Widdershins by Jordan Hawk

Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk

Love is dangerous. Ever since the tragic death of the friend he adored, Percival Endicott Whyborne has ruthlessly suppressed any desire for another man. Instead, he spends his days studying dead languages at the museum where he works. So when handsome ex-Pinkerton Griffin Flaherty approaches him to translate a mysterious book, Whyborne wants to finish the job and get rid of the detective as quickly as possible.

Griffin left the Pinkertons after the death of his partner. Now in business for himself, he must investigate the murder of a wealthy young man. His only clue: an encrypted book that once belonged to the victim… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Blood & physical injury depiction
  • Misogyny
  • Institutionalisation mentioned
  • Gun violence
  • Explosion
  • Fire
  • Drowning
  • Shipwreck recounted
  • Blackmail mentioned
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The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison 

The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison

When the young half-goblin emperor Maia sought to learn who had set the bombs that killed his father and half-brothers, he turned to an obscure resident of his father’s Court, a Prelate of Ulis and a Witness for the Dead. Thara Celehar found the truth, though it did him no good to discover it. He lost his place as a retainer of his cousin the former Empress, and made far too many enemies among the many factions vying for power in the new Court. The favor of the Emperor is a dangerous coin.

Now Celehar lives in the city of Amalo, far from the Court though not exactly in exile. He has not escaped from politics, but his position gives him the ability to serve the common people of the city, which is his preference. He lives modestly, but his decency and fundamental honestly will not permit him to live quietly. As a Witness for the Dead… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape mentioned
  • Domestic violence
  • Suicide
  • Infanticide mentioned
  • Fire

The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi

The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi and translated by Cathy Hirano

Elin’s family has an important responsibility: caring for the fearsome water serpents that form the core of their kingdom’s army. So when some of the beasts mysteriously die, Elin’s mother is sentenced to death as punishment. With her last breath she manages to send her daughter to safety.

Alone, far from home, Elin soon discovers that she can talk to both the terrifying water serpents and the majestic flying beasts that guard her queen. This skill gives her great powers, but it also involves her in deadly plots that could cost her life. Can she save herself and prevent her beloved beasts from being used as tools of war? Or is there no way of escaping the terrible battles to come?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a parent
  • Fire
  • Animal abuse

Blood Magick by Nora Roberts

Blood Magick by Nora Roberts

County Mayo is rich in the traditions of Ireland, legends that Branna O’Dwyer fully embraces in her life and in her work as the proprietor of The Dark Witch shop, which carries soaps, lotions, and candles for tourists, made with Branna’s special touch.

Branna’s strength and selflessness hold together a close circle of friends and family—along with their horses and hawks and her beloved hound. But there’s a single missing link in the chain of her life: love…

She had it once—for a moment—with Finbar Burke, but a shared future is forbidden by history and blood. Which is why Fin has spent his life traveling the world to fill the abyss left in him by Branna, focusing on work rather than passion… Read more.

.Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape mentioned
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Fire

The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North

The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North

My name is Hope Arden, and you won’t know who I am. But we’ve met before – a thousand times.

It started when I was sixteen years old.

A father forgetting to drive me to school. A mother setting the table for three, not four. A friend who looks at me and sees a stranger. No matter what I do, the words I say, the crimes I commit, you will never remember who I am.

That makes my life difficult. It also makes me dangerous.

.Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Suicide
  • Medical experimentation
  • House fire

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic violence
  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Blood depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Mass shooting
  • Torture
  • Physical assault
  • Car accident
  • Arson

The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda

The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda

The summer after a wealthy young summer guest dies under suspicious circumstances, her best friend lives under a cloud of grief and suspicion. Littleport, Maine, has always felt like two separate towns: an ideal vacation enclave for the wealthy, whose summer homes line the coastline; and a simple harbour community for the year-round residents whose livelihoods rely on service to the visitors.

Typically, fierce friendships never develop between a local and a summer girl—but that’s just what happens with visitor Sadie Loman and Littleport resident Avery Greer. Each summer for almost a decade, the girls are inseparable—until Sadie is found dead. While the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can’t help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie’s brother, Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they’re saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name, before the facts get twisted against her.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Murder
  • Car accident
  • House fire

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

A young woman murdered in a run-down Manhattan hotel. A father publicly beheaded in the blistering sun of Saudi Arabia. A man’s eyes stolen from his living body as he leaves a secret Syrian research laboratory. Smouldering human remains on a mountainside in the Hindu Kush.

A plot to commit an appalling crime against humanity. One thread that binds them all. One man to take the journey.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Torture
  • Terrorism

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Beautiful, flaxen-haired Buttercup has fallen for Westley, the farm boy, and when he departs to make his fortune, she vows never to love another. So when she hears that his ship has been captured by the Dread Pirate Roberts (no survivors) her heart is broken. But her charms draw the attention of the relentless Prince Humperdinck who wants a wife and will go to any lengths to have Buttercup. So starts a fairy tale like no other, of fencing, poison, true love, hate, revenge, giants, bad men, good men, snakes, spiders, chases, escapes, lies, truths, passion and miracles, and … a damn fine story.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Forced marriage
  • Physical, verbal & emotional abuse
  • Nightmares
  • Alcoholism
  • Suicide (accidental)
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Blood depiction
  • Scars
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Knife violence
  • Physical assault
  • Kidnapping
  • Fire
  • Loss of autonomy
  • Hunting

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

In the middle years of the ninth-century, the fierce Danes stormed onto British soil, hungry for spoils and conquest. Kingdom after kingdom fell to the ruthless invaders until but one realm remained. And suddenly the fate of all England—and the course of history—depended upon one man, one king.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Rape
  • Attempted sexual assault
  • Child abuse
  • Miscarriage
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Arson