So You Love Clair Obscure: Expedition 33…
If your house is anything like mine, it’s filled with book nerds and gamers. I’m the bookworm in the house, in case you are wondering. Right now, the video game developed by the French gaming studio Sandfall interactive in 2020, Clair Obscure Expedition 33. It’s beautifully animated, well voice acted and the storyline is like nothing else my gamers have every seen. To be honest, I haven’t played the game, I’ve just seen and heard bits and pieces of the game play as my husband and teen play it. And they spend a lot of time playing it (my daughter’s hit game +++). It’s the major topic of discussion around here and I know my house isn’t the only one buzzing and falling in love with this game.
So, while this is pushing me out of my comfort zone in more ways than one, I thought it would be fun to talk to those who love the game and compile book recommendations similar to the game. But when I googled it, I found little to no help. So I turned to my Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 experts for help. Again, I have not played this game, and my husband and middle child are now big readers, either, but through conversations and limited experience, these are the titles that we came up with. Please let us know in the comments what books you think give off a Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 vibes! And if you haven’t played the game and you’re a gamer, what are you doing with your life?! And if you, like me, are a bookworm and you love any or all of the books on this list, we’re slacking and we need to do better.
Let’s get to it. Books we recommend based on your love for Clair Obscure: Expedition 33, in no particular order are as follows.
Title: Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 Game Guide
Author: Sandra K. Williams
Synopsis: Make your inner perfectionist happy with the game guide! This guide includes:
comprehensive walkthroughs (yay!)
Detailed breakdowns of the system of combat
character insights including skill trees and more!
FULL achievement and trophy guide including secrets and even hidden endings!
strategies
lore
item catalogs
AND MORE!
Why it’s recommended: This one is easy. This book is a 300 page love letter to the game that’s gained a lot of love! It’s the guide to get the most out of game play and ways to uncover secrets, which will make you even cooler to your friends and steps closer to truly 100%ing the game!
Synopsis: Ove is and old grumpy man, obsessed with things being just so. He’s also grieving the loss of his wife, the one person in the world who really got him and loved him more than anyone. So when a new family moves in across the street from him and wiggles their way into life, changes are inevitable. It’s the story of grief, found family, acceptance and
heart. You’ll want your tissues but it’ll be worth the journey.
Why it’s recommended: Well, at first, this was added to the list becuase grief is such a big theme in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and in A Man called Ove, but the more I think about it, the more I see otherwise. Clair obscure, the art technique. It’s about the contrast between light and dark and so is this book. Ove’s in a dark time, contemplating suicide and trying to figure out who he is. But then there’s those around him, lighting up his life little by little again and helping him remember how to laugh and love again. Both stories are journeys filled with emotions, humour and the need for Kleenex.
Learn more in our review here!
Synopsis: Lyra has abilities that would sign her death warrant if anyone found out, so when she’s outed, she does whatever it takes to protect those she cares about before being taken away from the life she knows to serve the power hungry king, which may
very well be what kills her, or will her new found love for the man who is supposed to be her enemy be what saves her?
Why it’s recommended: This book has magic, chosen family, hard choices being made to protect loved ones, not knowing who to trust, secrets and lies. It’s also dark and has unexpected turns. It’s fun and, honestly, as soon as I finished this book, I wanted more! (Good news! The second book in the series, Heir of Twisted Lies comes out in March of 2026 and can be preordered now at this time of writing this blog!).
Title: Kelcie Murphy and the Academy Unbreakable Arts
Author: Erika Lewis
Synopsis: Kelcie is an orphan who doesn’t quit fit in to the world around her. But will she fit in to the magical world she never knew existed?
She’ll find out when she finds herself at a magical school learning to yield her talent as she tries to stay alive and save the world as she knows it.
Why it’s recommended: This middle school book stole my heart pretty early on! It’s a great series (Academy of the Unbreakable Arts is the first book but then there’s, Hunt for the Heart of Danu, and Race for the Reaper’s Key). And while I do love to share this series of books, that’s not why it’s on this list. It’s here becuase of the chosen family, the hard choices that need to be made, being in an unfamiliar world when she doesn’t know the rules. It’s not as dark as some of the other choices but there’s magic and, in such worlds, you never know who you can trust and if what you’re doing is playing into the enemy’s hand.
Title: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass
Author: Lewis Carroll
Synopsis: Alice finds herself literally falling down a rabbit hole and into a world very unlike the one she’s known. Now she must find her way through the world, find some help, stay alive and make it back to her world.
But nothing is as it seems with talking flowers, mad hatters, disappearing cats and a queen out for blood, danger is eminent but confusion is everywhere.
Why it’s recommended: In a world where nothing is as it seems, weird beings, curious worlds with odd and unknown rules, not knowing who to trust.
Synopsis: Evangeline Fox is determined, proud and she knows what she wants. But she’s not ready for the
consequences of asking for what she wants. So when she turns to Jacks, The Prince of Hearts, to stop a wedding in which her love will be married to another. But she has no idea the chain of events she’s activating by taking such actions. Now she’s exploring new places, fighting with most, running for her life, unsure who to trust and desperately trying to figure out how to not fall into the many traps of her enemies. Is she doing what will stop them, or what they want her to do? Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
Why it’s recommended: You never know who to trust when lies are as common as air. And when you never know if what you’re doing helps or hinders your side of the story, how do you know what to do? These are questions asked in Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 and the Once Upon a Broken Heart series. They’re both dark and forces you to follow bread crumbs if you really want to know what’s going on. Good luck seeing these twists coming!
Synopsis: Meet Asha, a strong willed, well trained American teenager. Home schooled by her grandfather, Bapuji, Asha has no idea just how much her life is about to change.
She quickly finds herself sent to India where she learns that there is so much she doesn’t know about her family, magic,monsters, the world at large. Now she’s dropped into a world where monsters are real, different realms exist and it’s her job to keep the world safe, if only she can survive long enough to do so.
Why it’s recommended: The places the Infernal Guard go tend to be dark. Over the series, (Starting with Emergence then there’s Descent, Severance, Forsaken, Ravenous)they visit different realms, fight many different being, have to make hard choices for family, chosen family, grief, and not always sure who to trust.
Synopsis: Alina is more than she appears to be. She’s something so much more powerful, which is exactly why her life is in danger. Now she must find a way to stop the Darkling who may be stronger then she is.But not
everyone you think are your friends are, in fact, your friends and doing what you think is right,might just be the worst thing you could do. Nothing is easy in this world.
Why is it recommended: This is another series (I do love my series) filled with grief, hard choices, and sometimes doing the wrong thing because you thought it was right.There’s lands unknown and monsters everywhere. And, of course, it gets dark.
All of these books are great on their own; fun, often whimsical and they’ll make you feel. I do want to say that finding books that have a similar vibe, theme, ect. as Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 as it’s so unique in what it does. So, please, if there’s a title you feel like I’ve missed, please leave it in the comments and, who knows? Maybe I’ll do a part 2 in the future and include the title you suggest!
