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Leigh Bardugo is a buy on sight author for me. Her Grishaverse is complex and multi-stranded with characters crossing over into each others' stories. The Grisha have powers. They are heartrenders, fabrikators, squallers etc. This is the second book to feature King Nikolai Lantsov of Ravka and his general, Zoya Nazyalensky, a Grisha squaller. Each has their own story, but they intertwine. Both have problems, though Nikolai seems to have conquered the demon living inside him to the extent he can let it out and use it as required – though he doesn't want to be seen as the demon king, so he's careful only to use it when the situation is extreme. The second major thread is Nina, the Grisha Ravkan spy in Fjerda, living dangerously in the household of Jarl Brum, leader of the Druskelle – troops whose sole purpose is to root out the Grisha. Brum is desperate for Fjerda to declare full scale war on Ravka, and intends to use the war to depose the Crown Prince and take over. Nina has to spy for Ravka while at the same time protecting herself, and Jarl Brum's daughter who is also, secretly, Grisha. There's an initial threat from the Shu after a planned royal wedding goes wrong. Ravka can't afford to fight wars on two fronts. Wily Nikolai manages to counter that threat, but he's not sure how he can beat Fjerda when Ravka is almost bankrupt and Fjerda seems to have unlimited resources. There's a satisfactory ending and right at the end a link to Kaz Brekker (my favourite Bardugo character) who featured in the Six of Crows duology and had a small part to play in this book. It very much looks like there will be another Brekker book which has me (metaphorically) jumping for joy!
This follows immediately on from Six of Crows as Kaz Brekker and his talented gang of criminals try to retrieve what they can from the betrayal at the end. First they must rescue one of their own and then they must bring down one of Ketterdam's most prosperous merchants and one of its most bloody gang bosses. And if they can prevent the deadly power-enhancing drug jurda parem getting on to the open market, so much the better. For Kaz it's personal. There's nothing the boy known as Dirty Hands will not do to succeed. 
I read the book back in 2015, and reviewed it here: 
Yet another short companion tale to the Grisha novels. This one is a Ravkan folk tale about a magical river (the Little Knife of the title) and a poor Grisha with power over water, who wants to marry Yeva, a rich Duke's daughter so beautiful that she captivates anyone who sees her, usually to their detriment. It doesn't work out the way you might expect. It has a moral and a twist. A slight tale, well told, but don't expect anything like Leigh Bardugo's Grisha novels.
This is Ms Bardugo's first adult novel – though to be honest I don't know that it reads any older than her Grisha novels, because they are very complex (and dark, especially the ones with Kaz Brekker). There's a lot of violence, trauma, and sex (not all of it consensual), but that's not necessarily what marks a book as adult for me. Set in New Haven, this is Yale University with magic. There are eight 'Houses of the Veil' (secret societies), each performing rituals with a different kind of magic. The ninth house, Lethe, is the one which oversees the other eight to prevent misuse of power. Alex, after a dropout start and surviving a horrific multiple-murder, is given a 'free-ride' at Yale, because she has a special talent. She can see ghosts. She's recruited to Lethe, and is still learning when her mentor, Darlington, goes missing, and there's an unconnected murder which seems to be clear-cut, but is it? Are the magical houses involved? Alex is determined to find out. I love Leigh Bardugo's Grisha novels, in particular her Six of Crows duo. I wasn't as taken with this. I think part of it is the American University system always seems a bit weird to a Brit (I felt the same way about Pamela Dean's Tam Lin). The setting didn't resonate with me, and though I found Alex interesting I wasn't as invested in her at the beginning as I felt I should have been. Your mileage may vary as I've seen nothing but great reviews so far. I admit she grew on me as I progressed through the book. The magical systems are well thought out and Ms Bardugo's characters are deeply layered. There's a satisfying double twist at the end, and it finished with an opening to the next book in the series.
Another short companion folk take to Leigh Bardugo's Grisha books. In Ravka,must because you escape one trap doesn't mean to say that the next one won't get you. I love Ms Bardugo's Grisha books, but don't expect any of the characters from those books to appear here, these are early background tales.
This is a short companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo's Grisha novels with a twist ending. There was a time when the woods near Duva ate girls...or so the story goes…
I love Leigh Bardugo's books with a deep passion. I started with Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, and then went back to read the three Grisha books: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising. This book goes back to the Grisha setting, but takes place shortly after the events in the Crows duology. Nina, the Grisha heartrender, is the link between the two. There are two separate stories here. Nina, still in deep mourning for her lover, is in Fjerda as a spy for Ravka, committed to saving the Grisha who are persecuted. They are also being threatened by the highly addictive drug, Jurda Parem, which increases their powers, but with devastating results.
