Category Archives: Young Adult

Five ​Dark Fates by Kendare Blake 

Five ​Dark Fates by Kendare Blake

After the grim confrontation with Queen Katharine, the rebellion lies in tatters. Jules’s legion curse has been unbound, and it is up to Arsinoe to find a cure, even as the responsibility of stopping the ravaging mist lies heavy on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. Mirabella has disappeared.

Katharine’s reign remains intact—for now. When Mirabella arrives, seemingly under a banner of truce, Katharine begins to yearn for the closeness that Mirabella and Arsinoe share. But as the two circle each other, the dead queens hiss caution—Mirabella is not to be trusted.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Suicide
  • Self harm mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Dead bodies
  • Amputation
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Sword violence
  • Poisoning
  • Imprisonment
  • Loss of autonomy (possession)
  • Death of newborns by drowning mentioned
  • Animal attack

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake 

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

Queen Katharine has waited her entire life to wear the crown. But now that she finally has it, the murmurs of dissent grow louder by the day. There’s also the alarming issue of whether or not her sisters are actually dead—or if they’re waiting in the wings to usurp the throne.

Mirabella and Arsinoe are alive, but in hiding on the mainland and dealing with a nightmare of their own: being visited repeatedly by a spectre they think might be the fabled Blue Queen. Though she says nothing, her rotting, bony finger pointing out to sea is clear enough: return to Fennbirn… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Smoking mentioned
  • Childbirth
  • Death of newborns from exposure & drowning mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Dead bodies
  • Murder
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Poisoning
  • Sword violence
  • Shipwreck

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake 

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

The battle for the Crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Murder
  • Strangulation
  • Poisoning
  • Animal attack

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake 

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown. 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Cheating
  • Poisoning
  • Animal attack

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake 

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Smoking mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Physical injury & illness
  • Dead body
  • Death of a father recounted
  • Murder
  • Knife violence
  • Death of a pet cat

The Boy at the Top of the Mountain by John Boyne

The Boy at the Top of the Mountain by John Boyne

When Pierrot becomes an orphan, he must leave his home in Paris for a new life with his Aunt Beatrix, a servant in a wealthy household at the top of the German mountains. But this is no ordinary time, for it is 1935 and the Second World War is fast approaching; and this is no ordinary house, for this is the Berghof, the home of Adolf Hitler.

Quickly, Pierrot is taken under Hitler’s wing, and is thrown into an increasingly dangerous new world: a world of terror, secrets and betrayal, from which he may never be able to escape.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Antisemitism
  • Attempted rape
  • Domestic violence
  • Parent with alcoholism & military-related PTSD
  • Death by train
  • World War One & Two
  • The Holocaust
  • Bullying

City of Spells by Alexandra Christo

City of Spells by Alexandra Christo

With Wesley as their prisoner, Dante Ashwood and Zekia tear through the streets of Uskhanya, conquering cities at a time with their army of Crafters and enthralled citizens. As Wesley realises the truth of his power and Zekia tries to lure him to darkness, he must fight against the deadly magic that invades his mind and find a way back to his friends before it’s too late.

Meanwhile, as the cities fall, Tavia, Saxony and Karam prepare for a fight unlike any other. With tensions running high and battles at every turn, they must unite an army of Crafters, crooks and even politicians if they truly want to take down Ashwood once and for all.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Murder
  • Torture

Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo

Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo

Magic rules the city of Creije Capital and Tavia Syn knows just how many tricks she needs up her sleeve to survive. Selling dark magic on the streets for her kingpin, she keeps clear of other crooks, counting the days until her debt is paid and she can flee her criminal life.

But then, one day, with her freedom in sight, Tavia uncovers a sinister plot that threatens to destroy the realm she calls home. Desperate to put an end to her kingpin’s plan, Tavia forms an unlikely alliance with three crooks even more deadly than her: Wesley, the kingpin’s prodigy and most renewed criminal in the realm… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Indentured servitutde
  • Sexual assault (nonconsensual kiss)
  • Child abuse
  • Estrangement
  • Hallucinations
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drugging
  • Blood depiction
  • Physical injuries
  • Dead bodies
  • Plague mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother & father recounted
  • Death of a brother recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Gang violence
  • Strangulation
  • Physical assault, on-page (fight ring)
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Imprisonment
  • Disappearance of a loved one
  • Loss of autonomy
  • War themes & battle scenes recounted
  • Poverty discussed
  • Homelessness recounted

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever. The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavoury hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Slavery mentioned
  • Sexual assault & threats of rape
  • Child abuse
  • Disownment
  • Arranged marriage
  • Nightmares
  • Self-injury
  • Blood, gore & injury depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of a mother
  • Murder, torture & physical assault
  • Knife and gun violence & stabbing
  • Kidnapping, captivity & imprisonment
  • Drowning
  • Cyclones
  • Avalanche
  • Hunting
  • War themes

Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins

Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins

Also known as Royals.

Meet Daisy Winters. She’s an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with mermaid-red hair, a part time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who’s nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond.

While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince’s roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown–and the intriguing Miles–might be trying to make Daisy into a lady . . . but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Nonconsensual kiss
  • Alcohol consumption