The Leigh Bardugo books in order begin with the Shadow and Bone trilogy and expand across several interconnected Grishaverse series, adult dark academia, standalone fantasy, anthology contributions, and children’s books. Bardugo is best known for creating the Grishaverse, but her bibliography now reaches well beyond it.
The main point of confusion is the Grishaverse. I recommend reading its seven core novels in publication order, then fitting the optional short stories and companion books around them. This guide also separates graphic adaptations, journals, reprinted stories, and anthology contributions so you can see what is essential and what is optional.
Jump to:
- Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse Books
- Leigh Bardugo Non-Grishaverse Books
- Leigh Bardugo Standalone Books
- Leigh Bardugo Anthologies
- Leigh Bardugo Children’s Books
- Leigh Bardugo Book-to-Screen Adaptations
- Who is Leigh Bardugo?
Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse Books
The Grishaverse contains three connected series, along with short stories, illustrated collections, a journal, and a graphic novel. I’d read the seven main novels in the order below. The extra material is optional, and I’ve explained where it fits after the core series.
Shadow and Bone Trilogy
I’d start the Grishaverse with the Shadow and Bone trilogy. It introduces Ravka, the Grisha, the Shadow Fold, and the characters whose choices continue to shape the later books. For a closer look at this part of the story, see my Shadow and Bone books in order guide.
- Shadow and Bone (2012)
- Siege and Storm (2013)
- Ruin and Rising (2014)
Shadow and Bone was originally published in the United Kingdom as The Gathering Dark. It is the same novel, not a separate book in the series.
Six of Crows Duology
The Six of Crows duology begins about two years after Ruin and Rising and follows a new group of characters in Ketterdam. You can start here, and plenty of readers do, but the books can reveal outcomes from the first trilogy. My advice is to begin with Shadow and Bone if you want the full interconnected story.
- Six of Crows (2015)
- Crooked Kingdom (2016)
Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam is a short story set after Crooked Kingdom. I recommend saving it until you’ve finished both novels in the duology.
King of Scars Duology
The King of Scars duology continues characters and consequences from both earlier Grishaverse series. Although the story provides some context, I don’t recommend using it as an entry point. Read it after Ruin and Rising and Crooked Kingdom to avoid spoilers and get the most from the returning characters.
- King of Scars (2019)
- Rule of Wolves (2021)
Grishaverse Reading Order
For the simplest complete reading order, I recommend following the seven core novels in publication order:
- Shadow and Bone
- Siege and Storm
- Ruin and Rising
- Six of Crows
- Crooked Kingdom
- King of Scars
- Rule of Wolves
The optional stories don’t fit into one exact chronological sequence. Read The Tailor after Shadow and Bone, read either version of Demon in the Wood after Shadow and Bone, and read A Darker Shore after Crooked Kingdom. The Grishaverse folk tales can be read whenever you like.
Grishaverse Short Stories and Collections
- The Witch of Duva (2012) (Short Story; found in The Language of Thorns)
- The Tailor (2013) (Short Story)
- The Too-Clever Fox (2013) (Short Story; found in The Language of Thorns)
- Little Knife (2014) (Short Story; found in The Language of Thorns)
- The Demon in the Wood (2014) (Short Story) (found in Ruin and Rising)
- The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (2017) (Collection)
- Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam (2026) (Short Story)
The Tailor retells a scene from Shadow and Bone through Genya’s perspective. The Demon in the Wood first appeared as bonus material in 2014 and later received a standalone digital edition in 2015. A Darker Shore follows the events of Crooked Kingdom.
The Language of Thorns is a collection of six Grishaverse folk tales. You can read it without finishing the novels, although some places and ideas will feel more familiar after you’ve entered the Grishaverse. The collection includes:
- Ayama and the Thorn Wood
- The Too-Clever Fox
- The Witch of Duva
- Little Knife
- The Soldier Prince
- When Water Sang Fire
The Witch of Duva, The Too-Clever Fox, and Little Knife were published before the collection and are reprinted in it. You don’t need to buy them separately if you plan to read The Language of Thorns.
