Tag Archives: Abusive Relationship

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of abusive relationships, and domestic and intimate partner abuse & violence. This includes all kinds of emotional, verbal, psychological, and physical abuse perpetrated by a spouse or intimate partner.

Hysteria by Megan Miranda

Mallory killed her boyfriend, Brian. She can’t remember the details of that night but everyone knows it was self-defense, so she isn’t charged. But Mallory still feels Brian’s presence in her life. Is it all in her head? Or is it something more? In desperate need of a fresh start, Mallory is sent to Monroe, a fancy prep school where no one knows her . . . or anything about her past.But the feeling follows her, as do her secrets. Then, one of her new classmates turns up dead. As suspicion falls on Mallory, she must find a way to remember the details of both deadly nights so she can prove her innocence-to herself and others. 

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Abusive relationship
  • Murder of a boyfriend by stabbing (theme)

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Child abuse & neglect including emotional abuse and gaslighting
  • Divorce and parental divorce
  • Cheating
  • Parent with alcoholism
  • Social anxiety
  • Disordered eating
  • Postpartum depression
  • Forced institutionalisation
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Suicide of a grandmother from a gunshot
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Recreational drug use
  • Pregnancy and childbirth mentioned
  • Abortion & miscarriage
  • Hospitalisation of a sibling for a lawn mowing accident mentioned
  • Physical injuries mentioned
  • Death of a grandmother from drowning
  • Car accident

The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker

Chrissie is eight and she has a secret: she has just killed a boy. The feeling made her belly fizz like soda pop. Her playmates are tearful and their mothers are terrified, keeping them locked indoors. But Chrissie rules the roost — she’s the best at wall-walking, she knows how to get free candy, and now she has a feeling of power that she never gets at home, where food is scarce and attention scarcer. Twenty years later, adult Chrissie is living in hiding under a changed name. A single mother, all she wants is for her daughter to have the childhood she herself was denied. That’s why the threatening phone calls are so terrifying. People are… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Emotional child abuse & neglect
  • Domestic abuse
  • Hospitalisation
  • Emesis
  • Murder
  • Poisoning
  • Death of a child
  • Incarceration

A Winter in New York by Josie Silver

When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is—all the nostalgic movies set in New York she’d watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn’t quite do it justice. But Bobby, Iris’s best friend, isn’t about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye—could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s? Curious, Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Intimate partner abuse including emotional abuse and confinement recounted
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Relative with memory loss from a stroke mentioned (uncle)
  • Death of a mother from cancer recounted
  • Death of a wife recounted

The Sea in You by Jessi Sheron

15-year-old Corinth was just trying to clean up the beach; she never expected to meet a mermaid, let alone be nearly drowned by one. It was the start of a very strange friendship! After Skylla, the deadly fanged mermaid, mysteriously lets Corinth live, they grow closer through a cautious exchange of stories, gifts, jokes, and sign language. Mermaids, it turns out, eat people, but however terrifying Skylla may look, she’s a little younger, a little smaller, and perhaps a little too soft for all that. Bewitched by Corinth and their growing bond, she learns about all the best things in life on books, burgers, donuts, and this strange… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic abuse
  • Abusive relationship

All Hours by Andie J. Christopher

A RESTLESS ROMANTIC
Felix Pascual misses being someone’s boyfriend, which is why he’s willing to get set up by the only Hernandez he’ll admit to liking (out loud)—Lola. But when he gets to the restaurant he finds that Lola has matched him up with none other than Joaquin Delgado, a man who has never shown one iota of interest in him.. And Joaquin doesn’t seem any more open to Felix’s unique charms this time around.

A SKEPTICAL SUITOR
Joaquin will do anything for his grandmother… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Queermisia mentioned
  • Emotionally abusive relationship recounted
  • Childbirth recounted

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo

The most important thing is that Jess Wong is Angie Redmond’s best friend, even if Angie can’t see how she truly feels. It’s okay that Jess is the girl on the sidelines that nobody notices. That means she’s free to watch everyone else and be at Angie’s side. But when Angie starts falling for Margot, a girl from the nearby boarding school, Jess can already see what’s going to happen. As Angie drags Jess further into Margot’s circle, Jess finds more than her friend’s growing crush. Secrets lie just beneath the carefree surface of this world, and when they come out, Jess knows Angie won’t be able to handle the consequences… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Lesbomisia
  • Homomisia
  • Racism
  • Statutory rape
  • Abusive relationship
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Murder
  • Bullying

Hello, Transcriber by Hannah Morrissey

Every night, while the street lamps shed the only light on Wisconsin’s most crime-ridden city, police transcriber Hazel Greenlee listens as detectives divulge Black Harbor’s gruesome secrets. As an aspiring writer, Hazel believes that writing a novel could be her only ticket out of this frozen hellscape. And then her neighbour confesses to hiding the body of an overdose victim in a dumpster. The suspicious death is linked to Candy Man, a notorious drug dealer. Now Hazel has a first-row seat to the investigation and becomes captivated by the lead detective, Nikolai… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity
  • Abusive relationship
  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Death of a child from a drug overdose
  • Animal hunting & dead bodies, off-page

Love Scenes by Bridget Morrissey

Out-of-work actress Sloane Ford is in desperate need of something to do after losing her steady TV gig. When her famous family ropes her into working as a producer on their World War II-era romance, they neglect to mention that the film will be headlined by Joseph Donovan, her least favourite former co-star of all time. The roguish actor made her life a living hell the last time they worked together, using his movie star good looks and Irish charm to cover for his erratic professional behaviour. On their new film set, he promises he’s different now, but Sloane is… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety
  • Toxic relationship recounted
  • Alcoholism recovery
  • Death of a mother recounted, off-page

Deep Dark Secrets by Keri Beevis

Deep Dark Secrets by Keri Beevis

Lizzie Kent wasn’t supposed to babysit the night she was murdered. She was covering for her best friend, Nell. Nell has lived with the guilt ever since. Eighteen years later Nell returns to the area, desperate to escape a bad relationship after inheriting her aunt’s rundown guesthouse. But her return isn’t welcomed by everyone – in particular Sam Kent, who blames Nell for his sister’s death. And after a few unsettling incidents, it becomes apparent that someone is trying to scare her. Is Sam responsible or has Nell’s abusive ex-boyfriend managed to track her down? Or is someone else, with a more sinister agenda, responsible?

Goodreads • The Story Grap

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Abusive relationship recounted
  • Murder of a friend in a home invasion recounted