Tag Archives: Death of a Partner & Spouse

American Queen by Sierra Simone

American Queen by Sierra Simone

It starts with a stolen kiss under an English sky, and it ends with a walk down the aisle. It starts with the President sending his best friend to woo me on his behalf, and it ends with my heart split in two. It starts with buried secrets and dangerous desires…and ends with the three of us bound together with a hateful love sharper than any barbed wire. My name is Greer Galloway, and I serve at the pleasure of the President of the United States. This is the story of an American Queen.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Intimate partner abuse mentioned
  • Cheating mentioned
  • Adult-minor relationship*
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a mother in childbirth recounted
  • Death of a parent in a train accident recounted
  • Death of a wife from cancer recounted
  • Kidnapping

* Context : The heroine is sixteen years old and the hero is twenty-six years old when they first meet, unbeknownst to the hero. They kiss and the hero fantasises about the herione but nothing ‘more’ happens until years later.

American Prince by Sierra Simone

American Prince by Sierra Simone

I’ve been many things. I’ve been a son and a stepbrother. An Army captain and a Vice President. But only with him am I a prince. His little prince. Only with Maxen and Greer does my world make sense, only between them can I find peace from the demons that haunt me. But men like me aren’t made to be happy. We don’t deserve it. And I should have known a love as sharp as ours could cut both ways. My name is Embry Moore and I serve at the pleasure of the President of the United States… for now. This is the story of an American Prince.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Deadnaming
  • Sexual assault
  • Date rape
  • Threats of rape
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Smoking
  • Drugging
  • Kidnapping
  • Physical assault
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a wife from cancer recounted
  • Death of a mother in childbirth recounted
  • Murder of a grandfather
  • Gun violence
  • Blackmail
  • Fire recounted

Beautifully Broken Pieces by Catherine Cowles

Beautifully Broken Pieces by Catherine Cowles

A woman who’s lost everything. Taylor is looking for peace and quiet away from the memories of all she’s lost. A small mountain town where no one knows her seems like the perfect escape. A man battling the ghosts of his past. Walker loves his life just the way it is. His town, his family, his brothers in blue. Everything simple and easy—until a chance encounter changes it all. When Taylor’s solitude is interrupted by the rugged cop, they find that the very thing they were avoiding might be just what they both need. As their iron wills clash and passion flares…a killer lurks. And you never know who might be caught in the crosshairs.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a parent, off-page
  • Death of a partner recounted
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping

Harbor by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Harbor by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Months before she’s set to walk down the aisle, assistant district attorney Brooklyn Lewis suffers an unthinkable loss. It’s bad enough her fiancé is violently taken from her, but along with her grief she must also process the fact that the man of her dreams was unfaithful. Friends and family want to see her heal, but Brooklyn doesn’t know how to move on from trauma and deception until she discovers she’s not the only one broken by this tragedy. Attorney Vaughn Coleman and his partner Chris Shaw have also lost the love of their lives, who was found lifeless in the same bed as Brooklyn’s fiancé, taken from them by the same killer… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Disownment recounted
  • Cheating (scs)
  • Child abuse mentioned
  • Sexual assault mentioned
  • Suicide, off-page
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a partner recounted
  • Murder mentioned
  • Stalking recounted

Beautifully Cruel by JT Geissinger

Beautifully Cruel by J.T. Geissinger

Alpha (noun): 1) Having the highest rank in a dominance hierarchy, 2) The most powerful man in a group, or 3) Liam Black. He was a stranger to me, a dark and dangerous presence who materialized from the shadows one rainy night to save me from a vicious attack. I didn’t know his name or where he was from. All I knew was that the only place I’d ever felt safe was in his arms. But safety is an illusion. And not every saviour is a hero. And—as I’d soon find out—having an alpha save your life comes with a price. Liam Black wanted something from me in return.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Cheating recounted*
  • Death of a girlfriend recounted
  • Murder, on-page
  • Kidnapping

*Context : The heroine’s boyfriend cheated on her in the past.

Hush by Cathleen Cole and Frank Jensen

Hush by Cathleen Cole & Frank Jensen

Hush: I had love once and lost it. Never again. That’s why I told myself she’s off limits—forbidden. It doesn’t matter that she’s as sexy and courageous as she is unexpected. Or that I can’t get her out of my mind. I’m not her happily ever after. So, I’ll help her investigate why people are going missing in the desert. But I’ll keep my hands—and my heart—to myself. That’s the plan, anyway. Seek: My dogs and my career in Search and Rescue are all I need to be happy. Or so I thought. Turns out, I need him, too. But while he’s willing to give me his… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Age-gap relationship*
  • Death of a wife recounted
  • Military service recounted
  • Murder
  • Gun violence

*Context : The hero is 52-years-old and the heroine is 27-years-old.

The Widow by Valerie Keogh

The Widow by Valerie Keogh

Grieving or guilty? When Allison’s wealthy and charming husband Peter is found dead, she appears distraught, devastated… delighted? Because despite an apparently picture-perfect marriage, Allison knows it was all built on a bed of lies. And as the truth regarding Peter’s life and death are revealed, Alison must try to keep her own dark past buried. Because if Peter was keeping secrets, then his widow is too…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a husband

Speed Grieving by Allison Ellis

Speed Grieving by Allison Ellis

When Allison Ellis’s husband died of an unexpected heart attack, there was no playbook for a thirty-three-year-old widow with a breastfeeding infant. In her grief, she devised a practical strategy: find a new husband within twelve months. What transpired was a year of mourning, manic dating, and breaking hearts across Seattle on a deadline mission to heal her own.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction (theme)
  • Death of a husband from a heart attack

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter or a subversive. They just want to paint. One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers. But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics. What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Familial disownment
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Death of a spouse mentioned
  • Physical assault
  • Torture
  • Imprisonment
  • Blackmail
  • Earthquake
  • Colonialism

Midsummer Moon by Laura Kinsale

Midsummer Moon by Laura Kinsale

Ransom Falconer, Duke of Damerell, is sent to see if Merlin Lambourne, the famous inventor, has created a truly magnificent innovation that can be used in the war against Napoleon. What Ransom doesn’t realize is that Merlin is a woman, and not everyone wants to see her invention become a reality. Merlin Lambourne is a brilliant yet slightly eccentric scientist whose dream is to build a flying machine. Nothing can distract her from her goals, and Ransom offers her refuge at his estate-a safe haven to work on her invention undisturbed. But when Merlin’s dream puts them both at risk, Ransom must overcome his own fears and realize… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Antiziganism
  • Amnesia
  • Gambling addiction
  • Drugging
  • Concussion
  • Stillbirth recounted
  • Death of a wife recounted
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Arson