Category Archives: Genres

Crow by A Zavarelli 

Crow by A. Zavarelli

I had a plan. Get in, get my information, and get out. Easy, right? Turns out, infiltrating the Irish mafia isn’t exactly what I thought it would be. I just wanted a soldier. Someone I could flirt with to get me in the door.

That’s when Lachlan Crow noticed me. Problem was, he wasn’t a soldier. No, he was next in line for the throne of the Irish underworld. And he was determined to hate me from the outset. My sob story about needing a job? Yeah, he wasn’t buying that either. Too bad for him, I won’t let anyone get in the way of my mission.

Who cares if we have some kind of crazy chemistry? He’s the worst kind of wrong- and I would never in a million years be with a guy like him. Because they took her from me, and I’m going to make them pay. 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Human trafficking
  • Rape & attempted rape, on-page
  • Sex work
  • Cheating recounted
  • Death of a parent from cancer recounted
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Blackmail
  • Organised crime

Kingdom Fall by A Zavarelli 

Kingdom Fall by A. Zavarelli

I was a nanny in need of a job. He was darkness personified. I had little to call my own. He was filthy rich, powerful, and dangerous. The assignment was simple, and my goal was too. Take care of his son. Keep my head down. When he least expects it, destroy him.

It should have been easy. I thought it would be until I looked into his stark blue eyes. Kissing the enemy is a bad idea, but so is falling in love with him. He doesn’t know my crumbling foundation is built on lies. When he discovers the truth, I’ll find out if he’s as brutal as I believe.

I came here to steal his life. I didn’t count on him stealing my heart.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape

Every Dark Desire by Fiona Zedde

Every Dark Desire by Fiona Zedde

Naomi McIlroy’s life in Jamaica has always been about the comforts of family and home – but secretly she yearns for something more. Surrendering to seduction under a full moon, Naomi becomes part of a vampire clan whose carnal hungers are never sated. 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape
  • Blood depiction

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god, but then he never claimed not to be a god.

A holy war rages across the heavens and mankind’s fate hangs in the balance.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Deadnaming
  • Sexual assault

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

In the murky London gloom, a knife-wielding gentleman named Jack prowls the midnight streets with his faithful watchdog Snuff – gathering together the grisly ingredients they will need for an upcoming ancient and unearthly rite. For soon after the death of the moon, black magic will summon the Elder Gods back into the world. And all manner of Players, both human and undead, are preparing to participate.

Some have come to open the gates. Some have come to slam them shut. And now the dread night approaches – so let the Game begin.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Animal abuse

Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah

Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah

Alem is on holiday with his father for a few days in London. He has never been out of Ethiopia before and is very excited. They have a great few days together until one morning when Alem wakes up in the bed and breakfast they are staying at to find the unthinkable. His father has left him. It is only when the owner of the bed and breakfast hands him a letter that Alem is given an explanation. Alem’s father admits that because of the political problems in Ethiopia both he and Alem’s mother felt Alem would be safer in London – even though it is breaking their hearts to do this. Alem is now on his own, in the hands of the social services and the Refugee Council. He lives from letter to letter, waiting to hear from his father, and in particular about his mother, who has now gone missing…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Murder, off-page
  • Death of a mother

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang 

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang

Ba dies in the night; Ma is already gone. Newly orphaned children of immigrants, Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, and the spectres of a ravaged landscape as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry, and glimpses of a different kind of future.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sexism
  • Racism
  • Sexual assault
  • Animal death
  • Animal cruelty

After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang

After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang

Now, no longer hailed as gods and struggling in the overheated pollution of Beijing, only the Eastern dragons survive. As drought plagues the aquatic creatures, a mysterious disease—shaolong, or “burnt lung”—afflicts the city’s human inhabitants.

Jaded college student Xiang Kaifei scours Beijing streets for abandoned dragons, distracting himself from his diagnosis. Elijah Ahmed, a biracial American medical researcher, is drawn to Beijing by the memory of his grandmother and her death by shaolong. Interest in Beijing’s dragons leads Kai and Eli into an unlikely partnership. With the resources of Kai’s dragon rescue and Eli’s immunology research, can the pair find a cure for shaolong and safety for the dragons… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Chronic & terminal illness
  • Animal cruelty

Red Tigress by Amélie Wen Zhao

Red Tigress by Amélie Wen Zhao

Ana Mikhailov is the only surviving member of the royal family of Cyrilia. She has no army, no title, and no allies, and now she must find a way to take back the throne or risk the brutal retribution of the empress. Morganya is determined to establish a new world order on the spilled blood of non-Affinites. Ana is certain that Morganya won’t stop until she kills them all.

Ana’s only chance at navigating the dangerous world of her homeland means partnering with Ramson Quicktongue again. But the cunning crime lord has schemes of his own. For Ana to find an army, they must cross the Whitewaves to the impenetrable stone forts of Bregon. Only, no one can be certain what they will find there.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Explosion
  • Battle scenes

Last Gamer Standing by Katie Zhao

Last Gamer Standing by Katie Zhao

Twelve-year-old Reyna Cheng is the up-and-coming junior amateur Dayhold gamer, competing in a VR battle royale against AI monsters and human players alike. But despite Reyna’s rising popularity and skills, no one know who she is. Gaming is still a boy’s club and to protect herself against trolls, she games as the mysterious TheRuiNar.

When Reyna qualifies for the Dayhold Junior Tournament sponsored by her favourite team, she knows she’s got what it takes to win the championship title and the $10,000 prize. But when she’s blackmailed and threatened to be doxed, having her personal identity revealed, by an anonymous troll, Reyna will have to deal with a toxic gaming community, family complications, and the increasing pressure to win as the tournament gets underway.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Threats of doxxing