A Rather Vengeful Accord is a dark academic novel where two rivals are forced to compete together in order to be admitted to the renowned college of St. Pendergast’s. Hal is a graver, which is something akin to a necromancer, and Alistair is a spirer, almost like a magical fencer.

Hal is ambitious, a little naive, and is driven by a need to succeed. She will do anything in her power to achieve her dreams. As the story progresses I liked seeing how her new situation impacted her and the way she navigates her way through. Alistair is seen as selfish, brooding, and a little cold hearted. I think I would have liked being able to go into more depth with his character. Their dynamic is full of friction, she’s fire and sharp edges while he’s all privilege and polish. They each have their own agenda going into the accord and I enjoyed seeing if they could remain a united front, or would they chase their own dreams.

The magic is creative and eerie; being able turn dead bodies into eldritch monsters you can slay is something I’ve never read before and I really liked the idea behind it. The book focuses heavily on world building and lore, which I think makes the plot take a bit of a back seat at some points. I enjoyed the rivalry between gravers and spirers; it's fascinating to learn the history behind the division and all the political intrigue that goes with it.. There is an overarching theme of class inequality that touches on a few modern day issues. The last couple of chapters go hard and the ending had me wanting to reach for book two immediately.

Overall, this is a fun, quick read with a very unique magic system, fun banter and quite a few ridiculous insults.

3.5 stars for me ⭐️

I found the premise of this book very intriguing and quite a new type of fantasy/dark academia I hadn't read before as it follows students trying to get into a school for necromancers and essentially gladiators!

The magic system was unique, but I did find it hard to follow at points as there was so much introduced, and I kept forgetting or jumbling up what was what. Maybe a glossary would be helpful for this?

Still can't believe the ending, though! I need to read the next one to find out how this will progress!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the chance to read this book!

This was such an immensely enjoyable read! My main girl Hal is so hilariously dry and sarcastic, I was hooked from the very beginning. She is so endearingly oblivious to literally everything, my beautiful bisexual autistic-coded queen. I adored the banter between her and Alastair, and some of the insults she comes up with made me laugh out loud! I'm so intrigued by this concept and the end honestly surprised me!! Definitely not where I saw the series going at all!! I can't wait to unravel the juicy mysteries with Hal in the future! Also, I really really hope that the final line makes it through the various rounds of edits because I absolutely loved it!!! I am literally dying to see Hal from an outside perspective so pretty please Ms. Knight, I beg you give us dual POV in the next book!! If only to satisfy my need to study Hal under a microscope! Also, I need to know what's going on in Alastair's frustratingly guarded mind because I feel like it's basically just a lot of sighing where Hal is concerned. I am so intrigued by all of the characters and I need more of their stories!!

Dark academia, necromancy, rivals to lovers, gladiator combat - I knew I was in for a good time!

We follow Hal as she has to accept a place at St Penderghasts ONLY if she is accepts it in accord with her rival, Alastair. The other issue is she has to accept her place as a spirer, and battle the dead, whereas she wants to be a graver and raise the dead. We follow their journey at St Penderghasts as they tackle each battle (both on and off the arena) to earn a permanent spot at the elite college.

I really enjoyed the banter and humour in this, it made me laugh at times. The action scenes were fun and all the different monsters they had to battle, and I enjoyed the academia side with the rivalries with other students. The necromancy was also fun because I haven’t read anything like this before so it was more intriguing.

That ending as well! I can’t believe I have to wait for the next book!

I have to give it 5 stars because it had all elements I enjoy and they were done well and I devoured this in two sittings - I would highly recommend to any academia fantasy fans!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for proving me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this novel. I love the worldbuilding, a truly unique system of monster-creation and monster-slaying based on the actions/mythology of two major gods and one Eldritch corruptor. And my word, does it have a suckerpunch of an ending! But as I reflect on the novel afterwards, I am forced to consider how much more it truly has than those two aspects.

Many of my thoughts are so spoiler-filled that I can't present them here. For the general non-spoiler things I can say...

