Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

With ailing family to support, Evie Sage’s employment status isn’t just important, it’s vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer—naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.

But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Attempted sexual assault & sexual harassment
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Death of a brother recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Sword violence

*Context: The protagonist’s mother abandoned her after she accidentally killed her son, the protgaonist’s brother.

Friends Forever by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham

Shannon is in eighth grade, and life is more complicated than ever. Everything keeps changing. Her classmates are starting to date each other (but nobody wants to date her!), and no matter how hard she tries, Shannon can never seem to just be happy. As she works through her insecurities and undiagnosed depression, she worries about disappointing all the people who care about her. Is something wrong with her? Can she be the person everyone expects her to be? And who does she actually want to be?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment of a minor*
  • Alcohol consumption mentioned
  • Bullying

Context: The protagonist is groped by a shopping centre Father Christmas who tells her he ‘wants’ her.

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean

The brilliant, bespectacled daughter of a double marquess cares more for books than balls, for science than the season, and for laboratories than love. She’s looking forward to marrying her simple fiancé and living out her days quietly with her dogs and her scientific experiments. But before that, Pippa has two weeks to experience all the rest—fourteen days to research the exciting parts of life. It’s not much time, and to do it right she needs a guide familiar with London’s darker corners. She needs Cross, the clever, controlled partner in London’s most exclusive gaming hell, with a carefully crafted reputation for wickedness. But… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical sexism & ableist language
  • Sexual harassment
  • Gambling & mentions of gambling addiction
  • Death of a brother recounted
  • Blackmail

The Wedding of Molly O’Flaherty by Sierra Simone

The Wedding of Molly O’Flaherty by Sierra Simone

One empty bed. One bold plan. One tragedy that changes everything. – Silas Cecil-Coke is not a man who is easily dissuaded. So when Molly leaves him without a word of goodbye, he is even more determined to save her from her enemies and claim her as his bride. But neither of them are prepared for the betrayals and tragedies that await them before they can even approach the altar…

GoodreadsThe Story Grap

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape recounted
  • Sexual harassment of a teenager
  • Grey-area cheating
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Unplanned pregnancy
  • Death of a brother & sister-in-law from cholera
  • Erotic asphyxiation

The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

Tansy Adams’ greatest love is her family’s bookstore, passed down from her late father. But when it comes to actual romance… Tansy can’t get past the first chapter. Tired of her stepfamily’s questions about her love life, Tansy invents Gemma, a fake girlfriend inspired by the stunning cover model on a bestselling book. They’ll never actually meet, so what’s the harm in a little fib? Yet when real-life Gemma crosses Tansy’s path, her white lie nearly implodes. Gemma van Dalen is a wild child, the outcast of her wealthy family, and now the latest heir to Van Dalen Publishing. But… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Revenge pornography of a minor recounted
  • Sexual harassment
  • Anxiety
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Emesis mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent

A Thorn in the Saddle by Rebekah Weatherspoon

A Thorn in the Saddle by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Ranch owner Jesse Pleasant always felt too big for his desert town–literally–and too brutish to fit in with his charming, cowboy brothers. After his temper gets the best of him one time too many, he’s ready to accept the truth: he’s cursed to be alone. But when the Senate selection committee comes looking for a man of his public standing, he knows this might be his chance to prove to his family and friends that he can keep his cool, all while giving back to his community. There’s only one problem. While Jesse definitely has a mind for business, his people skills are more than… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Workplace sexual harassment mentioned
  • Pregnancy mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Injury
  • Home invasion

So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon

So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Desperate times call for desperate measures… And desperate is the only way to describe Kayla Davis’s current situation. Out of work and almost out of money to cover her bills, Kayla finally caves to her roommate’s nagging and follows her to Arrangements, an online dating site that matches pretty young women with older men of a certain tax bracket.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Fatmisia
  • Homomisia mentioned
  • Slut shaming
  • Sexual assault
  • Sexual harassment
  • Parent with dementia
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Financial difficulties (theme)

If the Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon

If the Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Working as the personal assistant to one of Hollywood’s cruellest divas has left Amanda Queen more determined than ever to sell her screenplay and gain her independence. In the meantime, she’ll settle for a temporary escape. When her employer is felled by the flu on Hollywood’s biggest night of the year, Amanda gets her glam on, struts out the door, and parties with the glitterati. But she never expects to come face to face—and closer than close—with one of the hottest stars in the game. Following up his first Oscar win with a steamy after-hours romp with an enigmatic woman seems like the perfect way for actor Sam… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism & white supremacy
  • Workplace harassment
  • Weight loss & disordered eating mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption

At Her Feet by Rebekah Weatherspoon

At Her Feet by Rebekah Weatherspoon

During a night of Web surfing for celeb gossip and masturbatory material, digital marketing producer Suzanne Kim stumbles across an intriguing thread while checking her profile on kinklife.com. Suzanne isn’t exactly looking, but the request for a very specific type of submissive from the attractive mistress, Mami-P, is hard to resist. Though the two hit it off during their first online conversation, Suzanne never imagines how strong their real-life attraction and compatibility will be. After a few missteps in training, trust, and communication, Suzanne finds a deep… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Workplace sexual harassment

Love from Scratch by Kaitlyn Hill

Love from Scratch by Kaitlyn Hill

This summer, Reese Camden is trading sweet tea and Southern hospitality for cold brew and crisp coastal air. She’s landed her dream marketing internship at Friends of Flavor, a wildly popular cooking channel in Seattle. The only problem? Benny Beneventi, the relentlessly charming, backwards-baseball-cap-wearing culinary intern–and her main competition for the fall job. Reese’s plan to keep work a No Feelings Zone crumbles like a day-old muffin when she and Benny are thrown together for a video shoot that goes viral, making them the internet’s newest ship. Audiences are… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Misogyny
  • Slut -shaming
  • Homomisia mentioned
  • Sexual harassment
  • Cyberbullying & online harassment