Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

316 reviews

hnicole01's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism

lizzymorang's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

It's a slightly slow start, but if you stick with it it's an incredible read. Masterfully written, so many plot twists, and it manages to feel real and relevant even though it's fantasy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Racism

prairieraven's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

fox_thorne's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Vomit, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content

justineaxelle's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I don’t know if it’s the slump I’m in or if it’s the book that put me in the slump, but I STRUGGLED with Ninth House. 

First of all, that book needs a trigger warning list! I was wholly unprepared for some scenes and it didn’t sit well with me. 
Secondly, the first 60% of the book was boring and the alternating chapters on different timelines were really confusing to start with and gave the book a weird pace. Then it got really interesting but it also gave me whiplash with the number of plot twists Leigh threw in there.
Finally, I only liked Alex in that second half of the book. I wished we’d had more actual interactions with Darlington because otherwise it felt like a pretty lonely book. I enjoyed the begrudging alliance/friendship between Turner, Dawes and Alex but that’s a flimsy cast of main characters. I needed more character interactions/development and less confusing storyline. I was too focused on trying to understand what was happening and did not get attached to the characters because of that.
However, those last few chapters were intriguing enough to make me want to read Hell Bent.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder

dododenise's review

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

3.0

This book leaves me conflicted about how to feel about it. There are fantastic ideas, character elements and world building in this. However, I was never hooked. Something about the way this story was written left me feel detached from it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

kgc8's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

While I was reading the book I wasn't sure how I felt, but when I finished I couldn't stop thinking about the world Leigh Bardugo had built and I desperately wanted the next book to come out immediately! The world is immersive and how she integrated the magic with Yale's societies was so fascinating. The beginning of the book is a little confusing as you are dumped very suddenly into a magical ritual (and it's a rather gory one too...) but the time-jumps device worked for me as we unravel what's happening. Alex is a great character - everyone has low expectations of her and she's often forced to choose between crappy options, but she still outsmarts everyone. I loved this book, but if you are squeamish about dead bodies, ghosts, or drug use, this book might not be for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Addiction and Animal death

peaceloveandmeow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

thenoodlevore's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I think the book tackled some difficult issues well and I could identify with some of the complex feelings of the characters. I appreciated the honesty in it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Colonisation

estefizaga's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

If I could, I would give this book more that 5 stars 😩🤌🙌🏻🖤

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail