Here are 100 books that This Vicious Grace fans have personally recommended if you like
This Vicious Grace.
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Long before I was an author of romantic fantasies, I was an avid reader of all things romance. Genre romance. Fantasy Romance. Romantic Fantasy. Romantic suspense. An adventure where the characters smile at each other for a heartbeat longer than usual. Give me even a hint of attraction between two characters, and I’m hooked. Give me life-or-death stakes and a first kiss that takes hundreds of pages, and I’m addicted. As a psychologist, helping young adults sort through real-life romance dilemmas is one of my favorite parts of the job. Now that I get to write these stories, I’ve made it my mission to devour all the best high-stakes YA romances I can find—or write.
Jane Eyre retelling in Ethiopa with magic—need I say more? Rich, quirky Magnus lives in a seriously haunted house, and the only exorcist willing to help him is broke, blunt Andromeda. I could not love these two more. Magnus is a beautiful weirdo who has been haunted and spoiled for far too long, and Andromeda puts him in his place. The banter, the creepiness of the house that is literally trying to kill them—no wonder Reese Witherspoon picked this one for her book club!
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER REESE'S BOOK CLUB FALL 2021 YA PICK
"Lauren Blackwood’s can’t-miss debut is a magical, Ethiopian-inspired remix of Jane Eyre." - Harper's Bazaar
What the heart desires, the house destroys...
Andromeda is a debtera―an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. She would be hired, that is, if her mentor hadn’t thrown her out before she could earn her license. Now her only hope of steady work is to find a Patron―a rich, well-connected individual who will vouch for her abilities.
When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire her,…
I have always been fascinated by stories that use darkness in plot and character growth. As a former funeral director, I find stories with death—whether it’s the power of death, the death of a loved one, or something similar—to be really poignant. I always write books that embrace the darkness, and I love to see how characters come out on the other side. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do!
Naomi Novak could write anything, and I would read it, but I am a sucker for dark academia.
Well, this one takes the cake with a school that is actively trying to kill the students. While this book is pretty dark in parts, it was the instances of light that really kept me reading the entire series.
There were many times I wasn’t sure where it would lead, but I was never disappointed by what I discovered.
Enter a school of magic unlike any you have ever encountered.
There are no teachers, no holidays, friendships are purely strategic, and the odds of survival are never equal. Once you're inside, there are only two ways out: you graduate or you die.
El Higgins is uniquely prepared for the school's many dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out untold millions - never mind easily destroy the countless monsters that prowl the school.
Except, she might accidentally kill all the other students, too. So El is trying…
When I was nine years old, my first poem was ‘published’ in my elementary school’s annual creative writing booklet. It was such a thrill to see my poem in print and to know lots of people would be reading it. I was hooked on writing, but it would be many, many years before I was published again. While I know it’s never too late to publish a book, I regret how long I waited. Young writers, don’t be afraid to go for it and don’t ever feel you’re not old enough for your words to matter. Readers need your unique, fresh vision.
I enjoy a new twist on an old story. Nineteen-year-old author Chloe Gong twisted Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet so tightly that it bled out an intense new version set in 1920s Shanghai. The sweet, tragic innocence of Shakespeare’s young lovers is chucked out the window in favor of two former sweethearts teaming up long after their days of young love are over.
I enjoy Gong’s writing style; her words practically jump off the page straight into my eyeballs. Gangsters? Blood feuds? Monsters? Yes, please!
I have always been fascinated by stories that use darkness in plot and character growth. As a former funeral director, I find stories with death—whether it’s the power of death, the death of a loved one, or something similar—to be really poignant. I always write books that embrace the darkness, and I love to see how characters come out on the other side. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do!
If I have a Roman Empire, it’s this series. I think about the triplets of Fennbirn regularly.
This book follows three triplets who are fated to kill each other so one may wear the crown. I loved the way Blake peeks inside each of the sister’s heads and writes this complicated dynamic between them. I mean, the fact that they’re sisters and they have to kill each other is the baseline for complications.
