Chronic Illness & Chronic Pain – Page 4

The Fall of Whit Rivera by Crystal Maldonado

Could you plan the Fall Formal with your (hot) nemesis? Whit Rivera is about to find out. Frenemies Whit and Zay have been at odds for years (ever since he broke up with her in, like, the most embarrassing way imaginable), so when they’re forced to organize the fall formal together, it’s a literal disaster. Sparks fly as Whitney—type-A, passionate, a perfectionist, and a certified sweater-weather fanatic—butts heads with Zay, a dry, relaxed skater boy who takes everything in stride. But not all of those sparks are bad. Has their feud been a big misunderstanding all along?. Read

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Protagonist with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

Undone by the Ex-Con by Talia Hibbert

To protect her brother, Lizzie must seduce the man she despises… Isaac Montgomery is a killer. A savage. He doesn’t belong in the glittering world of high-society, but somehow, that’s where he’s ended up. After all he’s been through, it should take more than a prima ballerina with a cut-glass accent to get under his skin. But when Isaac meets Lizzie Olusegun-Keynes, he doesn’t just lose his cool. He f$*king melts. Lizzie is losing control of her body, her life—and her desires. She shouldn’t want a man like Isaac, a man who’s rough and coarse and forceful, but the lust that sparks between them is impossible to ignore. When a… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Homophobia & parental disownment
Internalised ableism
Sexual harassment
Diabetes
Blackmail

*Context : The protagonist’s employer blackmails her and threatens to out her brother.

XOXO by Axie Oh

Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word. Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Cancer
Chronic illness
Death of a parent recounted
Bullying

False Witness by Karin Slaughter

Leigh Coulton has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She has a good job as a defence attorney, a daughter doing well in school, and even her divorce is relatively civilised – her life is just as unremarkable as she’d always hoped it would be. But Leigh’s ordinary life masks a childhood which was far from average… a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, and finally torn apart by a devastating act of violence. Then a case lands on her desk – defending a wealthy man accused of rape. It’s the highest profile case she’s ever been given – a case which could transform her career, if she wins. But when she meets the accuse…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Rape
Graphic child sexual abuse
Child pornography
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Graphic drug use
Substance addiction
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Chronic pain
Blood depiction
Murder
Death of a sibling

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing?.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Parental infidelity
Sexual harassment
Parent with rheumatoid arthritis
Hospitalisation mentioned
Death of a father in a drunk-driving accident recounted

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

Fitz has survived his first hazardous mission as king’s assassin, but is left little more than a cripple. Battered and bitter, he vows to abandon his oath to King Shrewd, remaining in the distant mountains. But love and events of terrible urgency draw him back to the court at Buckkeep, and into the deadly intrigues of the royal family. Renewing their vicious attacks on the coast, the Red-Ship Raiders leave burned-out villages and demented victims in their wake. The kingdom is also under assault from within, as treachery threatens the throne of the ailing king. In this time of great danger, the fate of the kingdom may rest in Fitz’s hands—and his role in its salvation may require the ultimate sacrifice.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Sexism
Classism
Elder abuse
Child abuse recounted
Infidelity mentioned
Forced political marriage
Depressive episode recounted
Suicidal ideation mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Drug use
Pregnancy & miscarriage discussed
Graphic injuries & illness
Blood & gore depiction including dead bodies
Emesis
Seizures
Chronic illness
Death of a father from medical complications due to chronic alcoholism recounted
Murder & attempted murder
Infanticide
Poisoning
Physical assault
Knife, arrow and axe violence
Imprisonment
Loss of autonomy (mind control & invasion)
War themes & battle scenes
Naval warfare
Regicide
Animal abuse (wolf)
Animal death mentioned, including the death of a pet dog.

If Only You by Chloe Liese

Ziggy. I’m the youngest player on the National Soccer team, the baby of my family, and thoroughly sick of being underestimated, so I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. Which is where my brother’s best friend and teammate, the infamous Sebastian Marchand, comes in. Seb needs to rehab his reputation. I want to give mine an edge. So I propose a fake friendship with real benefits: spending time in the public eye, my good-girl image and his bad-boy notoriety rubbing off on each other. He’s my devious, dark-haired fantasy come to life, but his destructive ways make it easy to keep him in the fake… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Parental abandonment recounted
Emotional child abuse recounted
Anxiety
Chronic illness & pain (celiac disease)
Alcohol consumption
Emesis

The Other Side of Perfect by Mariko Turk

Alina Keeler was destined to dance, but then a terrifying fall shatters her leg and her dreams of a professional ballet career along with it. After a summer healing (translation: eating vast amounts of Cool Ranch Doritos and bingeing ballet videos on YouTube), she is forced to trade her pre-professional dance classes for normal high school, where she reluctantly joins the school musical. However, rehearsals offer more than she expected — namely Jude, her annoyingly attractive cast-mate she just might be falling for…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Racism
Parental abandonment discussed
Nightmares & sleep difficulty
Chronic leg injury (theme)
Medical treatment, rehabilitation & surgery for a severely broken leg discussed
Bullying

Pulling Doubles by Christina C. Jones

All Devyn wants – besides a tall, fine husband and eventually a few babies to fulfill her “about to turn thirty, running out of time, cute black family” dreams – is to finish her yearlong internship at University Hospital. She’s excited about the experience, eager to learn, glad to help wherever she can… it should be easy, right? Well, it would be… if it weren’t for arrogant, know-it-all, always-got-something-to-say Dr. Joseph Wright. Devyn can’t stand him, and if his attitude is any indication, the feeling is mutual… or is it? Joeph doesn’t ‘do’ doctors. Or nurses. Or patients. Or any… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Slut-shaming
Abusive relationship recounted
Chronic illness (Type 1 Diabetes)
Medical treatment including surgery and injections

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

Mattie can’t remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they’re not alone after all. There’s something in the woods that wasn’t there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws. When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Misogyny
Graphic domestic violence including physical beatings, deprivation of food, water and shelter, and denial of autonomy (theme)
Martial rape, off-page
Miscarriage & stillbirth recounted
Chronic arm injury
Emesis, on-page
Blood & gore depiction including the hanging of dead bodies
Death of a friend
Murder
Strangulation, on-page
Kidnapping & captivity
Animal death and dead bodies (fox, bear)