I don't often like audiobooks because the narrator can make or break the experience so, so easily, but this one was a win! Definitely brought the story and characters to life!

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for allowing me to access this book in digital form.***

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this!

I love author so I had to have this work as and I really this book. This author did amazing. I loved the writing style. I highly recommend picking this up!

A huge fan of Leigh Bardugo so when I saw this audiobook on NetGalley I had to request it. It was a quick listen. I enjoyed the alternating narration greatly! I highly recommend this audiobook.

The Lives of Saints is a tie-it to the Grishaverse books featuring stories of several of the Saints of this universe and how they obtained their iconic status. I just love how much Leigh Bardugo has thought about the history of her universe and how much she brings to readers with extras like this! It was fun to see Saints that have been mentioned before in various books (and maybe some new ones too? I have a terrible memory for minor name drops so I don’t know if we’ve seen all of them mentioned before 😅) and I love getting all these little pieces of the universe to just add layer on layer to really bring it to life and make it feel real, fantasy and all.

Each story was pretty short but easily engaging! And the number of stories felt like just the right amount as well. The Lives of Saints was long enough to provide a great history, a story to pull you in, and not feel overly long without a big plot to keep you going.

I loved hearing all the stories in this book! Leigh Bardugo continues to provide such great worldbuilding to her grishaverse. The short stories in here reminded me very much of the Russian fairy tales my grandma used to tell me. The narration by Ben Barnes was also really well done.

I loved the audiobook for this title soo much! The alternating narrators. The short stories explaining the origins of the saints. This was a quick and fulfilling read.

This is a quirky collection of stories and tales. I really enjoyed it, as it is out of my ordinary reading taste. This is that same author of the Shadow and Bone series which has been adapted for Netflix. Really thrilling and interesting reads! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I didn't know how much I needed Ben Barnes to narrate my audiobooks. 10 stars just for his voice. Lauren Fortgang, who narrates all of Leigh Bardugo's other books, also narrates some of the stories, but I'm not in love with her voice the way I am with Ben Barnes.

This book is just some fun bonus content for the Grishaverse. It wouldn't make any sense if you hadn't previously read either Shadow and Bone or Six of Crows, but is perfect if you can't enough of those series.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for my copy to review.

YES> YES YES YES!

HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE THIS!

HOW!?! CAN WE CLONE LEIGH PLEASE AND JUST MAKE HER CLONES WRITE STORIES FOR US WHILE SHE WRITES OTHER STORIES BECAUSE I WILL NEVER GET TIRED OF THIS DAMN WORLD SHE'S GIVEN US! EVER! BUY ALL HER BOOKS. READ ALL OF HER BOOKS. NOW!

I read The Lives of Saints originally in the hardcover, and then had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook after. I absolutely LOVED what the narrations brought to these stories. These (very short) stories are intended to be the lives of the Grisha saints from Bardugo's Grishaverse series. This is the book that Alina is given in the original trilogy, and details the somewhat gruesome stories of the original most powerful Grisha and the manner of their deaths. I loved being able to read these stories, knowing that in the other novels, we get to meet/hear about some of these characters as well. The overall connection to the novels was fantastic.

In terms of narration, both Ben Barnes and Lauren Fortgang are excellent. They bring these stories to life and are able to modulate and adjust their voices so that as you listen, it is clear the focus of each story. Both of these individuals have been involved with other Grishaverse projects, and they bring the words on the page to life. Absolutely would recommend to anyone who loves this world.

After reading the first book in the Shadow and Bone series and watching the show, I wanted to dive back into the Gishaverse and I saw this interesting collection of saint stories set in the world and wanted to check it out. It's a fascinating read! Some stories are plucky, some are scary, some are emotional, some are sad, but they're all unique and feel like real stories that have been passed down through generations. If you like the Grishaverse and want a quick read this is the one for you! I liked to the audiobook and the narrators are amazing, especially since one of them is Ben Barnes!

Oh how much I loved entering the Grishaverse again. These tales are a perfect extension of the novels that I enjoyed reading. The "Istorii Sankt’ya" is simply perfection.

I will always love anything that brings me deeper into the Grishaverse. This is an amazing supplement to the novels, particularly the Nikolai duology. It's a 5 start book for me in physical form, and 4 stars as an audio, only because I think it's better enjoyed slowly and piecemeal.

Is anyone else excited about the Grishaverse coming to Netflix?

Because I AM!

So when Leigh Bardugo’s The Lives of Saints popped up on NetGalley, I requested it.

I’m not usually one for short story collections, but I’ve read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy as well as the Six of Crows Duology and loved them both. So, I figured I had little to lose.

The downside, The Lives of Saints stories are . . . you got it. Short. You don’t get that deep character building that sets Leigh Bardugo’s books apart from the pack.

But what you do is get delicious bit-sized nuggets of story. Each story is filled with Bardugo’s lyrical description of setting and character plus cold, fierce justice. A few of the saints will familiar to those who have read the Grishaverse books.

These stories are perfect for just before bed or when you need a quick break before diving in the next thing on your “to do” list and don’t have time to get lost in a full-length book.

I read the audio version of the book and thought the performances were great. The illustrations in the print book are supposed to be lovely, though, so going that direction is not a bad call either.

Fans of Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows will love the added depth into the cultures, fables, and religions in the stories.

Recommended, especially for Leigh Bardugo fans. And let me know in the comments if you’re watching on Netflix. I know I’m not the only one planning to binge this series! Season 1 just launched!

I received a free advanced reader copy of The Lives of Saints in exchange for an unbiased review.

Review with be published on thewingedpen.com on Tuesday 4/27.

Charming, magical, inspired, with just the right amount of darkness.

this is a wonderful companion book to a brilliant world with phenomenal characters and captivating stories.

Now that I’ve listened to The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo, I feel ready to dive into the Grishaverse!! I can’t believe I have not read any of the books in those series yet. The narration on this audiobook was exceptional and I loved all the back story of each of the Saints. Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to listen to this advanced copy.

This was good but didn’t necessarily grab me. I’m glad I read it and have a few library patrons in mind to recommend it to. I will purchase the title for my library.

The audiobook The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo was very good. I like that there were dual narrators and that Ben Barnes who will play the Darkling in the Netfilx show was one of the narrators. The stories were really interesting, dark, but to become a saint one must die. I would definitely recommend this audiobook especially if people already know Ben Banes from other things and want to explore more of his work.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved! I am a huge Fan of Leigh Bardugo! I love everything she writes. The narrator really brought this book to life.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

Really enjoyed this one. The narrator did a great job with this! I enjoyed the storyline and the characters tremendously.