Giant Days, Vol 3 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman & Max Sarin

Giant Days, Vol 3 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman & Max Sarin

Giant Days, Vol 3 by John Allison, Lissa Trieman and Max Sarin book cover

Best friends Susan, Esther, and Daisy are rounding out their first semester at university. The girls, along with their male hall-mates Ed and McGraw, find that college is more than academics and bad microwavable meals. Add some pub-hopping, hookups, breakups, and political scandal and this might just be the most eventful first semester ever.

Collecting issues 9-12 of the critically acclaimed series, Giant Days, vol. 3 gives us another comedic slice of life from creator John Allison (Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round), and fantastic newcomer, Max Sarin.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Anxiety
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use, specifically smoking
  • Teenage pregnancy, recounted
  • Dead bodies
  • Scalpels
  • Fire
  • Bullying, specifically the spreading of rumours
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The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin

The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin

The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin book cover

What do a future ambassador, an overly ambitious Francophile, a hospital-volunteering Girl Scout, the new girl from Cleveland, the junior cheer captain, and the vice president of the debate club have in common? It sounds like the ridiculously long lead-up to an astoundingly absurd punchline, right? Except it’s not. Well, unless my life is the joke, which is kind of starting to look like a possibility given how beyond soap opera it’s been since I moved to Lancaster. But anyway, here’s your answer: we’ve all had the questionable privilege of going out with Lancaster High School’s de facto king. Otherwise known as my best friend. Otherwise known as the reason I’ve already helped steal a car, a jet ski, and one hundred spray-painted water bottles when it’s not even Christmas break yet. Otherwise known as Henry. Jersey number 8.

Meet Cleves. Girlfriend number four and the narrator of The Dead Queens Club, a young adult retelling of Henry VIII and his six wives. Cleves is the only girlfriend to come out of her relationship with Henry unscathed—but most breakups are messy, right? And sometimes tragic accidents happen…twice…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Misogyny and sexism
  • Ableism
  • Slut-shaming
  • Victim blaming
  • Body shaming
  • Sexual assault, recounted
  • Revenge pornography
  • Cheating
  • Gaslighting
  • Abusive relationship/s
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a mother, mentioned
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Building collapse
  • Fire
  • Stalking
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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte book cover

Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard.

But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism
  • Child abuse
  • Fire
  • Bullying
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Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

Quiet, thoughtful princess Thanh was sent away as a hostage to the powerful faraway country of Ephteria as a child. Now she’s returned to her mother’s imperial court, haunted not only by memories of her first romance, but by worrying magical echoes of a fire that devastated Ephteria’s royal palace.

Thanh’s new role as a diplomat places her once again in the path of her first love, the powerful and magnetic Eldris of Ephteria, who knows exactly what she wants: romance from Thanh and much more from Thanh’s home. Eldris won’t take no for an answer, on either front. But the fire that burned down one palace is tempting Thanh with the possibility of making her own dangerous decisions.

Can Thanh find the freedom to shape her country’s fate—and her own?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Implicit attempted rape
  • Abusive relationship
  • Fire (theme)
  • Colonialism
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Smoke in the Sun by Renée Ahdieh

Smoke in the Sun by Renée Ahdieh

Smoke in the Sun by Renee Adieh book cover

For weeks, seventeen-year-old Mariko pretended to be a boy to infiltrate the notorious Black Clan and bring her would-be murderer to justice. She didn’t expect to find a place for herself among the group of fighters—a life of usefulness—and she certainly didn’t expect to fall in love. Now she heads to the imperial castle to resume a life she never wanted to save the boy she loves.

Ōkami has been captured, and his execution is a certainty. Mariko will do what she must to ensure his survival—even marry the sovereign’s brother, saying goodbye to a life with Ōkami forever.

As Mariko settles into her days at court—making both friends and enemies—and attempting Ōkami’s rescue at night, the secrets of the royal court begin to unravel as competing agendas collide. One arrow sets into motion a series of deadly events even the most powerful magic cannot contain. Mariko and Ōkami risk everything to right past wrongs and restore the honor of a kingdom thrown into chaos by a sudden war, hoping against hope that when the dust settles, they will find a way to be together.

