Now that ARCs for A Lesson in Vengeance are available, I wanted to be sure I had the content warnings up and ready for anyone who needs them. Although this book is not as dark as the Feverwake series, there are still some triggers to be aware of.
I tried to be as thorough and inclusive as possible, so please let me know if I missed anything by contacting me on the form on my website.
The short, spoiler-free list:
- Death
- Violence
- Manipulation and emotional abuse
- Child neglect (past/offscreen)
- Mental health issues
- Substance abuse
- Suicide references (no actual suicide)
- References to racist history at a PWI
More details are below the cut. These may contain spoilers.
Death
Death of a romantic partner – Felicity’s girlfriend died prior to the start of the book; this is shown onscreen through flashbacks.
Death in the family – A character’s grandmother died prior to the start of the book; another character’s grandmother is terminally ill.
Death of a queer character – Multiple queer characters die; multiple queer characters also survive. The deaths are not presented as being related to the characters’ sexuality, and it is not treated as a punishment for their sexual identities. As a queer author, I value letting queer characters experience a wide variety of tragic and happy experiences (when handled carefully by a queer writer). My hope is that these deaths are treated sensitively and with care, as a necessary component of the story, not contributing to a dangerous narrative about queer characters’ value in fiction.
Violence
Blood and gore – There is explicit description of blood (human and animal) being used in a variety of violent and ritualistic contexts, a hunting scene in which a deer is shot and killed, scenes involving violent deaths and murder, descriptions of human corpses.
Murder – People are murdered on- and offscreen.
Animal abuse/death – Onscreen, characters go on a hunting trip and a wild animal is shot. Another animal carcass is observed (killed by another animal). A pet rabbit was killed off-screen prior to the start of the book, non-maliciously but in a disturbing manner. There are brief mentions of animal sacrifices in the near and distant past.
Manipulation and Emotional Abuse
Manipulation and emotional abuse – There are manipulative elements involved in personal and romantic relationships. There is also depiction of emotionally abusive as well as generally distant and aloof parenting. This is challenged.
Child Neglect
Child neglect – There is description of past child neglect.
Mental Health Issues
Mental illness – Depiction of characters with anxiety, psychosis, anorexia, alcoholism, anger management issues, and depression. A character is hospitalized for mental illness (offscreen).
Stigma about mental health issues – A character is in denial about mental health issues. There are moments where the narrative almost blames mental health issues for bad behavior, but this is then later shown to be false.
Suicide – There are references to deaths that were perceived to be suicide but were not, in fact, suicide; there is speculation that a character might have attempted suicide in the past.
Racism
References to a racist history at a predominantly white academic institution