Slavery & Indentured Servitude – Page 16

The Orphans of Raspay by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Orphans of Raspay by Lois McMaster Bujold

When the ship in which they are traveling is captured by Carpagamon island raiders, Temple sorcerer Penric and his resident demon Desdemona find their life complicated by two young orphans, Lencia and Seuka Corva, far from home and searching for their missing father. Pen and Des will need all their combined talents of mind and magic to unravel the mysteries of the sisters and escape from the pirate stronghold.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Threats of rape
Grief & loss depiction
Death of parents recounted

Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird

Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird

Though born into bondage on a “miserable tobacco farm” in Little Dixie, Missouri, Cathy Williams was never allowed to consider herself a slave. According to her mother, she was a captive, bound by her noble warrior blood to escape the enemy. Her means of deliverance is Union general Phillip Henry “Smash ‘em Up” Sheridan, the outcast of West Point who takes the rawboned, prideful young woman into service. At war’s end, having tasted freedom, Cathy refuses to return to servitude and makes the monumental decision to disguise herself as a man and join the Army’s legendary Buffalo Soldiers… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery recounted

Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie Holmberg

Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie N. Holmberg

Maire is a baker with an extraordinary gift: she can infuse her treats with emotions and abilities, which are then passed on to those who eat them. She doesn’t know why she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from. When marauders raid her town, Maire is captured and sold to the eccentric Allemas, who enslaves her and demands that she produce sinister confections, including a witch’s gingerbread cottage, a living cookie boy, and size-altering cakes… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Rape mentioned
Physical assault

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

Helene Aquilla, the Blood Shrike, is desperate to protect her sister’s life and the lives of everyone in the Empire. Yet danger lurks on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable and violent, while Keris Veturia, the ruthless Commandant, capitalizes on the Emperor’s volatility to grow her own power—regardless of the carnage she leaves in her path. Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows that the fate of the world lies not in the machinations of the Martial court, but in stopping the Nightbringer… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Domestic abuse
Death of children
Murder
Torture

Among Thieves by MJ Kuhn

Among Thieves by M.J. Kuhn

In just over a year’s time, Ryia Cautella has already earned herself a reputation as the quickest, deadliest blade in the dockside city of Carrowwick—not to mention the sharpest tongue. But Ryia Cautella is not her real name. For the past six years, a deadly secret has kept her in hiding, running from town to town, doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the formidable Guildmaster—the sovereign ruler of the five kingdoms of Thamorr. No matter how far or fast she travels, his servants never fail to track her…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Child abuse
Amputation of a finger
Branding

The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green

The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green

In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a loveless political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town. And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell. As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our four heroes find their past… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Homomisia
Slavery
Self-harm
Torture mentioned

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her—but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known.

So begins an unexpected journey that takes…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism & racial slurs
Slavery
Suicide mentioned

Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury.

Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Fatmisia & body shaming
Paedophilia

The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff

The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff

So began the ceremony that was to make young Phaedrus, ex-slave and gladiator, Horse Lord of the Dalriadain. Phaedrus had come a long way since the fight in the arena that gained him his freedom. He had left behind his old Roman life and identity and had entered another, more primitive, world—that of the British tribes in the far north. In this world of superstition and ancient ritual, of fierce loyalties and intertribal rivalry, Phaedrus found companionship and love, and something more—a purpose and a meaning to his life as he came fully to understand the significance of the Mark of the Horse… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Sexual assault (nonconsensual kiss)
Forced arranged marriage
Suicide, on-page
Unplanned pregnancy
Emesis
Death of a father recounted
Forced murder of a friend
Animal sacrifice (horse)

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Rape & threats of rape mentioned
Death of parents recounted
Murder & genocide
Graphic torture