The novel is heavy on the lore and worldbuilding, moreso than I expected, and as previously stated I truly enjoyed the lore immensely. I think marketing this novel as a romantasy is doing it a disservice -- there happens to be a romance subplot but this is NOT a romantasy, it does not follow romance pacing or tropes, it doesn't abandon plot or logic in favour of pining, UST or the main relationship. The prose is smooth. There is a LOT of worldbuilding to learn, especially early on, but it never feels like info-dumping. Once you get a grasp on the world and lore, the novel is easy reading and hard to put down. That being said, it often felt like the worldbuilding was doing the heavy-lifting and the actual plot was running rather light. Every time the novel raised issues about one country's oppression over another, of the religious rift between and propaganda regarding the two deities and how that filters down to even academic politics and family rivalries, I expected a new subplot (or even major plot) to emerge tackling these larger, more important subjects... but no, we remain in the gladiator contests and whether Hal can get into this prestigious school for a course she has 0 interest in or not. And we don't even spend that much time on the gladiator contests, either - there are only three battles in the novel. Looking back after finishing, the plot is so thin that I have to assume it was the constant worldbuilding eating up so many pages of the not-that-short book instead.

In terms of characters, Hal is interesting but gets gaslit a lot and I think the readers get gaslit along with her. By the end, I have no idea how many people may or may not have been telling her the truth versus blatantly lying to manipulate her, only that she is repeatedly screwed over by others, and led to put the needs of others above her own, and it is very frustrating to watch. I cannot name a single other sympathetic or likeable character in this novel. (Maybe Lourdes but she's such a minor character that it's hard to tell if she's also a manipulator or not, or if the only reason she hasn't done anything to hurt Hal is simply lack of opportunity / time on the page.)

The romance is not handled well, in my opinion. There seems to be no believable cause from either side, but especially from Hal's side as the novel begins with Alastair having thoroughly screwed over her life and career plans. I felt very, very ick as Hal's feelings towards Alastair changed over the course of the novel. Maybe Hal could forget the beginning of the novel, but I could not. In addition, Alastair displayed red-flag patterns of behaviour anytime Hal didn't "fall in line" with his desires, alternating between manipulating and badgering her 'no' into a 'yes' or getting outright physically violent. Please understand I'm not saying Hal wasn't antagonistic, sarcastic, insulting, and sometimes downright unhelpful. But why should she have to be nice and accomodating to a rich guy who regularly physically threatens, intimidates, and stalks her? ... And this is the romance I'm supposed to root for? I was constantly wishing Hal would ignore any feelings of attraction to Alastair (and questioning why she had them at all), and hoping a better alternative love interest would appear for her instead.

As stated earlier, the novel ends with a gut-punch of a twist. It was clever and shocking, but added horrible connotations to the entire novel that are not addressed, and I'm not sure the author intends to address them or that the author has the skills to handle them properly (given the mishandling of frankly chilling behaviour throughout this novel).

I was originally going to rate this 4 stars, but for the mishandling, the horrible aftertaste this novel leaves, and the minimal plot compared to the level of worldbuilding, I think I must knock it down to a 3. A decent debut, but author doesn't know how to handle the novel's red-flag topics/behaviours -- or, worse, doesn't realise that's what they've put onto the page.


Rating: 3 stars -- One star removed for having more worldbuilding than plot, and one star removed for how badly the novel treats its disadvantaged female protagonist and never lets her realistically react to mistreatment because that might get in the way of UST with the controlling, rich, white boy who's ruining her life.

I have a bit of a thing for death magic - I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it once or twice (or… several times) in other reviews. So when I saw this was set in a world where necromancy isn’t just present but openly valued (if not entirely respected) I knew I -had- to pick it up.
Danielle Knight has crafted an intricate, vivid world brimming with political intrigue, class divides, magic, and a dash of technology, that I’d happily explore further. Her twist on necromancy (shaping eldritch abominations from corpses rather than “just” reanimating them) is wonderfully creative, and the FMC’s sheer excitement for these creations honestly made me giddy. That said, I did find it a little tricky to fully connect with her, mostly because of her tendency to take things at face value and her stubborn refusal to adapt when confronted with new truths - which is probably just my own FMC preference showing. The plot twist at the end was a genuine delight (and very much in the spirit of the Withersham saying), and I’m definitely curious to see where book 2 takes things!

Enemies to allies, necromancers and gladiators, rivalry, tension, academic settings, monsters and magic - this book is action-packed.

The genre was a first for me but I absolutely adored it - it was such an exhilarating read. The banter was amusing and the chemistry between the MCs had me hooked.

