Domestic Animals by Gregory Ashe

Domestic Animals by Gregory Ashe

When a man hires Emery Hazard to track down a teenager who, he claims, robbed him, Hazard isn’t convinced. The story has holes in it, and the client seems eager—too eager—to keep the authorities from getting involved. But Hazard is willing to play along; he suspects something much darker is going on, and he wants to know what it is. Then his husband, John-Henry Somerset, connects the boy in question to an ongoing suspicious death investigation, and both men realize they’ve stumbled upon something much more complicated. There are too many loose threads: missing money, stolen jewellery, a husband back… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Alcoholism
  • Attempted murder

Mayhem by Estelle Laure

Mayhem by Estelle Laure

It’s 1987 and unfortunately it’s not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy’s constant physical pain, or maybe with Mayhem’s own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren’t like everyone else. But when May’s stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem’s questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self. There she meets the kids who live with… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slut-shaming
  • Rape
  • Domestic violence
  • Physical & emotional child abuse
  • Alcoholism
  • Substance addiction
  • Drug use & abuse
  • Suicide, off-page
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Physical assault
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On Deck by Kimberly Readnour

On Deck by Kimberly Readnour

There are two types of people in Bellow Bay. The rich.
And me, Dalton Boyd. But my baseball scholarship is my one-way ticket out of this town and away from judgmental eyes. Nothing stands in my way. That is, until a pretty blonde with the brightest blue eyes breezes into town and tilts my world. Cassie Green comes with one simple rule. Don’t fall in love. One summer is all we have. And trust me, a summer fling isn’t a problem. But there’s one small glitch in our plan.
I’ve never been one to follow the rules. Only this time, it may be me wishing I’d stuck to the plan.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Abandonment
  • Alcoholism
  • Drug abuse
  • Attempted shooting during a robbery
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When You Look Like Us by Pamela Harris

When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris

When you look like us—brown skin, brown eyes, black braids or fades—people think you’re trouble. No one looks twice at a missing black girl from the projects because she must’ve brought whatever happened to her upon herself. I, Jay Murphy, can admit that, for a minute, I thought my sister, Nicole, got too caught up with her boyfriend—a drug dealer—and his friends. But she’s been gone too long now. If I hadn’t hung up on her that night, she’d be spending time with our grandma. If I was a better brother, she’d be finishing senior year instead of being another name on a… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Substance addiction
  • Parent with alcoholism
  • Death of a husband recounted
  • Murder
  • Physical assault
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Fandom by Eden Finley

Fandom by Eden Finley

Everyone remembers the night the boy band Eleven broke up. Hearts shattered around the world, including my own. I made a mistake, and I’ve been avoiding bandmate Mason Nash ever since. At first, it was hard, but eighteen months ago, he made it easier by leaving Hollywood and disappearing. When Eleven reunion talks start, I’m against it completely. I could really do with the publicity, but I don’t want to face Mason again. I’m sure he won’t want to see me either… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Fatmisia & internalised body shaming
  • Depression
  • Alcoholism & alcohol abuse
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Death from a heart attack
  • Death of a parent mentioned
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The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

Eve Taggert, desperate with grief over losing her daughter, takes it upon herself to find out the truth about what happened. Eve is no stranger to the dark side of life, having been raised by a hard-edged mother whose lessons Eve tried not to pass on to her own daughter. But Eve may need her mother’s cruel brand of strength if she’s going to face the reality about her daughter’s death and about her own true nature. Her quest for justice takes her from the seedy underbelly of town to the quiet woods and, most frighteningly, back to her mother’s trailer for a final lesson.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slut-shaming
  • Paedophilia
  • Sexual assault
  • Infidelity
  • Alcoholism
  • Suicide
  • Drug abuse
  • Death of a child
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Very Nearly Normal by Hannah Sunderland

Very Nearly Normal by Hannah Sunderland

Matilda ‘Effie’ Heaton has always felt like she’s swimming against the tide. Everyone around her has life sorted, but Effie’s living with her parents and crying into a wine bottle at night. The only thing she loves is her job at a bookshop, where she can lose herself in other people’s stories. But then she meets Theo, who knows only too well that life isn’t something to take for granted. Because Theo has a life-changing secret, and as Effie starts to realise that she’s falling in love instead of falling apart, fate steps in and deals her a new hand. And this time, the stakes are high.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcoholism recovery
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A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian

A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian

Lady’s maid Molly Wilkins is done with thieving—and cheating and stabbing and all the rest of it. She’s determined to keep her hands to herself, so she really shouldn’t be tempted to seduce her employer’s prim and proper companion, Alice. But how can she resist when Alice can’t seem to keep her eyes off Molly? For the first time in her life, Alice Stapleton has absolutely nothing to do. The only thing that seems to occupy her thoughts is a lady’s maid with a sharp tongue and a beautiful mouth. Her determination to know Molly’s secrets has her behaving in ways she… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Child abuse & neglect mentioned
  • Sexual harassment recounted
  • Familial disownment
  • Parent with alcoholism
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The Soldier’s Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian

The Soldier’s Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian

Jack Turner grew up in the darkness of London’s slums, born into a life of crime and willing to do anything to keep his belly full and his siblings safe. Now he uses the tricks and schemes of the underworld to help those who need the kind of assistance only a scoundrel can provide. His distrust of the nobility runs deep and his services do not extend to the gorgeous high-born soldier who personifies everything Jack will never be. After the chaos of war, Oliver Rivington craves the safe predictability of a gentleman’s life… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Child sex work mentioned
  • Sexual assault mentioned
  • Sexual harassment mentioned
  • Domestic violence, off-page
  • Alcoholism
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • War themes
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