Books like “The Bear and the Nightingale”

What to read after “The Bear and the Nightingale” by Katherine Arden: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
Nettle & Bone
T. Kingfisher · 2022
From the same world: “Fairy Tale Retelling” and “Witches”
- Fairy Tale Retelling
- Witches
Marra, a shy convent-raised princess, learns that no one will save her sister from a cruel prince -- so she decides to do it herself. Three impossible tasks, a gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother and a demon-possessed chicken later, she sets out to stop a king.
2
Circe
Madeline Miller · 2018
From the same world: “Witches” and “Mythology Retelling”
Born to a sun god, Circe is banished to a lonely island for her forbidden magic. She hones her craft, meets travellers and monsters, and slowly chooses what kind of immortal she wants to be.
3
Uprooted
Naomi Novik · 2015
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
Every ten years the wizard known as the Dragon takes one girl from Agnieszka's valley. When he chooses her instead of her best friend, she is carried to his tower, where she discovers a talent for magic, a growing bond with her cold teacher and the corrupted Wood that threatens them all.
4
The Ninth Rain
Jen Williams · 2017
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Witches
- Dark Fantasy
For years the invading Jure'lia have been beaten back, but the cost has drained the empire. Tormalin, an exiled Eboran, and Vintage, a scholar, are hunting the truth about the fell-witches when they find Noon, a woman carrying a power the Jure'lia have waited centuries to claim.
5
The Witch's Heart
Genevieve Gornichec · 2021
From the same world: “Witches” and “Mythology Retelling”
- Witches
- Mythology Retelling
Angrboda is a witch burned three times for refusing to reveal the future. She hides in a forest and builds a quiet life until Loki finds her, and their children draw the eyes of the gods. A prophecy turns every small happiness into a countdown.
6
Kaikeyi
Vaishnavi Patel · 2022
From the same world: “Mythology Retelling”
- Mythology Retelling
Born a princess and cast aside by her father, Kaikeyi claims a place at court and wins the love of a king. When war threatens her sons' future, she uses the boons she was granted to change the fate of a kingdom.
7
The Mists of Avalon
Marion Zimmer Bradley · 1982
From the same world: “Witches” and “Mythology Retelling”
- Witches
- Mythology Retelling
The Arthurian legend is told through the women around the throne, above all Morgaine, a priestess of Avalon. As Britain turns to a new faith and a new king, she works to keep the old ways alive and watches the cost of a united kingdom.
8
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas · 2015
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Fairy Tale Retelling
- Dark Fantasy
Feyre kills a wolf in the winter woods and is taken to a magical realm as payment. In the Spring Court she learns the land is cursed, and her loathing for its high lord slowly turns into something she never expects.
9
Spinning Silver
Naomi Novik · 2018
From the same world: “Fairy Tale Retelling”
- Fairy Tale Retelling
Miryem restores her family's moneylending business with a clever tongue, and her boast that she can spin silver into gold reaches the frozen Staryk king. Bound to his winter court, she must use her wits to protect both kingdoms from a bargain that could destroy them.
10
The Goose Girl
Shannon Hale · 2003
From the same world: “Fairy Tale Retelling”
- Fairy Tale Retelling
- Coming of Age
Princess Ani sails to a neighbouring kingdom to marry a prince she has never met, but on the journey her lady-in-waiting seizes her name and crown. Forced to work as a goose girl, Ani must keep her identity hidden and gently win back what was stolen.
11
The Last Wish
Andrzej Sapkowski · 1993
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Fairy Tale Retelling
- Dark Fantasy
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, a mutated monster-hunter for hire. In linked stories he takes on curses, a striga and a djinn, and learns that the line between monster and human is rarely where the stories say it is.
12
A Curse So Dark and Lonely
Brigid Kemmerer · 2019
From the same world: “Fairy Tale Retelling”
- Fairy Tale Retelling
Prince Rhen is cursed to relive his eighteenth year as a monster until a girl falls in love with him. Harper, torn from the modern world into his dying kingdom, only wants to go home, but the curse and the enemy at the gates will not wait.