I received this audiobook via the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


As a longtime fan of Leigh Bardugo and her written work I was very excited to be able to listen to her work being read. As I await the Shadow & Bone series to come to life on screen it was a welcome treat to listen to more of the history she so cleverly has written. She truly has built a whole world in her books and created backstories and culture pertaining to all the cities in the Grishaverse. It was also an added bonus to hear Ben Barnes read some of the Saints stories.

I really love the Grishaverse that Leigh has created. This world is by far one of my absolute favorites to journey to. This companion of stories about the Saints just really adds to the rest of the books. I got this as an audio and both narrators were excellent. Highly recommend if you're a fan of the Grishaverse.

Ben Barnes (aka The Darkling) narrated most of this, and now I think I can die happy.

This was a really great deeper insight into the Grishaverse, and the folklore was so interesting! I wish Ben Barnes could have narrated the entire thing. It honestly took me for a jolt when he didn't, and the other lady started speaking lol. After Crooked Kingdom broke my heart (I still can't talk about it), and with King of Scars (it disappointed me ngl) - I'm skeptical of anything Leigh Bardugo puts out, simply because I'm still mad at her for what she did to a certain beautiful, and underserving Fjerdan.

Nevertheless, she's a good writer, and this was a solid book! Ben Barnes was A+++, and while I found the female narrator's voice a little peevish, she brought some nice elements to the overall audiobook.

Big thank you to Macmillan Publishing + Netgalley for sending me this audiobook!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Lives of Saints was filled with so many fun stories that are making me, and I mean MAKING me, want to dive into the Grishaverse next year. I mean, it's not hard to volunteer as tribute for that because I love the books so much. There's just something about those characters that sucks you in and makes you fall in love.

I will also say that I really enjoyed each and every story within this. I may or may not have a certain favorite story because I'm pretty sure it was about the Darkling. If not, then it is now in my eyes because it was so freaking good. And dark. Ugh, I seriously need to re-read these books guys.

In the end, I am so happy that I got a chance to dive into this beauty and I hope everyone that I was buddy reading with will enjoy it as well. If not, we can't talk anymore.

This is a novella. Only it's not.

In any religion, you have the stories of saints. Short stories that resemble fables- usually meant to teach lessons on piety, faith, and good behavior.

Reading the lives of saints isn't unlike reading the abridged children's version of a bible, sanitized and simplified to only tell these magical stories.

I think if you are going into this book expecting a whole "plot" you will be very disappointed. These are short...very short stories. Many of them. All written with a beautiful, lush old fable writing style- yet they reveal more about the Grishaverse than Shadow and Bone ever could as a series. These tiny little religious lessons open up a beautiful world of culture, diversity, and magic to the Grishaverse- giving it an unexpected polish. I would liken reading The Lives of Saints to reading old unpublished Tolkien text.

I am inclined to believe this is the MOST correct way to experience The Lives of Saints. It is partially read by Ben Barnes- though both narrators read the book with absolute sanctity- listening feels like going to church. The narrations are beautiful and graceful, and there audiobook is only about 2 1/2 hours. I devoured it in a day.

I really enjoyed this!

I got the e-audiobook via NetGalley, and followed along with the physical art.
I really enjoyed these short stories about the saints, and the art was stunning as well.

The audiobook narrators both did an amazing job, and it made it an overall lovely reading experience.
Highly recommend this if you are in the mood for short stories and beautiful art, and I definitely recommend the audiobook!

I will be discussing this on my instagram later this week as well! The narrators did a phenomenal job!

www.instagram.com/delaneyreads
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I’ve had this book since release day but never found the time to read it. When I was scrolling social media I discovered that Ben Barnes was doing the male narration and I adore him! He’s going to be The Darkling in the Netflix show, Shadow and Bone! Of course, he’s Prince Caspian to many, but The Darkling!! Eep! The female narrator was one of the characters in the Six of Crows duology so I knew she’s be fabulous.

The narration was soothing and I’m so happy they chose these two to read it. I found myself just sitting and staring off in the distance as I listened. I didn’t wanna miss a moment.

The Lives of Saints is a short but very intriguing addition to the Grishaverse. I was swept away by the stories of miracles and saints. It made me like the Grishaverse even more now.

And I’ll admit I teared up on the last one.

If you get the opportunity to listen instead of read this, you should definitely take that opportunity.

While Bardugo is not my favourite I knew I wanted to read this and I'm so thankful I really enjoyed these little short tales of the Saints I definitely will be buying a copy

I've only read one book in the Grishaverse and that was.....(checks notes).....eight years ago, so I wasn't expecting to be that connected to these stories of the lives of Saints from this dark (literally at times) universe. That said, even without the larger context, I really enjoyed these short stories. They are dark and uplifting and dark and specific and timeless, and did I mention dark? The best of them remind me of the (original) tales collected by the Grimms or the darker Italian tales collected by Calvino. This universe is not a nice place, but the saints trust in their gods to help them. And sometimes they do. I also listened on audiobook, and the narration was a lush as the art samples I've seen as part of the published book. Very enjoyable.

