friends to lovers, fated mates, special mating bond, forced proximity, office romance, bodyguard hero, Dom/sub (light), BDSM sex, bondage, forced marriage (threatened by antagonist), fiercely protective hero, heroine with a tragic past, outlaw hero, band of brothers, physical trauma (scarred hero)

explicit sex, BDSM, non-sexual assault (perpetrated by antagonist), kidnapping/abduction (antagonist), violence, abuse (familial, perpetrated by brother and antagonist), parent death, imprisonment/torture (hero backstory)

Assault

• *Heroine strangled to unconsciousness by antagonist (described in conversation and brief flashback)
• *Heroine struck by antagonist’s henchmen

Kidnapping/Abduction

• *Heroine is kidnapped from her home and held hostage by antagonist

Violence/Gore

• *Heroine stabs someone with scissors in self-defense
• *Hero kills the antagonist and his henchmen in cold blood
• *Hero disposes of bodies in wildlife-infested water
• *Hero tells story of being tortured and subjected to acid burns (in conversation)

Explicit Sexual Content

• *Bondage/restraint
• *Light Dom/sub dynamic (playful/sweet tone)

Other

• *Parental death (heroine’s parents)
• *Prison/Incarceration (hero was imprisoned prior to story)
• *Misogyny (other characters use dehumanizing language about women)
• *Political/Cultural Oppression (hero’s home planet occupied by powerful empire, resulting in loss of culture, widespread poverty, and refugees moving to a new planet)
• *Post-Apocalyptic Earth (decline of civilization, devastating climate change)

enemies to lovers, fated mates, special mating bond, Dom/sub (light), BDSM sex, bondage, spanking, going undercover, fiercely protective hero, heroine with a tragic past, outlaw hero, gladiator arena, band of brothers

explicit sex, BDSM, sexual assault (implied or off-page, perpetrated by antagonist), captivity/imprisonment, trafficking/slavery (implied/threatened by other character), violence, abuse (off-page, perpetrated by antagonist), parental abandonment (hero and heroine)

Sexual Assault

• *Heroine comes from an abusive situation in which she works for a crime boss who has used her for sex.
• *Implications of punishment through violent sex by antagonist (mentioned in conversation)
• *Mention of violent sex carried out on heroine’s friend/ally who also works for crime boss
• *Threat of violent sex to be carried out on heroine’s friend/ally

Captivity/Imprisonment

• *After heroine attempts to steal the hero’s ship, she consents to a punishment to clean the slate (spanking)
• *After heroine activates the ship’s AI to escape the hero, he binds and gags her to prevent further incident
• *Heroine mentions being imprisoned in a basement by antagonist as punishment
• *Hero and heroine are both captured at the end of the book

Trafficking/Slavery

• *Hero meets with a criminal to make a trade of guns for medicine; criminal requests to purchase the heroine from him
• *Heroine mentions that the antagonist uses women (including her) for sex, obtaining information, or making money through prostitution or stripping (with dubious consent)
• *Hero’s friend mentions rumors of trafficking women with intent to investigate

Violence

• *Much implied off-screen (mentions of knife/burn scars on heroine from encounters with antagonist or his men)
• *Hero and heroine scuffle in the beginning (
• *Hero is handled violently by antagonist and henchmen
• *Heroine is beaten and strangled to unconsciousness by antagonist and henchmen
• *Hero kills a whole bunch of bad dudes

Explicit Sexual Content

• *Spanking
• *Bondage/restraint
• *Anal play, anal penetration
• *Light D/s (nicknames/pet names used in later scenes; playful/sweet tone)

Other

• *Parental abandonment (hero’s father, heroine’s mother)
• *Prison/Incarceration (hero was imprisoned prior to story)
• *Misogyny (other characters use dehumanizing language about women)
• *Political/Cultural Oppression (hero’s home planet occupied by powerful empire, resulting in loss of culture, widespread poverty, and refugees moving to a new planet)
• *Post-Apocalyptic Earth (decline of civilization, devastating climate change)

fated mates, special mating bond, BDSM sex, bondage, undercover missions, fiercely protective hero, heroine with a tragic past, outlaw hero, found family, band of brothers

explicit sex, BDSM, human trafficking (antagonist), implied sexual assault through trafficking (threatened toward heroine, implied with secondary characters), violence, medical procedures, imprisonment/incarceration, parent loss (hero and heroine), mentions of suicide to escape traumatic situation

Sexual Assault

• *Heroine is kidnapped from Earth by antagonist to be sold at auction – she is not assaulted but there is a looming threat of what will happen when she is sold to a buyer
• *Heroine is forced to wear skimpy clothing and sometimes is touched by guests of the antagonist (no sexual acts)
• *Other traders/traffickers appear with victims/slaves, with strong implications of sexual assault (none occurs on page, but it is implied)
• *Prior to slave auction being shut down, trafficking victims are shown off while naked
• *Secondary character freed from a trafficker implies violent/abusive treatment

Suicidal Ideation

The heroine has been held prisoner for months with the threat of being sold. She has decided that she would rather die than end up with someone who will viciously abuse her. For the first few chapters, she frequently makes almost a game of noticing weapons or picking out who she would antagonize to increase her chances of being killed. Once the hero rescues her, she no longer has the need for this defense mechanism. She is not experiencing a mental health crisis, but I want to mention this because she does entertain several specific ideas of how she will escape her situation via death.

