Here are my violence ratings for damsel! I am going to start adding these in to all of my reviews so you can make sure you know the overall violence level of the book. Some books have SA discussed and very violent things alluded to but not on page so always check the Content Warnings. 1+2 are suitable for most readers, 3 is the bottom of YA fantasy content, 4 is probably the most common area that I rate within and 5+6 are the ones that contain graphic descriptions, blood, torture, PTSD, racism etc. Violence is hard to gauge specifically because it is all relative and descriptions while useful dont help as much as examples! It is always useful to have a gauge of what kind of books fall into each category so click here ¹ to skip down at see what I gauge popular books you might have read/heard of to be.

Level 1

this is very minor violence, perhaps a punch but ultimately suitable for most YA readers.

Level 2

minor injuries/fights with small non graphic descriptions.

Short combat scenes and limited threat

Level 3

Medium threat and danger.

Medium combat scenes with injuries described non graphically.

Death and violence are present and regularly part of the storyline and plot.

May have minor Drug/Alcohol Abuse

Level 4

Violence occurs regularly as does death and injuries.

SA references will mostly be in the past and non graphic if present.

Drug/Alcohol abuse may be graphic

Level 5

Violence is frequent with long combat scenes that contain deaths of both good, bad and morally gray characters.

Some sexual violence/harassment may be present on page and in the past but rare and short.

Blood and injuries may be described graphically.

Drugs/Alcohol abuse may be present

Level 6

graphic descriptions of injury, violence and blood.

may have sexual violence or harassment.

SA may occur – in the past or on the page so check the content warnings

Frequent death and suffering including torture should be expected.

Drugs/Alcohol abuse may be present

Level 1 – These are going to be romances mainly. Very few fantasy books fall into this category that I review and so I cant think of any examples other than Meet Me at Midnight which releases 10th of April 2025.

Level 2 –

Keeper of the Lost Cities – we are firmly middlegrade here, we have short fight scenes with no graphic description (but later on in the series it might brush up to a 3).

Howls Moving Castle – I would say this is suitable for 10+ as long as you are okay with a little threat – most of Diana Wynne Jones’s books are pretty safe in general, a few do drift darker than others but I have read her entire works and I would say this is where most of them sit if you are looking to read her!

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone sits here there is threat but not all throughout.

Level 3 –

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and the Prisoner of Azkaban as well as the Goblet of Fire sit here and the Order of the Phoenix.  

Level 4 –

Powerless by Lauren Roberts, it does center around trials and there are fight scenes – some are sparring and some serious – but overall the book is more romantic than murderous.

A Good Girls Guide to Murder and Good Girl Bad Blood both fall into this category. They are pretty dark in places but we are looking back especially in the first so the SA, rape and drugs aren’t primarily to the main characters.

Level 5 –

Hunger Games Trilogy, we have gory battle scenes, brutal murder and corruption etc.

Red Queen – the first book might just scrape down into level 4 but we have war, torture, captivity and a lot of manipulation and threat. I read it about 13 and loved it to bits (still do!) but it is pretty violent especially later on.  

Throne of Glass – just the first book here! – we have trials and on page violence and general darkness to the whole series.

Level 6 –

As Good as Dead, very violent, she is being hunted by a serial killer and threat is very high.

Nightweaver – the first two thirds have about a level 5 of violence but it ramps up in the last third to have graphic blood and murder as well as possession by demons.