The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

The lonely young Appalachian woman joins the historical Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky and becomes a librarian, riding across slippery creek beds and up treacherous mountains on her faithful mule to deliver books and other reading material to the impoverished hill people of Eastern Kentucky.

Along her dangerous route, Cussy, known to the mountain folk as Bluet, confronts those suspicious of her damselfly-blue skin and the government’s new book program. She befriends hardscrabble and complex fellow Kentuckians, and is fiercely determined to bring comfort and joy, instill literacy, and give to those who have nothing, a bookly respite, a fleeting retreat to faraway lands.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Rape
  • Suicide
  • Medical experimentation
  • Death of a child
  • Murder
  • Poverty themes
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Giver of Stars by Ann Napolitano

The Giver of Stars by Ann Napolitano

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.

The leader, and soon Alice’s greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who’s never asked a man’s permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Attempted rape
  • Incest
  • Domestic abuse
  • Imprisonment
  • Animal cruelty
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

Cassie Hanwell was born for emergencies. As one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse, she’s seen her fair share of them, and she’s excellent at dealing with other people’s tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to uproot her life and move to Boston, it’s an emergency of a kind Cassie never anticipated.

The tough, old-school Boston firehouse is as different from Cassie’s old job as it could possibly be. Hazing, a lack of funding, and poor facilities mean that the firemen aren’t exactly thrilled to have a “lady” on the crew, even one as competent and smart as Cassie. Except for the handsome rookie, who doesn’t seem to mind having Cassie around… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Slut shaming
  • Rape recounted, off-page
  • Attempted suicide
  • Addiction
  • Terminal illness
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧ The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Revenge porn
  • Statutory rape
  • Child abuse
  • Abusive relationship mentioned
  • Cheating
  • Suicide
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Graphic self harm
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Abortion
  • Death of a sibling recounted
  • Death of a child recounted
  • Murder
  • Hazing
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Vanishing at Loxby Manor by Abigail Wilson

The Vanishing at Loxby Manor by Abigail Wilson

Haunted by the assault she’s kept hidden over the past four years, Charity Halliwell finally has a chance to return home to the quaint village she left more than five years before and the happy life she wants so badly to reclaim. All she needs is good conversation with her old friend and an opportunity to find a governess position, and she can leave the fear and guilt behind. But the family who agrees to her yearlong visit turns out to be a far cry from the one she thought she knew, particularly when her friend disappears and the one man she made certain would not be at the house is forced to return… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape recounted
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Warrior’s Path by Catherine M Wilson

The Warrior’s Path by Catherine M. Wilson

Tamras arrives in Merin’s house to begin her apprenticeship as a warrior, but her small stature causes many, including Tamras herself, to doubt that she will ever become a competent swordswoman. To make matters worse, the Lady Merin assigns her the position of companion, little more than a personal servant, to a woman who came to Merin’s house, seemingly out of nowhere, the previous winter, and this stranger wants nothing to do with Tamras.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Slavery mentioned
  • Rape recounted
  • Physical injury
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Black Farm by Elias Witherow

The Black Farm by Elias Witherow

After the loss of a child along with a slew of agonizing misfortunes, Nick and Jess decide to end their lives. Unable to cope with the misery that fills their days, they commit one last act together and die in loving relief.

But when Nick wakes up, he soon realizes that death isn’t the gentle darkness he expected. Panicked and horrified, he struggles to understand the twisted abominations and hellish world he’s now trapped in… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Graphic rape
  • Suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a child
  • Torture
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Love of a Bad Man by Kate Worsley

The Love of a Bad Man by Kate Worsley

A schoolgirl catches the eye of the future leader of Nazi Germany. An aspiring playwright writes to a convicted serial killer, seeking inspiration. A pair of childhood sweethearts reunite to commit rape and murder. A devoted Mormon wife follows her husband into the wilderness after he declares himself a prophet.

The twelve stories in ‘The Love of a Bad Man’ imagine the lives of real women, all of whom were the lovers, wives, or mistresses of various ‘bad’ men in history. Beautifully observed, fascinating, and at times horrifying, the stories interrogate power, the nature of obsession, and the lengths some women will go to for the men they love.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic abuse
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Murder
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Native Son by Richard Wright

Native Son by Richard Wright

Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic.

Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Wright’s powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America. 

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Rape
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Dead body
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Knife violence
  • Physical assault
  • Bullying
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Primal Instinct by Tara Wyatt

Primal Instinct by Tara Wyatt

The first time he lays eyes on Taylor Ross in a bar, Colt Priestley does something few men would dare to do. He approaches the world-famous singer, shamelessly flirts with her, and gives her a night in his bed that neither of them will soon forget.

When Taylor’s record label hires a bodyguard to keep tabs on the out-of-control rocker, she’s less than thrilled to find it’s her off-the-charts one-night stand who shows up for the job. She’s terrified of letting herself fall for the damaged ex-Army Ranger, and she’s determined to push him away. Yet every moment they’re together simmers with tension. As the danger from an obsessed stalker mounts, Taylor and Colt are tempted to cross that line again-baring their hearts and souls as well as their bodies-and there’s no telling how hot this song will get.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Attempted rape
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com