Books Like Interview with the Vampire
If you finished Interview with the Vampire and want more vampires, morally gray, found family, 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.
For reference, Interview with the Vampire is:
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The picks
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1. A Dowry of Blood
Shares: vampires, morally gray
Constanta, Dracula's first bride, writes to him about how she came to want him dead. Short, gothic and lush. It's really a book about getting out of an abusive relationship.
- Vampires
- Why Choose
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Murder, Gore
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2. Certain Dark Things
Shares: vampires, morally gray
Atl is a vampire on the run from a rival clan in Mexico City, where vampires are banned and the narcos are worse. Domingo, a sweet street kid who collects trash, offers to help. A noir with fangs, short and mean.
- Vampires
- Forbidden Love
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Gore, Murder, Drug or alcohol abuse, Graphic violence
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3. 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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4. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Shares: vampires, morally gray
Tana wakes up after a party surrounded by bodies, with her infected ex tied up and a chained vampire in the next room. She drives them to Coldtown, a walled city where vampires livestream their parties. Black's sharpest standalone.
- Vampires
- Morally Gray
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Gore, Murder, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one
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5. 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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6. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
Shares: vampires, morally gray
Three women turned into vampires across five centuries: María in 1500s Spain, Charlotte in 1800s London, Alice in modern Boston. Their stories wind together slowly. Addie LaRue's structure with much more blood and some genuinely toxic sapphic relationships.
- Vampires
- Morally Gray
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Murder, Gore, Physical or emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide or suicidal thoughts
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7. 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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8. Perdido Street Station
Shares: morally gray, found family
A scientist in the filthy city of New Crobuzon takes a commission from a birdman whose wings were cut off, and accidentally releases something that feeds on dreams. The city itself is the star. The prose is thick, so give it 100 pages.
- Morally Gray
- Grimdark
- Found Family
Content warnings
Drug or alcohol abuse, Gore, Graphic violence, Sexual assault
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9. The Fifth Season
Shares: found family, morally gray
It opens with a woman finding her son beaten to death by his father, on the same day the world ends. Orogenes can move the earth and are feared, enslaved and bred for it. Parts are in second person, which pays off. Won the Hugo three years running for a reason.
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Harm to children, Genocide, Physical or emotional abuse, Death of a loved one
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10. 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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11. The Warded Man
Shares: found family, morally gray
Every night demons rise from the ground, and people survive behind magic wards. Arlen watches his mother die because his father froze, and decides he'll fight back. Great first half. The handling of sexual violence in the back half is a common complaint.
- Demons
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Revenge
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one, Physical or emotional abuse
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12. The Serpent and the Wings of Night
Shares: vampires, morally gray
A human girl raised by the vampire king enters a deadly tournament where the prize is a goddess's favor. Hunger Games energy, gorgeous writing and a rival who's very hard not to like.
- Vampires
- Deadly Trials
- Enemies to Lovers
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Physical or emotional abuse, Death of a loved one
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13. 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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14. Lady of Darkness
Shares: 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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15. 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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