Other Boys by Damian Alexander

Other Boys by Damian Alexander

Damian is the new kid at school, and he has a foolproof plan to avoid the bullying that’s plagued him his whole childhood: he’s going to stop talking. Starting on the first day seventh grade, he won’t utter a word. If he keeps his mouth shut, the bullies will have nothing to tease him about—right?

But Damian’s vow of silence doesn’t work—his classmates can tell there’s something different about him. His family doesn’t look like the kind on TV: his mother is dead, his father is gone, and he’s being raised by his grandparents in a low-income household. And Damian does things that boys don’t usually do, like play with Barbies instead of GI Joe. Kids have teased him about this his whole life, especially other boys. But if boys can be so cruel, why does Damian have a crush on one?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Coming out
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother
  • Bullying
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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, the lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Suicide by hanging
  • Suicide by car collision
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a mother, off-page
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Waking Olivia by Elizabeth O’Roark

Waking Olivia by Elizabeth O’Roark

A failing farm. His father’s debt. And a struggling college track team. Will Langstrom has too many responsibilities, and the last thing he needs is Olivia Finnegan, a beautiful but troubled new transfer student.

A smart mouth. A strong right hook. And a secret that could destroy her. Olivia is her own worst enemy, with a past she can’t seem to escape, and the last person she wants help from is a cocky track coach she can never seem to please.

Refusing to be pushed away, Will is determined to save her. And determined to resist an attraction that could destroy them both.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse recounted
  • Attempted sexual assault mentioned
  • Disordered eating
  • Uxoricide recounted*
  • Disappearance of a sibling
  • Murder of a pet

* Note : As a child, the protagonist witnessed her father murdering her mother.

Born in Shame by Nora Roberts

Born in Shame by Nora Roberts

A talented graphic artist, Shannon Bodine’s life revolved around her job at a prestigious New York advertising agency. But her world was turned upside down when she learned the identity of her real father: Thomas Concannon. Respecting her late mother’s last wish, Shannon reluctantly travelled to County Clare. There, her loneliness and shame melted away in the embrace of the family she never knew existed. And amid the lush Irish landscape steeped in mysticism and legend, she discovered the possibility of a love that was meant to be… 

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother & father

Writers and Lovers by Lily King 

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

Blindsided by her mother’s sudden death, and wrecked by a recent love affair, Casey Peabody has arrived in Massachusetts in the summer of 1997 without a plan. Her mail consists of wedding invitations and final notices from debt collectors. A former child golf prodigy, she now waits tables in Harvard Square and rents a tiny, mouldy room at the side of a garage, where she works on the novel she’s been writing for six years. At thirty-one, Casey is still clutching on to something nearly all her old friends have let go of: the determination to live a creative life. When she falls for two very different men at the same time, her world fractures even more. Casey’s fight to fulfill her creative ambitions and balance the conflicting demands of art and life is challenged in ways that push her to the brink.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Workplace sexual harassment
  • Cheating mentioned
  • Anxiety
  • Panic attack
  • Cancer (squamous cell carcinoma)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a wife from cancer mentioned
  • Death of a mother from heart disease
  • Death of a sister mentioned

Becoming the Dark Prince by Kerri Maniscalco 

Becoming the Dark Prince by Kerri Maniscalco

Enigmatic, brooding, and darkly handsome, Thomas Cresswell has always been the one mystery Audrey Rose has never been able to fully solve. As brilliant partners in crime investigation, they understand each other perfectly…but as young lovers, their passionate natures have led to both euphoria and heartbreak throughout the Stalking Jack the Ripper series.

This novella features a collection of scenes that takes place during and after the pair’s horrifying Atlantic voyage in Escaping From Houdini. Experience new and familiar scenes from Thomas’s unique point of view, including an intensely personal look into his plea for Audrey Rose’s hand in marriage.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Blood & physical injury depiction
  • Death of a mother mentioned
  • Murder

Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco 

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell have landed in America, a bold, brash land unlike the genteel streets of London they knew. But like London, the city of Chicago hides its dark secrets well. When the two attend the spectacular World’s Fair, they find the once-in-a-lifetime event tainted with reports of missing people and unsolved murders. Determined to help, Audrey Rose and Thomas begin their investigations, only to find themselves facing a serial killer unlike any they’ve heard of before. Identifying him is one thing, but capturing him and getting dangerously lost in the infamous Murder Hotel he constructed… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Blood depiction
  • Medical procedures (autopsies)
  • Death of a mother mentioned
  • Graphic murder
  • Poisoning
  • Animal butchery

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

R is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization. And then he meets a girl.

First as his captive, then his reluctant guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn’t want to eat this girl—although she looks delicious—he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Self-sacrifice
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a mother

One Week to Claim It All by Adriana Herrera

One Week to Claim It All by Adriana Herrera

She’s on track to be the new CEO. Her ex is the only one standing in the way.

When Esmeralda Sambrano-Peña unexpectedly inherits her father’s media empire, it ruffles more than a few feathers. And no one is more conflicted about it than Rodrigo Almanzar. Esmeralda knows her father’s longtime protégé—and her ex-lover—wants the executive job for himself. Making matters worse, their renewed passion grows undeniable with every late-night meeting. Will Rodrigo prove to be the perfect partner in business and pleasure…or her professional undoing?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a father recounted
  • Death of a mother from cancer recounted

Her Night With Santa by Adriana Herrera

Her Night With Santa by Adriana Herrera 

Being the favourite niece of one of the Kings of the Magi has its perks. For example, borrowing Santa’s secret beach villa for a solo getaway, even if it’s just for one night. And after the year she’s had, Farnaz Castillo is planning to enjoy every second she has in this gorgeous mansion. With a suitcase full of *ahem* all her favourite toys, she’s sure to have a very merry time before she has to join the rest of her family for their annual ski trip.

Being the first woman to command Santa’s sleigh is exhausting work. By the time Christmas Day comes along, Kristina Kringle is usually more than ready for some solitary R&R… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a mother recounted