The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society’s pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Life in the Ward is grim and punishing. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colours. You either follow the rules or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences. Nirrim keeps her head down and a dangerous secret close to her chest. But then she encounters Sid, a rakish traveler from far away who whispers rumours that the High Caste possesses magic. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. But to do that, Nirrim must… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Queermisia
  • Physical & emotional child abuse
  • Blood-letting
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Imprisonment

The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

The year is 1921, and “Nobody” Alice James is on a cross-country train, carrying a bullet wound and fleeing for her life following an illicit drug and liquor deal gone horribly wrong. Desperate to get as far away as possible from New York City and those who want her dead, she has her sights set on Oregon: a distant frontier that seems the end of the line. She befriends Max, a black Pullman porter who reminds her achingly of Harlem, who leads Alice to the Paragon Hotel upon arrival in Portland. Her unlikely sanctuary turns out to be the only all-black hotel in the city, and its lodgers seem unduly terrified of a white woman on the… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism, racial slurs & white supremacy
  • Misgendering
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Murder & gun violence
  • Lynching
  • Organised crime
  • Animal death & cruelty

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

Like the heroine of the novel she adores, Jane Steele suffers cruelly at the hands of her aunt and schoolmaster. And like Jane Eyre, they call her wicked – but in her case, she fears the accusation is true. When she flees, she leaves behind the corpses of her tormentors. A fugitive navigating London’s underbelly, Jane rights wrongs on behalf of the have-nots whilst avoiding the noose. Until an advertisement catches her eye. Her aunt has died and the new master at Highgate House, Mr Thornfield, seeks a governess. Anxious to know if she is Highgate’s true heir, Jane… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic violence & child abuse
  • Drug & alcohol abuse
  • Miscarriage
  • Blood depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • War themes

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Trigger & Content Warnings

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Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

Nearly a year has passed since Amani and the rebels won their epic battle at Fahali. Amani has come into both her powers and her reputation as the Blue-Eyed Bandit, and the Rebel Prince’s message has spread across the desert – and some might say out of control. But when a surprise encounter turns into a brutal kidnapping, Amani finds herself betrayed in the cruellest manner possible. Stripped of her powers and her identity, and torn from the man she loves, Amani must return to her desert-girl’s instinct for survival. For the Sultan’s palace is a dangerous one… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Infidelity
  • Blood & injury depiction including dead bodies
  • Decapitations
  • Murder
  • Gun & sword violence
  • Sandstorms
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Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumour has it that somewhere, djinn still performs their magic.  For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female. Amani Al’Hiza is all three. She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s destined to wind up wed or dead. Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Threats of rape
  • Child abuse
  • Drugging
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Immolation
  • Death by hanging mentioned
  • Stoning mentioned
  • Factory explosion
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A Treacherous Curse byDeanna Raybourn

A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

London, 1888. As colourful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can’t resist the allure of an exotic mystery—particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker. His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumours abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Racism
  • Antiziganism
  • Misogyny
  • Slut-shaming
  • Cheating recounted
  • Suicide, on-page
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Mild blood depiction & serious physical injuries
  • Death of a husband & father
  • Murder by poison
  • Attempted murder by fire
  • Gun violence
  • Disappearance
  • Hostage situation
  • Bullying
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A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn

A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn

London, 1887. At the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task–saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Ramsforth, accused of the brutal murder of his mistress, Artemisia, will face the hangman’s noose in a week’s time if the real killer is not found. But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems, and unmasking her true identity is only the first of many secrets Veronica must uncover. Together with her natural… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Racism mentioned
  • Homomisia mentioned
  • Cheating discussed
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Infertility & miscarriage mentioned
  • Death of a sister in childbirth mentioned
  • Mild blood & injury depiction
  • Exsanguination
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Gun violence
  • Knife violence
  • False incarceration
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The Furies by Katie Lowe

The Furies by Katie Lowe

In 1998, a sixteen-year-old girl is found dead on school property, dressed in white and posed on a swing, with no known cause of death. The novel opens with this image, as related to us by the narrator, Violet, looking back on the night it happened from the present day, before returning to relate the series of events leading up to the girl’s murder. After an accident involving her Dad and sister, Violet joins Elm Hollow Academy, a private girls school in a quiet coastal town, which has an unpleasant history as the site of famous… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Child abuse
  • Domestic abuse
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Drug use
  • Blood depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Death of a sibling
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Car accident
  • Animal death
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The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James

The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James

Lowrie and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused global infertility. Closeted in a pocket of London and doted upon by a small, ageing community, the pair spend their days mudlarking for artefacts from history and looking for treasure in their once-opulent mansion. Their idyllic life is torn apart when a secret is uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity’s entire existence. Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: in the quiet at the end of the world, they must decide who to save and who to sacrifice.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Infertility (theme)
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Hospitalisation
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of parents recounted
  • Helicopter accident
  • Building collapse
  • Drowning
  • Cave collapse
  • Fire
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One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner

One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner

Frankie Elkin, who readers first met in Before She Disappeared, learns of a young man who has gone missing in a national forest. Law enforcement has abandoned the search, but a crew of people led by the young man’s father are still looking. Sensing a father’s desperation, Frankie agrees to help–but soon sees that a missing person isn’t all that’s wrong here. And when more people start to vanish, Frankie realizes she’s up against something very dark–and she’s running out of time.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcoholism
  • Abortion
  • Blood depiction
  • Cancer
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