The plot was fantastic - full of celestial magic, enchanted abominations, battles and scheming. I loved that world building took precedence over the romance and not to mention the plot twist?! I really didn’t see it coming. This book is a rollercoaster of emotions in the best way.

Halen (FMC) is passionate about graving and determined to succeed in reaching her goals, even if it means entering an undesirable accord with her cold-hearted rival. Hal’s character development was awe-inspiring and I loved reading how her perspective between gravers and spirers changed.

Alastair (MMC) was very stand-offish in the beginning but as he opened up and we learnt more about him, it became very easy to connect with his character. His resolve after experiencing exile at such a young age was admirable. I truly hope there is a good explanation to the latest events because I have so much faith in Alastair and Hal.

It was a bit difficult to get my head around the magic system and language as it was so unfamiliar to me, but after the first few chapters it was easier to understand. I do also wish there was a little more background on certain side characters or at the very least they were more involved. However, I can very much see this happening in book 2.

I will definitely be reading any sequels and I can’t wait to see where the story goes.

This book was a lot. So much that I am not exactly sure where to start.

From the moment you open the book, the pages are overflowing with rich worldbuilding that offers little to no real-life clutches and comparisons to hold onto. The author drops you right in, and you have no choice but to run after the narration, trying to keep up with all the new information and terms being thrown at you.

Your introduction to this world is equally unforgiving as the world itself - but, once you find your footing, you might find you are quite enjoying yourself. Danielle Knight paints a vivid and raw picture of two rivaling but interwined societies, magic systems, and complex belief systems. I liked that she didn't shy away from the topic of religion, from its moral and political complexities - when so many fantasy books merely use it as an aesthetic or as a lazy excuse for a character's motivation. Its ties with the magic system and conversation surrounding it make it realistic and an actual moving force in this world.

That being said, while the author has obviously put quite a lot of effort into the intricacies of their worldbuilding, I struggle to believe that societies could actually be built on the pillars that we were presented. The two main competing magic systems - Necromancy and Monster killing - hardly seem equal in both their usefulness and study requirements to master them. In fact, the "spearing" or monster battling hardly seems like a craft at all, and I struggle to believe that they would be as central to the kingdom's workings as the book wants us to believe. Especially, since we're told its use is mostly confined to an arena.

Perhaps if the author allowed us to see a little further into the lives of normal people, how they survive and what life looks like for them - after all, not everyone can essentially be a gladiator.

The female main character reminded me of Rin from Poppy War, if she had a positive character journey rather than a negative one. She was quite cynical and critical, not one of the cheeky badass, can-do-no-wrong, female characters that nowadays quite dominate the genre. I also quite liked her love interest, the rival, and their back-and-forth. I was genuinely interested in their romance; it was more of a will-they-won't-they case, and turns out I kinda miss that dynamic.

That's why the ending pissed me off so bad. And not even the ending, but the last chapter. It is the sole reason I can not give this book five stars, and I will strip one more if the author decides to commit to it in the second book. So unnecessary, so out of character in my opinion, such a cheap way to add drama when I was already interested in reading the second book. Like c'mon.

Thank you Daphne Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

A Rather Vengeful Accord follows Halen, desperate to study under the master necromancer at the elite college St Penderghast's, but her only chance at admission means entering an accord with her rival, Alastair. The pair must train and battle as one in divine-fuelled combat against undead horrors.

This world has a very unique magic system and I love the stark differences. Graving is the act of raising the dead and shaping their flesh, in this story it completely encompasses the morbidness of necromancy. The eldritch abominations are grotesque and I like that the story doesn't shy away from the physical effects it leaves on gravers themselves.

Halen is the type of protagonist I really enjoy, she is flawed - grumpy, sarcastic and completely determined to achieve her goals. Alastair makes a wonderful counterpart and I loved the back-and-forth banter between the two. Alastair in particular has a lot of depth already in this book, and I'm very excited to see how both characters might grow. I really enjoyed that the romance is clearly there between the characters but it doesn't take over the story in any way (I'm a fan of the slowest of burns so this was perfect for me).

"The issue is, I thought we were playing a game with each other these past two years."

"A game."

"Yes, a game. But after last night, I started to think... well, perhaps only one of us knows we're playing."

