Best Leigh Bardugo Audiobooks

The best Leigh Bardugo audiobooks — 7 titles ranked by listening experience across Fantasy, averaging 4.31 ABR stars.

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Leigh Bardugo built her reputation on morally complicated heist crews and the kind of dark, glittering prose that makes grimdark feel glamorous. Six of Crows and its sequel Crooked Kingdom are her masterwork — a tightly plotted caper set in a Venice-meets-Amsterdam underworld, populated by thieves and con artists you'll root for despite yourself. Her Grishaverse, introduced in Shadow and Bone, established a Russia-inspired fantasy world rich enough to sustain years of expansion. With Ninth House she pivoted to Yale's secret societies and adult horror-adjacent territory, proving her range extends well beyond YA. Bardugo writes with sharp wit, precise pacing, and an instinct for ensemble dynamics — her casts bounce off each other with the crackle of a great heist film. Readers who love character-driven fantasy with bite and atmosphere will find her essential.

Leigh Bardugo's highest-rated audiobook in our collection is Crooked Kingdom, narrated by Roger Clark, Jay Snyder, Elizabeth Evans, Fred Berman, Brandon Rubin, Kevin T. Collins, Lauren Fortgang, Peter Ganim (4.68 ABR stars). Performed by narrators including Roger Clark, Jay Snyder, Elizabeth Evans, Fred Berman, Brandon Rubin, Kevin T. Collins, Lauren Fortgang, Peter Ganim, Jay Snyder, Brandon Rubin, Fred Berman, Lauren Fortgang, Roger Clark, Elizabeth Evans, Tristan Morris, Lauren Fortgang, and more. Rankings here weight the listening experience — narrator performance and Audible ratings factor alongside reader scores.

Where to Start with Leigh Bardugo

  1. 1
    Crooked Kingdom cover

    Crooked Kingdom

    Six of Crows • Book 2

    by Leigh Bardugo

    Narrated by Roger Clark, Jay Snyder, Elizabeth Evans, Fred Berman, Brandon Rubin, Kevin T. Collins, Lauren Fortgang, Peter Ganim

    4.68 ABR Score (797.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.57 Goodreads (779.9K) ★ 4.73 Audible (18.0K)
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    Kaz and his Dregs crew fight for survival in Ketterdam after their Ice Court heist goes sideways. The full ensemble cast returns to handle this action-packed conclusion to the Six of Crows duology.

  2. 2
    Six of Crows cover

    Six of Crows

    Six of Crows • Book 1

    by Leigh Bardugo

    Narrated by Jay Snyder, Brandon Rubin, Fred Berman, Lauren Fortgang, Roger Clark, Elizabeth Evans, Tristan Morris

    4.50 ABR Score (1.2M ratings)
    ★ 4.46 Goodreads (1.2M) ★ 4.55 Audible (22.8K)
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    Criminal mastermind Kaz Brekker assembles a crew for an impossible heist in this fantasy Ocean's Eleven, brought to life by a full cast capturing each character's distinct voice.

  3. 3
    Ruin and Rising cover

    Ruin and Rising

    Shadow and Bone • Book 3

    by Leigh Bardugo

    Narrated by Lauren Fortgang

    4.28 ABR Score (607.8K ratings)
    ★ 3.97 Goodreads (595.9K) ★ 4.58 Audible (11.9K)
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    Alina's powers are broken, the Darkling rules from his shadow throne, and Ravka's hope rests with religious zealots in underground tunnels. This trilogy conclusion burns through every fantasy trope with earned emotion.

  4. 4
    Shadow and Bone cover

    Shadow and Bone

    Shadow and Bone • Book 1

    by Leigh Bardugo

    Narrated by Lauren Fortgang

    4.12 ABR Score (1.1M ratings)
    ★ 3.91 Goodreads (1.1M) ★ 4.39 Audible (15.2K)
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    Orphan mapmaker Alina discovers she can summon light itself when her regiment crosses a monster-filled shadow wasteland dividing her war-torn country.

  5. 5
    Ninth House cover

    Ninth House

    Alex Stern • Book 1

    by Leigh Bardugo

    Narrated by Lauren Fortgang, Michael David Axtell

    4.15 ABR Score (413.3K ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (407.3K) ★ 4.45 Audible (6.0K)
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    Yale's secret societies practice actual occult rituals, and Alex Stern monitors them after surviving a multiple homicide. Lauren Fortgang captures Alex's gritty voice perfectly while Michael David Axtell handles the male perspectives with menacing precision.

  6. 6
    Hell Bent cover

    Hell Bent

    Alex Stern • Book 2

    by Leigh Bardugo

    Narrated by Lauren Fortgang, Michael David Axtell

    4.30 ABR Score (187.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (183.8K) ★ 4.64 Audible (3.6K)
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    Galaxy Stern attempts to break her mentor out of hell using Yale's occult societies and forbidden magic. Lauren Fortgang returns to capture Alex's gritty determination in this darker sequel to Ninth House.

  7. 7
    Demon in the Wood cover

    Demon in the Wood

    Grishaverse

    by Leigh Bardugo, Dani Pendergast

    Narrated by Ben Barnes, Benjamin Valic, Cassandra Morris, Eason Rytter, James Fouhey, Mary McCartney, Matt Leisy, Salli Saffioti, Sean Gormley, Tom Bromhead

    4.12 ABR Score (52.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.09 Goodreads (51.7K) ★ 4.57 Audible (362)
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    Young Eryk's dangerous life on the run comes alive through an exceptional ensemble cast led by Ben Barnes, bringing depth to this brief but crucial Grishaverse prequel.

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →