Tag Archives: Alcoholism

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Incest
  • Alcoholism
  • Cancer
  • Death of a parent
  • Car accident
  • Bullying

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

Kyuri is a beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a “room salon,” an exclusive bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Though she prides herself on her cold, clear-eyed approach to life, an impulsive mistake with a client may come to threaten her livelihood. Her roommate, Miho, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but won a scholarship to study art in New York. Returning to Korea after college, she finds herself in a precarious relationship with the super-wealthy heir to one of Korea’s biggest companies. Down the hall in their apartment building… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Cheating*
  • Parental abandonment
  • Body dysmorphia
  • Suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Alcoholism
  • Mutism
  • Pregnancy
  • Miscarriage
  • Cancer
  • Emesis
  • Surgery recounted & discussed
  • Murder of sex workers discussed
  • Physical assault, on- & off-page

*Context : Miho’s boyfriend is engaged to another woman and cheats on her with a sex worker.

Daddy’s Secret by MC Roth

Daddy’s Secret by M.C. Roth

This Christmas promises to be the loneliest of Sullivan’s life and he’s set to brave the season alone until he receives an amazing, yet heartbreaking, Secret Santa gift that was inspired by his best friend’s pen pal, Lincoln. What starts as a thank-you letter to Lincoln soon becomes more as Sullivan finds himself drawn to a man he’s never met—a man who somehow seems to know him. The problem is, Sullivan needs a friend more than he needs a hookup, so he pretends to be married, taking an intimate relationship out of the equation. Soon pen and paper aren’t enough, and he writes his phone number in his next letter, hoping… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcoholism discussed

Burden Falls by Kat Ellis

Burden Falls by Kat Ellis

Also known as Wicked Little Deeds.

The town of Burden Falls drips with superstition, from rumours of its cursed waterfall to Dead-Eyed Sadie, the disturbing spectre who haunts it. Ava Thorn grew up right beside the falls, and since a horrific accident killed her parents a year ago, she’s been plagued by nightmares in which Sadie comes calling—nightmares so chilling, Ava feels as if she’ll never wake up. But when someone close to Ava is brutally murdered and she’s the primary suspect, she begins to wonder if the stories might be more than legends—and if the ghost haunting her dreams might be terrifyingly real. Whatever secrets Burden Falls is hiding, there’s a killer on the loose . . .

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcoholism
  • Body mutilation
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a parent
  • Fire
  • Car accident

That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger

That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger

It’s been three years since the Virgil County High School Massacre. Three years since my best friend, Sarah, was killed in a bathroom stall during the mass shooting. Everyone knows Sarah’s story–that she died proclaiming her faith. But it’s not true. I know because I was with her when she died. I didn’t say anything then, and people got hurt because of it. Now Sarah’s parents are publishing a book about her, so this might be my last chance to set the record straight . . . but I’m not the only survivor with a story to tell about what did–and didn’t–happen that day. Except Sarah’s… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Alcoholism mentioned
  • Substance addiction mentioned
  • Overdose mentioned
  • Blood depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • School shooting
  • Bullying

Scorpio Hates Virgo by Anyta Sunday

Scorpio Hates Virgo by Anyta Sunday

Percy Freedman is not grieving. Absolutely not, take that back at once. No, he’s entirely sure that selling his dead aunt’s home and leaving the neighbours he’s known for years is the sane thing to do. Who in their right mind would keep the house that smells like all the hugs he’ll never have again? Nobody, that’s who. Well, except his cul-de-sac neighbours. They all seem to think some paint and new furniture will clean the emotional slate. They all want him to stay. Even his nemesis, Callaghan Glover. Especially his nemesis, Callaghan Glover. Lured into a game of Sherlock Gnomes, Percy finds himself hanging… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Parental abandonment
  • Alcoholism
  • Heat stroke mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a relative
  • Near-drowning incident
  • Fire (minor kitchen fire)

Being Hers by Anna Stone

Being Hers by Anna Stone

Melanie has spent her entire life working her way up in the world. By day, she studies at law school, and by night, she serves drinks at an exclusive club to afford her tuition. But the hard-working Melanie will never admit her true desire: to escape from her fast-paced, high-pressure life, if only for a moment. When Melanie meets Vanessa, a glamorous executive and a regular at the club, she is drawn to the enigmatic black-haired woman. Vanessa is relentless in pursuing what she wants—and what she wants is Melanie. Soon, Melanie finds herself caught up in Vanessa’s sensual games of submission, power and control… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Improper BDSM practices
  • Parent with alcoholism mentioned
  • Asthma attacks mentioned
  • Stalking by an ex-partner mentioned

All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox

All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox

When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show Starmaker, each thinks they’ve finally gotten their big Nashville break. But then they’re paired up for duet week and stun the world with their romantic onstage chemistry. With fans going wild for #Saxie the network demands that they remain a duo on and offstage, or exit the competition. Faking a relationship until their final performance in the Starmaker holiday special shouldn’t be too hard, except for one small problem–Sadie and Max can’t stand each other. But with their… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment
  • Alcoholism
  • Death of a grandmother
  • Death of a mother from cancer

You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn

You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn

Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things. But unfortunately for Clay, if he can’t convince Annie to join his summer tour, his music label is going to drop him. That’s what happens when your bad boy image turns into bad boy reality. Annie has been avoiding the spotlight after her parents’ tragic death, except on her skyrocketing YouTube channel. Clay’s label wants to land Annie, and Clay has to make it… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Panic attack
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Alcoholism & alcohol abuse
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of father from suicide
  • Death of a mother from a drug overdose

The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell

The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell

A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable. At least that’s their pitch. The reality is less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered, and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor… well, that job is a revolving door–and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who’s got problems of her own. When tragedy strikes in Hannah’s first week on the job, The Stranger Times is forced to do some… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism & slurs
  • Homomisia & slurs
  • Alcoholism
  • Substance addiction
  • Suicide