Edinburgh by Alexander Chee

Edinburgh by Alexander Chee

Twelve-year-old Fee is a shy Korean American boy and a newly named section leader of the first sopranos in his local boys’ choir. But when Fee learns how the director treats his section leaders, he is so ashamed he says nothing of the abuse, not even when Peter, his best friend, is in line to be next. When the director is arrested, Fee tries to forgive himself for his silence. But when Peter takes his own life, Fee blames only himself. In the years that follow he slowly builds a new life, teaching near his hometown. There he meets a young student who is the picture of Peter and is forced to confront the past he believed was gone.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homomisic slurs
  • Paedophilia, including child pornography
  • Suicide by gun
  • Self-immolation
  • Self-harm
  • Black Death pandemic
  • Death of a grandparents
  • Murder
  • Arson

Jade War by Fonda Lee

Jade War by Fonda Lee

On the island of Kekon, the Kaul family is locked in a violent feud for control of the capital city and the supply of magical jade that endows trained Green Bone warriors with supernatural powers they alone have possessed for hundreds of years. Beyond Kekon’s borders, war is brewing. Powerful foreign governments and mercenary criminal kingpins alike turn their eyes on the island nation. Jade, Kekon’s most prized resource, could make them rich – or give them the edge they’d need to topple their rivals… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Racial hate crimes
  • Rape mentioned
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Drug use
  • Abortion
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Body horror
  • Murder
  • Graphic torture
  • Gun violence
  • Strangulation
  • Explosion

Jade City by Fonda Lee

Jade City by Fonda Lee

The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It’s the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities. The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion–but nowadays, in a bustling post-war metropolis full of fast cars and foreign money, Green Bone families like the Kauls are primarily involved in commerce, construction, and the everyday upkeep of the districts under their protection… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault of a minor
  • Cheating
  • Domestic abuse
  • Addiction
  • Dementia
  • Suicide, off-page
  • Self harm, off-page
  • Drug use & abuse
  • Overdose
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Gun violence
  • Animal cruelty

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Five months ago, Valerie Leftman’s boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets. Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends, and the girl whose life she… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental infidelity mentioned
  • Depression
  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use
  • School shooting, on-page
  • Bullying

The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye

The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye

Russia is on the brink of great change. Pasha’s coronation approaches, and Vika is now the Imperial Enchanter, but the role she once coveted may be more difficult—and dangerous—than she ever expected. Pasha is grappling with his own problems—his legitimacy is in doubt, the girl he loves loathes him, and he believes his best friend is dead. When a challenger to the throne emerges—and with the magic in Russia growing rapidly—Pasha must do whatever it takes to keep his position and protect his kingdom. For Nikolai, the ending of the Crown’s Game stung deeply… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Classism
  • Persecution for witchcraft
  • Rape, implied
  • Sexual harassment
  • Nightmares
  • Attempted suicide mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Dead bodies
  • Amputation
  • Physical injury
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of a mother & guardian
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Explosion
  • Gun violence
  • Incarceration & captivity
  • Avalanche
  • War, revolt & rebellion themes
  • Poverty themes

Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine

Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine

With an iron fist, the Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion and, in the name of the greater good, forbidding the personal ownership of books. Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. His best friend is lost, and Morgan, the girl he loves, is locked away in the Iron Tower, doomed to a life apart from… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Classism
  • Terrorism
  • Involuntary breeding programs involving minors
  • Child abuse
  • Parental abandonment
  • Trauma (central theme)
  • Panic attacks, on-page
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Hospitalisation
  • Emesis
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Graphic psychological and physical torture, off-page
  • Gun violence
  • Physical assault
  • Fire
  • Explosion
  • Car accident
  • Kidnapping
  • Imprisonment
  • Disappearance of a loved one
  • Animal attack

Twisted Lies by Ana Huang

Charming, deadly, and smart enough to hide it, Christian Harper is a monster dressed in the perfectly tailored suits of a gentleman. He has little use for morals and even less use for love, but he can’t deny the strange pull he feels toward the woman living just one floor below him. She’s the object of his darkest desires, the only puzzle he can’t solve. And when the opportunity to get closer to her arises, he breaks his own rules to offer her a deal she can’t refuse. Every monster has their weakness. She’s his… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Victim-blaming
  • Sexual harassment
  • Alzheimer’s Disease (sc)
  • Anxiety & panic attacks, on-page
  • Emesis
  • Drugging
  • Death of a parent from suicide recounted
  • Murder
  • Graphic torture
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Car accident mentioned
  • Kidnapping
  • Stalking

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

Stoic, broody, and arrogant, elite bodyguard Rhys Larsen has two rules: 1) Protect his clients at all costs 2) Do not become emotionally involved. Ever. He has never once been tempted to break those rules…until her. Bridget von Ascheberg. A princess with a stubborn streak that matches his own and a hidden fire that reduces his rules to ash. She’s nothing he expected and everything he never knew he needed. Day by day, inch by inch, she breaks down his defenses until he’s faced with a truth he can no longer deny: he swore an oath to protect her, but all he wants is to… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse recounted
  • Substance addiction mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent during childbirth
  • Death of a parent in a car accident
  • Death of a parent from an overdose
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping mentioned

Burning Roses by SL Huang

Burning Roses by S.L. Huang

Rosa, also known as Red Riding Hood, is done with wolves and woods. Hou Yi the Archer is tired, and knows she’s past her prime. They would both rather just be retired, but that’s not what the world has ready for them. When deadly sunbirds begin to ravage the countryside, threatening everything they’ve both grown to love, the two must join forces. Now blessed and burdened with the hindsight of middle age, they begin a quest that’s a reckoning of sacrifices made and mistakes mourned, of choices and family and the quest for immortality. 

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Smoking
  • Starvation
  • Burn scars mentioned
  • Murder of a grandmother mentioned
  • Gun violence
  • Fire, on-page
  • Animal attack
  • Animal death

The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman

The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman

June 1812. Just weeks after her catastrophic coming-out ball, Lady Helen Wrexhall—now disowned by her uncle—is a full member of the demon-hunting Dark Days Club. Her mentor, Lord Carlston, has arranged for Helen to spend the summer season in Brighton so that he can train her new Reclaimer powers. However, the long-term effects of Carlston’s Reclaimer work have taken hold, and his sanity is beginning to slip. At the same time, Carlston’s Dark Days Club colleague and nemesis will stop at nothing to bring Helen over to his side—and the Duke of Selburn is determined to marry her. The stakes are even higher for Helen as she,… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Threatened outing
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Torture
  • Gun violence
  • Blackmail