Gods and Mythology Books
Gods walking among mortals, or stories pulled straight from Greek, Norse and other myths.
Spiciest here: Neon Gods. Darkest: The Poppy War.
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The books
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The Poppy War
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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The Serpent and the Wings of Night
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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A Fate Inked in Blood
Viking romantasy. Freya is a shield maiden with a prophecy on her head and a jarl's son who is very much not her husband. Feels like Vikings meets a political chess game.
- Gods and Mythology
- Slow Burn
- Forbidden Love
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse
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A Promise of Fire
Cat is a soothsayer hiding in a traveling circus until Griffin, a warlord, figures out what she can do and carries her off. The Greek gods meddle constantly. Banter-heavy and steamy, and Griffin is an alpha who actually listens.
- Gods and Mythology
- Captor and Captive
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Kidnapping, Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse
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A Shadow in the Ember
Sera was raised to seduce and kill the Primal of Death, who was promised her as a bride and then never came to collect. When Nyktos finally shows up, the plan gets messy fast. Long and repetitive in the middle, and a prequel world for Blood and Ash readers.
- Gods and Mythology
- Arranged Marriage
- Assassins
- Enemies to Lovers
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse, Murder
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A Touch of Darkness
Persephone bets with the god of the dead and loses. Hades and Persephone in modern day, with all the jealousy that comes with it. A comfort read for a lot of fans.
- Gods and Mythology
- Deals and Bargains
- Possessive Hero
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder
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Belladonna
Signa can't die, which is how she ends up orphaned at a gloomy Victorian estate where a ghost wants her to solve her own poisoning. Her love interest is Death himself, mostly in shadow form. Cozy-spooky and very October.
- Forbidden Love
- Slow Burn
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Murder, Death of a loved one
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Between Two Fires
France, 1348. The plague is killing everyone, and a disgraced knight ends up protecting an orphan girl who says angels speak to her. Fallen angels are making war on the world and the imagery is straight out of a medieval nightmare. Proper horror.
- Demons
- Grimdark
- Found Family
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Gore, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one, Sexual assault, Harm to children
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Blood of Hercules
Alexis Hert takes a blood test and lands in a Spartan war academy built inside a Coliseum, where her mentors are gladiators Achilles and Patro and her professors are heirs to the underworld. Everyone is cruel to her. Unhinged, funny in a bleak way, and much meaner than the cover.
- Gods and Mythology
- Why Choose
- Academies and War Colleges
- Deadly Trials
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse, Self-harm, Death of a loved one
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Blood Song
Vaelin Al Sorna's father drops him at the gates of a warrior order as a boy and never comes back. The training years are the best part, harsh and full of dead kids. Books two and three don't hit the same way, so treat this as a near-standalone.
- Academies and War Colleges
- Found Family
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Graphic violence, War, Harm to children, Torture
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Children of Blood and Bone
The king wiped out the maji and stripped the magic from the land when Zélie was a kid. Now she has a chance to bring it back, with the king's daughter along and his son hunting them. West African-inspired quest with a lot of grief under it.
- Forbidden Love
- Enemies to Lovers
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Genocide, Torture, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one
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Daughter of the Moon Goddess
Xingyin, the moon goddess Chang'e's secret daughter, flees the moon and ends up training as an archer beside the Celestial crown prince. Lush and episodic, pulled from Chinese myth. The middle drags a bit and the love triangle stays mild.
- Gods and Mythology
- Love Triangle
- Slow Burn
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence
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Deerskin
A retelling of Donkeyskin, the fairy tale most people never got told. Princess Lissar's father decides to marry her, and what happens is on the page. The rest of the book is about her slow recovery in the mountains with her dog. Gentle in tone, devastating in content.
- Fairy Tale Retellings
- Gods and Mythology
- Slow Burn
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Physical or emotional abuse, Animal death, Suicide or suicidal thoughts
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Divine Rivals
Iris and Roman are rival reporters at the same paper while a war between two gods creeps toward their city. She types letters to her missing brother on a magic typewriter, and someone writes back. Soft, sad and very You've Got Mail.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Slow Burn
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
War, Death of a loved one, Drug or alcohol abuse
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Gardens of the Moon
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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Gideon the Ninth
Lesbian necromancers in space solving murders in a haunted palace. Gideon is a swordswoman with a meme for every occasion. Confusing for 100 pages, then you're hooked.
- Deadly Trials
- Enemies to Lovers
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Gore, Murder, Harm to children, Suicide or suicidal thoughts
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Godblind
The Red Gods' followers are planning to invade Rilpor, and a dozen narrators get caught up in it. Short chapters, a huge cast and some of the most graphic torture in the genre. Know that going in.
