5 books to read if you loved Netflix’s Shadow and Bone

Netflix’s latest fantasy hit, Shadow and Bone, successfully brings the world of Leigh Bardugo’s first Grishaverse trilogy to life, in all its epic, magical glory.

There’s so much to enjoy here – from its gusty heroine and compelling villain to the inventive way the series incorporates favorite characters from Bardugo’s Six of Crows series. And, let’s be honest the Shadow Fold was every bit as terrifying onscreen as it was on the page.

But now that you’ve binged all eight episodes of the Netflix show – and maybe even read some of the books its based on – what’s a fan to do?

Luckily, the world of YA fantasy is full to bursting with exceptional stories that will help tide you over until Netflix gives us a second season of Alina’s adventures on our screens.

Here’s what to read next if you loved Netflix’s Shadow and Bone series

Whether you’re new to the world of YA fantasy, someone who just loved the magical aspects and complicated relationships of Shadow and Bone, or just can’t get enough of the complex and expansive worldbuilding that grounds so many fantasy series nowadays, there are so many stories that are more than worth your time.

Here are five titles and series that Shadow and Bone fans should definitely add to their bookshelves.

Lives of the Saints – Leigh Bardugo

While the obvious choice here is to recommend the rest of Bardugo’s Grishaverse series – which, truly, yes, you need to read because it only gets better as it goes along – but another important option is her Lives of the Saints, a companion compilation that includes stories of all the Ravkan saints mentioned in the Shadow and Bone books and on the show.  (There’s even an entry on Sankta Alina herself.)

Not only do the stories provide fascinating vignettes about the miracles of famous saints from Ravkan society, but it also features several who play directly into the story of Shadow and Bone itself (Sankt Ilya in Chains, Sankta Lizabeta of the Roses).  Plus, they’re just so darn good. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses – Sarah J. Maas

Since Sarah J. Maas’ bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series will soon become to screens near you in the form of a Hulu series, you should really give it a look for its own sake, but its sweeping romances and rich fantasy world will absolutely appeal to fans of Shadow and Bone.

It follows the story of Feyre Archeron, a young huntress who agrees to travel to a magical realm with a fairy lord in return for her impoverished family’s safety, only to fall for him and join his battle against an ancient curse. Warning: This story and its characters are all more than they appear at first glance. And that’s a great thing. Maas’ world-building skills and complicated female heroines are some of the best in fantasy fiction right now.

Wicked Saints – Emily Duncan

The darkest of dark fantasies, Emily Duncan’s Something Dark and Holy trilogy is unlike anything else you’ll see on the shelves right now. The books’ disturbing imagery and love of blood are like the Shadow and Bone story on steroids, and those who find the Darkling sympathetic despite his monstrousness will find a lot to enjoy here.

The trilogy follows the story of three main characters – Nadya, a cleric who talks to gods she can no longer hear; Serefin, a prince whose country has long been at war with Nadya’s own; and Malachiasz, a deeply disturbed boy who either wants to destroy the gods or become one, depending on what day you ask him. These three people’s lives are intertwined on what feels like a cosmic level and as they try to stop the horrors they all see coming, they seem to accomplish little besides making things worse. A creepy, disturbing good time, if you ask me.

There Will Come a Darkness – Katy Rose Pool

The massive success of Bardugo’s Six of Crows novels, with their multi-POV format and storylines that repeatedly split and then came back together spawned a small cottage industry of copycats, who framed their YA story in a similar manner. As a narrative trope, there are stories in which it works better than others, but almost no one does it as well as Katy Rose Pool and her Age of Darkness trilogy.

This set of books is well worth recommending on its own merits, with the sort of sprawling massive world-building that marks the best sorts of fantasy. A tale of faith, prophecy, magic, war, and death, There Will Come a Darkness is told through the perspective of five different characters – an assassin, an exiled prince, a sickly girl, a gambler, and a warrior -each with their own agendas, histories, and connections to each other. It’s rich, sprawling, and heartbreaking by turns, as this group of misfits – most of whom don’t even meet in the first novel – deal with a prophecy that promises the coming of one last Prophet whose arrival could save or doom the world.

The Poppy War – R.F. Kuang

The Poppy War is the first installment in a Chinese-history inspired epic fantasy trilogy about empire, warfare, shamanism, and opium.

It follows the story of Rin, a poor war orphan who manages to ace the national talent exam and win a spot at the elite Sinegard Academy, a military training school. With the help of a mysterious and semi-insane mentor, she discovers she possesses a long lost shamanic power, which may be the only thing that can save her country. But the price she might have to pay to do so do may well cost her everything.

Kuang’s Poppy War series is rich, diverse and full of the sort of complex narrative layering that builds into more and more emotionally devastating twists over time. The story is utterly unafraid to make its major characters – including Rin – unlikeable, and to make unexpected and frequently dark choices. Something that will still with you long after the final chapter.

Shadow and Bone is now streaming on Netflix. Let us know what books you’d recommend to new Grishaverse fans in the comments.