Imprisonment & Incarceration – Trigger Warning Database

Stalking Ginevra by Gigi Styx

Ginevra: A masked man killed my fiancé, so I offered him anything in exchange for my life. He demanded my mouth, but he’s taken my body… and my soul. At night, he comes to my room to degrade and humiliate me for fun. When he murders my date, I turn to the only person strong enough to defeat my stalker. My ex-fiancé, Benito—the man I ruthlessly dumped for another guy. He’ll help, but only if I marry him and agree to his controlling demands. Benito: I’ve despised her since she left me for a bitter enemy. When I shot her fiancé, I also wanted to erase her from the earth. Then she made me an offer that was hard to resist. I got one… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Foster care experiences recounted
Rape recounted. attempted rape & dubious consent (‘dubcon’)
Incest mentioned
Domestic violence & forced marriage
Alcoholism
Teen pregnancy recounted (secondary character)
Decapitation & evisceration
Forced body modifications (shaving)
Murder of a fiancé
Whipping & knife play
Bombing
Kidnapping & imprisonment
Stalking/surveillance & blackmail

Snaring Emberly by Gigi Styx

Revenge was supposed to be simple, but love had other plans Emberly: When an abusive ex corners me in a nightclub, I cling to the first man I see for protection. Little do I know he’s a mafia Don, fresh out of prison and eager for a one-night stand. One night extends into two, then three. I’m beginning to suspect I can’t leave. But every time I raise questions, he answers with offers impossible to resist. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if I’m just paranoid or a pawn in a much larger game. Roman: When a man gets jailed for a crime he didn’t commit, the first thing he wants after leaving death row is vengeance. The bastard who framed me… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Rape mentioned
Domestic violence mentioned
Elder abuse
Forced marriage
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & panic attacks
Attempted suicide, immolation & threats of suicide bombing
Drugging
Forced pregnancy due to birth control tampering
Male genital mutilation
Dismemberment, desecration of a corpse, and cremation of living people
Murder
Torture (waterboarding)
Organised crime (mafia)
Kidnapping & imprisonment

Context : Depiction of BDSM & kink, including voyeurism, exhibitionism, and mentions of urophilia

I Will Mend You by Gigi Styx

My worst nightmare finally stepped out of the mirror. And the only man who can save me is a ghost. I’m trapped in a forgotten nightmare with the monster I most fear. The key to my freedom lies behind a wall of memories. Xero’s specter invades my mind, whispering both vengeance and salvation. He insists he’s real, yet I can’t trust my shattered psyche. But as my tormentors draw close, I must rely on the phantom I betrayed for protection—and for revenge. She’s ensnared by darkness, and only I can set her free. To save her, I must become the vengeful spirit she fears. Amethyst’s mind is a maze of terror and confusion. Freeing… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Child & organ trafficking
Elder abuse
Victim-blaming
Rape, dubious consent (‘dubcon’), sexual harassment, & attempted sexual assault
Paedophilia, grooming, & child sexual abuse
Underage sex work mentioned (secondary character)
Gang rape (secondary character)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Hallucinations & memory loss
Immolation
Abortion (forced) recounted
Medical misconduct (medication tampering)
Forced feeding
Cannibalism & dismemberment
Genital mutilation (castration)
Murder & murder of a child/infant
Graphic torture (on-page)
Car accident
Poisoning
Arson
Kidnapping & captivity
Imprisonment
Stalking & blackmail
Bullying & online harassment

