The Villain by LJ Shen

Cruel. Coldblooded. Hades in a Brioni suit. Cillian Fitzpatrick has been dubbed every wicked thing on planet earth. To the media, he is The Villain. To me, he is the man who (reluctantly) saved my life. Now I need him to do me another, small solid. Bail me out of the mess my husband got me into. What’s a hundred grand to one of the wealthiest men in America, anyway? Only Cillian doesn’t hand out free favours. The price for the money, it turns out, is my freedom. Now I’m the eldest Fitzpatrick brother’s little toy. To play, to mould, to break. Too bad Cillian forgot one, tiny detail. Persephone wasn’t only the goddess of… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Attempted rape (on-page)
  • Emotional & physical domestic violence and child abuse (on- & off-page, secondary character)
  • Cancer
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder & Tourette’s Syndrome (protagonist)
  • Emesis (prologue)
  • Torture
  • Blackmail

Bad Cruz by LJ Shen

I would say Dr. Cruz Costello is my archenemy. But that would require acknowledging one another, which we haven’t done in over a decade. He’s the town’s golden child. The beloved quarterback-turned-physician. I’m the girl who got knocked up at sixteen and now works at a diner. He is Fairhope royalty. I get my monarch dose from tabloid gossip. He’s well-off. I’m…well, off. When our siblings get engaged, Cruz’s parents invite both families to a pre-wedding cruise. Except Cruz and I find ourselves stuck on a different ship from everyone else. Cue ten horrible, insufferable days at sea with a man I cannot stand.. (My fault, of course)… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Sexual harassment
  • Teen pregnancy recounted
  • Bullying

Foreplayer by Kate Meader

After a very public breakup and a viral post that declares him the villain, power forward Cal Foreman is taking a timeout from women and relationships to focus on hockey. When Chicago Rebels captain and old friend, Vadim Petrov, “volunteers” him to help train Vadim’s sister Mia, Cal figures he can do a favour for a pal and get ready for the season with his new team. But the imperious Russian would slice a skate blade through Cal’s internal organs if he knew what lessons Mia really wants. Yeah. not that kind of stickhandling… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexism
  • Revenge pornography recounted

An Honest Lie by Tarryn Fisher

Lorraine—“Rainy”—lives at the top of Tiger Mountain. Remote, moody, cloistered in pine trees and fog, it’s a sanctuary, a new life. She can hide from the disturbing past she wants to forget. If she’s allowed to. When Rainy reluctantly agrees to a girls’ weekend in Vegas, she’s prepared for an exhausting parade of shots and slot machines. But after a wild night, her friend Braithe doesn’t come back to the hotel room. And then Rainy gets the text message, sent from Braithe’s phone: someone has her. But Rainy is who they really want, and Rainy knows why.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child-trafficking
  • Sexual assault & sexual assault of a minor
  • Infidelity
  • Alcohol consumption & drug use
  • Drugging
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Cult

Thief by Tarryn Fisher

Caleb Drake never got over his first love. Not when he got married. Not when she got married. When life suddenly comes full circle Caleb must decide how far he is willing to go to get the aloof and alluring Olivia Kaspen back. But for every action in life there is a consequence, and soon Caleb finds out that sometimes love comes at an unbearably high price.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape mentioned
  • Infidelity mentioned
  • Cancer
  • Infertility
  • Death of a partner
  • Fatal car accident

The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher

Olivia Kaspen has just discovered that her ex-boyfriend, Caleb Drake, has lost his memory. With an already lousy reputation for taking advantage of situations, Olivia must decide how far she is willing to go to get Caleb back. Wrestling to keep her true identity and their sordid past under wraps, Olivia’s greatest obstacle is Caleb’s wicked, new girlfriend; Leah Smith. It is a race to the finish as these two vipers engage in a vicious tug of war to possess a man who no longer remembers them. But, soon enough Olivia must face the consequences of her lies, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny & ableism (r slur)
  • Amnesia & memory loss (love interest)
  • Suicidal ideation

Missing Christmas by Kate Clayborn

It’s all work and no play for long-time friends-turned-business-partners Kristen and Jasper—until an unexpected kiss turns things personal. Will it mean the end of something, or the beginning? With a major contract in the balance, Christmas around the corner, and a lot of unspoken feelings, it may take an unpredictable blizzard in New England to seal the deal…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Emotional & physical parent abuse recounted
  • Disownment
  • Blizzard

Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn

Sure, winning the lottery allows Zoe Ferris to quit her job as a cutthroat corporate attorney, but no amount of cash will clear her conscience about the way her firm treated the O’Leary family in a wrongful death case. So she sets out to make things right, only to find gruff, grieving Aiden O’Leary doesn’t need—or want—her apology. He does, however, need something else from her. Something Zoe is more than willing to give, if only to ease the pain in her heart, a sorrow she sees mirrored in his eyes Aiden doesn’t know what possesses him to ask his family’s enemy to be his fake fiancée. But he needs a bride if he hopes to be the win… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Medical emergencies & treatment including mentions of seizures and chronic asthma
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a twin brother from opioid overdose recounted
  • Death of a father from a heart attack recounted

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

Meg Mackworth’s hand-lettering skill has made her famous as the Planner of Park Slope, designing beautiful custom journals for New York City’s elite. She has another skill too: reading signs that other people miss. Like the time she sat across from Reid Sutherland and his gorgeous fiancée, and knew their upcoming marriage was doomed to fail. Weaving a secret word into their wedding program was a little unprofessional, but she was sure no one else would spot it. She hadn’t counted on sharp-eyed, pattern-obsessed… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Emotionally abusive relationship (secondary character)
  • Parental divorce recounted
  • Psoriasis (protagonist)
  • Bullying recounted

Love at First by Kate Clayborn

Sixteen years ago, teenager Will Sterling saw – or rather, heard – the girl of his dreams. Now an unexpected inheritance has brought Will back to that same address, where he plans to offload his new property pronto and get back to his regular life. Bound by her loyalty to her adored grandmother, Nora Clarke won’t let Will’s plans ruin her quirky, close-knit building. With a little sabotage, she sets out to foil his renovation efforts. But as their feud heats up, so does the attraction between them. A star-crossed couple, a fateful meeting – maybe it’s the kind of story that can’t work out. Or maybe, it’s the perfect second chance…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Hospitalisation for a broken leg & hand (secondary character)
  • Heart attack mentioned (secondary character)
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of an uncle recounted
  • Death of a grandmother recounted (theme)
  • Death of a father from a terminal illness recounted (protagonist)
  • Death of a mother from an aneurysm recounted (protagonist)