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Let's Talk About Leigh Bardugo and the Grishaverse

by Faith

*Contains Spoilers*

Leigh Bardugo has been an all-time favourite author of mine for a few years now. The first novel I read by Leigh Bardugo was the Wonder Woman: Warbringer novel as part of the DC Icons series. Around the time I read this novel, I had Six of Crows on my TBR list. I had a copy of this novel sitting on my desk for about a year or two but never got around to actually reading it, but I eventually took the plunge after reading Warbringer. So, SOC is technically the first novel I read in her Grishaverse.

And then, of course, the rest is history. I read Crooked Kingdom, and then the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, and then the King of Scars Duology (I recently, only moments ago, finished reading Rule of Wolves as I write up my first draft of this blog post in the middle of June 2021).

So, after falling in love with the Grishaverse books and being an active member of the fandom, I thought it would be fitting that I write a review of the final Grishaverse novel, Rule of Wolves, while also looking back at all the other earlier books in this universe. For the sake of being organised, I'll start talking about all the earlier novels first, so, I'll start by talking about S&B and then in the second half of this blog post will have my thoughts on the final book.

The Shadow and Bone trilogy

Shadow and Bone

The Darkling slumped back in his chair. 'Fine', he said with a weary shrug. 'Make me your villain.'

Rating: 4 out of 5.

So, this is the novel where everything started. This novel takes us to Ravka, a once-great country that is split into two nations — East and West Ravka — by the Shadow Fold. The Shadow Fold is a giant strip of land covered in darkness with monsters flying around inside it. The Fold was said to be created by the Black Heretic hundreds of years ago and still plagues the country. It's been rumoured that someone with the opposite power to the Black Heretic can destroy the fold, so what's the opposite of darkness? Light.

Alina Starkov (played by Jessie Mei Li in the Netflix adaptation), is an orphan, and along with her best friend, Mal Oretsev, they both serve in the First Army (a regiment made up of non-Grisha). On a trip through the Shadow Fold with their team, they were attacked by the monsters living in it and when Alina saw Mal injured she revealed her dormant Light power that saved his life. She was instantly taken away to the Little Palace with other Grisha and began her training as a Grisha, the magical elite of Ravka, under the tutelage of the Darkling.

In a country fighting a war on two fronts, the Shadow Fold and the neighbouring countries, Alina has been given the task to destroy the Shadow Fold so Ravka can stand a chance to survive this war. However, there is always darkness looming where the light is.

Okay, so the first thing I loved about this first novel was the plot! I have read A LOT (and I'm not exaggerating) of YA Fantasy novels and needless to say a lot of YA novels are starting to feel the same, they're almost becoming a bit predictable. So, finding a novel that has such a unique plot makes me so happy, because there's finally a story that is different and stands out from the rest.

However, in terms of execution, I think this novel is also lacking uniqueness. I know that's a contradiction, the plot is unique but at the same time it's not unique. Essentially, what I'm trying to say is that while the general overarching plot is unique, certain details included in the storyline are very cliche and stereotypical, and that is the reason why I didn't rate this a 5-star novel.

So, on one hand, I am completely absorbed in worldbuilding and the intricacies of the Grishaverse, on the other I cannot stand some of the tropes included in the novel. An example is Zoya, she is your classic mean girl character who is mean to Alina for literally no reason. Of course, as the series progresses Zoya is developed much more, however, in this first novel she's just a useless mean girl, she's not totally developed and she feels unnecessary. Also, don't get me started on the forced love triangle between Alina, Mal and the Darkling. For context, this novel was published in 2012, back when the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale (The Hunger Games) and Twilight was at the height of popularity. Now, I'm not saying that love triangles are bad, it's just that in this novel, I thought it was executed badly.

I want to mention one more thing about this before I move on, and that's the Netflix adaptation of this novel. Honestly, I think the Netflix adaptation is so much better than this novel! The main thing I love about the adaption is that the characters are much more diverse! Finally, we have a Netflix show that actually cares about representation. Another thing I loved about the adaptation is Mal's character. In the novel, Mal was a questionable love interest for Alina (he took so long deciding if he wanted to be with her or not), whereas, in the show, he clearly wanted to be with Alina from the beginning. So, Mal went through a great character improvement.

Overall, this book is average (based on my high standards); but if you're relatively new or unfamiliar with YA Fantasy I think you'll enjoy this novel much more than I did since you may not be exposed to the common YA Fantasy tropes that more niche readers would be familiar with. Now, if you're not sure whether these novels are for you, I do recommend watching the Netflix adaptation of this series. From memory it's true to the novel and any changes made are for the better. Also, if you like season one of the Shadow and Bone Netflix show, then you could start reading the second novel in the Shadow and Bone trilogy instead.

