Reviews

Started this thinking I would like it—by Leigh Bardugo; I know the setting well. This is fucked up. If anyone is okay with the book depicting the things it does just to service a fictional plot, there's something wrong with you. DNFing

I'm reading about the trigger warning controversy, and it sounds like her publication team thinks that what separates books for younger audiences and books for older audiences is explicit sexual and violent content. This is incredibly stupid. While there are some things that might be more permissible in adult books and not appropriate in childrens's novels, that does not mean that all books with an "older than YA" categorization includes violence or sex.

(Also, the genre online was called "dark fantasy;" whoever created that label is completely incompetent; it implies that said books are fantasy books with a dark ambience. This book is horror. It doesn't matter if there's a significant fantasy plot, if a book contains the elements this one does, even only a few, it is horror.)

The reason why other authors who write content that includes horror elements don't get criticized for not including content warnings is because those books cater to male audiences. Leigh Bardugo has a wider audience that she brought with her to Ninth House, so there are different people critiquing her book than there are Stephen King's. If this reveals that there is a lot of misogyny within the conventions of the drama, the correct response is not to try to face as little criticism for it as men do.

mxcoyote's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

gnetsrik's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

fullybooked22's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I loved Alex as a protagonist, she was wonderfully refreshing. Not a good person per se but not someone who wants to be bad -- perfectly morally grey

also randomly I like that she seemed to eat like a normal person? idk it bothers me so much in books when eating is only ever commented on in relation to weight (she ate so much but is somehow still "skinny" -- or the gilmore-girls-phenomenon) or "not being able to eat" like, come on

. The intricacies regarding the magic system + Yale societies was very well done I found it really interesting. It felt very well developed and although I got occasionally a little lost I always made my way back and enjoyed the process. It definitely fits the perfect dark academia vibe but I also liked the contrast of Darlington as a genuinely good person but equally absorbed into the world of academia
Dawes is SUCH a wholesome character, I love her and relate so much to her "give-you-food-and-drink" as a love language

I think the ending fell a little flat for me because I wanted to see more of Darlington before the end + hadn't realised it was a series -- kindof scared about this because Shadow and Bone dealt with major second-book syndrome and I really liked this book so I hope Bardugo manages to maintain her plot/writing this time the whole way through the series like in Six of Crows

I enjoyed the slow reveal of Darlington + Alex's backgrounds + use of the seasonal timeframes, I think it could have deadened the pacing but the plots in both timeframes were compelling so this was avoided which was nice
Would love an expansion on Mercy (hopefully this will happen in the later books) because I feel like she could have been fleshed out a little more + was definitely a character that caught my interest