Ruthless People by J.J. McAvoy

Ruthless People by J.J. McAvoy

To the outside world, they look like American royalty, giving to charities, feeding the homeless, and rebuilding the city. But behind closed doors is a constant battle for dominance between two bosses, cultures, and hearts. Ruthless People is a romantic crime fiction set in modern day Chicago and follows the life and marriage of Melody Giovanni and Liam Callahan – rivals by blood and leaders through fear. Theirs is an arranged marriage with the goal of ending years of bloodshed between the Irish and the Italians. Liam assumes he’s getting a simple-minded wife, one he can… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Arranged marriage
  • Child abuse mentioned
  • Neglect & abandonment
  • Nyctophobia
  • Substance addiction
  • Drugging
  • Miscarriage
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Hospitalisation
  • Needles mentioned
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Gun violence
  • Knife violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Plane crash

Falling Embers by Catherine Cowles

Falling Embers by Catherine Cowles

I loved Calder Cruz from the moment he taught me to fly. He might’ve been my brother’s best friend but he was my everything. The only who understood me. My safest place. My person. Until one night changed it all and we became strangers in a single breath. Now, years later, I see him every day at the fire station. I watch him raise adorable twin girls as a single dad. But he has no idea how hard it was to see him move on without me. How much I still burn for him. A twist of fate changes everything. When my life is on the line… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Attempted murder
  • Knife violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Car accident
  • Fire
  • Cyberbullying & doxxing

The Twisted Dead by Darcy Coates

The Twisted Dead by Darcy Coates

Keira is ready for her life to return to normal. Though, to be fair, normal is a tall ask when your ability to see ghosts has landed you the job of groundskeeper in a small town’s cemetery. When Keira receives an invitation to dinner at Dane Crispin’s crumbling ancestral estate, she knows she can’t refuse. The last living descendant of the Crispin family is reclusive. Keira only met him once…on the night he tried to kill her. The mansion is steeped in history that is equal parts complicated and bloody. Keira senses the presence of restless spirits the moment she steps through its door. And Dane, waiting for her inside, wants to ask for her help.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Familial estrangement mentioned
  • Amnesia
  • Parent with a chronically, and possibly terminally, ill parent (sc)
  • Blood and physical injuries, on-page
  • Needles
  • Arson and damage to property discussed
  • Murder including murder by stabbing and knife violence, on-page
  • Gun violence

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

They did the impossible – deposing the godlike being whose brutal rule had lasted a thousand years. Now Vin, the street urchin who has grown into the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her, must build a healthy new society in the ashes of an empire. They did the impossible – deposing the godlike being whose brutal rule had lasted a thousand years. Now Vin, the street urchin who has grown into the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her, must build a healthy new society in the ashes of an empire… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Slavery
  • Rape
  • Hallucinations
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Self-harm
  • Forced pregnancy
  • Eugenics
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Body horror
  • Murder
  • Knife violence
  • War themes
  • Animal cruelty

Triple-Duty Bodyguards by Lily Gold

Triple-Duty Bodyguards by Lily Gold

As one of the world’s most hated celebrities, I’m used to unwanted attention. But when I wake up one morning to find a mysterious man has broken into my house, I know I need security, fast. Enter “The Angels”, my three ex-military bodyguards: Glen, the Scottish sweetheart with the scarred face and gentle hands. Kenta, the long-haired soldier with the tattooed skin and secretive smile. And Matt, the blue-eyed, bad-tempered leader haunted by his military past. Having three gorgeous men guarding me 24-7 sounds like a dream come true, but it turns out to be a nightmare. They’re always here, watching me. Caring for me. Protecting… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slut-shaming
  • Victim-blaming
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Military Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) including flashbacks and night terrors
  • Dieting & weight loss mentioned
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Hospitalisation
  • Needles mentioned
  • Emesis mentioned
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Torture recounted
  • Bombing
  • Kidnapping
  • Stalking (theme)

