Island Girl by Aino Lahteva

Island Girl by Aino Lahteva

As an opportunist, Istrae yearns to get off her home island and visit Kerth, the City of Light and Abundance. Her preferred method of travel, however, didn’t include drowning. And she didn’t expect the city to be so dirty. Her memories are as broken as her body. She begins to piece them together with the help of a spirit bound to a statue and an ambitious army captain called Rime she enjoys teasing.

While Rime guides Istrae in her new life, it becomes evident the rigid rules of society and the city’s Temple do not welcome those who seek to shake the established rules, which is something Istrae is incapable of resisting.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Drugging
  • Blood depiction
  • Murder

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black and illustrated by Rovina Cai

Before he was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone. Revealing a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame’s enigmatic high king, Cardan, his tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan’s perspective.

This new instalment in the Folk of the Air series is a return to the heart-racing romance, danger, humour, and drama that enchanted readers everywhere. Each chapter is paired with lavish and luminous full-colour art, making this the perfect collector’s item to be enjoyed by both new audiences and old.

.GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Parental abandonment
  • Cheating
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Recreational drug use, including forced & coerced use
  • Whipping mentioned
  • Loss of autonomy (mind control)
  • Murder mentioned
  • Bullying

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying conclusion, this highly anticipated finale went straight to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present—facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency.

.GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Antiziganism (slur)
  • Rape
  • Child abuse
  • Suicide
  • Overdose
  • Drugging
  • Forced pregnancy
  • Miscarriage
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Graphic torture
  • Kidnapping
  • World War Two mentioned

Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco 

Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco

After selling her soul to become Queen of the Wicked, Emilia travels to the Seven Circles with the enigmatic Prince of Wrath, where she’s introduced to a seductive world of vice.

She vows to do whatever it takes to avenge her beloved sister, Vittoria… even if that means accepting the hand of the Prince of Pride, the king of demons.

The first rule in the court of the Wicked? Trust no one. With back-stabbing princes, luxurious palaces, mysterious party invitations, and conflicting clues about who really killed her twin, Emilia finds herself more alone than ever before… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexism
  • Sexual harassment
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drugging
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Murder
  • Torture

Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo

Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo

Magic rules the city of Creije Capital and Tavia Syn knows just how many tricks she needs up her sleeve to survive. Selling dark magic on the streets for her kingpin, she keeps clear of other crooks, counting the days until her debt is paid and she can flee her criminal life.

But then, one day, with her freedom in sight, Tavia uncovers a sinister plot that threatens to destroy the realm she calls home. Desperate to put an end to her kingpin’s plan, Tavia forms an unlikely alliance with three crooks even more deadly than her: Wesley, the kingpin’s prodigy and most renewed criminal in the realm… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Indentured servitutde
  • Sexual assault (nonconsensual kiss)
  • Child abuse
  • Estrangement
  • Hallucinations
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drugging
  • Blood depiction
  • Physical injuries
  • Dead bodies
  • Plague mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother & father recounted
  • Death of a brother recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Gang violence
  • Strangulation
  • Physical assault, on-page (fight ring)
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Imprisonment
  • Disappearance of a loved one
  • Loss of autonomy
  • War themes & battle scenes recounted
  • Poverty discussed
  • Homelessness recounted

Corrupt by Penelope Douglas

Corrupt by Penelope Douglas

I was told that dreams were our heart’s desires. My nightmares, however, became my obsession. His name is Michael Crist.My boyfriend’s older brother is like that scary movie that you peek through your hand to watch. He’s handsome, strong, and completely terrifying. The star of his college’s basketball team and now gone pro, he’s more concerned with the dirt on his shoe than me. But I noticed him.

I saw him. I heard him. The things that he did, and the deeds that he hid… For years, I bit my nails, unable to look away. Now, I’ve graduated high school and moved on to college, but I haven’t stopped watching Michael. He’s bad, and the dirt I’ve seen isn’t content to stay in my head anymore. Because he’s finally noticed me… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sexism
  • Slut-shaming
  • Child abuse
  • Rape & attempted rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Drug abuse
  • Drugging
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Animal cruelty
  • Bullying

Pretty When She Cries by A Zavarelli 

Pretty When She Cries by A. Zavarelli

Your first kiss is supposed to be sweet. Ours was baptized in fire. I was the new girl trying to find her place. Landon was the brooding neighbour I tutored over the summer. I didn’t know he was a legend at Black Mountain Academy. I didn’t know they worshipped him like a religion. But I fell for him before I knew those things. To me, he was just the tortured soul who drew me in like a magnet. And then he did something so unspeakable, so unforgivable, it shattered me. I ran away then because I was weak, but I’ve shed my tears. He stole my heart and my dignity, and I’m here to take it back. The only problem is… he’s not giving it up without a fight.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Drugging
  • Drug abuse
  • Alcohol abuse

Stealing Cinderella by A Zavarelli 

Stealing Cinderella by A. Zavarelli

Every royal has their dirty little secret. His was… me.

It should have been simple. Go to the ball, meet the prince, and secure his patronage for my favourite charity. But beneath the mask, the brooding beast of a man was not at all who I expected. He was dark and intense and eerily quiet.
When I left, I could still feel the ghost of his touch branded into my skin. He haunted my dreams, but I never expected to see him again.

Then he came for me. And he took me. And I learned that his darkness was a void I never could have conceived. He’s the crown prince of Norway. And, now, I’m his captive. 

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Dubious consent scenarios, including improper BDSM practices
  • Drugging
  • Kidnapping & captivity

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it’s addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?

But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Attempted suicide

The Death Cure by James Dashner

The Death Cure by James Dashner

WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.

What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Plague
  • Decapitation
  • Physical injuries, including burns and a severed leg
  • Nonconsensual body modifications (tattoo)
  • Coerced consumption of drugged alcohol
  • Death of children
  • Knife violence
  • Gun violence
  • Electrocution by lightning strikes