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grace_b_3's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I loved Gideon the Ninth. Harrow the Ninth was a more challenging read, where I didn’t like it that much, but the ending redeemed it for me. When it comes to Nona the Ninth, it was a more even reading experience than Harrow, but never reached the heights of Gideon.
I do really like Nona as a character, though.
I do really like Nona as a character, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
sagetheginger's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Knowing this was intended to be the first act of Alecto the Ninth, I wish it had srayed that way instead of stretching into its own book. I just wasn't as attached to these characters as Gideon (who doesn't show up for 3 quarters of the book) and Harrow (who is less of a conscious character than a vessel for a lore dump). I didn't like Nona as a prptagonist, and her childishness quickly became grating to me. I didn't care about her little "gang" of children friends either. There were also several plot points, like the Angel and Noode, that never got fully fleshed out, I assume because they were intended to be fully utilized in the later acts of Alecto, but they didn't work well with Nona as its own book. Overall, I was really just trudging through hoping things would make sense, and I felt like I was reading a side quest while waiting for the main story to pick back up.
katiejaneisreading's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
slow-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
4.5
shakita45's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
The only thing that saves this book from being a 2 is the scattered passages from John's point-of-view that detail the apocalypse that he wrought.
This book was much, much weaker than Gideon and Harrow, and feels like a necessary stepping stone to get us to the next part of the book. The change of tone was incredibly jarring, and suddenly finding ourselves so far away from the plot and characters we've been following for the past two books felt incredibly jarring. I remember feeling downright impatient at times, because I couldn't see why any of this stuff mattered, or what the characters were even trying to accomplish. At the end.....I still mostly feel that way.
The ACTUAL plot of Nona is conveying Harrow and Gideon back to the locked tomb on the Ninth, but I feel like this was just about the most convoluted and least rewarding way we could have managed to do this. I think that this was also maybe supposed to introduce us to Alecto? But I don't think it did that in any sort of meaningful way, since it wasn't ACTUALLY her. The fact that I feel so certain of what happened in Gideon and Harrow but still feel kind of uncertain and ambivalent about Nona speaks leagues.
I also don't think that Nona was the best lens through which to follow Camilla/Palamedes and Pyrrha, because she was so often either not with them, or in another room, or not paying attention, and it was SO FRUSTRATING. I went through and tabbed the passages about John and Harrow so I could just re-read those whenever I inevitably return to the series for a refresher before Alecto comes out, without having to re-read the entire book, as it just honestly felt like a waste of my time.
Okay I've talked myself into giving this just a 2.75, I genuinely didn't enjoy it, and the passages I DID enjoy are not sufficient to bump the score up to a full three.
This book was much, much weaker than Gideon and Harrow, and feels like a necessary stepping stone to get us to the next part of the book. The change of tone was incredibly jarring, and suddenly finding ourselves so far away from the plot and characters we've been following for the past two books felt incredibly jarring. I remember feeling downright impatient at times, because I couldn't see why any of this stuff mattered, or what the characters were even trying to accomplish. At the end.....I still mostly feel that way.
I also don't think that Nona was the best lens through which to follow Camilla/Palamedes and Pyrrha, because she was so often either not with them, or in another room, or not paying attention, and it was SO FRUSTRATING. I went through and tabbed the passages about John and Harrow so I could just re-read those whenever I inevitably return to the series for a refresher before Alecto comes out, without having to re-read the entire book, as it just honestly felt like a waste of my time.
Okay I've talked myself into giving this just a 2.75, I genuinely didn't enjoy it, and the passages I DID enjoy are not sufficient to bump the score up to a full three.
cynthia_nobear's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The plot was hard to follow and the amount of characters is overwhelming at times.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Blood
fulper's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
sswimeley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
5.0
ethias's review against another edition
2.0
I will start by saying that this is my least favorite book of the series thus far by quite a large margin. My favorite is honestly Harrow, followed closely by Gideon and then far and away is Nona. I’d say I definitely had high expectations going into this book after the first two and it did not meet them even a little.
I enjoyed the last ~50 pages quite a lot, but I slogged through the rest and I honestly don’t feel it was worth it. In Harrow, I struggled significantly but when I finished the book it rewrote itself in my mind and everything almost exploded and it made me love the rest of the book. I kept hoping this would happen here but it just honestly didn’t. By the end I found myself feeling like a good 200+ pages were kind of nothing and didn’t mean anything. There were small moments throughout the book that were very good and meaningful and emotional and impactful, but on a whole I was just rather bored, which is not what I expected to get out of this book.
Honestly I think a large part of the problem was that I simply did not like Nona as a POV. I think she would have been more interesting as a non-POV character if I’m being honest. She never seems to be actively involved in things, she just has things happen to her and she barely even responds to them. It’s hard to be invested in what’s happening when it fees like the POV character is not invested.
I am hoping Alecto will bring back the energy and excitement I have for this series. Nona wasn’t terrible, but I also wouldn’t say I think it was good. The rating is largely due to the very good small moments throughout and the killer ending section that I enjoyed a lot, I think it would have been a 4 if the first part wasn’t so damn long.
I enjoyed the last ~50 pages quite a lot, but I slogged through the rest and I honestly don’t feel it was worth it. In Harrow, I struggled significantly but when I finished the book it rewrote itself in my mind and everything almost exploded and it made me love the rest of the book. I kept hoping this would happen here but it just honestly didn’t. By the end I found myself feeling like a good 200+ pages were kind of nothing and didn’t mean anything. There were small moments throughout the book that were very good and meaningful and emotional and impactful, but on a whole I was just rather bored, which is not what I expected to get out of this book.
Honestly I think a large part of the problem was that I simply did not like Nona as a POV. I think she would have been more interesting as a non-POV character if I’m being honest. She never seems to be actively involved in things, she just has things happen to her and she barely even responds to them. It’s hard to be invested in what’s happening when it fees like the POV character is not invested.
I am hoping Alecto will bring back the energy and excitement I have for this series. Nona wasn’t terrible, but I also wouldn’t say I think it was good. The rating is largely due to the very good small moments throughout and the killer ending section that I enjoyed a lot, I think it would have been a 4 if the first part wasn’t so damn long.
smothermewithscifi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0