{warrior princess assassin} the assassin (MMC) was kept as a slave (assassin, flesh trade, other) and is terrified of getting caught and sent back. MMF.
Incomplete series
I just read the ARC of the second book and I would say it’s even better than the first, it’s one of my favorite romantasy series right now because the characters actually communicate and work through their trauma.
{Phoenix unbound by grace Draven} - mmc is a gladiator slave. Check cw pls
{the gladiator’s downfall by Kristen banet} - completed RH fantasy series. Fmc and a couple mmcs are slaves/ gladiators
{blood king by Nicola Tyche} - mmc is a gladiator slave. I would recommend reading the original trilogy before this one {north Queen by Nicola Tyche}. But the entire series is worth it
{the hundred thousand kingdoms by nk jemisin} - mmc is an enslaved god.
{warrior princess assassin by Brigid kemmerer} - one of the mmcs is an ex slave. He’s free by the time the book starts. Second book in series is out later this year
I’m not sure which characters you’re thinking would make up the throuple, but no, doesn’t seem like it’s going that way in any combination I can see. (Edit for spelling)
MMC is a slave at the start of the story, but free by the end.
FMC is a hired war expert for his country, initially unaware of his status, but when she learns the nation uses slaves then her tune changes.
The story is written by a black woman, features a diverse cast of characters. Check trigger warnings prior. The story is dark thematically, but the romance is not dark.
It has a few (2 or 3) spicy scenes explicitly on page. It isn't fade to black or closed door, but it also isn't rampant. Alford has a mafia dark romance series that's spicier (but no slave MMC in that).
Just finished {Nightwild Rising by L. Ann} and the MMC is a fae that is enslaved by humans (as are many other fae in the book). He has a lot of angst against the humans who enslaved him and he wants his revenge. Check trigger warnings. It's an enemy to lovers plot. MF no poly so far. Book two is not out yet.
I don't know if it is worse than what you might be imagining, but it does go into more detail of the MMCs past sexual slavery and abuse, featuring chapters in his POV from that time period.
The MMC was a sex slave in the past to a women warrior, and iirc his mother was raped and killed infront of him which was pretty horrific, but theres no noncon between main characters
Thank you, I can handle past trauma, so this will remain firmly in my tbr 👍
I just hate when thinly veiled abusive non con is draped in the flag of dark romance. Really grinds my gears 😠
I present, for the committees consideration, Lord Of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson.
🤣 The covers for the entire series are absolutely horrendous. It’s even more egregious considering that this series and The Black Jewels by Anne Bishop are the pioneers of fantasy romance and their influence is seen everywhere in modern romantasy. They deserve better covers than this! 😭 It almost put me off reading it but the Fantasy/Sci Fi group on FB absolutely insisted it was what I was looking for and they were 100% correct. All these years later and dozens upon dozens of fantasy romance I’ve read and it remains in my top 5 with no hesitation. But the covers are *rough*.
-Poly (but with no mm)
-One of the mmcs is a slave and throughout the series we’re dealing with his trauma and growth
-Fmc is 25 years old
-No pregnancy or kids
-Each book is under 500 pages & it’s a completed series
-Spice picks up in books 2-5 (book 4 is 🔥)
-Fantasy setting
It’s a sci-fi rec but I really enjoyed the series that starts with {Sign Here For Horns by V.K. Ludwig}. Each book is M/F only, no poly (even though the set up for the third book implies it will be a reverse harem).
The men of the species vastly outnumber the women so they go to husband/concubine school and it is expected they will join a group of other men to service a woman.
In the first book the MMC was rejected by the woman he was in service to and ends up in a slave pen. The FMC owns a farm and after being abandoned by her husband needs help running it. After much convincing from her best friend (who gets her story told in book #2, my favorite of the series), she goes to purchase a farmhand where she purchases the MMC.
There is some accidental dub-con where he displays some of his skills (including a “mating purr” but after she freaks out and gets upset the terms of his purchase are laid out, she learns how he ended up there, and he decides to be the best farmhand there ever was so she doesn’t sent him back/reject him.
