Books Like A Darker Shade of Magic
If you finished A Darker Shade of Magic and want more found family, morally gray, assassins, start here. Each pick shares at least two tropes with it, and we've rated every one for spice and darkness so you know what you're getting into.
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The picks
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1. Godkiller
Shares: found family, morally gray
Kissen kills gods for a living, which is a good trade in a kingdom that banned worship. Then she's stuck escorting a girl bound to a tiny god of white lies. Grumpy found family, small sharp book, easy entry into darker fantasy.
- Gods and Mythology
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one, Harm to children
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2. Six of Crows
Shares: found family, morally gray
Kaz Brekker and five other teenage criminals take a job breaking a prisoner out of the most secure fortress in the world. Heist structure, rotating narrators, and every single one of them is carrying something awful. Skip Shadow and Bone if you want, this stands alone fine.
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Slow Burn
Content warnings
Human trafficking, Graphic violence, Murder, Torture
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3. The Justice of Kings
Shares: morally gray, found family
Sir Konrad Vonvalt is a travelling Justice, judge, jury and executioner with the power to make people tell the truth. His clerk Helena narrates as a murder in a backwater town turns into a conspiracy. A legal procedural that keeps getting grimmer.
- Court Intrigue
- Morally Gray
- Found Family
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Torture, War
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4. The Lies of Locke Lamora
Shares: found family, morally gray
Locke runs elaborate cons on the nobles of Camorr with his crew of Gentleman Bastards, and it's a heist romp for about half the book. Then someone starts killing thieves and the tone flips hard. Funny, filthy-mouthed and crueler than you expect.
- Found Family
- Revenge
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Torture, Murder, Death of a loved one
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5. This Savage Song
Shares: found family, morally gray
In Verity, violence literally breeds monsters. Kate wants to be as ruthless as her father, who runs half the city, and August is a monster who'd rather be human. No romance to speak of. YA and the best of Schwab's books for teens.
- Demons
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Murder, Suicide or suicidal thoughts, Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse
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6. Babel
Shares: found family, morally gray
Robin is taken from Canton as a child and raised to study at Oxford's translation institute, where silver bars powered by mistranslation run the British Empire. Long, footnoted and furious about colonialism. The friendship at the center is the part that hurts.
- Dark Academia
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Revenge
Content warnings
Murder, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one, Physical or emotional abuse
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7. Lady of Darkness
Shares: assassins, found family, morally gray
Scarlett Monrhoe and her sisters were raised to torture and kill on command, and she is very good at it. Book one is long and stingy with the romance. Readers who push on say the later books are where it catches fire, in every sense.
- Assassins
- Fae
- Slow Burn
- Found Family
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Murder, Torture, Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
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8. Red Sister
Shares: assassins, found family
Nona is eight, about to be hanged, and gets rescued by a convent that trains nuns to kill. Murder nuns, friendship and some very nasty politics. Gentler than Prince of Thorns but still Lawrence, so nobody is safe.
- Academies and War Colleges
- Assassins
- Found Family
- Revenge
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Harm to children, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse
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9. The Sword of Kaigen
Shares: found family, morally gray
Misaki gave up her fighting life to marry into a warrior family on a remote peninsula. Then the empire she serves sends an invasion fleet. The first third is quiet family drama, and the payoff for sticking with it is brutal.
- Arranged Marriage
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
War, Death of a loved one, Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse
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10. Gardens of the Moon
Shares: morally gray, assassins
Erikson drops you into the middle of an empire's war with zero explanation and expects you to swim. Sorcerers level cities, gods meddle in Darujhistan's politics, and the Bridgeburners just want to survive. Book one is the roughest. It gets much better.
- Grimdark
- Gods and Mythology
- Morally Gray
- Assassins
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one
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11. Interview with the Vampire
Shares: morally gray, found family
Louis tells a reporter how Lestat made him a vampire in 1791 New Orleans, and how they turned a dying five-year-old into a daughter. Lush, mournful and very homoerotic for 1976. Louis whines a lot, and Claudia is the real horror.
- Vampires
- Morally Gray
- Found Family
Content warnings
Murder, Harm to children, Gore, Death of a loved one
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12. The Black Company
Shares: found family, morally gray
Croaker, the company's doctor and record keeper, writes down what a mercenary band does after signing on with the Lady, who is pretty clearly the villain. Dry, cynical and short. The book half of modern grimdark is quietly copying.
- Grimdark
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence, Torture, Murder
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13. The Blacktongue Thief
Shares: found family, morally gray
Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a fortune, so a botched robbery turns into a job escorting a knight across a country wrecked by goblin wars. The narrator is a funny, profane liar. Then there are the giants, and the war flashbacks, which are not funny at all.
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Grimdark
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence, Animal death, Gore
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14. House of Earth and Blood
Shares: morally gray, found family
Urban fantasy Maas: phones, clubs, angels and a half-fae party girl hunting whoever killed her best friend. The first 200 pages are a slog and the last 200 are a sprint.
- Fae
- Demons
- Morally Gray
- Slow Burn
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Murder, Drug or alcohol abuse, Death of a loved one
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15. Jade City
Shares: morally gray, found family
The Godfather with martial arts magic. The Kaul family's warriors draw power from jade, a rival clan wants their territory, and a new drug lets anyone use it. Slow start while it builds the city, then the clan war hits and it doesn't let up.
- Morally Gray
- Court Intrigue
- Revenge
- Found Family
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Drug or alcohol abuse, Death of a loved one
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