Siege and Storm

I like to have powerful enemies. Makes me feel important

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

So, this is the second novel in the trilogy, and honestly, I only gave this book 3.5 stars because one of my all-time favourite characters was introduced in this book (and even saying so I think I'm still being a bit generous in giving this book 3.5 stars).

After betraying the Darkling, Alina and Mal are on the run, while being hunted by the Darkling. Alina is trying to keep her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret, but the Darkling is hot on her tracks and is determined to take her back. With the help, of a notorious pirate, I mean privateer, the youngest Prince of Ravka, Nikolai Lanstov, helps Alina and they both are determined to fight in Ravka's wars.

However, the Darkling has a terrifying new power and a dangerous new plan to take over the country, and Alina is put in a position where she has to choose her country, her love, and her power.

When I said that I gave this book 3.5 stars because one of my favourite characters was introduced in this book, I was referring to Nikolai Lanstov. I love this character with all my heart, and I'll try and fangirl over him later in this blog post, but I truly only enjoyed this novel before him. The Darkling was not present for most of this novel and Mal's characteristics in this novel were terrible (he was extremely whiny and annoying).

I also thought the pacing of this novel was very bad, it felt so boring and slow. I remember when I first read this novel I skipped a lot of pages and got to a point where I only skimmed most of the chapters. Since season 2 is confirmed, I have high hopes that the Netflix adaptation will improve these factors. Other than that, this was an extremely average novel. However, if you can make it past this novel, I promise the following novels are much more interesting and worth it.

Ruin and Rising

I am not ruined. I am ruination

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The final novel of this trilogy starts with the Darkling taking control of Ravka. The Grisha Army is in shatters, the Darkling's true intentions are now known by the public and the country is in chaos. Alina and Mal are stuck in a tirade of problems: the Apparat has taken up the job to protect Alina but he and his followers worship Alina as a Saint, they need to find another amplifier, and whether Prince Nikolai survived the massacre at the Grand Palace.

Determined to stop the Darkling once and for all, Alina and Mal are in a race against time to find more amplifiers to stop Ravka from being destroyed. But her understanding of her power will change everything forever.

Okay again, Nikolai is my favourite part of this novel. While I still truly love the plot of these novels I found that the characteristics of the novel fell flat. Really, I think it's the characterisations of Alina and Mal that let down the whole novel. Again, I found myself skimming and skipping a lot of the pages rather than properly reading it, I found bits of the book extremely long and boring.

However, I am still willing to try re-reading it. Since the series is over I'm feeling kind of nostalgic so who knows, keep checking back to this blog post I may change my opinion about this trilogy and update this post accordingly.

Overall, this is a decent YA Fantasy trilogy. If you're new to this genre I truly believe you may enjoy this series. Since I have read a lot of other books in this genre I have much higher standards so a lot of books that I don't like are still objectively enjoyable. Again, if you're not willing to give this trilogy a go, I still highly recommend the Netflix adaption.

Six of Crows duology

Six of Crows

No mourners. No funerals. Among them, it passed for good luck

Rating: 5 out of 5.

*Note: while I did read the Six of Crows duology first, the Shadow and Bone trilogy is actually supposed to be read first. If you read SOC and then the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the story will still make sense, however, the overall timeline and some concepts may be a little bit confusing, but manageable.

Now on to one of my favourite duologies OF ALL TIME, the Six of Crows. This novel takes us to another country in the Grishaverse, so we leave the country of Ravka and now are introduced to the city of Ketterdam in Kerch (which has been briefly mentioned in the trilogy, so if you read the trilogy first you might be a little familiar with this city). This is one of the richest cities in the world, where anything can be bought for a price. In this city, morals mean nothing, money speaks louder than anything here. So, when Kaz Brekker is offered a deal that can make him rich beyond anything he could imagine, he puts together a team of people to help him complete the heist and collect their reward.

Kaz Brekker, AKA Dirtyhands, is a master at lock-picking and knows everyone's secrets. Jesper Fahey, an expert sharpshooter and gunslinger with a troublesome love of gambling. Inej Ghafa, a spy and acrobat who is skilled in using 14 different types of knives. Nina Zenik, a Heartrender Grisha trained at the Little Palace, who eventually defected to work in Ketterdam. Matthias Helvar is a Fjerdan soldier sworn to kill Grisha, but when a twist of fate binds him to Nina, he starts unlearning everything he grew up believing. Finally, there's Wylan Van Eck, an innocent and kind boy who is also a explosives expert.

