Category Archives: Contemporary

Deep Redemption by Tillie Cole

Deep Redemption by Tillie Cole

Prophet Cain lies broken and defeated on the floor of his cell. A cell he has been thrown into by the one person who was supposed to stand by his side until the end. His flesh and blood, his only companion. His beloved twin brother. Cain has sacrificed everything for his people. He left the safety and security of his life of study to infiltrate the infamous Hades Hangmen. He lived with them, rode with them, and then betrayed them. All in the name of a faith he can now feel slipping away from him. Like everything else he once held dear. But then his isolation is broken. Another prisoner is brought to the cell next to his. A woman fighting her own demons and fears. A woman who Cain.⁣⁣⁣.. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Paedophilia & child pornography
  • Murder
  • Captivity

Darkness Embraced by Tillie Cole

Darkness Embraced by Tillie Cole

Born to sit on opposing thrones.⁣ They were never meant to fall.⁣ Tanner Ayers is the heir of the Texas Ku Klux Klan. Fed nothing but hate, violence, and intolerance from the day he was born, Tanner kills for his cause without remorse.⁣ Until he meets Adelita Quintana, the daughter of the most brutal cartel boss in Mexico. Adelita and Tanner hate each other instantly. But there is something between them that neither can explain nor deny. Hate turns to desire, desire turns to love, and for the first time, Tanner sees how wrong his whole life has been. Adelita and Tanner hate each other instantly. But there is something between them that.⁣⁣⁣.. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Human trafficking, off-page
  • Racism
  • Rape of a child, off-page
  • Child abuse, on-page
  • Murder, on-page
  • Kidnapping, on-page

Crux Untamed by Tillie Cole

Crux Untamed by Tillie Cole

A broken woman. A damaged man. A free spirit intent on saving them both. Elysia ‘Sia’ Willis lives a solitary life. The only person in it is her big brother, Ky, vice-president of the infamous Hades Hangmen. She loves him, but she has absolutely no love for the outlaw MC he belongs to. Raised in secret by her mother, Sia grew up separated from her brother and distant father. No one knew she even existed. After the tragic murder of her mother, Sia spiralled into a rebellion against the rules of the Hangmen. A rebellion with dire consequences that now, years later, she… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Human trafficking, on-page
  • Racism & white supremacy, on-page
  • Klu Klux Klan
  • Epilepsy
  • Murder of parents recounted

Raphael by Tillie Cole

Raphael by Tillie Cole

They are the Fallen. A brotherhood of murderers whose nature compels them to kill. But guided by their leader, Gabriel, the Fallen have learned to use their urges to rid the world of those it is better off without. For Raphael, sex and death are intertwined. Where there is one, there must be the other. He is a lust killer, luring his victims with the face of an angel and a body built for sin. And Raphael lives to sin. His newest mission takes him into the sadistic underworld of Boston’s secret sex clubs and puts him face to face with his greatest fantasy-made flesh. Maria is everything he’s ever dreamed of, the kill he’s always longed for. She’s not his target… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape, on-page
  • Murder
  • Captivity

The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian

The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian

Beth Kramer is a “townie” who returns to her sophomore year after having endured a year of judgment from her roommate, Sarah. But Sarah Brunson knows there’s more to that story. Amanda Priya “Spence” Spencer is the privileged daughter of NYC elites, who is reeling from the realization that her family name shielded her from the same fate as Sarah. Ramin Golafshar arrives at Chandler as a transfer student to escape the dangers of being gay in Iran, only to suffer brutal hazing under the guise of tradition in the boys’ dorms. And Freddy Bello is the senior who’s no longer sure of his future but has fallen… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homomisia
  • Adult-minor relationship
  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse
  • Sexual assault
  • Trichotillomania
  • Self-harm
  • Bullying & hazing

The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian

The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian

Daria Esfandyar is Iranian-American and proud of her heritage, unlike some of the “Nose Jobs” in the clique led by her former best friend, Heidi Javadi. Daria and her friends call themselves the Authentics, because they pride themselves on always keeping it real. But in the course of researching a school project, Daria learns something shocking about her past, which launches her on a journey of self-discovery. It seems everyone is keeping secrets. And it’s getting harder to know who she even is any longer. With infighting among the Authentics, her mother planning an over… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Miscarriage
  • Stillbirth

Return to You by Julie Cross

Return to You by Julie Cross

Even with bad boy, TJ, disrupting their morning workouts, Karen and Stevie’s daily battles with each other are sure to bring both of them closer to a national title at next month’s championships. It’s the kind of feud that creates winning results. Until a fall from the uneven bars shakes Karen’s rock-solid confidence. Not only does she balk every time she so much as attempts a routine, she’s also facing all this without much support from Jordan. After receiving some bad news, Jordan’s reluctance to listen to reason causes Karen so much frustration she begins to avoid him, need… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Nightmares
  • Physical illness
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Car accident

On Thin Ice by Julie Cross

On Thin Ice by Julie Cross

Brooke Parker never expected to find herself in the tiny town of Juniper Falls, Minnesota. Of course, she also never expected to lose her dad. Or for her mom to lose herself. Brooke feels like she’s losing it…until she finds Juniper Falls hockey. Juniper Falls girls’ hockey, that is. Jake Hammond, current prince of Juniper Falls, captain of the hockey team, and player with the best chance of scoring it big, is on top of the world. Until one hazing ritual gone wrong lands him injured, sitting on the sidelines, and―shocking even to him―finding himself enjoying his “punishment” as assistant… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Incarceration of a parent
  • Hazing

Off the Ice by Julie Cross

Off the Ice by Julie Cross

Claire O’Connor is back in Juniper Falls, but that doesn’t mean she wants to be. One semester off, that’s what she promised herself. Just long enough to take care of her father and keep the family business—a hockey bar beside the ice rink—afloat. After that, she’s getting the hell out. Again. Enter Tate Tanley. What happened between them the night before she left town resurfaces the second they lay eyes on each other. But the guy she remembers has been replaced by a total hottie. When Tate is unexpectedly called in to take over for the hockey team’s star goalie, suddenly he’s… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse

Letters to Nowhere by Julie Cross

Letters to Nowhere by Julie Cross

I’ve gotten used to the dead parents’ face. I’ve gotten used to living with my gymnastics coach. I’ve even adjusted to sharing a bathroom with his way-too-hot son. Dealing with boys is not something that’s made it onto my list of experiences as of yet. But here I am, doing it. And something about Jordan–being around him, talking to him, thinking about him–makes me feel like I can finally breathe again. That’s something I haven’t been able to do lately. He knows what it feels like to be me right now. He knows what it’s like to wonder–what now? I think about it constantly. I need answers. I need to know how to get…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of parents recounted