Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender

Logan Gray is Hollywood’s bad boy—a talented but troubled actor who the public loves to hate. Mattie Cole is an up‑and‑coming golden boy, adored by all but plagued by insecurities. When Logan and Mattie are cast as leads in a new romantic film, Logan claims that Matt has “zero talent,” sending the film’s publicity into a nosedive. To create positive buzz, the two are persuaded into a fake‑dating scheme—but as the two actors get to know their new characters, real feelings start to develop. As public scrutiny intensifies and old wounds resurface, the two must fight for their relationship and their love.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homomisia & bimisia
  • Sexual assault & attempted rape
  • Infidelity
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD)
  • Dissociation
  • Depression & suicidal ideation
  • Drug abuse
  • Alcohol consumption and abuse
  • Cyberbullying & -harassment

*Context : The protagonist withdraws consent during sex and his partner refuses to accept it. He is able to escape the assault and physically assault his attacker. The perpetrator later victim blames the protagonist and kisses him without consent.

Trick Shot by Kayla Grosse

When Leo unexpectedly bumps into the captivating Riley at the airport, he’s both amused and intrigued by her assumption that he’s his renowned brother. Embracing his mischievous side, Leo decides to play along, relishing in their flirty banter and clever exchanges. But as fate would have it, their flight gets canceled, and Leo seizes the opportunity to spend more time with Riley. With a devilish glint in his eye, he invites her to spend the night at his penthouse. With an intriguing woman, his best friend Jace, and a whole night of possibilities ahead of them, Leo has all the ingredients for what promises to be a memorable Christmas Eve.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homomisia & familial rejection recounted
  • Rape by coercion
  • Infidelity recounted
  • Emotionally abusive relationship recounted
  • Alcohol consumption

*Context : The protagonist believes she is having sex with the other protagonist’s identical twin brother. Her ex-partner cheated on her.

Sanctuary with Kings by Kathryn Moon

Evanthia has spent half her life trapped inside the Seven Veils. When the house crumbles, she seizes her moment and runs from Birsha and his twisted pleasures. But pleasure is what she needs to survive, and the dark streets of London leave her starving and vulnerable. Rescued by a mysterious monster who vows her sanctuary, Evanthia must piece back the woman that Birsha tore apart. Quiet sanctuary is no cure for her endless hunger, but the war brewing on the horizon is the last place she wants to be. Hiding with sleeping dragons and lonely monsters in a castle made from dreams might be a fantasy, but it’s not… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Human & sex trafficking recounted
  • Rape recounted
  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Weight loss & gain mentioned
  • Starvation recounted
  • Emesis
  • Death of both parents recounted
  • Murder
  • Torture, off-page
  • Kidnapping & captivity

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding

All of us knew him. One of us killed him… Seven women stand in shock in a seedy hotel room; a man’s severed head sits in the centre of the floor. Each of the women – the wife, the teenager, the ex, the journalist, the colleague, the friend, and the woman who raised him – has a very good reason to have done it, yet each swears she did not. In order to protect each other, they must figure out who is responsible, all while staying one step ahead of the police. Against the ticking clock of a murder investigation, each woman’s secret is brought to light as the connections between them converge to reveal a killer.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Transmisia & misgendering
  • Outing
  • Rape discussed
  • Adult-minor relationship & grooming
  • Domestic abuse
  • Infidelity
  • Suicide

Sweetpea by C.J. Skuse

Rhiannon is your average girl next door, settled with her boyfriend and little dog but she’s got a killer secret. Although her childhood was haunted by a famous crime, Rhiannon’s life is normal now that her celebrity has dwindled. By day, her job as an editorial assistant is demeaning and unsatisfying. By evening, she dutifully listens to her friends’ plans for marriage and babies while secretly making a list. A kill list. From the man at the grocery checkout who always mishandles her apples, to the driver who cuts her off on her way to work, to the people who have it coming, Rhiannon is ready to get her revenge. Because the girl… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Abortion mentioned
  • Miscarriage mentioned
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Bullying

After That Night by Karin Slaughter

Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton’s life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, Sara has remade her life. A successful doctor, engaged to a man she loves, she has finally managed to leave the past behind her.

Until one evening, on call in the ER, everything changes. Sara battles to save a broken young woman who’s been brutally attacked. But as the investigation progresses, led by GBI Special Agent Will Trent, it becomes clear that Dani Cooper’s assault is uncannily linked to Sara’s… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Graphic rape & sexual assault
  • Domestic abuse
  • Suicide
  • Drugging
  • Physical & psychological torture
  • Stalking
  • Animal cruelty mentioned

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

Greta lives with her friend Sabine in an ancient Dutch farmhouse in Hudson, New York. She spends her days transcribing therapy sessions for a sex coach who calls himself Om. She becomes infatuated with his newest client, a repressed married woman she affectionately refers to as Big Swiss, since she’s tall, stoic, and originally from Switzerland. They both have dark histories, but Big Swiss chooses to remain unattached to her suffering while Greta continues to be tortured by her past… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homomisia
  • Bimisia
  • Rape
  • Cheating
  • Domestic violence
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Suicide recounted
  • Eating disorder
  • Drug use & abuse
  • Physical assault recounted
  • Animal cruelty (dog)

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

Geeta’s no-good husband disappeared five years ago. She didn’t kill him, but everyone thinks she did–no matter how much she protests.

But she soon discovers that being known as a “self-made” widow has some surprising perks. No one messes with her, no one threatens her, and no one tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It’s even been good for her business; no one wants to risk getting on her bad side by not buying her jewelry… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Classism
  • Fatmisia & body-shaming
  • Rape & attempted rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic violence
  • Alcoholism
  • Murder of a husband
  • Acid attacks mentioned

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjej-Brenyah

Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America’s own.

Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America’s increasingly dominant private prison industry. It’s the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Homomisia
  • Rape
  • Self-harm
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Blood, gore & injury depiction
  • Emesis
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Police brutality

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

You were born to a king, but you marry a tyrant. You stand by helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore, and you comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own. Because this was not the first offence against you. This was not the life you ever deserved. And this will not be your undoing. Slowly, you plot.

But when your husband returns in triumph, you become a woman with a choice… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Sexual harassment