Tag Archives: Death of a Parent & Guardian

Shanghai Immortal by A.Y. Chao

Pawned by her mother to the King of Hell as a child, Lady Jing is half-vampire, half-hulijing fox-spirit and all sasshole. As the King’s ward, she has spent the past ninety years running errands, dodging the taunts of the spiteful hulijing courtiers, and trying to control her explosive temper – with varying levels of success. So when Jing overhears the courtiers plotting to steal a priceless dragon pearl from the King, she seizes her chance to expose them, once and for all. With the help of a gentle mortal tasked with setting up the Central Bank of Hell, Jing embarks on a wild chase for intel, first through Hell and then mortal Shanghai… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse
  • Panic attacks
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Bullying

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

It is the year 1814 and life for a young lady of good breeding has many difficulties. There are balls to attend, fashions to follow, marriages to consider and, of course, the tiny complication of existing in a world swarming with fairy spirits, interfering deities, and actual straight-up sorcerers. Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into high society hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at a high-profile ball, a scandal she narrowly manages to escape. However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, Miss Mitchel…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Threats of rape
  • Death of a parent & sibling recounted
  • Murder
  • KIdnapping
  • Animal death (sacrifice)

Reckless by Elsie Silver

Theo Silva. Rowdy bull rider. Notorious ladies’ man. Scorching hot trouble wrapped up in a drool-worthy package. And he’s looking at me like I might be his next meal. But I’m almost free of my toxic marriage and have sworn off men entirely. So all I see when I look back is temptation served up with a heaping side of heartbreak. The man is hard to trust—and even harder to resist. Make that impossible. Because Theo is persistent. And no matter how hard I try to freeze him out, he melts my icy exterior and pulls apart all my defenses. Over a drink in a small town bar, I blurt out my deepest, darkest secrets. Then I spend the singular… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Abusive past relationship, implied
  • Parental infidelity mentioned
  • Infertility discussed
  • Miscarriage recounted
  • Death of a parent mentioned

A Love Catastrophe by Helena Hunting

Kitty Hart has become internet famous as the Kitty Whisperer for her expertise on all things feline, and as a result, her cat-sitting business is booming. But lately, she has a terrible feeling that maybe her life isn’t  quite  going where it’s supposed to—especially after falling face-first into her newest client.  Not exactly the best first impression. Fortunately, Miles Thorn is just as bad at first impressions. Strike he doesn’t like cats, especially Prince Francis, the haughty and mischievous Sphynx his mom left in his care. Strike tackling Kitty to the floor in a misguided attempt to save the pet he continually calls “the gremlin.”

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Social anxiety
  • Parent with dementia
  • Physical illness (allergic reaction)
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Death of a sibling recounted
  • Cyberbullying

We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

Belly has only ever been in love with two boys, both with the last name Fisher. And after being with Jeremiah for the last two years, she’s almost positive he is her soul mate. Almost. While Conrad has not gotten over the mistake of letting Belly go, Jeremiah has always known that Belly is the girl for him. So when Belly and Jeremiah decide to make things forever, Conrad realizes that it’s now or never—tell Belly he loves her, or lose her for good.  Belly will have to confront her feelings for Jeremiah and Conrad and face the inevitable: She will have to break one of their hearts.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Cheating
  • Death of a mother from cancer recounted

It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come. But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started—at Cousins Beach.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse (parent slaps a child)
  • Emesis
  • Smoking & drug use mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a mother from cancer

Ghost Book by Remy Lai

July Chen sees ghosts. But her dad insists ghosts aren’t real. So she pretends they don’t exist. Which is incredibly difficult now as it’s Hungry Ghost month, when the Gates of the Underworld open and dangerous ghosts run amok in the living world. When July saves a boy ghost from being devoured by a Hungry Ghost, he becomes her first ever friend. Except William is not a ghost. He’s a wandering soul wavering between life and death. As the new friends embark on an adventure to return William to his body, they unearth a ghastly truth―for William to live, July must die.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Death of a mother and wife in childbirth recounted
  • Near-death of a friend and child (on-page)
  • Mentions of death of a pet dog.

Second Chance by Audra North

Wilford town librarian Marnie Thomas has had too much loss to risk her heart ever again. She buries her hurt in books and finds her friends in stories, even though she longs for love and a family of her own. Real estate developer Collin Morgan is back in town on Halloween to help his sister, but the last person he expected to see at his niece’s story hour is Marnie Thomas. The shy, awkward girl he remembered from high school has turned into a beautiful—but still shy—woman, and Collin can’t help the desire that rises up when he sees her.
But this year, the magic of Halloween conjures a wisecracking, cigar-smoking ghost name… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental & spousal abandonment
  • Verbal child abuse
  • Smoking
  • Death from a heart attack mentioned
  • Death of a mother from cancer recounted

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper and illustrated by Sarah Jane Coleman

Stella lives in the segregated South; in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she can’t. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn’t bothered them for years. But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they’re never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination. As Stella’s community – her world – is upended, she decides to fight fire with fire. And she learns that ashes don’t necessarily signify an end.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • White supremacy & Klu Klux Klan
  • Hate crimes
  • Physical child abuse
  • Domestic abuse & violence
  • Death of a father in a lumber mill accident mentioned
  • House fire & arson

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver

Spending her thirtieth birthday alone is the last thing that dating columnist Cleo wanted, but she is going on a self-coupling quasi-sabbatical–at the insistence of her boss–in the name of re-energizing herself and adding a new perspective to her column. The remote Irish island she’s booked is a far cry from London, but at least it’s a chance to hunker down in a luxury cabin and indulge in some quiet, solitary self-care while she figures out her next steps in her love life and her career. Mac is also looking forward to some time to himself. With his life in Boston deteriorating in ways he can’t bring himself to acknowledge, his soul searching has… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental infidelity recounted
  • Divorce
  • Death of a parent, off-page