Tag Archives: Homophobia

Love at First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi

Rosemary is a successful horror author with a secret: she can see ghosts. So when the set of her hit novel’s film adaptation turns out to be a haunted countryside manor, she’s unfazed. What she’s less prepared for is the maddeningly handsome, completely miscast actor playing her leading man. Ellis is a Hollywood heartthrob tired of his action-hero persona. Instead, he dreams of being a serious actor, and having free time to spend gardening with his dog. Landing the lead in a historical horror movie is his chance to start fresh… until he discovers the author tried to have him… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Internalised homophobia & biphobia
  • Anxiety
  • Alcohol consumption & mentions of smoking
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother from cancer recounted
  • Death of a pet dog recounted (off-page)
  • Blackmail

The Six Murders of Daphne St Clair by MacKenzie Common

When Daphne confesses to killing a number of men throughout her lifetime, she chooses Ruth to produce the podcast reporting her story. Each episode charts Daphne’s humble beginnings from the Dust Bowl in Canada to her glittering life in 70s New York – and a string of murders in her wake. Daphne tells her story. Ruth listens. And edits it. The public are hooked. Is she a feminist icon taking revenge on bad men? Or just a ruthless criminal? Then, as the podcast finale approaches, it becomes clear that neither woman has been entirely honest with the other. Who has been controlling the narrative? After all, the truth doesn’t always make for the best story…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & misogyny
  • Rape
  • Domestic violence & child abuse
  • Alcoholism mentioned
  • Murder

Dead Happy by Josh Silver

Friends. Welcome to Elmhallow. Seb, along with a select group of participants, finds himself washed up on an isolated island called Elmhallow, under the guardianship of a mysterious couple. As the experiment steps up another level, Seb is forced to team up with Eleanor once more. But where is Finn? And what does HappyHead have in store for them next?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Eugenics
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Drug use recounted
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Emesis mentioned
  • Murder & torture
  • Physical assault
  • Animal death & cruelty

HappyHead by Josh Silver

We are in an epidemic. An epidemic of unhappiness. Friends, here is the good news: HappyHead has the answer. When Seb is offered a place on a radical retreat designed to solve the national crisis of teenage unhappiness, he is determined to change how people see him and make his parents proud. But as he finds himself drawn to the enigmatic Finn, Seb starts to question the true nature of the challenges they must undergo. The deeper into the programme the boys get, the more disturbing the assessments become, until it’s clear there may be no escape…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & outing mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption & drug use mentioned
  • Overdose mentioned
  • Emesis
  • Animal death

Boys, Beasts and Men by Sam J. Miller

Despite his ability to control the ambient digital cloud, a foster teen falls for a clever con-man. Luring bullies to a quarry, a boy takes clearly enumerated revenge through unnatural powers of suggestion. In the aftermath of a shapeshifting alien invasion, a survivor fears that he brought something out of the Arctic to infect the rest of the world. A rebellious group of queer artists create a new identity that transcends even the anonymity of death.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & racism, including slurs
  • Child abuse
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Drug abuse
  • AIDS
  • Murder
  • Physical assault (mugging)
  • Animal deaths

Gutter Mind by K.A. Merikan

Mike. Macho Biker. Scarred. Will never love again. Arden. Femme boy. Jaded. Will never succumb to lust again. Mike is always on the lookout for a fresh fling, and there are more than enough chicks for a stud like him at the Smoke Valley MC clubhouse. But the pretty little thing he spots at the gas station turns out to be a boy, and that triggers all sorts of confusion.
Mike loves a challenge, so when he’s given the cold shoulder, his predator senses are set aflame! Straight or not, Mike makes a bet with his cousin and won’t settle for anything other than a total seducti… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Adult-minor relationship recounted
  • Murder
  • Tear gas attack
  • Kidnapping

Blood and Marriage by K.A. Merikan

As the daughter of a mafia boss, I knew that keeping my head down meant staying alive. So when my father arranged my marriage to a Sicilian mafioso, I smiled and nodded, hoping for a kind man. But then my future husband’s cousin, Santo Villani, appears to pick me up for the wedding, and my life turns upside down, shattered by a kiss that shouldn’t have happened. Arrogant, cocky, and yet irresistibly charming, he’s exactly the kind of man I shouldn’t be reaching out for. A dangerous mafioso . I am torn between duty and passion, but my wedding is set in stone, so no matter which one of them wins, I will fall on their battlefield.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & biphobia
  • Sexual assault & child sexual assault recounted

Straight as a Wheel by K.A. Merikan

Zolt. Gay. Player. Predator. Fetish: Straight guys. Leo. Straight. Biker. Prey. Fetish: True love. Zolt knows what he wants from life–cold hard cash so that he can enjoy an early retirement in the Carribean as rent boys serve him drinks on the beach. Meanwhile, he’s got his pawn shop as a front for illegal operations, and a baseball bat to deal with troublemakers. When it comes to men, Zolt loves the chase, and his favourite, most elusive prey is curious straight guys. He goes out of his way to seduce and devour them. If he can be their first, all the better. His next mark? A biker. And… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & coming out themes
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Organised crime (outlaw motorcycle club)
  • Gun violence
  • Hostage situation
  • Animal death (pet)

The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker

For over five years, the Four Monkey Killer has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive. As the lead investigator on the 4MK task force, Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter finds himself caught up in the mind of a psychopath, unraveling a twisted history in hopes of finding one last girl, all while struggling with personal demons of his own.… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Rape
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Domestic violence
  • Substance addiction & alcoholism
  • Drug use
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Gun violence
  • Animal death & cruelty

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a deal―he’ll be more social if she does the same―she can’t refuse. She joins a new online gaming guild led by a friendly healer named Otter. So that nobody gets the wrong idea, she calls herself Bogwitch. Otter is Aiden, a fifty-year-old optimist using the guild as an emotional outlet from his family drama caring for his aging mother while his brother plays house with Aiden’s ex-fiancée. Bogwitch and Otter become fast virtual friends, but there’s a catch. Bogwitch thinks Otter is… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Biphobia & public outing (on-page)
  • Sexism discussed
  • Divorce discussed
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Physical injury (broken foot)
  • Death of a parent from cancer recounted
  • Fatal car accident recounted