Tag Archives: Scars

Equivalent Exchange by Christina C. Jones

Keris Bradford is a woman on the brink. Of what? She doesn’t quite know. Her life is shifting, rapidly, and the sudden, captivating intrusion of Laken Kimble isn’t exactly… reassuring. For Keris, Laken is comfort and risk wrapped in one very appealing package. For Laken, Keris is barrier and providence all at once. For both, there arises a need to navigate those contrasts to a conclusion neither was looking for… a need to answer a simple question. If you want this… what are you willing to offer in exchange?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableist language
  • Slut-shaming
  • Child abuse recounted
  • Rape by a partner recounted
  • Domestic violence
  • Divorce recounted
  • Infertility issues mentioned
  • Ectopic pregnancy recounted
  • Mentions of physical injury and facial scars sustained during a car accident
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a brother form an overdose mentioned
  • Death of a father from an undiagnosed brain tumor, heart failure & seizure recounted

Whispers of Shadow and Flame by L Penelope

The Mantle that separates the kingdoms of Elsira and Lagrimar is about to fall. And life will drastically change for both kingdoms. Born with a deadly magic she cannot control, Kyara is forced to become an assassin. Known as the Poison Flame in the kingdom of Lagrimar, she is notorious and lethal, but secretly seeks freedom from both her untamed power and the blood spell that commands her. She is tasked with capturing the legendary rebel called the Shadowfox, but everything changes when she learns her target’s true identity. Darvyn ol-Tahlyro may be the most powerful Earthsinger in generations, but guilt over… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Human trafficking
  • Slavery
  • Child abuse
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Self injury for blood magic
  • Scars
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Murder, on-page
  • Gun violence
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Disappearance of a parent

Bite Me by Robyn Bachar

When an out-of-control spell triggers the zombie apocalypse, Lizzy Addams is left in the ruins of Chicago with only the unhinged commentary—and endless erotic appetites—of her inner demon for company. Her blood supply dwindling, Lizzy must find survivors to feed from, or die trying. Officer Angela Kinney was on duty when hungry corpses overwhelmed the city. Angie’s group of survivors look to her for leadership, but nothing prepared her for a beautiful monster who offers safety in exchange for blood. Sean MacMillan never expected to see Lizzy again after she rejected his attempts to lure her back to the vampire… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial slur
  • Rape recounted & off-page
  • Child sexual abuse by a stepfather resulting in pregnancy mentioned (secondary character)
  • Sex work mentioned
  • Emotional sibling abuse
  • Blood & gore depiction including body horror and blood-drinking
  • Physical injury & scar
  • Death of a mother from childbirth recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Physical assault
  • Stalking

Names for the Dawn by CL Beaumont

Names for the Dawn by C.L. Beaumont

Seasoned Park Ranger Will Avery has found his home in the Denali wilderness, cherishing his solitary routines for the decade leading up to 1991. The trade-off that no one knows of his identity as a transgender man feels worth it for the comforting assurance he finds in the towering glaciers. Until Will discovers an unexpected passenger in his truck—the visiting wolf biologist everyone in the Park is ecstatic to meet—Nikhil Rajawat. Nikhil doesn’t return his new colleagues’ fervour. He’s dreamt of Denali for one reason: the pinnacle of his research, and it isn’t anyone’s business that this is the last year he’ll get to chase the wolves. He… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homomisia discussed
  • Transmisia recounted*
  • Familial estrangement & disownment*
  • Physical child abuse recounted*
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Insomnia
  • Nightmare
  • Parent with alcoholism recounted
  • Recovery from substance addiction including an off-page relapse
  • Suicidal ideation recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Pregnancy & childbirth mentioned (sc)
  • Weight loss mentioned
  • Gender dysphoria & body dysmorphia
  • Scars from top surgery mentioned
  • Gun violence*
  • Bullying
  • Animal death, including a wolf cub & death of a pet dog

*Context : When the protagonist came out to his father, his father shot a gun at the barn near him. He has wondered for years if it was intentional or an accident. As a child, the protagonist’s mother physically abused him and burnt him with cigarettes.

