Content notes

I want everyone to be able to make reading choices that work for them. Some days, you may want to read about something specific. Others, you may want to avoid a particular trope or topic or event. These content notes are here to help. They also appear on each book’s page, below the description and above the tags and other metadata.

Looking for a particular kind of book or character experience? Find all my LGBTQIA+ romances, those with characters with different kinds of lived experiences, or particular tropes. You might also find the “Books with context” page on my authorial wiki helpful. It lists books that have particular elements of identity, community, type of magic, or other connections in common.

The notes below share additional specifics about what happens in my books that isn’t always in the book’s description. They do include some implied spoilers for plot elements.

If you’d rather not be spoiled, but want to know if something is an issue in my books, you are always welcome to write to me and ask about your specific concerns. The fastest way to reach me is through the contact form.

In general

Expect a happy ending
All my books have a happily ever after ending, with the couple continuing on together. No cliffhangers, though characters may appear in other books in the series, or other books may fill in some background details.
No cheating
A couple of my books feature polyamorous relationships (gestured at on the book page, and explicitly stated in the content note). These are with the full and active consent of everyone involved.
A focus on consent
Sometimes people aren’t perfect at communicating. My characters care about consent, though sometimes situations make it hard to tell exactly what’s going on, or old habits get in the way a bit.

None of my books focus on sexual assault or abuse, nor are there scenes focusing on it but it is the 1920s, and it’s a thing a number of my characters think about or have some concerns about at different times. Some of their past relationships have been abusive, but this is not described in detail.

Disability and neurodiversity representation
Most of my books have at least one character who lives with some kind of physical, mental, or social difficulty or disability that causes them some problem in the larger world. Some are also continuing to deal with traumatic events of the Great War in various ways.

In the content notes, I’m using our modern terms, but the characters may refer to them or think about them rather differently. The author’s note for the relevant book talks about why that is as relevant.  I’m always glad to send the author’s note along in an email if you’d like to read that first.

The amount of on-page sex varies
In most of my books, there are one or two scenes, relevant to the plot and how the characters learn about and love each other. A couple of my books have more, a few have none, which is noted in the description as “no on-page sex”.

Mysterious Charm Content Notes

Outcrossing
Brief references to and ongoing implications of family deaths in the 1918 flu pandemic as well as in the Great War. Post-traumatic stress disorder including flashbacks. Kidnapping and implied violence. Death of minor characters (off screen). 
Goblin Fruit
Post-traumatic stress disorder including disassociation. Addictive magical drink that causes dreams of distant places. Miscommunication leading to emotional difficulties. Secondary character who has survived tuberculosis.
Magician's Hoard
Anglo-Egyptian main character who deals with bias and some (mostly implied) bigotry. Discussion of widowhood. Threats of violence. A stigmatised magical ability and the implications of keeping it secret. Secondary character who is African-American, and another who is of mixed background.
Wards of the Roses
Hero was blinded during the War by magical gas. Vulnerabilities of relying on others for certain tasks (especially financial). Class and gender issues when dealing with people of higher status. 
In The Cards
Main character survived tuberculosis, but spent a decade in and out of sanitaria, including surgical treatments, all of which is referenced. A murder (of someone rather unpleasant, discussion of the method as part of the book). A secondary character has major facial injuries from the War. Class issues. Discussion of past addiction (due to the events of Goblin Fruit).
On The Bias
Autistic hero. Cock-fighting (not described in detail, but includes a character getting injured). Treason (stealing swans). Criminal acts leading to a dangerous and potentially lethal attack on a secondary character.
Seven Sisters
Autistic hero. Attitudes of immortal or extremely-long-lived beings being rather different than ours. Secrets kept by a main character. Secondary character who is deaf and relies on sign language (she would not self-identify as part of Deaf culture). No on-page sex.