Grishaverse Companion Books
- The Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic (2019) (Journal)
- The Lives of Saints (2020) (Illustrated Collection)
- Demon in the Wood: A Shadow and Bone Graphic Novel (2022) (Graphic Novel)
These books are optional. The Severed Moon is a guided journal rather than a story, and The Lives of Saints is an illustrated collection of in-world tales about Grishaverse saints. Demon in the Wood, illustrated by Dani Pendergast, adapts the Darkling’s prose short story. Even though it is a prequel, I recommend reading it after Shadow and Bone.
Leigh Bardugo Non-Grishaverse Books
Bardugo’s books outside the Grishaverse include her contribution to the multi-author DC Icons series and the adult fantasy Ninth House trilogy.
DC Icons
Wonder Woman: Warbringer is Bardugo’s contribution to DC Icons, a series of standalone young adult superhero novels written by different authors. You can read it without any of the other DC Icons books.
- Wonder Woman: Warbringer (2017)
The novel was also adapted as Wonder Woman: Warbringer: The Graphic Novel (2020). Louise Simonson adapted the story, and Kit Seaton illustrated it.
Ninth House Trilogy
The Ninth House trilogy follows Alex Stern through a dark, occult version of Yale and New Haven. These adult fantasy novels are more graphic than Bardugo’s young adult Grishaverse books, and I recommend reading them in publication order.
- Ninth House (2019)
- Hell Bent (2023)
- Dead Beat (2026)
Dead Beat concludes the trilogy.
Leigh Bardugo Standalone Books
- The Familiar (2024)
The Familiar is a historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age. It is not connected to the Grishaverse or Ninth House, so you can read it at any point.
Leigh Bardugo Anthologies
Leigh Bardugo has contributed short fiction and an essay to several multi-author anthologies. I’ve listed her specific contribution beside each book so you can distinguish new work from reprints.
- Fierce Reads: Kisses and Curses (2015): “The Too-Clever Fox” (Short Story; reprint)
- Slasher Girls & Monster Boys (2015): “Verse Chorus Verse” (Short Story)
- Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories (2016): “Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail” (Short Story)
- Last Night, A Superhero Saved My Life (2016): “We Are Not Amazons” (Essay)
- The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 (2017): “Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail” (Short Story; reprint)
- Marple: Twelve New Mysteries (2022): “The Disappearance” (Short Story)
Leigh Bardugo Children’s Books
Bardugo has also written picture books for younger readers. These are separate from her fantasy series and can be read in any order.
- The Invisible Parade (2025), written with John Picacio
- Better Pets (2026), illustrated by Liz Climo
Leigh Bardugo Book-to-Screen Adaptations
Netflix adapted the Grishaverse as Shadow and Bone, which ran for two seasons. The first season draws primarily from Shadow and Bone, while the second combines material from Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising, and the wider Grishaverse.
The show brings the Crows into Alina’s timeline earlier than they appear in the books and changes several events, so I prefer to treat it as its own version of the story. Netflix canceled the series after its second season, and the planned Six of Crows spin-off did not move forward.
Amazon Studios announced a television adaptation of Ninth House for development in 2019. That announcement did not include a release date.
Who is Leigh Bardugo?
Leigh Bardugo is an award-winning author and the creator of the Grishaverse. She was born in Jerusalem and raised in Los Angeles, and she studied English at Yale University before working in journalism, copywriting, and other creative fields.
Her debut novel, Shadow and Bone, introduced the Grishaverse in 2012. She later expanded into adult fantasy with the Ninth House trilogy and The Familiar, while also writing short fiction, anthology contributions, graphic adaptations, and picture books.
Yale and New Haven form the setting for the Ninth House trilogy, which combines dark academia, secret societies, and occult fantasy. In my view, it is the clearest example of how Bardugo’s work has grown beyond the young adult fantasy that first made her widely known.
Looking for more books in order?
If you want more fantasy authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Fantasy Books in Order index.