‘Do you know the only time I felt beautiful?’ Hanne asked, her eyes still closed. Hanne’s journey to realising this is very poignant: The latest instalments, King of Scars and Rule of Wolves, also feature a character who wants to transition.

We see more of the Grisha world through the perspectives of master thief Kaz, the nearly undetectable Inej, crack shot Jasper, explosives expert Wylan, escaped prisoner Matthias and wily Nina, a Grisha Heartrender able to stop a heart beating with no more than a thought.Īll these books have had a lot to say about racism and the waste of life that is war, with the wide, enduring rifts between the different countries as well as the intense hatred in most for both Grisha and the nomadic Suli. In the two Grisha books that followed Shadow and Bone, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, the story moved away from Ravka to follow a band of thieves in the corrupt city of Ketterdam, and their impossible heist on the Ice Court, the seat of Fjerda’s government and the ensuing fallout. For instance, I used to think one character was a spoilt, vindictive brat in the very first book, but she is now one of my favourite characters for her bravery, emotional complexity and sheer bloody-mindedness. Something wonderful about the characters in the Grisha books more generally is how they grow and develop extra depth as the series goes on and their secrets are gradually revealed. One of the best things about this first series was that the Darkling was such a complex and intriguing character. This is both a refreshing change from pseudo-medieval England and an encouragement for readers, myself included, to be a bit more curious about Russian culture. This trilogy covered her journey to becoming Sankta Alina, the Sun Saint, and saving Ravka from the supernatural darkness of the Fold, a phenomenon that long ago split the country in two and continues to claim countless lives.Īs the names imply, this fictional country was inspired by tsarist Russia. Shadow and Bone featured Alina Starkov, an orphan in war-torn, impoverished Ravka, who discovers her rare power over light and joins the ranks of the Second Army, the magical Grisha.

In this, her seventh Grishaverse novel, a sequel to King of Scars, Leigh Bardugo captures the heart and imagination anew as she expands further on the fantastic world she created that began with the Shadow and Bone trilogy (recently adapted by Netflix). Leigh Bardugo continues to enthral with the latest in her series of novels set in the world of the magical Grisha.

Rule of wolves leigh bardugo