Books like 'Babel, or the Necessity of Violence'
Readers who enjoyed Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R.F. Kuang also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy urban fantasy paranormal magic victorian multicultural east-asian-mc college war
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Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi Vol. 2 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù
HAUNTED BY SIN Following the trail of a dismembered corpse, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji arrive at the gates of Yi City: an old, abandoned town shrouded in mist and restless spirits. A fiendish foe awaits them in the shadows, heralding a tale of heartbreak and tragedy... -
Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu Vol. 7 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù
Rated: 4.73 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsLIFETIMES OF CRUELTY, CENTURIES OF DEVOTIONThe Kiln is open, and White No-Face is back to his full power. The past eight hundred years have not blunted his hatred nor his obsession with Xie Lian—he aims to break Xie Lian down to nothing, even if all of humanity and the heavens themselves are collateral damage.This time, however, Xie Lian will not face him alone... -
An Immortal's Pain by Auburn Tempest, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe moment you let your guard down and think you’ve got a handle on life—you jinx it.I bust my butt on the daily, smoothing the rough edges after moving in with the boyfriend, making amends to angry empowered ones, and patching things up with hostile in-laws. Things are good on the home front with my job, family, and friends. I’ve got this, right?Wrong... -
Highland Magic: The Complete Series by Helen Harper
Rated: 4.73 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsThe entire Highland Magic series in one thrilling volume. Daring adventure, captivating romance - and maybe a haggis or two. Gifted Thief Honour Bound Veiled Threat Last Wish Integrity Taylor walked away from the Sidhe when she was a child. Orphaned and bullied, she simply had no reason to stay, especially not when the sins of her father were going to remain on her shoulders... -
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A Druid Hexed by Auburn Tempest, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsSome days I kick life in the ass. Other days it kicks back.On a good day, wearing the Fianna mark tosses me into topsy-turvy trials. It’s a scramble but I manage to hold it together with the help of amazing family and friends: mythical, magical, and mortal.But despite best-laid plans, collateral damage occurs.I can live with me getting hurt but watching someone I love suffer—not so much... -
Three Charms for Murder by Honor Raconteur
It takes more than three charms to commit murder.When an old childhood friend comes to Henri asking for help in solving his parents’ murders, Henri agrees immediately. He knows this case is not going to be easy. Mr. and Mrs. Atwood’s bodies had been found magically posed to mimic a statue, and the investigator in charge ruled it a murder-suicide... -
Death Over the Garden Wall by Honor Raconteur
Three modus operandi to die. Four employees, six house guests, and not a single witness.Confusing clues and no helpful leads cloud the death of Countess Giada Barese, who washed up on shore two weeks after her mysterious disappearance. Henri and Jamie have no idea if her death is a homicide, suicide, or accidental death, for nothing adds up... -
Grimoires and Where to Find Them by Honor Raconteur
How do you catch an elusive thief?There is nothing more delightful than a bookfaire with his lady love. At least, until Henri learns that a grimoire belonging to the dangerous Reaper’s Set has been stolen without its protective box. When Henri and Jamie go looking for answers, they are horrified to discover more than one volume has been stolen without its protective box... -
Breaking and Entering 101 by Honor Raconteur
Since Jamie and Henri agreed to be Kingsmen consultants, they’d not had much call to actually consult. Which is a fortuitous thing, as Henri is up to his neck in labwork and interviews for a new Magical Examiner due to Sanderson’s departing. He is hardly in any position to add more tasks onto his shoulders.Which, naturally, means two disasters strike at once... -
Heir of Uncertain Magic by Charlie N. Holmberg
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsOne man is on a journey to unravel his magical lineage in the next novel of the Whimbrel House series.Thanks to house tamer Hulda Larkin, the mischief infesting Whimbrel House has calmed... -
Miss Percy's Travel Guide to Welsh Moors and Feral Dragons by Quenby Olson
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFirst, there was a trunk. Inside the trunk was an egg, and inside the egg was…Well, it certainly was not a chicken.Miss Mildred Percy, former wallflower and current adventurer, is now in charge of a dragon. Along with Mr. Wiggan and Mrs... -
Black Soul, White Heart by Hailey Edwards
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsVonda Winterbourne is, sadly, a lady. Much to her regret. And her parents expect her to act like one. That includes marrying a nice white witch who can provide her safety, companionship, and all the comforts one could desire in their gilded cage.Hiram Nádasdy is no gentleman. He’s a black witch with a reputation that strikes terror in the hearts of his enemies. But not in the girl... -