The worldbuilding is very direct in this book and lots of terminology is thrown at you with little to no explanation. If this is the type of book you read then it's easy to pick up what things mean, but I do think someone who is just dipping their toe into the fantasy genre might struggle. I feel I don't understand the world as well as I could do which is a shame as I want to know more, I found it very interesting and unique. A glossary would be a lovely addition!

3.5 ⭐️

I initially really struggled to get into this book, the world building was confusing and I struggled to make sense of any of it. As the story built and we were given more information, I felt I could actually bond with the characters and understand the world it was set in.

I love an enemies to lovers trope and although the romance didn’t fully progress, I always love the building of tension and the fighting between the love interests. The premise of spiring and the gladiator type fighting was thrilling and I thought written very well.

However, that ending?!?! God did it leave me frustrated.

I’m hoping for a huge cliffhanger with resolutions in the next book as I have faith in Alistair.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc.

The first 10 chapters or so I was a little confused just because were thrown into the world and it takes a while to get the lay of the land, but after that the story picks up considerably.

The slow burn between Alistair and Hal is excellent, we get plenty of time to get to know both characters, and Hal gets the chance to find out who she really is.

I did not see the ending coming, the world is original, and I look forward to book 2.

A Rather Vengeful Accord is an academy based dark romance with a unique magic system. We follow Hal and Alastair as they compete together – reluctantly – for a places at Penderghast, a renowned school for those in possession of either graver or spirer magic.

I wanted to love this book – the themes are all ones I absolutely adore. Enemies to lovers, dangerous trials, magical academia. However, although I did really enjoy it, there were some things missing for me.

I loved the dark and heavy atmosphere all the way through the book, it was wonderful! The tension between the main characters was well executed, and the anxiety over the trials was also woven into the story perfectly. The descriptions of the locations were amazing, I could easily imagine the places described. I loved the concept of the dual gods and how they interacted with each other, and in turn birthed the two types of magic. I also loved the descriptions of the Eerians – they were suitably distasteful! I also loved the twists and turns, all the way through the book the reader has no clue who can be trusted and what the characters real motivations might be.

However, I found the world building to be very difficult to follow. There was a lot of information given, but I still found it hard to work out exactly what was happening and how the world had come to be the way it was. We get details peppered throughout the book, but unfortunately for me this only led to more confusion. I couldn’t get my head around the different areas of the world, and the different types of people. The different magics are simple to grasp, but the actual way the world worked was confusing to me.

The ending was a huge shock to me – and despite the fact I struggled with some aspects of the book, I enjoyed it enough that I will definitely be reading the next one when it comes out!

Wow, where do I even start with this one? The magic system in this book is seriously something else. I loved how it’s not just about spells and wands but has a much darker, more eerie Frankenstein-like eldritch horrors twist to it.
The two main characters are sharp-tongued, and every conversation feels like a love-to-hate power struggle.
What really hooked me, though, was the unpredictability. Everyone has an agenda, and no one is as they seem. The whole book plays with the idea that every character might be unreliable in their own way, and it leaves you questioning their motives at every turn. And that cliffhanger really delivers.
Can’t wait for book two. If you like twists, dark magic, and morally complex characters, this one is so worth the read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

A Rather Vengeful Accord is a YA dark academia story that delves into necromancy, a unique magic system and dangerous school trials.

We have our main FMC Halen our aspiring Graver, who begrudgingly accepts an Accord with her academic rival Alastair, an accomplished Spirer, in order to become accepted into the most prestigious and renowned college, St Penderghast's. An Accord that unfortunately, entails her to abandon the studies of Graving and to pick up the arts of Spiring alongside Alastair.

Hal and Alistair are a surprisingly hilarious duo; I enjoyed their banter and all the scenes they shared (maybe not THAT ending though). The prose was beautiful and the story magically unique.

The worldbuilding and pacing could be better executed (HA!). There was a lot of information dumping at the beginning in relation books magic system, Spiring and Graving, and the two Gods that represented each of those. A lot of unique names and terms to remember that a glossary could be beneficial. I felt that the beginnings exposition impacted the story's pacing; I personally struggled to stay interested until after 25% of the way in, where I believe the story started to pick up.

Looking forward to the next book because THAT cliffhanger. BIG oof! A great debut novel!
3.5/5 star read

Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for this ARC.

