Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus

Valerie Danners is in a cult. She just doesn’t know it yet. When she finds a queer book at the library and smuggles it home, her conservative Christian home-schooling world begins to crack. And when the cutest girl she’s ever met shows up to Bible class, she starts to question everything. Riley is so confident and kind, and she and Valerie bond quickly over existing as multiracial teens in a very white Christian community. As Valerie explores her feelings for Riley, she begins to see that the world she knows is a carefully crafted narrative. Publicly, the girls are close friends… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Religious trauma & homophobia (theme)
  • Physical child abuse mentioned
  • Self-harm (self-flagellation)
  • Emesis

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

After Zoe Baxter loses her baby, the only way she can find of coping is to try again. But her husband Max disagrees – more than that, he wants a divorce. When they separate, there is no mention of the unborn children they created together, still waiting at the clinic. The Zoe falls in love again, out of the blue, and finds herself with an unexpected second chance to have a family. But Max has found a new life too – one with no place in it for people like Zoe. And he will stand up in court to say that her new choice of partner makes her an unfit mother.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia (theme)
  • Divorce
  • Panic attack
  • Secondary character with dementia
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Stillbirth, miscarriage & abortion
  • Infertility

We Met in Death by K.A. Merikan

After years of working for a loan shark, Robert is done with blood and violence. All he has to show for it is a bag of money and a lifetime of regrets. There’s no other way out of his line of work than in a body bag. So Robert decides to die. But on the night he chooses to seal his own fate, destiny offers him a chance at redemption. When Robert saves a handsome young escort from a terrible death, he has no idea he is setting in motion much more than one last attempt at proving that inside the hardened shell, he is a decent human being. Charming, quick-witted, and full of… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Torture

Homicidal Instinct by K.A. Merikan

All Seth wants is to live free with the man he loves. But escaping death at the hands of the mafia is just the beginning of an uphill struggle. When Domenico wakes up from his impromptu surgery and doesn’t even remember Seth’s name, Seth’s world falls apart. Suddenly it’s him who has to plan an escape from New York City and navigate their way to Mexico. All that without even knowing if the man of his life will ever love him again. Domenico doesn’t know who to trust and what to believe. The man who introduces himself as his brother seems to hide dark secrets behind… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & misogyny
  • Rape mentioned
  • Child sexual abuse & grooming mentioned
  • Torture
  • Animal death (pig, chicken)

He Is Mine by K.A. Merikan

A wedding should be a joyful affair, but it is far from that for Seth Villani. Thrust into an arranged marriage, back under the same roof with serpents and wolves who are his family, Seth has to watch his back if he is to survive until the despised event. Though with his love affair with Domenico Acerbi slipping out of his grasp, and his father forcing blood on his hands, sometimes Seth wishes the dark waves of the sea nearby could swallow him whole. Coming back home to Italy is full of bitterness and regret for Domenico. He knows he will have to see Seth, the first man who’s… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Rape & sexual assault of a teenager
  • Torture mentioned

He Is Poison by K.A. Merikan

Domenico Acerbi. The Villani Family’s best assassin. Ruthless. Vicious. With no patience for weakness. Seth Villani. The Don’s son. Clueless. Stubborn. In dire need of someone to keep him in line. Domenico Acerbi grew up ready to give his life for the Family. Ready to follow orders and exceed expectations. A proud man of honor. The last thing he wants to deal with is training the Don’s son for his future role within the organization. Lazy, annoying, spoiled, and as hot as a Sicilian summer, Seth Villani is no mafia material. But a man who could never become a threat might just be what Domenico needs. Seth Villani wants… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Transphobia & misogyny

Where Foxes Hunt with Wolves by K.A. Merikan

Yevhen. Forest ranger. Werewolf. Stifled by pack rules. Radek. Foxy ginger brat. Changeling. Will avoid responsibility at all cost. Banished from his pack for being gay, Yev has one last chance to redeem himself in the eyes of his family. He needs to stick to the rules for a year, and bury his sexuality forever. Shouldn’t be so hard, since he can’t have a relationship with a human without revealing his werewolf nature. That is until one night, a drunk ginger brat points a rifle in his face. Radek finished University months ago but thinking about the future is not on his agenda. Life would be great if he could just avoid any and all… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Loss of limb & amputation
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Animal abuse

A Slice of Love by Teagan Hunter

Jonas Schwartz isn’t just good at playing football. He’s also good at playing hearts, and four years ago, he played mine like it was the easiest game of his life. Brokenhearted, I ran off to art school, swearing to forget about my one-off secret weekend with the star quarterback. I’d heard whispers about his injury, but I never expected Jonas to return to our hometown to rehab his knee, and I certainly never thought he’d show up on the other side of my door with a pizza in hand. He looks good. Better than before. Whatever—I’m over him. I’ve completely moved on. I just wish my heart would get the memo…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Cancer

Burn the Dark by S.A. Hunt

Robin is a YouTube celebrity gone-viral with her intensely-realistic witch hunter series. But even her millions of followers don’t know the truth: her series isn’t fiction. Her ultimate goal is to seek revenge against the coven of witches who wronged her mother long ago. Returning home to the rural town of Blackfield, Robin meets friends new and old on her quest for justice. But then, a mysterious threat known as the Red Lord interferes with her plans…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & homophobia
  • Domestic violence
  • Hallucinations
  • Suicide
  • Prescription drug abuse & alcohol abuse
  • Institutionalisation
  • Blood & gore depiction including body horror & emesis
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Animal death
  • Animal attack (snake)

I Come with Knives by S.A. Hunt

Robin – now armed with new knowledge about mysterious demon terrorizing her around town, the support of her friends, and the assistance of her old witch-hunter mentor – plots to confront the Lazenbury coven and destroy them once and for all. Meanwhile, a dangerous serial killer only known as The Serpent is abducting and killing Blackfield residents. An elusive order of magicians known as the Dogs of Odysseus also show up with Robin in their sights. Robin must handle these new threats on top of the menace from the Lazenbury coven, but a secret about Robin’s past may throw all of her plans into jeopardy.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Homophobia & slurs
  • Dismemberment, emesis & body horror
  • Murder
  • Police brutality
  • Gun violence
  • Animal death
  • Animal abuse (cat)