★★★★★ Story about a witch and a monster who steals children

The Witch of Duva

Leigh Bardugo

You can buy The Witch of Duva for kindle on Amazon, or read it free on Tor's website. It is the first story in Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse. (The Witch of Duva and Shadow and Bone were both published 5-Jun-2012, but the story The Witch of Duva is followed in its book by an excerpt from Shadow and Bone, which means, I think, that The Witch of Duva comes first. OK, debatable...) At 25 pages it's a long short story. It is only loosely connected to the Grishaverse -- there is no mention of Ravka within the story itself, although on the tor website it is identified as "A Ravkan Folk Tale. The word "Grisha" appears only once, in a mention of "Grisha steel".

It is, as the title tells you, about a witch. And as the publisher's blurb tells you, it is about girls mysteriously going missing. By the end of the book you have met the witch, and you have learned why girls are going missing. It's a surprising ending (at least it surprised me), and a very good story.

I think that's all I want to tell you. If you like Bardugo's Grishaverse, you should certainly read it.

Amazon review

Goodreads review

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