Marking Time by April White
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsSeventeen-year-old tagger Saira Elian can handle anything... a mother who mysteriously disappears, a stranger who stalks her around London, and even the noble English Grandmother who kicked Saira and her mother out of the family... -
Knight of Flames by Amelia Faulkner, A.K. Faulkner
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsSome men are forged in fire. Quentin d'Arcy may have survived a showdown with a god, but now he faces something far more terrifying: falling in love. And the secret he's hiding from Laurence could burn them both.Kane Wilson says he wants to make a better world--one in which psychics are out and proud without fear of reprisal or hatred--but there's a trail of bodies buried in his past... -
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The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic. When her master, the husband who commissioned her, dies at sea on the voyage from Poland, she is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York in 1899. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire, born in the ancient Syrian desert...Categorized as:
mystery magic found-family fantasy historical legends & fairy tales paranormal urban fantasy -
A Matter of Secrets and Spies by Honor Raconteur
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHow many ways can a marriage proposal go wrong?One: the ring gets stolenTwo: a storm destroys the beachThree: a dead body, seriously?Four: A THEFT RING?!Come hell or highwater, he WILL propose before leaving this benighted island... -
A Death at the Dionysus Club by Melissa Scott, Amy Griswold
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsIn the sequel to Lambda Literary Award-winning Death by Silver, metaphysician Ned Mathey and private detective Julian Lynes again challenge magical and murderous threats in a Victorian London not quite the city in our history books. Mathey is recruited by Scotland Yard to assist the new Metaphysical Crimes Squad in the case of a literally heartless corpse... -
The Untitled Books by C.J. Archer
A curated collection of magic…and murder.When a set of bound manuscripts written on magician-made paper is brought to the Glass Library, Sylvia and the professor send the owner away. After all, the library collects books about magic, not containing it.But the murder of the bookbinder who bound them sees the books returned to the library, along with Gabe in his role as consultant for Scotland Yard... -
A Haunting Touch by Ward Parker
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNightmare on memory lane.I’m Darla. I’m a psychometrist. I can read thoughts and emotions left upon objects. Some people call my ability a “gift.” Some people are idiots.You see, my ability isn’t providing easy answers when I try to learn who killed one of my inn’s guests, a developer about to cover a scenic meadow with condos.The dead developer created another problem... -
Raven's Strike by Patricia Briggs
The Traveler Seraph must use all her cunning and ability as a Raven mage to track down an unimaginable force of destruction known as the Shadowed... -
City of Dawn by Kat Ross
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSeven keys and seven gates, forged by a god’s rebellious seventh son.They lead to the fabled City of Dawn.But is it a treasure trove… or a gilded prison?Hurled halfway across the world, Malach and Alexei must join forces to stop the body-snatching alchemist Balaur from stealing an elixir of immortality—assuming they don’t end up killing each other first... -
Point of Sighs by Melissa Scott
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsAutumn downpours soak the city of Astreiant and cast a gloomy pall over its streets, while storms at sea have delayed merchant ships bearing important cargoes from distant lands. For Philip Eslingen, whose stars are bad for water, the season adds damp misery to the complications of organizing the new and controversial City Guard... -
Ferromancer by Becca Andre
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSolutions aren’t always black and white—sometimes they come in shades of iron gray.Captain Bridget “Briar” Rose wants for nothing. Each day is a new adventure, living the life she loves, running cargo on the Ohio & Erie Canal. That is, until her cousin decides to sell the family boat to finance a new business venture... -
Quicksilver by Amanda Quick
In the New York Times-bestselling author's latest Arcane Society novel, a paranormal killer pushes an unlikely duo's powers and passions to the limit. Virginia Dean wakes at midnight beside a dead body, with a bloody knife in her hand and no memory of the evening's events. Dark energy, emanating from the mirrors lining the room, overpowers her senses... -
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The Snow Song by Sally Gardner
