This was such a fun and quick read, I finished it in one day 😊

The world building is intriguing and the magic system is interesting. I liked the indecision of Hal and seeing both options she was struggling with.

Hal & Alistair are fun together and I don't want to believe the ending, I can't believe it, after everything they have been through.

The next book sounds interesting because of who will be joining them on the adventure 🥰

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A rather vengeful accord is an incredibly cool read. I love Naomi Novik’s Scholomance and this is the only dark academia book that has even come close to giving me the same vibes.

What I loved in particular:
- Hal is exactly my kind of protagonist (and reminded me a little of El), grumpy, and success driven.
- the world building is really well done, we are kind of dumped in at the deep end at the beginning and need to pay attention to learn about gravers and spirers etc but I don’t mind a world that requires a bit of work to get my head around.

St. Penderghast is a world all its own and Danielle Knight has done an excellent job bringing it to life, this ends on a cliffhanger so I will be anxiously looking out for the next instalment. This was exactly my kind of book and I loved every second!

Thank you NetGalley and Daphne Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Goodreads and Storygraph reviews live immediately, Amazon review will be posted on release day.

I enjoyed this.

A Dark Academia with necromancy and interesting magic systems.

The world building is so interesting! The religion, how ordinary people can have magical babies… absolutely fascinating.

The FMC while naive and generally bad at reading people is interesting and quite likeable.

The MMC is a bit of a dick but it kept him interesting - honestly can’t wait for the sequel so I can find out if he did it.

It took a while for the terms used for the magic were something I got used to and an in book dictionary for it would have been great for clarity.

Where do I even start?! Rivals-to-lovers, academy setting, necromancy 🤌🏼

✨Breakdown✨

The MCs

Absolutely in love with our FMC, Hal, and her determination and ambition that she demonstrates throughout the book. She has her dream, and she will do anything to achieve it. I loved how her naïvety was portrayed as she navigated the world she was suddenly in and how this impacts her during the story.

Our MMC, Alistair, is introduced as a cold hearted, brooding, selfish person, but watching him open up and peeling back his layers was incredible! So many moments where we find something out about him and I was like “ohhhh”

Both of our main characters were so three dimensional, it made it easy to connect with them and become invested in their journey and choices.


The World

I won’t lie, for the first few chapters I had to take it slow and go back and double check as I was getting used to the complex history and world that we are introduced to, however, I was able to pick it up pretty quickly and marvelled at how thought out everything was. I love the clear separation between spires and gravers and how that reflects in the status of the people, the richness of the area and job opportunities.

The Plot

It was so refreshing to see a rivals-to-lovers that didn’t fizzle out within a chapter or so. Our characters both have their end goals, and both fight for them with their might. I loved seeing how their relationship bloomed between their history and ongoing feuds. Especially when forced to work together.

Additionally, it was nice to see that the romance wasn’t a driving aspect to the plot, that our characters acted despite their feelings and that the story would’ve held if romance was removed.

Overview

I only put this down to work (boo) and sleep (overrated), I was captured from the first few chapters and held right to the end, which I am still SCREAMING from. I know peace until I have the next book in my hands.

A massive, massive thank you to Danielle Knight and NetGally for the ARC copy and for letting me be part of this journey, I loved every second

This book has everything from enemies to allies, dark academia, dangerous academic trials, monsters and a unique magic system that had me hooked from the get go. The completely new concept of the spirers and gravers world is a unique and captivating magic system.

Halen and Alistair despise each other but in order to secure their place in one of the most prestigious colleges for gravers and spirers, they must put their differences aside and work together to be in with a chance of being accepted into St. Penterghasts.

The story covers political, social and economic issues in a truly unique magical system with achedemic trials, and the unexpected plot twist at the end has left me wanting more!

Thank you to Daphne Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

Graving. Spiring. Necromancy and divine fuelled combat. Welcome to St. Penderghast’s, where ambition is everything and survival is never guaranteed.

This book had so many of my favourite things: dark academia, academic trials, enemies-to-allies tension and unique magic systems. I was immediately intrigued by the world of spirers and gravers especially the gruesome and fascinating magic behind graving (raising corpses and shaping them into eldritch monsters?? Yes please).

Halen and Alastair’s dynamic brought just the right amount of tension. She’s sharp edged, angry and driven by something darker than ambition. He’s all polish and privilege at first glance but their forced alliance slowly peels that away. I loved watching them shift from bitter rivals into reluctant partners and maybe something more.

The worldbuilding had a lot of potential, an elite school with public combat trials, magical hierarchies and hidden agendas. And the final chapters? Pure payoff. I’m very ready for what comes next.

If you like dark, magical academia with a sharp bite, unique magic systems and characters who are just trying to claw their way to power (or back to it) this is a fun, fast-paced read with strong bones and killer potential.

Thank you to Daphne Press and NetGalley for the ARC, this was such a fun read.

A RATHER VENGEFUL ACCORD - Danielle Knight

St. Penderghast’s es una universidad de élite para nigromantes y gladiadores, que promete gloria a quienes logren dominar las artes arcanas del graving o el spiring.