This group of unlikely allies all want to claim the reward and reluctantly work together, but little do they know that their heist is the only thing that can stop the war in Ravka from taking a tragic turn.

Now, this book has the most well-developed characters I have ever discovered and I fell in love with all of them.

Kaz has PTSD and a disability that causes him to use a cane to get around, his PTSD stops him from physically holding or touching anyone, but that doesn't stop him from becoming a literal gang leader.
Inej was an acrobat in a family who would travel around Ravka, but was kidnapped as a child and separated from her family and sold to the Menagerie to work as an indenture. While she has her mental health issues, she is still hopeful and is living proof that hope and goodness still exist in their tough world.
Jesper is a guilty gambler who despite his addiction is still a great shot (and a flirt).
Nina has loved and lost deeper than anyone, but she still has the will to keep going and marching forward to live for everyone she's lost.
Matthias is unlearning misogyny he's been taught as a child and is also learning to be more open-minded and accepting.
Wylan doesn't know how to read and write because of his dyslexia, but he understands music and numbers better than anyone.

Not to mention, world-building is brilliant. Ketterdam is very different from Ravka and you can almost feel like you're in the city amongst the hustle and bustle of the busy city.

Overall, this novel is a HUGE improvement from the Shadow and Bone trilogy, so if you can make it past those books you will not be disappointed reading this duology.

Crooked Kingdom

I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The sequel to the Six of Crows carries on from where we last left the Crows. Kaz Brekker and his unlikely crew have pulled off the most dangerous and improbable heist, which they almost didn't survive. Now back home, they're ready to collect their reward money. But, they've been double-crossed and now the Crows are fighting for their lives in a city where money matters more than morals.

Things get more complicated when a dangerous new drug called jurda parem is available for the underworld. This drug can turn Grisha into super-soldiers with almost no control over their actions and it's being used as a weapon in Ravka's wars an ocean away. The Crows' loyalties and their next actions will determine the course the wars will take.

My favourite thing about this novel: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! After being deprived of this in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, I absolutely LOVE the developments all these characters go through and the chemistry between the characters just makes my heart swoon.

Overall, this duology is just written so much better than the first trilogy. This is a great sequel, it properly builds off from what we learned in the first Six of Crows novel. It's more complex, with better characters and a lot of the tropes included in the novel were executed perfectly. For example, we have enemies-to-lovers with Nina and Matthias, we have lovers pining for each other with Kaz and Inej, we have lots of emotions, love, drama (with Jesper and Wylan), death, loss, this novel is dark and moody but also has moments where everyone is happy. It's a rollercoaster, and it's a perfect mix of everything I love in a novel.

King of Scars duology

King of Scars

The monster is me and I am the monster

Rating: 5 out of 5.

And last but not least, this is another duology which is also one of my ALL TIME FAVOURITES. After spending time in Ketterdam, we're taken back to Ravka. The Darkling is dead, the Shadow Fold is gone, his family either in exile or dead, and the charming young King Nikolai Lanstov is now dealing with the consequences of his country's civil war. A poor country with dwindling resources now has to put their focus on their weakened borders, the Shu in the South and the Fjerdans in the North are both making plays against Ravka. Nikolai somewhat survived the civil war the Darkling caused, but now he needs to fight another war and rise up from the ashes.

However, while trying to make new allies, protect his Grisha army, and make his country peaceful and rich again, he's still suffering the effects the civil war had on him. The Darkling had 'cursed' the young King and now Nikolai has a demon monster trapped inside of him, growing stronger and more dangerous.

So, along with his trusted Grisha General, Zoya, and their favourite Heartrender and spy, Nina, they work together to save their country and to save Nikolai from the darkness inside of him.

This novel is much more political than the other novels. Since Alina and Mal in the trilogy are both orphan and somewhat regular people, Kaz and his Crows operate in the underbelly of crime and chaos, reading about Nikolai and Zoya lets us explore an upper-class society in the Grishaverse. Nikolai is a literal King so in his chapters we get a lot of his plotting and scheming and well, we get all the political intrigue the other books did not previously give us. I personally enjoy reading Fantasy novels with political intrigue, so this novel was perfect for my preferences.

As usual, the characters are also really well developed, especially Zoya's character. In the first three books, Zoya's character was a very stereotypical mean girl and bland, but now that she's a main character in this novel, her character is much more developed as we explore her motives and personality more. Nikolai is as charming and loveable as ever. He's smart, skilled and has a very strong sense of responsibility towards his country. It's very clear he's willing to do anything to make sure his people are happy and safe.

