The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley

The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley

From the perspective of those who live in Herot Hall, the suburb is a paradise. Picket fences divide buildings—high and gabled—and the community is entirely self-sustaining. Each house has its own fireplace, each fireplace is fitted with a container of lighter fluid, and outside—in lawns and on playgrounds—wildflowers seed themselves in neat rows. But for those who live surreptitiously along Herot Hall’s periphery, the subdivision is a fortress guarded by an intense network of gates, surveillance cameras, and moti… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Cheating
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Death of a child
  • War themes
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen. From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexism
  • Slavery
  • Rape
  • Adult-minor relationship
  • Cheating
  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a parent
  • Death of a spouse
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • War themes
  • Animal death
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Ghost Variations by Kevin Brockmeier

The Ghost Variations: One Hundred Stories by Kevin Brockmeier

A spirit who is fated to spend eternity reliving the exact moment she lost her chance at love, ghostly trees that haunt the occupant of a wooden house, spectres that snatch anyone who steps into the shadows, and parakeets that serve as mouthpieces for the dead: these are just a few of the characters in this extraordinary compendium of one hundred ghost stories. Kevin Brockmeier’s fiction has always explored the space between the fantastical and the every day with profundity and poignancy.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Physical & emotional child abuse
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a parent
  • Animal death
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Partials by Dan Wells 

Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. But sixteen-year-old Kira is determined to find a solution. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and Partials rests in her attempts to answer questions about the war’s origin that she never knew to… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Forced impregnation of teenagers
  • Medical human experimentation
  • Death of a baby
  • Electrocution
  • Torture (off-page)
  • Riots

Jackal by Erin Adams

Jackal by Erin E. Adams

Liz Rocher is coming home . . . reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesn’t exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward and passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the day of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the bride’s daughter, Caroline, goes missing—and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Fatmisia
  • Domestic violence
  • Alcoholism
  • Anxiety
  • Death of a child
  • Kidnapping
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir 

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

Helene Aquilla, the Blood Shrike, is desperate to protect her sister’s life and the lives of everyone in the Empire. Yet danger lurks on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable and violent, while Keris Veturia, the ruthless Commandant, capitalizes on the Emperor’s volatility to grow her own power—regardless of the carnage she leaves in her path. Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows that the fate of the world lies not in the machinations of the Martial court, but in stopping the Nightbringer… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Domestic abuse
  • Death of children
  • Murder
  • Torture
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again. It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she’s almost a new person now—an artist with her own studio, and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it’s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. Feyi isn’t ready for anything serious, but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island, decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef, and… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Racism
  • Slut-shaming
  • Nightmares
  • Suicidal ideation recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a child from cancer mentioned (leukemia)
  • Death of a wife from drowning mentioned
  • Death of a husband in a car accident recounted, on-page (theme)
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Creak on the Stairs by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir 

The Creak on the Stairs by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Chief Investigating Officer Elma, who has returned to Akranes following a failed relationship, and her colleagues Sævar and Hörður, commence an uneasy investigation, which uncovers a shocking secret in the dead woman’s past that continues to reverberate in the present day. But as Elma and her team make a series of discoveries, they bring to light a host of long-hidden crimes that shake the entire community. Sifting through the rubble of the townspeople’s shattered memories, they have to dodge increasingly serious threats, and find justice … before it’s too late.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child sexual abuse
  • Abortion
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Death of a child recounted
  • Murder
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

On a dark midwinter night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Domestic violence
  • Suicide
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a child
  • Kidnapping
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan

A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Ephraim “Eph” Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Suicide
  • Death of a child
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Body horror
  • Murder
  • Animal death
  • Holocaust concentration camps mentioned
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com