Mysterious Powers Content Notes

Forged in Combat (prequel novella)
Set mostly in 1882 in Calcutta, India while Lord Ripon was Viceroy. Lord Ripon was on the more progressive side, but this book touches on issues of empire, imperialism, racism, and everything else inherent in the time and place. The plot, however, focuses on a specific magical challenge in the Viceroy’s Palace, rather than anything directly political. Hero is in the Army. Prequel featuring the parents of the hero in Carry On.
Carry On
Set in 1915, early in the Great War: multiple discussions (non-graphic) of injuries, new kinds of injuries, and other implications of the war. Hero was injured in the First Battle of Ypres in late 1914, the heroine has had a traumatic brain injury and continuing migraines. Both are new to dealing with these issues. Various attitudes of healers and nursing staff, some of whom are much more helpful than others. No on-page sex.
The Fossil Door
Heroine was born in London to Bengali parents, orphaned at 8 and grew up largely disconnected from her culture. Her apprenticeship took place largely within the London Jewish community in Spitalfields. Hero comes from significant social privilege, has what we’d identify as ADHD, and suffered a life-changing injury (not in the Great War). Discussion of other War deaths and injuries. Some bias from others on the basis of background and presumed orientation.
Eclipse
Hero served in the Great War, with lasting curse damage and deep regrets about some of the actions he took (not described in detail). Issues of class, particularly around what family background, and privilege mean for education and opportunity. Academic politics, including an unpleasant faculty meeting. Friends to lovers trope.
Fool's Gold
Hero is a villain redeemed (he features in Seven Sisters). Heroine has a hereditary curse she has complicated feelings about. Discussion of gender roles and family obligations.
The Hare and the Oak
Heroine survived an emotionally abusive and restrictive marriage (ended by the death of her husband). Hero’s wife died unexpectedly in childbirth (referred to, but not in any degree of medical or explicit details.) Later in life romance.
Point By Point
Hero dealing with past major changes in his family (related to In The Cards). Heroine trying to make her reputation as a journalist. Class differences. Dangerous ritual moments. Secondary character with major facial injury. 
Mistress of Birds
Both hero and heroine have what we’d now describe as complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) though with different causes and experiences of it. Includes (in chapter 31) a paragraph of brief direct reference to 1917 treatments for shell-shock, which to be blunt, were brutal torture. Gothic romance, with higher levels of spooky tension than my books usually run to (but I promise a happy ending). No on-page sex.

Mysterious Arts Content Notes

Bound for Perdition
The heroine’s father dies just before the start of the book, from an extended illness. During the book, she is dealing with her grief, isolation, and some frustration. The hero has injuries he considers somewhat shameful or ignoble. Contains people acting from privilege and class without regard for others, and one very manipulative woman out for her own goals.
Shoemaker's Wife
Heroine is the focus of unwanted attention from a secondary character (though it does not progress beyond conversation). Hero dealing with the aftermath of the war and returning to ‘ordinary’ life. Learning to talk about active consent as opposed to assumed or passive consent.
Perfect Accord
While the heroine goes into a difficult situation aware of the risks, the background plot deals with manipulation and possible emotional coercion of people in a group (no details of the coercion are directly depicted.) Hero is dealing with significant pressure from different directions. 

Charms of Albion Content Notes

Pastiche
Arranged marriage to lovers trope. Main character dealing with what we would call fibromyalgia (and they called fibrositis). Main character who is part of the Guard, Albion’s equivalent of a police force (among other things) and ongoing discussion of his current work and duties. Duelling. Secondary character who is an amputee due to war injuries. 
Sailor's Jewel
Main character is a healer: discussion of her work (without extensive medical detail) throughout. A secondary character is a widower whose much-loved wife died in childbirth. Nasty gossip and references to bigotry about characters who are not entirely human, or do not fit neatly into societal expectations.
Four Walls and a Heart
M/M friends to lovers romance, while one of the protagonists is dealing with amputation of his lower leg. Contains some homophobia from minor characters (unpleasant disapproval, not violence, from a family member). Also contains some references to the uneven path of healing. Other protagonist is a member of Albion’s Guard, responsible for public safety and law enforcement considerations (his duties are referenced, but not the focus of the plot).

Land Mysteries Content Notes

This series takes place before and during World War II, with all the inherent content notes about that war. (Specifics included for each book, as well as dates). The plots are more intense, in terms of interaction with history, than my other series.