This was one of my most anticipated releases so I’m more than sad that this unfortunately was not for me.
I had to DNF at 30% but I absolutely do not think this is a bad book.
The setting is quirky and creepy and complements the necromancy well. It’s also a very unique world with lots of creativity from the author.
The way we’re introduced to the world was sadly not my favourite. It feels like nothing is explained even though it would be needed as everything has complicated made up names.
I also really struggled with the characters. I usually can appreciate an unlikeable main character but here there was nothing that made me care about them individually or as a dynamic. The banter wasn’t fun and occasionally there was a very awkward sexual tension between them.

This might me one of those books that either works for you or doesn’t so I’d still encourage you to try it out if you love necromancy!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the eARC!

Despite loving Dark Academia novels, they tend to be hit or miss for me. A Rather Vengeful Accord was definitely a hit!

First of all, this book has two of my favourite tropes: magical academia and games/trials. These were executed really well. But what stood out to me were the plot and the magic systems. I loved the concept of two gods, representing two aspects of magic. Necromancy and demons are always fascinating, and I thought this book treated them in a compelling and creative way.

Also… WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?

Now, despite really enjoying the novel, there are a few issues I want to briefly touch on.

Firstly, the characters felt a bit one-dimensional. Even though we're inside Hal’s head for most of the book, I couldn’t picture her outside of the narrative. I know very little about her beyond what was necessary to the plot.

Secondly, the worldbuilding was extremely confusing. I’m not sure if the author was aiming for a Gideon the Ninth vibe, but there was a lot of information dumping, and very little was actually explained. As the story progressed, more details were added, but I always felt like I only had a surface-level understanding of how this world worked and I remained confused throughout the book.

Lastly, some chapters were entirely dedicated to banter between the two protagonists, which really slowed down the pacing.

That said, I really did enjoy this, and from what I’ve seen, this is a debut author, so Brava!
Also, the The Scholomance vibes were immaculate. I’m looking forward to continuing the series. <3

3.5 stars rounded up

I loved this fantasy dark academia novel with shades of horror and romance. We follow graver Hal and spirer Alastair as they battle for a place at St Penderghast, a school for gifted gravers and spirers, and their journey to pass the Crucible once they make it there, in an Accord where they have to rely on eachother to succeed.

The magic system is unique and the book goes straight into it. It was fun picking up information about what exactly graving and spiring is and how they came to be. The use of necromancy for graving and all the eldritch, cosmic-horror type creations were fascinating to read about and made the trials at St Penderghast so interesting and tension-filled. Spiring is basically using swords and something called Acclaim (sort of like lightning magic) to defeat the monsters, called Eerians.

The relationship between Hal and Alastair is very much hate-to-love, although it’s not plain sailing and doesn’t resolve by the end of this first book. It’s very slow burn with zero spice in this first book, which I think worked well with the developing story. Hal is a strong FMC who is quite coarse, sarcastic and dark, and she has to battle for everything whereas Alastair is seemingly privileged, gets everything he wants and succeeds in all he does, but he has hidden depths. It’s a dynamic that works and that shifts as they each get to know each other and situations better. Both are morally grey and I’m here for that!

It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and I can’t wait for the next book to see how it all resolves!

4.5 stars

"Everyone has their own motives, and it's up to you to wrest them out"

It's concept makes this book a very refreshing read and while there are popular tropes, they build upon the story rather than feeling forced into it. I don't typically read books written in first-person; however, it was executed brilliantly here. I could really relate to the indecisiveness of the MC.
Throughout the entire book I doubted every character's intentions and there were twists and turns I didn't at all expect; though we were given subtle hints alluding to what would happen.
The magic system was a bit confusing at times, but I'm hoping the second book - which I cannot wait for - will clear this up.

If you enjoy dark academia and rivals to allies you'll absolutely love this!

The was such a fascinating read! Very dark, and just such a page turner.
Loved the vibes this books gave off. Would love to read more from this author!

This definitely lived up to the Gideon The Ninth meets A Deadly Education prompt as it’s a perfect mix of them both.

We follow Hal as she reluctantly teams up with her rival Alastair to get into a colleague but not for the subject she wants to study.

I will say I did struggle with the magic system at times as lots was chucked at you and it was hard to remember what was what.

Overall though I enjoyed this and looking forward to the next one!