Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

59 reviews

chronicacademia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am a wreck. I am devastated. I am almost 100% sure this is my new favorite book ever. I am currently lying on my floor in a puddle of my own tears trying to feel normal again. How am I supposed to move on when this book exists???? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Vomit, Body horror, Drug use, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Death, Abandonment, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Minor: Cancer

oliviah1111's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, Bullying, Cursing, Alcoholism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Death

gaiadances's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

this book wholeheartedly made me understand all of the insane hype and excitement around dark academia. i enjoyed the subtle thread of romance but i loved the female friendship that powered the whole story. there were some problematic aspects of the writing - all revolving around race and representation but my hopes weren’t very high for a white woman writing a POC character. however the mythology, world building and fantasy elements are so cleverly woven together. the secrecy of ivy leagues and their secret societies almost makes it completely plausible that they are hiding centuries of magic behind glorified boys clubs. the interpolation between white rich men getting away with crimes a young brown girl would have been destroyed for is amazing. i cannot wait to read the next book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Vomit, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Drug use, Rape, and Physical abuse

onemamareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Read my full review here: https://onemamassummer.weebly.com/book-reviews/ninth-house

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Violence, Drug abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death, Classism, Alcoholism, and Addiction

eschmidt365's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Murder, Misogyny, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Vomit, Death, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Classism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

laurenbb23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Gun violence, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Rape, Murder, Medical trauma, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Torture, Physical abuse, Self harm, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Sexual violence

christina95's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The overall story of the book is really interesting and written very well, but there are of few scenes - mainly the 12 year old Alex butterfly sequence which I felt was really not needed in the book and spoiled my enjoyment of the novel. I would highly suggest checking the trigger warning for the book, as there is plenty of them.

Putting that to the side the murder mystery story was really intriguing and the magic system (for lack of a better word) was really cool too! The jumping timeline was a little hard to grasp at first but helped keep the story moving. The twists and turns at the end of the novel gives the book a great ending and an eagerness to read the next in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Gore, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Medical trauma, Murder, and Torture

mattiedancer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Writing: 5⭐️/5 

The writing in this novel is stunning. Bardugo moves easily from highly controlled and crafted prose to snippy, sassy quips with ease. Part of the reason it took me a few hours longer to read than I would have guessed is because I spent so much time writing brilliant, eloquent quotes into my notes app. Absolutely stunning writing. 

Characters: 5⭐️/5

The characters felt real and fully developed. I enjoyed how much time was spent seeing characters from other character’s perspective, giving us insight into how each character presents themselves, as well as their internal bias and judgement they push onto others. Certain characters that, at the beginning felt fairly flat, were given time and space to showcase their personalities later, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also thoroughly enjoyed the way the female relationships were explored in this novel. The care in which these relationships were engaged made me very happy both as a reader and a woman.

Plot: 4.5⭐️/5 

**Spoilers below**

I took one issue with the plot, which was the employment of a rape scene. Personally, I felt this scene was unnecessary both to the development of our main character, as well as the progression of the plot. This particular scene didn’t really fit for me and could have been written in a different way to give the same effect. My main takeaway from the scene was that it mostly read as an easy way to give our MC “trauma,” which could have been done in a number of more interesting and less triggering ways.

Otherwise, the overarching plot was entirely enjoyable to read and kept me thoroughly engaged until the end. 

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Lovers of dark academia, fantasy and/or magical murder mystery novels
• Those who want an adult fantasy read with a spark of romance and little to no spice
• Readers wanting an engaging world and well-established magic system
• Someone looking for a strong fantasy read with strong female relationships 

Content Warnings? 

• Rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual content, gore, blood, vomit, medical trauma, death, abandonment, drug use, alcohol use, excrement, injury, pedophilia, 

Post-Reading Rating:  5⭐️/5

I was engaged until the final page. Excited for the sequel. 

Final Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Medical content, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Toxic friendship, Classism, and Stalking

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Death, Animal cruelty, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Blood, Murder, Medical trauma, Violence, Alcohol, Drug use, Body horror, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship

kiractivity's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

The main issue I had with this book was that it really jumped the gun at the beginning and didn't give solid reasoning for what was happening but once it was explained it was absolutely excellent

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Blood and Rape

Minor: Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, and Blood