8 good books to read if you like Shadow and Bone

Can you hear that noise? It’s me screaming about Shadow and Bone on Netflix. Seeing some of my favorite characters come to life is an absolute dream.

But if you’ve watched the show and don’t know what to do with yourself until season 2, there are a bunch of books that are either similar in storyline or have similar vibes. They can keep you (and me) occupied until season 2 honors us with its presence, likely sometime in 2022.

Let’s talk about eight books you’ll love if you like Shadow and Bone.

Books like Shadow and Bone

1. The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

If you’re on book Twitter, you’ve seen this book compared to Six of Crows (one of the books adapted in Shadow and Bone) one bajillion times. Are they similar? Sort of. They both have heists and a group of people with a particular set of skills, but beyond that, these are very different stories. If I was giving my opinion, I’d say The Gilded Wolves is better but that’s up to you.

The Gilded Wolves is about a hotel owner, his plant-loving brother, a dancer, a historian, and an engineer coming together to steal something that will change their lives forever. But…they have to make it out alive first.

This is set in Paris (with magic) so the aesthetic, as well as the cast of characters, is different than Six of Crows, but if you like Kaz, Inej, and Jesper’s parts in Shadow and Bone, you’ll probably love this book.

BUY IT NOW: The Gilded Wolves

The third (and final) book in the series, The Bronzed Beasts, comes out on Sept. 21, 2021.

2. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me features of female protagonist that has special powers in a world that’s crumbling. Sound familiar? But that’s where the similarities between Shadow and Bone and the Shatter Me series end.

The series follows Juliette, a girl whose touch is fatal. With The Reestablishment not entirely sure what to do with her and her power, they throw her in a cell.

But when war is in their midst, they decide that maybe she does have a use after all. But will she be their weapon? Or will she be something else entirely? What Juliette decides will ultimately be her fate.

BUY IT NOW: Shatter Me

3. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes also takes place in a brutal world featuring soldiers with tyrannical leaders and a girl and a boy trying to be free from the confines of their world, but that’s where the similarities between these two stories end.

An Ember in the Ashes follows Laia and Elias. Laia is a slave whose brother is arrested for treason and who decides to become a spy in the Empire so the rebels will rescue her brother. Elias is an unwilling soldier who is just trying to be free from the Empire. Together, they might just change the world entirely.

There are four books in the series.

BUY IT NOW: An Ember in the Ashes

5. Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Ace of Shades is quite different than Shadow and Bone, but the one thing they do have in common is the “city of corruption” setting. Shadow and Bone has Ketterdam and Ace of Shades has New Reynes. Ace of Shades also has Levi Glaisyer, con-man, street lord extraordinaire, where Shadow and Bone has Kaz Brekker.

Other than the cities of casinos, brothels, and corruption and street lords and con men, Ace of Shades is definitely its own story and one you should definitely check out. It follows Enne, a young lady who was brought up to be everything that is proper.

But when her mother goes missing, she’s willing to risk it all in New Reynes to find out what happened to her.

BUY IT NOW: Ace of Shades

6. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

The only thing Legendborn and Shadow and Bone have in common is the “chosen one” trope, but I still think those who like Shadow and Bone will love Legendborn. It’s an extraordinary retelling of the King Arthur legend, and I pray it gets turned into a TV show or movie. To see all the magic on screen would be amazing.

Lengendborn follows Bree Matthews as she heads to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill for a residential program for bright high school kids.

What she doesn’t expect is to find herself with magic powers and included in a society of people who are trying to stop demons from coming into our world. And they’re all waiting for Arthur to awaken in one of their members so they can fight in a war that’s just around the corner.

I need y’all to read this so it becomes as popular as Shadow and Bone.

BUY IT NOW: Legendborn

7. Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Furyborn is all about doing whatever it takes to find and save the ones you love. Rielle exposes who she is to save her best friend and Eliana, along with a rebel captain, is willing to go up against the evils of the Undying Empire to find her mother.

With the way Alina and Mal are willing to do anything for each other and Kaz, Inej, and Jesper will fight to the death for one another, these two books definitely have similar messages if not similar stories.

If you’re looking to escape into another fantasy world that can be just as brutal as Shadow and Bone, Furyborn is definitely a book for you.

I also happen to be a huge Claire Legrand fan so I need more people to read her books!

BUY IT NOW: Furyborn

8. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

If you were all about Ketterdam, the warring gangs, and Kaz’s plan for revenge on Pekka Rollins, you NEED to read These Violent Delights. I just listened to the audiobook, and my mind practically exploded with how good it is.

It’s marketed as a Romeo and Juliet retelling and it’s definitely that, but it’s also so much more. It takes place in 1920s Shanghai and there’s a blood feud between the two major gangs: The White Flowers and The Scarlet Gang.

Juliette Cai is the daughter of the leader of The Scarlet Gang, and Roma Montagov is the son of the leader of The White Flowers. They used to be in love, but now they despise each other. But that doesn’t mean they won’t work together to figure out what is making people claw their own throats out. Just… READ THIS.

BUY IT NOW: These Violent Delights

What are you currently reading? Let us know in the comments below!

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