Books Like The Raven Tower
If you finished The Raven Tower and want more gods and mythology, court intrigue, 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.
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The picks
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1. The Cruel Prince
Shares: court intrigue, revenge
A mortal girl raised in Faerie after the man who murdered her parents adopted her. Jude wants power, Cardan wants her gone, and nobody in this court is nice. No spice, all knives.
- Fae
- Enemies to Lovers
- Court Intrigue
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse, Death of a loved one
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2. Malice
Shares: gods and mythology, court intrigue
Corban is a blacksmith's son who wants to be a warrior, and a war between fallen angels is brewing behind the human kingdoms. Old-fashioned epic fantasy that takes a while to warm up. Book one is a slow build, books two through four hit harder.
- Gods and Mythology
- Found Family
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence, Animal death, Death of a loved one
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3. The Shadow of the Gods
Shares: gods and mythology, revenge
Norse-flavored and set in a land where the gods killed each other and their bones still litter the land. Three narrators: a mother hunting her stolen son, a thrall with a dangerous secret, and a mercenary. The shield walls are the best in the genre.
- Gods and Mythology
- Found Family
- Revenge
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, War, Human trafficking, Death of a loved one
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4. The Poppy War
Shares: gods and mythology, 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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5. The Traitor Baru Cormorant
Shares: court intrigue, revenge
Baru wants to destroy the empire that conquered her island, so she joins it as an accountant. Yes, accountant. Colonialism, ledgers and a rebellion she can't afford to care about. The ending is cold enough that some readers never forgave it.
- Court Intrigue
- Revenge
- Morally Gray
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Genocide, Torture, War, Gore, Death of a loved one
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6. Jade City
Shares: court intrigue, revenge
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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7. She Who Became the Sun
Shares: revenge, court intrigue
A peasant girl takes her dead brother's name and his destiny during a famine, and decides she'll become the first Ming emperor. Her rival is a eunuch general with a revenge plan of his own. Queer, ambitious and ruthless about what wanting something costs.
- Morally Gray
- Revenge
- Forbidden Love
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence, Torture, Death of a loved one, Harm to children
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8. The Library at Mount Char
Shares: gods and mythology, revenge
Carolyn and her adopted siblings were raised by a godlike man called Father, who taught each of them one catalog of forbidden knowledge and punished them horribly. Now Father is missing. Go in blind. It's deeply strange, very upsetting and weirdly funny.
- Gods and Mythology
- Morally Gray
- Revenge
- Grimdark
Content warnings
Torture, Physical or emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Gore, Harm to children, Murder
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9. Kushiel's Dart
Shares: court intrigue, gods and mythology
Phèdre is a courtesan and spy who finds pleasure in pain, sold into a world of political betrayal. Dense and long, with real kink, and it was doing romantasy 20 years before the word existed.
- Court Intrigue
- Gods and Mythology
- Morally Gray
- Slow Burn
Content warnings
Dubious or non-consent, Torture, Sexual assault, War, Graphic violence
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