- Grimdark
- Gods and Mythology
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Torture, Gore, Sexual assault, War, Graphic violence
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Godkiller
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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Gods of Jade and Shadow
Casiopea scrubs floors for her awful grandfather in 1920s Mexico until she opens an old chest and frees Hun-Kamé, the Maya god of death. They road-trip to get his throne back. More fable than romance, with a bittersweet ending.
- Gods and Mythology
- Forbidden Love
- Slow Burn
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
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Grave Mercy
Ismae escapes a brutal marriage into a convent whose nuns serve the god of death, mostly with poison and knives. Then she's sent to the Breton court posing as Duval's mistress. More politics than stabbing, and the slow trust between them really works.
- Assassins
- Court Intrigue
- Forced Proximity
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Murder, Graphic violence
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Kushiel's Dart
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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Lore
Every seven years the Greek gods are made mortal and hunted through New York, and whoever kills one takes its power. Lore walked away from the hunt after her family was murdered. Then a wounded Athena turns up on her doorstep. Punchy YA, a little long.
- Gods and Mythology
- Deadly Trials
- Revenge
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Murder, Graphic violence, Sexual assault, Death of a loved one
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Malice
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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Neon Gods
Hades and Persephone in a modern city run by the Thirteen. She runs away from a forced engagement to Zeus and makes a deal with the one man nobody crosses. Quick and very steamy.
- Gods and Mythology
- Deals and Bargains
- Forbidden Love
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
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Pestilence
The apocalypse is here, and firefighter Sara Burns shoots the first Horseman with an arrow. He doesn't stay dead, and now she's his captive on a road trip of plague. Grim premise, banter-heavy delivery. War, the second book, is many readers' favorite.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Captor and Captive
- Gods and Mythology
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, Graphic violence
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Promises and Pomegranates
A modern Hades and Persephone where Hades is a hitman named Kal and Persephone is Elena Rossi, a mafia daughter who's tired of being kept. The prose is moodier than most mafia books. Each sequel follows a new couple.
- Gods and Mythology
- Mafia
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse
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Spark of the Everflame
Diem is a mortal healer in a kingdom run by the Descended, godlike rulers who treat humans as disposable. Her mother disappears, a rebellion wants her, and a Descended prince named Luther keeps showing up. A self-published hit that got a big reissue, and the series is finally finished.
- Gods and Mythology
- Forbidden Love
- Court Intrigue
- Love Triangle
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one
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The Book of Azrael
Dianna is a shape-shifting monster who does terrible things for her maker. Liam is a god-king forced to work with her. The main characters really aren't nice people, and it's dark and very horny.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Morally Gray
- Gods and Mythology
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Torture, Murder
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The Fifth Season
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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The Gilded Ones
Deka bleeds gold at her purity ceremony, which means she's a demon. Her village kills her over and over, and she keeps coming back. Then the empire offers her a way out: fight in an army of girls like her. YA, but the abuse is on the page.
- Academies and War Colleges
- Found Family
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Physical or emotional abuse
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The Library at Mount Char
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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The Magicians
Quentin gets into a secret college for magic and finds out his favorite childhood fantasy world is real. He's still miserable. A grown-up, hungover answer to Narnia and Harry Potter. Quentin is hard to like and that's sort of the point.
- Dark Academia
- Found Family
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Drug or alcohol abuse, Gore, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one
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The Raven Tower
Hamlet, more or less, narrated by a god who is a very old rock. Eolo comes home with his prince to find the ruler gone and his uncle on the throne. The second-person narration throws people at first. The ending is worth it.
- Gods and Mythology
- Court Intrigue
- Revenge
Content warnings
Murder, War, Death of a loved one
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The Shadow of the Gods
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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The Witch's Heart
Angrboda was burned three times by Odin and walked away. She hides in a forest, falls for Loki and has three monstrous children the gods have already decided to destroy. Norse myth from the witch's side. Quiet for a long stretch, then devastating.
- Witches
- Gods and Mythology
- Found Family
Content warnings
Torture, Death of a loved one, Harm to children, Physical or emotional abuse
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The Wolf and the Woodsman
Évike is the one girl in her pagan village with no magic, so she's the one handed over to the king's zealot soldiers. Then she ends up stranded in the woods with their one-eyed captain. Hungarian and Jewish folklore, a lot of body horror and a slow, prickly romance.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forbidden Love
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Gore, Torture, Physical or emotional abuse, Genocide
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Wicked Fox
Miyoung is a gumiho in modern Seoul who has to feed on men's energy to survive, and Jihoon is the boy she saves from a goblin in the woods. K-drama structure, lots of family grief and food. Sweet, sad and a little slow in the middle.
- Gods and Mythology
- Forbidden Love
- Curses
Content warnings
Death of a loved one, Graphic violence, Murder
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Wicked Saints
A girl who talks to gods, a blood mage prince and a war that never ends. Moody and extremely Slavic. The romance is with someone who's very clearly a villain.
- Gods and Mythology
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Forbidden Love
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Self-harm, Gore, War, Torture
