“No mourners. No funerals. Among them, it passed for ‘good luck.”
If you’ve ever wondered where to start with Leigh Bardugo books, you’re not alone. With multiple bestselling series and standalones, it can be tricky to know the best order to read them. From Shadow and Bone to Six of Crows and beyond, Bardugo has created an unforgettable universe that has captured millions of readers – and even inspired Netflix’s Shadow and Bone adaptation. Today at What We Reading, we’re walking you through the best Leigh Bardugo books in order, highlighting the stories that shaped the Grishaverse as well as her newer, darker fantasies like Ninth House. Whether you’re searching for a complete Leigh Bardugo reading order, looking to discover her books ranked by popularity, or simply deciding between series and standalones, this list will help you navigate her works with ease. Here are the best Leigh Bardugo books in order that any self-respecting fan should read.
Quick Leigh Bardugo Reading Order (At A Glance)
Grishaverse books in order:
- Shadow and Bone (2012) – Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1
- Siege and Storm (2013) – Shadow and Bone Trilogy #2
- Ruin and Rising (2014) – Shadow and Bone Trilogy #3
- Six of Crows (2015) – Six of Crows Duology #1
- Crooked Kingdom (2016) – Six of Crows Duology #2
- King of Scars (2019) – King of Scars Duology #1
- Rule of Wolves (2021) – King of Scars Duology #2
- The Language of Thorns (2017) – Grishaverse fairy tales (companion book)
- Demon in the Wood (2022) – Grishaverse graphic novel book
Standalone novels:
- Ninth House (2019) – Alex Stern Series #1
- Hell Bent (2023) – Alex Stern Series #2
- The Familiar (2024)
Six Of Crows (Six Of Crows #1) (2015)
Kicking off our list of the best Leigh Bardugo books is 2015’s Six of Crows. Ketterdam is a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price – and no one knows this better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone.
Six dangerous outcasts come together for one impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction – that is, if they don’t all kill each other first.
Check Out The Best Books Like Six Of Crows
Shadow And Bone (Shadow And Bone #1) (2012)
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life – a power that could prove to be vital in setting her war-ravaged country free.
Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. Yet nothing in this lavish world is as it seems. With darkness looming and a whole kingdom relying on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha… and the secrets of her heart. Shadow and Bone is the first entry in Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy.
Ninth House (Alex Stern #1) (2019)
Galaxy “Alex Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshmen class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mother, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By the age of twenty, she’s the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. So, what’s the catch, and why her?
Still searching for the answers to these questions, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful. But their occult activities are revealed to be far more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. In this Leigh Bardugo novel, the American author takes us on a fantastical dark academia journey into the underground world of the world’s elite.
Check Out The Best Books Like Ninth House
King Of Scars (King Of Scars #1) (2019)
The dashing young king, Nikolai Lantsov, has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war – and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, Nikolai must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.
Yet with every day, a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all that he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha general, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried – and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.
The Familiar (2024)
In a shabby house in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her endless days as a scullion. But when her mistress discovers her servant is actually hiding a talent for miracles, she demands that Luzia use these gifts for her family’s social standing. What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a turn when Luzia is noticed by Antonio Perez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king.
Determined to seize this one opportunity to better her fortune, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are razor-thin. But as her notoriety grows, so too does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. One of the best Leigh Bardugo books, The Familiar, is a historical fantasy story set during the Spanish Golden Age.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer (2017)
Princess Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away a chance at glory and breaks Amazon law to save an exile. Diana will soon learn that she has rescued no ordinary girl, and that with this single act of bravery, she may have doomed the world.
Alias Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who believe her existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth. In this Leigh Bardugo novel, two girls face an army of enemies – mortal and divine – knowing that, to have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will need to stand side-by-side against the tide of war.
Hell Bent (Alex Stern #2) (2023)
Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely return. Brut Galaxy “Alex” Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory – even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale. Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentlemen of Lethe.
Together, they will need to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artefacts to uncover the societies’ most closely guarded secrets and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren’t just accidents. Something deadly is at work, and she’ll need to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness etched into the university’s walls. Thick with history and packed with Bardugo’s signature twists, Hell Bent is one of the best Leigh Bardugo novels that brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all-too-real monsters.
How To Read Leigh Bardugo Books In Order
Leigh Bardugo’s books can be read in a few different ways – either in publication order, chronological order, or by series/standalones. Here’s all you need to know:
1. Publication Order
This is the order the books were released, and it’s generally the best way for most readers.
- Shadow and Bone Trilogy → Six of Crows Duology → King of Scars Duology → Standalones.
2. Chronological Order (Grishaverse Timeline)
If you want to follow events in-universe:
- Shadow and Bone Trilogy
- Six of Crows Duology (set two years later)
- King of Scars Duology
- Companion stories (The Language of Thorns, Demon in the Wood) can be read anytime.
3. Where to Start if You’re New to Leigh Bardugo
- If you love epic fantasy, start with Shadow and Bone (the foundation of the Grishaverse).
- If you want fast-paced heists and morally grey characters, begin with Six of Crows.
- If you prefer dark academia vibes, dive into Ninth House.
No matter where you begin, Bardugo’s worlds connect through unforgettable characters and richly built lore.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
