Colonialism & Colonisation – Page 8 – Trigger Warning Database

Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser

Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser

Caroline Oresteia is destined for the river. For generations, her family has been called by the river god, who has guided their wherries on countless voyages throughout the Riverlands. At seventeen, Caro has spent years listening to the water, ready to meet her fate. But the river god hasn’t spoken her name yet—and if he hasn’t by now, there’s a chance he never will.

Caro decides to take her future into her own hands when her father is arrested for refusing to transport a mysterious crate. By agreeing to deliver it in exchange for his release, Caro finds herself caught in a web of politics and lies, with dangerous pirates after the cargo—an arrogant courier with a secret—and without the river god to help her. With so much at stake, Caro must choose between the life she always wanted and the one she never could have imagined for herself.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Misogyny
Classism
Slut-shaming
Attempted sexual assault (nonconsensual kiss, on-page & discussed)
Child abuse recounted
Arranged & nonconsensual marriages discussed
Alcohol consumption
Blood & gore depiction, including dead bodies
Graphic physical injuries
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a brother
Death of a mother & father (off-page)
Murder & attempted murder
Torture (off-page)
Gun violence
Knife violence & stabbing
Fire
Drowning
Shipwreck
Kidnapping & captivity
War themes, including regicide, rebellion, coup & colonialism

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout

From Blood & Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be spoken to. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers. The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need.

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Disfigurmisia & internalised disfigurmisia
Slavery
Sexual assault (on-page)
Physical, psychological & emotional abuse, including gaslighting
Child abuse & neglect
Relationship between an adult and a teenager (18-year-old)
Suicide mentioned
Self-harm
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use
Blood & gore depiction
Blood drinking
Graphic descriptions of dead bodies
Scars
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a parent recounted
Death of a friend
Death of a child mentioned
Murder
Torture
Kidnapping
Imprisonment
Whipping/flogging
War themes
Animal death
Bullying

Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo–an unhatched dragon’s egg–Capt. Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon he named Temeraire. As new recruits in Britain’s Aerial Corps, man and dragon soon proved their mettle in daring combat against Bonaparte’s invading forces.

Now China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands–and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. But Laurence refuses to cooperate. Facing the gallows for his defiance, Laurence has no choice but to accompany Temeraire back to the Far East–a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Slavery & the slave trade discussed
Misogyny
Racism & racial slurs
Alcohol consumption
Blood depiction
Physical injuries
Death of a child (off-page, mentioned)
Murder & attempted murder
Gun violence
Explosions & bombings
Shipwreck
Military violence & naval warfare
Colonialism discussed
Animal attack
Animal death
Animal illness & injury

salt. by Nayyirah Waheed

salt. by Nayyirah Waheed

This collection of poetry explores the realities of multiple identities, language, diasporic life and pain, the self, community, healing, celebration, and love.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Colonialism

The Disasters by M. K. England

The Disasters by M. K. England

Hotshot pilot Nax Hall has a history of making poor life choices. So it’s not exactly a surprise when he’s kicked out of the elite Ellis Station Academy in less than twenty-four hours.

But Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy. Nax and three other washouts escape—barely—but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats.

On the run and framed for atrocities they didn’t commit, Nax and his fellow failures execute a dangerous heist to spread the truth about what happened at the Academy.

They may not be “Academy material,” and they may not get along, but they’re the only ones left to step up and fight.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Transmisia recounted
Ableism recounted
Child abuse
Anxiety
Anxiety/panic attacks, on-page
Nightmares
Suicide mentioned
Suicidal ideation
Nonconsensual drugging
Blood depiction
Physical injuries
Serious injury to a loved one
Hospital
Death of a mother recounted
Death of a father recounted
Murder and attempted murder
Gun violence
Plane crash
Car crash
Wrongful imprisonment
Colonialism themes

The Unbroken by CL Clark

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought.

Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet’s edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne.

Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren’t for sale.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Slavery
Racism
Attempted rape recounted & threats of rape
Anxiety attack
Blood depiction & physical injury
Amputation & loss of limb
Cannibalism
Emesis mentioned
Attempted murder
Gun violence
Execution by hanging
Rebellion, colonialism & war themes
Animal death
Animal attack

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo.

But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other—or themselves—long enough to find out before they too disappear?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism, including aversive racism
Gentrification
Attempted genocide
Racial profiling
Cheating
Alcohol abuse
Alcohol consumption
Drug use, mentioned
Death of a friend
Death of a mother
Grief depiction
Arrest and incarceration, mentioned
Dead body, on page

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells

Raised among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, Maren dreams only of sharing a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia—until the day Kaia is abducted by the Aurati, prophetic agents of the emperor, and forced to join their ranks. Desperate to save her, Maren hatches a plan to steal one of the emperor’s coveted dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold.

If Maren is to have any hope of succeeding, she must become an apprentice to the Aromatory—the emperor’s mysterious dragon trainer. But Maren is unprepared for the dangerous secrets she uncovers: rumors of a lost prince, a brewing rebellion, and a prophecy that threatens to shatter the empire itself. Not to mention the strange dreams she’s been having about a beast deep underground…

With time running out, can Maren survive long enough to rescue Kaia from impending death? Or could it be that Maren is destined for something greater than she could have ever imagined?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Nonconsensual drugging
Emesis
Physical injuries
Murder
Knife violence
Torture
Poisoning
Kidnapping
Fire
Colonialism themes
Animal cruelty & torture
Animal fighting

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism & racial slurs
Misogyny
Persecution for witchcraft
Sexual harassment
Parental abandonment
Forced marriage
Nightmares & night terrors
Alcohol consumption
Drugging
Eugenics
Graphic blood and injury depiction
Emesis
Death of parents recounted
Murder & attempted murder
Gun violence
Torture
Fire
Kidnapping & captivity
Colonialism & war themes
Animal death & murder of a pet
Animal injury
Bullying

Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

Quiet, thoughtful princess Thanh was sent away as a hostage to the powerful faraway country of Ephteria as a child. Now she’s returned to her mother’s imperial court, haunted not only by memories of her first romance, but by worrying magical echoes of a fire that devastated Ephteria’s royal palace.

Thanh’s new role as a diplomat places her once again in the path of her first love, the powerful and magnetic Eldris of Ephteria, who knows exactly what she wants: romance from Thanh and much more from Thanh’s home. Eldris won’t take no for an answer, on either front. But the fire that burned down one palace is tempting Thanh with the possibility of making her own dangerous decisions.

Can Thanh find the freedom to shape her country’s fate—and her own?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Implicit attempted rape
Abusive relationship
Fire (theme)
Colonialism