Category Archives: Genres

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-travelling photojournalist. Even after her mother’s death, she leaves letters at her grave. It’s the only way Juliet can cope.

Declan Murphy isn’t the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he’s trying to escape the demons of his past.

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can’t resist writing back. Soon, he’s opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they’re not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart. 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Infidelity
  • Anxiety
  • Panic attacks
  • Depression
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother
  • Death of a sibling
  • Car accident

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumours circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Rumoured to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen–until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Sexism
  • Indentured servitude
  • Child sexual slavery & sex work, implied
  • Arranged marriage discussed
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Pregnancy mentioned
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Emesis
  • Dead bodies
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture, on-page
  • Graphic whipping
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Imprisonment
  • Hostage situation
  • War themes
  • Animal death, on-page
  • Hunting

More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer

More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer

Rev Fletcher is battling the demons of his past. But with loving adoptive parents by his side, he’s managed to keep them at bay…until he gets a letter from his abusive father and the trauma of his childhood comes hurtling back.

Emma Blue spends her time perfecting the computer game she built from scratch, rather than facing her parents’ crumbling marriage. She can solve any problem with the right code, but when an online troll’s harassment escalates, she’s truly afraid

When Rev and Emma meet, they both long to lift the burden of their secrets and bond instantly over their shared turmoil. But when their situations turn dangerous, their trust in each other will be tested in ways they never expected….. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sexism
  • Rape mentioned
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Self-harm
  • Miscarriage recounted
  • Kidnapping
  • Stalking
  • Catfishing
  • Cyberbullying & online harassment
  • Bullying

If It Bleeds by Stephen King

If It Bleeds by Stephen King

A collection of four uniquely wonderful long stories, including a stand-alone sequel to The Outsider.

News people have a saying: ‘If it bleeds, it leads’. And a bomb at Albert Macready Middle School is guaranteed to lead any bulletin. Holly Gibney of the Finders Keepers detective agency is working on the case of a missing dog – and on her own need to be more assertive – when she sees the footage on TV. But when she tunes in again, to the late-night report, she realizes there is something not quite right about the correspondent who was first on the scene.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Bullying

The Outsider by Stephen King

The Outsider by Stephen King

An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sexual assault
  • Murder of a child

Tuesdays Are Just As Bad by Cethan Leahy

Tuesdays Are Just As Bad by Cethan Leahy

What would you do if you were haunted by yourself?

When Adam wakes in hospital after a failed suicide attempt, he finds that he is not alone. In his room is someone only he can see and hear. Tied together by an invisible bond, Adam on his ghostly companion try to find a way to co-exist as Adam works to get his life back on track. But life is never that simple and as the pressure builds on Adam to appear ‘normal’, will his constant shadow turn out to be friend or foe?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Suicidal ideation
  • Attempted suicide recounted
  • Hospital

We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan

We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan

Nicu has emigrated from Romania and is struggling to find his place in his new home. Meanwhile, Jess’s home life is overshadowed by violence. When Nicu and Jess meet, what starts out as friendship grows into romance as the two bond over their painful pasts and hopeful futures. But will they be able to save each other, let alone themselves?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Domestic abuse & violence
  • Bullying

Here Is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan

Here Is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan

Ana and Connor have been having an affair for three years. In hotel rooms and coffee shops, swiftly deleted texts and briefly snatched weekends, they have built a world with none but the two of them in it. But then the unimaginable happens, and Ana finds herself alone, trapped inside her secret.

How can we lose someone the world never knew was ours? How do we grieve for something no one else can ever find out? In her desperate bid for answers, Ana seeks out the shadowy figure who has always stood just beyond her reach – Connor’s wife Rebecca.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Infidelity
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a partner

Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

When Apple’s mother returns after eleven years away, Apple feels whole again. But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother’s homecoming is bittersweet. It’s only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is that she begins to see things as they really are.

A story about sad endings.
A story about happy beginnings.
A story to make you realise who is special.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Abandonment
  • Child neglect
  • Alcohol abuse

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

Seventeen-year-old Joe hasn’t seen his brother in ten years. Ed didn’t walk out on the family, not exactly. It’s something more brutal. Ed’s locked up — on death row.

Now his execution date has been set, and the clock is ticking. Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with his brother, no matter what other people think … and no matter whether Ed committed the crime. But did he? And does it matter, in the end?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Incarceration for the presumed shooting of a police officer