Books Like Legendborn
If you finished Legendborn and want more demons, dark academia, deadly trials, 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, Legendborn is:
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The picks
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1. Fireborne
Shares: deadly trials, love triangle
Annie and Lee were both orphaned by a revolution and now compete to lead the new regime's dragonriders. His family was the old regime the revolution burned. Political, closed door, and the bond between riders and dragons is the best part.
- Dragons
- Academies and War Colleges
- Deadly Trials
- Love Triangle
Content warnings
War, Genocide, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one
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2. Clockwork Angel
Shares: demons, love triangle
Tessa sails to Victorian London to find her brother and gets taken by the Dark Sisters, who force her to learn she can shapeshift. The London Institute's Shadowhunters pull her out, and Will and Jem become the love triangle Clare fans cry about most.
- Demons
- Love Triangle
- Found Family
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Kidnapping, Death of a loved one, Graphic violence, Drug or alcohol abuse
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3. Throne of Glass
Shares: deadly trials, love triangle
An assassin dragged out of a salt mine to compete for the king's favor. Book one reads young. Stick with it, because by book four it's a full-blown fae war epic.
- Assassins
- Deadly Trials
- Love Triangle
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one
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4. City of Bones
Shares: demons, love triangle
Clary watches three teenagers kill something in a New York club that nobody else can see, and that's her introduction to the Shadowhunters, Jace in particular. Snarky and very 2007, and the book's infamous twist fueled a decade of forum fights.
- Demons
- Love Triangle
- Forbidden Love
- Found Family
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Kidnapping
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5. Lightlark
Shares: deadly trials, love triangle
Every hundred years the island of Lightlark appears for the Centennial, a deadly game where six rulers fight to break their curses. Isla, the Wildling ruler, is hiding more than most. The TikTok hype was enormous and the reviews are split. Read it for the twists, not the prose.
- Deadly Trials
- Curses
- Love Triangle
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
Murder, Graphic violence
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6. Phantasma
Shares: deadly trials, demons
Ophelia Grimm is a necromancer with a cruel voice in her head who enters the Prince of the Devils' deadly game, where only one player wins a wish. Caraval meets a haunted manor, with a lot more heat. The cover did plenty of the selling on BookTok.
- Deadly Trials
- Deals and Bargains
- Demons
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Death of a loved one, Suicide or suicidal thoughts, Graphic violence
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