Tag Archives: Child Abuse & Neglect

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of child abuse and neglect, including emotional, verbal, psychological and physical abuse, and gaslighting.

For child sexual abuse, see Paedophilia & CSA.

Death Knocks Twice by Robert Thorogood

Death Knocks Twice by Robert Thorogood

Reluctantly stationed on the sweltering Caribbean island of Saint-Marie, Detective Inspector Richard Poole dreams of cold winds, drizzly rain and a pint in his local pub. Just as he is feeling as fed up as can be, a mysterious vagrant is found dead in the grounds of the historic Beaumont plantation. Immediately assumed to be suicide, DI Poole is not so convinced and determined to prove otherwise. Never mind that the only fingerprints on the murder weapon belong to the victim. Or that the room was locked from the inside. Before long, death knocks twice and a second… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slavery mentioned
  • Domestic violence
  • Child abuse
  • Suicide
  • Colonialism mentioned

The Secret by Julie Garwood

The Secret by Julie Garwood

Judith Hampton was as beautiful as she was proud, as purposeful as she was loyal. The dear Scottish friend of her childhood was about to give birth, and Judith had promised to be at her side. But there was another, private reason for the journey from her bleak English home to the Highlands to meet the father she had never known, the Laird Maclean. Nothing prepared her for the sight of the Scottish barbarian who was to escort her into his land…Iain Maitland, Laird of his clan, a man more powerfully compelling than any she had ever encountered. In a spirited clash of wills… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child physical & verbal abuse
  • Uncle with alcoholism

Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine

Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine

With an iron fist, the Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion and, in the name of the greater good, forbidding the personal ownership of books. Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. His best friend is lost, and Morgan, the girl he loves, is locked away in the Iron Tower, doomed to a life apart from… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Classism
  • Terrorism
  • Involuntary breeding programs involving minors
  • Child abuse
  • Parental abandonment
  • Trauma (central theme)
  • Panic attacks, on-page
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Hospitalisation
  • Emesis
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Graphic psychological and physical torture, off-page
  • Gun violence
  • Physical assault
  • Fire
  • Explosion
  • Car accident
  • Kidnapping
  • Imprisonment
  • Disappearance of a loved one
  • Animal attack

Beasts of Abigaile, Volume 1 by Spica Aoki

Beasts of Abigaile, Vol. 1 by Spica Aoki

Nina feels like she’s entered a fairy tale after moving to the beautiful country of Ruberia. But the charm wears off quick when she gets bitten by a wolflike luga and becomes one herself! She’s soon dragged off to the penitentiary academy known as Abigaile, where young luga learn how to serve humans. Her strong-willed attitude soon wrecks havoc on the academy’s alpha-omega hierarchy, winning her a few friends, plenty of enemies—and maybe even a lover or two?! Will Nina ever make it home? Or will she remain a luga forever? 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Child abuse
  • Torture mentioned

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

Stoic, broody, and arrogant, elite bodyguard Rhys Larsen has two rules: 1) Protect his clients at all costs 2) Do not become emotionally involved. Ever. He has never once been tempted to break those rules…until her. Bridget von Ascheberg. A princess with a stubborn streak that matches his own and a hidden fire that reduces his rules to ash. She’s nothing he expected and everything he never knew he needed. Day by day, inch by inch, she breaks down his defenses until he’s faced with a truth he can no longer deny: he swore an oath to protect her, but all he wants is to… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse recounted
  • Substance addiction mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent during childbirth
  • Death of a parent in a car accident
  • Death of a parent from an overdose
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping mentioned

Empress of All Seasons by Holly Miller

Empress of All Seasons by Holly Miller

Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace’s enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete—all except yōkai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren’t hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yōkai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Rape
  • Child abuse
  • Parental abandonment
  • Self-injury
  • Childbirth
  • Forced adoption
  • Exile
  • Death by starvation
  • Murder
  • Poisoning
  • Explosions
  • Fire
  • Cyclones
  • Animal attack
  • Animal cruelty & death
  • Bullying

The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert

Jasmine Allen believes in bad luck, great wine, and the seductive power of a stiletto heel. What she doesn’t believe in is love. Her life is perfect without all that romance rubbish—until a plumbing disaster screws everything up and leaves Jas homeless. Luckily, she has someone to turn to: her best friend Rahul. For seven years, Rahul Khan has followed three simple rules: 1) Don’t touch Jasmine if you can help it; 2) Don’t look at her arse in that skirt.; and, 3) And don’t ever—ever—tell her you love her. He should’ve added another rule: Do not, under any circumstances, let Jas… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Emotional child abuse recounted
  • Alcohol consumption & dependency
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Emesis mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Hospitalisation
  • Scars from a knife injury

Damaged Goods by Talia Hibbert

Laura Burne‘s husband is a monster, her diamond ring is a trap, and her pregnancy is the push she needs to finally escape. She runs away seeking safety… and finds Samir Bianchi, her long-lost teenage sweetheart. With his kind eyes and dirty smile, Samir’s still hot as hell—and he still treats Laura like a goddess, baby bump and all. The wild boy she spent one magical summer with is every inch a man, and he’s more than ready to care for her tiny family. But Laura’s been keeping a secret Samir might never forgive. When she finally confesses, will he remain by her side? Or is this fairytale end… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Fatmisia
  • Emotional abuse & gaslighting
  • Intimate partner abuse & violence
  • Child & parental abuse recounted
  • Cheating
  • Alcoholism mentioned
  • Pregnancy, including doctors visits & sonograms
  • Childbirth
  • Emesis mentioned
  • Death of a father mentioned

Shadow’s Messenger by TA White

Shadow’s Messenger by T.A. White

Coming home from Afghanistan was supposed to be something great. That ended when I met tall, dark and handsome in a bar and wound up in a dumpster sporting a nice set of fangs and my life flipped on its head. Now I’m a messenger for Hermes Courier Service trying to make enough to support my ice cream habit while staying below vampire radar. When this newest job of mine goes disastrously awry, it puts me on the hook to be indentured to a sorcerer for the next fifty years unless I can find a way to fix things.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a child
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping

The Dark Club Pact by Alison Goodman

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

London, April 1812. On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Misogyny (theme)
  • Slut-shaming
  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic & child abuse
  • Suicide
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Blood, gore and injury depiction including graphic dead bodies
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother recounted
  • Murder
  • Loss of autonomy (possession)
  • Drowning