Category Archives: Romance

Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas

Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas

Bree can’t wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees–until she’s stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, yet she’s forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help. With Etta’s training and a lot of hard work, Bree suddenly finds her swim-crazed community counting on her to turn the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Panic attack
  • Bullying
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And They Lived by Steven Salvatore

And They Lived . . . by Steven Salvatore

Chase Arthur is a budding animator and hopeless romantic obsessed with Disney films and finding his true love, but he’s plagued with the belief that he’s not enough for anyone: he’s recovering from an eating disorder and suffers from body dysmorphia fueled by his father, and can’t quite figure out his gender identity. When Chase starts his freshman year of college, he has to navigate being away from home and missing his sister, finding his squad, and contending with his ex-best friend Leila who is gunning for the same exclusive mentorship. If only he can pull together a short for the freshman animation showcase at the end… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia, internalised homomisia & homomisic slurs
  • Misgendering
  • Eating disorder (bulimia)
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Emesis & purging
  • Alcohol consumption
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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