rachel @ typed truths

The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club by Alex Bell

The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club by Alex Bell

It sounded like a respectable and worthy enough death for an explorer – tumbling from an ice bridge to be impaled upon a mammoth tusk – but Stella really, really didn’t want that to happen, just the same.

Join Stella Starflake Pearl and her three fellow explorers as they trek across the snowy Icelands and come face-to-face with frost fairies, snow queens, outlaw hideouts, unicorns, pygmy dinosaurs and carnivorous cabbages . . .

When Stella and three other junior explorers get separated from their expedition can they cross the frozen wilderness and live to tell the tale?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Frostbite
Amputation

The Haunting by Alex Bell

The Haunting by Alex Bell

Some curses grow stronger with time…People say that all Cornish inns are haunted, but the Waterwitch’s history is particularly chilling. Built from the salvaged timber of a cursed ship, the guest house’s dark secrets go further back than anyone can remember.

Emma is permanently confined to a wheelchair after an accident at the Waterwitch which took place when she was ten. Seven years later, she decides to return to the place where the awful event occurred. But the ancient inn still has its ghosts, and one particular spirit is more vengeful than ever…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Domestic violence
Self harm
Body horror
Serious physical injury recounted
Burns
Death of a grandparent
Death of a parent
Torture recounted
Animal injury

Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell

Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell

When fifteen-year-old Sophie’s best friend dies abruptly under mysterious circumstances, Sophie sets off to stay with her uncle and cousins on the remote Isle of Skye. It’s been years since she last saw her cousins — brooding Cameron with his scarred hand; Piper, who seems too perfect to be real; and peculiar little Lilias with her fear of bones.

Sophie knows that in her uncle’s house, there are rules she must follow: Make no mention of Cameron’s accident. Never leave the front gate unlocked. Above all, don’t speak of the girl who’s no longer there, the sister whose room lies empty of all but the strange antique dolls she left behind… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Blood & gore depiction
Death of a friend
Fire recounted

One Last Chance by Therese Beharrie

One Last Chance by Therese Beharrie

Six years ago, Zoey Roux secretly married her best friend Sawyer. But all that did was destroy the best relationship she’s ever had. They went their separate ways, but Zoey never could go through with a divorce. Seeing him again at her sister’s charity event is a shock, but also enlightening: no matter how much she still loves him, it’s time to let him go.

Zoey was Sawyer Wilson’s first love. She broke his heart, but his feelings never died. Love was never their issue—only timing. Seeing her again is a shock: in a perfect world, she would run back into his arms. Instead, she’s asking for a divorce. But a lot can happen in twenty-four hours and a second chance might just lead to happily ever after.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Panic attack
Parent with dementia mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Death of a grandparent
Death of a father from a brain tumour recounted
Bullying recounted

Second Chance with Her Billionaire by Therese Beharrie

Second Chance with Her Billionaire by Therese Beharrie

From I don’t to I do?

Summer Bishop knew her parents’ anniversary party in stunning South Africa would be hard. Spending the weekend with her gorgeous ex-husband, Wyatt Montgomery, reminds Summer of their painful divorce but also – inconveniently – why she fell in love with him…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Parental abandonment
Cheating mentioned
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Parent with alcoholism, including near-death by alcohol poisoning recounted

One Day to Fall by Therese Beharrie

One Day to Fall by Therese Beharrie

She should be at her “perfect” sister’s bedside, awaiting the arrival of the newest member of her family. But the thought of spending hours at the hospital with her suffocating relatives has Sophia hailing the first taxi she sees. Only to realise too late that the man at the wheel of her getaway car is the most unpleasant one she’s ever had the misfortune to meet.

Parker Jones, the handsome yet surly driver in question, is used to dealing with baggage of the family variety. And it just so happens he’s in need of temporary escape from his own. Witty banter with a beautiful—if exasperating—woman while chauffeuring her around the city on a gorgeous spring day makes for an ideal break from reality.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Parental abandonment recounted
Childbirth
Surgery
Parent with dementia
Death of a parent from a brain tumour mentioned
Car accident mentioned

A Wedding One Christmas by Therese Beharrie

A Wedding One Christmas by Therese Beharrie

Caledon, South Africa, is supposed to be just a stop on the way to Christmas in Cape Town, part of Angie’s long-avoided homecoming. She never expected to star in a bizarre comedy of errors, but here she is: convincing a handsome stranger to be her fake boyfriend for the day.

Ezra Johnson, the handsome stranger in question, turns out to be a pleasant distraction from both the wedding and thoughts of her first family Christmas without her father. And he seems to loathe weddings just as much as she does. He’s the perfect temporary companion.

But a lot can happen in twenty-four hours. Including a connection so strong it tempts them both into thinking of something more permanent…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Pregnancy
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a father from a brain tumour recounted

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six. When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka’s ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She’s found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn’t have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan’s kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul’s worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Transmisia
Deadnaming
Racism
Parental physical abuse
War themes

Chasing Rabbits by Erin Bedford

Chasing Rabbits by Erin Bedford

Alice was wrong – Wonderland wasn’t so wonderful after all.

Kat never expected to be back in her hometown, but when house sitting turns into a mad rabbit chase, Kat finds herself with a whole new set of problems. A two-headed bird with a Game of Thrones obsession, a party full of tea addicts, and a Cheshire Cat who could seduce the pants off her grandma? And if the citizens weren’t bad enough their prince was off his rocker.

This wasn’t your run of the mill Wonderland. This was the Fae world, where rules are rules, and some things are exactly as they seem.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Attempted rape, on-page

Dark Room by Tom Becker

Dark Room by Tom Becker

When Darla and her feckless dad, Hopper, move to Saffron Hills, Darla hopes it’ll be a new start for the both of them. But she stands no chance of fitting in with the image-obsessed in-crowd at her new school. Then one of her classmates is brutally killed when taking a photo of herself. A murder Darla herself predicted in a bloody vision. When more teens die in a similar fashion it appears that a serial killer is on the loose – the ‘Selfie Slayer’. Darla alone is convinced that the murderer might not be flesh and blood…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Transmisia
Suicide recounted
Blood & gore depiction
Death of a parent recounted
Death of a friend
Murder