Reading the Shadow and Bone books in order starts with Leigh Bardugo’s three-book trilogy, but the story continues through the wider Grishaverse. This guide gives you the trilogy, the seven core novels, and the complete Grishaverse reading order I recommend for adding every short story, collection, graphic novel, and companion without spoiling the main series.
I recommend beginning with Shadow and Bone and following the seven core novels in publication order. You can start with Six of Crows, but it takes place later and may reveal some of what happened in Ravka. I’d save King of Scars until you’ve finished both earlier series.
Jump to:
- Shadow and Bone Trilogy in Order
- Grishaverse Reading Order
- How Many Shadow and Bone Books Are There?
- Grishaverse Short Stories
- Grishaverse Collections and Companion Books
- Should You Read Shadow and Bone or Six of Crows First?
- Shadow and Bone Netflix Adaptation
- About the Grishaverse
Shadow and Bone Trilogy in Order
The Shadow and Bone trilogy follows Alina Starkov and contains three novels. Shadow and Bone was first published in the United States on June 5, 2012. The trilogy was previously published as the Grisha trilogy.
- Shadow and Bone (2012)
- Siege and Storm (2013)
- Ruin and Rising (2014)
Those three books complete Alina’s main story. To continue through the connected world, move next to the Six of Crows duology.
Grishaverse Reading Order
If you only want the main story, the Grishaverse reading order contains seven core novels across three connected series. I recommend reading them in publication order because each series builds on characters, political changes, and major reveals from the books before it.
- Shadow and Bone (2012)
- Siege and Storm (2013)
- Ruin and Rising (2014)
- Six of Crows (2015)
- Crooked Kingdom (2016)
- King of Scars (2019)
- Rule of Wolves (2021)
The first three books form the Shadow and Bone trilogy, books four and five form the Six of Crows duology, and the final two form the King of Scars duology. I’d finish each series before moving to the next.
Complete Grishaverse Reading Order Including Short Stories
Leigh Bardugo provides a recommended sequence for the seven core novels, but the bonus stories and companion books don’t all have one official position between them. This is the complete order I recommend for the smoothest character development, strongest world context, and fewest spoilers. I keep the six folklore stories in The Language of Thorns together rather than scattering them between novels.
- Shadow and Bone
- “The Tailor” (Short Story; Alternate Scene) (Found in this edition of Shadow and Bone)
- “A Lost Letter from Mal” (Bonus Material) (Found in this edition of Shadow and Bone)
- “The Demon in the Wood” (Short Story) (Found in this edition of Ruin and Rising) or Demon in the Wood (Graphic Novel)
- Siege and Storm
- Ruin and Rising
- Six of Crows
- Crooked Kingdom
- Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam (Short Story)
- The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (Short-Story Collection)
- King of Scars
- The Lives of Saints (Illustrated Story Collection)
- Rule of Wolves
Read “The Tailor,” “A Lost Letter from Mal,” and either version of Demon in the Wood after Shadow and Bone, while the characters and events of the first novel are still fresh. The prose and graphic versions of Demon in the Wood tell the same underlying story, so I’d choose one rather than read both.
I place A Darker Shore immediately after Crooked Kingdom because that is its confirmed story placement. The Language of Thorns then makes a natural interlude before the narrative returns to Ravka. I prefer reading The Lives of Saints between King of Scars and Rule of Wolves because that follows publication order and gives you its saint lore before the final novel.
The Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic is a guided journal rather than a story. You can use it anytime after beginning Shadow and Bone, but I wouldn’t interrupt the narrative order to complete it.
How Many Shadow and Bone Books Are There?
The Shadow and Bone trilogy is complete at three novels: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising. The full connected Grishaverse reading order contains seven core novels across the Shadow and Bone, Six of Crows, and King of Scars series.
The Grishaverse also includes optional short stories, collections, a guided journal, and a graphic-novel adaptation. I don’t include those extras in the seven-novel count because several stories were later reprinted inside The Language of Thorns.
Is There a Fourth Shadow and Bone Book?
No. There isn’t a fourth novel in Alina’s trilogy. After Ruin and Rising, continue with Six of Crows, which begins a connected story set two years later in another part of the Grishaverse.
What Is the Shadow and Bone Series Called?
