Tag Archives: Torture

Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung

In 1948, civil war ravages the Chinese countryside, but in rural Shandong, the wealthy, landowning Angs are more concerned with their lack of an heir. Hai is the eldest of four girls and spends her days looking after her sisters. Headstrong Di, who is just a year younger, learns to hide in plain sight, and their mother—abused by the family for failing to birth a boy—finds her own small acts of rebellion in the kitchen. As the Communist army closes in on their town, the rest of the prosperous household flees, leaving behind the girls and their mother because they view them as useless mouths to feed. Without an Ang male to punish, the…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Graphic misogyny (theme)
  • Spousal & parental abandonment
  • Physical & verbal domestic by parent-in-law
  • Torture

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Set in 1776, against the backdrop of the American struggle for independence, this powerful novel is also an incredible adventure about one girl’s struggle for freedom in a society in which she is considered someone else’s property. Isabel and her sister, Ruth, are slaves. Sold from one owner to the next, they arrive in New York as the Americans are fighting for their independence, and the English are struggling to maintain control. Soon Isabel is struggling too. Struggling to keep herself and her sister safe in a world in which they have no control.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Slavery
  • Torture
  • Branding & whipping
  • War themes

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead. Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much—the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges—and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & colourism
  • Sexism
  • Slavery
  • Sex-trafficking & slavery mentioned
  • Rape & sexual assault
  • Trauma
  • Intrusive thoughts & panic attacks
  • Self-harm
  • Suicide & suicidal ideation mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug abuse
  • Graphic blood & gore depiction including dead bodies
  • Physical injuries including amputation (off-page)
  • Medical experimentation mentioned
  • Famine & starvation
  • Emesis
  • Cannibalism
  • Decapitation
  • Mutilation & genital mutilation (castration)
  • Murder & mass death
  • Torture
  • Sword violence
  • Poisoning
  • Bombings
  • Animal abuse & death
  • Graphic war themes & battle scenes (theme)
  • Colonialism (theme)

Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent

A former slave fighting for justice. A reclusive warrior who no longer believes it exists. And a dark magic that will entangle their fates. Ripped from a forgotten homeland as a child, Tisaanah learned how to survive with nothing but a sharp wit and a touch of magic. But the night she tries to buy her freedom, she barely escapes with her life. Desperate to save the best friend she left behind, Tisaanah journeys to the Orders, the most powerful organizations of magic Wielders in the world. But to join their ranks, she must complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione, a handsome and reclusive fire wielder who despises…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Slavery & sex slavery
  • Rape & sexual assault mentioned
  • Trauma & nightmares
  • Self-harm
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Kidnapping
  • Blood, gore & injury depiction
  • Emesis
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Knife & sword violence
  • Whipping
  • Loss of autonomy (possession)
  • War themes & battle scenes including genocide

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

In the wake of the Kejari, everything Oraya once thought to be true has been destroyed. A prisoner in her own kingdom, grieving the only family she ever had, and reeling from a gutting betrayal, she no longer even knows the truth of her own blood. She’s left only with one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn. The House of Night, too, is surrounded by enemies. Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood digs their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside. When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault & slavery mentioned
  • Torture

Sweep of the Heart by Ilona Andrews

Life is busier than ever for Innkeeper, Dina DeMille and Sean Evans. But it’s about to get even more chaotic when Sean’s werewolf mentor is kidnapped. To find him, they must host an intergalactic spouse-search for one of the most powerful rulers in the Galaxy. Dina is never one to back down from a challenge. That is, if she can manage her temperamental Red Cleaver chef; the consequences of her favorite Galactic ex-tyrant’s dark history; the tangled politics of an interstellar nation, and oh, yes, keep the wedding candidates from a dozen alien species from killing each other. Not to mention the Costco lady.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Forced medical experimentation
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Animal death

Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews

Kate, Curran and their son, Conlan have left Atlanta, vowing to keep a low profile, and are settling into a new city and new house…but some things never change! Magical mayhem is about to erupt when Kate undertakes the rescue of a kidnapped youth, while Curran guards the homefront. It should be a simple retrieval, but with monsters on land and sea, Kate’s got her work cut out for her. Still, she’s never let her blade dull or her purpose falter. And that low profile? It’s about to wash away with the raging tides!

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Human trafficking
  • Child abuse
  • Cannibalism mentioned
  • Murder
  • Torture

Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha

All Noelle Cunningham has ever wanted is a life beyond–beyond the walls of Eden, where only the righteous are allowed to remain, and beyond her stiflingly restrictive existence as a councilman’s daughter. But only ruins lie outside the City, remnants of a society destroyed by solar storms decades earlier. he sectors surrounding Eden house the corrupt, the criminal–men like Jasper McCray, bootlegger and cage fighter. Jas clawed his way up from nothing to stand at the right hand of Sector Four’s ruthless leader, and he’ll defend the O’Kane gang with his life. But no fight ever prepared him for the exiled City girl who… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault recounted
  • Underage sex work mentioned*
  • Physical injury
  • Torture mentioned
  • Gun violence
  • Organised crime

*Context : The female protagonist was trained to be a sex worker as a child.

The Devil You Know by Kit Rocha

Maya has had a price on her head from the day she escaped the TechCorps. Genetically engineered for genius and trained for revolution, there’s only one thing she can’t do—forget. Gray has finally broken free of the Protectorate, but he can’t escape the time bomb in his head. His body is rejecting his modifications, and his months are numbered. When Maya’s team uncovers an operation trading in genetically enhanced children, she’ll do anything to stop them. Even risk falling back into the hands of the TechCorps. And Gray has found a purpose for his final days: keeping Maya safe.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Pregnancy & abortion mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption mentioned
  • Seizure
  • Medical experimentation recounted
  • Nonconsensual body modification
  • Surgery
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a close friend recounted
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Torture, on-page & recounted
  • Kidnapping of children

Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha

The United States went belly up 45 years ago when our power grid was wiped out. Too few live in well-protected isolation while the rest of us scrape by on the margins. The only thing that matters is survival. By any means. At any cost. Nina is an information broker with a mission: to bring hope to the darkest corners of Atlanta. She and her team of mercenary librarians use their knowledge to help those in need. But altruism doesn’t pay the bills—raiding vaults and collecting sensitive data is where the real money is. Knox is a bitter, battle-weary supersoldier who leads the Silver Devils… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Medical experimentation recounted
  • Seizures
  • Death of a sister recounted
  • Death of a friend recounted
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Physical assault (cage fighting, attempted mugging)
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping
  • Poverty themes