Did You Love Arcane? Then Read These Books! (a book rec list)

I mentioned in my November 2021 wrap up that I had watched the Netflix show called Arcane – and immediately loved it. It’s based on lore from the game League of Legends. But don’t worry!! You don’t need to know anything about the game to love the show. The animation and artwork is beautiful, and the story is AMAZING. Just look at this!!! Isn’t it beautiful?

The show became SUPER popular, and lots of my (real life and bookstagram) friends ended up watching it too. It’s been so much fun to discuss it with them. I had wanted to do a collab post with my friend Gretal (Instagram // blog // Twitter) for a while, so I was like, Gretal listen. WHAT IF!! We did a book rec post based on Arcane?? And she said “omg yes okay” which is a direct quote. So here we are!! We picked out a handful of major themes from the show, and created recs based on each of those themes. And obviously these are great books in general, so they’re really just general book recs for everyone even if you haven’t watched the show!

But you should watch it.

Gretal: Take it from me, who is notoriously bad at watching anything. Arcane is a must watch!

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(Complicated) Sibling Relationships

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One of the major themes is naturally the relationship between Vi and Powder. They start as super close sisters who would do anything for each other. Their relationship becomes very fraught and complicated due to many circumstances out of their control. We don’t want to give any spoilers for the show haha so sorry for being weirdly vague.

• Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
• The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
• Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
• Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria
• And I Darken by Kiersten White
• Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce

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Found Family

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Vi and Powder lose their family at a very young age, and are taken in by a man called Vander. He also takes care of a handful of other orphans, and the family they make is so cute.

Found family is a favorite trope of both of us. There is just something so heartwarming about finding those people that you are meant to be with – be it blood relatives or not. Creating a family that supports you through everything is just. Ahhhh *chef’s kiss.*

• A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White
• The October Daye series by Seanan McGuire
• Vicious by V.E. Schwab
• The Red Rising series by Pierce Brown
• Darling by K. Ancrum

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SAPPHICS

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IN THIS HOUSE WE STAN VI AND CAITLYN!!!! Piltover’s finest!!! Obviously there are about a million sapphic books out there, but these are ones that we feel fit the same vibes as Arcane.

• Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
• Seven Devils by Elizabeth May and Laura Lam
• Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone
• Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

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Characters Who Remind Us of Jinx

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This last category is really indirect book recommendations, as we’ve made a list of characters who remind us of Jinx. We won’t spoil much for those who haven’t seen the show. Jinx is a bit unhinged – she’s experienced a lot of trauma and this comes out in her behavior in a lot of different ways. She feels emotions deeply, and often acts in big ways on those emotions, though some of those actions are misguided. Jinx is also very unique in that she has a way with tech and weapons, and can create a lot of useful and deadly devices. These following characters are a few that we feel give off the same sorts of vibes!

• Wu Zetian (from Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao)
• Mariam Xi (from Killing Gravity by Corey J. White)
• Harrowhark Nonageismus (from Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – but also how she acts in the sequel, Harrow the Ninth)
• Fang Runin a.k.a. Rin (from The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang)
• Minya (from Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor)