Books like 'Katabasis'
Readers who enjoyed Katabasis by R.F. Kuang also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy romance mystery high fantasy horror magic historical-fiction dark-academia myths
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The Reckoning by Vanessa Nelson
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMissing girls. A plea for help she can’t ignore. An ancient enemy with plans of his own. Nine-year-old girls are missing from across the lands. Yvonne has promised to find them, and she always keeps her promises. Even when she doesn’t know where to start looking. There’s more trouble around. Mercenaries are disappearing... -
![Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher]()
Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsPiper is a lich-doctor, a physician who works among the dead, determining causes of death for the city guard's investigations. It's a peaceful, if solitary profession…until the day when he's called to the river to examine the latest in a series of mysterious bodies, mangled by some unknown force.Galen is a paladin of a dead god, lost to holiness and no longer entirely sane... -
![Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey]()
Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThe final chapter in Mercedes Lackey's spellbinding fantasy trilogy! The Herald-Mage, Vanyel, and his Companion, Yfandes, are alone responsible for saving the once-peaceful kingdom of Valdemar from the forces of a master who wields a dark, forbidding magic. And if either Vanyel or Yfandes falters, both Valdemar and its Herald-Mage must pay the ultimate price... -
![The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher]()
The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsPull three people out of prison--a disgraced paladin, a convicted forger, and a heartless assassin. Give them weapons, carnivorous tattoos, and each other. Point them at the enemy. What could possibly go wrong? In the sequel to CLOCKWORK BOYS, Slate, Brenner, Caliban and Learned Edmund have arrived in Anuket City, the source of the mysterious Clockwork Boys... -
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![Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher]()
Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsA paladin, an assassin, a forger, and a scholar ride out of town. It’s not the start of a joke, but rather an espionage mission with deadly serious stakes. T... -
![Inferno by Kat Ross]()
Inferno by Kat Ross
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the last volume of the Fourth Talisman series, the worlds of the living and the dead collide in a final confrontation that will leave Nocturne and Solis forever changed....Three talismans adrift.Two mad kings. One poisonous crown.As dark forces gather at the Rock of Ariamazes in Samarqand, Nazafareen discovers that there are worse places than the afterlife... -
![The Searching by Vanessa Nelson]()
The Searching by Vanessa Nelson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOath-sworn to help those in need, Yvonne has been framed for murder.Tracking down those responsible for the destruction of the Stone Walls was a difficult enough task, but someone has made it much harder. The King is dead, and Yvonne is accused of his murder... -
![This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne]()
This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSergeant Nix Marr is a damn good soldier. She’s also desperate to leave her haunted past deep in the bioluminescent ocean, buried alongside her best friend, Quian. So, when Subarch Kessandra, Valkesh’s favorite royal–and Nix’s loathed ex–requests Nix’s help investigating a massacre in the abyssal city of Fall, Nix refuses. Vehemently.She should have known Kessandra would fight back... -
![Autumn of the Grimoire by J.L. Vampa]()
Autumn of the Grimoire by J.L. Vampa
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSome witches cast spells. Others slay kings.A mysterious Grimoire. A marriage full of dark secrets. A History sculpted by a quartet of ancient Sister witches.For three hundred years, Sister Autumn has incited wars, burnt villages, killed kings, and released plagues at the bidding of the Grimoire. Meanwhile, her Sister Winter, Sister Spring, and Sister Summer have brought forth only peace... -
![Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder]()
Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsLaying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honoured for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos...Categorized as:
magic paranormal action-adventure alpha-mc audiobook book dystopia enemies-to-lovers -
![Masque by W.R. Gingell]()
Masque by W.R. Gingell
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBeauty met the Beast and there was . . . Bloody murder? It’s the Annual Ambassadorial Ball in Glause, and Lady Isabella Farrah, the daughter of New Civet’s Ambassador, is feeling pleasantly scintillated. In the library is Lord Pecus, a charming gentleman whose double mask hides a beastly face, and who has decided that Isabella is the very person to break the Pecus curse... -
![Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher]()
Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsStephen's god died on the longest day of the year…Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong... -
![Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier]()
Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsA brand new novel in the beloved world of Sevenwaters, a fantasy series that should appeal to "Lord of the Rings" fans (VOYA). The chieftains of Sevenwaters have long been custodians of a vast and mysterious forest. Human and Otherworld dwellers have existed there side by side, sharing a wary trust... -
