Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum

None of them would claim to be a particularly good person. But who among them is actually capable of murder? Jen Weinstein and Lauren Parker rule the town of Salcombe, Fire Island every summer. They hold sway on the beach and the tennis court, and are adept at manipulating people to get what they want. Their husbands, Sam and Jason, have summered together on the island since childhood, despite lifelong grudges and numerous secrets. Their one single friend, Rachel Woolf, is looking to meet her match, whether he’s the tennis pro-or someone else’s husband. But even with plenty to gossip about, this season starts out as… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity

Death on Ocean Boulevard by Caitlin Rother

The call came on the morning of July 13, 2011, from the historic Spreckels Mansion, a lavish beachfront property in Coronado, California, owned by pharmaceutical tycoon and multimillionaire Jonah Shacknai. When authorities arrived, they found the naked body of Jonah’s girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau, gagged, her ankles tied and her wrists bound behind her. Jonah’s brother, Adam, claimed to have found Rebecca hanging by a rope from the second-floor balcony. On a bedroom door in black paint were the cryptic words: She saved hum can you save her. Was this scrawled… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Paedophilia & child molestation
  • Domestic abuse
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Miscarriage
  • Death of a child
  • Kidnapping

The Other Side of Perfect by Mariko Turk

Alina Keeler was destined to dance, but then a terrifying fall shatters her leg and her dreams of a professional ballet career along with it. After a summer healing (translation: eating vast amounts of Cool Ranch Doritos and bingeing ballet videos on YouTube), she is forced to trade her pre-professional dance classes for normal high school, where she reluctantly joins the school musical. However, rehearsals offer more than she expected — namely Jude, her annoyingly attractive cast-mate she just might be falling for…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Parental abandonment discussed
  • Nightmares & sleep difficulty
  • Chronic leg injury (theme)
  • Medical treatment, rehabilitation & surgery for a severely broken leg discussed
  • Bullying

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 7 by Nagabe

Hounded by two transformed soldiers desperate for salvation and with Teacher reeling from revelations about his own forgotten former life, the past finally catches up to Teacher and Shiva. With danger closing in around them at terrifying speed, is there nowhere safe for them to live a normal life together…?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Loss of limb by self-injury
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Knife & sword violence
  • Home invasion
  • Kidnapping

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 5 by Nagabe

What Teacher feared most if true – the child Shiva has been afflicted with the curse of the Outsiders. Yet somehow, even touched by that blight, she remains human. How can it be possible? And what of the Insiders, and the revelation from their Holy Father? His divine words portend trouble for Shiva and Teacher alike…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Death of an adopted mother
  • Attempted murder
  • Sword violence

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 4 by Nagabe

Shiva’s little white lie has had devastating consequences. While she reels from the shock of the horrific events that have unfolded, Auntie reveals to Teacher how Shiva came to live under her roof–and the cruel fate that awaits all who are afflicted by the curse.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Abandonment
  • Memory loss
  • Dead bodies (only depicted wrapped in sheets)

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 3 by Nagabe

Shiva’s aunt has come to the Outside to bring her home, with several soldiers in tow. Alarmed at this show of force, Teacher tries to protect Shiva, but to no avail. Meanwhile, chaos threatens to engulf the small hamlet on the Inside. Where does Shiva truly belong?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Abandonment
  • Mass murder
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture, implied
  • Arrow violence
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Fire

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 6 by Nagabe

Pursued by soldiers, Teacher and Shiva left their home and searched for a new one in a distant hamlet. They thought to hide away there, but fate was not so kind to them. The cursed soldiers… The Insiders’ plans… Even Teacher himself. The mysteries surrounding them slowly begin coming to light…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Abandonment
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of an adopted mother recounted

Love Songs for Skeptics by Christina Pishiris

Zoë Frixos gets the whole love song thing. Truly, she does. As an editor at a major music magazine in London, it’s part of her job description. But love? Let’s just say Zoë’s been a bit off-beat in that department. After falling hard for her best friend, Simon, at thirteen and missing every chance to tell him how she felt before he left town, Zoë came to one grand conclusion: Love stinks. Twenty years later, Simon is returning to London, newly single and as charming as ever, and Zoë vows to take her second chance. But Zoë’s got other problems now: In order to save her… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Attempted suicide mentioned
  • Drug abuse
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Overdose

Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald

Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened but the police are highly suspicious of her. Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London—Kat’s former home—for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Domestic abuse
  • Death of a child
  • Murder of a mother
  • Lightning strike recounted