Books like The Bone Season

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon reads as immersive, dark. These 12 books share its genome — matched by how they actually read, not just their shelf label.

What The Bone Season is like to read

A dystopian-London thriller braided with clairvoyant lore, following a captured psychic pressed into service by an otherworldly captor — dense worldbuilding wrapped around a propulsive capture-and-resistance arc. Best for: readers who want intricate urban-fantasy dystopia with a defiant clairvoyant heroine.

Siege and Storm

Leigh Bardugo · 2013

A middle-book chase across sea and shore where hiding the Sun Summoner's power is as fraught as the war closing in — plot-forward YA fantasy with romance and identity strain braided through.

mildly eerieYAcliffhanger

Tower of Dawn

Sarah J. Maas · 2017

A slower, more introspective detour in the Throne of Glass saga — Chaol's physical and emotional recovery unfolds through healing rituals, palace diplomacy, and a slow-burn romance while war gathers back home.

happy-for-nowmildly eerie

Bloodmarked

Tracy Deonn · 2022

A propulsive second-book escalation where a Black teen heroine on the run wields ancestral power against a gatekeeping secret order, with a rescue mission and a charged romantic triangle driving the momentum.

YAcliffhangerdeep cut

A Gathering of Shadows

V.E. Schwab · 2016

A middle-book expansion of the Shades of Magic world: a magical tournament in Red London, restless heroes haunted by past events, and a distant shadow gathering strength across parallel cities.

cliffhangerdeep cut

Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Tomi Adeyemi · 2019

A propulsive West-African-inspired fantasy sequel where hard-won victory curdles into civil war — the stakes escalate from rebellion to nation-holding, with alliances fracturing on every side.

mildly eerieYAcliffhanger

Winter

Marissa Meyer · 2015

The sweeping finale of a fairy-tale-inflected space saga, braiding four heroines' arcs toward a revolution against a tyrant queen.

guaranteed HEAmildly eerieYA

The speaker

Traci Chee · 2017

Both explore power & rebellion

To Kill a Kingdom

Alexandra Christo · 2018

A murderous siren princess and a siren-hunting prince circle each other across the sea in an action-driven YA fantasy that leans hard into enemies-to-lovers tension and high-seas adventure.

mildly eerieYAcomplete story

Only Ashes Remain

Rebecca Schaeffer · 2019

A grim, blood-soaked continuation of Nita's fight for survival, forcing her deeper into predatory black markets and impossible choices to protect the people she loves.

YAdeep cut