Forever a Soldier by Genevieve Turner

Forever a Soldier by Genevieve Turner

Newly returned home from combat, Hank is battered, but not quite broken. Now it’s his job to keep a hundred-year-old house from falling down around his ears. He’s all alone-just like he wants… until one irrepressible woman invades his sanctuary, hunting the secrets hidden within. Graduate student Lale is investigating a century-old mystery. Unravelling it is her ticket to tenure and life as a star history professor. But one surly former soldier is standing between her and the information she needs. Lale launches a charm attack Hank can’t resist, and Lale isn’t immune to the core of honour shining through Hank’s surly… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Domestic abuse
  • Depression
  • Nightmares
  • Insomnia
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Scars
  • Death of a father mentioned
  • Murder
  • Hanging
  • Gun violence recounted
  • Military service recounted
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The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

The year is 1921, and “Nobody” Alice James is on a cross-country train, carrying a bullet wound and fleeing for her life following an illicit drug and liquor deal gone horribly wrong. Desperate to get as far away as possible from New York City and those who want her dead, she has her sights set on Oregon: a distant frontier that seems the end of the line. She befriends Max, a black Pullman porter who reminds her achingly of Harlem, who leads Alice to the Paragon Hotel upon arrival in Portland. Her unlikely sanctuary turns out to be the only all-black hotel in the city, and its lodgers seem unduly terrified of a white woman on the… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism, racial slurs & white supremacy
  • Misgendering
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Murder & gun violence
  • Lynching
  • Organised crime
  • Animal death & cruelty

The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye

The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye

Meet Ben Dane: brilliant, devastating, devoted, honest to a fault (truly, a fault). His Broadway theatre baron father is dead—but by purpose or accident? The question rips him apart. Unable to face alone his mother’s ghastly remarriage to his uncle, Ben turns to his dearest friend, Horatio Patel, whom he hasn’t seen since their relationship changed forever from platonic to something…other. Loyal to a fault (truly, a fault), Horatio is on the first flight to NYC when he finds himself next to a sly tailor who portends inevitable disaster. And who seems ominously like an architect of mayhem himself. Meanwhile, Ben’s… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcoholism
  • Attempted suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Drug use & abuse
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Arson

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

Nearly a year has passed since Amani and the rebels won their epic battle at Fahali. Amani has come into both her powers and her reputation as the Blue-Eyed Bandit, and the Rebel Prince’s message has spread across the desert – and some might say out of control. But when a surprise encounter turns into a brutal kidnapping, Amani finds herself betrayed in the cruellest manner possible. Stripped of her powers and her identity, and torn from the man she loves, Amani must return to her desert-girl’s instinct for survival. For the Sultan’s palace is a dangerous one… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Infidelity
  • Blood & injury depiction including dead bodies
  • Decapitations
  • Murder
  • Gun & sword violence
  • Sandstorms
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Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumour has it that somewhere, djinn still performs their magic.  For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female. Amani Al’Hiza is all three. She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s destined to wind up wed or dead. Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Threats of rape
  • Child abuse
  • Drugging
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Immolation
  • Death by hanging mentioned
  • Stoning mentioned
  • Factory explosion
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A Treacherous Curse byDeanna Raybourn

A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

London, 1888. As colourful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can’t resist the allure of an exotic mystery—particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker. His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumours abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Racism
  • Antiziganism
  • Misogyny
  • Slut-shaming
  • Cheating recounted
  • Suicide, on-page
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Mild blood depiction & serious physical injuries
  • Death of a husband & father
  • Murder by poison
  • Attempted murder by fire
  • Gun violence
  • Disappearance
  • Hostage situation
  • Bullying
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A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn

A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn

London, 1887. At the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task–saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Ramsforth, accused of the brutal murder of his mistress, Artemisia, will face the hangman’s noose in a week’s time if the real killer is not found. But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems, and unmasking her true identity is only the first of many secrets Veronica must uncover. Together with her natural… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Racism mentioned
  • Homomisia mentioned
  • Cheating discussed
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Infertility & miscarriage mentioned
  • Death of a sister in childbirth mentioned
  • Mild blood & injury depiction
  • Exsanguination
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Gun violence
  • Knife violence
  • False incarceration
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A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn

A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn

Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell is whisked off to a remote island off the tip of Cornwall when her natural historian colleague Stoker’s brother calls in a favour. On the pretext of wanting a companion to accompany him to Lord Malcolm Romilly’s house party, Tiberius persuades Veronica to pose as his fiancée—much to Stoker’s chagrin. But upon arriving, it becomes clear that the party is not as innocent as it had seemed. Every invited guest has a connection to Romilly’s wife, Rosamund, who disappeared on her wedding day three years ago, and a dramatic dinner proves … Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Antiziganism (g slur)
  • Misogyny
  • Slut-shaming
  • Cheating recounted
  • Domestic abuse recounted
  • Suicide discussed
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Dead bodies
  • Death during childbirth recounted
  • Death of a wife recounted
  • Death of a child recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder, including the murder of a pregnant woman
  • Gun violence
  • Hostage situation
  • Near-drowning incident
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The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn’t mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she’s retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace. As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls—haunted by secrets of her own. Then she discovers a small child in the snow just outside. After bringing the child inside for warmth and safety, she begins to search for answers. But soon it becomes clear… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Murder
  • Gun violence
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Ain’t Never Not Been Black by Javon Johnson

Ain’t Never Not Been Black by Javon Johnson

Engaging with themes of masculinity, racism, love, and joy, Johnson is at once critical and creative. His spoken word performance transfers effortlessly to the page, with poems that will encompass you. This is a book about blackness and survival, and how in American these are inseparable. In a world of individualism, who can you hold close? In a world of danger, what makes you feel safe? From a poem written in the form of a syllabus, to another about the time his grandmother literally saved his life, Johnson’s creative expression is constantly enacting the feminist mantra, “the personal is political.”

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial slur
  • Cancer
  • Murder
  • Police brutality & violence
  • Gun violence
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