Tag Archives: Death of a Mother

Vanquish by Pam Godwin

Her life is like a prison cell. A self-made, to-hell-with-the-free-world existence that locks from the inside. Stop judging. Her agoraphobia doesn’t define her. It simply keeps her safe. He belongs in a prison cell. The 6×8, make-me-your-bitch variety that locks from the outside. But he’s free. To hunt. To take. To break. And he just found a sexy new toy. Capturing her is the easy part. Her fucked-up mind, however, makes him question everything he does next. But he’s a determined bastard. If all goes his way, this will hurt like hell.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Internalised fatphobia & body dysmorphia
  • Rape, sexual slavery & nonconsensual BDSM (on-page)
  • Sex trafficking (on-page & recounted)
  • Sex work recounted
  • Intimate partner violence (on-page)
  • Emotional & verbal intimate partner abuse recounted
  • Forced child abandonment
  • Divorce recounted
  • Agoraphobia, bulimia & Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (protagonist)
  • Psychiatric institutionalisation of a parent mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug abuse recounted (protagonists)
  • Death of a mother from an overdose recounted
  • Murder by gun violence mentioned (secondary character)
  • Kidnapping (on-page)

Context : The male protagonist kidnaps, rapes, and abuses the female protagonist, his love interest. He is a former stalker and sex trafficker who has raped others in the past. He has a child with a different secondary character who was forcibly taken away. The female protagonist is divorced.

Hills of Shivers and Shadows by Pam Godwin

Abducted and taken to a remote cabin in Alaska, Frankie finds herself at the mercy of four feral men, each with his own dark secrets and twisted desires.
With nowhere to run, she must rely on her wits to survive the harsh winter, trapped with them. As she delves into their mysterious pasts, she uncovers an insidious evil that feeds on loyalty and uses love as a weapon. Nothing is as it seems. They torment her, protect her, and keep her in the dark. But to have any chance of escape, they must stand together. Or fall prey to the evil in the hills of shivers and shadows.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse recounted (love interest)
  • Pregnancy & miscarriage due to snowmobile accident (on-page, protagonist)
  • Forced pregnancy mentioned
  • Death of a mother from suicide & murder mentioned (love interest)
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping & captivity of children and women (theme)
  • Blizzard (on-page)

*Context : The antagonist kidnapped multiple mothers and sons who he held captivity in a remote cabin. He sexually abused both the children and women, including forced pregnancy, until he is murdered by one of the kidnapped men. Some of the mothers are murdered, some died during escape attempts, and others died from suicide.

The Graham Effect by Elle Kennedy

Gigi Graham has exactly three goals: qualify for the women’s national hockey team, win Olympic gold, and step out of her famous father’s shadow. So far, so good, except for two little things. Fine–a little thing and a big, grumpy thing. She needs to improve her game behind the net, and she needs help from Luke Ryder. Ryder is six-foot five, built, opinionated, rude… and sexy as hell. But he’s still the enemy. Briar’s new hockey co-captain has his reasons, though. The men’s team just merged with a rival program, leaving Ryder with an angry roster where everyone hates one another’s guts. To make matters worse, the summer coaching… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity recounted
  • Murder of a mother by a father (off-page)
  • Abusive foster care experiences recounted

To Sicily with Love by Jennifer Probst

Aurora York had it all loving parents, a steady relationship, and a promising career. But after she loses both parents unexpectedly, she can’t seem to stay on track any longer. Lonely and lost after a public meltdown that threatens her professional credibility, she’s shocked when DNA test results show a blood relative in Sicily. When her cousin reaches out online and begs her to come to Italy to meet everyone in person, Aurora makes the leap. Aurora arrives in Sicily for a month, and there she meets a colorful, dynamic family steeped in tradition. The younger generation is fascinated by her social media fame… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother & father

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm-as its queen. Along with her former academic rival-now fiancé-the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare, filled with… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Suicide
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood & injury depiction including broken bones (secondary character)
  • Death of a mother & father recounted
  • Murder of a grandfather mentioned
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Physical assault
  • Fatal animal attack mentioned (bees)

One Touch by Lena Hendrix

Falling hard for my ex-boyfriend’s rugged older brother was never in the plan. Beckett Miller may be my brother’s best friend, but he’s also the last person on earth I want to ask for help. He’s stubborn, demanding, and doesn’t care at all what people think of him—everything his little brother wasn’t, and definitely everything I should not want. Thanks to my own stubbornness and my three infuriating siblings, he is the only one who can help me renovate my beloved aunt’s farmhouse. Beckett thinks I’m a doormat, and I know he’s an arrogant prick, but toss in one late-night game of tipsy strip poker, and before long… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Toxic relationship recounted
  • Parent with early onset dementia
  • Death of a mother mentioned (off-page)

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

Emi is a film buff and a true romantic, but her real-life relationships are a mess. She has desperately gone back to the same girl too many times to mention. But then a mysterious letter from a silver screen legend leads Emi to Ava. Ava is unlike anyone Emi has ever met. She has a tumultuous, not-so-glamorous past, and lives an unconventional life. She’s enigmatic…. She’s beautiful. And she is about to expand Emi’s understanding of family, acceptance, and true romance.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Alcohol consumption & drug use
  • Overdose
  • Death of a mother
  • Teen homelessness

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American student, and home, with her family’s traditions and holidays. But Reha’s parents don’t understand why she’s conflicted—they only notice when Reha doesn’t meet their strict expectations. Reha feels disconnected from her mother, or Amma, although their names are linked—Reha means “star” and Punam means “moon”—but they are a universe apart. Then Reha finds out that her Amma is sick. Really sick. Reha, who dreams of becoming a doctor even though she can’t stomach the sight of blood, is… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Displacement (theme)
  • Blood depiction
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother from leukemia

Queen Takes Rose by Katee Robert

Once upon a time I made a deal with the devil. It turns out I like playing in the dark. Over the years, I’ve become someone I’m proud of, someone dangerous. I’ll never be as dangerous as Malone, though. She’s one of the most feared leaders in Carver City, and her reputation is more than earned. Years ago, we had a single night together and she’s ignored me ever since. Imagine my surprise to discover she’s scheduled me for the final two weeks of my contract. Maybe I should be afraid. Everyone else fears Malone. Instead, all I feel is anticipation. It’s time to balance the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother after twenty years in a life-support coma
  • Caning

Passing Through by Katia Rose

Emily Rivers does not have time for love. Or dating. Or even a one night stand. As the eldest of the Rivers sisters, she’s too focused on keeping her family’s campground running in the wake of a devastating tragedy to even think about romance. When Kim Jefferies shows up at the local small town bar looking like a lesbian snack on a stick, Emily writes her off as yet another tourist just passing through—no matter how much the butterflies in her stomach try to tell her otherwise. Only Kim’s plans of ‘passing through’ fade the second she sees Emily Rivers, despite… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Panic attack
  • Parent with depression
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother from breast cancer recounted
  • Hiking accident resulting in serious injury