Category Archives: Romance

Bright World by Stan Stanley

Bright World by Stan Stanley

Amparo’s deal with the talking cat was simple: a drop of blood and Amparo’s name to become a better person. Their mother and abuela would never worry about them again, and they’d finally be worthy of dating straight-A student Iolanthe. But when the cat steals their body, becoming the better person they were promised, Amparo’s spirit is imprisoned in a land of terrifying, flesh-hungry creatures known as Bright… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Misgendering
  • Nonconsensual surgery
  • Amputation (hands)
  • Murder

Asking for a Friend by Andi Osho

Asking for a Friend by Andi Osho

No woman gets left behind. Three best friends are going to solve their relationship woes once and for all. Forty-something Jemima’s life is on track – well, sort of. All she has to do is muster the courage to bat her niggly ex away for good. Twenty-something Meagan is in the midst of her five-phase plan and is nearly ready for phase three – a relationship. While thirty-something Simi has had more it’s not yous than any I dos. Deciding it’s time to play the dating game by their own rules, they’re going to ditch the dating apps and ask people out in real life. The catch? They’re play… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Stalking

The Weddings by Alexander Chee

The Weddings by Alexander Chee

For Jack Cho, a fortysomething gay man, being able to marry someone he loves is so unfamiliar it’s terrifying. Then a wedding invitation from a college friend brings about a collision with those fears—and his own secret history. Jack and his new boyfriend, Caleb, are attending the wedding of Jack’s estranged straight friend Scott. No sooner do the guests start to mingle than questions arise about relationships, tradition, Jack’s feelings for the groom, and what’s at stake as he navigates daunting territory, both new and old.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia

Edinburgh by Alexander Chee

Edinburgh by Alexander Chee

Twelve-year-old Fee is a shy Korean American boy and a newly named section leader of the first sopranos in his local boys’ choir. But when Fee learns how the director treats his section leaders, he is so ashamed he says nothing of the abuse, not even when Peter, his best friend, is in line to be next. When the director is arrested, Fee tries to forgive himself for his silence. But when Peter takes his own life, Fee blames only himself. In the years that follow he slowly builds a new life, teaching near his hometown. There he meets a young student who is the picture of Peter and is forced to confront the past he believed was gone.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homomisic slurs
  • Paedophilia, including child pornography
  • Suicide by gun
  • Self-immolation
  • Self-harm
  • Black Death pandemic
  • Death of a grandparents
  • Murder
  • Arson

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

Lilliet Berne is a sensation of the Paris Opera, a legendary soprano with every accolade except an original role, every singer’s chance at immortality. When one is finally offered to her, she realizes with alarm that the libretto is based on a hidden piece of her past. Only four could have betrayed her: one is dead, one loves her, one wants to own her. And one, she hopes, never thinks of her at all.  As she mines her memories for clues, she recalls her life as an orphan who left the American frontier for Europe and was swept up into the glitzy, gritty world of Second Empire Paris. In order to survive, she transformed herself from… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape

Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee

Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee

A rising star in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing, Carr “the Raptor” Luka dreams of winning the championship title. Recognizing his talent, the Zero Gravity Fighting Association assigns Risha, an ambitious and beautiful Martian colonist, to be his brandhelm––a personal marketing strategist. It isn’t long before she’s made Carr into a popular celebrity and stolen his heart along the way. As his fame grows, Carr becomes an inspirational hero on Earth, a once-great planet that’s fallen into the shadow of its… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Suicide, off-page

Jade War by Fonda Lee

Jade War by Fonda Lee

On the island of Kekon, the Kaul family is locked in a violent feud for control of the capital city and the supply of magical jade that endows trained Green Bone warriors with supernatural powers they alone have possessed for hundreds of years. Beyond Kekon’s borders, war is brewing. Powerful foreign governments and mercenary criminal kingpins alike turn their eyes on the island nation. Jade, Kekon’s most prized resource, could make them rich – or give them the edge they’d need to topple their rivals… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Racial hate crimes
  • Rape mentioned
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Drug use
  • Abortion
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Body horror
  • Murder
  • Graphic torture
  • Gun violence
  • Strangulation
  • Explosion

Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee

Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee

Jade, the mysterious and magical substance once exclusive to the Green Bone warriors of Kekon, is now known and coveted throughout the world. Everyone wants access to the supernatural abilities it provides, from traditional forces such as governments, mercenaries, and criminal kingpins, to modern players, including doctors, athletes, and movie studios. As the struggle over the control of jade grows ever larger and more deadly, the Kaul family, and the ancient ways of the Kekonese Green Bones, will never be the same. The Kauls have been battered by war and… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape mentioned
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Torture

Jade City by Fonda Lee

Jade City by Fonda Lee

The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It’s the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities. The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion–but nowadays, in a bustling post-war metropolis full of fast cars and foreign money, Green Bone families like the Kauls are primarily involved in commerce, construction, and the everyday upkeep of the districts under their protection… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault of a minor
  • Cheating
  • Domestic abuse
  • Addiction
  • Dementia
  • Suicide, off-page
  • Self harm, off-page
  • Drug use & abuse
  • Overdose
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Gun violence
  • Animal cruelty

Exo by Fonda Lee

Exo by Fonda Lee

It’s been a century of peace since Earth became a colony of an alien race with far reaches into the galaxy. Some die-hard extremists still oppose alien rule on Earth, but Donovan Reyes isn’t one of them. His dad holds the prestigious position of Prime Liaison in the collaborationist government, and Donovan’s high social standing along with his exocel (a remarkable alien technology fused to his body) guarantee him a bright future in the security forces. That is, until a routine patrol goes awry and Donovan’s abducted… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Murder
  • Torture