It is dark and visceral, and I truly felt like I was with each sister when their POV came up.
Three Dark Crowns is a heart-stopping fantasy from Kendare Blake, acclaimed author of Anna Dressed in Blood.
In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomach-ache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest…
I have always been fascinated by stories that use darkness in plot and character growth. As a former funeral director, I find stories with death—whether it’s the power of death, the death of a loved one, or something similar—to be really poignant. I always write books that embrace the darkness, and I love to see how characters come out on the other side. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do!
Accidental necromancy is my cup of tea, so I was immediately drawn into the story of Tea—yes, that’s her name—and her resurrected brother.
I loved how Tea felt pulled in so many directions and how she was just looking for her own path. I found the inclusion of her power of necromancy to be such a strong commentary on how isolating it can be to be different. And how people fear differences, to begin with.
"A high-fantasy Memoirs of a Geisha, Chupeco's latest excels in originality" -Kirkus Reviews A story of scorned witches, sinister curses, and resurrection, The Bone Witch is the start of a dark fantasy trilogy, perfect for fans of Serpent & Dove and The Cruel Prince. Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price... When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother, Fox, from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she's a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea…
I was raised Catholic, and while I think there are a lot of good things about catholic doctrine, I was not able to find my place in the actual practice of Catholicism. Getting to read about characters and write my own characters who stray away from prescribed beliefs about themselves, their society, or the way life is “meant” to be lived has been very cathartic for me on the journey of religious self-discovery. I hope if you’re struggling in a similar manner that you can find peace and hope within the pages of these books. I hope you can find a mirror of yourself in these fantasy settings, because everyone deserves to feel known.
Tarisai was born with a wish in her heart, but not her wish. Her mother wants to use her to harm an old enemy, and Tarisai has no choice but to go along with it.
But as she finds her own found-family out in the world, she learns that there are some things more powerful than wishes. Her mother’s wish can only have so much power over her when she fights against her mother’s desires for her life. And Tarisai is stronger than she’s ever believed, which was an incredible twist to the plot.
I loved seeing Tarisai come into her own, while figuring out that she can control the shape of her future.
The epic debut YA fantasy from an incredible new talent-perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi and Sabaa Tahir
Nothing is more important than loyalty.
But what if you've sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy?
Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11. If she's picked, she'll be joined…
Long before I was an author of romantic fantasies, I was an avid reader of all things romance. Genre romance. Fantasy Romance. Romantic Fantasy. Romantic suspense. An adventure where the characters smile at each other for a heartbeat longer than usual. Give me even a hint of attraction between two characters, and I’m hooked. Give me life-or-death stakes and a first kiss that takes hundreds of pages, and I’m addicted. As a psychologist, helping young adults sort through real-life romance dilemmas is one of my favorite parts of the job. Now that I get to write these stories, I’ve made it my mission to devour all the best high-stakes YA romances I can find—or write.
A sharpshooter with high walls around her heart, Margaret lives alone in her family’s falling-apart mansion. Alone, that is, until charming alchemist Wes shows up and makes her an offer she can’t refuse: partner up in the dangerous hunt for the last living mythical creature, and bring her mother home. This delightful twist on the grumpy/sunshine trope will transport you to the mythical forest and candlelit manor with its lyrical writing. The vibes alone in this story cannot be beat. Add the promise of a hunt and a well-earned slow-burn romance, and this book will soothe your soul like a warm sweater on an autumn day.
A MAGICAL SECRET. A MYTHICAL HUNT. AND A LOVE THAT COULD RISK EVERYTHING.
