This list of content/trigger warnings for The Devil’s Plaything is broken into two sections: Vague, non-spoilery topics (first) and more detailed depictions (second). First up is the non-spoilery list.
Click here to go back to the main content warning page.
Non-Spoilery List of Triggering Topics in The Devil’s Plaything:
- Sexual assault (non-penetrative) and associated sexual coercion
- Bullying
- Violence
- Human trafficking (both references and explicit arrangements)
- Grooming
- Strong language
- Abuse (including sexual assault and sexual harassment)
- Mental health and suicide
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Parental death
- Emetophobia
Next is a more specific depiction of events in The Devil’s Plaything. This larger, more detailed list does contain spoilers.
Please Note: If you are leery of spoiling the overall experience of the book but still have trigger warning concerns, Calla literally has no life and would love to answer any specific questions you have.
If you’d like to peruse potentially triggering topics on your own and don’t mind spoilers, please proceed below.
FINAL WARNING: The information below contains major spoilers. Proceed at your own risk!
Spoilery List of Triggering Topics in Book 1: The Devil’s Plaything
- Sexual Assault
- Sexual assault does not occur between the FMC and MMC.
- However, the FMC was subjected to non-penetrative sexual assault prior to the beginning of the novel as a sexually coercive living arrangement. She experiences detailed flashbacks.
- FMC also experiences a similar form of SA during the book– again, not with the love interest.
- Bullying
- You will probably find it’s not like other bully romance books! The bullies at Ardmore (also called Nephilim) are actually bodyguards who are assigned to monitor girls in their care in exchange for large sums of money.
- Nonetheless, there is a great deal of referenced bullying, especially from Luca and his crew. There are multiple scenes of negging, insults, and overall harassment.
- Violence
- Described photographs of a dead body after a car crash
- Attempted murder w/ a firearm
- References to torture
- A character is afraid of blood. Blood appears multiple times.
- References to poisoning and murder.
- Human Trafficking
- References to off-screen arranged marriage/grooming
- References to a large system of power, run by the wealthy, that intentionally organizes marriage matches with the 99%
- Grooming
- References to being prepared for marriage through “lessons.”
- References to the BITE model of thought control
- Strong Language
- Including words that are specifically offensive to women
- Abuse
- Scenes depicting large imbalances of power from the financial elite (1%) to the rest of the world (99%).
- References to child abuse (mostly off-page)
- References to child neglect (mostly off-page)
- Reference to statutory rape (mostly off-page)
- A character struggles with accepting they are the product of statutory rape
- Depiction of sexual harassment, including based on attire
- Multiple depictions of non-penetrative sexual assault
- One to two chapters depict a needle injection to prepare a character for a collection of genetic material. This is not entirely consensual.
- Mental Health and Suicide
- Most characters struggle with differing degrees of depression and anxiety
- References to a past suicide
- Flashbacks to abuse/assault
- PTSD
- Drug and Alcohol Abuse
- References to underage drinking (off-page)
- References to a car crash resulting from alcohol consumption
- Several characters are in recovery from substance abuse to a fictional narcotic (Splice). They make passing references to the method of consumption (injection) and make passing reference to how they’re struggled on the road to recovery.
- One to two chapters depict a needle injection to prepare a character for a collection of genetic material
- Parental death
- Characters struggle with/make reference to the loss of parental figures. These all occurred before the book began.
- It is suggested that foul play may have been involved
- Emetophobia
- A character vomits when they experience sexual assault or have flashbacks to sexual assault.