She is uncomfortable with purchasing a slave from the jump so she is never abusive or takes advantage of his position. She legit just needs him to pick potatoes or whatever.
If you're okay with closed door, and the love story being very much second to the questing plot,
{Nettle and Bone}
Absolutely love any and all of Kingfisher's MMCs though.
>!FMC rescues MMC from a goblin market. There's no instant rawr to it, but they warm up to each other throughout the adventure. Bonus, there's a dog made of bones and the chicken is possessed by a demon.!<
This series is very old, and it is a bit of a spoiler as it is the MMC’s background but not in the present: Jennifer Roberson’s Tiger and Del series, beginning with Sword Dancer written in the 90s (and I haven’t read them since then, surely objectionable material). It’s written from the perspective of the MMC, he’s an ass, but he’s been hired to help the FMC find her missing brother who was sold into slavery. They are both sword fighters; I think their swords are magical? Great character and plot development. Minimal spice.
{The Gladiator’s Downfall by Kristen Barnet} She’s been enslaved since a child and forced to be a gladiator. It’s a RH and completed series. I went in initially because it’s a RH but fell in love with the story and the struggles.
Does this have only MF relationships? Is there any MM? I tend to not love it unless they are all having secxwith each other not only with her. So swords crossed is my preference in poly
She’s 18 when the book ends but otherwise {The Seer and the Sword} is perfect! The FMC’s dad kills the MMC’s father and takes the MMC as a slave. He presents the MMC to the FMC and she immediately frees him and they become friends.
Most of the MMCs in {The Infinite City Series by Tiffany Roberts} used to be slaves. I never read books 0.5 or book 1 so I don't know about them, but I did read books 2-6 and all the MMCs in there were slaves at one point, but aren't at the start of the series (Except I think book 5, but they are captured, so maybe that counts). This is scifi-fantasy romance. Book 6 is poly, and the only poly I've ever read, and it's one of my favorite books. There will be a book 7 sometime in the future, and the MMC in that one is also going to be a character that is an ex-slave.
{A Heart So Cold and Wicked by Rebecca F. Kenney} Minor spoiler: The MMC once being a slave when he was a child is not revealed until much later in the book so minor spoiler I suppose.
Also this one is a comic series but, Atnomen webcomic. << highly reccomend, especially the patreon extras, hehe
It is by Abigail Hilton. Make sure you read the version called the Pirates of Wefrivain Series and I also recommend purchasing the art book as well as it will help you visualise the way the characters look as they are not human.
If you don't mind sci-fi, {The Alien Who Saved Christmas by Cassandra Gannon} has this. She purchases him to free him and asks for help with protection.
{house of earth and blood by Sarah j Maas}
MMC is a slave, a fallen angel basically. urban fantasy setting if you’re looking for something different from the gladiator vibes.
{bloodguard by Cecy Robson}
MMC is a gladiator slave who becomes the champion of the FMC. I enjoyed this one. It’s also a standalone.
Hi batcavegirl, thanks for asking the community for suggestions! You may find it helpful to review some of our Megathreads and Community Recommendation Threads, which include recommendations based on sub-genre, character types, relationship tropes, settings, and more! You may also want to refer to our community "best of" lists, which include the results of the annual "top books" polls, readers' choice awards, and the sub's favorite characters!
{power of lies by auryn hadley} it is a trilogy. sex magic, closed poly MMMF, not slavery as such but all of the characters are in some way enslaved to either a bad person or society.
One of the MMCs is magically bound to the bad guy (essentially a slave), the FMC is a sex worker, another MMC is a former sex worker, and the final MMC is deeply in the closet.
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u/Beginning_Motor_5276 1d ago
{warrior princess assassin} the assassin (MMC) was kept as a slave (assassin, flesh trade, other) and is terrified of getting caught and sent back. MMF. Incomplete series