NerdFighters Book Club discussion

I'm looking for recommendations of books that don't include sexual abuse or torture, preferably in any way but certainly not anything remotely explicit.

I lean towards science fiction or fantasy but imagine I would certainly enjoy crime books more if I could be assured of avoiding these topics.

I understand there's a place for dealing with the darker side of things in fiction and I've read many a stupendous book that dealt with those themes sensibly and manage not to set off any triggers for me but I've had a bad run recently of trying new series only to find they suddenly have massive rape plots or scenes of graphic torture, namely the Mercedes Thompson universe by Patricia Briggs and the Heralds of Valdermar series by Mercedes Lackey, both of which were excellent series fantasy worlds that I really enjoyed but they leave this awful aftertaste, wishing some of those words weren't in my head.

Generally, I find it crops up more in fantasy and so I end up avoiding them and steering towards sci-fi but I'm certain I'm missing out on so many great series and I'm reluctant to give up on discovering a new David Eddings or Raymond E. Feist (not that those were always the happiest of series).

Any recommendations people have for any genre would be appreciated.

Thanks and DFTBA.

Totally agree with Mercy Thompson series. I started reading that quite young as well, with no relationship experience and the storyline kind of came out of nowhere and was quite disturbing. Long time has passed now and I can deal with it and to some extent, understand the author making the series more dark and mature but wished it hadn’t happened and came with warnings :(

If you like fantasy, check out Spinning Silver. There’s no torture or sexual abuse, and it’s a unique story/narrative.

Sky wrote: "If you like fantasy, check out Spinning Silver. There’s no torture or sexual abuse, and it’s a unique story/narrative."

Thank you very much. 😃
It will be my very next read.

I'm just finishing book 15 in the Vlad Taltos series, which is a nice fantasy series that didn't set off any triggers.

Sky wrote: "If you like fantasy, check out Spinning Silver. There’s no torture or sexual abuse, and it’s a unique story/narrative."

I'm 12% in and I think I'm going to have to put it down.

While I'll grant that I've not yet encountered any torture or sexual abuse, I still don't think it's appropriate for me.

Already, there's been considerable amounts of spousal and parental abuse, both physical and verbal and it seems to centre around people living through discrimination, in wretched poverty, either surviving half starved or else dying from preventable sickness. (And yes, I know I still love the Harry Potter series, the Kingkiller Chronicles and the Gentleman Bastards (I never claimed my sensitivities were consistent or couldn't be overcome (though even in those series, there are bits I always skip))).