Tag Archives: Abandonment

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

A Girl Called Corpse by Reece Carter

A Girl Called Corpse by Reece Carter

With a body made of wax, seaweed for hair and polished abalone shells for eyes, Corpse is bound to haunt the Witches’ sea shack forever. She has no memory of the kid she was before she was snatched and ended up on the rock-that-doesn’t-exist. But the delivery of an unexpected message sets Corpse off on a surprising quest, searching for answers to the old and familiar questions that have filled her not-brain since the day she first woke up a ghost. Questions about her name. Questions about her family. With only her eight-legged friend Simon for company, Corpse heads into the unknown. There will be danger cruelly… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment mentioned,
  • Memory loss
  • Physical injuries including burns
  • Body horror
  • Death of a mother and father mentioned
  • Murder and attempted murder of a child
  • Near-drowning incident
  • Loss of autonomy discussed (possession)
  • Animal death (bird, spider)

Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer – her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother’s obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Parent with Bipolar Disorder including manic and depressive episodes
  • Attempted suicide of a parent by overdose, off-page
  • Bullying

Nanny for the Neighbors by Lily Gold

Nanny for the Neighbors by Lily Gold

‘To the boys in apartment 5A. Congratulations. You have a kid.’ That’s what the note attached to the abandoned baby carrier says. And now my three gorgeous neighbors are in deep trouble. None of them have a clue how to look after the baby that’s been left on their doorstep. Luckily, there’s a nanny in the building. I can barely believe my eyes when the sizzling boys next door come knocking for my help. The truth is, I’ve been secretly crushing on the guys in 5A for years—and now I finally have an excuse to meet them all. There’s Jack, the sweet, nerdy game designer with the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment
  • Child abandonment
  • Foster care system
  • Anxiety & depression
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Infertility
  • Bullying

Enemies With Benefits by Roxie Noir

Enemies With Benefits by Roxie Noir

Eli Loveless was my nemesis from the first day of kindergarten until we graduated high school. Everything I did, he had to do better – and vice versa. The day he left town was the best day of my life. Ten years later, the day he came back was the worst. Now he’s my co-worker. Grown-up Eli Loveless is sexy as sin. He’s hotter than asphalt in the summer. The irritating kid I once knew is gone, and he’s been replaced by a man with green eyes, perfect abs, and a cocky smile. It’s bad that I want him. It’s worse that he… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Nonconsensual distribution of nude photographs
  • Sexual harassment
  • Slut shaming
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a father mentioned
  • Death of a mother from lung cancer mentioned
  • Bullying recounted

The Curse of Broken Shadows by Laura Winter

The Curse of Broken Shadows by Laura Winter

Shadow magic is extinct. The Veil Worshippers who honour the shadow god’s wall are hunted for their artifacts, including the Veil shards that break off the wall in Valisea. Brela vows to steal it all back. With the dagger of her people and a Veil shard embedded in her collarbone that has infected her with shadow-cursed magic, she is determined to keep her secrets or suffer a fate worse than death. That was a lot easier when the uptight and infuriatingly handsome Captain Cason Valkip wasn’t hunting her. Cason has spent his entire life hiding from the raids on Valisea, from,… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexism
  • Abandonment
  • Rape & sexual assault mentioned
  • Physical & emotional child abuse mentioned
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & trauma
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder & genocide
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping
  • Fire

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Nooks and Crannies by Jessica Lawson

Nooks & Crannies by Jessica Lawson

Tabitha Crum is a girl with a big imagination and a love for mystery novels, though her parents think her only talent is being a nuisance. She doesn’t have a friend in the world, except her pet mouse, Pemberley, with whom she shares her dingy attic bedroom. Then, on the heels of a rather devastating announcement made by her mother and father, Tabitha receives a mysterious invitation to the country estate of the wealthy but reclusive Countess of Windermere, whose mansion is rumoured to be haunted. There, she finds herself among five other children, none of them,… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Child abuse & neglect

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase

Tough-minded Jessica Trent’s sole intention is to free her nitwit brother from the destructive influence of Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Dain. She never expects to desire the arrogant, amoral cad. And When Dain’s reciprocal passion places them in a scandalously compromising, and public, position, Jessica is left with no choice but to seek satisfaction. Damn the minx for tempting him, kissing him and then for forcing him to salvage her reputation! Lord Dain can’t wait to put the infuriating bluestocking in her place and in some amorous position. And if this means marriage, so be it though Sebastian is less… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexism
  • Racism
  • Antizganism
  • Sex worker shaming
  • Parental abandonment
  • Arson
  • Bullying recounted

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade

Maria’s one-night-stand–the thick-thighed, sexy Viking of a man she left without a word or a note–just reappeared. Apparently, Peter’s her surly Gods of the Gates co-star, and they’re about to spend the next six years filming on a desolate Irish island together. She still wants him…but he now wants nothing to do with her. Peter knows this role could finally transform him from a forgettable character actor into a leading man. He also knows a failed relationship with Maria could poison the set, and he won’t sabotage his career for a woman who’s already walked away from him once. Given time, maybe they can be cooper… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Fatmisia
  • Sexism
  • Parental abandonment
  • Cheating mentioned
  • Experiences in the foster care system recounted
  • Depression
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Death of a parent

Down London Road by Samantha Young

Down London Road by Samantha Young

It has always been up to Johanna to care for her family, particularly her younger brother, Cole. With an absent father and a useless mother, she’s been making decisions based on what’s best for Cole for as long as she can remember. She even determines what men to date by how much they can provide for her brother and her, not on whatever sparks may—or may not—fly. But with Cameron MacCabe, the attraction is undeniable. The sexy new bartender at work gives her butterflies every time she looks at him. And for once, Jo is tempted to put her needs first. Cam is just as… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Parent with alcoholism

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan

Love demands sacrifice. Her blood. Her body. Even her life. Singapore, 1927. Verity Edevane needs blood. And not just anyone’s blood. She craves the sweet, salty rush from a young woman’s veins, the heady swirl of desire mixed with fealty—such a rarity in this foreign colony. It’s a lot to ask. But doesn’t she deserve the best? Gean Choo needs money. Mrs. Edevane makes her an offer Gean Choo can’t refuse. But who is her strange, alluring new mistress? What is she? And what will Gean Choo sacrifice to earn her love?… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Rape
  • Child sexual abuse recounted
  • Dubious consent scenarios, including employer-employee relationship
  • Child abandonment
  • Emotional & physical child abuse recounted
  • Abusive relationship
  • Cheating
  • Attempted suicide
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Self-harm & self-inflicted injury
  • Recreational drug use
  • Death during childbirth mentioned
  • Physical injury, including a broken nose
  • Cannibalism
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Physical assault