Tag Archives: Knife, Sword & Axe Violence

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

The convent has returned Sybella to a life that nearly drove her mad. Her father’s rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother’s love is equally monstrous. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will the daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse recounted
  • Sex work shaming
  • Incest (brother-sister & father-daughter)
  • Rape & attempted rape, on-page & recounted (multiple scenes)
  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse
  • Pregnancy from rape mentioned
  • Childbirth mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Graphic physical injuries & illness,
  • Facial scars and disfigurement mentioned
  • Death of a sister, off-page
  • Death of a newborn daughter recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Attempted infanticide by drowning mentioned
  • Infanticide by snapping a newborn’s neck recounted, on-page
  • Knife, sword & arrow violence
  • Poisoning
  • Imprisonment
  • Animal death (dog) mentioned
  • Animal hunting
  • War themes & battle scenes including discussions of sieges

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan

Love demands sacrifice. Her blood. Her body. Even her life. Singapore, 1927. Verity Edevane needs blood. And not just anyone’s blood. She craves the sweet, salty rush from a young woman’s veins, the heady swirl of desire mixed with fealty—such a rarity in this foreign colony. It’s a lot to ask. But doesn’t she deserve the best? Gean Choo needs money. Mrs. Edevane makes her an offer Gean Choo can’t refuse. But who is her strange, alluring new mistress? What is she? And what will Gean Choo sacrifice to earn her love?… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Rape
  • Child sexual abuse recounted
  • Dubious consent scenarios, including employer-employee relationship
  • Child abandonment
  • Emotional & physical child abuse recounted
  • Abusive relationship
  • Cheating
  • Attempted suicide
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Self-harm & self-inflicted injury
  • Recreational drug use
  • Death during childbirth mentioned
  • Physical injury, including a broken nose
  • Cannibalism
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Physical assault

Stormcaster by Cinda Williams Chima

Stormcaster by Cinda Williams Chima

Vagabond seafarer Evan Strangward can move wind, waves, and weather, but his magical abilities can’t protect him forever from the brutal Empress Celestine. As Celestine’s relentless bloodsworn armies grow, Evan travels to the Fells to warn the queendom that an invasion is imminent. If he can’t convince the Gray Wolf queen to take a stand, he knows that the Seven Realms will fall, and his last sanctuary will be destroyed. Among the dead will be the one person Evan can’t stand to lose. Meanwhile, the queen’s formidable… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Domestic abuse
  • Knife violence
  • Poisoning

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

Based on the true story of Cambodian advocate Arn Chorn-Pond, and authentically told from his point of view as a young boy, this is an achingly raw and powerful historical novel about a child of war who becomes a man of peace. It includes an author’s note and acknowledgments from Arn Chorn-Pond himself. Based on the true story of Cambodian advocate Arn Chorn-Pond, and authentically told from his point of view as a young boy, this is an achingly raw and powerful historical novel about a child of war who becomes a man of peace.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child sexual abuse
  • Rape mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Dead bodies
  • Cannibalism
  • Starvation
  • Death of a child
  • Cambodia’s Killing Fields (theme)
  • Murder & mass murder
  • Stabbing
  • Gun violence

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can’t sell—the thick silver cuffs he’s worn since birth. They’re clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he’s never been able to get them off. One day, Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them. Soon Han learns that the amulet has an… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Knife violence
  • Animal cruelty

Blade of Iris by KA Knight

Blade of Iris by K.A. Knight

I was sold to my enemies. The Volkovs are the nightmares they warned me of as a child, the ones they spoke of in the dark in hushed tones. Traitors, killers, the boogeymen themselves sent to scare children like me. Children of their enemies. A Kelly. A family that they have been at war with since before I was born, and now? Now I am to marry into the Bratva Pigs. To become their blushing bride. My father’s plan, theirs as well. A marriage to create peace. To unite the families and end the bloodshed once and for all. We are a symbol of hope, of the future, of harmony.. I have… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Forced arranged marriage
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Knife & gun violence
  • Organised crime (mafia)

Den of Vipers by KA Knight

Ryder, Garrett, Kenzo, and Diesel—The Vipers. They run this town and everyone in it. Their deals are as sordid as their business, and their reputation is enough to bring a grown man to his knees, forcing him to beg for mercy. They are not people you mess with, yet my dad did. The old man ran up a debt with them and then sold me to cover his losses. Yes, sold me. They own me now. I’m theirs in every sense of the word. But I’ve never been meek and compliant. These men, they look at me with longing. Their scarred, blood-stained hands holding me tight. They want everything I am, everything I have to give, and won’t stop until they get just… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Child abuse
  • Parent with alcoholism mentioned
  • Self-harm
  • Blood & gore depiction including blood play
  • Graphic mutilation
  • Death of a relative from terminal cancer recounted
  • Death of a parent from suicide recounted
  • Death of a parent from a drug overdose recounted
  • Graphic murder & attempted murder
  • Graphic torture
  • Gun & knife violence and play
  • Physical assault
  • Arson
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Car accident (on-page)
  • Organised crime (mafia)

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

With a flick of her paintbrush, Isobel creates stunning portraits for a dangerous set of clients: the fair folk. These immortal creatures cannot bake bread or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and they trade valuable enchantments for Isobel’s paintings. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—Isobel makes a deadly mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes, a weakness that could cost him his throne, and even his life. Furious, Rook spirits Isobel away to his kingdom to stand… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Self-injury
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Emesis
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Kidnapping
  • Loss of autonomy discussed (magic)
  • Animal attack

The Chain by Adrian McKinty

The Chain by Adrian McKinty

It’s something parents do every morning: Rachel Klein drops her daughter at the bus stop and heads into her day. But a cell phone call from an unknown number changes everything: it’s a woman on the line, informing her that she has Kylie bound and gagged in her back seat, and the only way Rachel will see her again is to follow her instructions exactly: pay a ransom, and find another child to abduct. This is no ordinary kidnapping: the caller is a mother herself, whose son has been taken, and if Rachel doesn’t do as she’s told, the boy will die. “You are not the first. And you will certainly not be the last.” Rachel is now part of The Chain… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Military Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Substance addiction
  • Drug abuse & use, on-page
  • Protagonist with cancer
  • Death and resuscitation of a child for anaphylactic shock
  • Murder
  • Gun violence & threats of gun violence
  • Kidnapping & captivity of children, on-page (theme)
  • Disappearance of a daughter
  • Stalking
  • Physical assault with a wrench and physical assault of a child
  • Animal hunting

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

Charlie Jordan is being driven across the country by a serial killer. Maybe. Behind the wheel is Josh Baxter, a stranger Charlie met by the college ride share board, who also has a good reason for leaving university in the middle of term. On the road they share their stories, carefully avoiding the subject dominating the news – the Campus Killer, who’s tied up and stabbed three students in the span of a year, has just struck again. Travelling the lengthy journey between university and their final destination, Charlie begins to notice discrepancies in Josh’s story. As she… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Suicide & attempted suicide mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Blood depiction
  • Murder
  • Stabbing, on-page
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping
  • Car accident, on-page & mentioned