rachel @ typed truths

Strawberry Summer by Melissa Brayden

Strawberry Summer by Melissa Brayden

Margaret Beringer didn’t have an easy adolescence. She hated her name, was less than popular in school and was always cast aside as a “farm kid.” However, with the arrival of Courtney Carrington, Margaret’s youth sparked into colour. Courtney was smart, beautiful, and put together—everything Margaret wasn’t. Who would have imagined that they’d fit together so perfectly? But first loves can scar. Margaret hasn’t seen Courtney in years and that’s for the best. But when Courtney loses her father and returns to Tanner Peak to take control of the family store, Margaret comes face-to-face with her past and the woman she’s tried desperate… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Slut-shaming
Emotional parental abuse
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a father
Death of a brother in a tractor accident

Into the River by Mark Brandi

Into the River by Mark Brandi

Also known as Wimmera.

Growing up in a small country town, Ben and Fab spend their days playing cricket, wanting a pair of Nike Air Maxes and not talking about how Fab’s dad hits him, or how the sudden death of Ben’s next-door neighbour unsettled him. Almost teenagers, they already know some things are better left unsaid.

Then a newcomer arrived. Fab reckoned he was a secret agent and he and Ben staked him out. He looked strong. Maybe even stronger than Fab’s dad. Neither… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism & racial slurs
Paedophilia, child sexual abuse & grooming
Domestic violence
Suicide
Graphic dismemberment
Murder
Animal death

The Baby is Mine by Oyinkan Braithwaite

The Baby is Mine by Oyinkan Braithwaite

When his girlfriend throws him out during the pandemic, Bambi has to go to his Uncle’s house in lock-down Lagos. He arrives during a blackout, and is surprised to find his Aunty Bidemi sitting in a candlelit room with another woman. They both claim to be the mother of the baby boy, fast asleep in his crib.

At night Bambi is kept awake by the baby’s cries, and during the days he is disturbed by a… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Sexism
Child neglect
Cheating
Alcohol consumption, on-page
Recreational drug use, on-page
COVID-19 (theme)
Emesis
Physical illness & tribal marking disfigurement of a baby
Blood depiction
Grief & loss depiction
Death of an uncle & husband recounted
Animal slaughter, on-page

The King of Crows by Libba Bray

The King of Crows by Libba Bray

After the horrifying explosion that claimed one of their own, the Diviners find themselves wanted by the US government and on the brink of war with the King of Crows.

While Memphis and Isaiah run for their lives from the mysterious Shadow Men, Isaiah receives a startling vision of a girl, Sarah Beth Olson, who could shift the balance in their struggle for peace. Sarah Beth says she knows how to stop the King of Crows-but, she will need… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Racism
Homomisia
Domestic violence & abuse recounted
Alcohol consumption
Drugging
Blood & injury depiction
Medical experimentation
Eugenics
Needles
Seizures
Loss of vision mentioned
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a friend in an explosion recounted
Death of a mother from cancer recounted
Death of a grandmother from a fall mentioned
Murder of an uncle by strangulation
Gun violence
Imprisonment for sedition mentioned
Kidnapping
Disappearance of a loved one
Fire

Be My Brayshaw by Meagan Brandy

Be My Brayshaw by Meagan Brandy

Cross one, cross all. That’s the Brayshaw way. She should have realized this before sliding into our world with secrets too big to bury. She didn’t and now the target is on her back. The day her lies came crashing down, I should have forced her out. Instead, I locked her in, and with the promise, I would never be hers. I resisted, fought against us. I caved. I tasted what became my newfound favourite flavour and fell hard for the little liar. But then the depth of her treachery reveals itself, and with it a reminder. Our town is a twisted place, and… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slut shaming
Sexual assault
Alcohol consumption
Drug use & smoking

Reign of Brayshaw by Meagan Brandy

Reign of Brayshaw by Meagan Brandy

“Trust only those who earn it.”

A sentiment I follow without direction but holds more consequence than ever before. One decision, five lives, three futures. This is what’s at stake. One night, one choice, four broken Brayshaws. That is where we’re headed. Unless I stop it. I 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 to stop it. I have to remind him of what he’s chosen to forget. My town. My choice. 𝘔𝘺 ending.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slut shaming
Rape
Sexual assault
Alcohol consumption
Drug use & smoking

Trouble at Brayshaw High by Meagan Brandy

Trouble at Brayshaw High by Meagan Brandy

No words whispered in anger have ever rung more true. They’re the Kings of Brayshaw with the world at their feet, destined for greatness and in need of control. I’m the girl from the ghetto with nothing to offer and as defiant as they come. They say it doesn’t matter, that I’m one of them now, and nothing could ever change that. Not even me, should I dare try. But they’re wrong. They underestimate how far I’ll go to protect them. Trouble is coming…and they have no idea.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slut shaming
Sexual assault
Drug use & smoking
Alcohol consumption

Boys of Brayshaw High by Meagan Brandy

Boys of Brayshaw High by Meagan Brandy

Those were the exact words of my social worker when she dropped me in my newest hellhole, a place for “troubled teens”. I didn’t listen, and now I’m on their radar. They expect me to play along in their games of hierarchy, to fall in line in the social order they’ve deemed me fit. Too bad for them, I don’t follow rules. Too bad for me, they’re determined to make sure I do. Inconceivably attractive and treated like kings…these are the boys of Brayshaw High. And I’m the girl who got in their way.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slut shaming
Sexual assault
Drug use & smoking
Alcohol consumption

Treasure by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Treasure by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Treasure is a wannabe Instagram influencer in Lagos, Nigeria. She shows off a luxurious life in a gated community that her almost five thousand followers can only dream of. @Sho4Sure is determined to be part of it. The macho mechanic is Treasure’s number one fan, and double taps and blushing emojis are no longer enough. He needs to meet her in the flesh. If only Treasure were more prepared for destiny.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Blood depiction
Murder
Gun violence
Stalking
Home invasion

The Unwilling by Kelly Braffet

The Unwilling by Kelly Braffet

The Unwilling is the story of Judah, a foundling born with a special gift and raised inside Highfall castle along with Gavin, the son and heir to Lord Elban’s vast empire. Judah and Gavin share an unnatural bond that is both the key to her survival… and possibly her undoing.

As Gavin is groomed for his future role, Judah comes to realize that she has no real position within the kingdom, in fact, no hope at all of ever travelling beyond its castle walls… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Graphic emotional & physical child abuse
Self-harm
Drug use
Murder
Torture