As an author, my goal is to tell interesting stories.

As I do so, I will write about things that could be disturbing to some readers. I’m fine with “disturbing.” Books should rattle us a little and take us out of our comfort zones.

But I never want my books to harm anyone.

I recognize that for some people certain issues can bring up harmful emotional and physical reactions that I as the author don’t struggle with. I like to write about morally grey “heroes,” romance between very imperfect people, and truly nasty villains, and what gets mixed in there can be painful for some readers.

This page is for people who have specific triggers in fiction (or for the “I just don’t like it” folks who like to avoid certain topics and scenarios—that’s valid, too. I have my own “not for me, not not going to continue” tropes as a reader). Some retailers seem to punish books that include content warnings in their descriptions, so we’re doing it here.

This page contains potential spoilers.

I leave it up to you as a reader to decide whether to proceed.

I will try to be thorough and specific, but bear in mind that it’s been five or more years since I’ve read some of these books, and it’s not possible to address every potential problem topic for every reader. I will, however, do my best.

Warnings will be grouped by series, and will be updated as needed.

A NOTE ON ROMANCE: I do not consider same-sex romance an “issue” that requires a warning label. However, if it’s a problem for you I’d recommend avoiding the All the Queen’s Knaves series, which features a world where all romances are created equal and every character deserves a shot at a happy ending. I regret not doing the same in earlier series, but at least moving forward I can choose to explore better worlds than the one we live in.

The Bound Trilogy

MAIN SERIES: infant/child loss (discussed as a past event, not experienced by POV character/protagonist), self-harm (as a means to an end, not due to mental health), torture, controlling/narcissistic family, murder, abduction (sort of), relationships where one or both members display “red flag” behaviour, bullying (not as part of romance), character death.

PREQUELS (optional, available to newsletter subscribers): infant loss (POV character, on-page in The Binding), unhealthy romantic relationships (At Any Cost), pregnancy of POV character (The Binding).

All the Queen’s Knaves

VINES AND VICES: Narcissistic/manipulative mother, violence, death

CURSES AND CRIMES: Religious trauma/deconstruction, medical gore, infant death, murder

SCARS AND SEAMS: Gore, torture, violent fight scenes, manipulation/mind control, body horror

PRINCES AND PAWNS: Gore, unpleasant upbringings/childhood emotional trauma, violent fight scenes

Immortal Soulless

FULL SERIES: murder (main character died by gun violence, multiple killings throughout series), suicide (aftermath, deceased on page during investigation in Resurrection), torture, violence, gore, humans treated as livestock by vampires, werewolves exterminated/controlled by vampires, scene of sex used as survival tool/infiltration tactic rather than as a desired experience (Revelation).

Into Elurien

Slavery (aftermath), killing, violent bloodshed, romance with a literal monster

If you require more details or clarification please contact me at www.katesparkes.com