I would say the only issue with this novel is the pacing. I personally didn't mind it too much because I am extremely biased and love Zoya and Nikolai so, I would gladly read about their gardening if it came down to it. However, the pacing is still really slow for most of the book (it's the second half where we get some action). Although, compared to the first three books, I'd say that the pacing isn't too bad in King of Scars.

Another minor issue is that Zoya and Nikolai's chapters don't really connect properly to Nina's storyline. This isn't that big of an issue either since their storylines do finally connect in the next novel, but it does feel like we're reading two different books at times.

Again, while these are issues, I truly didn't care about them too much. I love the characters too much to worry about it.

Rule of Wolves

Not impossible, he supposed. Just improbable.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Finally, on to the last novel in the Grishaverese and the sequel to King of Scars. The war with the Fjerdans is reaching its end as they prepare to invade Ravka. Nikolai's charms and ingenuity are going to have to go into overdrive to win a seemingly one-sided war. Zoya is determined to help her King save Ravka, but after losing so many loved ones, she's ready to embrace her powers and turns herself into a weapon that could help them win the war. Nina, undercover with the Fjerdans, is risking herself to bring down the country from the inside, finding her way to the Fjerdan royal family while also mourning the death of her love.

Knowing that this was going to be the last novel in the series, I was curious to find out how all the issues plaguing Nikolai was going to be solved. Truly he had a lot to do in this novel:

He had to fight to wars, one with the Shu and one with the Fjredans
his Grisha army and the regular army is low on resources to fight any war
Technology in this universe is on the brink of change as the country enters into a period where bombs and airships are being invented and quickly mobilized in the war whereas they not long ago were still using bow and arrows
the Darkling has made a terrifying return from death
Nikolai's birthright being questioned
Grisha being kidnapped and forced into camps where they are forced to consume the drug jurda parem
and the demon inside of Nikolai is still wreaking havoc.

Needless to say, there was A LOT this novel had to solve. And I am sort of annoyed at how these issues were resolved.

The war with the Shu was solved diplomatically, however, the end of King of Scars led me to believe that this would be a larger issue in Rule of Wolves. However, this was an issue introduced at the beginning of Rule of Wolves but then was quickly given to side characters to deal with. While it does make sense for a King to delegate responsibilities, I really thought this would be a bigger part of the plot. But again, this is just based on my interpretation. (The issue of Grisha being kidnapped and forced to consume drugs was also an issue side character solved).

The Darkling was underwhelming. It felt like he was brought back for no real reason. He's been mentioned every now and then throughout the novel, however, it's not until the very end he makes a grand appearance, only to be found (in the Palace of all places) and then quickly dealt with in the last few chapters. Considering he was a major villain in the first three novels, this return was very underwhelming. I wanted more evilness and gaslighting but oh well.

While I am annoyed at how some of these issues were solved, I think for the most part I don't mind it too much. The relationship between Nikolai and his literal inner demon developed nicely where he finally accepted it as part of him.

I loved technology development in this universe. This universe is undergoing a period of rapid change where new technology and inventions are constantly being created and used. There's somewhat of a 'Cold War' going on between the Ravkans and the Fjredans. I loved the discussion about the morality of making some of the more dangerous weapons i.e yes, they can make bombs but is it something they morally want to do? Where will this end? Will they keep making destructive inventions one after the other? The war with the Fjredans ended in a way I'm satisfied with as well.

However, I think since there were so many issues, this could have been spread out into more books. I think I'm just being greedy by wanting more books but at times it did feel like there were too many issues and not much was actually happening to solve all these issues.

Also, on a slightly unrelated note, I do wish Nikolai was still King in the ending. On one hand, it makes sense that Zoya is crowned Queen and Nikolai has essentially abdicated the throne. It's a reasonable ending considering all the issues with Nikolai's birthright coming into question. It just felt a little bit unsatisfactory for me. This duology is supposed to centre around Nikolai, so while I am happy he found his freedom (he went back to being a privateer/pirate while continuing as Zoya's advisor and consort), it felt strange having him give up everything he worked so hard for. I'm a bit conflicted honestly. I love the ending but at the same time, I don't. Maybe once I take some more time to process the ending I'll be more clear on how I feel about it.

Overall, the characterisations are brilliant, I think at this point if you've made it to this last novel, you're mainly here for the characters. The plot is good, there are some minor issues, but still enjoyable. I'm love Zoya and Nikolai so, I obviously am here for the characters.

