The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

Sarah Morgan is a successful and powerful defense attorney in Washington D.C. At 33 years old, she is a named partner at her firm and life is going exactly how she planned. The same cannot be said for her husband, Adam. He is a struggling writer who has had little success in his career. He begins to tire of his and Sarah’s relationship as she is constantly working. Out in the secluded woods, at Adam and Sarah’s second home, Adam engages in a passionate affair with Kelly Summers. Then, one morning everything changes. Adam is arrested for Kelly’s murder… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobic slur
  • Infidelity
  • Substance addiction mentioned (secondary character)
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Murder of a pregnant woman by stabbing

Context : The protagonist is a lawyer defending her husband from the murder of his mistress.

After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones

This collection of fifteen stories taps into the horrors and fears of the supernatural as well as the everyday. Included are two original stories, several rarities and out of print tales, as well as a few “best of the year” inclusions. Stephen Graham Jones is a master storyteller. What does happen after the people lights have gone off? Crack the spine and find out.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & homophobic slurs
  • Blood & gore depiction and body horror
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Fire

Adult Onset by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Mary-Rose MacKinnon–nicknamed MR or “Mister”–is a successful YA author who has made enough from her writing to semi-retire in her early 40s. She lives in a comfortable Toronto neighbourhood with her partner, Hilary, a busy theatre director, and their 2 young children, Matthew and Maggie, trying valiantly and often hilariously to balance her creative pursuits with domestic demands, and the various challenges that (mostly) solo parenting presents. As a child, Mary-Rose suffered from an illness, long since cured and “filed separately” in her mind. But as her… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Internalised racism
  • Homophobia & biphobia
  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse (off-page)
  • Child abuse
  • Stillbirth (on-page)
  • Death of an infant
  • Animal death

Nate Plus One by Kevin van Whye

Nate Hargraves – stage-shy singer-songwriter – is totally stoked for his cousin’s wedding in South Africa, an all-expenses-paid trip of a lifetime. Until he finds out his sleazeball ex-boyfriend is also on the guest list. Jai Patel – hot-as-hell high school rock-god – has troubles too. His band’s lead singer has quit, just weeks before the gig that was meant to be their big break. When Nate saves the day by agreeing to sing with Jai’s band, Jai volunteers to be Nate’s plus-one to the wedding, and the stage is set for a summer of music, self-discovery, and simmering romantic tension. What could possibly go wrong . . . ?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Racism & mentions of apartheid
  • Child abuse
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Animal death

Still Life by Sarah Winman

Tuscany, 1944: As Allied troops advance and bombs fall around deserted villages, a young English soldier, Ulysses Temper, finds himself in the wine cellar of a deserted villa. There, he has a chance encounter with Evelyn Skinner, a middle-aged art historian who has come to Italy to salvage paintings from the ruins and recall long-forgotten memories of her own youth. In each other, Ulysses and Evelyn find a kindred spirit amongst the rubble of war-torn Italy, and set off on a course of events that will shape Ulysses’s life for the next four decades. As Ulysses returns.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical sexism & homophobia mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • World War II

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

Olive, Again follows the blunt, contradictory yet deeply loveable Olive Kitteridge as she grows older, navigating the second half of her life as she comes to terms with the changes – sometimes welcome, sometimes not – in her own existence and in those around her. Olive adjusts to her new life with her second husband, challenges her estranged son and his family to accept him, experiences loss and loneliness, witnesses the triumphs and heartbreaks of her friends and neighbours in the small coastal town of Crosby, Maine – and, finally, opens herself to new lessons about life

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Suicide
  • Miscarriage
  • Cancer

She Started It by Sian Gilbert

Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe are best friends—or were, as children. Despite drifting apart in adulthood, shared secrets have kept them bonded for better or worse, even as their childhood dreams haven’t quite turned out as they’d hoped. Then one day they receive a wholly unexpected—but not entirely unwelcome—invitation from another old friend. Poppy Greer has invited them all to her extravagant bachelorette party: a first-class plane ticket to three days of white sand, cocktails, and relaxation on a luxe private island in the Bahamas. None of them has spoken to… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Substance addiction
  • Eating disorder
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Self-harm
  • Bullying

A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui

The room is watching. But Mira and Layla don’t know this yet. When the two best friends are stranded on their spring break college tour road trip, they find themselves at the Wildwood Motel, located in the middle of nowhere, Indiana. Mira can’t shake the feeling that there is something wrong and rotten about their room. Inside, she’s haunted by nightmares of her dead brother. When she wakes up, he’s still there. Layla doesn’t see him. Or notice anything suspicious about Room 9. The place may be a little run down, but it has a certain charm she can’t wait to capture on.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobic parents
  • Suicide by overdose & vehicular suicide
  • Death of a sibling recounted
  • Fire & death from fire
  • Drowning recounted

Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa

In a twenty-four-hour span, Rafael Alvarez led North Amistad High School’s Mariachi Alma de la Frontera to their eleventh consecutive first-place win in the Mariachi Extravaganza de Nacional; and met, made out with, and almost hooked up with one of the cutest guys he’s ever met. Now eight months later, Rafie’s ready for one final win. What he didn’t plan for is his family moving to San Antonio before his senior year, forcing him to leave behind his group while dealing with the loss of the most important person in his life—his beloved abuelo. Another hitch in his plan: The Selena Quintanilla-Perez Academy’s Mariachi… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Transphobia & homophobia
  • Racism

Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa

London, 1812 . Oliver Bennet feels trapped—not just by the endless corsets, petticoats, and skirts he’s forced to wear on a daily basis, but also by society’s expectations. The world, and the vast majority of his family and friends, think Oliver is a girl named Elizabeth. He is therefore expected to mingle at balls wearing a pretty dress, entertain suitors regardless of his interest in them, and ultimately become someone’s wife. But Oliver can’t bear the thought of such a fate. He finds solace in the few times he can sneak out of his family’s home and explore the city rightfully dressed as a young gentleman. It’s during one such excursion… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical transphobia, homophobia & sexism
  • Misgendering & deadnaming
  • Gender dysphoria & body dysmorphia
  • Forced outing