Think twice if…
- Content warnings: War, Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, Betrayal, Manipulation, Imprisonment, Death of loved one
Honor & Heresy
by Max Francis
Queer dark academic fantasy with a genuinely creepy haunted library and a rivals-to-lovers M/M romance for readers who want their scholarship illegal and their love interest inexplicably furious at them.
Quick fit
Is this story right for you?
A decision-first view of the reading experience.
Length412 pages
Story statusStandalone
Spice1/5 · Closed door / fade to black
PacingMedium
Story profile
What the story promises
The strongest reviewed signals about romance, fantasy, and the reading experience.
Romance promise
- Rivals to lovers
- M/M
- Slow burn
- Low
- Closed door / fade to black
- Intellectual satisfaction
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- Scholar/intellectual
- Enemies to lovers
- Tension
- Tension finally satisfied
- Grumpy protector
- Love/hate tension
- Anticipation
- Addictive read
- Feral/unhinged
- Academic rivals
- Morally gray
- Intellectual connection
- Reluctant allies to lovers
Fantasy promise
- Fantasy romance
- Dark academia romance
- Library
- High fantasy
- Ghosts
- War front / rebellion
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- Gothic
- Spirits
- Forced proximity
- Castle / fortress
- Grimdark / dark fantasy
- Humans only
- Academy / school
- Forbidden love
Reading experience
- Third person
- Medium
- Dark
- Heavy
- Bookworm/scholar
- Gay
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- Lyrical
- Reluctant hero
- Queer
- Atmospheric
- Outcast/loner
- Mysterious
- Brooding
- Literary
- Intense
- Immersive
- Eerie
- Haunting
- Tense
- Forbidden knowledge
- Slow descent into darkness
- Haunted castle
- Survival against impossible odds
- No one is safe
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Matched by the most important shared story signals, with the tradeoffs made explicit.
512 pages Completed
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Similar because
Reluctant hero · Academic rivals · Rivals to lovers
Different because
It is completed rather than standalone. A longer read (512 vs 412 pages).
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Similar because
Academy / school · Academic rivals · Bookworm/scholar
Different because
Spice is higher (4/5 vs 1/5). A longer read (512 vs 412 pages).
368 pages Completed
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Similar because
Reluctant allies to lovers · Survival against impossible odds · Eerie
Different because
It is completed rather than standalone.
Book details
- Length
- 412 pages
- Publisher
- Harper Voyager
- Language
- English
- Format
- Book