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

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:

5 stars specifically for the audiobook performance!

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!

The narrators did a fantastic job and the stories were engaging and very fun to listen to. Bardugo knocks it out of the park again with her clever imagination.

*audiobook arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher*

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. I had forgotten just how much I loved the world Leigh Bardugo has built, and the narrators brought the story to life wonderfully. Despite the short chapters, each of the saints were so compelling I felt like they were characters I had met before. The writing, as always, was beautiful, and I found myself getting chills after some chapters. These felt like tangible stories of saints I have so often heard growing up Catholic, so the way the stories were told felt familiar and comforting. I highly recommend this book to people who want a short little expansion of the Grishaverse.

Okay, so I don't love short stories and I'm usually not that fond of lore, but I do love Leigh Bardugo and these snippets are just fantastic. I wouldn't change a thing. It was the perfect length, too.

I loved this! Filled with stunning illustrations, this is a collection of short stories about the Saints from the world of the Grishaverse. Ranging from poignant to grisly to humorous, they are beautifully put together and really flesh out the world. From pious young people killed because of greed or fear, to women called witches for no good reason, there is a lot to provoke thought and conversation. You will find nods to things from the books which is fun, and I'm curious to see if more of these things show up in later books. If you are a fan of the Grishaverse, this is absolutely worth a read! It's quick, but thoroughly enjoyable. I was lucky enough to have access to the audiobook for review via NetGalley and read along with my physical copy- an experience I highly recommend! The audio has two narrators and is well-done. All opinions are my own.

The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo
Narrated by: Ben Barnes and Lauren Fortgang
Publication Date: December 8, 2020 - Out Now!
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Description from NetGalley...
“Dive into the epic world of international bestselling author Leigh Bardugo with this audiobook adaptation 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.”
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Thank you to @NetGalley @macmillanaudio for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts...
Since reading Six of Crows I’ve become a fan of Grishaverse and Leigh Bardugo. The audiobook was good, though I did prefer the narration of Ben Barnes: there was something more believable with his narration. This book was a collection of short tales about Grishaverse Saints and they were quite interesting to hear. Leigh Bardugo has done remarkably well in building this world and these stories are a great addition in making Grishaverse more believable and realistic.

While I’m a huge Six of Crows fan and I have had a hard time getting into the other Grishaverse books. The Lives of Saints is the exception. I enjoyed the short stories about the Saints that I’ve only seen mentioned in passing until now. It was a quick read made even faster by me not wanting to turn the audiobook off.

Ben Barnes has a fantastic reading voice and I was eager to get to the male Saints just so I could hear his voice. It was the perfect blend to Lauren Fortgang’s narration. To me, a good narrator makes you forget that you’re just listening to someone’s voice with an eerily quiet background and you fall into this new world, instantly sucked into the story. Both of them definitely did that for me.

The stories themselves were a good mix of “oh that’s right they’re Saints because people are awful” and some happier stories. I think my favorite was Saint Nikolai! The couple stories at the end did a great job of tying into the events of King of Scars and even answered some questions that I never even knew I had.

Overall this was a fun book and an even better audiobook. Whether you’re looking for a lightweight audio to listen to or to explains your grishaverse knowledge, The Lives of Saints is a must listen to!

A beautiful companion to the Grisha universe.
One of the narrators is the same as the rest of the series and it all ties together beautifully.
This series of short stories adds a wonderful layer to the Grisha world and I loved every moment.

I confess that I have not read all the Grishaverse books, however, I found this to be an instantly engrossing collection to whet my palate. I love the set-up, where each Saint life is presented separately, sometimes by a different narrator. This felt like listening to a book of Saints from our world rather than a fantastical world. The narrators did a terrific job, Ben Barnes and Lauren Fortgang. They brought life to the stories telling the lives and reasons each of the Saints were made saints. The stories also explained why they were the patron saint of each thing. Well done. I would say that my only criticism is the same I could make of Catholic Saints stories, there wasn't as much background as I wanted! A great taste of why I should probably dive into the novels.
Recommend to those who don't know all the characters in the Grishaverse but want to get a feel to see if its for them and to those who have read all the novels and just want a recap of the lives of these characters.
#TheLivesofSaints #McMillanAudio #Netgalley

I was interested in reading this book after enjoying the Grisha trilogy, and this collection has some really intriguing and fun stories. Unfortunately, none of them stood out to me as particularly incredible or memorable, but it was a generally good collection to follow up the lore mentioned in the Grisha trilogy. I enjoyed the alternating narrators' POVs and I think it was a nice bonus to experiencing the audiobook.

This is a audio book review -

I have adhd which makes it hard for me to pay attention to audio books but this was such an easy read plus Ben Barnes... need i say more? I was so excited to hear that he was narrating part of the book and him and the other narrator made it easy to pay attention plus Leigh Bardugo is such a great story teller especially with short stories.

This book was a ton of short stories of Saints in the grishaverse and how they become saints. Loved the stories.