Now, I want to talk about some of my favourite characters in this series. Really, I just need an excuse to gush about how much I love these characters. So, my favourite characters from the Grishaverse are Kaz, Inej, Zoya, and of course Nikolai.

I think the reason why I love Kaz is because of his morals, or lack thereof. He is willing to do anything necessary to reach his goals and his goals usually involve money. On a superficial level Kaz is greedy, he is motivated by money, but on a deeper level he's suffering (he has PTSD and haphephobia) from being conned out of all his money when he was younger. So, him growing up to be a con man is kind of his way of having revenge against the world for hurting him as a child.

Also, the most amazing thing about the Six of Crow novels is that in the perspectives of the other characters, Kaz is viewed as a cunning and cold-hearted person who is more than willing to manipulate others if it means he can make money out of it, and he is! Kaz definitely would do this, however, in Kaz's own chapters, he's just in love with Inej, and he struggles with showing people his true emotions. This kind of adds to the reason why I like this character: Kaz shows us that we perceive ourselves very differently from how others perceive us. So, we may think we're a big, bad, untouchable gang leader, but really we just want our knife wife to be happy.

On the other hand, while Kaz is often emotionally unavailable and a cynic, Inej is an absolute angel. She is kind of like Kaz except she is a more positive version. She has suffered a lot, however, instead of letting herself drown in her pain, she makes an active attempt to try and heal from her pain. She tries to become a better version of herself and she's a bit of an optimist. She is Kaz's moral compass as well. She chooses to see the good in everyone and she is usually hesitant to kill.

Now, part of the reason why I love this character so much is also that she is described to be an Indian/South Asian character (in the novels she is Suli, their physical characteristics are consistent with South Asians). In YA Fantasy novels, Indian characters which are well-developed and overall amazing, are rare. Of course, there are a lot of YA novels with Indian characters, but I think Leigh Bardugo's novels are the most mainstream and popular ones out of the bunch. Representation matters, seeing an Indian character who is so loved and adored by the fandom actually matters a lot and I will always love Inej for simply being who she is.

Zoya, who is also Suli, is essentially the meaner version of Inej. She's gone through a lot as well and grew up to be a brave but harsh person. She's always angry and her anger controls a lot of her actions and dictates many of her relationships. I think the reason why I love Zoya is because of her personality, yes she is mean and cruel at times, but she is also ambitious and smart, she gets things done and she is protective of the people she loves. She's also a good leader and is well respected among the other Grisha. Also, the fact that we have a little brown woman leading an army (and an entire nation when she becomes the Queen of Ravka) is PERFECT. It makes me really happy seeing brown women succeed. Again, representation matters and I love seeing two South Asian-inspired characters included here.

Finally, Nikolai. Simply put I think Nikolai is partly your classic Prince Charming character, who is actually, truly, extremely charming. However, if I had to describe him I'd say he basically is your Prince Charming character but with more depth than just being charming. He's intelligent (he literally invents new pieces of technology), he remembered to drink his 'respect women' juice every morning, and he's also a really good leader. I think with this character, it's his personality that shines the most. He's optimistic and hopeful despite suffering through so much, he's the sun in a world that is always so dark and gloomy. It's refreshing.

Also, can I just point out how much I love the inter-racial relationship between Inej and Kaz, and between Zoya and Nikolai. I can write an entire article about interracial relationships, but that's another conversation for another day. However, in short, in most POC societies inter-racial relationships are usually looked down upon, so, generally, I do like seeing some positive examples of this in mainstream media.

For context, I finished reading the last novel in mid-June, and I started writing my draft for this blog post around the same time. So, since it's (sort of) recent that I finished Rule of Wolves, I am currently going to go on an obsessive rabbit hole back into the fandom and consume as much fanart, fan posts, edits and Grishaverse content in general, as I can to fill the empty void in my heart. Truly, I've loved this series for so long, and I genuinely loved the characters, I really have no idea what to do with my life anymore now that the Grishaverse has ended. One thing I know for sure is that I WANT MORE CONTENT. Anything. Please.

I do understand that Leigh Bardugo has ideas for future novels in the Grishaverse, however, as of now, she is happy with how the series has ended. She does have other projects she's currently working on (such as the Ninth House novels and the Shadow and Bone Netflix adaptation), so she doesn't feel the need to write another Grishaverse novel now. Until she does decide if/when she wants to write more about the Grishaverse, I will happily re-read and re-watch what content I have now.

So, this is my extremely long blog post about the Grishaverse. It's one of my favourite series of all time with memorable moments and loveable characters. If you've made it to the end of this post, I want to say a BIG thank you for reading up until the end. As usual, I also hope you all have a lovely day.

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