Tag Archives: Mental Illness

When She’s Gone by Sara Sligar

Cora Valentine has her whole life—and a shot at the Olympics—ahead of her. But when she’s kidnapped on Halloween, her name is splashed across headlines not as an athlete but as a victim. Not even her safe return changes that, especially since no one is caught for the crime. Hounded by the public, Cora’s time as a missing girl and member of the Magnificent Eight has its consequences. Years later, when Cora has her own daughter, she’s determined to leave the past behind for a better life. Her daughter will never face those fears. And Cora will never face them again… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety
  • Kidnapping & mentions of stalking
  • Gun violence

Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar

When the famed photographer Miranda Brand died mysteriously at the height of her career, it sent shock waves through Callinas, California. Decades later, old wounds are reopened when her son, Theo, hires ex-journalist Kate Aitken to create an archive of his mother’s work. From Miranda’s vast maze of personal effects, Kate pieces together a portrait of a vibrant artist buckling under the pressures of ambition, motherhood, and marriage. As the summer progresses, Kate navigates vicious local rumors and… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape & sexual assault
  • Domestic violence
  • Suicide & mentions of self-harm
  • Postpartum psychosis & depression

Vantage Point by Sara Sligar

The old-money Wieland family has it all—wealth, status, power. They’re also famously cursed. Clara and her brother Teddy grew up on a small island in Maine in the shadow of their parents’ tragic deaths, haunted by rumors and paparazzi. Fourteen years later they’ve mostly put their turbulent past to rest. Teddy has married Clara’s best friend, Jess, and the three of them have moved back home to take over the sprawling, remote family mansion known as Vantage Point. Then Teddy decides to run for the Senate—an unnerving prospect made much worse when… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Domestic abuse
  • Sexual assault
  • Eating disorder (protagonist)

That’s Not My Name by Megan Lally

Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there―or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He’s been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says. When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic violence
  • Blood & illness depiction including an allergic reaction
  • Amnesia (protagonist)
  • Murder
  • Disappearance of a child

A Photo Finish by Elsie Silver

I’ve seen every square inch of Violet Eaton’s delectable body and she has no idea who I am. Until now. What happened between us online, in our chats, was meant to stay anonymous and in the past. Until it didn’t. It’s a small world, but Ruby Creek is even smaller. When I move to the tiny town, the grumpy facade I’ve created slips when we’re forced to live under the same roof. Every flush of her cheeks, every time her eyes flare with heat, every time she begs me not to stop, the ice I’ve encased myself in melts. She has me wanting things I can’t want. Things I’ve been dreaming about since I first laid eyes on her two years ago—things I… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Body-shaming
  • Military-related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Leg amputation during military service recounted
  • Death of a parent mentioned

A False Start by Elsie Silver

I kissed my best friend’s little sister, and the world stood still. That night we were two perfect strangers, the town’s grumpy recluse and a gorgeous girl in the back of a bar. Until we weren’t. Because Nadia Dalca isn’t just some girl. She’s the girl I can’t have. Fourteen years younger than me and completely off-limits. My plan is to stay away, but the universe keeps pushing us together. It’s like some sort of cosmic joke, to give me a taste of something so electric—so real—something that breathed life back into me. Because I can look, but I can’t touch. Her sinful curves, her light… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse reounted
  • Domestic abuse mentioned (secondary characters)
  • Traumatic brain injury & concussion mentioned
  • Alcoholism

The Other Brother by Tierney Page

All I ever wanted was a love like my parents had—something deep, irrevocable, and all-consuming. The kind of love that’s written about in stories. And I thought I found it with Lucas, my fiancé. We had it the house, the cat, and the promise of a future full of possibilities. Until everything fell apart. I discovered his secret. Heart-broken and betrayed, I convinced myself that I’d never find anything like what Lucas and I shared. He was my everything. Then one night, I ran into his younger brother, James. He’s a musician—complicated, intense, and nothing like Lucas. And yet, I can’t deny the pull I feel toward him. I’m drawn to him in… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity by ex-partner (off-page)
  • Parent with depression (off page)
  • Death of parents (off page)

Murder on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood

Verity Beresford is worried about her husband. Oliver didn’t come home last night so of course Verity goes straight to Judith Potts, Marlow’s resident amateur sleuth, for help. Oliver, founder of the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, had hired The Marlow Belle, a private pleasure cruiser, for an exclusive party with the MADS committee but no one remembers seeing him disembark. And then Oliver’s body washes up on the Thames with two bullet holes in him – it’s time for the Marlow Murder Club to leap into action… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Adult-minor relationship
  • Parent with substance addiction
  • Alcohol consumption & drug use including overdose
  • Cancer
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Animal death

The Launch Date by Annabelle Slator

Grace Hastings’s dream job at the popular “true love” dating app, Fate, has turned into a nightmare. Her boss is a leech, her career is stagnating, and her fiancé has just brutally dumped her. Her hope for finding her own love story is waning, and she feels like a fraud for promoting a concept she no longer believes in. When the company’s CEO offers her an opportunity to earn a big promotion, she resolves to fight her imposter syndrome to show she deserves a seat at the table. The opportunity? To launch a brand-new app focusing on IRL dating and genuine connection… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Parental infidelity mnetuoned
  • Depression
  • Workplace bullying & mentions of childhood bullying

Ellie Engle Saves Herself by Leah Johnson

Ellie Engle doesn’t stand out. Not at home, where she’s alone with her pet fish since her dad moved away and her mom has to work around the clock. Not at the bakery, where she helps out old Mr. Walker on the weekends. And definitely not at school, where her best friend, Abby—the coolest, boldest, most talented girl in the world—drags Ellie along on her never-ending quest to “make her mark.” To someone else, a life in the shadows might seem boring, or lonely. But not to Ellie. As long as she has Abby by her side and a comic book in her hand, she’s quite content. Too bad life… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Anxiety (protagonist)
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a grandparent recounted
  • Earthquake
  • Animal death
  • Bullying