My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid

My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid

Miss Katherine Danvers is a desperate wallflower. Her family is on the brink of financial ruin, and it is up her to save her mother and sisters from a life of indignities. So she transforms herself into the incomparable Kitty Danvers, the fiancée of the enigmatic and reclusive Alexander Masters, Duke of Thornton—once dubbed the mad, bad, and dangerous catch of the Season. Ten years ago, society and the woman Alexander Masters loved called him a monster, after a traffic accident left him scarred and confined to a wheelchair. His… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Attempted sexual assault mentioned
  • Burn scars
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Fire recounted, off-page

Not Your Sidekick by CB Lee

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee

Welcome to Andover, where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who... Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Bimisia
  • Transmisia
  • Coming out recounted
  • Drugging
  • Forced breeding program, implied
  • Physical injury & scars
  • Nonconsensual medical experimentation
  • Physical assault
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Disappearance of parents
  • Bullying

If You Deceive by Kresley Cole

If You Deceive by Kresley Cole

Ethan MacCarrick was a heartbreakingly handsome rake until a powerful nobleman ordered him brutally beaten and his face scarred for a crime he didn’t commit. Ethan’s reprisal — bankrupting the nobleman and forcing his exile — does little to appease his wrath. Ten years later, a haughty, mysterious beauty enchants Ethan — the daughter of his enemy. At last, Ethan will have the revenge he’s craved; he’ll promise her marriage, seduce her, then cast her aside. When Madeleine van Rowen’s family was suddenly plunged into destitution and dishonor, she steeled…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Facial scars
  • Physical assault recounted

The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe

The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe

It wasn’t until Pan and Neverland that I finally felt alive. But things are not all full of magic and sunlight on the island. There’s something darker and more sinister haunting the forest. And worse, the fae queen and Captain Hook are ready to fight for control of Neverland and they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Including using the one thing Pan never thought he wanted or needed — me. I’m a descendant of the Darling family and now I belong to him and the Lost Boys. War is brewing — can the Never King get his shadow back and assume his rightful throne? And if he does, where will I fit or will Neverland be in jeopardy?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Slut-shaming
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Smoking
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Scars
  • Death of a grandmother mentioned
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Strangulation
  • Physical assault

Neon Hearts by Stefanie Simpson

Neon Hearts by Stefanie Simpson

Bea strikes up an online friendship with Josh, the mod of her disability support group, as she adapts to her new disabled reality after a serious accident. When the danger that’s dogged her for months closes in, she flees to Josh’s home during a terrible snowstorm, knowing he’s the only one she can go to. Josh needed to cut ties with his security job and life in Chadford, to seek solace in the hills and valleys of home. His intense connection and friendship with Bea made him second-guess his isolated life. He could protect her, but it would take him back to a dark place. Yet letting her go… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Panic attack
  • Memory loss
  • Physical injury, including brain trauma & nerve damage
  • Burn scars
  • Eyeball trauma
  • Chronic illness, including vertigo
  • Coma recounted
  • Heart attack & stroke mentioned
  • Physical assault recounted
  • Stalking
  • Car accident recounted
  • Fire recounted
  • Homelessness recounted

You Set Me on Fire by Mariko Tamaki

(You) Set Me on Fire by Mariko Tamaki

Allison Lee is seventeen and off to college in the fall. So far, she’s been in love once (total catastrophe) and on fire twice (also pretty bad). Both love and fire have left their scars. Looking a little more burnt chicken and a little less radiant phoenix, Allison takes up residence in Dylan Hall (a.k.a. Dyke Hall) at St. Joseph’s College, where she discovers the true gift of freshman year: the opportunity to reinvent yourself. Miles away from the high school she’s happy to leave behind, her all-female dorm is a strange new world, home to new social circles and challenges. Allison still feels like the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug abuse
  • Burn scars