In the dark, gothic town of Wickdon, Maggie Welty lives in an old creaking manor. Maggie's mother is an alchemist who has recently left town, leaving Maggie with just her bloodhound for company. But when Maggie spots a legendary ancient fox-creature on her porch, her fate is changed forever. Whoever tracks down and kills the hala in the Halfmoon Hunt will earn fame and riches - and if Maggie wins the hunt, she knows her mother will want to celebrate her. This is her chance to bring…
Long before I was an author of romantic fantasies, I was an avid reader of all things romance. Genre romance. Fantasy Romance. Romantic Fantasy. Romantic suspense. An adventure where the characters smile at each other for a heartbeat longer than usual. Give me even a hint of attraction between two characters, and I’m hooked. Give me life-or-death stakes and a first kiss that takes hundreds of pages, and I’m addicted. As a psychologist, helping young adults sort through real-life romance dilemmas is one of my favorite parts of the job. Now that I get to write these stories, I’ve made it my mission to devour all the best high-stakes YA romances I can find—or write.
This YA fantasy romance is the essence of cottage-core: a girl with flower magic and big dreams, a shy and perfectly emo boy with even bigger secrets, and a setting that will make you yearn for a thatched roof in a field of wildflowers. Clara’s magic was never dangerous—until she touched her father’s chest and accidentally made poisonous flowers bloom inside him. She needs her former best friend’s help to save him, but Xavier’s not the nice boy she remembers, and he makes demands of his own. As the secrets unravel, the chemistry ratchets to new heights, and you won’t be able to put this one down,
"Flowerheart is like a garden in full bloom: vibrant and sweet, whimsical and wondrous." -Allison Saft, New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic
Perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Tamora Pierce, this standalone YA debut is a stunning cottagecore fantasy romance about a girl with powerful and violent magic which she must learn to control-or lose everything she loves.
Clara's magic has always been wild. But it's never been dangerous. Then a simple touch causes poisonous flowers to bloom in her father's chest.
The only way to heal him is to cast an extremely difficult spell…
From my early days of reading Fire and Hemlock and various books of mythology, I’ve loved traditional tales from all around the world. In college I didn’t aim to major in things that would be useful to me as a fantasy writer, but anthropology and folklore made a great background for that job. Nowadays, I actively seek out books based on traditional stories, especially those that go beyond the most well-known European fairy tales and myths. Sometimes, they inspire me, in turn, to write my own stories!
So many of the books I read flinch from letting there be truly bad consequences to the protagonist’s actions, but this one is impressive in how little it pulls its punches.
When I picked it up, I wasn’t as familiar with the Persian folklore that inspired it as I am with other novels, but it made me want to go read the tales it’s based on. I also found the writing lovely, a cut above many of the novels I read. And for bonus points, it has queer representation, too!
From the author of Girls Made of Snow and Glass, this captivating and utterly original Persian-inspired fairy tale about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch is perfect for fans of Natasha Ngan and Naomi Novik.
'Monstrously beautiful and enchanting' Tasha Suri, author of Empire of Sand
There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away from everyone, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it's not just a story.…
I have always adored fairy tales, most particularly rewritings of fairy tales where the heroines seize a destiny all their own. But beyond feminine agency, I want a story that sweeps me away in every respect: lose me in a forest, turn my head with magic, let me stand and face my inner darkness, and, perhaps most importantly, entrance me with gorgeous language—it has to feel like a fairy tale. As fate would have it, these particular proclivities led me to write fantasy novels in my own right! You won’t find princesses, but you will find magic libraries and stories that dwell on the power of stories themselves!
Since the first page, I have not been able to stop thinking about Whitten’s gorgeously immersive world.
With a main character named Red and something about a wolf, you may think that this is just another Little Red Riding Hood rewriting…but it is so much more. A magical murderous forest, prophesies, blood pacts, destiny, love—all the things I already knew I loved, but then add even more—haunted trees, a twisting sickness caused by shadow, and two sisters fighting to determine their own fate.
This last aspect lends a specialness to Whitten’s novel and reminds me of my favorite novels growing up. These are not your average princesses. For the Wolf teeters on that edge between NA and adult, and the language alone is worth the read!
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND TIKTOK SENSATION!
The first daughter is for the Throne. The second daughter is for the Wolf.
An instant NYT bestseller and word-of-mouth sensation, this dark, romantic debut fantasy weaves the unforgettable tale of a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn't the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood.
As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose—to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return…
