Persecution for Witchcraft – Trigger Warning Database

Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she would steal her sister’s place in the palace. Trained from birth to return to the place of her parents’ murder and usurp the only survivor, she will do anything to rise to power and protect the community of witches she loves. Or she would, if only a certain palace guard wasn’t quite so distractingly attractive, and if her reckless magic didn’t have a habit of causing trouble… Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility. Marriage into a brutal kingdom awaits, and she will not let a small matter like waking up in the middle of the desert in the company of an extremely… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Persecution for witchcraft (theme)
Child abuse recounted (on-page)
Alcohol consumption (on-page)
Attempted murder by poisoning (on-page)
Minor blood & injury depiction
Murder of a father by poisoning mentioned
Murder of a mother & great-aunt from their throats being slit (recounted & on-page)
Minor battle scenes and fantasy violence, including sword, bow and arrow & knife violence (recounted & on-page) as well as discussions of past war and genocide
Imprisonment (on-page)
Torture mentioned (off-page)
Kidnapping (on-page)
Loss of autonomy (magical-induced memory loss and sleep)
Animal death (snow leopard, elk, birds)
Bullying, including being magically suffocated and thrown off a cliff into the ocean to drown (on-page)

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a noblewoman, is with child again. None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir. Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft. Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Period-typical sexism & misogyny
Adult-minor abusive marriage
Lancashire witch trials (theme)
Teen pregnancy (protagonist)
Infertility & miscarriages recounted

Context : The 17-year-old protagonist is pregnant and married to an adult man. She has had two miscarriages in the past, and is advised to not get pregnant again.

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is. Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe, a notorious and unforgive….Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Persecution for witchcraft including mass murder of witches recounted
Enslavement recounted
Rape recounted (multiple, forced sexual relationship)
Substance addiction & alcoholism recovery (laudanum, opium)
Murder by gun violence and explosion
Torture
Gun & knife violence

The WitchSlayer by Opal Reyne

When Amalia’s cat brought home a strange flying lizard during a terrible storm, she had no idea that it was a Dragon. Or that he would save her from burning at the stake, only to imprison her in his lair when she saw his human face. Now she is stuck in this cave with a moody, hot-tempered, and arrogant warrior – one who has killed her kind by the dozens. She expected to feel trapped, but he somehow makes her feel unbelievably… safe. Rurik’s only goal is to kill the Dark Witch, Strolguil the Vast. He never expected to find himself in a White Witch’s home in need of healing, or that… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Persecution for witchraft including burning at the stake, drowning and falling off a cliff
Sexual assault, on-page

Witchsign by Den Patrick

Witchsign by Den Patrick

It has been seventy-five years since the dragons’ rule of fire and arcane magic over Vinkerveld was ended, and the Empire was born. Since, the tyrannical Synod has worked hard to banish all manifestations of the arcane across the lands. However, children are still born bearing the taint of the arcane, known to all as witchsign. So each year the Emperor sends out his Vigilants across the continent to detect the arcane in these children. Those found tainted are taken, and never seen again. Steiner has always suspected his sister Kjellrunn of bearing witchsign… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Persecution for witchcraft
Parental abandonment

The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow by Emma Steinkellner

The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow by Emma Steinkellner

Moth Hush is starting to settle into her newfound witch heritage and powers, but life at school continues to be rough. Even her best friend, Charlie, doesn’t entirely understand what it’s like for her to always be the one who gets mocked, and things only get worse when Moth’s mom starts dating one of the dorkiest teachers in the school! Then Moth gets hold of a mysterious charm that can unleash another version of herself—one who is confident, cool, and extremely popular. What could possibly go wrong?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Persecution for witchcraft
Loss of autonomy (possession)
Bullying

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory

Midsummer’s Eve, 1648, and England is in the grip of civil war between renegade King and rebellious Parliament. The struggle reaches every corner of the kingdom, even to the remote Tidelands – the marshy landscape of the south coast. Alinor, a descendant of wise women, crushed by poverty and superstition, waits in the graveyard under the full moon for a ghost who will declare her free from her abusive husband. Instead she meets James, a young man on the run, and shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marsh, not knowing that she is leading disaster into… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Spousal abandonment
Domestic abuse
Persecution for (alleged) witchcraft

Luminous by Mara Rutherford

Luminous by Mara Rutherford

Liora has spent her life in hiding, knowing discovery could mean falling prey to the king’s warlock, Darius, who uses mages’ magic to grow his own power. But when her worst nightmare comes to pass, Darius doesn’t take her. Instead, he demands that her younger sister return to the capital with him. To make matters worse, Evran, Liora’s childhood friend and the only one who knows her secret, goes missing following Darius’s visit, leaving her without anyone to turn to. To find Evran and to save her sister, Liora must embrace the power she has always feared. But the greatest danger she’ll face is yet to come, for Darius has… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Persecution for magic & witchcraft (theme)
Blood depiction
Dead body
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother in a fire recounted
Knife violence
Imprisonment mentioned
Blackmail
Animal attack
Animal hunting
Animal death, on-page
Animal dead bodies mentioned

The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye

The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye

Russia is on the brink of great change. Pasha’s coronation approaches, and Vika is now the Imperial Enchanter, but the role she once coveted may be more difficult—and dangerous—than she ever expected. Pasha is grappling with his own problems—his legitimacy is in doubt, the girl he loves loathes him, and he believes his best friend is dead. When a challenger to the throne emerges—and with the magic in Russia growing rapidly—Pasha must do whatever it takes to keep his position and protect his kingdom. For Nikolai, the ending of the Crown’s Game stung deeply… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Classism
Persecution for witchcraft
Rape, implied
Sexual harassment
Nightmares
Attempted suicide mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Blood & gore depiction
Dead bodies
Amputation
Physical injury
Death of a friend
Death of a mother & guardian
Murder & attempted murder
Explosion
Gun violence
Incarceration & captivity
Avalanche
War, revolt & rebellion themes
Poverty themes

Cattywampus by Ash Van Otterloo

Cattywampus by Ash Van Otterloo

In the town of Howler’s Hollow, conjuring magic is strictly off-limits. Only nothing makes Delpha McGill’s skin crawl more than rules. So when she finds her family’s secret book of hexes, she’s itching to use it to banish her mama’s money troubles. She just has to keep it quieter than a church mouse — not exactly Delpha’s specialty. Trouble is, Katybird Hearn is hankering to get her hands on the spell book, too. The daughter of a rival witching family, Katy has reasons of her own for wanting to learn forbidden magic, and she’s not going to let an age-old feud or Delpha’s contrary ways stop her. But their quarrel accident… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Persecution for witchcraft
Parental abandonment discussed
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a cousin recounted
Death of a grandmother from dementia recounted
Death of a brother & child by drowning mentioned
Car accident recounted