I Will Break You by Gigi Styx

My prison pen pal got the electric chair. So how can he sext me from the grave? I see dead people, and not just the men I murdered. I’m in danger of being committed because I can’t tell what’s real from my hallucinations. Everyone thinks I’m crazy when the serial killer I jilted starts haunting my house. He assassinates any man who shows me interest, leaving their body parts under my pillow. During the day, his gaslighting destroys my peace of mind. But at night, he invades my nightmares and makes me crave the depravity. She ghosted me at the altar. Now, I’m aching for revenge. I want to break her, piece by delicious piece. Revel in her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Teacher-student relationship recounted
Victim-blaming
Paedophilia, grooming & child sexual abuse recounted
Rape & sexual assault
Gang rape mentioned (secondary character)
Underage sex work mentioned (secondary character)
Hallucinations & memory loss
Suicide
Abortion (forced) & miscarriage recounted
Medical misconduct (medication tampering)
Dismemberment and desecration of a corpse & grave
Genital mutilation (castration)
Torture
Strangulation
Car accident
Imprisonment
Cults
Stalking
Bullying, online harassment & doxxing

Context : Depiction of BDSM & kink, including erotophonophilia, sadism, phrogging, collaring, spanking, osteophilia, fear play, mask play, knife play, gun play, and mentions of coprophilia,

Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz

Guy Shadowfade is dead, and after a lifetime as the dark sorcerer’s right-hand, Violet Thistlewaite is determined to start over—not as the fearsome Thornwitch, but as someone kind. Someone better. Someone good. The quaint town of Dragon’s Rest, Violet decides, will be her second chance—she’ll set down roots, open a flower shop, keep her sentient (mildly homicidal) houseplant in check, and prune dark magic from the twisted boughs of her life. Violet’s vibrant bouquets and cheerful enchantments soon charm the welcoming townsfolk, though nothing seems to impress the prickly yet dashingly handsome… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Grief & loss depiction
Death of parents recounted
Murder
Kidnapping & imprisonment

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison. But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent–which has more than doubled–and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed. One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Racism
Child abuse & neglect and mentions of the foster care system
Statutory rape & sexual assault
Suicide & self-harm
Death of a child from drowning recounted
Police brutality
Incarceration of a parent

The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb

Corby Ledbetter is struggling. New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown his marriage to his beloved Emily into a tailspin. And that’s before he causes the tragedy that tears the family apart. Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he bears witness to frightful acts of brutality but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian who sees his light and some of his fellow offenders, including a tender-hearted cellmate and a troubled teen desperate for a role model. Buoyed… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Rape (sodomy)
Death of a child
Alcohol & substance addiction
Incarceration

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

A magical detective dives into the affairs of Chicago’s divine monsters to secure a future with the love of her life. This sapphic period piece will dazzle anyone looking for mystery, intrigue, romance, magic, or all of the above. An exiled auspex who sold her soul to save her brother’s life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, her client sweetens the pot by offering up the one payment she can’t resist―the chance to have a future where she grows old with the woman she loves. To succeed, she is given three days to track down the White City Vampire, Chicago’s most notorious serial killer. If… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Period-typical homophobia, specifically lesbophobia, & misogyny, including incarceration, institutionalisation of disabled and queer women, and mentions of electroshock therapy (as conversion therapy)
Graphic alcohol consumption & smoking (on-page)
Blood & gore depiction and mentions of emesis
Death of parents in a car accident recounted
Murder & mentions of human sacrifice
Gun violence
Loss of autonomy (possession)

Wish by Barbara O’Connor

Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite. But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Parent in jail (protagonist)
Bullying & minor fistfights (on-page)

Dream by Barbara O’Connor

Idalee Lovett is content with her life in small-town Colby, North Carolina, living in her family’s huge house with rooms for rent. But she has big dreams, just like her mama. While Mama is on tour for the summer with her cover band, Lovey Lovett and the Junkyard Dogs, Idalee decides to hone her craft as a songwriter—since her truest wish is to hear her country songs on the radio one day. When the local radio station announces a songwriting contest with the winning song being recorded by an up-and-coming singer, Idalee is determined to win. It would definitely be possible if only she could buy the shiny blue guitar in… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Alcohol consumption mentioned
Amputation mentioned, including a secondary character who lost toes in an axe incident and a cousin who lost a finger in a fireworks incident
Parent in jail for assault (secondary character)
Fistfight mentioned