El graving es, básicamente, la nigromancia; y el spiring es el combate con espada impulsado por energía divina contra horrores no-muertos en Coliseos. Halen Kilchoir, nigromante, mataría (juas!) por estudiar en St. Penderghast’s bajo la tutela de su heroína, Mortritis.

Pero la única forma de entrar es aceptar un peligroso pacto con su rival mortal, Alastair Faulton — un consumado spirer, y el exasperante, formidable (y guapísimo aunque estirado) heredero exiliado de la gran dinastía Faulton.

Si de verdad necesitas que te siga explicando la trama es que has vivido debajo de una piedra los últimos 20 años de la fantasía juvenil, y no entiendes el concepto de rivals to lovers.

Danielle Knight os trae una versión más de la historia de siempre. Escuela chunga, presuntos rivales, innecesaria, animadversión, obligados a colaborar, [introduzca escenario con una sola cama para dos personas], él en el fondo no es tan malo, ella no es capaz de comprender la profundidad, la sensibilidad y las heridas que esconde tras su congelado corazón.

Y a lo mejor soy yo, pero se me ha acabado la paciencia con este tipo de subgénero de la fantasía juvenil. Habrá quien os la venda como Guideon La Novena meets Una educación Mortal.

Pero es que es la misma historia de siempre, en un escenario, tampoco demasiado trabajado, aunque con una visión suficientemente oscura de la nigromancia.

Si lo que lo que te he explicado te motiva lo suficiente, adelante. A mí me ha dejado bastante... meh. Quizás porque es un tropo que está llegando a su fin.

Valoración: 💀💀(2 Gideons)

This book is a dark academia novel that leans into necromancy and combat, mixed with a bit of enemies-to-lovers-ish tension, all set within a Hunger Games-esque society that is drowning in politics and the razzle-dazzle of high society that borders a performative extravaganza.

Hal is our FMC, an aspiring graver (I would describe it as a necromancer), although certain circumstances lead her to become a spirer and seek the approval of an abettor, as part of a pair alongside her rival, Alastair. While all this unfolds, she faces a great deal: fighting her nature as a graver, striving for her parents' approval, and battling her own self-sabotaging tendencies and negative thinking (in my opinion).

Alastair: Alastair begins as the rival MMC. He comes across as arrogant and classist in that classic “golden rich boy” sort of way (I love him actually). But as the story develops, it becomes clear that Hal never really gave him a fair chance or a chance at all. We start seeing that his entire life is burdened by certain family dynamics. His somewhat forced alliance with Halen allows us to see their relationship evolve into one built on mutual respect and vulnerability (on his part primarily). One of his advices to Hal, “everyone has a goal,” sums him up perfectly, as he’s doing everything in his power to get back in his father's good graces and reunite with his family.

Romance:
It’s a slow-burn, rivals-to-allies dynamic, with some forced proximity due to the nature of the contest. While the romantic aspect leans more towards emotional tension than affection, it ultimately works in the story’s favour. This approach gives the relationship room to evolve naturally, from rivals to co-conspirators without losing the underlying tension.

Secondary characters:
The hierarchy in this world is so individualistic that any moments of genuine cooperation came as a surprise to me! There are professors with hidden agendas, abettors who are impossibly superficial (very reminiscent of The Hunger Games), and magical creatures who, despite being integral to the world’s history, are viewed as something negative. While our focus mostly remains orbiting around the central duo, a few characters stood out to me and they were Edusa, Tieran, Lourdes and Mortritis (I DISLIKE HER)!

Worldbuilding & Politics:
The spirers and gravers system is an imaginative structure that mirrors class divides and power struggles rooted in a past war. St. Penderghast’s is an academy where students are either gravers or spirers. The rivalry between these two roles is, in my opinion, one of the most exciting aspects of the book. I do think the political structures behind the school and the world itself could benefit from further development, hopefully explored in the sequels?

What really won me over and kept me reading was the setting and the political intrigue, especially the way it blends combat with the aesthetic of dark academia. The plot was so refreshing that I’m so glad I picked it up. And those final two or three chapters? They’ve definitely left me looking forward to diving into the next book!


Rating: 4.25/5✨

Thanks to NetGalley and Turner Publishing Company for the ARC.

This book starts with a BANG (well, dead people) and keeps up the suspense and action the entire ride! Such a fun book.

Halen is THAT girl.

4⭐ (3.5 rounded up)

I thought the premise of this book was super interesting—necromancy, an elite college, forced rivals-to-allies… all the right ingredients! But for some reason, it never totally hook me. It kept my interest, and I liked the dark academia vibes, but the execution felt a little flat in places. The worldbuilding could’ve gone deeper, and some parts just didn’t hit as hard as I hoped.

Still, I did enjoy it overall! The plot was unique enough to keep me reading, and I’m glad I picked it up.

Thank you NetGalley and Turner Publishing Company for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion! Needless to say, as always, all thoughts are my own and I have not been influenced in any way.

Wow… this was such a great read, the idea behind the spires and gravers was just amazing. The thought that has gone into the story building is absolutely next level and I just haven’t read anything like this before.
There’s a lot of angst alongside revelations of Hal’s character which I loved to read about and I genuinely cannot wait for the next book!