![Oathbreakers by Mercedes Lackey]()
Oathbreakers by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsWhen Idra, leader of the crack mercenaries known as the Sunhawks, failed to return from a journey to her home kingdom of Rethwellan, Tarma and Kethry, warrior and mage, set out in search of their vanished leader. Sisters of sword and spell, their fates bound together by Goddess-sworn oath, they were eternally pledged to fight the forces of evil... -
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![Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsIn a land threatened by treacherous war and beset by demons, royal dowager Ista, released from the curse of madness and manipulated by an untrustworthy god, is plunged into a desperate struggle to preserve the endangered souls of a realm... -
![Lavish Destruction by Myra Danvers]()
Lavish Destruction by Myra Danvers
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“It’s the fight, isn’t it? The struggle. The idea that I’ll pin you down and take what I want…” He smiled, slow and dangerous. Watching me struggle to deny him. Watching me fail… Enslaved to a man I hate, I’m bound. All that I was is gone. Taken. Stripped away, only to feed the beast who dares to call himself my equal, while having the gall to leave me helpless to his whims... -
![Ghost in the Cowl by Jonathan Moeller]()
Ghost in the Cowl by Jonathan Moeller
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOverviewCaina Amalas was a nightfighter of the Ghosts, the spies and assassins of the Emperor of Nighmar, and through her boldness and cunning saved the Empire and the world from sorcerous annihilation.But the victory cost her everything.Now she is exiled and alone in the city of Istarinmul, far from her home and friends... -
![Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher]()
Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsBryony and her sisters have come down in the world. Their merchant father died trying to reclaim his fortune and left them to eke out a living in a village far from their home in the city. But when Bryony is caught in a snowstorm and takes refuge in an abandoned manor, she stumbles into a house full of dark enchantments... -
![Uprooted by Naomi Novik]()
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 83 ratings“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon... -
![The Architect of Song by A.G. Howard]()
The Architect of Song by A.G. Howard
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA lady imprisoned by deafness, an architect imprisoned by his past, and a ghost imprisoned within the petals of a flower – intertwine in this love story that transcends life and death. For most of her life, Juliet Emerline has subsisted – isolated by deafness – making hats in the solitude of her home... -
![Small Favors by Erin A. Craig]()
Small Favors by Erin A. Craig
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTHE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the critically-acclaimed author of House of Salt and Sorrows comes a mesmerizing and chilling fairy-talesque novel about Ellerie Downing, a young woman in a small town with monsters lurking in the trees and dark desires hidden in the shadows--in Amity Falls, nothing is more dangerous than a wish come true. Unique, enchanting, and haunting... -
![Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf]()
Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsZera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly... -
![Curse of the Dark Prince by Ariana Nash]()
Curse of the Dark Prince by Ariana Nash
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWith the powerful cities of Seran and Loreen having fallen to elves, and the dark flame escaping its bonds, Prince Vasili Caville’s plight has never been more desperate. But for the first time in his lifetime, he’s not alone. With the formidable Nikolas Yazdan at his side, not all is lost. But Nikolas has changed... -
![The Soul Mirror by Carol Berg]()
The Soul Mirror by Carol Berg
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsBy order of His Royal Majesty Philippe de Savin-Journia y Sabria, Anne de Vernase is hereby summoned to attend His Majesty's Court at Merona...Anne de Vernase rejoices that she has no talent for magic. Her father's pursuit of depraved sorcery has left her family in ruins, and he remains at large, convicted of treason and murder by Anne's own testimony... -
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![Black Magic by Megan Derr]()
Black Magic by Megan Derr
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsWhen High Paladin Sorin discovers the brutally dismembered body of his cousin Alfrey, a much loved priest in the royal palace, he is left baffled as to who would do so terrible a thing to so good a man. But to find the answer to that question, he must cooperate with one of the highly despised necromancers, men who practice black magic, sleep in graveyards and feed upon souls.. -
![A Man Rides Through by Stephen R. Donaldson]()
A Man Rides Through by Stephen R. Donaldson
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsIn The Mirror of Her Dreams, the dazzling first volume of Mordant's Need, New York Times bestselling author Stephen R. Donaldson introduced us to the richly imagined world of Mordant, where mirrors are magical portals into places of beauty and terror. Now, with A Man Rides Through, Donaldson brings the story of Terisa Morgan to an unforgettable conclusion.. -
![The Seat of Magic by J. Kathleen Cheney]()
The Seat of Magic by J. Kathleen Cheney
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMagical beings have been banned from the Golden City for decades, though many live there in secret. Now humans and nonhumans alike are in danger as evil stalks the streets, growing more powerful with every kill…. It’s been two weeks since Oriana Paredes was banished from the Golden City...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic paranormal adult alternate-history book fantasy-of-manners female-author -
