Our Illumicrate November theme is . . . ACADEMIC RIVALS!
In these hallowed halls, a rivalry is brewing.
Our November book is A Rather Vengeful Accord by Danielle Knight! A young woman is invited to enrol in the necromancy academy she’s trained relentlessly to enter—with one catch. She must form a pact with her infuriating and talented rival to gain admittance. As they train together to fight eldritch monsters, they find that not all is as it seems within the academy’s shadowed halls. With their success—and survival—in each other’s hands, will they rise victorious or fall to the school’s horrors?
Our Illumicrate Exclusive edition is a Royal hardback and features:
- An exclusive redesigned cover (art by @tommyarnoldart; design by @chattynora)
- Full colour art on the hardback (art by @tomrobertsillustration)
- Digitally printed edges (by @chattynora)
- Illustrated endpapers (by @m.emityy); different front and back
- Bound-in author letter
- Bonus content
- Digitally signed by the author (on the author letter)
If you like witty banter, rivals to lovers and dark academia-esque fantasy, we think you’ll enjoy this one!
Fandoms this month include Where Sleeping Girls Lie and A Deadly Education! There will also be two fandom-neutral items: our 2026 Illumicrate calendar - with illustrations by @golightlyfinch, on the theme of academic rivals - and a Illumicrate 10th Anniversary Celebration puzzle.
The book at a glance:
- YA crossover fantasy debut, first in a duology
- Featuring: exclusive redesigned cover; full colour art on the hardback; digitally printed edges; illustrated endpapers; author letter; bonus content; digitally signed by the author
- Bisexual, biracial, neurodivergent MC; M/F main romance; Queer secondary characters
Content warnings:
- Necromancy: death, dead bodies, & body horror
- Fighting: violence, blood, gore, & injury depiction
- Poisoning & emesis as a result
- Neglect & emotional abuse by parents
- Bullying
- Manipulation of a child by an authority figure (off-page, before the story begins)
- Miscarriage & stillbirth mentioned (minor character)
- Murder
- Alcohol use
For subscriptions starting with November, please join the waitlist here.
