Category Archives: Genres

The Broken Mirror by Melissa de la Cruz

The Never After crew is back for another twisted adventure. This time, they’re off to Snow Country―that is, after they rescue the beleaguered Lord Sharif of Nottingham from the evil Robin Hood, who has been plaguing the land with his thievery and mischief. But Robin’s antics aren’t the only dangers afoot in the Kingdom of Never After. At the behest of her daughter, the evil Cinderella, Queen Olga has turned Prince Charming into a Frog after his wedding to the beautiful Hortense. And how could we forget the ominous Prophecy, which still looms large over… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Physical injury (on-page)
  • Parent with life-threatening illness
  • Murder
  • Sword & weapon violence

Beyond the Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz

For Red, growing up in Wonderland has been no piece of cake (literally—dessert is outlawed). Her mom, the Queen of Hearts, rules the kingdom with an iron scepter, while Red longs for a life of her own. She’s heard rumors about an island that once housed all the villains of folklore. A place with no rules? It sounds perfect. But then the Queen declares that Red will issue a royal decree at the annual Wonderland Tea Ceremony (aka she’ll come up with new ridiculous laws). Of course, Red loathes idea of following in her mother’s crimson-heeled footsteps. Banding together with… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Physical assault (fistfights/beatings)

The Ashleys by Melissa de la Cruz

Meet The Ashleys. Ashley Spencer, Ashley “Lili” Li and Ashley “A. A.” Alioto are the queen bees of Miss Gambles Preparatory School for Girls. They have it they’re rich, gorgeous, impeccably fashion forward, and everyone wants to be them. And then there’s Lauren Page. Former loser, she’s changed her ways now that her father’s company went public last month. Lauren’s upgraded to a mansion in Pacific Heights with a view of the marina and a Bentley with a driver named Thomas. Last year she was a nobody, but this year is going to be totally different. Lauren’s gone from geek… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption mentioned
  • Allergic reaction (secondary character)
  • Bullying

Angels on Sunset Boulevard by Melissa de la Cruz

THE ANGELS PRACTICE, OR TAP, is the kind of cult that doesn’t exist. There are no rules and no records, just a MySpace-like website. All you need to know is that it will define who you are and what you will become. Amidst the glittering L.A. nightlife, TAP parties are the place to see and be seen, especially in the exclusive back room. Taj and her rocker boyfriend, Johnny, are TAP elite, so when Taj meets preppie outsider Nick at a party, she doesn’t give him a second thought. But then Johnny goes missing, along with Nick’s sister. And suddenly Taj and Nick are teaming up to question TAP’s darker side…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption & drug use

Love and War by Melissa de la Cruz

1780. Albany, New York. As the war for American Independence carries on, two newlyweds are settling into their new adventure: marriage. But the honeymoon’s over, and Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler are learning firsthand just how tricky wedded life can be. Alex is still General George Washington’s right-hand man and his attention these days is nothing if not divided–much like the colonies’ interests as the end of the Revolution draws near. Alex & Eliza’s relationship is tested further by lingering jealousies and family drama.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption & abuse mentioned
  • Alcoholism, implied (secondary character)
  • War themes, including mentions of battles and gun & axe violence

Seven Dirty Secrets by Natalie D. Richards

I know seven secrets: One caused the fall. One did nothing. One saw it all. One didn’t care. One used their head. One played the hero. One was left for dead. On her eighteenth birthday, Cleo receives a mysterious invitation to a scavenger hunt. She’s sure her best friend Hope or her brother Connor is behind it, but no one confesses. And as Cleo and Hope embark on the hunt, the seemingly random locations and clues begin to feel familiar. In fact, all of the clues seem to be about Cleo’s dead boyfriend, Cyrus, who drowned on a group rafting trip exactly a year ago. A bracelet… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Abusive relationship
  • Strangulation
  • Drowning

Two Perfect Lies by Natalie D. Richards

If it weren’t for Lily, Clara would still be a total outcast, shunned for her role in an incident that gave her a criminal record and ruined another girl’s life. She’s spent the past two years trying to escape that night, and ever since Lily Dalton befriended her, she’s almost succeeded. After all, Lily’s the golden girl of the high school—smart, popular, beloved by all—and as her best friend, Clara’s now the bright, hard-working chemistry whiz. But is Lily really just the good-hearted friend who saved Clara from the past? Because lately Lily has been talking about certain classmates and… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Child abuse
  • Rape
  • Bullying
  • Stalking
  • Police brutality

Whisky Business by Elliot Fletcher

As a child, April Sinclair dreamt of escaping her quiet island life to become a world-famous actress. Now fully grown and with her once-flourishing career at an all-time low, what better way to figure out where it all went wrong than to go back to the beginning? April has her sights set on a new challenge, and that is saving her family’s distillery on the idyllic Scottish Isle of Skye. What she doesn’t expect to find is Malcolm Macabe, short-tempered and exceedingly attractive, living in the home she has just inherited. He may be a million miles away from the shy teenager she knew growing up, but one thing is for certain: he doesn’t… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety (on-page)
  • Parent with Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Death of a grandparent from cancer complications
  • Cyberbullying, specifically sexual harassment & body-shaming

Whidbey by T. Kira Madden

Birdie Chang didn’t know anything about Whidbey Island when she chose it, only that it was about as far away as she could get from her own life. She’s a woman on the run, desperate for an escape from the headlines back home and the look of concern in her girlfriend’s eyes—and from Calvin Boyer, the man who abused her as a child and who’s now resurfaced. On her way, she has an unnerving encounter with a stranger on the ferry who offers her a proposition, a sinister solution, a plan for revenge…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & racism
  • Paedophilia, grooming, sexual assault & sexual harassment
  • Incest mentioned
  • Child abuse
  • Anxiety & trichotillomania
  • Alcoholism mentioned
  • Murder
  • Car accident (hit-and-run)
  • Stalking mentioned

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world. That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault. Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism, misogyny & ableism
  • Emesis
  • Self-injury (for blood) & mentions of self-starvation
  • Chronic illness (IBS & Crohn’s)
  • Needles discussed
  • Animal death & experimentation (including death of a cat)