A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Sixteen-year-old Mattie Gokey has big dreams but little hope of seeing them come true. Desperate for money, she takes a job at the Glenmore, where hotel guest Grace Brown entrusts her with the task of burning a secret bundle of letters. But when Grace’s drowned body is fished from the lake, Mattie discovers that the letters could reveal the grim truth behind a murder. Set in 1906 against the backdrop of the murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy, Jennifer Donnelly’s debut novel weaves romance, history, and a murder mystery into something moving and real.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother
  • Murder by drowning

A House of Rage and Sorrow by Sangu Mandanna

A House of Rage and Sorrow by Sangu Mandanna

Esmae once wanted nothing more than to help her golden brother win the crown of Kali but that dream died with her best friend. Alexi broke her heart, and she vowed to destroy him for it. And with her sentient warship Titania beside her, how can she possibly fail? As gods, beasts, and kingdoms choose sides, Alexi seeks out a weapon more devastating than even Titania. Past lives threaten the present. Old enemies claim their due. And Esmae cannot outrun the ghosts and the questions that haunt her. What really happened to her father? What was the third boon her mother asked of Amba? For in the shadows, lurking in wait, are… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend recounted
  • Infanticide mentioned
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Knife & sword violence
  • Poisoning
  • Kidnapping
  • War, rebellion & royal coup (theme)

Reap by Tillie Cole

Reap by Tillie Cole

Raised as a prototype for the Georgian Bratva’s obedience drug, 221 fails to think, act, or live for himself; he’s his master’s perfectly-crafted killing puppet. Standing at six-foot-six, weighing two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, and unrivaled in to-the-death combat, 221 successfully secures business for the Georgian Mafiya Boss of NYC, who rules the dark world of the criminal underground. Until his enemies capture him. Talia Tolstaia dreams to break from the heavy clutches of Bratva life. She dreams of another life–away from the stifling leash of her Russian Bratva Boss.⁣⁣⁣.. Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Murder
  • Captivity

The Fallen: Genesis by Tillie Cole

The Fallen: Genesis by Tillie Cole

They told them they were evil. They told them they were possessed by demons. They told them that darkness ran in their veins. Holy Innocents Home for Children is a haven for orphaned boys who have nothing and no one. The priests watch over them, educate them, and raise them in the family of the church. Except for some. Seven of the orphans are no ordinary boys. They attract the attention of the priests for their acts of violence, of bloodlust. The priests realize these boys are drawn to the darkness. And the priests are no ordin.⁣⁣⁣.. And the priests are no ordinary priests. .

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse
  • Rape of a child
  • Physical & emotional child abuse

Deep Redemption by Tillie Cole

Deep Redemption by Tillie Cole

Prophet Cain lies broken and defeated on the floor of his cell. A cell he has been thrown into by the one person who was supposed to stand by his side until the end. His flesh and blood, his only companion. His beloved twin brother. Cain has sacrificed everything for his people. He left the safety and security of his life of study to infiltrate the infamous Hades Hangmen. He lived with them, rode with them, and then betrayed them. All in the name of a faith he can now feel slipping away from him. Like everything else he once held dear. But then his isolation is broken. Another prisoner is brought to the cell next to his. A woman fighting her own demons and fears. A woman who Cain.⁣⁣⁣.. Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Paedophilia & child pornography
  • Murder
  • Captivity

Darkness Embraced by Tillie Cole

Darkness Embraced by Tillie Cole

Born to sit on opposing thrones.⁣ They were never meant to fall.⁣ Tanner Ayers is the heir of the Texas Ku Klux Klan. Fed nothing but hate, violence, and intolerance from the day he was born, Tanner kills for his cause without remorse.⁣ Until he meets Adelita Quintana, the daughter of the most brutal cartel boss in Mexico. Adelita and Tanner hate each other instantly. But there is something between them that neither can explain nor deny. Hate turns to desire, desire turns to love, and for the first time, Tanner sees how wrong his whole life has been. Adelita and Tanner hate each other instantly. But there is something between them that.⁣⁣⁣.. Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Human trafficking, off-page
  • Racism
  • Rape of a child, off-page
  • Child abuse, on-page
  • Murder, on-page
  • Kidnapping, on-page

Crux Untamed by Tillie Cole

Crux Untamed by Tillie Cole

A broken woman. A damaged man. A free spirit intent on saving them both. Elysia ‘Sia’ Willis lives a solitary life. The only person in it is her big brother, Ky, vice-president of the infamous Hades Hangmen. She loves him, but she has absolutely no love for the outlaw MC he belongs to. Raised in secret by her mother, Sia grew up separated from her brother and distant father. No one knew she even existed. After the tragic murder of her mother, Sia spiralled into a rebellion against the rules of the Hangmen. A rebellion with dire consequences that now, years later, she… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Human trafficking, on-page
  • Racism & white supremacy, on-page
  • Klu Klux Klan
  • Epilepsy
  • Murder of parents recounted

Raphael by Tillie Cole

Raphael by Tillie Cole

They are the Fallen. A brotherhood of murderers whose nature compels them to kill. But guided by their leader, Gabriel, the Fallen have learned to use their urges to rid the world of those it is better off without. For Raphael, sex and death are intertwined. Where there is one, there must be the other. He is a lust killer, luring his victims with the face of an angel and a body built for sin. And Raphael lives to sin. His newest mission takes him into the sadistic underworld of Boston’s secret sex clubs and puts him face to face with his greatest fantasy-made flesh. Maria is everything he’s ever dreamed of, the kill he’s always longed for. She’s not his target… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape, on-page
  • Murder
  • Captivity

Fake ID by Lamar Giles

Fake ID by Lamar Giles

Nick Pearson is hiding in plain sight. My name isn’t really Nick Pearson. I shouldn’t tell you where I’m from or why my family moved to Stepton, Virginia. I shouldn’t tell you who I really am, or my hair, eye, and skin colour. And I definitely shouldn’t tell you about my friend Eli Cruz and the major conspiracy he was about to uncover when he died—right after I moved to town. About how I had to choose between solving his murder with his hot sister, Reya, and “staying low-key” like the Program has taught me. About how moving to Stepon changed my life forever. But I’m going to… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a friend
  • Murder
  • Animal attack

Endangered by Lamar Giles

Endangered by Lamar Giles

The one secret she cares about keeping—her identity—is about to be exposed. Unless Lauren “Panda” Daniels—an anonymous photoblogger who specializes in busting classmates and teachers in compromising positions—plays along with her blackmailer’s little game of Dare or . . . Dare. But when the game turns deadly, Panda doesn’t know what to do. And she may need to step out of the shadows to save herself . . . and everyone else on the Admirer’s hit list.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Ableism
  • Slut shaming
  • Public outing recounted
  • Statutory rape
  • Nonconsensual voyeurism
  • Adult-minor relationship*
  • Cheating
  • Attempted suicide
  • Substance addiction mentioned
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Hospitalisation
  • Murder
  • Physical assault
  • Strangulation
  • Fire
  • Stalking
  • Blackmail
  • Car accident
  • Kidnapping mentioned
  • Bullying & cyberbullying (theme)

*Context : Adult-minor relationship between an underage female student and a male teacher.