Keeper of the Lost Cities hits something specific: a hidden world that's more magical than anything the protagonist imagined, powers that keep growing, friends who become everything, and the creeping realization that the people in charge might not be the good guys. Sophie Foster discovers she's an elf, gets pulled into a glittering civilization, and spends the next dozen books realizing that "better" doesn't mean "good."
If you're looking for books that capture that same feeling of "everything you knew was wrong, and the real world is bigger and stranger than you thought," these ten deliver. We picked them for the overlap: hidden societies, academies where powers are tested, found families that become the whole point, and protagonists who keep leveling up.
Some of these skew older and darker than Keeper. We've noted spice levels and tone so you can calibrate. A few of them will ruin you.
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Start HuntingA Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
The Scholomance is a school for magic users with no teachers, no adults, and monsters trying to eat everyone at every meal. El is destined for dark magic, irritated by Orion Lake who keeps saving her life uninvited, and determined to survive graduation (literally, the graduation ceremony is trying to kill the students). Grumpiest heroine in fantasy. She narrates with the energy of someone who hates everyone and is CORRECT about it. The slow burn with Orion doesn't pay off until book three, and it's worth every page of waiting. If Keeper's academy setting and "discovering your powers" arc are what you love, the Scholomance takes both and cranks the danger to maximum.
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Elisabeth grows up in a Great Library where books are alive and some of them are dangerous. When she's framed for an attack, she's forced to work with a sorcerer she's been taught to hate. Magical libraries, sentient grimoires, a demon servant with the best lines in the book. This has the "hidden magical world" feel and the "everything I was taught might be wrong" arc that runs through Keeper. Lighter and faster than most on this list. Standalone, which is rare for this kind of fantasy. Nathaniel is a disaster of a love interest in the best possible way, and his demon Silas steals every scene he's in.
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Jude was stolen into Faerie as a child and raised in a world that considers her lesser. She has no magic, no power, and no intention of accepting that. The hidden world is the fae court, which is beautiful and viciously dangerous. If Keeper's "the hidden society has problems that the protagonist has to fix" arc appeals to you but you want it sharper and more political, Jude's story delivers. She doesn't have special powers. She has strategy, rage, and a willingness to get her hands dirty. Three books, completed, no filler. The enemies-to-lovers with Cardan is one of the most debated and beloved in the genre.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Katsa is Graced with killing. Her uncle uses her as an enforcer. When she meets Po, another Graceling with a power he's hiding, they form an alliance that becomes more. The "hidden powers, bigger than expected" thread matches Keeper. Katsa's Grace seems straightforward at first, and then it isn't, and that realization changes everything. The romance is slow and respectful and built on mutual admiration. Po falls first and it's obvious to everyone except Katsa. Each book in the series follows a different character and a different kingdom, so the world keeps expanding. Cashore was writing "strong heroine who refuses to be defined by others" before it was a trend.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Four parallel Londons, each with different levels of magic, and Kell is one of the last people who can travel between them. When a thief named Lila steals a dangerous artifact, they're thrown into a cross-dimensional adventure. The "hidden worlds" here are literal: multiple versions of the same city stacked on top of each other. Grey London has no magic. Red London thrives with it. White London is dying from it. Black London is gone. The found family builds slowly across three books. If you love Keeper's "there's a whole world you didn't know about" reveal, Schwab does it four times over. Lila Bard is a force of nature who pickpockets interdimensional travelers.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Harper gets pulled from Washington D.C. into a cursed kingdom. She's not the chosen one. She's not magical. She's a girl with cerebral palsy who refuses to be intimidated by a cursed prince or his crumbling kingdom. The hidden world here is Emberfall, and the "normal person discovers magic is real" framework matches Keeper's appeal directly. The slow burn with Prince Rhen is patient and genuine, and Harper earns her place in the story through stubbornness and intelligence rather than powers. If you like your hidden-world fantasy with a portal element and a protagonist who doesn't have a destiny, just determination, this is a strong pick.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
Xingyin grows up hidden on the moon, discovers the Celestial Kingdom, and enters it to save her mother. The hidden world reveal IS the plot: she goes from isolation to a vast divine court full of dangers and allies. Powers grow as the series progresses, the quest adventure structure keeps things moving, and the found family elements with her companions build naturally. Chinese mythology, gorgeous worldbuilding, and a slow burn that doesn't overwhelm the adventure. The training sequences and power progression hit the same notes as Keeper's Foxfire Academy, just with celestial warriors instead of elves. Xingyin earns every level-up.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Blackcliff Military Academy is a hidden world you wish didn't exist. Laia infiltrates it as a spy to save her brother. Elias is its best soldier and he wants out. The "academy where powers are tested" element is here, but twisted: the tests are designed to be cruel, the institution is the villain, and the powers Laia discovers come with terrible costs. Darker than Keeper by several shades, but the "discovering you're more than you thought" arc is central to both main characters. Four books, completed, and the ending is earned. The dual POV between Laia and Elias gives you two completely different experiences of the same brutal world.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Mare is a Red (commoner, no powers) who discovers she has abilities that should be impossible. She's thrust into the Silver court as a political pawn and has to survive a world that would kill her if it knew what she really was. The power reveal, the "this changes everything" moment, and the "which side am I really on" conflict all echo Keeper's structure. The court intrigue gets genuinely twisty. The first book hooks you fast. Warning: the love triangle is divisive. Some readers love it. We found it frustrating by book three. But the worldbuilding and the political maneuvering carry it through, and Mare's powers keep evolving in satisfying ways.
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
Rin tests into the most elite military academy in the empire and discovers she has shamanic powers tied to a god. The academy section is the first third of book one. Then war breaks out and the book becomes something entirely different and MUCH darker. This is the "what if the academy was just the beginning and the real world is worse" version of every magic school story. Based on Chinese history, specifically the Second Sino-Japanese War, and it does not flinch. Characters die. The cost of power is the whole point. Not a comfort read. But if you're ready to graduate from Keeper into something with real consequences and a protagonist who makes choices that haunt her, this trilogy will stay with you for years.
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