Content Warnings
Elements common to all four books: graphic violence, sexual content of various kinds, coarse language, and sobering descriptions of social injustices. A Villainous Affair has gritty elements but isn't grimdark.
Throughout the series, there are references to and descriptions/depictions of poverty, homelessness, individual and systemic racism, classism, white supremacy, colonization, imperialism, enslavement, the patriarchy, misogyny, unemployment, sexism, poor housing conditions, pollution, ableism, police brutality, starvation, environmental damage, factory exploitation of workers, disease, alcohol addiction, child abuse and neglect, child labor, human trafficking, sexual assault, cissexism, transphobia, and crime.
Specific
A Tale of Two Thieves
Graphic violence (e.g., street fights, bare-knuckle boxing, animal attack)
Bodily injuries, blood
Child abandonment (told, not shown)
Emotional and physical abuse of a child by a guardian (not the birth parent)
References to early pregnancy loss, abortion, and infant death
Sexual assault and sexual harassment of female characters, one of whom is a trans woman. The attacks are stopped soon after they start.
A character relays an anecdote in graphic detail about the sexual assault and murder of a woman.
Racist attackers commit a hate crime against a Black man
References to (off-page) murders of background characters
References to previously enslaved Black people
Animal cruelty (a non-domesticated animal is the victim of environmental problems; the other is victimized by a scientific experiment)
A character being bitten by an attack dog kicks back in self-defense. (AVA also features an adorable, sweet-tempered dog, so #NotAllDogs. :) )
The Wizard of Aether
Graphic violence (e.g., fighting, street brawls, weapons)
Reference to scientific racism
A white male kidnapper exploits a Black female character for a stage show. He describes her in racist terms and acts in a domineering way toward her, but doesn’t physically harm her
People with dwarfism perform a circus act
A white character engages in an act of white saviorism
Sexual harassment of a female character
A character describes how they once killed a rat for food
The deliberate use of an outdated disability descriptor for subversion and social commentary.
A character engages in life-threatening, high-risk behavior
Dark Queen Rising
Graphic violence (e.g., hand-to-hand combat, gang wars, choking, blood and gore, beatings, torture, on-page deaths)
A character recalls a story she heard about a sexual assault of a woman
A minor male character commits suicide out of spite (on-page, graphic detail)
Reference to sexual assault and trafficking of children (off-page)
A man perpetrates an underhanded seduction of a secondary female character (told, not shown)
A character shares a story about a kidnapped child (no physical harm involved)
References to drugs; on-page recreational drug use
The deliberate use of an outdated disability descriptor for subversion and social commentary
A character is restrained in a highly confining device
Physical abuse of a minor by a non-relative adult (told in flashback)
Graphic description of a hanging
Implied suicidal ideation and self-harm
Battle Royale
Graphic violence (e.g., bare-knuckle boxing, weapons, warfare, property destruction, blood)
Suicidal ideation
The deliberate use of an outdated disability descriptor for subversion and social commentary
Some disabled characters fight/participate in battles. One of them is hurt during a fight scene and the damage is severe
Reference to a character’s past experiences of transphobia
Racism
References to racial harm caused by white feminism