Tag Archives: Grief & Loss Depiction

After Annie by Anna Quindlen

When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her four young children and her closest friend are left to struggle without the woman who centred their lives. Bill Brown finds himself overwhelmed, and Annie’s best friend Annemarie is lost to old bad habits without Annie’s support. It is Annie’s daughter, Ali, forced to try to care for her younger brothers and even her father, who manages to maintain some semblance of their former lives for them all, and who confronts the complicated truths of adulthood. Yet over the course of the next year, while Annie looms large in…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction (Theme)
  • Death of a mother & wife from a brain aneurism

The Manicurist’s Daughter by Susan Lieu

Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers about her family’s past and about her own future. Refugees from the Vietnam War, Susan’s family escaped to California in the 1980s after five failed attempts. Upon arrival, Susan’s mother was their savvy, charismatic North Star, setting up two successful nail salons and orchestrating every success―until Susan was eleven. That year, her mother died from a botched tummy tuck. After the funeral, no one was ever allowed to talk about her or what had happened. For the next twenty years, Susan navigated a series of cascading questions alone―why did the most perfect… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction (theme)
  • Death of a mother during cosmetic surgery

Colton Gentry’s Third Act by Jeff Zentner

Colton Gentry is riding high. His first hit in nearly a decade has caught fire, he’s opening for country megastar Brant Lucas, and he’s married to one of the hottest acts in the country. But he’s hurting. Only a few weeks earlier, his best friend, Duane, was murdered onstage by a mass shooter at a country music festival. One night, with his trauma festering and Jim Beam flowing through his veins, Colton stands before a sold-out arena crowd of country music fans and offers his unfiltered opinion on guns. It goes over poorly. Immediately, his career and marriage… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcoholism
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend & parent
  • Mass shooting discussed

Icon and Inferno by Marie Lu

A year has passed since superstar Winter Young last saw secret agent Sydney Cossette. After barely surviving their first assignment together in London — and their intense chemistry – the two haven’t spoken at all. Though they’re never far from the other’s thoughts, or fantasies. So when Syndey shows up at Winter’s studio one day with a new mission from Panacea, he has no choice but to accept. With the clock ticking, the duo prepares to head to Singapore to rescue an operative in danger — only to learn he’s none other than Sydney’s ex, a rogue agent known as the Arsonist… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse & domestic violence recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Parent with alcoholism recounted
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a brother recounted
  • Murder by poisoning
  • Car bombing
  • Knife & gun violence

Be With Me by Samantha Young

While Arran Adair might have followed the call of wanderlust in his younger years, it isn’t the reason he stayed away from Ardnoch. Home now, desperate to put the sins of his past behind him, and rebuild his life in the Scottish Highlands, Arran could never have predicted Eredine Willows. The Ardnoch Estate Pilates instructor is a complicated mystery and one Arran can’t help but want to solve. Eredine has spent the last eight years hiding in Scotland and building walls between her and the people she cares about. Arran is the first Adair who doesn’t treat her as if she’s fragile and demands a genuine friendship. Yet, the attraction… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape & sexual assault mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Knife violence
  • Drowning
  • Stalking

Through the Glen by Samantha Young

Theo Cavendish is the second son of a British viscount, and he’s spent years running from the aristocratic world he grew up in. Betrayal and loss taught him lessons he’s not quick to forget. As an award-winning screenwriter and creator, Theo prefers to throw himself into the world of film and television. He moves from one project to another, never really letting anyone truly know him. As a housekeeper at the exclusive Ardnoch Estate, shy Sarah McCulloch feels invisible most days. No one really knows her, and they definitely don’t know she’s a bestselling crime writer. She dreams of seeing her series on screen and believes only one… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity mentioned
  • Panic attacks
  • Blood depiction & medical content
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of grandparents mentioned
  • Death of a parent from cancer
  • Knife violence

Where Butterflies Wander by Suzanne Redfearn

After a tragic accident claims the life of one of her children, Marie Egide is desperate to carve out a fresh start for her family. With her husband and their three surviving children, Marie travels to New Hampshire, where she plans to sell a family estate and then, just maybe, they’ll be able to heal from their grief. Marie’s plans are thwarted when she realizes a war veteran known by locals as “the river witch” is living in a cabin on the property, which she claims was a gift from Marie’s grandfather. If Davina refuses to move on, Marie won’t be able to either. The two women… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a daughter
  • Injury & scarring obtained during military deployment in Afghanistan
  • Animal injury (dog)

You, with a View by Jessica Joyce

Noelle Shepard is grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother when she discovers decades-old photos and letters that hint to a forbidden love in her gram’s past. Needing to know the full story, she creates a TikTok video appealing for information – and it goes viral. Through her video, she manages to track down her grandmother’s secret love, Paul, who offers to take her on the honeymoon road-trip he and Gram planned but never got to go on. Noelle jumps at the chance to make this one last connection with her grandmother. There’s just one problem – Paul’s grandson is… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Emotional parental abuse (off-page)
  • Chronic back pain & minor sports injury
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a grandmother recounted
  • Discussions of employment and financial concerns

The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

It’s the night before Death-Cast goes live, and there’s one question on everyone’s mind: Can Death-Cast actually predict when someone will die, or is it just an elaborate hoax? .Orion Pagan has waited years for someone to tell him that he’s going to die. He has a serious heart condition, and he signed up for Death-Cast so he could know what’s coming. Valentino Prince is restarting his life in New York. He has a long and promising future ahead and he only registered for Death-Cast after his twin sister nearly died in a car accident. Orion and Valentino cross paths.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Domestic violence
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent in 9/11 mentioned
  • Attempted murder
  • Gun violence
  • Car accident mentioned

The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon

When it comes to personal training, Taylor Powell kicks serious butt. Unfortunately, her bills are piling up, rent is due, and the money situation is dire. Taylor needs more than the support of her new best friends, Samiah and London. She needs a miracle. And Jamar Dixon might just be it. The oh-so-fine former footballer wants back into the NFL, and he wants Taylor to train him. There’s just one catch — no one can know what they’re doing. But when they’re accidentally outed as a couple, Taylor’s game plan is turned completely upside down. Is Jamar just playing to win . . . or is he playing for keeps?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety & panic attack
  • Dieting discussed
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Physical injury including sprained ankle & a previous sports injury (knee)
  • Hospitalisation of a grandparent (secondary character)
  • Grief & loss depiction and Survivor’s Guilt
  • Death of a friend in a motorcycle accident (off-page, discussed)