Set against the backdrop of feudal Japan, Smoke in the Sun is the breathless, romantic, not-to-be-missed fiery conclusion to a spell-binding adventure.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Slut-shaming
  • Classism
  • Marital rape, implied and discussed
  • Body modifications without consent
  • Grief depiction
  • Death of a father
  • Death of a mother
  • Death of a husband
  • Death of a girlfriend
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of a public figure
  • Murder
  • Physical assault
  • Torture
  • Explosion, recounted
  • Imprisonment
  • Blackmail
  • Loss of autonomy
  • Kidnapping
  • Poisoning, recounted
  • Fire
  • Drowning
  • Exile
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The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis book cover

Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny, slut-shaming & victim-blaming
  • Rape, sexual assault, paedophilia & child pornography
  • Substance addiction
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a sister
  • Murder
  • Fire (arson)
  • Animal death
  • Animal abuse & cruelty

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers book cover

Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism
  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse (theme)
  • Child pornography
  • Sex work
  • Child abandonment & neglect
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Alcoholism
  • Substance addiction
  • Disordered eating, mentioned
  • Attempted suicide
  • Self-injury (unintentional)
  • Alcohol & drug abuse
  • Overdose mentioned
  • Pregnancy mentioned
  • Terminal cancer mentioned
  • Graphic blood depiction
  • Physical injury & illness
  • Emesis
  • Hospitalisation
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a sister and child
  • Death of a grandmother
  • Death of a husband mentioned
  • Murder
  • Knife violence
  • Physical assault
  • Fire
  • Disappearance of a sibling
  • Hostage situation
  • Stalking
  • Car accident
  • Homelessness
  • Poverty
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A Dark & Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth

A Dark & Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth

Choose your player: the “ironborn” half-fae outcast of her royal fae family; a tempestuous Fury, exiled to earth from the Immortal Realm hellbent on revenge; a dutiful fae prince, determined to earn his place on the throne; or the prince’s brooding guardian, burdened with a terrible secret.

For centuries, the Eight Courts of Folk have lived among us, concealed by magic and bound by law to do no harm to humans. This arrangement has long kept peace in the Courts—until a series of gruesome and ritualistic murders rocks the city of Toronto and threatens to expose faeries to the human world.

Four queer teens, each who hold a key piece of the truth behind these murders, must form a tenuous alliance in their effort to track down the mysterious killer behind these crimes. If they fail, they risk the destruction of the faerie and human worlds alike. If that’s not bad enough, there’s a war brewing between the Mortal and Immortal Realms, and one of these teens is destined to tip the scales. The only question is: which way?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Toxic relationship
  • Disownment
  • Addiction & drug use
  • Depression & PTSD
  • Suicide recounted (off-page) & suicidal ideation
  • Blood & gore depiction and minor body horror
  • Death of a child
  • Gun violence
  • Fire (arson)
  • Human trafficking
  • Stalking
  • Poverty themes

See the author’s note on the trigger and content warnings here.

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Find Me Their Bones by Sara Wolf

Find Me Their Bones by Sara Wolf

In order to protect Prince Lucien d’Malvane’s heart, Zera had to betray him. Now, he hates the sight of her. Trapped in Cavanos as a prisoner of the king, she awaits the inevitable moment her witch severs their magical connection and finally ends her life. But fate isn’t ready to give her up just yet.

With freedom coming from the most unlikely of sources, Zera is given a second chance at life as a Heartless. But it comes with a terrible price. As the king mobilizes his army to march against the witches, Zera must tame an elusive and deadly valkerax trapped in the tunnels underneath the city if she wants to regain her humanity.

Winning over a bloodthirsty valkerax? Hard. Winning back her friends before war breaks out? A little harder. But a Heartless winning back Prince Lucien’s heart? The hardest thing she’s ever done.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Classism
  • Persecution for witchcraft (theme)
  • Child abuse recounted
  • Nightmares
  • Self-harm (on-page)
  • Self-sacrifice discussed
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Nonconsensual drugging
  • Graphic blood & gore depiction, including dead bodies
  • Cannibalism mentioned
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother & father recounted
  • Death of a grandfather mentioned
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Poisoning
  • Fire
  • Loss of autonomy (mind control)
  • Imprisonment
  • War themes (central theme)
  • Animal cruelty & torture
  • Animal injury, blood & body parts
  • Animal attack
  • Hunting mentioned
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Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly. Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, & out for his blood.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all. Winner takes the loser’s heart. Literally.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism
  • Classism
  • Persecution for witchcraft (theme)
  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Child abuse
  • Arranged marriage
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Alcohol abuse & alcoholism recounted
  • Graphic blood & gore depiction, including dead bodies
  • Cannibalism
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a sister
  • Death of a mother & father
  • Death of a child mentioned
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Explosions
  • Fire
  • Kidnapping
  • Loss of autonomy (mind control)
  • Death from a fall mentioned
  • War themes (central theme)
  • Animal death and dead bodies
  • Death by animal attack mentioned
  • Bullying
  • Poverty themes
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