Estrangement & Disownment – Trigger Warning Database

When the Lights Come On by Katia Rose

When the Lights Come On by Katia Rose

Paige Rivera doesn’t intend to end up among the twice-fooled. It’s been six years since Youssef Salah let her down, and not even the shock of his reappearance is enough to make her consider letting him do it again. She learned a lot from that first fall: how to pick herself up, brush herself off, and push away anyone with the ability to knock her off her feet. He’s no longer the teenage boy she knew, but Youssef still possess the powers of a gravitational force, so Paige employs her failsafe strategy: head down, eyes on the prize. The prize in this case is her burgeoning career…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Familial estrangement
Emotional child abuse
Drugging

Names for the Dawn by CL Beaumont

Names for the Dawn by C.L. Beaumont

Seasoned Park Ranger Will Avery has found his home in the Denali wilderness, cherishing his solitary routines for the decade leading up to 1991. The trade-off that no one knows of his identity as a transgender man feels worth it for the comforting assurance he finds in the towering glaciers. Until Will discovers an unexpected passenger in his truck—the visiting wolf biologist everyone in the Park is ecstatic to meet—Nikhil Rajawat. Nikhil doesn’t return his new colleagues’ fervour. He’s dreamt of Denali for one reason: the pinnacle of his research, and it isn’t anyone’s business that this is the last year he’ll get to chase the wolves. He… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Homomisia discussed
Transmisia recounted*
Familial estrangement & disownment*
Physical child abuse recounted*
Anxiety & panic attacks
Insomnia
Nightmare
Parent with alcoholism recounted
Recovery from substance addiction including an off-page relapse
Suicidal ideation recounted
Alcohol consumption
Pregnancy & childbirth mentioned (sc)
Weight loss mentioned
Gender dysphoria & body dysmorphia
Scars from top surgery mentioned
Gun violence*
Bullying
Animal death, including a wolf cub & death of a pet dog

*Context : When the protagonist came out to his father, his father shot a gun at the barn near him. He has wondered for years if it was intentional or an accident. As a child, the protagonist’s mother physically abused him and burnt him with cigarettes.

Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly

Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly

When Alexei Lebedev finally comes out to his conservative community, it does not go well. That’s how he ended up on the rugged Pacific Crest Trail, hoping he can figure out a new life plan in the thousands of miles it’ll take to walk the famed hike. He’s prepared for rattlesnakes, blisters, and months of solitude. What he’s not prepared for is the ray of sunshine named Ben Caravalho. Charismatic and outgoing, Ben’s personality and infectious laughter are a stark opposite of Alexei’s quiet, reserved demeanour. But no matter how determined Alexei is to hike the trail alone, it seems he and Ben can’t avoid… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Homomisia & homomisic slurs
Familial estrangement due to religious-based queermisia
Coming out recounted
Emotionally abusive relationship recounted
Social anxiety
Alcohol consumption
Death of an aunt from Alzheimer’s Disease

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke – until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighbourhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Misogyny
Racism mentioned
Ableism (r slur), on-page
Sexual assault mentioned (groping)
Child abuse and neglect recounted including a mention of child sexual assault
Spousal abandonment
Abusive relationship (scs)
Cheating
Sex work, on-page
Familial estrangement mentioned
Alcohol consumption, on-page
Alcohol abuse (implied)
Recreational drug use, on-page
Chronic leg injury
Grief and loss depiction
Death of a girlfriend from an oxycontin overdose mentioned
Death of a husband and a pet dog in a car accident recounted
Death of a sister from drowning recounted
Murder by drowning
Murder by gun violence
Murder by poisoning
Stalking
Animal dead body mentioned (seagull)

The Twisted Dead by Darcy Coates

The Twisted Dead by Darcy Coates

Keira is ready for her life to return to normal. Though, to be fair, normal is a tall ask when your ability to see ghosts has landed you the job of groundskeeper in a small town’s cemetery. When Keira receives an invitation to dinner at Dane Crispin’s crumbling ancestral estate, she knows she can’t refuse. The last living descendant of the Crispin family is reclusive. Keira only met him once…on the night he tried to kill her. The mansion is steeped in history that is equal parts complicated and bloody. Keira senses the presence of restless spirits the moment she steps through its door. And Dane, waiting for her inside, wants to ask for her help.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Familial estrangement mentioned
Amnesia
Parent with a chronically, and possibly terminally, ill parent (sc)
Blood and physical injuries, on-page
Needles
Arson and damage to property discussed
Murder including murder by stabbing and knife violence, on-page
Gun violence

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?
In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Rape
Sexual harassment
Familial estrangement
Murder

A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria

A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria

After burning out in her corporate marketing career, Michelle Amato has built a thriving freelance business as a graphic designer. So what if her love life is nonexistent? She’s perfectly fine being the black sheep of her marriage-obsessed Puerto Rican-Italian family. Besides, the only guy who ever made her want happily-ever-after disappeared thirteen years ago. Gabriel Aguilar left the Bronx at eighteen to escape his parents’ demanding expectations, but it also meant saying goodbye to Michelle, his best friend and… https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56197428-a-lot-like-adi-sRead more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Familial estrangement
Dieting mentioned
Anxiety
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use recounted

Deal with the Demon by Chace Verity

Deal with the Demon by Chace Verity

As a single mother working two jobs, Heidi Murphy can barely keep her head above water on the best of days. When her full-time job fires her and her kids get in trouble at school, Heidi begins to drown in stress. She needs help–and help arrives in the form of a QR code that summons an unexpected visitor. Heidi’s world gets turned upside down when she meets Drystan, a demon from another realm. Upside down in this case, however, is for the better since Drystan is supposed to bring her success. His visage is strange and almost frightening, but he quickly becomes a valuable member of the household with his excellent cooking skills… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Sexual harassment
Parental abandonment
Familial estrangement
Teen pregnancy recounted
Murder

Trade Deadline by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn

Trade Deadline by Avon Gale & Piper Vaughn

Daniel “Bellzie” Bellamy should be on top of the world—a Stanley Cup is the perfect topper to his fourteen-year NHL career. But despite the post-win high, something’s missing. When the chance to play for his hometown team, the Miami Thunder, comes along, he’s open to it. And when he runs into an old friend from his past soon after he makes the move, he wonders if it might be kismet. Micah Kelly never thought he’d see his childhood crush—and first kiss—again. Danny Bellamy moved on to bigger and better things when they were teenagers, and the idea that Micah’s relationship with the professional hockey player could be anything more than one-sided Instagram thirst seems… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Homomisia recounted
Familial disownment recounted
Animal injury mentioned

Breakaway by Avon Gale

Breakaway by Avon Gale

Drafted to play for the Jacksonville Sea Storm, an NHL affiliate, twenty-year-old Lane Courtnall’s future looks bright, apart from the awkwardness he feels as a gay man playing on a minor league hockey team. He’s put his foot in his mouth a few times and alienated his teammates. Then, during a rivalry game, Lane throws off his gloves against Jared Shore, enforcer for the Savannah Renegades. It’s a strange way to begin a relationship. Jared’s been playing minor league hockey for most of his career. He’s bisexual and doesn’t care if anyone knows. But he’s determined to… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Sexism
Sexual harassment
Grooming & coach-student relationship recounted
Familial estrangement