Everything My Mother Taught Me by Alice Hoffman

Everything My Mother Taught Me by Alice Hoffman

For fatefully observant Adeline, growing up carries an ominous warning from her adulterous mother: don’t say a word. Adeline vows to never speak again. But that’s not her only secret. After her mother takes a housekeeping job at a lighthouse off the tip of Cape Ann, a local woman vanishes. The key to the mystery lies with Adeline, the silent witness. New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic Alice Hoffman crafts a beautiful, heart-wrenching short story.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental infidelity
  • Death of a father
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Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher

Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher

Stephen’s god died on the longest day of the year… Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Infidelity recounted
  • Depression
  • Panic attack, on-page
  • Suicide by poison
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Decapitation
  • Autopsy scene
  • Death of a mother from consumption mentioned
  • Murder
  • Home invasion
  • False imprisonment
  • Military service recounted
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The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

Pray they are hungry. Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Cheating
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Body horror
  • Death of a child
  • Gun violence
  • Torture
  • Animal death
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Scorpionfish by Natalie Bakopoulos

Scorpionfish by Natalie Bakopoulos

After the unexpected deaths of her parents, young academic Mira returns to her childhood home in Athens. On her first night back, she encounters a new neighbour, a longtime ship captain who has found himself no longer at sea for the first time in years. As one summer night tumbles into another, Mira and the Captain’s voices drift across the balconies of their apartments, disclosing details and stories: of careers, families, of love. For Mira, love has so often meant Aris, an ex-boyfriend and rising Greek politician who has recently become engaged to a movie star. There is, too, her love for her dear friend Nefeli—a well… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Cheating
  • Suicide
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The Youngest Doll by Rosario Ferré

The Youngest Doll by Rosario Ferré

A gentle maiden aunt who has been victimized for years unexpectedly retaliates through her talent for making life-sized dolls filled with honey. “The Youngest Doll,” based on a family anecdote, is a stunning literary expression of Rosario Ferré’s feminist and social concerns. It is the premier story in a collection that was originally published in Spanish in 1976 as Papeles de Pandora and is now translated into English by the author. The daughter of a former governor of Puerto Rico, Ferré portrays women loosening the constraints that have bound them to a patriarchal culture. Anger takes creative rather than polemical form… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Slut shaming
  • Cheating
  • Car accident
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Henry’s Bride by Emily Royal

Henry’s Bride by Emily Royal

Jeanette Claybone, newcomer to society thanks to her father’s recent baronetcy, struggles to navigate the waters of the ton during her first season. When an evening walk with the wrong hungry suitor ruins her reputation, she calls a duel for her honour but is left injured. Disowned by all, she finds an unlikely saviour in renowned rake Henry Drayton. Believing her reputation ruined, and determined to enjoy the sin she’s already been punished for, Jeanette succumbs to Henry’s passion. Upon discovering Jeanette told the truth about her virtue, Henry asks for her hand… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Cheating
  • Sexual assault
  • Murder & disappearance of sex workers
  • Gun violence
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The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

Cornwall, 1972. Three keepers vanish from a remote lighthouse, miles from the shore. The entrance door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. The Principal Keeper’s weather log describes a mighty storm, but the skies have been clear all week. What happened to those three men, out on the tower? The heavy sea whispers their names. The tide shifts beneath the swell, drowning ghosts. Can their secrets ever be recovered from the waves? Twenty years later, the women they left behind are still struggling… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Infidelity
  • Death of a child by drowning
  • Poisoning
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Under the Lights by Abbi Glines

Under the Lights by Abbi Glines

Willa can’t erase the bad decisions of her past that led her down the path she’s on now. But she can fight for forgiveness from her family. And she can protect herself by refusing to let anyone else get close to her. High school quarterback and town golden boy Brady used to be the best of friends with Willa—she even had a crush on him when they were kids. But that’s all changed now: her life choices have made her a different person from the girl he used to know. Gunner used to be friends with Willa and Brady, too. He too is larger than… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slut shaming
  • Sexism
  • Rape recounted
  • Cheating
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Temple by Matthew Reilly

Temple by Matthew Reilly

Deep in the jungle of Peru, the hunt for a legendary Incan idol is underway – an idol that in the present day could be used as the basis for a terrifying new weapon. Guiding a US Army team is Professor William Race, a young linguist who must translate an ancient manuscript that contains the location of the idol. What they find is an ominous stone temple, sealed tight. They open it – and soon discover that some doors are meant to remain unopened…

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Rape mentioned
  • Cheating
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Decapitation
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Explosions
  • Animal death
  • Nazism & the Holocaust
  • Colonisalism
  • Medical experiments in concentration camps mentioned
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The Ivies by Alexa Donne

The Ivies by Alexa Donne

Everyone knows the Ivies: the most coveted universities in the United States. Far more important are the Ivies. The Ivies at Claflin Academy, that is. Five girls with the same mission: to get into the Ivy League by any means necessary. I would know. I’m one of them. We disrupt class ranks, club leaderships, and academic competitions…among other things. We improve our own odds by decreasing the fortunes of others. Because hyper-elite competitive college admissions is serious business. And in some cases, it’s deadly.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Outing, threatened
  • Rape
  • Cheating
  • Disordered eating
  • Drugging mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Gun violence
  • Blackmail
  • Bullying