![Witches With the Enemy by Barb Hendee]()
Witches With the Enemy by Barb Hendee
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe national bestselling author of The Mist-Torn Witches returns to a world of princes and power, magic and mystery, where two women have the ability to reveal the future and uncover the past…When seers Céline and Amelie Fawe fled Shetâna under threat of death, they vowed never to return. Yet, less than a year later, they are summoned back—to aid the man who once tried to kill them... -
![Insatiable Corruption by Myra Danvers]()
Insatiable Corruption by Myra Danvers
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“It hurts, doesn’t it?” he whispered, letting me strain to the limit of my bonds, maintaining the distance between us with a smirk. “Being so close to what you need, yet unable to take it. Five years I went without, Mila. But don’t worry,” he whispered, flicking a lock of sopping wet hair over my shoulder. “I won’t make you wait that long... -
![Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh]()
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThere is a Wild Man who lives in the deep quiet of Greenhollow, and he listens to the wood. Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads.When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes...Categorized as:
dark historical-fiction magic myths paranormal 21st-century action-adventure audiobook -
![The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson]()
The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsWith The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Stephen R. Donaldson changed the face of fantasy fiction forever. In The Mirror of Her Dreams, the astonishing first novel in the two-volume Mordant’s Need series, Donaldson shows us a world of wondrous beauty and seductive illusion, where mirrors hold the deadliest of magics and nothing is what it seems. . .Categorized as:
magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure alternate-universe audiobook book classics -
![Of Last Resort by Megan Derr]()
Of Last Resort by Megan Derr
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn a kingdom ravaged by the beasts and terrors of an ancient war, the only hope against them is the army of mixed-blood beings known as the King's Legion: dragoons, shadowmarch, sorcerers, titans... and the Princes of the Blood, nigh-invincible warriors of fearsome magic and strength, their only weakness a need for pure human blood... -
![Dante's End by Ariana Nash]()
Dante's End by Ariana Nash
Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsMonsters are made, not born... Most called him the Jailor. Some called him a monster. If he had a name, nobody had survived meeting him long enough to tell it. They said he sat atop a mound of skulls and marked each death on his throne, like notches on a bedpost. Some tales told of how he had wings as dark as night, and of how he wore a crown of razor wire woven around four horns... -
![Pantomime by L.R. Lam]()
Pantomime by L.R. Lam
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsIn a land of lost wonders, the past is stirring once moreGene's life resembles a debutante's dream. Yet she hides a secret that would see her shunned by the nobility. Gene is both male and female. Then she displays unwanted magical abilities - last seen in mysterious beings from an almost-forgotten age...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic myths paranormal action-adventure bisexuality book coming-of-age -
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![House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig]()
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 69 ratingsIn a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short... -
![Lord of the Last Heartbeat by May Peterson]()
Lord of the Last Heartbeat by May Peterson
Rated: 3.71 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsStop me. Please. Three words scrawled in bloodred wine. A note furtively passed into the hand of a handsome stranger. Only death can free Mio from his mother’s political schemes. He’s put his trust in the enigmatic Rhodry—an immortal moon soul with the power of the bear spirit—to put an end to it all... -
![The Mist-Torn Witches by Barb Hendee]()
The Mist-Torn Witches by Barb Hendee
Rated: 3.87 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNational bestselling author Barb Hendee presents a dark, fascinating new series set in the world of the Noble Dead Saga... the story of two sisters who will discover they have far more power than they ever envisioned...In a small village in the nation of Droevinka, orphaned sisters Céline and Amelie Fawe scrape out a living selling herbal medicines in their apothecary shop... -
![Embrace by Megan Derr]()
Embrace by Megan Derr
Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsWhen Aubrey returns home after many years away, he is welcomed back with the extravagant gift of a Pet he never wanted and secrets he never dreamed existed... Many years ago, the race of creatures once known as 'vampires' agreed to surrender their freedom, rather than face eventual annihilation... -
![Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith]()
Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith
Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsAurelia is a princess, but they call her a witch. Surrounded by spirits and burdened with forbidden magic, she lives in constant fear of discovery by the witch-hunting Tribunal and their bloodthirsty mobs. When a devastating assassination attempt reveals her magical abilities, Aurelia is forced to flee her country with nothing but her life... -
![Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan]()
Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan
Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsDarkness never works alone...Nadya doesn’t trust her magic anymore. Serefin is fighting off a voice in his head that doesn’t belong to him. Malachiasz is at war with who--and what--he’s become. As their group is continually torn apart, the girl, the prince, and the monster find their fates irrevocably intertwined. They’re pieces on a board, being orchestrated by someone… or something... -
![Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent]()
Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA high stakes reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood.For as long as sixteen-year-old Adele can remember the village of Oakvale has been surrounding by the dark woods—a forest filled with terrible monsters that light cannot penetrate. Like every person who grows up in Oakvale she has been told to steer clear of the woods unless absolutely necessary...Categorized as:
dark historical-fiction magic paranormal action-adventure audiobook book dark-fantasy -
![The Laurentine Spy by Emily Gee]()
The Laurentine Spy by Emily Gee
Rated: 3.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Corhonase citadel is a place of virtue and debauchery — and deadly secrets. For the Laurentine spies embedded there, every day brings danger. Nothing is as it seems, whether in the ballrooms and salons of the nobles' court or the catacombs beneath the citadel... -
![Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft]()
Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft
Rated: 3.76 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsHe saw the darkness in her magic. She saw the magic in his darkness.Wren Southerland’s reckless use of magic has cost her everything: she’s been dismissed from the Queen’s Guard and separated from her best friend—the girl she loves...Categorized as:
dark gothic historical-fiction magic paranormal action-adventure audiobook bisexuality -
![Scarlet Moon: A Retelling of Little Red Riding Hood by Debbie Viguié]()
Scarlet Moon: A Retelling of Little Red Riding Hood by Debbie Viguié
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe True Face of Love Ruth's grandmother lives in the forest, banished there for the "evil" that the townsfolk believed she practiced. But if studying the stars, learning about nature, and dreaming of flying is evil, then Ruth is guilty of it too. Whenever Ruth took food and supplies to her grandmother, she would sit with the old woman for hours, listening and learning...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic myths paranormal action-adventure adaptations book classics -
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![Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan]()
Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan
Rated: 3.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJulia has the unusual ability to be…unseen. Not invisible, exactly. Just beyond most people’s senses.It’s a dangerous trait in a city that has banned all forms of magic and drowns witches in public Cleansings. But it’s a useful trait for a thief and a spy. And Julia has learned—crime pays.Her latest job is paying very well indeed. Julia is posing as a housemaid in the grand house of Mrs...Categorized as:
dark historical-fiction magic paranormal action-adventure audiobook book dark-fantasy -
![The Curse Giver by Dora Machado]()
The Curse Giver by Dora Machado
Rated: 3.62 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsLusielle's bleak but orderly life as a remedy mixer is shattered when she is sentenced to die for a crime she didn't commit. She's on the pyre, about to be burned, when a stranger breaks through the crowd and rescues her from the flames.Brennus, Lord of Laonia is the last of his line... -
![The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman]()
The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman
Rated: 3.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDeath hasn't visited Rowan Rose since it took her mother when Rowan was only a little girl. But that changes one bleak morning, when five horses and their riders thunder into her village and through the forest, disappearing into the hills... -
![Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes]()
Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes
Rated: 3.62 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsOnly queens with hearts can bleed.This is not the story of the Wonderland we know. Alice has not fallen down a rabbit hole. There is no all-knowing cat with a taunting smile. This is a Wonderland where beneath each smile lies a secret, each tart comes with a demand, and only prisoners tell the truth.Dinah is the princess who will one day reign over Wonderland...Categorized as:
dark historical-fiction magic myths paranormal action-adventure adaptations audiobook -
![The Shattered Court by M.J. Scott]()
The Shattered Court by M.J. Scott
Rated: 3.60 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFirst in a new fantasy series from the author of the Novels of the Half-Light City.Entangled in a court ruled by tradition and intrigue, a young witch must come to terms with newfound power and desire—and a choice between loyalty and survival.… The royal witches of Anglion have bowed to tradition for centuries... -
![Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge]()
Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
Rated: 3.65 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsWhen Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat...
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