Sex Work & Sex Slavery – Trigger Warning Database

Only For Tonight by Kendall Ryan

Only For Tonight by Kendall Ryan

Spotting a hooker on a city street corner is not an abnormal thing. Me bringing one home? Well, that’s a first. But this girl . . . She’s in trouble. And this asshole is not a guy she wants to go home with. So I do the exact thing I shouldn’t—I offer to bring her home with me instead. She says this is the first time she’s ever done this, which is adorably ironic. Then proceeds to tell me a sob story about needing money to care for the baby who was left on her doorstep. That’s when my stomach starts to clench. I think she might be telling the truth. So I do what any respectable man would do—I take her home, stopping to pick up diapers and… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Sex work
Child abandonment, on-page
Terminal cancer (sc)
Poverty
Homelessness

All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie

All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie

Everyone knows of the horses of Iceland, wild, and small, and free, but few have heard their story. All the Horses of Iceland tells the tale of a Norse trader, his travels through Central Asia, and the ghostly magic that followed him home to the land of fire, stone, and ice. His search for riches will take him from Helmgard, through Khazaria, to the steppes of Mongolia, where he will barter for horses and return with much, much more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery & sex slavery

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke – until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighbourhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Misogyny
Racism mentioned
Ableism (r slur), on-page
Sexual assault mentioned (groping)
Child abuse and neglect recounted including a mention of child sexual assault
Spousal abandonment
Abusive relationship (scs)
Cheating
Sex work, on-page
Familial estrangement mentioned
Alcohol consumption, on-page
Alcohol abuse (implied)
Recreational drug use, on-page
Chronic leg injury
Grief and loss depiction
Death of a girlfriend from an oxycontin overdose mentioned
Death of a husband and a pet dog in a car accident recounted
Death of a sister from drowning recounted
Murder by drowning
Murder by gun violence
Murder by poisoning
Stalking
Animal dead body mentioned (seagull)

The Ritual by Shantel Tessier

The Ritual by Shantel Tessier

I vow. You vow. We vow. Barrington University is home of the Lords, a secret society that requires their blood in payment. They are above all—the most powerful men in the world. They devote their lives to violence in exchange for power. And during their senior year, they are offered a chosen one. Barrington University is home of the Lords, a secret society that requires their blood in payment. They are above all—the most powerful men in the world. They devote their lives to violence in exchange for power. And during their senior year, they are offered a chosen one. People think… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Arranged relationship
Sex slavery
Attempted sexual assault
Dubious consent scenarios including consensual somnophilia and rape-play
Improper BDSM practices
Drugging including nonconsensual manipulation of birth control prescription
Depiction of a dead body
Branding (consensual)
Genital mutilation
Murder
Torture
Gun & knife violence
Physical assault
Drowning
Cult
Stalking & nonconsensual surveillance

Alice by Christina Henry

Alice by Christina Henry

In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo with the screams of the poor souls inside. In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blonde, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place-just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood… Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those… Read more,

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Human trafficking
Slavery & sex slavery
Rape & threats of rape
Sexual assault
Cannibalism
Body horror
Psychiatric hospitalization
Murder & mass murder
Animal death & abuse

Sugar by Bernice McFadden

Sugar by Bernice L. McFadden

Young and confident, with a swagger in her step, Sugar arrives in the southern town of Bigelow hoping to start over. Soon Bigelow is alight with gossip and suspicion, and Sugar fears her past is catching up with her. Then she meets Pearl, a woman trying to forget her own traumas. As these next-door neighbours become unlikely friends, they wonder if their lives could finally be changing for the better. But small towns have long memories…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child abuse
Sex work
Murder

Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas

Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas

For two years, Catherine Marks has been a paid companion to the Hathaway sisters—a pleasant position, with one caveat. Her charges’ older brother, Leo Hathaway, is thoroughly exasperating. Cat can hardly believe that their constant arguing could mask a mutual attraction. But when one quarrel ends in a sudden kiss, Cat is shocked at her powerful response—and even more so when Leo proposes a dangerous liaison. Leo must marry and produce an heir within a year to save his family home. Catherine’s respectable demeanour hides a secret that would utterly destroy… Read more .

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child neglect
Underage sex work
Drugging
Blood & injury depiction
Kidnapping
Animal cruelty

Prickly Business by Piper Vaughn and Kenzie Cade

Prickly Business by Piper Vaughn & Kenzie Cade

Some people might call Avery Babineaux a prick. He’s a hedgehog shifter from an old-money Louisiana family with a penchant for expensive shoes and a reputation for being a judgmental snob. His attitude is why he and his fated mate are estranged. Not that Avery cares. He doesn’t want to be mated to some blue-collar werewolf anyway. Or so he keeps telling himself. No werewolf likes to be looked down upon, least of all Dylan Green. He doesn’t need a mate, especially not some snotty hedgehog who sneers at his custom motorcycle shop and calls him a grease monkey. But when Avery gets into trouble with a shady loan shark, Dylan… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Sex trafficking
Child sex slavery

Power Play by Avon Gale

Power Play by Avon Gale

A freak accident during the Stanley Cup Playoffs put an end to Max Ashford’s hockey career. Despite everything, Max gets back into the game he loves—only this time, behind the bench as an assistant coach of the Spartanburg Spitfires, the worst team in the entire league. But nothing prepares him for the shock when he learns the new head coach is Misha Samarin, the man who caused Max’s accident. After spending years guilt-ridden for his part in Max’s accident, Russian native Misha Samarin has no idea what to do when he’s confronted with Max’s presence. Max’s optimism plays havoc with Misha’s equilibrium—as does… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Homomisia & homomisic slurs
Sex work recounted
Stalking mentioned

Empty Net by Avon Gale

Empty Net by Avon Gale

Spartanburg Spitfires’ goalie and captain Isaac Drake ended last season with an unexpected trip to the playoffs. He’s found a home and family with his coach and mentor, Misha Samarin, and he’s looking forward to making a serious run for the Kelly Cup. But things take an interesting turn when Isaac’s archnemesis, Laurent St. Savoy, is traded to the Spitfires. After Laurent’s despicable behavior in the playoffs last year, Isaac wants nothing to do with him – no matter how gorgeous he is. But that changes when Isaac discovers the reason for Laurent’s attitude. Laurent St. Savoy… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Misogyny
Homomisia
Threatened outing
Conversion therapy mentioned
Sex work mentioned
Nonconsensual filming of sex mentioned
Physical, verbal & emotional parental abuse recounted
Eating disorder*
Panic attacks
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Alcohol consumption
Blackmail mentioned
Bullying

*Context : This includes disordered eating and food thoughts, food restriction, purging, therapy & recovery, and mentions of relapses.