Category Archives: Entries

The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth

The small suburb of Pleasant Court lives up to its name. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows their neighbours, and children play in the street. Isabelle Heatherington doesn’t fit into this picture of family paradise. Husbandless and childless, she soon catches the attention of three Pleasant Court mothers. But Ange, Fran and Essie have their own secrets to hide. Like the reason behind Ange’s compulsion to control every aspect of her life. Or why Fran won’t let her sweet, gentle husband near her new baby. Or why, three years ago, Essie took her daughter to the park… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Postpartum depression recounted

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman

The Rules: 1. Listen carefully. 2. Do your research. 3. Trust no one. 4. Run for your life. Harriet Reed, a novelist on the brink of literary stardom, is newly engaged to Edward Holbeck, the heir of an extremely powerful family. And even though Edward has long tried to severe ties with them, news of the couple’s marital bliss has the Holbecks inching back into their lives. As Harriet is drawn into their lavish world, the family seems perfectly welcoming. So when Edward’s father, Robert, hands Harriet a tape of a book he’s been working on, she is desperate to listen. But as she… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Suicide
  • Death of a parent

A Family for Christmas by Jay Northcote

Zac never had a family of his own, but Rudy has enough to share. Shy, inexperienced Rudy has a crush on Zac from the moment his new colleague walks through the door. On an office night out before Christmas, Rudy finds the courage to make a move, and they form a tentative bond. When he discovers Zac will be alone at Christmas, he invites Zac to come home with him. Zac prefers to keep people at arm’s length. Yet when Rudy offers him a family Christmas it’s impossible to resist. With no parents of his own, Zac is pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by Rudy’s. The only draw… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Foster case
  • Alcohol consumption

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

The world’s population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them. But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity mentioned
  • Gambling addiction mentioned
  • Drug use mentioned
  • Cancer mentioned
  • Death of a child

The Family at No. 12 by Anita Waller

When Janette answers the door to a potential customer looking to board his dog, she never imagines he has nefarious plans. But minutes later he’s dead and in her cellar. Weeks later she realises she’s pregnant. And so she becomes Mother and the baby Child, and a hidden life begins. But all secrets come out eventually

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape & pregnancy from rape
  • Murder

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch

Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner’s brand new London start up – the Serious Cybernetics Company. Drawn into the orbit of Old Street’s famous ‘silicon roundabout’, Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is not finished with Mama Grant’s favourite son. Because Terrence Skinner… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Slavery mentioned
  • Miscarriage mentioned
  • Torture mentioned
  • Gun violence

False Memory by Meli Raine

It all started with the bereavement flowers with my name on them. Not the best way to wake up, right? I work in a flower shop. I know a funeral arrangement when I see one. I know a killer when I see one, too. And one is standing in my hospital room right now, straight behind the man who saved my life. I can’t tell anyone the truth, because that’s the fastest way to really die. So I do the next best thing. I “lose” my memory. I fake my amnesia. Pretending not to remember a brutal attempted murder has its perks. The killer is backing down, spending less time around me… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Coma
  • Gun violence recounted

False Hearts by Laura Lam

Raised in the closed cult of Mana’s Hearth and denied access to modern technology, conjoined sisters Taema and Tila dream of a life beyond the walls of the compound. When the heart they share begins to fail, the twins escape to San Francisco, where they are surgically separated and given new artificial hearts. From then on they pursue lives beyond anything they could have previously imagined. Ten years later, Tila returns one night to the  twins’ home in the city, terrified and covered in blood, just before the police arrive and arrest her for murder–the first… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Surgery to separate conjoined twins due to heart failure recounted (protagonist)
  • Psychedelic, mind-altering drug use discussed
  • Blood depiction
  • Organised crime
  • Cult recounted

Falling for Catastrophe by Michelle Hercules

Three years ago, I fell in love with a monster. I barely survived, and now I’ve been given a second chance at Maverick Prep. My plan was to keep my head down and not draw attention to myself. Then Jason Novak came into my life like a thunderstorm. Furious. Devastating. Loud. The devil incarnate, he has a reputation for cruelty that precedes him. Not even his angelic face can hide his black heart. He wants something I’ve earned fair and square, and now he hates me. My survival instincts are telling me to flee. But I’ve… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Dubious consent scenario
  • Anxiety attacks (protagonist)

Falling Drowning, Vol. 1 by Yuko Inari

Honatsu just started her second year of high school, and already rumors are floating around that she’s dating her childhood friend, Toma. While Honatsu isn’t totally opposed to the idea, she’s not sure what she feels for Toma can really be called love. But when aloof transfer student Shun Tachibana appears, the waters get even muddier… How does Shun connect to the past she can’t remember? And can Honatsu decide what she truly wants, when her head and her heart are pulling her two different ways?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Memory loss
  • Death of a parent
  • Car accident