Entries – Page 419 – Trigger Warning Database

The Monster by L.J. Shen

The Monster by L.J. Shen

The most important thing I’d ever read was scribbled on the door of a portable restroom, engraved into plastic at a carnival on the outskirts of Boston. Lust lingers, love stays. Lust is impatient, love waits. Lust burns, love warms. Lust destroys, but love? Love kills. Maybe it was always my destiny to fall in love with a monster. When other kids stayed awake at night fearing the pointy-toothed beast hiding in their closet, I longed to see mine. I wanted to feed it, domesticate it, understand it. Sam and I were only allowed to love each other in the dark. Once our story unfolded, and the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Suicide
Self-harm
Drug use
Overdose
Miscarriage & stillbirth mentioned
Abortion mentioned
Murder

The Hunter by L.J. Shen

The Hunter by L.J. Shen

Hunter. I didn’t mean to star in a sex tape, okay? It was just one of those unexplainable things. Like Stonehenge, Police Academy 2, and morning glory clouds. It just happened. Now my ball-busting father is sentencing me to six months of celibacy, sobriety, and morbid boredom under the roof of Boston’s nerdiest girl alive, Sailor Brennan. The virginal archer is supposed to babysit my ass while I learn to take my place in Royal Pipelines, my family’s oil company. Little does she know, that’s not the only pipe I’ll be laying… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child abuse & neglect
Alcohol consumption
Blackmail
Animal death

Defy by L.J. Shen

Defy by L.J. Shen

My name is Melody Greene, and I have a confession to make. I slept with my student, a senior in high school. Multiple times. I had multiple orgasms. In multiple positions. I slept with my student and I enjoyed it. I slept with my student and I’d do it all over again if I could turn back time. My name is Melody Greene, and I got kicked out of my position as a teacher and did my walk of shame a la Cersei Lannister from the principal’s office, minutes after said principal threatened to call the cops on me. My name is Melody Greene, and here is why it was totally worth it.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Teacher-student relationship

Bane by L.J. Shen

Bane by L.J. Shen

Bane. Naked surfer. Habitual pothead. A con, a liar, a thief and a fraud. Last I heard, he was extorting the rich and screwing their wives for a living. Which is why I’m more than a little surprised to find him at my threshold, looking for my friendship, my services, and most puzzling of all—looking humbled. Thing is, I’m on a boycott. Literally—I cut boys from my life. Permanently.
Problem is, Bane is not a boy, he is all man, and I’m falling, crashing, drowning in his sweet, perfect lies. Jesse Carter. Hot as hell, cold as ice. I wasn’t aware of her existence until a fat, juicy deal landed… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Sex work
Rape, on-page
Gang rape, off-page
Suicide, off-page
Drug use
Pregnancy
Forced abortion, off-page

Blood to Dust by L.J. Shen

Blood to Dust by L.J. Shen

His name is Beat, and I should hate him. Bound, blindfolded and bruised, I’m tied in his basement, waiting for the men who stripped me from clothes and humanity to collect his debt to them. Me. His name is Nate and I should hate him, but I don’t. I’m not supposed to know his real name, even worse, I’m not supposed to care. He is nothing to me but means to an end. The plan is simple: break free, collect the pieces of my broken soul, kill the bastards and run away. His name is Nathaniel Thomas Vela, and I’ve never seen his face, though I hear that it’s beautiful… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Unplanned pregnancy
Forced abortion
Graphic murder
Captivity

The Weight of Silence byHeather Gudenkauf

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

It happens quietly one August morning. As dawn’s shimmering light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing in the night. Seven-year-old Calli Clark is sweet, gentle, a dreamer who suffers from selective mutism brought on by tragedy that pulled her deep into silence as a toddler. Calli’s mother, Antonia, tried to be the best mother she could within the confines of marriage to a mostly absent, often angry husband. Now, though she denies that her husband could be involved in the possible abductions, she fears her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Selective mutism
Parent with alcoholism
Disappearance of a child

This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

Twenty-five years ago, the body of sixteen-year-old Eve Knox was found in the caves near her home in small-town Grotto, Iowa—discovered by her best friend, Maggie, and her sister, Nola. There were a handful of suspects, including her boyfriend, Nick, but without sufficient evidence, the case ultimately went cold. For decades Maggie was haunted by Eve’s death and that horrible night. Now a detective in Grotto, and seven months pregnant, she is thrust back into the past when a new piece of evidence surfaces and the case is reopened. As Maggie investigates and reexamines the clues and secrets about what really… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Victim-blaming
Sexual assault
Statutory rape
Abusive relationship
Suicidal ideation
Infertility & pregnancy loss
Murder of a friend recounted
Death of a parent
Animal death & cruelty

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf

When teenager Allison Glenn is sent to prison for a heinous crime, she leaves behind her reputation as Linden Falls’ golden girl forever. Her parents deny the existence of their once-perfect child. Her former friends exult her downfall. Her sister, Brynn, faces whispered rumours every day in the hallways of their small Iowa high school. It’s Brynn–shy, quiet Brynn–who carries the burden of what really happened that night. All she wants is to forget Allison and the past that haunts her. But then Allison is released to a halfway house and is more determined than ever to speak with her estranged sister. Now their legacy of secrets is… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Suicide
Murder & attempted murder
Drowning

Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf

Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf

When a tragic accident leaves nurse Amelia Winn deaf, she spirals into a depression that ultimately causes her to lose everything that matters–her job, her husband, David, and her stepdaughter, Nora. Now, two years later and with the help of her hearing dog, Stitch, she is finally getting back on her feet. But when she discovers the body of a fellow nurse in the dense bush by the river, deep in the woods near her cabin, she is plunged into a disturbing mystery that could shatter the carefully reconstructed pieces of her life all over again. As clues begin to surface, Amelia finds her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Depression
Physical assault resulting in loss of hearing
Dead body
Murder & attempted murder
Animal injury (dog)

Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf

Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf

Sarah Quinlan’s husband, Jack, has been haunted for decades by the untimely death of his mother when he was just a teenager, her body found in the cellar of their family farm, the circumstances a mystery. For years Jack has avoided returning home, but when his beloved aunt Julia is in an accident, Jack and Sarah are forced to confront the past that they have long evaded. Upon arriving, Sarah and Jack are welcomed by the family Jack left behind all those years ago. But as facts about Julia’s accident begin to surface, Sarah realizes that nothing about the Quinlans is what it seems. Sarah dives deep into the puzzling rabbit hole of… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Physical injury
Overdose
Murder
Car accident