Alina’s three books are officially called the Shadow and Bone trilogy. They were previously published as the Grisha trilogy. The larger world shared by all three connected series is called the Grishaverse.
Grishaverse Short Stories
The complete order above shows when I recommend reading these stories. This reference list is organized by first publication year so you can see what each work is and where to find it.
- “The Witch of Duva” (2012) (Short Story) (Found in The Language of Thorns)
- “The Tailor” (2013) (Short Story; Alternate Scene) (Found in this edition of Shadow and Bone)
- “A Lost Letter from Mal” (2013) (Bonus Material) (Found in this edition of Shadow and Bone)
- “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 this edition of Ruin and Rising)
- “Ayama and the Thorn Wood” (2017) (Short Story) (Found in The Language of Thorns)
- “The Soldier Prince” (2017) (Short Story) (Found in The Language of Thorns)
- “When Water Sang Fire” (2017) (Short Story) (Found in The Language of Thorns)
- Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam (2026) (Short Story)
I recommend reading “The Tailor,” “A Lost Letter from Mal,” and “The Demon in the Wood” after Shadow and Bone. Read A Darker Shore after Crooked Kingdom. Rather than splitting the other six tales between novels, I’d read The Language of Thorns as one collection in its published order.
The Language of Thorns collects all six folklore stories listed above. “The Witch of Duva,” “The Too-Clever Fox,” and “Little Knife” were published before the collection, while the other three first appeared in the 2017 book.
The 2022 Demon in the Wood graphic novel adapts and expands the earlier prose short story, so you don’t need to read both versions. “A Lost Letter from Mal” is brief bonus correspondence rather than a separate story or installment.
Grishaverse Collections and Companion Books
- The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (2017) (Short-Story Collection), illustrated by Sara Kipin
- The Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic (2019) (Journal)
- The Lives of Saints (2020) (Illustrated Story Collection), illustrated by Daniel J. Zollinger
- Demon in the Wood (2022) (Graphic Novel), illustrated by Dani Pendergast
The Language of Thorns contains six fairy tales from different Grishaverse cultures. You can read it without knowing the main novels, though I prefer waiting until you’ve finished at least the first trilogy so the countries and traditions feel more familiar.
The Severed Moon is a guided journal rather than a story. The Lives of Saints is an illustrated collection of the legends behind the Grishaverse’s saints. Neither is required to understand the central novels.
Should You Read Shadow and Bone or Six of Crows First?
I recommend reading Shadow and Bone first. It introduces Ravka, the Grisha, and several events that shape the books that follow. Reading the trilogy first also prevents later references from revealing parts of Alina’s story.
You can begin with Six of Crows if Kaz and Ketterdam appeal to you more. Its main cast and plot are different, so you won’t be lost, but it takes place after the trilogy and assumes that changes in the wider world have already happened.
I wouldn’t begin with King of Scars. It continues storylines from both earlier series and works best once you already know Nikolai, Zoya, and Nina.
Shadow and Bone Netflix Adaptation
Netflix released two seasons of Shadow and Bone. The first season is based mainly on the first novel while introducing characters from the Six of Crows duology through an original prequel storyline.
The second season draws primarily from Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising, with material from Crooked Kingdom. Because the adaptation combines characters and events much earlier than the books do, its timeline and plot don’t match the novels scene for scene.
Netflix canceled Shadow and Bone after its second season and did not move forward with the planned Six of Crows spinoff. There is no confirmed third season.
About the Grishaverse
The Grishaverse is Leigh Bardugo’s shared fantasy world. The Grisha practice the Small Science, which allows them to manipulate matter through specialized abilities. The books move through countries including Ravka, Kerch, Fjerda, and Shu Han, each with its own politics, beliefs, and relationship with the Grisha.
The story begins with Alina Starkov in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, then shifts to Kaz Brekker and his crew in the Six of Crows duology. The King of Scars books bring characters and unfinished conflicts from both series together.
For Bardugo’s work outside this world, including the Ninth House trilogy and The Familiar, see my complete list of all Leigh Bardugo books in order.
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.
One thought on “Shadow and Bone Books in Order: Grishaverse Reading Order”
This is probably the best series i have ever read and i’m only on book #4! Also could you write a book where alina is the main character again and her life after the events of Book # 1-3?