Contemporary – Page 50 – Trigger Warning Database

Out of Nowhere by Roan Parrish

Out of Nowhere by Roan Parrish

The only thing in Colin Mulligan’s life that makes sense is taking cars apart and putting them back together. In the auto shop where he works with his father and brothers, he tries to get through the day without having a panic attack or flying into a rage. Drinking helps. So do running and lifting weights until he can hardly stand. But none of it can change the fact that he’s gay, a secret he has kept from everyone. Rafael Guerrera has found ways to live with the past he’s ashamed of. He’s dedicated his life to social justice work and to helping youth who, like him, had very little growing up. He has no time for love. Hell, he barely has time… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Internalised homomisia
Depression
Alcoholism
Suicidal ideation

Natural Enemies by Roan Parrish

Natural Enemies by Roan Parrish

Buttoned-up botanist Stefan Albemarle has felt like an outsider his whole life. As a result, he mostly keeps to himself—makes it easier not to notice that no matter how he tries, people think he’s a know-it-all and a snob. Freewheeling urban gardener Milo Rios has worked hard to get where he is, and he’s passionate about his job at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. He can get along with almost anyone, but no one has ever made him care enough to stick around. When Stefan and Milo meet on Milo’s tour of the Botanic Garden, it’s hatred at first clash. But hatred quickly turns to lust as… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Bullying recounted

The Lights on Knockbridge Lane by Roan Parrish

The Lights on Knockbridge Lane by Roan Parrish

Raising a family was always Adam Mills’ dream, although solo parenting and moving back to tiny Garnet Run certainly were not. After a messy breakup, Adam is doing his best to give his young daughter the life she deserves—including accepting help from their new, reclusive neighbour to fulfil her Christmas wish. Though the little house may not have “the most lights ever,” the Mills home begins to brighten as handsome Wes Mobray spends more time there and slowly sheds his protective layers. But when the eye-catching house ends up in the news, Wes has to make a choice: hide from… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Emotional child abuse recounted
Alcohol consumption
Anxiety & panic attack including arachnophobia
Insomnia
Heart attack mentioned

Better Than People by Roan Parrish

Better Than People by Roan Parrish

Simon Burke has always preferred animals to people. When the countdown to adopting his own dog is unexpectedly put on hold, Simon turns to the PetShare app to find the fluffy TLC he’s been missing. Meeting a grumpy children’s book illustrator who needs a dog walker isn’t easy for the man whose persistent anxiety has coloured his whole life, but Jack Matheson’s menagerie is just what Simon needs. Four dogs, three cats and counting. Jack’s pack of rescue pets is the only company he needs. But when a bad fall leaves him with a broken leg, Jack is forced to admit… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Homophobia & ableism
Social anxiety & anxiety attack
Alcohol consumption
Physical injury, including broken bones & concussion
Emesis
Death of a parent recounted
Death of a grandparent (off-page)
Animal abuse
Bullying mentioned

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Best Laid Plans by Roan Parrish

Best Laid Plans by Roan Parrish

Charlie Matheson has spent his life taking care of things. When his parents died two days before his eighteenth birthday, he took care of his younger brother, even though that meant putting his own dreams on hold. He took care of his father’s hardware store, building it into something known several towns over. He took care of the cat he found in the woods so now he has a cat. When a stranger with epic tattoos and a glare to match starts coming into Matheson’s Hardware, buying things seemingly at random and lugging them off in a car so beat-up Charlie feels bad for it, his instinct is to help. When the man… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Racism & homophobia
Anxiety, panic attack (on-page) & intrusive thoughts
Grief & loss depiction
Death of parents in a car accident recounted
Poverty & eviction recounted

In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish

In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish

Daniel Mulligan is tough, snarky, and tattooed, hiding his self-consciousness behind sarcasm. Daniel has never fit in—not at home in Philadelphia with his auto mechanic father and brothers, and not at school where his Ivy League classmates looked down on him. Now, Daniel’s relieved to have a job at a small college in Holiday, Northern Michigan, but he’s a city boy through and through, and it’s clear that this small town is one more place he won’t fit in. Rex Vale clings to routine to keep loneliness at bay: honing his muscular body, perfecting his recipes, and making custom furniture. Rex has lived in Holiday for years, but his… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Homophobia & outing
Hate crime (‘gay bashing’) leading to the death of the protagonist’s ex-partner and his hospitalisation for injuries
Nightmares
Protagonists with a speech impediment & chronic migraines
Attempted suicide recounted
Death of a father from a heart attack
Death of a mother from pancreatic cancer
Death of a brother from suicide mentioned (secondary character)
Car accident resulting an injured dog (no death)

Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros

Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros

Efrén Nava’s Amá is his Soperwoman, named after the delicious Mexican sopes his mother often prepares. Both Amá and Apá work hard all day to provide for the family, making sure Efrén and his younger siblings Max and Mía feel safe and loved. But Efrén worries about his parents; although he’s American-born, his parents are undocumented. His worst nightmare comes true one day when Amá doesn’t return from work and is deported across the border to Tijuana, México. Now more than ever, Efrén must channel his inner Soperboy to help take care of and try to reunite his family.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Deportation (theme)
ICE raids, off-page

Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Every sorority has its secrets. And college freshman Ginger Carmichael couldn’t care less. She has more important things on her mind, like maintaining her perfect GPA. No matter how much she can’t stand the idea of the cliques and the matching colours, there’s something about the girls of Alpha Beta Omega—their beauty, confidence, and unapologetic sexuality—that draws Ginger in. But once initiation begins, Ginger finds that her pledge is more than a bond of sisterhood, it’s a lifelong pact to serve six bloodthirsty demons with a lot more than nutritional needs… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape mentioned
Sexual assault
Suicide
Blood depiction
Car accident

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed. But it’s not long before… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Sexual assault
Cheating
Anxiety
Depression
Attempted suicide
Self-harm
Abortion mentioned
Death of a sibling

Bending The Rules by Christina Jones

Bending The Rules by Christina C. Jones

Besties, with a whole list of life rules developed over a friendship that started when they were kids. As long as they stuck to the rules, even when they blended a business relationship into the friendship, things went off without a hitch. But then one of them broke the rules – It was Justin. Justin broke the rules- and Toni has been mad about it ever since. She’s spent the last several years travelling the globe to cultivate her business, but now she’s back in town. Her only goals? Help her parents with “Mr. Bestseller’s” signing at the store, help them pack up their house to sell, and get out of town without too much interaction with her former best friend. Mr. Bestseller has different goals…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Infertility