Author

Leigh Bardugo

Q: What should I read first by Leigh Bardugo?

Start with the Shadow and Bone series, since it is the first on file, then read it in publication order.

Leigh Bardugo has 15 known credited books (15 published) across 4 series. Start with Shadow and Bone.

Leigh Bardugo was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Southern California, and worked in copywriting, journalism, and even on-set makeup and special effects before her Yale English degree led anywhere near a fantasy career. That eclectic background shows in the Grishaverse, the interconnected fantasy world she launched with the Shadow and Bone trilogy: orphan mapmaker Alina Starkov discovers she's a Sun Summoner powerful enough to destroy the magical darkness swallowing her Tsarist-Russia-inspired homeland, and is drawn into a dangerous partnership with the Darkling, the most powerful — and most magnetic — Grisha alive. Bardugo followed it with Six of Crows, a duology set in the same world but following an entirely different cast: Kaz Brekker, the most feared criminal in the city of Ketterdam, assembling a crew of six outcasts for an impossible heist. Six of Crows is frequently cited as the stronger entry point of the two — darker, funnier and more morally complicated — and neither series requires the other to be read first. New readers can start with either, though Shadow and Bone introduces the magic system Six of Crows builds on. Netflix adapted both into the Shadow and Bone television series (2021-2023) before cancelling it after two seasons. Bardugo has since expanded into adult fantasy as well, including novels set at her own alma mater.

Series: 4
Credited books: 15
Published: 15
Latest published book: Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam 3 November 2026
Active: 2012–present
Best known for: Shadow and Bone

Key facts about Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo has 15 books on our list. 10 of them belong to a series, while 5 stand alone. Since all 15 are out now, every book here is ready to read. Their series sit on our romantic fantasy and fantasy shelves.

Leigh Bardugo has 4 series on file. Shadow and Bone has 3 books, while Six of Crows has 3 books. Alex Stern has 2 books, starting in 2019.

King of Scars has 2 books, starting in 2019. In particular, Shadow and Bone is the longest series on file.

Shadow and Bone starts with Shadow and Bone, while Six of Crows starts with Six of Crows. Alex Stern starts with Ninth House.

Since Shadow and Bone is the first series on file, it is the place to start. Their first published book on file came out in 2012. Meanwhile, Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam is the latest published book, out on 3 November 2026.

There are also 5 standalone books. You can read them in any order, since each one stands alone. The newest one that is out is The Familiar, from 2024. The oldest on file is The Language of Thorns, from 2017.