Category Archives: Contemporary

Breaking the Ice by Julie Cross

Breaking the Ice by Julie Cross

Haley Stevenson seems like she’s got it all together: cheer captain, “Princess” of Juniper Falls, and voted Most Likely to Get Things Done. But below the surface, she’s struggling with a less-than-stellar GPA and still reeling from the loss of her first love. Repeating her Civics class during summer school is her chance to Get Things Done, not angst over boys. In fact, she’s sworn them off completely until college. Fletcher Scott is happy to keep a low profile around Juniper Falls. He’s always been the invisible guy, warming… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption

Return to Sender by Julie Cross

Return to Sender by Julie Cross

Karen and Jordan might be out in the open with their relationship, but that doesn’t make it any easier for them to face events looming in the future. Like Jordan leaving for college halfway across the country. Or Karen’s win at a big international gymnastics competition setting the bar high for her future and adding pressure like she’s never experienced before. But when Nina Jones (aka-US Gymnastics Dictator), makes plans for Karen and teammate Stevie to train at a gymnastics camp for a month—the same… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a parent recounted

The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

Imogen Lovelace is an ordinary fangirl on an impossible mission: save her favourite character, Princess Amara, from being killed off from her favourite franchise, Starfield. The problem is, Jessica Stone—the actress who plays Princess Amara—wants nothing more than to leave the intense scrutiny of the fandom behind. If this year’s ExcelsiCon isn’t her last, she’ll consider her career derailed. When a case of mistaken identity throws look-a-likes Imogen and Jess together, they quickly become enemies. But when the script for the Starfield sequel leaks, and all signs point… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Fatmisia & body-shaming discussed
  • Slut shaming mentioned
  • Coming out mentioned
  • Sexual assault, on-page
  • Sexual harassment
  • Toxic relationship recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Bullying
  • Cyberbully & cyberharassment

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win unless her stepsisters… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a parent

Yours Truly by Jen Meyers

Yours Truly by Jen Meyers

Willow Truly doesn’t need a man. Never has, never will. At least, not in the long term. She’s as keen for a roll in the sack as the next girl, but beyond that, a man’s usefulness runs out quick. A girl’s got to take care of herself, Will’s learned because as soon as you start to rely on a man, he breaks your heart. She’s bound and determined to never let THAT happen again, so she’s sworn off love, marriage, and living happily ever after. As the writer of a snarky dating column in Du Jour magazine, she’s pretty much guaranteed no man will stick around for long, and she’s totally…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Death of a parent

A Brighter Fear by Kerry Drewery

A Brighter Fear by Kerry Drewery

This is the story of Lina, a teenage girl from Baghdad. It starts in 2003, as the bombs begin to fall on the city. In it, Lina fights to survive, to find a life for herself amid the chaos of war, to find what happened to her mother in the years before the war, when she was taken away by the secret police. She also falls in love, with the one person she should never have fallen in love with. It is many things. It is a love story, both for a country and for a person. It is about an amazing girl, growing up in the worst circumstances imaginable. It contains a necklace, that was lost but might still be found. And… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Disappearance of a parent
  • Bombings
  • Iraq War

Rock Wedding by Nalini Singh

Rock Wedding by Nalini Singh

After a lifetime of longing for a real family, Sarah Smith thought she’d finally found her home with rock star Abe Bellamy, even if she knew Abe didn’t love her the way she loved him. But their brief relationship, filled with tragedy and heartache, nearly destroyed her. Alone, emotions in turmoil and already shaky self-esteem shattered, Sarah struggles to pick up the pieces in the wake of their divorce. Abe knows he’s to blame for the end of his marriage. Caught in a web of painful memories, he pushed away the best thing in his life – the sexy, smart woman he adores – breaking them both in the process. Then fate throws him a… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Divorce recounted
  • Grey-area cheating
  • Stillbirth recounted
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a sister recounted
  • Death of a father recounted

Rock Hard by Nalini Singh

Rock Hard by Nalini Singh

Wealthy businessman Gabriel Bishop rules the boardroom with the same determination and ruthlessness that made him a rock star on the rugby field. He knows what he wants, and he’ll go after it no-holds-barred. And what he wants is Charlotte Baird. Charlotte knows she’s a mouse. Emotionally scarred and painfully shy, she just wants to do her job and remain as invisible as possible. But the new CEO—a brilliant, broad-shouldered T-Rex of a man who growls and storms through the office, leaving carnage in his wake—clearly has other plans. Plans that… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child & spousal abandonment recounted
  • Emotional & physical intimate partner abuse recounted
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Parent with terminal cancer
  • Death of a parent, off-page

Rock Courtship by Nalini Singh

Rock Courtship by Nalini Singh

A drummer for the hottest rock band on the planet, David has a single, powerful weakness: Thea, the band’s publicist and the woman who steals his breath away with her every move. Only problem is, Thea doesn’t date clients–or musicians. Emotionally scarred by a cheating ex, she’s not about to risk her heart with a man who has groupies buzzing around him like flies. Even if his sexy smile ties her up in knots. What she doesn’t know is that David is a one-woman man…and he’s madly in love with her. David’s determined to prove he’s worth the risk and willing to court her, step by exquisite step… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Cheating recounted

*Context : The heroine’s ex-fiance cheated on her in the past.

Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction. Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abandonment recounted
  • Statutory rape mentioned*
  • Death of a parent recounted, off-page

*Context : Heroine’s father was convicted for statutory rape in the past.