Category Archives: Representation

Get Over It, April Evans by Ashley Herring Blake

April Evans’ life is in shambles. She’s had to close her tattoo shop in Clover Lake and she’s subletting her house just to make rent. And her love life? Nonexistent ever since Elena, her ex-fiancée, left her for a younger woman three years ago. When she is asked to teach a summer art class at the town’s new resort called Cloverwild, April jumps at the opportunity, especially since the job comes with boarding. She’s sure that this is the silver lining she needs . . . until she meets her Daphne Love, the woman who stole her ex-fiancée. And even worse, it’s clear Daphne has no idea… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Familial estrangement
  • Infidelity by ex-partner mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a parent mentioned

The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

Prince Arris knows that marriage means murder. Thanks to a poorly worded wish to a sea witch, all one needs to rule the Isle of Malys is the heart and hand of the kingdom’s heir. Historically, this has been construed quite literally. Thus, Arris expects that the day after his marriage and murder he will wake up as a sentient tree alongside the rest of his predecessors. His only chance at a long life is finding true and lasting love. When Arris’s parents announce a tournament of brides to compete for his hand and heart, a slew of eligible, lovely and (possibly murderous) bachelorettes… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption mentioned
  • Attempted murder by poisoning
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Loss of autonomy discussed (magical shapeshifting curse)

The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller

At the end of sixth grade, Luna knows who she a small, quiet girl who loves writing and making zines with her best friend, Scott. But when one of their zines takes off, somehow Luna is swept up into the popular group and learns just how much of herself she’s going to have to compromise to stay there. Will she give up her writing? Her best friend? What about her own beliefs about who she is and what she stands for?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Vaping mentioned (on-page, secondary character)
  • Drunk-driving car accident mentioned (a teen crashes into a store & an employee’s hand is injured by broken glass)
  • Biking accident mentioned, resulting in minor nose injury
  • Bullying & vandalism discussed

A Sea Monster Conundrum by Lisa Yee

Oof! When reports of ghosts arise around an abandoned lighthouse, Olive and her elite team of underdogs are immediately thrust into a brand new case. After all, ghosts don’t exist . . . right? Real or not, the ghosts draw quite a crowd at Olive’s beloved Reforming Arts School, or RASCH (not “rash”). Turns out everyone wants a glimpse of the ghosts, including . . . the nearby marine life?! Between RASCH’s ghosts and newfound tourism, rumors soon spiral out of control about a sea monster in the bay—snagging unwanted attention from a corrupt mogul. What is going on at RASCH? Does… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Emesis (on-page)
  • Animal abuse (held in captivity, separating parents from their children)

Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine

Sixteen years old and enslaved since she was born, Junie has spent her life on Bellereine Plantation in Alabama, cooking and cleaning alongside her family, and tending to the white master’s daughter, Violet. Her daydreams are filled with poetry and faraway worlds, while she spends her nights secretly roaming through the forest, consumed with grief over the sudden death of her older sister, Minnie. When wealthy guests arrive from New Orleans, hinting at marriage for Violet and upending Junie’s life, she commits a desperate act—one that rouses Minnie’s spirit from the grave,… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical racism & racial slurs (on-page)
  • Slavery of a child on a plantation (protagonist, on-page)
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a sister

The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano

Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1646. Thomas and Margaret Jones arrive from England to build a life in the New World. Though of differing temperaments, cautious Thomas and fiery Margaret, a healer, are bound by a love that has lasted decades. With a child on the way, their new beginning promises only blessings. But in this austere Puritan community, comely faces hide malicious intent. Wrong moves or words are met with suspicion, and Margaret’s bold and unguarded nature draws scorn. Soon, Margaret is mistrusted as more cunning woman than kind caregiver. And when personal tragedies, religious hysteria, and wariness…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape (on-page)

The Master by Kresley Cole

Rich, irresistible politician/Mafya boss Maksimilian Sevastyan prefers tall, obedient blondes to fulfill his… complicated desires. That is, until the icy Russian encounters a disobedient brunette whose exquisite little body threatens his legendary restraint. Catarina Marín was a well-off young wife until her world fell apart. Now she’s hiding out, forced to start working as an escort in Miami. Her very first client is beyond gorgeous, but when he tells her what he plans to do to her, Cat almost walks out of the door… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape mentioned & dubious consent (‘dubcon’)
  • Sex work (protagonist, on-page)
  • Intimate partner violence & attempted murder
  • Infidelity (by husband)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of parents in a car accident
  • Murder
  • Death of a mother from murder
  • Whipping & resulting scars discussed
  • Organised crime (mafia)

Context : The heroine’s husband is a serial killer & con man who marries women for their money and then murders them. He is also cheating on her with his real partner. When the heroine accidentally kills his partner, he tries to kill her in revenge.

Shadow’s Seduction by Kresley Cole

Prince Mirceo Daciano and his new friend, Caspion the Tracker, comb the streets of Dacia, drunkenly seeking out pleasures of the flesh. In what should have been a typical night, they coax a bevy of nymphs to bed. To impress their females, the demon and the vampire kiss on a dare. Once they finally break away from their soul-searing kiss, they find themselves alone—and shaken. Had they imagined their explosive chemistry? Obstacles—ranging from a death sentence to exile in a war-torn dimension—threaten to destroy their lives . . . and the vulnerable promise in that one… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Sexism & slut-shaming
  • Murder
  • Childhood poverty & food scarcity leading to starvation

The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz

On a dark night, travelers from across France cross paths at an inn and begin to tell stories of three children. Their adventures take them on a chase through France: they are taken captive by knights, sit alongside a king, and save the land from a farting dragon. On the run to escape prejudice and persecution and save precious and holy texts from being burned, their quest drives them forward to a final showdown at Mont Saint-Michel, where all will come to question if these children can perform the miracles of… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical antisemitism & misogyny, including the destruction & arson of a Jewish village by Christians, and a woman burned at the stake

Poisoning Ivy by Carly Claire

The mountain was always my safe place… until it wasn’t. It was my refuge from the cold loneliness of the city, from my parent’s loveless marriage, from their anger and chaos. Even when they left me with my creepy uncle, I looked forward to summers at the cabin, especially after I met them. The reapers. Killian, Monty, and Theo. They were my friends, the secret I kept to make my life tolerable. And then one summer, their friendship turned into something sinister. Their hatred kept me alive, fed a part of me that needed it. I thought it turned into something more, but then… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Sex trafficking mentioned (off-page)
  • Child physical & sexual abuse and neglect (implied)
  • Rape & dubious consent (‘dubcon’), including forced voyeurism and gun play
  • Depression & suicidal ideation
  • Domestic abuse
  • Pregnancy discussed
  • Mutilation
  • Murder
  • Home invasion