Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town… until River West comes along. River rents the guest house behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more?

Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery… who makes you want to kiss back.

Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Slut-shaming
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Domestic violence
  • Suicide
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Death of a child
  • Murder
  • Fire
  • Disappearance of a child
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The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

Calla Fletcher wasn’t even two when her mother took her and fled the Alaskan wild, unable to handle the isolation of the extreme, rural lifestyle, leaving behind Calla’s father, Wren Fletcher, in the process. Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when Calla learns that Wren’s days may be numbered, she knows that it’s time to make the long trip back to the remote frontier town where she was born.

She braves the roaming wildlife, the odd daylight hours, the exorbitant prices, and even the occasional—dear God—outhouse, all for the chance to connect with her father: a man who, despite his many faults, she can’t help but care for. While she struggles to adjust to this rugged environment, Jonah—the unkempt, obnoxious, and proud Alaskan pilot … Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Body shaming
  • Parental abandonment
  • Parent with terminal cancer
  • Death of a parent
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The Burning Girls by CJ Tudor

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

Welcome to Chapel Croft. Five hundred years ago, eight protestant martyrs were burned at the stake here. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared without a trace. And two months ago, the vicar of the local parish killed himself.

Reverend Jack Brooks, a single parent with a fourteen-year-old daughter and a heavy conscience, arrives in the village hoping to make a fresh start and find some peace. Instead, Jack finds a town mired in secrecy and a strange welcome package: an old exorcism kit and a note quoting scripture. “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.” … Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist slurs (r slur)
  • Homomisia
  • Attempted rape
  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse
  • Child abuse
  • Suicide
  • Death of a child
  • Murder
  • Animal death (bird)
  • Bullying
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The Hiding Place by CJ Tudor

The Hiding Place by C.J. Tudor

Also known as The Taking of Annie Thorne.

Joe never wanted to come back to Arnhill. After the way things ended with his old gang—the betrayal, the suicide—and what happened when his sister went missing, the last thing he wanted to do was return to his hometown. But Joe doesn’t have a choice after a chilling email surfaces in his inbox.

Lying his way into a teaching job at his former high school is the easy part. Facing off with onetime friends who aren’t too happy to have him back in town is tougher. But the hardest part of all will be returning to the abandoned mine and finally confronting the horrifying truth about Arnhill, his sister, and himself. Because for Joe, the worst moment of his life wasn’t the day his sister went missing.

It was the day she came back.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Suicide
  • Blood depiction
  • Death of a sibling & parent recounted
  • Murder
  • Physical assault
  • Bullying
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Children of the Whales, Vol. 13 by Abi Umeda

Children of the Whales, Vol. 13 by Abi Umeda

In an endless sea of sand drifts the Mud Whale, a floating island city of clay and magic. In its chambers a small community clings to survival, cut off from its own history by the shadows of the past.

Orca has captured Ouni and Lykos, and seems to have no further interest in Amonlogia or the Mud Whale. But the chaos he left behind continues to reverberate as Rochalízo is forced to make a critical choice and Suou must face the true burden of leadership. Meanwhile, the eyes of the mysterious Emperor have turned toward this far-flung battle on the sands, and his attention does not bode well for anyone.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Gun violence
  • War themes & military violence
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Children of the Whales, Vol. 12 by Abi Umeda

Children of the Whales, Vol. 12 by Abi Umeda

In an endless sea of sand drifts the Mud Whale, a floating island city of clay and magic. In its chambers a small community clings to survival, cut off from its own history by the shadows of the past.

Chakuro and the other Marked children have freed the Unmarked from the Amonlogian dungeon, but their rescue mission is far from over. The people of the Mud Whale still need to get back to their island home, and the path to safety is blocked by imperial soldiers. Even worse, Orca is determined to secure Ouni in order to carry out his cataclysmic plans!

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Body horror
  • War themes & military violence
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Children of the Whales, Vol. 11 by Abi Umeda

Children of the Whales, Vol. 11 by Abi Umeda

In an endless sea of sand drifts the Mud Whale, a floating island city of clay and magic. In its chambers a small community clings to survival, cut off from its own history by the shadows of the past.

Orca and his imperial troops have arrived at Amonlogia, and Chakuro and the other Marked hope to use the chaos as cover for a rescue operation. But as they attempt to breach the castle to save Suou and the Ummarked, Orca sets out on a diabolical mission of his own. Can Lykos keep her brother from causing more harm, even if it means killing him?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Suicide discussed
  • War themes & military violence
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Sugar and Spite by Gail D Villanueva

Sugar & Spite by Gail D. Villaneuva

Jolina can’t take Claudine’s bullying any longer! The taunts and teasing are too much. Though Jolina knows she’s still in-training to use her grandfather’s arbularyo magic, she sneaks into his potions lab to get her revenge. Jolina brews a batch of gayuma, a powerful love potion.

And it works. The love potion conquers Claudine’s hateful nature. In fact, Claudine doesn’t just stop bullying Jolina — now she wants to be Jolina’s BFF, and does everything and anything Jolina asks.

But magic comes with a cost, and bad intentions beget bad returns. Controlling another person’s ability to love — or hate — will certainly have consequences. The magic demands payment, and it is about to come for Jolina in the form of a powerful storm…

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Internalised colourism
  • Bullying
  • Typhoon
  • Death of a pet
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Come November by Katrin van Dam

Come November by Katrin van Dam

It’s not the end of the world, but for Rooney Harris it’s starting to feel that way. It’s the beginning of senior year and her mom just lost her job. Even worse, she isn’t planning to get another one. Instead, she’s spending every waking moment with a group called the Next World Society, whose members are convinced they’ll be leaving Earth behind on November 17. It sounds crazy to Rooney, but to her mother and younger brother it sounds like salvation. As her mom’s obsession threatens to tear their lives apart, Rooney is scrambling to hold it all together. But will saving her family mean sacrificing her dreams—or theirs?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Child neglect & parental abandonment
  • Depression
  • Attempted suicide
  • Cults
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Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Area X has been cut off from the rest of the world for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer.

The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Intimate partner violence recounted
  • Suicide & attempted suicide discussed
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood & gore depiction, including physical injuries
  • Dead bodies
  • Terminal cancer recounted
  • Hospital mentioned
  • Death of a husband recounted
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Mind control & loss of autonomy (theme)
  • Animal attack
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