Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

316 reviews

emwgrace's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

Ninth House, while far from a perfect book, gave me a reading experience that most closely resembles the way I would devour books when I was younger and still falling in love with reading, and to me, that is a far better gift than unattainable perfection. I bought this book at my local Barnes & Noble and dove into it as soon as I got home like I used to so many years ago, before online book culture restructured my relationship with reading and made the feeling of acquiring new books almost as satisfying as finishing a good one. 

I picked this up right after its sequel Hell Bent released, as I was feeling seriously left out while everyone on my Twitter timeline was reading it. While the magic system Bardugo creates isn’t without flaw, and while there are many criticisms of heavier topics this novel attempts to tackle that I respect, this world and its characters have stuck in my brain like no other book has in a long time.

The thing is, I can totally see why some people wouldn’t like this book. It does take a bit of effort to get into the groove of things. There are plenty of long descriptions of New Haven and Yale. We are given a lot of details about the different societies that are difficult to remember and keep straight for the first two hundred pages or so. One of the most loved characters—in a novel that sets out to critique the way in which class and race interact with the accessibility to education (and in this case, magic)—is a rich white guy (Darlington, my beloved.) There are graphic depictions of assault that were tough to read. But for me, reading this book was very much like discovering magic was for Darlington and Alex. It felt like one of the world's secrets was being revealed to me. There were parts that filled me with wonder, like the sentient Il Bastone that decides who it will open its doors to, moths that soak up the ink of tattoos and make them vanish, and an elixir that allows you to see the dead. There were some parts that, like the magic in this story, were very flawed and at times downright ugly. To see and acknowledge the shortcomings of something but to love it anyway—that is how I feel about this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Blood, and Excrement

Minor: Sexual content, Medical content, and Classism

ktv's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I loved this book. Perfect first read of the year. I loved the timeline being nonlinear. Foreshadowing was predictable at some parts in the beginning but at the end (last 25%) I had no idea what I was going to be hit with next.

Loved how the wheel symbolism came back fill circle. Also how Bardugo characterized Belbalm like I thought she had something to do with magic at first but then my scent was thrown off that trail because of how convincing the writing was saying that Alex just wanted a normal and calm life.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Slavery, Excrement, and Antisemitism

aklovekorn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

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

thepeonyinink's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body horror

surefinewhatever_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

4.5

I don’t know what it is about Leigh’s writing but I have an incredibly hard time putting her books down. Can’t wait to read the next one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug use, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

ktkeps's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

jasminn_perez's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense 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? No

3.0

the pacing of this book was incredibly slow and the first hundred pages were so fucking boring. I don't know shit about Yale and there was so much Yale history tied into the story that I thought was so confusing. I didn't know this was going to be a murder mystery until it was a murder mystery lmao. I rlly hate murder mysteries and I feel like this one had no interesting parts about it other than that it had to do with magic. also every single problem that Alex had was just solved by magic that was so convenient. I liked the magic it was really fun but it maybe should have had some limitations? buuuut I think that the way that magic was used was very realistic. like I can see people misusing the magical drugs. I loved Alex sm I have the biggest crush on her. like she was so funny I loved her lil witty one liners. I liked darlington too but I wasn't too attached to him tbh. I LOVE DAWES SM. I love her. the way that her and Alex' s relationship developed was so cute n I love them. I was so frustrated I wanted darlington and Alex to get together so bad. I literally made that its own tab category bc I wanted it so bad. I literally might only read the second one for the romance of it bc I have never needed anything more. bardugo was teasing me too I know she was. there were way too many side characters that I don't remember half the names of. I also didnt really understand the houses and I don't really think that's on my stupidity. there were so many and I was supposed to remember what they did and who was in them?? miss Leigh expects too much of me. something that I found so weird was mercy and what she went through. something very serious and traumatizing happened to her for what ? it seemed like that only happened to move the case along. the fact that by the end of the book she was just so willing to go to a party again and push everything under the rug was unrealistic and represents sexual assault experiences horribly. it felt like the only reason why she was written was to be sexually assaulted. I'm not even gonna talk act the weird slightly racist comments I just don't want to. last thing i will say is that the way that alex and darlingtons titles of dante and virgil tie so beautifully into the story and its genius and i think its gonna b even better in the second one. I think I'm just so in the middle with this book. I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it either.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use

bibliorama's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

Enjoyment - 5
Really well written and knows what vibes it wants to go for. Ghost story + murder mystery + secret societies = my cup of tea. Oh, and all on the Yale campus during winter - another plus. 
Start - 5
Character - 5
Everyone was consistent and made choices that went hand-in-hand with their traits and beliefs. 
Atmosphere - 5
Plot - 4.5
Ending - 4
Style - 5
This book must have taken a hell of a lot of research and work. I think it paid off. 

Overall - 4.8 (basically a 5)
I'll write more of a review when I get around to it. Will definitely pick up the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Listen, this is an adult book that is dealing with adult topics that can get dark. It deals a lot with who is in power, who has control, and what it's like to be at the bottom of the power system. That leads to some dark stuff. I found the topics to be well handled and make sense within the themes and conversations that the book is having. However, I would recommend you take to heart the content warnings for sexual violence in particular if that is something you would like to not read. I can't say this is the book for escapism if that's what you need right now.

laurataylor's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail