Tag Archives: Forced & Arranged Marriage

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: Tessa Gray. So when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Forced marriage
  • Drug dependency
  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Pregnancy
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Physical injuries
  • Emesis
  • Terminal illness
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a father
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping & captivity
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Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe by Madeline Miller

In the house of Helios, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power – the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape (on-page)
  • Rape by coercion recounted & discussed
  • Incest mentioned
  • Emotional, verbal & physical abuse
  • Cheating
  • Arranged & forced marriage
  • Nightmares
  • Suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Self-harm
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Nonconsensual drugging
  • Graphic caesarean childbirth (on-page)
  • Pregnancy
  • Blood & physical injury depiction
  • Dead bodies
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a sibling
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a father
  • Death of a husband
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Death from a fall
  • Death by drowning mentioned
  • Animal death (on-page)
  • Bestiality mentioned & recounted
  • Bullying
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The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl & the Atlantic Complex by Eoin Colfer

Artemis’s mother is gravely ill. Unfortunately the cure, an endangered lemur, was made extinct eight years ago . . . by Artemis Fowl. Talk about awkward.

What if he could travel back in time, outwit his former self and bring the lemur home? With the right demon warlock, it might be possible.

But we all remember the young Artemis. He was, to put it mildly, a pretty terrible human being, so this won’t be easy.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Forced marriage mentioned
  • Physical injury
  • Explosion
  • Electrocution
  • Kidnapping
  • Mind control
  • Animal attack
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Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Rape mentioned
  • Forced marriage
  • Child abandonment mentioned
  • Domestic violence
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Self-harm
  • Nonconsensual drugging
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Physical injuries
  • Medical experimentation
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Fire & immolation
  • Kidnapping
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The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

If you have picked up this book with the hope of finding a simple and cheery tale, I’m afraid you have picked up the wrong book altogether. The story may seem cheery at first, when the Baudelaire children spend time in the company of some interesting reptiles and a giddy uncle, but don’t be fooled. If you know anything at all about the unlucky Baudelaire children, you already know that even pleasant events lead down the same road to misery.

In fact, within the pages you now hold in your hands, the three siblings endure a car accident, a terrible odor, a deadly serpent, a long knife, a large brass reading lamp, and the appearance of a person they’d hoped never to see again.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Attempted adult-minor marriage recounted
  • Child abuse
  • Death of a mother & father recounted
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Blackmail
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The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

I’m sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Attempted forced adult-minor marriage
  • Child abuse
  • Death of a parent
  • Kidnapping
  • Blackmail
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The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Maia, the youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favour with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the spectre of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Racism
  • Physical & verbal abuse mentioned
  • Attempted sexual assault
  • Arranged marriage
  • Suicide
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a father
  • Death of a brother
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In the Ravenous Dark by AdriAnne Strickland

In the Ravenous Dark by AdriAnne Strickland

In Thanopolis, those gifted with magic are assigned undead spirits to guard them—and control them. Ever since Rovan’s father died trying to keep her from this fate, she’s hidden her magic. But when she accidentally reveals her powers, she’s bound to a spirit and thrust into a world of palace intrigue and deception. Desperate to escape, Rovan finds herself falling for two people she can’t fully trust: Lydea, a beguiling, rebellious princess; and Ivrilos, the handsome spirit with the ability to control Rovan, body and soul. Together, they uncover a secret that will destroy Thanopolis. To save them all, Rovan will have to start a rebellion in both… Read more,

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Forced marriage
  • Rape recounted & threats of rape
  • Forced pregnancy
  • Alcoholism & alcohol abuse
  • Graphic blood & gore depiction
  • Body horror
  • Emesis
  • Death of a parent, on- & off-page
  • Death of a sibling by suicide, off-page
  • Murder
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The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

The Mermaid, the Witch & the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl takes on the identity of Florian the man to earn the respect and protection of the crew. For Flora, former starving urchin, the brutal life of a pirate is about survival: don’t trust, don’t stick out, and don’t feel. But on this voyage, as the pirates prepare to sell their unsuspecting passengers into slavery, Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is en route to a dreaded arranged marriage with her own casket in tow. Flora doesn’t expect to be taken under Evelyn’s wing, and Evelyn doesn’t expect to find such a deep bond with the pirate Florian.

Soon the unlikely pair set in motion a wild escape that will free a captured mermaid (coveted for her blood, which causes men to have visions and lose memories) and involve the mysterious Pirate Supreme, an opportunistic witch, and the all-encompassing Sea itself.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Slavery & human trafficking
  • Misogyny
  • Rape & sexual assault mentioned
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Forced arranged marriage
  • Alcoholism & alcohol abuse
  • Starvation
  • Blood depiction & physical injury
  • Emesis
  • Murder
  • Graphic torture (on-page)
  • Whipping
  • Hanging mentioned
  • Imprisonment
  • Poverty themes
  • Homelessness
  • War & colonialism themes
  • Animal abuse & death

Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser

Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser

Caroline Oresteia is destined for the river. For generations, her family has been called by the river god, who has guided their wherries on countless voyages throughout the Riverlands. At seventeen, Caro has spent years listening to the water, ready to meet her fate. But the river god hasn’t spoken her name yet—and if he hasn’t by now, there’s a chance he never will.

Caro decides to take her future into her own hands when her father is arrested for refusing to transport a mysterious crate. By agreeing to deliver it in exchange for his release, Caro finds herself caught in a web of politics and lies, with dangerous pirates after the cargo—an arrogant courier with a secret—and without the river god to help her. With so much at stake, Caro must choose between the life she always wanted and the one she never could have imagined for herself.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Classism
  • Slut-shaming
  • Attempted sexual assault (nonconsensual kiss, on-page & discussed)
  • Child abuse recounted
  • Arranged & nonconsensual marriages discussed
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood & gore depiction, including dead bodies
  • Graphic physical injuries
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a brother
  • Death of a mother & father (off-page)
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture (off-page)
  • Gun violence
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Fire
  • Drowning
  • Shipwreck
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • War themes, including regicide, rebellion, coup & colonialism