A Rather Vengeful Accord is perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth who are awaiting the next installment. This gave me all those vibes and it was so good! One of my favorites of the year! Keep reading this book review of A Rather Vengeful Accord for my full thoughts.
Summary
St Penderghast’s is an elite college for necromancers and gladiators, promising glory to those who can perfect the arcane arts of graving or spiring. Graving is the notorious act of raising the dead and shaping their decaying flesh into eldritch abominations. Spiring is divine-fuelled combat against undead horrors in grand arenas, thrilling crowds of thousands.
Halen Kilchoir would kill (and resurrect) anything to study graving at St. Penderghast’s under the guidance of her hero, master necromancer Mortritis. But Hal cannot enlist the only way she can secure admission is to enter a dangerous accord with her mortal rival, Alastair Faulton – accomplished spirer and the infuriating, formidable exiled scion of the great Faulton dynasty. If they team up as spirer gladiators, fighting gruesome creatures in a cut-throat competition, they could both earn their prestigious places at the college.
As Hal and Alastair fight grisly monsters and ghastly peers side by side, mending their years-long feud in the resplendent halls of the college, Hal faces the horrors of graving, spiring, and the revolting prospect of a romance with her own nemesis.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
October was the year of rivals to romance for me and A Rather Vengeful Accord fits the bill. We love rivals who have to team up together, fight monsters and face their demons. And then you add necromancy and I fell in love. A Rather Vengeful Accord is like throwing everything I love into a blender. This unlikely partnership is sink or swim. In the academy, Hal is the Outsider to this world of power, these elite families, and the dance parties with daggers drawn. I am drawn to an underdog and Hal has a lot stacked against her. She’s almost a spectacle, a wild card, and the academy thrives on performance and power. It’s not enough to have one without the other.
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Academies with deadly consequences that feel like life and death performances. A Rather Vengeful Accord is action packed as we see the history of these families, the rot and the decay, the sacrifice in their veins. While this book is about teamwork, fragile trust, and the danger of betrayal, it’s also a story about ambition. If we chase acclaim, the desire to be great, we can tend to not ask ourselves why. And what happens if that isn’t what we want anymore? What would we do when our dreams are within reach? Find A Rather Vengeful Accord on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon & Blackwells.