The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan book cover

Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim parents’ expectations, but lately she’s finding that harder and harder to do. She rolls her eyes instead of screaming when they blatantly favor her brother and she dresses conservatively at home, saving her crop tops and makeup for parties her parents don’t know about. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life in Seattle and her new life at Caltech, where she can pursue her dream of becoming an engineer.

But when her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend Ariana, all of Rukhsana’s plans fall apart. Her parents are devastated; being gay may as well be a death sentence in the Bengali community. They immediately whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh, where she is thrown headfirst into a world of arranged marriages and tradition. Only through reading her grandmother’s old diary is Rukhsana able to gain some much needed perspective.

Rukhsana realizes she must find the courage to fight for her love, but can she do so without losing everyone and everything in her life?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Racism
  • Colourism
  • Conversion therapy
  • Islamophobia
  • Rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic abuse
  • Verbal abuse, towards queer characters
  • Physical abuse, towards queer characters
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Lessons by Naomi Alderman

The Lessons by Naomi Alderman

The Lessons by Naomi Alderman book cover

Hidden away in an Oxford back street is a crumbling Georgian mansion, unknown to any but the few who possess a key to its unassuming front gate. Its owner is the mercurial, charismatic Mark Winters, whose rackety trust-fund upbringing has left him as troubled and unpredictable as he is wildly promiscuous. Mark gathers around him an impressionable group of students: glamorous Emmanuella, who always has a new boyfriend in tow; Franny and Simon, best friends and occasional lovers; musician Jess, whose calm exterior hides passionate depths. And James, already damaged by Oxford and looking for a group to belong to. For a time they live in a charmed world of learning and parties and love affairs. But university is no grounding for adult life, and when, years later, tragedy strikes they are entirely unprepared. Universal in its themes of ambition, desire and betrayal, this spellbinding novel reflects the truth that the lessons life teaches often come too late.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableist tropes, specifically the demonising of mental illness
  • Queermisic tropes, specifically “cheating bisexuals”
  • Domestic abuse
  • Cheating
  • Mental health
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Self-harm
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown

The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown

The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown book cover

Sydney’s dad is the only psychiatrist for miles around their small Ohio town.

He is also unexpectedly dead.

Is Sydney crazy, or is it kind of weird that her dad-a guy whose entire job revolved around other peoples’ secrets-crashed alone, with no explanation?

And why is June Copeland, homecoming queen and the town’s golden child, at his funeral?

As the two girls grow closer in the wake of the accident, it’s clear that not everyone is happy about their new friendship.

But what is picture perfect June still hiding? And does Sydney even want to know?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Queermisia
  • Forced coming out
  • Sexual abuse, off-page
  • Domestic abuse, emotional and physical
  • Verbal abuse
  • Suicide
  • Self-harm
  • Bullying, central theme
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Diviners by Libba Bray book cover

SOMETHING DARK AND EVIL HAS AWAKENED… Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult. Evie worries her uncle will discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer. As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho is hiding a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened…

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Racism
  • White supremacy, including the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
  • Slut-shaming
  • Rape
  • Domestic violence
  • Child abuse
  • Assisted suicide of a disabled character
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use
  • Abortion
  • Blood and gore depiction
  • Medical treatment
  • Death of a sibling
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Cults
  • Animal cruelty
  • Animal sacrifice
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray

Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray

Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray book cover

After battling a supernatural sleeping sickness that claimed two of their own, the Diviners have had enough lies. They’re more determined than ever to uncover the mystery behind their extraordinary powers, even as they face off against an all-new terror. Out on Ward’s Island, far from the city’s bustle, sits a mental hospital haunted by the lost souls of people long forgotten–ghosts who have unusual and dangerous ties to the man in the stovepipe hat, also known as the King of Crows.

With terrible accounts of murder and possession flooding in from all over and New York City on the verge of panic, the Diviners must band together and brave the sinister ghosts invading the asylum, a fight that will bring them face-to-face with the King of Crows. But as the explosive secrets of the past come to light, loyalties and friendships will be tested, love will hang in the balance, and the Diviners will question all that they’ve ever known. All the while, malevolent forces gather from every corner in a battle for the very soul of a nation–a fight that could claim the Diviners themselves. 

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Racism
  • Attempted rape
  • Domestic violence
  • Death of a loved one
  • Murder
  • Explosions
  • War themes
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite book cover

When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what’s expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This’ll be the third boyfriend Ayoola’s dispatched in, quote, self-defence and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede’s long been in love with him, and isn’t prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other…

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Attempted rape, implied
  • Intimate partner abuse, implied
  • Blood and gore depiction
  • Dead bodies
  • Hospital
  • Comas
  • Death of a boyfriend
  • Murder
  • Knife violence and stabbing
  • Disappearance of a loved one
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett book cover

Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle.

But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic–the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience–have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims.

Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them.

To have a chance at surviving—and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way—Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Fatmisia
  • Hate slurs
  • Slavery
  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic abuse
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Blood and gore depiction
  • Medical experimentation
  • Murder and attempted murder
  • Gun violence
  • Explosions
  • Child trafficking
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas book cover

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost.

That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all.

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Victim blaming
  • Statutory rape
  • Paedophilia
  • Domestic violence
  • Adult-minor relationship/s
  • Depression
  • Suicide, mentioned
  • Abortion
  • Teenage pregnancy
  • Pregnancy from rape
  • Mild gore depiction
  • Emesis
  • Death of a parent
  • Death of a sibling
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Car accident
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Fight or Flight by Samantha Young

Fight or Flight by Samantha Young

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man – David Martin – makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city’s underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love.

Then David receives the offer of a lifetime: he is to write a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home…

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Slut-shaming
  • Physical abuse & domestic violence
  • Cheating recounted
  • Sexual assault*
  • Abortion recounted

*The male love interest refuses to put on a condom after being explicitly asked.

Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be. And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband.

Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and the Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up. Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Child abuse recounted, and domestic violence (off-page)
  • Cheating
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Pregnancy & abortion recounted
  • Blood & gore depiction and physical injuries
  • Emesis
  • Murder (off-page)
  • Strangulation recounted
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com