Best Foot Forward
M/M enemies to “it’s complicated”, with one aromantic and asexual protagonist and one bisexual protagonist (also polyamorous). Takes place in 1935, including in Nazi Germany. Contains mentions of past deaths, trauma from the Great War, emotional neglect in various forms, as well as injuries and PTSD. Both characters have moments of emotional crisis in the book. References to the current state of minorities in Germany in 1935, including homosexual men. Only one bed trope. One character is French-Egyptian, with references to the implications while in Germany. On-page sex in the included epilogue novella, Intimacies of the Seasons but not in the novel itself.
Nocturnal Quarry
Best read after Best Foot Forward. A character-focused novella (no new romance or relationship) set in 1938 along the East Coast of the United States as the world hurtles towards a second world war with references to various real-world events of that year. The main character confronts part of his past, with conversations, confrontations, and significant decisions. (References to past violence and threats). No on-page sex.
Old As The Hills
Deals with the first year of World War 2, and the plot explicitly includes the invasions of multiple countries during that time, the evacuation of Dunkirk, and other events of the period. (Though not in graphic or close-up detail.) Death of a secondary character with ongoing appearances in the Albion books, due to the war, and some reference to grief. The plot also deals with the esoteric groups active at the time and with witchcraft.

Established couple, married with three children, who are separated during much of the book due to their different tasks. Hero has ADHD (very much on display in some spots), while the heroine deals with assumptions (and some bigotry) because of her Bengali background and brown skin. Some nastiness from minor characters, including the presentation of white feathers for cowardice to a secondary character.

Upon A Summer's Day
Direct sequel to Old As The Hills, and best read after it. ADHD central character, dealing with social and professional implications for his London-born Bengali wife. Takes place during the second half of 1940, during the Blitz, and includes the immediate aftermath of the bombing of Coventry (no explicit details). Involves varying levels of Albion’s politics.
Illusion of a Boar
At least 2 of the 4 point of view characters are neurodiverse. They’re dealing with unusual situations, secrets in a time of war, and family and social assumptions. One character is dealing with a recent significant injury to his hand, as well as emotional betrayal about 5 months before the book begins). No actual descriptions of combat, but there are references to deaths in combat and the impact they have on various characters.
Three Graces
Three Graces deals with some difficult topics around the death (at the hands of the Council) of Temple Carillon and his wife Delphina. The three protagonists are digging into decades-old secrets, and have to navigate carefully to avoid tipping their hands. At the same time, the end of the war in Europe means that a number of patterns and usual supports aren’t available, and the three women have to navigate some new situations. However, there’s no violence on the page, and discussions of the eventual outcome focus on character’s feelings rather than descriptions of the details. Of note for representation: Alysoun lives with what we’d call fibromyalgia and routinely uses a cane, and Thesan is autistic.
The Magic of Four
Contains four teenagers who are more sensible than the average but don’t always make the best choices. Includes examples of bullying, social challenges, class issues, and other complications of living and learning with other teenagers. The adults are dealing with the Second World War and the impact on their lives in various ways, including grieving. One of the characters (Avigail) is half Bengali, the others are white.

Novellas Content Notes

Ancient Trust
Free novella, available via my newsletter.

Begins with the death of one POV character’s older brother, in what turns out to likely be murder. Many unanswered questions about why, how, and the reasons for the neglect of the land magic. Not a romance, introduces a number of other characters appearing in multiple books.

Complementary
Lesbian (f/f) romance. Includes a main character who is neurodiverse (ADHD, though she doesn’t have the words for that) and who is of Malaysian, Dutch, and English ancestry and visibly brown. A significant character treats a long-term partner badly, including gaslighting. Includes a late-term pregnancy and off-screen healthy birth of a baby. No on-page sex. Only one bed trope.
Casting Nasturtiums
(collected in Winter’s Charms)

Polyamorous MMF romance. One character was paralysed due to injury in the Great War. He also has ADHD (or as he would say, bees in his head.) Includes brief nastiness from a family member, and familial neglect of one character.

Country Manners
(collected in Winter’s Charms)

Established relationship (characters met in Wards of the Roses, this takes place between their engagement and marriage and has brief spoilers for the events of that book). Hero blind due to a gas attack in the Great War but generally very independent. Nasty familial comments, ableist assumptions, and class-related nastiness with a happy ending.

Chasing Legends
(collected in Winter’s Charms)

Established relationships (Two characters from Eclipse, two from Magician’s Hoard, brief references for events of those books.) Includes stigmatised abilities, guilt and shame about actions during the War, and rebuilding community.

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Upon A Summer's Day

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