Category Archives: Contemporary

All the Feels by Olivia Dade

Alexander Woodroe has it all. Charm. Sex appeal. Wealth. Fame. A starring role as Cupid on TV’s biggest show, God of the Gates. But the showrunners have wrecked his character, he’s dogged by old demons, and his post-show future remains uncertain. When all that reckless emotion explodes into a bar fight, the tabloids and public agree: his star is falling. Enter Lauren Clegg, the former ER therapist hired to keep him in line. Compared to her previous work, watching over handsome but impulsive Alex shouldn’t be especially difficult. But the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to keep her professional… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Fatphobia
  • Domestic violence discussed (off-page, secondary character)

Shine On, Luz Véliz! by Rebecca Balcárcel

Luz Véliz is a soccer star―or rather, she was a soccer star. With her serious knee injury, it’s unlikely she’ll be back on the field anytime soon. But without soccer, who is she? Even her dad treats her differently now—like he doesn’t know her or, worse, like he doesn’t even like her. When Luz discovers she has a knack for coding, it feels like a lifeline to a better self. If she can just ace the May Showcase, she’ll not only skip a level in her coding courses and impress Ms. Freeman and intriguing, brilliant Trevor—she’ll have her parents cheering her on from the sidelines, just the way she likes it… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Disappearance of a child recounted
  • Gang violence in Guatemala mentioned

Trashed by Mia Hopkins

My name is Eddie Rosas, but everyone calls me Trouble. Since I got out of prison six months ago, I’ve had one goal: find my father, whatever the cost. My older brother says I need to move on. He also wants me to leave our gang, East Side Hollenbeck, and go straight, but I can’t–not until I uncover the truth about our family and its missing piece. One problem? I’m distracted. My distraction’s name is Carmen Centeno. Smart, passionate, and tough as hell, Carmen is a woman from the neighbourhood who’s… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic violence recounted
  • Alcoholism
  • Substance addiction & recovery
  • Drug use
  • Gang violence
  • Gun violence
  • Car accident mentioned

Deep Down by Mia Hopkins

Resilient and disciplined, tsunami survivor Eve Ono moves to California from Japan looking for a position as a sushi chef. When she’s suddenly fired from her restaurant job, desperation drives her to find work on a fishing boat despite her fears of the ocean. To make matters worse, she’s stuck in close quarters with her new captain—a man whose raw physicality drives her out of her mind with lust. Free-spirited and roguish, Sam Lamont is a commercial fisherman aboard his own dive boat, the Bravado. When he makes a bad deal with a deadly loan shark who threatens to… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Hospitalisation
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & trauma
  • Panic attacks (on-page)
  • Death of grandparents in a tsunami recounted
  • Shark attack (on-page)

Tanked by Mia Hopkins

A fighter without a purpose. A crusader with nothing to lose. Can she trust him with her heart, or is he just another lost cause? Angel: By day, I do all the grunt work at my family’s struggling L.A. brewery. By night, I blow off steam at an underground fight club. I never thought the pandemic would bring Deanna Delgado back into my life—the woman who ghosted me three years ago after one unforgettable night. But the brewery needs a miracle to survive. And that miracle could cost me the only person who’s ever had faith in me. Deanna: My family calls me an… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic violence recounted
  • Dieting & body-shaming discussed
  • Post-partum depression
  • COVID-19 pandemic discussed

Hold Me by Courtney Milan

Jay na Thalang is a demanding, driven genius. He doesn’t know how to stop or even slow down. The instant he lays eyes on Maria Lopez, he knows that she is a sexy distraction he can’t afford. He’s done his best to keep her at arm’s length, and he’s succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Maria has always been cautious. Now that her once-tiny, apocalypse-centered blog is hitting the mainstream, she’s even more careful about preserving her online anonymity. She hasn’t sent so much as a picture to the commenter she’s interacted with for eighteen months—not even… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Transphobia
  • Parental abandonment
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Suicide
  • Death of a sibling

Cowboy Casual by Holly Renee

Blaire Monroe is the only woman I’ve ever loved, and the only one I’ve let break my heart. It’s been ten years since she ran from this town, chasing a life that didn’t include the cowboy next door who blurred the line between best friend and something more. Now she’s back. Fresh off a busted engagement and hiding out on her grandmother’s crumbling strawberry farm like the past never happened. Like she doesn’t still linger in every part of me I’ve spent years trying to erase. But Blaire isn’t the kind of girl you forget. She’s wildfire: reckless, untamed, and impossible to… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity (ex-partner)

Jeremiah by Jayce Ellis

Jeremiah Stewart’s sexuality is no one’s business. Not that he’s hiding it. When—if—he finds the right one, he’ll absolutely introduce him to Mom. But a late-night brush with a sexy stranger in too much lip gloss has him rethinking nearly everything… To Collin Galloway, direction is a four-letter word. Sure, he hates his job, he hates living with his parents and he really hates watching everyone move on without him. But he doesn’t know what he wants to do, long-term, and he won’t figure it out by thirsting over Jeremiah, the superhot, superintense paramedic who is suddenly everywhere Collin looks. When Jeremiah’s… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & coming out themes
  • Parental infidelity mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Pregnancy mentioned (secondary character)
  • Emesis (off-page)
  • Allergic reaction
  • Physical assault (protagonist’s brother fights him when he comes out as gay)

If You Love Something by Jayce Ellis

As executive chef at one of the hottest restaurants in DC, DeShawn Franklin has almost everything he’s ever wanted. He’s well-known, his restaurant is Michelin starred and he can write his own ticket anywhere he wants. Until his grandmother calls him home and drops two 1) She has cancer and she’s not seeking treatment. 2) She’s willing half her estate to DeShawn’s ex-husband, Malik. Make that three bombshells. 3) That whole divorce thing? It didn’t quite go through. DeShawn and Malik are still married. And when DeShawn’s shady uncle contests Grandma… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Divorce discussed
  • Gambling addiction & gambling mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a grandmother from terminal cancer (off-page)

Learned Reactions by Jayce Ellis

Carlton Monroe is finally getting his groove back. After a year playing dad to his nephew and sending him safely off to college, it’s back to his bachelor ways. But when his teenaged niece shows up on his doorstep looking for a permanent home, his plan comes to a screeching halt. Family is everything, and in the eyes of social services, a couple makes a better adoptive family than an overworked bachelor father. A fake relationship with his closest friend is the best way to keep his family together. If things between him and Deion are complicated, well, it only needs to last… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Fatal car accident recounted (secondary character)