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWomen imprisoned by superstition, chained by guilt. Perched on a mountain in a land of ancient forests is a village, rife with secrets. Cut off from the outside world it is run by the elders, men to whom tradition is all.Edith lives alone with her alcoholic father who is forcing her to marry the village butcher. But she is in love with a shepherd who promised to return to her... -
Death Doesn't Bargain by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsDeath Doesn’t Bargain is the second historical fantasy title in New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Deadman’s Cross series. Where Deadmen tell their tales, and every soul is damned or redeemed by the final choices they make. The Deadmen are back... But so are the demons who have broken free of their eternal prison and are bent on mankind's destruction... -
Five For Heaven by K.J. Charles
Series epilogue._______________Words: 3,235Status: CompleteCover by BookshireCat... -
Fairs' Point by Melissa Scott
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDuring Dog Moon, the chief entertainment in the great city of Astreiant, for nobles and commons alike, is the basket-terrier races at New Fair. This year, with spectacularly bad timing, the massive and suspicious bankruptcy of a young nobleman has convulsed the city, leading to suicides, widespread loss of employment, and inconvenient new laws around the universal practice of betting on the races... -
Powered by Ghosts by Kaje Harper
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn untrained sorcerer and a reclusive necromancer face a ghost-infested town.Darien is free of his dead invaders, and his eyes have opened to a new reality. In a world of sorcerers and necromancers, he's full of power and potential, but completely ignorant. Necromancer Silas, and Silas's cat familiar, Grim, are teaching him basic skills, but danger won't hold off, just because he's not ready... -
The Bandalore by D.K. Girl
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings1885 London, England Silas Mercer died once. He'd rather not do it again.On his return to the world of the living, Silas finds himself in the hands of the mysterious Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Order has London society clamouring for their services, with tarot readings, seances and exorcisms among their arcane specialities. Now they seem intent on making Silas their newest recruit... -
Possession by C.J. Archer
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsWhen the ghost of a notorious killer possesses the body of an upper class youth, London's pre-eminent medium, Emily Chambers, must exorcise it before the spirit goes on a rampage. As if this isn't distraction enough, she must fight her feelings for brooding ghost, Jacob Beaufort, who doesn't like the new man in her life - the handsome and very much alive, Theodore Hyde...Categorized as:
victorian mystery paranormal historical fantasy urban fantasy length-short audiobook -
The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsAn Indie Next PickNow in paperback, Natasha Pulley's "witty, entrancing novel . . . burnishes her reputation as a gifted storyteller" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).In 1859, ex–East India Company smuggler Merrick Tremayne is trapped at home in Cornwall with an injury that almost cost him his leg... -
A Golden Grave: A Rose Gallagher Mystery by Erin Lindsey
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe follow-up to Murder on Millionaires' Row , Erin Lindsey's second historical mystery follows Rose Gallagher as she tracks a killer with shocking abilities through Gilded Age Manhattan.Rose Gallagher always dreamed of finding adventure, so her new life as a freshly-minted Pinkerton agent ought to be everything she ever wanted... -
The Shores of Spain by J. Kathleen Cheney
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA brilliant new chapter in the Novels of the Golden City. Even as the branches of peace are being offered, there are some who still believe those who are not human should be used as chattel. And they are willing to go to great lengths to retain their power... -
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The Scot, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Annette Blair
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsSexy new romance from the national bestselling author of My Favorite Witch. To restore his clan to glory, Rory MacKenzie must reclaim a beautifully carved unicorn... -
The Angel of Khan el-Khalili by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA girl visits a bazaar in Cairo, seeking a favor from a mysterious angelic being.This story first appeared in the anthology Clockwork Cairo: Steampunk Tales of Egypt... -
Pawn of the Phoenix by Jamie McLachlan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsBraxton, 1903.The serial killer known only as the Phoenix continues to roam the streets and a new victim falls prey. For Moira and Detective Keenan Edwards, still on the hunt for the Phoenix, the rules have changed. The killer remains beyond their grasp. Moira is willing to give into her fierce attraction to Keenan...Categorized as:
mystery new adult fantasy historical urban fantasy paranormal suspense length-medium -
The Vanishing Bookstore by Helen Phifer
