Contemporary – Page 3 – Trigger Warning Database

A Photo Finish by Elsie Silver

I’ve seen every square inch of Violet Eaton’s delectable body and she has no idea who I am. Until now. What happened between us online, in our chats, was meant to stay anonymous and in the past. Until it didn’t. It’s a small world, but Ruby Creek is even smaller. When I move to the tiny town, the grumpy facade I’ve created slips when we’re forced to live under the same roof. Every flush of her cheeks, every time her eyes flare with heat, every time she begs me not to stop, the ice I’ve encased myself in melts. She has me wanting things I can’t want. Things I’ve been dreaming about since I first laid eyes on her two years ago—things I… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Body-shaming
Military-related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Leg amputation during military service recounted
Death of a parent mentioned

A False Start by Elsie Silver

I kissed my best friend’s little sister, and the world stood still. That night we were two perfect strangers, the town’s grumpy recluse and a gorgeous girl in the back of a bar. Until we weren’t. Because Nadia Dalca isn’t just some girl. She’s the girl I can’t have. Fourteen years younger than me and completely off-limits. My plan is to stay away, but the universe keeps pushing us together. It’s like some sort of cosmic joke, to give me a taste of something so electric—so real—something that breathed life back into me. Because I can look, but I can’t touch. Her sinful curves, her light… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Child abuse reounted
Domestic abuse mentioned (secondary characters)
Traumatic brain injury & concussion mentioned
Alcoholism

Heartless by Elsie Silver

Cade Eaton is thirteen years older than I am and barely looks my way. Until I get him into the hot tub one night for a game of truth or dare. Then all bets are off—and so are our clothes. He’s gruff, a little rough around the edges. But broad-shouldered ranchers with calloused hands and filthy mouths are this city girl’s kryptonite. So who am I to resist? But it’s in our quiet moments together that he softens. It’s when he takes care of me that I realize his hardened exterior is just a façade. It’s when I watch him go all sweet with his little boy that I really fall for him. Someone convinced… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Parental & spousal abandonment
Infidelity*
Pregnancy (unplanned)
Miscarriage
Physical injury (broken fingers)
Emesis
Hospitalisation
Death of a mother during childbirth recounted

Context : The hero’s ex-wife abandoned him and their son.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Rachel has always been the consummate good girl—until her thirtieth birthday, when her best friend, Darcy, throws her a party. That night, after too many drinks, Rachel ends up in bed with Darcy’s fiancé. Although she wakes up determined to put the one-night fling behind her, Rachel is horrified to discover that she has genuine feelings for the one guy she should run from. As the September wedding date nears, Rachel knows she has to make a choice. In doing so, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren’t always neat, and sometimes you have to risk all to win true happiness.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Infidelity

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life–until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who has captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Military enlistment & service (protagonist)
Death of a father

The Other Brother by Tierney Page

All I ever wanted was a love like my parents had—something deep, irrevocable, and all-consuming. The kind of love that’s written about in stories. And I thought I found it with Lucas, my fiancé. We had it the house, the cat, and the promise of a future full of possibilities. Until everything fell apart. I discovered his secret. Heart-broken and betrayed, I convinced myself that I’d never find anything like what Lucas and I shared. He was my everything. Then one night, I ran into his younger brother, James. He’s a musician—complicated, intense, and nothing like Lucas. And yet, I can’t deny the pull I feel toward him. I’m drawn to him in… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Infidelity by ex-partner (off-page)
Parent with depression (off page)
Death of parents (off page)

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson

Sage’s thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn’t predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. And even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life — and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Death from a heart attack mentioned
Hospitalisation for cancer & terminal illness discussed
Grief & loss depiction (theme)
Death of a child & best friend in a hit-and-run drunk-driving car accident
Police brutality

The Launch Date by Annabelle Slator

Grace Hastings’s dream job at the popular “true love” dating app, Fate, has turned into a nightmare. Her boss is a leech, her career is stagnating, and her fiancé has just brutally dumped her. Her hope for finding her own love story is waning, and she feels like a fraud for promoting a concept she no longer believes in. When the company’s CEO offers her an opportunity to earn a big promotion, she resolves to fight her imposter syndrome to show she deserves a seat at the table. The opportunity? To launch a brand-new app focusing on IRL dating and genuine connection… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Parental abandonment
Parental infidelity mnetuoned
Depression
Workplace bullying & mentions of childhood bullying

There’s Always Next Year by Leah Johnson and George M. Johnson

Andy was supposed to shed her too-serious student journalist persona and reinvent herself on New Year’s Eve. Instead, she puked on her crush, dropped her phone in a fish tank, and managed to get her car stolen. Now, she only has the first day of the year to stop the gentrification that’s threatening her family’s business right her wrongs from the night before, and figure out why she feels so drawn to the electric new-girl-next-door. . How can Andy find her voice when everything’s being turned upside down? Dominique is an influencer on the verge of securing a major brand deal that will ensure his future and family legacy. But… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Racism & classism
Gentrification

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong…unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—Samantha is forced to admit the truth… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Infidelity (secondary character, on-page)
Physical & emotional child abuse recounted & discussed (off-page)
Parent with dementia (on-page)
Animal abuse & neglect mentioned