Books Like Nevernight
If you finished Nevernight and want more assassins, academies and war colleges, revenge, 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, Nevernight is:
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The picks
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1. Red Sister
Shares: academies and war colleges, assassins, revenge
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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2. Empire of the Vampire
Shares: revenge
The sun hasn't risen in 27 years and vampires rule. Gabriel de León, the last silversaint, tells his life story to a vampire historian the night before his execution. Huge, swaggering and very gory. Kristoff's style is a lot, in the best way if it works for you.
- Vampires
- Grimdark
- Revenge
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Gore, Graphic violence, Torture, Death of a loved one, Harm to children
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3. The Poppy War
Shares: academies and war colleges, revenge
It starts as a school story about a war orphan who aces the exam into a military academy. Then the war arrives. Based on the Second Sino-Japanese War, including the Nanjing Massacre. Read the warnings, seriously.
- Academies and War Colleges
- Gods and Mythology
- Grimdark
- Revenge
Content warnings
Genocide, War, Sexual assault, Drug or alcohol abuse, Graphic violence, Torture
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4. An Ember in the Ashes
Shares: academies and war colleges, deadly trials
Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's military academy to save her brother, and Elias is its best soldier who wants out. The Commandant is one of YA's scariest villains. Darker than most YA, with threats of sexual violence throughout.
- Academies and War Colleges
- Deadly Trials
- Love Triangle
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Torture, Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse, Harm to children
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5. A Deadly Education
Shares: academies and war colleges, deadly trials
El is at a magic school with no teachers, where monsters crawl out of the drains and a chunk of every class dies before graduation. She's also prophesied to destroy the world. Her grumpy voice carries the whole thing.
- Academies and War Colleges
- Dark Academia
- Deadly Trials
- Enemies to Lovers
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Death of a loved one
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