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 14 ratings‘Every story needs a happy ending. And you can’t have yours until you find the bookstore.’1692. On the outskirts of Salem, a bookstore stands covered in overgrown vines. Inside, a young woman hides a linen-wrapped journal under a loose floorboard and runs away, panicked by the sound of hounds barking in the distance. The bookstore vanishes into thin air…Present day... -
Second Sight by Amanda Quick, Jayne Ann Krentz
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsVenetia Milton earns big bucks photographing the artifacts owned by the brooding Gabriel Jones, whom she also manages to seduce, but when she returns home and hears that reputedly he is dead, you can imagine her surprise when he winds up on her doorstep very much alive and afraid for his life. 125,000 first printing... -
The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess by Leanna Renee Hieber
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Goddess: In the beginning, there were lovers: a winged deity of power and light, and a queen of grace and beauty. Phoenix was murdered, his beloved stolen away to the Whisper-world. But their passion inspired the Muses. Through great sacrifice, it could live again. The Guard: There are always six, mortal hosts for the divine... -
Heart's Blood by Gail Dayton
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMaster conjurer Grey Carteret regains consciousness in a London gutter next to a concerned street urchin and not far from the body of a man murdered by magic. Some fool is hoping to use murder to raise a demon. Arrested for the crime, Grey must rely on the street urchin for help. But the lad turns out to be a comely lass, and she wants something in exchange... -
A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA world on the brink of war and a mother and daughter on the run, in a thrilling novel of swashbuckling adventure, culinary magic, and just desserts.Adamantine “Ada” Garland has an empathic connection to food and wine, a magical perception of aromas, flavors, and ingredients... -
A Sanctuary of Spirits by Leanna Renee Hieber
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsNew York, 1899, and the police department’s best ally is the secret Ghost Precinct, where spirits and psychics help solve the city’s most perplexing crimes . . . There’s more than one way to catch a killer—though the methods employed by the NYPD’s Ghost Precinct, an all-female team of psychics and spiritualists led by gifted young medium Eve Whitby, are unconventional to say the least... -
Crystal Gardens by Amanda Quick
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsEvangeline Ames has rented a country cottage far from the London streets where she was recently attacked. Fascinated by the paranormal energy of nearby CrystalGardens, she finds pleasure in sneaking past the wall to explore the grounds. And when her life is threatened again, she instinctively goes to the gardens for safety... -
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The Moonstone and Miss Jones by Jillian Stone
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen he is hired by Professor Lovecraft, who has been tinkering with the secrets of life and death, to find the fabled Moonstone, Phaeton Black brings his lady friend Miss America Jones, the daughter of a Cajun witch, along on an adventure that leads them Title: The Moonstone and Miss Jones Author: Stone, Jillian Publisher: Kensington Pub Corp Publication Date: 2012/09/25 Number of... -
The Dastardly Miss Lizzie by Viola Carr
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDr. Eliza Jekyll must turn to her dark side, Miss Lizzie Hyde, to stop a madman targeting London’s most important scientists and sorcerers terrorizing the city with dark magic in this third Electric Empire novel—a dazzlingly original steampunk fantasy set in the gritty world of alternate Victorian London, with echoes of H G. Wells classic, The Time MachineBeing two people in one body isn’t easy... -
The Golden Age of Magic by Luanne G. Smith
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsAgainst the backdrop of 1920s Hollywood, a young fairy godmother on a mission is embroiled in malicious magic, mystery, and murder in a thrilling historical fantasy by the bestselling author of The Vine Witch.Celeste is about to become one of the thirteen Fées Gardiennes, a centuries-old sisterhood of fairy godmothers... -
Grave Phantoms by Jenn Bennett
From the author of Grim Shadows and Bitter Spirits comes the new Roaring Twenties novel in the series hailed as “Boardwalk Empire meets Ghost Hunters, but so much better” (Molly Harper, national bestselling author of the Jane Jameson series)...Categorized as:
mystery magic multicultural college east-asian-mc sweet-hero found-family paranormal -
Witch King by Martha Wells
Rated: 3.73 of 5 stars · 40 ratings"I didn't know you were a... demon.""You idiot. I'm the demon."Kai's having a long day in Martha Wells' WITCH KING....After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well... -
The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft
The first book in a wildly inventive and mesmerizing new fantasy series from acclaimed author Josiah Bancroft where magical mysteries abound and only one team can solve The Hexologists. The Hexologists, Iz and Warren Wilby, are quite accustomed to helping desperate clients with the bugbears of city life...
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