If They Come for Us by Fatimah Asghar

If They Come for Us by Fatimah Asghar

In this powerful and imaginative debut poetry collection, Fatimah Asghar nakedly captures the experiences of being a young Pakistani Muslim woman in America by braiding together personal and marginalized people’s histories. After being orphaned as a young girl, Asghar grapples with coming-of-age as a woman without the guidance of a mother, questions of sexuality and race, and navigating a world that put a target on her back. Asghar’s poems at once bear anguish, joy, vulnerability, and compassion, while exploring the many facets of violence: how it persists within us, how it is inherited across generations, and how it manifests in our relationships with friends and family, and in our own understanding of identity. Using experimental forms and a mix of lyrical and brash language, Asghar confronts her own understanding of identity and place and belonging.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape
  • Domestic abuse
  • Genocide
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The Deepest Roots by Miranda Asebedo

The Deepest Roots by Miranda Asebedo

Cottonwood Hollow, Kansas, is a strange place. For the past century, every girl has been born with a special talent, like the ability to Fix any object, Heal any wound, or Find what is missing.

Best friends Rome, Lux, and Mercy all have similar talents, but to them, their abilities often feel like a curse. Rome may be able to Fix anything she touches, but that won’t help her mom pay rent or make it any easier to confide in Lux and Mercy about what’s going on at home. And Rome isn’t the only one. Lux has been hiding bigger, more dangerous secrets… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Slut shaming
  • Lesbomisia mentioned
  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic abuse
  • Death of a newborn
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Silky Smooth by AM Arthur

Silky Smooth by A.M. Arthur

College drop-out Nicolas Cannon has a secret he’s been hiding for all his adult life. A secret that has left him isolated and mostly friendless—until the day a very friendly parrot flies into his life. In his search to discover the parrot’s owner, Nicolas meets the handsome, enigmatic and much-older Alex Durant. But Nicolas has become fond of Alex’s pet Calamity, and the pair develop an unexpected friendship over their love of the bird.

Alex Durant is a man with money and power, but he’s also haunted by his past with an abusive ex. Calamity saved Alex’s sanity, and he’s surprised at how easily he shares her attention with Nicolas, a young artist who arrests Alex’s attention… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Physical parental abuse
  • Spousal abuse recounted
  • Panic attack, on-page
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Missing by Kelley Armstrong

Missing by Kelley Armstrong

Everyone knows they left. No one knows they’re… missing.

Reeve’s End is the kind of town every kid can’t wait to escape. Each summer, a dozen kids leave, and at least a quarter never come back. I don’t blame them – I’ll do the same in another year. We thought it was just something that happened in town like ours.

We were wrong.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Domestic abuse & violence
  • Animal cruelty
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The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert

The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert

Cherry Neita is thirty, flirty, and done with men. As far as she can tell, they’re overrated, overpaid, and underperforming – in every area of life. But a girl has needs, and the smoking-hot stranger she just met at the office seems like the perfect one-night stand…

Prince Ruben of Helgmøre is reckless, dominant, and famously filthy. The outcast royal is rebuilding his reputation – all for a good cause – but he can’t resist a pretty face. And bossy whirlwind Cherry’s got the face, the body, and the attitude to make Ruben’s convictions crumble. Even better, when she propositions him, she has no idea who he really is… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Child abuse
  • Domestic violence
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Death of a parent recounted
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Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert

Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert

Cash Evans has come a long way since his troubled childhood, but all the wealth he’s earned as a tattoo artist can’t fix the hole in his heart. He knows that the sweet barista who haunts his dreams is off-limits… But life doesn’t always go to plan.

Bailey Cooper is determined to learn from her mother’s mistakes. She’s seen how cruel love can be, and she’s not about to sacrifice her self-respect for a relationship. But when a bad boy with a heart of gold comes to her rescue, she finds herself wondering if this beast might just be her Prince Charming.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Domestic violence recounted
  • Stalking
  • Homelessness
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The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

Thursday’s husband, Seth, has two other wives. She’s never met them, and she doesn’t know anything about them. She agreed to this unusual arrangement because she’s so crazy about him. But one day, she finds something. Something that tells a very different—and horrifying—story about the man she married.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Slut-shaming
  • Child abuse mentioned
  • Domestic violence
  • Alcoholism
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Graphic discussions of miscarriage & stillbirth
  • Psychiatric hospitalisation
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Stalking

The Kiss Thief by LJ Shen

The Kiss Thief by L.J. Shen

They say your first kiss should be earned. Mine was stolen by a devil in a masquerade mask under the black Chicago sky. They say the vows you take on your wedding day are sacred. Mine were broken before we left church. They say your heart only beats for one man. Mine split and bled for two rivals who fought for it until the bitter end. I was promised to Angelo Bandini, the heir to one of the most powerful families in the Chicago Outfit. Then taken by Senator Wolfe Keaton, who held my father’s sins over his head to force me into marriage. They say that all great love stories have a happy ending. I, Francesca Rossi, found myself erasing and rewriting mine until the very last chapter.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Arranged marriage
  • Domestic abuse mentioned
  • Infidelity
  • Dieting & food-shaming mentioned
  • Unplanned pregnancy
  • Murder & attempted murder

In the Unlikely Event by LJ Shen

In the Unlikely Event by L.J. Shen

A one-night stand in a foreign land. We signed a contract on the back of a Boar’s Head Pub napkin that said if we ever met again, we would drop everything and be together. Eight years and thousands of miles later, he’s here. In New York. And he’s America’s music obsession. The intangible Irish poet who brings record executives to their knees. The blizzard in my perfect, unshaken snow globe. Last time we spoke, he was a beggar with no intention of becoming a king. I’m not the same broken princess Malachy Doherty put back together with his callused hands… but Mal kept the napkin.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic abuse recounted
  • Grey-area cheating
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Alcoholism
  • Drug abuse
  • Abortion mentioned
  • Cancer