The Lives of Saints
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Imprint / Macmillan Audio
Goodreads | The StoryGraph
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I highly recommend the audiobook version! Get it from Libro.fm here.
Cover Description
Dive into the epic world of international bestselling author Leigh Bardugo with this beautifully illustrated replica of The Lives of Saints, the Istorii Sankt’ya, featuring tales of saints drawn from the beloved novels and beyond. Out of the pages of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, from the hands of Alina Starkov to yours, the Istorii Sankt’ya is a magical keepsake from the Grishaverse.
These tales include miracles and martyrdoms from familiar saints like Sankta Lizabeta of the Roses and Sankt Ilya in Chains, to the strange and obscure stories of Sankta Ursula, Sankta Maradi, and the Starless Saint.
This beautiful collection includes stunning full-color illustrations of each story.
TL;DR Review
The Lives of Saints is an indulgent, fairytale-esque companion to Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse that is especially excellent as an audiobook.
For you if: You love the Grishaverse books, including Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows.
Full Review
Thank you, thank you, thank you to Macmillan audio for granting me a review copy of this title’s audiobook!
I’ve read and loved all the books in Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse, but I’m not usually big on companion/periphery titles like this one. But HELLO, Ben Barnes is one of the audiobook’s narrators? SIGN ME UP.
And friends, this was everything I wanted it to be. It contains a few dozen super-short origin tales of different Saints in the Grishaverse. The whole audiobook is less than 3 hours long. Every tale was like a delicious snack. They ring with that fairytale feeling.
Every word was infused with Leigh’s recognizable voice, and both Ben Barnes and Lauren Fortgang brought them to life perfectly. (It was so good that I didn’t even speed up the playback speed at all — and I usually listen at 1.75-2x.)
Friends — definitely do this one as an audiobook. I think, after enjoying this so much, I might try to reread the Grishaverse books before I read Rule of Wolves, which is scheduled to publish this March!