Animal Cruelty, Abuse & Torture – Page 17

RoseBlood by AG Howard

RoseBlood by AG Howard

Rune Germaine moves to a boarding school outside of Paris, only to discover that at this opera-house-turned-music-conservatory, phantoms really do exist. RoseBlood is a Phantom of the Opera–inspired retelling in which Rune’s biggest talent—her voice—is also her biggest curse. Rune, whose voice has been compared to that of an angel, has a mysterious affliction linked to her talent that leaves her sick and drained at the end of every performance. Convinced creative direction will cure her, her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Antiziganism
Emotional & physical parental abuse
Human & sex trafficking
Stillbirth
Death of a parent from cancer
Kidnapping & hostage situation
Animal cruelty
Bullying
Poverty themes

The Diabolic by SJ Kincaid

The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

Nemesis is a Diabolic, a humanoid teenager created to protect a galactic senator’s daughter, Sidonia. The two have grown up side by side, but are in no way sisters. Nemesis is expected to give her life for Sidonia, and she would do so gladly. She would also take as many lives as necessary to keep Sidonia safe. When the power-mad Emperor learns Sidonia’s father is participating in a rebellion, he summons Sidonia to the Galactic court. She is to serve as a hostage. Now, there is… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape & attempted rape mentioned
Forced self-harm
Forced drug use
Murder
Torture
Animal cruelty

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score by Cat Sebastian

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score by Cat Sebastian

Once beloved by London’s fashionable elite, Hartley Sedgwick has become a recluse after a spate of salacious gossip exposed his most-private secrets. Rarely venturing from the house whose inheritance is a daily reminder of his downfall, he’s captivated by the exceedingly handsome man who seeks to rob him. Since retiring from the boxing ring, Sam Fox has made his pub, The Bell, into a haven for those in his Free Black community. But when his best friend Kate implores him to find and destroy a scandalously revealing painting of her, he agrees. Sam would do anything to protect those he loves, even if it means… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Child sex work mentioned
Pregnancy & childbirth mentioned
Concussion
Death of a father mentioned
Death of a friend recounted
Animal fighting rings mentioned

The Great Trouble by Deborah Hopkinson

The Great Trouble by Deborah Hopkinson

Eel has troubles of his own: As an orphan and a “mudlark,” he spends his days in the filthy River Thames, searching for bits of things to sell. He’s being hunted by Fisheye Bill Tyler, and a nastier man never walked the streets of London. And he’s got a secret that costs him four precious shillings a week to keep safe. But even for Eel, things aren’t so bad until that fateful August day in 1854—the day the deadly cholera (“blue death”) comes to Broad Street… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child abuse
Cholera epidemic
Dead bodies mentioned
Death of a parent mentioned
Physical assault
Kidnapping & captivity
Animal abuse

The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude

The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude

Those are the rules in Rowan’s Glen, a remote farming community in the Missouri Ozarks where Ivy Templeton’s family has lived for centuries. It’s an old-fashioned way of life, full of superstition and traditions, and sixteen-year-old Ivy loves it. The other kids at school may think the Glen kids are weird, but Ivy doesn’t care—she has her cousin Heather as her best friend. The two girls share everything with each other—or so Ivy thinks. When Heather goes missing after a May Day celebration, Ivy discovers that both her best friend and her beloved hometown are as full of secrets as the woods that surround them.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Bury Your Gays trope
Murder
Physical assault
Animal cruelty

She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard

She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard

The summer is winding down in San Diego. Veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography. Nico is insatiable, subversive, and obsessed with chaotic performance art. They’re artists first, best friends second. But that was before Mick. Delicate, lonely, magnetic Mick: the perfect subject, and Veronica’s dream girl. The days are long and hot―full of adventure―and soon they are falling in love. Falling so hard, they never imagine what comes next. One fire. Two murders. Three drowning bodies… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Emotional child abuse
Toxic mother-daughter relationship
Panic attack
Blood depiction
Death of a child
Murder
Kidnapping
Fire
Strangulation
Car accident
Drowning
Vivisepulture (buried alive)
Animal death
Animal cruelty

Malice of Crows by Lila Bowen

Malice of Crows by Lila Bowen

The Ranger known as Rhett has shut down a terrible enterprise running on the blood of magical folk but failed to catch the dark alchemist behind it. And now the Shadow refuses to let him rest. Rhett must make the ultimate transformation if he has any hope of stopping the alchemist or fulfilling his destiny; he must become the leader of a new Rangers outpost. To save his friends, and the lives of countless others, he’ll first have to lead them on a mission more dangerous than anything they’ve ever faced.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Suicide
Surgery
Emesis
Poisoning
Gun violence
Animal abuse

Almost Home by Joan Bauer

Almost Home by Joan Bauer

When twelve-year-old Sugar’s grandfather dies and her gambling father takes off yet again, Sugar and her mother lose their home in Missouri. They head to Chicago for a fresh start, only to discover that fresh starts aren’t so easy to come by for the homeless. Nevertheless, Sugar’s mother has taught her to be grateful no matter what, so Sugar does her best. With the help of a rescue dog, Shush; a foster family; a supportive teacher; a love of poetry; and her own grace and good humor, Sugar comes to understand that while she can’t control the hand life deals her, she can control how she responds.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Parental abandonment
Parent with alcoholism
Hospitalisation
Death of a grandfather
Animal abuse mentioned

13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt

13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt

When Luke Manchett’s estranged father dies unexpectedly, he leaves his son a dark inheritance: a Host of eight unique, powerful, and restless spirits. Unfortunately, Luke has no clue how to manage them, which the ghosts figure out pretty quickly. Armed with only his father’s indecipherable notes and a locked copy of The Book of Eight, Luke struggles to adapt to his new role as a necromancer. Meanwhile, the increasingly belligerent Host mutinies, possesses Luke’s mother, and forces him out of his own house… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Animal cruelty
Death of a father

Onyx and Ivory by Mindee Arnett

Onyx and Ivory by Mindee Arnett

They call her Traitor Kate. It’s a title Kate Brighton inherited from her father after he tried to assassinate the high king years ago. Now Kate lives as an outcast, clinging to the fringes of society as a member of the Relay, the imperial courier service. Only those most skilled in riding and bow hunting ride for the Relay; and only the fastest survive, for when dark falls, the nightdrakes—deadly flightless dragons—come out to hunt. Fortunately, Kate has a secret edge: she is a wilder, born with magic that allows her to influence the minds of animals. But it’s this magic that she needs to keep hidden, as being a wilder is forbidden… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Gun & sword violence
Animal attack
Animal abuse mentioned (horse)