Asphyxia – Page 14 – Trigger Warning Database

Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz

Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz

Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel M. Moniz book cover

Set among the cities and suburbs of Florida, each story in Milk Blood Heat delves into the ordinary worlds of young girls, women, and men who find themselves confronted by extraordinary moments of violent personal reckoning. These intimate portraits of people and relationships scour and soothe and blast a light on the nature of family, faith, forgiveness, consumption, and what we may, or may not, owe one another.

A thirteen-year-old meditates on her sadness and the difference between herself and her white best friend when an unexpected tragedy occurs; a woman recovering from a miscarriage finds herself unable to let go of her daughter—whose body parts she sees throughout her daily life; a teenager resists her family’s church and is accused of courting the devil; servers at a supper club cater to the insatiable cravings of their wealthy clientele; and two estranged siblings take a road-trip with their father’s ashes and are forced to face the troubling reality of how he continues to shape them.

Wise and subversive, spiritual and seductive, Milk Blood Heat forms an ouroboros of stories that bewitch with their truth.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Cheating
Parental abandonment
Adult-minor relationship between a teacher and student
Paedophilia, implied
Parental sexual abuse, implied
Abortion, mentioned
Pregnancy
Terminal cancer
Physical assault
Suicidal ideation
Suicide
Strangulation
Death of a friend
Death of a child
Death of a father
Death from a fall
Drowning
Graphic near-drowning
Robbery
Cannibalism, implied
Hanging, mentioned

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Murderbot wasn’t programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right?

Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah—its former owner (protector? friend?)—submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit.

But who’s going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue? And what will become of it when it’s caught?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Amnesia
Blood depiction & physical injuries
Attempted murder
Explosion
Strangulation
Kidnapping & hostage situation

The One by John Marrs

The One by John Marrs

How far would you go to find The One? A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner–the one you’re genetically made for.

That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.

Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Because even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking than others…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Cheating
Suicide
Infertility
Childbirth & death during childbirth
Miscarriages mentioned
Terminal illness & cancer
Coma
Aneurysm
Eyeball trauma
Death of an infant
Death of a spouse
Murder, and attempted murder of a pregnant woman
Strangulation
Kidnapping, including the abduction of an infant
Stalking

Repo Virtual by Corey J. White

Repo Virtual by Corey J. White

The city of Neo Songdo is a Russian doll of realities — augmented and virtual spaces anchored in the weight of the real. The smart city is designed to be read by machine vision while people see only the augmented facade of the corporate ideal. At night the stars are obscured by an intergalactic virtual war being waged by millions of players, while on the streets below people are forced to beg, steal, and hustle to survive.

Enter Julius Dax, online repoman and real-life thief. He’s been hired for a special job: stealing an unknown object from a reclusive tech billionaire. But when he finds out he’s stolen the first sentient AI, his payday gets a lot more complicated.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Transmisia
Deadnaming & misgendering
Blackmailed outing*
Racism & racial slurs
Classism
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use mentioned
Blood & gore depiction
Graphic physical injuries & chronic pain
Death of a friend (on-page)
Murder & attempted murder
Torture
Explosions
Gun violence
Strangulation
Kidnapping
Car accident
Fire
Blackmail
Flood
Cults
Animal death mentioned
Poverty themes & homelessness

*Note: the transgender protagonist is blackmailed to investigate a crime by a man with documents that would out her as a trans woman and her past as a secret agent.

And I Darken by Kiersten White

And I Darken by Kiersten White

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Attempted rape & sexual assault
Alcohol consumption
Murder & attempted murder
Knife violence
Strangulation
Torture (off-page)
Near-drowning
Whipping

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankentstein by Kiersten White

Elizabeth Lavenza hasn’t had a proper meal in weeks. Her thin arms are covered with bruises from her “caregiver,” and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets . . . until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything–except a friend.

Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable–and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.