The Ritual by Shantel Tessier

I vow. You vow. We vow. Barrington University is home of the Lords, a secret society that requires their blood in payment. They are above all—the most powerful men in the world. They devote their lives to violence in exchange for power. And during their senior year, they are offered a chosen one. Barrington University is home of the Lords, a secret society that requires their blood in payment. They are above all—the most powerful men in the world. They devote their lives to violence in exchange for power. And during their senior year, they are offered a chosen one. People think… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Arranged relationship
  • Sex slavery
  • Attempted sexual assault
  • Dubious consent scenarios including consensual somnophilia and rape-play
  • Improper BDSM practices
  • Drugging including nonconsensual manipulation of birth control prescription
  • Depiction of a dead body
  • Branding (consensual)
  • Genital mutilation
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Physical assault
  • Drowning
  • Cult
  • Stalking & nonconsensual surveillance

A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones

A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones

Some people greet the day with open arms. Sheriff Sunshine Vicram would rather give it a hearty shove and get back into bed, because there’s just too much going on right now. There’s a series of women going missing, and Sunny feels powerless to stop it. There’s her persistent and awesomely-rebellious daughter Auri, who’s out to singlehandedly become Del Sol’s youngest and fiercest investigator. And then there’s drama with Levi Ravinder—the guy she’s loved and lusted after for years. The guy who might just be her one and only. The guy who comes from a family of disingenuous vipers looking to oust him—and Sunshine—for… Read more,

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Knife & gun violence
  • Kidnapping

The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

Gottie H. Oppenheimer is losing time. Literally. When the fabric of the universe around her seaside town begins to fray, she’s hurtled through wormholes to her past: To last summer, when her grandfather Grey died. To the afternoon she fell in love with Jason, who wouldn’t even hold her hand at the funeral. To the day her best friend Thomas moved away and left her behind with a scar on her hand and a black hole in her memory. lthough Grey is still gone, Jason and Thomas are back, and Gottie’s past, present, and future are about to collide—and someone’s heart is about to be broken.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Hospital
  • Emesis
  • Death of a grandfather
  • Knife violence
  • Bike accident

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

The convent has returned Sybella to a life that nearly drove her mad. Her father’s rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother’s love is equally monstrous. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will the daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse recounted
  • Sex work shaming
  • Incest (brother-sister & father-daughter)
  • Rape & attempted rape, on-page & recounted (multiple scenes)
  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse
  • Pregnancy from rape mentioned
  • Childbirth mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Graphic physical injuries & illness,
  • Facial scars and disfigurement mentioned
  • Death of a sister, off-page
  • Death of a newborn daughter recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Attempted infanticide by drowning mentioned
  • Infanticide by snapping a newborn’s neck recounted, on-page
  • Knife, sword & arrow violence
  • Poisoning
  • Imprisonment
  • Animal death (dog) mentioned
  • Animal hunting
  • War themes & battle scenes including discussions of sieges

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan

Love demands sacrifice. Her blood. Her body. Even her life. Singapore, 1927. Verity Edevane needs blood. And not just anyone’s blood. She craves the sweet, salty rush from a young woman’s veins, the heady swirl of desire mixed with fealty—such a rarity in this foreign colony. It’s a lot to ask. But doesn’t she deserve the best? Gean Choo needs money. Mrs. Edevane makes her an offer Gean Choo can’t refuse. But who is her strange, alluring new mistress? What is she? And what will Gean Choo sacrifice to earn her love?… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Rape
  • Child sexual abuse recounted
  • Dubious consent scenarios, including employer-employee relationship
  • Child abandonment
  • Emotional & physical child abuse recounted
  • Abusive relationship
  • Cheating
  • Attempted suicide
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Self-harm & self-inflicted injury
  • Recreational drug use
  • Death during childbirth mentioned
  • Physical injury, including a broken nose
  • Cannibalism
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Physical assault