Enrol in a dark academia fantasy where students channel divine powers to fight eldritch abominations, perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and A Deadly Education.

"A Rather Vengeful Accord is a delight. Sly, gruesome, and full of wonderfully macabre detail, I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel."—Kerstin Hall, Locus and Nebula Award-nominated author of Asunder

At the elite college of St Penderghast’s, gravers and spirers train to perfect their skills in the hunt for glory.

Graving is the art of raising the dead and turning their corpses into unnatural abominations built for war.

Spiring is divine-fuelled combat against undead horrors, fought in grand arenas to thrill the insatiable crowds.

Halen Kilchoir would kill (and resurrect) anything to study graving at St Penderghast’s. But Hal cannot enlist alone: the only way she can secure admission is to enter a dangerous accord with her mortal rival, Alastair Faulton – a handsome, accomplished spirer and the infuriating exiled scion of the great Faulton dynasty.

If they team up as spirers, fighting gruesome creatures in a cut-throat competition, they could both earn their places at the prestigious college.

As Hal and Alastair fight grisly creatures and ghastly peers side by side, Hal faces the horrors of necromancy and the revolting prospect of a romance with her own nemesis.

For fans of:
Dark Academia?
Rivals-to-lovers?
Gladiatorial combat?
Necromancers?
Slow burn
Oh god it’s so ugly I love it
Never meet your heroes

Review

A Rather Vengeful Accord is a delight. Sly, gruesome, and full of wonderfully macabre detail, I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.
-Kerstin Hall, Locus and Nebula Award-nominated author of Asunder

Witty and sharp, the unique world building and tongue-in-cheek prose had me hooked from the first chapter. A Rather Vengeful Accord is perfect for those who like their dark academia oozing with blood and rippling with teeth!
-Catelyn Wilson, author of All the Devils

Danielle Knight makes me wish Dark Souls had romance options, which is a sentence I never imagined writing. With worldbuilding that drips detail, Knight crafts exquisitely grotesque scenes that put her characters in the perfect position to go for each other's throats. Rivals-to-lovers, corpse duels, and dark academia all demand characters that are out for blood, and Hal and Alastair deliver.
-Ryan Rose, author of Seven Recipes for Revolution

A Rather Vengeful Accord deserves all the acclaim. Ancient horrors, delicious rivalries and systemic rot are sewn together with expert flair. Knight's heroine is a furious spark of colour against a unique, necrotic backdrop. Full of political intrigue, monstrous magic and biting prose, this debut demands you return for more.
-Mikayla Bridge, author of Of Flame and Fury

With risen corpses, nerve-wracking duels, and rivals who can't hide their heart eyes, Danielle Knight's A Rather Vengeful Accord is dark academia for the goth soul. An intricate, agonizingly-tense tale that will set the most curious minds on fire.
-Amparo Ortiz, author of Last Sunrise of Eterna and The Blazewrath Games

Epic fantasy meets dark academia in this pacy and delightfully creepy debut! With a deliciously tense rivals-to-allies romance, a high stakes competition filled with uniquely grotesque creatures, and an ending sure to leave readers desperate for more, A Rather Vengeful Accord is a fun and engaging read for anyone who loves the macabre!
-Rachael A. Edwards, author of A Fate Unwoven

A Rather Vengeful Accord is a brilliant, atmospheric tale that will keep readers hooked from the first glyph to the last twist. I could read Hal and Alastair's banter all day!
-Maria Z. Medina, author of Mistress of Bones

Whip-smart, hilarious, and gloriously gruesome, A Rather Vengeful Accord had me in a chokehold from the first page to the last. The worldbuilding is exquisite, the gladiatorial battles as thrilling as the monsters are nauseating, and the banter so sharp you'll cut yourself. This is an unmissable debut from a remarkable new voice in gothic fantasy.
-Bori Cser, author of Mirrorwoven

An indomitable heroine, an irresistibly venomous rival, and a cut-throat competition where the magic you wield is as likely to kill you as your foe. A Rather Vengeful Accord is every bit as delicious as it is deadly.
-Annabel Campbell, author of The Outcast Mage

About the Author

Danielle Knight is an avid fan of gothic fantasy, romance, and horror, which will become all too apparent for readers of her debut novel, A Rather Vengeful Accord.

After receiving her MA in Creative Writing and Publishing from Kingston University, she moved into digital sales for a children’s publisher in London. She mostly spends her time watching anime, playing video games, and typing various arrangements of words.