Captivity/Imprisonment

• *Hero talks about his past of being imprisoned
• *Heroine has been kidnapped and held prisoner for months as of the beginning of the story
• *Hero is mistakenly arrested during a raid on slave auction

Trafficking/Slavery

• *Trafficking is a major throughline, with the primary antagonist selling people as slaves
• *Heroine has been kidnapped with the intent to sell her as a sex slave
• *Heroine is “sold” to the hero early in the story; he poses as a wealthy businessman to meet the trafficker and buys the heroine to rescue her
• *Several chapters take place on a space station where the slave auction is being held. There are mentions of various people who are being sold as slaves or are presumably already ‘owned’ by a buyer.
• *Several emotional scenes when heroine and other victims of trafficking discuss fear and despair regarding situation

Violence

• *Hero fights security guards on space station
• *Hero fights guards/personnel working for trafficker and sustains injuries
• *Mentions of acid weapons causing burns to Zathari

Explicit Sexual Content

• *Detailed sex scenes
• *Bondage/restraint (rope bondage)

Other

• *Medical procedures (hero is being seen by a doctor at the beginning, some details about incisions and blood)
• *Parental loss (hero’s mother, heroine’s father)
• *Prison/Incarceration (hero was imprisoned prior to story)
• *Misogyny (other characters use dehumanizing language about women)
• *Political/Cultural Oppression (hero’s home planet occupied by powerful empire, resulting in loss of culture, widespread poverty, and refugees moving to a new planet)
• *Post-Apocalyptic Earth (decline of civilization, devastating climate change)

fated mates, special mating bond, BDSM sex, bondage, art heist, prison break, fiercely protective hero, heroine with a tough past, outlaw hero, found family, band of brothers

explicit sex, BDSM, action-adventure violence, imprisonment of hero and heroine (separate incidents), misogyny/slut-shaming, medical procedures, severe injury/gore (described in recollection of memories), sexual assault (implied/threatened toward a secondary male character, hero intervenes and protects him)

Sexual Assault

• *When hero is in prison, he befriends another young Zathari. Other prisoners threaten to assault him, but the hero protects him and fights them off (no sexual contact occurs; threat is largely implied through language)

Captivity/Imprisonment

• *Hero talks about his past of being imprisoned
• *Heroine falsely accused of crime and taken to prison
• *Hero turns himself in and goes to prison (presumably for the rest of his life)

Violence

• *Hero fights law enforcement to get heroine to safety (multiple times) 
• *Hero fights guards/personnel working for trafficker and sustains injuries
• *Mentions of acid weapons causing burns to Zathari

Severe Injury/Gore

• *Hero has recollections/vividly describes injuries to his face caused by acid. Includes descriptions of pain and how he felt about his appearance.

Explicit Sexual Content

• *Detailed sex scenes
• *Spanking (consensual)
• *Bondage/restraint

Other

• *Medical procedures (heroine has a tracker inserted in her nose; several scenes later detail the removal of this tracker as well as tracking devices on the hero)
• *Parental loss (hero’s mother, heroine’s father)
• *Misogyny/Slut-Shaming (when heroine is questioned about involvement with hero, other characters insult her sexual activity/past)
• *Economic Inequity (heroine comes from a poor background, which leads her into a somewhat unfair work situation, as well as making her a scapegoat for a legal case)
• *Political/Cultural Oppression (hero’s home planet occupied by powerful empire, resulting in loss of culture, widespread poverty, and refugees moving to a new planet)
• *Post-Apocalyptic Earth (decline of civilization, devastating climate change)

fated mates, special mating bond, prison break, fiercely protective hero, heroine with a tough past, outlaw hero, found family, band of brothers

explicit sex, action-adventure violence, capture and violent interrogation of hero, severe injury/gore (described in recollection of memories), PTSD flashbacks due to sexual assault (heroine, carried out by characters in the past), painful sex due to PTSD (stops quickly when hero recognizes problem), discussions of mental health with implications of depressive episode

Sexual Assault

• *Prior to the events of this book, Naela worked for a crime boss who allowed his employees to use her for sex, with additional implications of forced prostitution. She alludes to these events in the narrative several times, but usually in vague terms. She describes one particular incident to Wraith in which one of the men forced himself on her and laughed at her pain. (Chapter 14)
• *Naela feels shame for having gone along with the orders of her abusers, feigning consent/attraction to make them less violent.
• *Hints/implications of potential abuse by prison guards toward prisoners

Mental Health/PTSD

• *Indications of depression and/or anxiety causing negative self-talk, sadness/numbness, and a sense of hopelessness
• *PTSD symptoms cause heroine difficulty with being intimate with hero
• *Descriptions of painful physical reactions during sex (consistent with conditions like vaginismus) related to anxiety/trauma – please note that the hero recognizes the heroine’s distress quickly and does not allow her to ‘push through it’
• *Discussions of mental health/working through trauma with breathing and mindfulness exercises with a trusted friend, evoking a therapeutic setting

Captivity/Imprisonment

• *Hero talks about his past of being imprisoned
• *Secondary character has a past of being imprisoned
• *Hero and secondary character are captured and violently interrogated prior to a rescue

Violence

• *Hero jumps the heroine when she surprises him
• *Hero fights guards/personnel on prison planet
• *Mentions of acid weapons causing burns to Zathari
• *Discussions of heroine being subjected to violence at hands of previous boss

Severe Injury/Gore

• *Hero has recollections/vividly describes the loss of his leg
• *Hero describes the violent death of a fellow escaped prisoner

Explicit Sexual Content

• *Detailed sex scenes (no kink)

Other

• *Misogyny
• *Economic Inequity (many prisoners encountered in main plot are poor)
• *Political/Cultural Oppression/Colonialism (hero’s home planet occupied by powerful empire, resulting in loss of culture, widespread poverty, and refugees moving to a new planet)
• *Post-Apocalyptic Earth (decline of civilization, devastating climate change)