The Bird King by G Willow Wilson

The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson

Set in 1491 during the reign of the last sultanate in the Iberian peninsula, The Bird King is the story of Fatima, the only remaining Circassian concubine to the sultan, and her dearest friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker.

Hassan has a secret–he can draw maps of places he’s never seen and bend the shape of reality. When representatives of the newly formed Spanish monarchy arrive to negotiate the sultan’s surrender, Fatima befriends one of the women, not realizing that she will see Hassan’s gift as sorcery and a threat to Christian Spanish rule. With their freedoms at stake, what will Fatima risk to save Hassan and escape the palace walls?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Religious persecution
  • Homomisia
  • Alcoholism
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Alif the Unseen by G Willow Wilson

Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson

In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clients from surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble. He goes by Alif. The aristocratic woman Alif loves has jilted him for a prince chosen by her parents, and his computer has just been breached by the state’s electronic security force, putting his clients and his own neck on the line. Then it turns out his lover’s new fiancé is the “Hand of God,” as they call the head of state security, and his henchmen come after Alif, driving him underground.

When Alif discovers The Thousand and One Days, the secret book of the jinn, which both he and the Hand suspect may unleash a new level of information technology, the stakes are raised and Alif must struggle for life or death, aided by forces seen and unseen.

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Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Homomisia
  • Torture
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Dodger by Terry Pratchett

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

He hunts treasure there – coins and jewels lost in the dark and dirty drains. It’s a good life, if you don’t mind getting your hands (and arms and feet and face) dirty.

But one night, Dodger helps a young woman flee two ruffians. Now, a street urchin dressed as a gentleman, he must discover the secret behind her escape.

Along the way he’ll befriend Charles Dickens, outwit Sweeny Todd and reach the giddy heights of Victorian society. Dodger may be living in the gutter, but he’s heading for the stars…

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Miscarriage
  • Kidnapping
  • Physical assault
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The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett

The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett

Tiffany Aching has finally got her wish. She is a witch (and a respected one, at that). Overworked and underpaid, that’s for certain, but a witch nonetheless. Help is at hand though. In the form of young Geoffrey and his goat. Geoffrey wants to be a witch too and thinks he can save the world by building sheds. Well, everyone has to start somewhere. But as new friends are made, and old ones return, enemies are stirring. With her beloved chalk in jeopardy, Tiffany will face the toughest challenge of her life. There will be a reckoning… 

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Alcohol consumption mentioned
  • Murder
  • Battle scene
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Nation by Terry Pratchett

Nation Terry Pratchett

Alone on a desert island — everything and everyone he knows and loves has been washed away in a storm — Mau is the last surviving member of his nation. He’s completely alone — or so he thinks until he finds the ghost girl. She has no toes, wears strange lacy trousers like the grandfather bird, and gives him a stick that can make fire.

Daphne, sole survivor of the wreck of the Sweet Judy, almost immediately regrets trying to shoot the native boy. Thank goodness the powder was wet and the gun only produced a spark. She’s certain her father, distant cousin of the Royal family, will come and rescue her but it seems, for now, that all she has for company is the boy and the foul-mouthed ship’s parrot, until other survivors arrive to take refuge on the island. Together, Mau and Daphne discover some remarkable things (including how to milk a pig, and why spitting in beer is a good thing), and start to forge a new nation.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Cannibalism
  • Beheading
  • Murder
  • Poisoning
  • Battle scenes
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It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland

It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland

Eva, Celeste, Gina, and Steph used to think their friendship was unbreakable. After all, they’ve been though a lot together, including the astronomical rise of Moonlight Overthrow, the world-famous queer pop band they formed in middle school, never expecting to headline anything bigger than the county fair.

But after a sudden falling out leads to the dissolution of the teens’ band, their friendship, and Eva and Celeste’s starry-eyed romance, nothing is the same. Gina and Celeste step further into the spotlight, Steph disappears completely, and Eva, heartbroken, takes refuge as a songwriter and secret online fangirl…of her own band. That is, until a storm devastates their hometown, bringing the four ex-best-friends back together. As they prepare for one last show, they’ll discover whether growing up always means growing apart.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Misogyny
  • Queermisia
  • Bimisia
  • Lesbomisia
  • Coming out themes
  • Misgendering
  • Slut shaming mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Hospital
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Catch a Falling Duke by EL Shen

Catch a Falling Duke by E.L. Shen

After Hugo Ravensthorpe comes to Beatrice Fenton’s aid in a crowded inn, the usually no-nonsense farmer finds herself sharing a room with the well-born, handsome stranger. Beatrice takes a chance and makes a scandalous proposition: one night, no commitments. But she can’t refuse when Hugo offers to assist in tracking down the last connection to her mother, and one more night becomes more… complicated.

The Duke of Cumbria is on the run. He never expected to end up masquerading as Mr. Ravensthorpe or to find himself in bed with witty and spirited Beatrice. One night with her, and not as a duke, makes him hungry for more. But can there be a future for a farmer and a duke? Or is love only possible if Hugo prevents his worlds colliding and Beatrice discovering his family secrets?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Infertility & miscarriages discussed
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The Comeback by EL Shen

The Comeback by E.L. Shen

Twelve-year-old Maxine Chen is just trying to nail that perfect landing: on the ice, in middle school, and at home, where her parents worry that competitive skating is too much pressure for a budding tween. Maxine isn’t concerned, however–she’s determined to glide to victory. But then a bully at school starts teasing Maxine for her Chinese heritage, leaving her stunned and speechless. And at the rink, she finds herself up against a stellar new skater named Hollie, whose grace and skill threaten to edge Maxine out of the competition. With everything she knows on uneven ice, will Maxine crash under the pressure? Or can she power her way to a comeback?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Bullying
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The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents Terry Pratchett

Even wizards produce leftovers. But a wizard’s rubbish is laced with magic, and for the rats that forage this rubbish, the magic has changed them – they can speak and read, and have rather grand ambitions for a comfortable retirement.

Which is perfect for a con-cat like Maurice. He has his own magical talents, and wants to get rich quick. Together with the rats, and young (rather simple) Keith, the ‘piper’, they work the towns to create their very own plague of rats – then lure them away for cash.

But in the run-down town Bad Blintz, this little con goes wrong, and suddenly these educated rodents aren’t playing to the piper’s tune . . .

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Body horror
  • Animal cruelty
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Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

Unseen Academicals Terry Pratchett

Football has come to the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork – not the old fashioned, grubby pushing and shoving, but the new, fast football with pointy hats for goalposts and balls that go gloing when you drop them. And now, the wizards of Unseen University must win a football match, without using magic, so they’re in the mood for trying everything else.

The prospect of the Big Match draws in a street urchin with a wonderful talent for kicking a tin can, a maker of jolly good pies, a beautiful young woman, and the mysterious Mr Nutt. As the match approaches, four lives are entangled and changed for ever. Because the thing about football – the important thing about football – is that it is not just about football.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Suicide mentioned
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