… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Hate crime
  • Memory loss
  • Fire
  • Animal death

Monstrilio by Gerado Sámano Córdova

Grieving mother Magos cuts out a piece of her deceased eleven-year-old son Santiago’s lung. Acting on fierce maternal instinct and the dubious logic of an old folktale, she nurtures the lung until it gains sentience, growing into the carnivorous little Monstrilio she keeps hidden within the walls of her family’s decaying Mexico City estate. Eventually, Monstrilio begins to resemble the Santiago he once was, but his innate impulses—though curbed by his biological and chosen family’s communal care—threaten to destroy this fragile second chance at life… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Blood & gore depiction including body horror
  • Grief & loss depiction (theme)
  • Death of a child
  • Murder
  • Animal death