But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth’s survival depends on managing Victor’s dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost . . . as the world she knows is consumed by darkness.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Classism
Misogyny
Slut shaming
Graphic physical, verbal & emotional abuse
Parental abandonment
Intimate partner abuse & violence
Nightmares
Self-sacrifice (on-page) & suicidal ideation mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Nonconsensual drugging
Graphic blood & gore depiction
Graphic dead bodies & body parts
Graphic physical injuries & wound descriptions
Graphic medical procedures & experiments
Emesis
Forced hospitalisation
Body horror
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother recounted
Death of an uncle (off-page)
Death of a friend
Death of a child
Death of a brother
Murder & attempted murder
Gun violence
Graphic strangulation
Hanging (off-page)
Fire (multiple scenes)
Kidnapping & captivity
Building collapse
Stalking
Graphic animal abuse (on-page) & animal death

Contagion by Erin Bowman

Contagion by Erin Bowman

It got in us
After receiving an urgent SOS from a work detail on a distant planet, a skeleton crew is dispatched to perform a standard search-and-rescue mission.

Most are dead.
But when the crew arrives, they find an abandoned site, littered with rotten food, discarded weapons…and dead bodies.

Don’t set foot here again.
As they try to piece together who—or what—could have decimated an entire operation, they discover that some things are best left buried—and some monsters are only too ready to awaken.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism
Parental abandonment recounted
Self-harm
Suicide by gun (on-page in prologue)
Graphic blood and gore depiction
Dead bodies
Physical illness & injuries, including eyeball trauma
Plague, central theme
Needles and syringes
Medical procedures, including blood test and surgery
Medical emergency & serious (terminal) illness of a loved one
Comas
Emesis
Death of parents
Death of cousin
Death of friend
Death of colleague
Murder and attempted murder
Strangulation mentioned
Knife violence
Gun violence
Kidnapping
Drowning mentioned
Death from electrocution
Blizzards & severe storms

Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardians, the all-girl boarding school offers an array of studies and activities, from “Growing a Beautiful and Prosperous Garden” to “Art Appreciation” and “Interior Design.” The girls learn to be the best society has to offer. Absent is the difficult math coursework, or the unnecessary sciences or current events. They are obedient young ladies, free from arrogance or defiance. Until Mena starts to realize that their carefully controlled existence… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Misogyny, slut-shaming & victim blaming
Emotional abuse & gaslighting
Rape culture (theme), including sexual harassment, sexual assault (on- & off-page) and rape of a minor, implied
PTSD, trauma, nightmares & flashbacks
Dieting & food-shaming
Alcohol consumption & drugging
Infertility mentioned
Blood & injury depiction including body horror, dead bodies, consensual & non-consensual medical treatment, graphic use of needles, and human medical experimentation
Murder & attempted murder
Graphic torture
Knife violence
Strangulation
Physical assault
Loss of autonomy (memory & mind manipulation)
Disappearance of a friend

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Body shaming
Slut-shaming
Slavery
Physical & psychological child abuse
Cheating
Disownment
Nightmares mentioned
Suicide, on-page
Coerced self-harm
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Drug use & drugging
Self-harm (mithridatism)
Death of a pregnant character mentioned*
Blood and gore depiction, including dead bodies & emesis
Graphic physical injuries
Decapitation & dismemberment mentioned
Grief & loss depiction
Death of mother and father, on-page
Death of friend
Death of a sister & brother
Death by a fall mentioned
Drowning
Murder and attempted murder
Knife and sword violence & stabbing
Strangulation
Torture
Kidnapping & captivity
Loss of autonomy (glamour magic)
War themes discussed
Bullying

*Context: The father of an unborn child poisons his pregnant consort in an attempt to murder her and the unborn child.

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be. And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband.

Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and the Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up. Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Misogyny
Child abuse recounted, and domestic violence (off-page)
Cheating
Alcohol consumption
Pregnancy & abortion recounted
Blood & gore depiction and physical injuries
Emesis
Murder (off-page)
Strangulation recounted