I absolutely hate dark romance and smut. But am interested in reading Leigh Bardugo's books. For anyone who has read them, can you tell if they have a lot of sex scenes and what was your take on the original story?
I’ve read two of her YA series (Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology), they are not dark romance and don’t have smut, I’m not even sure there’s on-page sex. Maybe once or twice? (It’s been a while) They are a fairly standard level of YA fantasy, there is violence and the characters have rough/traumatic pasts but nothing that I think qualifies for a “dark” genre label. I personally prefer the Six of Crows duology to the Shadow and Bone trilogy. If you choose to go straight to Six of Crows, know that it takes place in the same universe as Shadow and Bone and characters from that trilogy will appear in Crooked Kingdom, though not in a way that would keep you from enjoying just that duology, in my opinion. I haven’t read King of Scars but it is also in the same universe (the Grishaverse). I do know that King of Scars is pretty much directly connected to major events in Shadow and Bone, so I think it would be difficult to go straight to King of Scars without having read the Shadow and Bone trilogy.
Her other books are adult rather than YA, I don’t know much about them.
fragments_shored on
I love Leigh Bardugo and her books are neither dark romance nor smutty. I’m not a dark romance reader either but my surface-level understanding is that it’s defined to some degree by explicit violence and dubious consent or non-consent, so that’s what I’m basing this on.
Bardugo’s “Grishaverse” books (the three interconnected series that begin with Shadow & Bone, Six of Crows, and King of Scars) are YA age-appropriate – not super gory, no on-page sex. You might see it described as “dark” because the books deal with the heavy themes of war, sacrifice, and loss, and they do have romantic plotlines, but they are in no way “dark romance” like the subgenre. They are YA fantasy. I would give them to a mature 13-year-old to read.
Her series that begins with “Ninth House” is, again, dark and romantic, but not “dark romance.” This is urban fantasy set at Yale, in which the secret societies are actually magical and do some pretty grim things. This is written for a bit older of an audience, and is more violent, but not in a sexual way. There are references to sex, and sexual tension between the characters, but it’s not smutty. Worth noting is that only 2 books of a planned series are out, so it could get sexier in future books.
Her standalone historical fantasy, “The Familiar”, is (all together now) both dark and romantic but not dark romance. It’s set during the Spanish Inquisition, so abuse and violence are the backdrop for the story, treated in a way that is appropriate for the setting and a slightly-older-than-YA reader. There is a romantic plotline and a sex scene on-page that is handled very lightly – let’s call it 1.5-pepper spicy.
My favorite thing about her work is her language, which is lush and lyrical, and the slightly dark edge, where it feels like choices have a cost and sacrifices matter. To me, that’s how you reach an ending that feels earned and satisfying. But it’s not the kind of dark that’s going to give you nightmares or ick you out. I think if you’re Bardugo-curious you should check her out!
SparkKoi on
9th house I adore. It’s set up like a murder mystery and the theme is “someone has to watch over these little sh**s”. The main character is surrounded by other people and their accomplishments and the only accomplishment she has is surviving her own misery. There’s a mentor , but not really romance, and they never actually have sex or anything like that. Then the rug gets pulled out and everything goes from bad to worse. I think the writing is smart, the characters are smart, and it’s just really well done.
Grishaverse is more YA and even more school-like than 9th house. There is a love triangle and it has some pretty neat ideas.
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I’ve read two of her YA series (Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology), they are not dark romance and don’t have smut, I’m not even sure there’s on-page sex. Maybe once or twice? (It’s been a while) They are a fairly standard level of YA fantasy, there is violence and the characters have rough/traumatic pasts but nothing that I think qualifies for a “dark” genre label. I personally prefer the Six of Crows duology to the Shadow and Bone trilogy. If you choose to go straight to Six of Crows, know that it takes place in the same universe as Shadow and Bone and characters from that trilogy will appear in Crooked Kingdom, though not in a way that would keep you from enjoying just that duology, in my opinion. I haven’t read King of Scars but it is also in the same universe (the Grishaverse). I do know that King of Scars is pretty much directly connected to major events in Shadow and Bone, so I think it would be difficult to go straight to King of Scars without having read the Shadow and Bone trilogy.
Her other books are adult rather than YA, I don’t know much about them.
I love Leigh Bardugo and her books are neither dark romance nor smutty. I’m not a dark romance reader either but my surface-level understanding is that it’s defined to some degree by explicit violence and dubious consent or non-consent, so that’s what I’m basing this on.
Bardugo’s “Grishaverse” books (the three interconnected series that begin with Shadow & Bone, Six of Crows, and King of Scars) are YA age-appropriate – not super gory, no on-page sex. You might see it described as “dark” because the books deal with the heavy themes of war, sacrifice, and loss, and they do have romantic plotlines, but they are in no way “dark romance” like the subgenre. They are YA fantasy. I would give them to a mature 13-year-old to read.
Her series that begins with “Ninth House” is, again, dark and romantic, but not “dark romance.” This is urban fantasy set at Yale, in which the secret societies are actually magical and do some pretty grim things. This is written for a bit older of an audience, and is more violent, but not in a sexual way. There are references to sex, and sexual tension between the characters, but it’s not smutty. Worth noting is that only 2 books of a planned series are out, so it could get sexier in future books.
Her standalone historical fantasy, “The Familiar”, is (all together now) both dark and romantic but not dark romance. It’s set during the Spanish Inquisition, so abuse and violence are the backdrop for the story, treated in a way that is appropriate for the setting and a slightly-older-than-YA reader. There is a romantic plotline and a sex scene on-page that is handled very lightly – let’s call it 1.5-pepper spicy.
My favorite thing about her work is her language, which is lush and lyrical, and the slightly dark edge, where it feels like choices have a cost and sacrifices matter. To me, that’s how you reach an ending that feels earned and satisfying. But it’s not the kind of dark that’s going to give you nightmares or ick you out. I think if you’re Bardugo-curious you should check her out!
9th house I adore. It’s set up like a murder mystery and the theme is “someone has to watch over these little sh**s”. The main character is surrounded by other people and their accomplishments and the only accomplishment she has is surviving her own misery. There’s a mentor , but not really romance, and they never actually have sex or anything like that. Then the rug gets pulled out and everything goes from bad to worse. I think the writing is smart, the characters are smart, and it’s just really well done.
Grishaverse is more YA and even more school-like than 9th house. There is a love triangle and it has some pretty neat ideas.
I haven’t read the other ones