The Only Story by John Barnes

The Only Story by John Barnes

Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less, and suffer the less? That is, I think, finally, the only real question.

First love has lifelong consequences, but Paul doesn’t know anything about that at nineteen. At nineteen, he’s proud of the fact his relationship flies in the face of social convention.

As he grows older, the demands placed on Paul by love become far greater than he could possibly have foreseen.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Domestic violence
  • Alcoholism
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The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Kira Bennett’s earliest memories are of living alone and wild in the woods. She has no idea how long she was on her own or what she had to do to survive, but she remembers the moment that Cady Bennett and one of her search-and-rescue dogs found her perfectly. Adopted into the Bennett family, Kira still struggles with human interaction years later, but she excels at the family business: search-and-rescue. Along with Cady’s son, Jude, and their neighbor, Free, Kira works alongside Cady to train the world’s most elite search-and-rescue dogs. Someday, all three teenagers hope to put their skills to use, finding the lost and bringing them home.

But when Cady’s estranged father, the enigmatic Bales Bennett, tracks his daughter down and asks for her help in locating a missing child—one of several visitors who has disappeared in the Sierra Glades National Park in the past twelve months—the teens find themselves on the frontlines sooner than they could have ever expected… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Child abuse
  • Domestic abuse
  • Death of a pet
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All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

After a string of brutal murders in Las Vegas, Cassie Hobbes and the Naturals are called in to investigate. But even with the team’s unique profiling talents, these murders seem baffling: unlike many serial killers, this one uses different methods every time. All of the victims were killed in public, yet the killer does not show up on any security feed. And each victim has a string of numbers tattooed on their wrist. Hidden in the numbers is a code-and the closer the Naturals come to unraveling the mystery, the more perilous the case becomes.

Meanwhile, Cassie is dealing with an equally dangerous and much more painful mystery. For the first time in years, there’s been a break in her mother’s case. As personal issues and tensions between the team mount, Cassie and the Naturals will be faced with impossible odds-and impossible choices.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Domestic abuse & violence
  • Murder
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Missing Molly by Natalie Barelli

Everyone has secrets, and Rachel Holloway is no exception. She’s worked hard to keep the past where it belongs: dead and buried. And so far, she’s been very successful. But now the small newspaper where she works wants to produce a podcast on a cold case: the disappearance twelve years ago of little Molly Forster. Some secrets should never see the light of day, and as far as Rachel is concerned, whatever happened to little Molly is one of them. Rachel has a life now, a boyfriend she loves and a three-year-old daughter she adores, and she will do anything to protect them. But to do that, no one can ever know that she is Molly Forster.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic violence
  • Murder
  • Disappearance of a loved one

Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Eron DeMarchelle isn’t supposed to feel this connection. He is a Sandman, a supernatural being whose purpose is to seduce his human charges to sleep. Though he can communicate with his charges in their dreams, he isn’t encouraged to do so. After all, becoming too involved in one human’s life could prevent him from helping others get their needed rest.
 
But he can’t deny that he feels something for Julia, a lonely girl with fiery red hair and sad dreams. Just weeks ago, her boyfriend died in a car accident, and Eron can tell that she feels more alone than ever. Eron was human once too, many years ago, and he remembers how it felt to lose the one he loved… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sexual assault, on-page
  • Adult-minor relationship*
  • Abusive relationship
  • Domestic violence
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a boyfriend
  • Kidnapping
  • Stalking

Note : Relationship between a minor and a 100-year-old man.

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The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

Rose was lit by the sun, her beautiful face giving nothing away. Even back then, she was a mystery that I wanted to solve.

The lead homicide investigator in a rural town, Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is deeply unnerved when a high school classmate is found strangled, her body floating in a lake. And not just any classmate, but Rosalind Ryan, whose beauty and inscrutability exerted a magnetic pull on Smithson High School, first during Rosalind’s student years and then again when she returned to teach drama… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape mentioned
  • Cheating
  • Domestic violence mentioned
  • Suicide
  • Miscarriage
  • Murder
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Soulless by T Baggins

Soulless by T. Baggins

A Man of Science: Nicholas Robinson is a chemist decades ahead of his time. Crippled by a riding accident and embittered by his injuries, he shuns the world, focusing on his laboratory and experiments. But when the sale of his country estate, Grantley, leads to an encounter with a vampire, Nicholas realizes there is more in heaven and earth than he ever dreamed possible.

A Creature of Darkness: Although three hundred years old, Bancroft Ulwin is young by supernatural standards. Enslaved by his cruel, deformed maker, Ban is forbidden from relations with mortal men unless it ends… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape
  • Domestic abuse
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Torture
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They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor. But she’s even better at getting away with murder.

Every year, she searches for the worst man at Gorman University and plots his well-deserved demise. Thanks to her meticulous planning, she’s avoided drawing attention to herself—but as she’s preparing for her biggest kill yet, the school starts probing into the growing body count on campus. Determined to keep her enemies close, Scarlett insinuates herself into the investigation and charms the woman in charge, Dr. Mina Pierce. Everything’s going according to her master plan… until she loses control with her latest victim, putting her secret life at risk of exposure… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Victim blaming
  • Rape
  • Nonconsensual voyeurism mentioned
  • Cheating
  • Domestic abuse mentioned
  • Anxiety
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood depiction
  • Emesis
  • Murder
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Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s magnetic story collection breathes life into her Latina characters of indigenous ancestry and the land they inhabit. Set against the remarkable backdrop of Denver, Colorado–a place that is as fierce as it is exquisite–these women navigate the land the way they navigate their lives: with caution, grace, and quiet force.

Sabrina & Corina is a moving narrative of unrelenting feminine power and an exploration of the universal experiences of abandonment, heritage, and an eternal sense of home.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic violence
  • Parental abandonment
  • Alcoholism
  • Drug abuse
  • Murder
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A New Foundation by Rochelle Alers

A New Foundation by Rochelle Alers

He’s the man with the plans. But she’s calling the shots

After escaping an abusive marriage, Sonya Rios-Martin is determined to live an independent life. The generous job offer from Taylor Williamson will help her do that. But her unexpectedly strong attraction to model-turned-project-engineer Taylor throws a wrench in her plans. Sonya and Taylor have to figure out how to build a solid foundation—without re-creating the cracks from her last devastating relationship. 

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Child neglect
  • Emotional & verbal domestic abuse
  • Miscarriage & infertility discussed
  • Death of a parent recounted
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