Counterpoint by Anna Zabo

Counterpoint by Anna Zabo

Twisted Wishes lead guitarist Dominic “Domino” Bradley is an animal onstage. But behind his tight leather pants and skull-crusher boots lies a different man entirely, one who needs his stage persona not only to perform, but to have the anonymity he craves. A self-imposed exile makes it impossible to get close to anyone outside the band, so he’s forced to get his sexual fix through a few hot nights with a stranger.

When computer programmer Adrian Doran meets Dominic, he’s drawn to the other man’s quiet voice and shy smile. But after a few dirty, demanding nights exploring Dominic’s need to be dominated, Adrian wants more than a casual distraction. He has no idea he’s fallen for Domino Grinder—the outlandish, larger-than-life rock god.

Dominic is reluctant to trust Adrian with his true identity. But when the truth is revealed prematurely, Dominic is forced to reevaluate both his need for Adrian and everything he believes about himself.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Workplace homomisia & racism
  • Anxiety & panic attacks (on-page)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Emesis
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Bullying mentioned
  • Doxxing
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Syncopation by Anna Zabo

Syncopation by Anna Zabo

Twisted Wishes front man Ray Van Zeller is in one hell of a tight spot. After a heated confrontation with his bandmate goes viral, Ray is hit with a PR nightmare the fledgling band so doesn’t need. But his problems only multiply when they snag a talented new drummer—insufferably sexy Zavier Demos, the high school crush Ray barely survived.

Zavier’s kept a casual eye on Twisted Wishes for years, and lately, he likes what he sees. What he doesn’t like is how out of control Ray seems—something Zavier’s aching to correct after their first pulse-pounding encounter. If Ray’s up for the challenge.

Despite the prospect of a glorious sexual encore, Ray is reluctant to trust Zavier with his band—or his heart. And Zavier has always had big dreams; this gig was supposed to be temporary. But touring together has opened their eyes to new passions and new possibilities, making them rethink their commitments, both to the band and to each other.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism
  • Workplace sexual harassment
  • Emotional abuse & gaslighting
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Alcohol consumption & alcoholism mentioned
  • Nonconsensual drugging and drug use
  • Near-fatal anaphylactic shock
  • Hospital
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Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappai

Eliza & Her Monsters by Franncesca Zappai

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.

Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.

But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Panic attacks & anxiety
  • Depression
  • Suicide of a parent recounted and suicidal ideation
  • Death of a father recounted
  • Bullying & cyberbullying
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Beauty in the Breakdown by Tegan Anderson

Beauty in the Breakdown by Tegan Anderson

Beauty in the Breakdown by Tegan Anderson book cover

Family. Money. Run. Three things that Josh Ray and Clara Roberts have their entire life based around. It’s an endless loop of get away from family, get money and get running. After a few months of what feels like stability, Josh and Clara have to start the cycle all over again until everything finally comes to an end. There was something beautiful in the way that things broke down. ‘Beauty in the Breakdown’ represents the importance of trust and self-discovery in an unstable lifestyle through the eyes of Josh Ray, someone who believes that there is always something beautiful in a breakdown.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcoholism, anxiety & depression
  • Suicide & self-harm discussed
  • Needles
  • Murder (on-page)

Herding Cats by Sarah Anderson

Herding Cats by Sarah Anderson

Herding Cats by Sarah Anderson book cover

Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison’s condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can’t explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori — the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that’s impossible. Right?

When Alison meets Dr Faraday, a visiting psychologist, she feels an instant connection. More, he believes her story. But there’s more to Faraday than Alison can possibly imagine … and the answers he will give her are … extraordinary …

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sexism and racism (mentioned)
  • Anxiety and panic attacks
  • Online harassment/cyberbullying
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The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf

The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf

Melati Ahmad looks like your typical moviegoing, Beatles-obsessed sixteen-year-old. Unlike most other sixteen-year-olds though, Mel also believes that she harbors a djinn inside her, one who threatens her with horrific images of her mother’s death unless she adheres to an elaborate ritual of counting and tapping to keep him satisfied.

But there are things that Melati can’t protect her mother from. On the evening of May 13th, 1969, racial tensions in her home city of Kuala Lumpur boil over. The Chinese and Malays are at war, and Mel and her mother become separated by a city in flames.

With a 24-hour curfew in place and all lines of communication down, it will take the help of a Chinese boy named Vincent and all of the courage and grit in Melati’s arsenal to overcome the violence on the streets, her own prejudices, and her djinn’s surging power to make it back to the one person she can’t risk losing.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism, internalised ableism & ableist language
  • Racism & race riots (theme)
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • OCD & intrusive thoughts (protagonist)
  • Hospital
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Emesis
  • Death of a mother discussed
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Knife violence
  • Fire & being burned alive
  • Hostage situation
  • Displacement & homelessness
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What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a show stopping romance when you least expect it. Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things. But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them? Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated. Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited… But what if it is?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & coming out themes
  • Racism
  • Cheating recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Hospitalisation for a panic attack (secondary character)

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful. Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racist microaggressions & antisemitism
  • Fatphobia and body-shaming (theme)
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Bullying

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas book cover

When children go missing, people want answers. When children go missing in the small coastal town of Astoria, people look to Wendy for answers. It’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road, and gets pulled into the mystery haunting the town. Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, claims that if they don’t do something, the missing child… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety, trauma & flashbacks
  • Blood depiction
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a children (on-page)
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Disappearance of a child & family members
  • Car accident

The Wicker King by K Ancrum

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum

When August learns that his best friend, Jack, shows signs of degenerative hallucinatory disorder, he is determined to help Jack cope. Jack’s vivid and long-term visions take the form of an elaborate fantasy world layered over our own—a world ruled by the Wicker King. As Jack leads them on a quest to fulfill a dark prophecy in this alternate world, even August begins to question what is real or not.

August and Jack struggle to keep afloat as they teeter between fantasy and their own emotions. In the end, each must choose his own truth.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableist language
  • Child abuse & neglect (theme)
  • Panic attacks & anxiety attacks
  • Depression & depressive episodes
  • Degenerative hallucinatory disorder, hallucinations & delusions
  • Trauma, codependency & separation anxiety
  • Suicidal ideation and self-harm
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Needles
  • Surgery
  • Forced psychiatric hospitalisation
  • Fire & pyromania
  • Drowning
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