Pretending by Holly Bourne 

Pretending by Holly Bourne

April is kind, pretty and relatively normal—yet she can’t seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she’s found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry. Until she realizes that what men are really looking for is Gretel.

Gretel is perfect—beautiful but low maintenance, sweet but never clingy, sexy but not a slut. She’s your regular, everyday Manic-Pixie-Dream-Girl-Next-Door with no problems… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slut shaming
  • Victim blaming
  • Rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Catfishing
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It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne 

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne

Audrey is over romance. While dealing with her parents’ contentious divorce, a breakup of her own, and shifting friendship dynamics, she has every reason to feel cynical. But then she meets Harry, her fellow coworker at the local cinema. He’s brash, impulsive, and a major flirt. And even though Audrey tries to resist, she finds herself falling for his charms. But in this funny, insightful, and ultimately empowering novel, love—and life—isn’t what it’s like in the movies.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Self-harm
  • Recreational drug use
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How Do You Like Me Now by Holly Bourne 

How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly Bourne

Everyone wants to be Tori Bailey. A straight-talking, bestselling author, she’s inspired millions of women around the world with her self-help memoir and uplifting Instagram posts. What’s more, her perfect relationship with her long-term boyfriend is the envy of all their friends. But Tori isn’t being honest.

While everyone around her is getting engaged and having babies, Tori’s boyfriend will barely look at her, let along talk about marriage. And when her best friend Dee unexpectedly falls in love, suddenly Tori’s in danger of being left behind.Tori’s built a career out of telling women how to live their best life. But is she brave enough to admit that her own isn’t working?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Fatmisia
  • Emotionally abusive relationship & gaslighting
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What’s a Girl Gotta Do by Holly Bourne 

What’s a Girl Gotta Do? by Holly Bourne

Lottie is starting a supersonic feminist experiment. For one month she’s going to call out every instance of sexism she sees. But when her project hits the headlines, the trolls come out to play – and they are VICIOUS. Lottie’s not a quitter, but best friends Evie and Amber are worried. What if Lottie’s heading for burnout…or worse?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Slut shaming
  • Sexual assault, implied
  • Sexual harassment
  • Alcohol consumption
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How Hard Can Love Be by Holly Bourne 

How Hard Can Love Be? by Holly Bourne

All Amber wants is a little bit of love. Her mum has never been the caring type, even before she moved to California, got remarried and had a personality transplant. But Amber’s hoping that spending the summer with her can change all that.

And then there’s prom king Kyle, the guy all the girls want. Can he really be interested in anti-cheerleader Amber? Even with best friends Evie and Lottie’s advice, there’s no escaping the fact: love is hard.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parent with alcoholism
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Emesis
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The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting by Holly Bourne 

The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting by Holly Bourne

Bree is by no means popular. Most of the time, she hates her life, her school, her never-there-parents. So she writes.

But when Bree is told she needs to stop shutting the world out and start living a life worth writing about, The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting is born. A manifesto that will change everything… but the question is, at what cost?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slut shaming
  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Revenge pornography
  • Self harm
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Emesis
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A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

Catalia “Cat” Fisa lives disguised as a soothsayer in a travelling circus. She is perfectly content avoiding the danger and destiny the Gods-and her homicidal mother-have saddled her with. That is, until Griffin, an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south, fixes her with his steely gaze and upsets her illusion of safety forever.

Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker, the woman who divines the truth through lies. He wants her as a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm until he realizes he wants her for much more than her… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Fatmisia
  • Child abuse
  • Intimate partner abuse
  • Nightmares
  • Kidnapping
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture recounted
  • Immolation
  • Death of a pet (puppy)
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Bruised by Tanya Boteju 

Bruised by Tanya Boteju

To Daya Wijesinghe, a bruise is a mixture of comfort and control. Since her parents died in an accident she survived, bruises have become a way to keep her pain on the surface of her skin so she doesn’t need to deal with the ache deep in her heart.

So when chance and circumstances bring her to a roller derby bout, Daya is hooked. Yes, the rules are confusing and the sport seems to require the kind of teamwork and human interaction Daya generally avoids… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Self-harm
  • Death of a parent
  • Car accident
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Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens by Tanya Boteju 

Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens by Tanya Boteju

Perpetually awkward Nima Kumara-Clark is bored with her insular community of Bridgeton, in love with her straight girlfriend, and trying to move past her mother’s unexpected departure. After a bewildering encounter at a local festival, Nima finds herself suddenly immersed in the drag scene on the other side of town.

Macho drag kings, magical queens, new love interests, and surprising allies propel Nima both painfully and hilariously closer to a self she never knew she could be—one that can confidently express and accept love. But she’ll have to learn to accept lost love to get there.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia & homomisic slurs
  • Misgendering
  • Parental abandonment
  • Domestic violence
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Emesis
  • Bullying
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Unspoken by Marie Brennan 

Unspoken by Marie Brennan

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met… a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse mentioned
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Knife violence
  • Near-drowning incident
  • Animal death
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