Tag Archives: Abandonment

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of abandonment, including spousal and parental abandonment.

Aru Shah and the City of Gold by Roshani Chokshi

Aru Shah and her sisters–including one who also claims to be the Sleeper’s daughter–must find their mentors Hanuman and Urvashi in Lanka, the city of gold, before war breaks out between the devas and asuras. Aru has just made a wish on the tree of wishes, but she can’t remember what it was. She’s pretty sure she didn’t wish for a new sister, one who looks strangely familiar and claims to be the Sleeper’s daughter, like her. Aru also isn’t sure she still wants to fight on behalf of the devas in the war against the Sleeper and his demon army. The gods have been too devious up to now. Case in point: Kubera, ruler of the… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment & neglect
  • Nightmares
  • Sword violence
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Disappearance of a parent
  • War themes & battle scenes, on-page

Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

War between the devas and the demons is imminent, and the Otherworld is on high alert. When intelligence from the human world reveals that the Sleeper is holding a powerful clairvoyant and her sister captive, 14-year-old Aru and her friends launch a search-and-rescue mission. The captives, a pair of twins, turn out to be the newest Pandava sisters, though, according to a prophecy, one sister is not true. During the celebration of Holi, the heavenly attendants stage a massage PR rebranding campaign to convince everyone that the Pandavas are to be trusted. As much as Aru relishes the attention, she fears that she is destined to… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment & neglect
  • Mentions of experiences in the foster care system
  • Nightmares
  • Drugging
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Poisoning
  • Kidnapping

Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung

In 1948, civil war ravages the Chinese countryside, but in rural Shandong, the wealthy, landowning Angs are more concerned with their lack of an heir. Hai is the eldest of four girls and spends her days looking after her sisters. Headstrong Di, who is just a year younger, learns to hide in plain sight, and their mother—abused by the family for failing to birth a boy—finds her own small acts of rebellion in the kitchen. As the Communist army closes in on their town, the rest of the prosperous household flees, leaving behind the girls and their mother because they view them as useless mouths to feed. Without an Ang male to punish, the…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Graphic misogyny (theme)
  • Spousal & parental abandonment
  • Physical & verbal domestic by parent-in-law
  • Torture

Final Offer by Lauren Asher

Callahan. I’m the Kane brother everyone gossips about behind closed doors. Trust fund brat. Washed-up athlete. High-functioning alcoholic. No one knows the real me but her. Lana Castillo—my childhood best friend and the only woman I ever loved. When I broke her heart six years ago, I promised to never return to Lake Wisteria. I kept my word until my grandfather’s will changed everything. To receive my inheritance, I was tasked with spending a summer at the family lake house before selling it. The request was simple in theory until my entire plan blew up on the very first day. Turns out Lana doesn’t just live at the house, but… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Emotional & verbal child abuse
  • Substance addiction & alcoholism
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Drug use (smoking)
  • Overdose recounted
  • Infertility
  • Cancer
  • Death of a grandfather
  • Animal abuse

The Marquis Who Mustn’t by Courtney Milan

One good fraud deserves another… Miss Naomi Kwan has long wanted to take ambulance classes so that she can save lives. But when she tries to register, she’s told she needs permission from the man in charge of her. It would be incredibly wrong to claim that the tall, taciturn Chinese nobleman she just met is her fiancé, but Naomi is desperate, and desperate times call for fake engagements. To her unending surprise, Liu Ji Kai goes along with her ruse. It’s not that Kai is nice. He’s in Wedgeford to practice his family business, and there’s no room for “nice” when you’re out to… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Racism
  • Child abuse & parental abandonment recounted

At First Spite by Olivia Dade

When Athena Greydon’s fiancé ends their engagement, she has no choice but to move into the Spite House she recklessly bought him as a wedding gift. This is a problem, for several reasons: The house, originally built as a brick middle finger to the neighbours, is only ten feet wide. Her ex’s home is attached to hers. And Dr. Matthew Vine the Freaking Third (aka the uptight, judgmental jerk who convinced his younger brother to leave her) is living on the other side, only a four-foot alley away. If she has to see Matthew every time she looks out the windows, she might as… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment & neglect recounted
  • Depression & depressive episode, on-page
  • Anxiety
  • Death of an infant sibling recounted, on-page

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 4 by Mizuho Kusanagi

Princess Yona lives an ideal life as the only princess of her kingdom. Doted on by her father, the king, and protected by her faithful guard Hak, she cherishes the time spent with the man she loves, Su-won. But everything changes on her 16th birthday when tragedy strikes her family! While on a quest to find the Four Legendary Dragon Warriors, Yona and her friends meet Gija, the White Dragon. Gija uses his power to detect the other Dragons, but locating the Blue Dragon proves to be more difficult than expected, and the group runs into a string of disasters!

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abandonment
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Attempted kidnapping

Play to Win by Jodie Slaughter

Miriam Butler’s life is going nowhere in the slowest, most excruciating way possible. Stuck in the same barely-paying job she’s had since she was sixteen and spending every night sleeping in the spare twin bed in her mother’s house, her existence might be hilarious if it wasn’t so bleak. One trip to her favourite Quickie Mart upends everything when she finds herself the winner of a Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot. Unfortunately, not even life-altering roses come without their painful thorns. Hers just so happen to be in the form of an estranged husband who has the right to claim his share of her money. It’s been eight years since… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Marital abandonment & estrangement
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of parents & a caregiver (aunt)
  • Poverty

Sabotage by Shantel Tessier

Colton: Raylee Lexington Adams is my stepsister and the one woman in the world who can make my blood boil. She’s vindictive, a lot of crazy, and absolutely stunning. I hate everything about her except for when she’s on her knees begging me to use her as my own personal toy. We’ve been playing a game of cat and mouse for far too long. We have used each other for our own sick pleasure. I’ve ruined every relationship my little princess has ever had. A sure way that she’ll come crawling back to me, begging me for what only I can give her when another man fails her. But I’m tired of watching others get a piece of what is… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny & slut-shaming
  • Rape by an ex-partner, on-page
  • Sexual assault
  • Intimate partner violence & emotional abuse
  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Infidelity
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use (cigarettes, marijuana)
  • Involuntary body modifications
  • Consensual blood & knife play
  • Death of a mother recounted
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Physical assault
  • Attempted strangulation
  • Car accident & car fire (arson)
  • Whipping

*Context : The female protagonist (FMC) is kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend to be raped, mutilated, and killed; she murders him after being raped. The male protagonist (MMC) kidnaps the FMC’s boyfriend, forces him to watch him have sex with the FMC, and orchestrates his friends to sexually assault him. The MMC also has these friends tape him having sex with the FMC without her consent and releases the video, again, without her consent. The FMC cheats on her boyfriend with MMC. The MMC carves his name into FMC’s skin without her consent.

Sanctuary with Kings by Kathryn Moon

Evanthia has spent half her life trapped inside the Seven Veils. When the house crumbles, she seizes her moment and runs from Birsha and his twisted pleasures. But pleasure is what she needs to survive, and the dark streets of London leave her starving and vulnerable. Rescued by a mysterious monster who vows her sanctuary, Evanthia must piece back the woman that Birsha tore apart. Quiet sanctuary is no cure for her endless hunger, but the war brewing on the horizon is the last place she wants to be. Hiding with sleeping dragons and lonely monsters in a castle made from dreams might be a fantasy, but it’s not… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Human & sex trafficking recounted
  • Rape recounted
  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Weight loss & gain mentioned
  • Starvation recounted
  • Emesis
  • Death of both parents recounted
  • Murder
  • Torture, off-page
  • Kidnapping & captivity