Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

173 reviews

llsugarspicell's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content and Gaslighting

Minor: Racism

jodi_xo's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

3.5 starts cause it’s super slow until about chapter 18 but super good book overall

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Alcohol

katymat18's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

I’ve read this twice now and I love it even more than I did on the first read. The dark academia of my dreams! I’m a golden boy of Lethe Stan and a Galaxy Stern supporter because I support strong independent woman and more importantly I support woman’s wrongs! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

mybookishlife2's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.0

Ninth House... what can I say? It was one heck of a ride.
*TW: rape/molestation of a minor (chapter 7), murder, death of a loved one*

I jumped into this book without really knowing much about what it was. I cannot tell you if this was the right thing or not, to be honest. I saw this in my little free library next to my house and remembered how much my friend talked about it. I can see now why it's a "fall" book as this is a very dark book.

I did not expect to be completed and utterly confused from the prologue. Which now that I've completed the book and understand it was wonderfully executed. It was top-notch.

In every aspect I can think of, Bardugo wrote this book very eloquently.

I enjoyed the characters enough. My liking for them also grew more throughout the book.
This book is written at a very slow pace and with a lot of detail. The characters backgrounds were delved deeply along side the world building.

All the relationships Alex has in this book I quite enjoy.
Even Turner that he's like nah, this should not be real. But then sees it for himself and is like, you're still crazy but let's go with it. LOL.
 

I am also questioning Darlington's and her relationship as it seemed there were some blurred lines.

Darlington is a spoiled whiny little snotty snitch that has no money but he is pretty decent. This being said, I really enjoyed reading his perspective.

Darlington and I were very shocked for Alex's moments where she forgave easily.
Also, seeing Alex's past and seeing why she felt a certain way about things, I liked.

Now, I cannot say I loved this book. It is a far cry from books I typically read, which is not bad; this has a certain pull. There were times where I felt it was a little long and there was so much detail in this that I felt like I had to sit and dissect and I was not for it at the moment. While I was going through the book, I did have to remind myself that everything that was written was necessary and it truly was but it was a large pill to swallow. Once I decided I would be empty headed and got the audiobook, I finished in 2 days. While I wasn't enthralled, I definitely did want to see how it finished.

OMG BUT THAT TWIST. Seeing Alex's powers, that was perfection. I hope this is not the end to her powers but it's going to take a lot for me to read the sequel.

Overall, I am neutral about this book. It has a pull and a great storyline, we see Alex grow as a person (now how much she's reigning herself in, we'll only find out later), but I loved her growth, her past while horrific, has shaped her to be a really good character, but it also makes me skeptical for the fact that, I feel like she could easily be one of those characters that risks it and would do anything to keep what she has. It was also so detailed that I felt it was a tad tedious. In the end though, things really go from 0-100.

I always think you should form your own opinions, so if you are interested in this book go for it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

serracha's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

This book is so good. Leigh does an incredible job of putting us in Alex's thoughts, and her experiences, and throughout the book, her trying to solve a murder. There's also plenty of magic, and some quality friendships as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content and Toxic relationship

balter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

Almost a perfect book, I was thoroughly entertained and enjoyed every minute. I did keep waiting for the author to give credit to north american Native populations for the magic in the story, but there was no mention of them. Very good otherwise. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body horror and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol

katreadswaytoomuch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

What is the line between paranormal and fantasy? I have no idea, but this book has decided to jump rope with that line 😅. Don’t get me wrong. That’s not a bad thing. You might think that the inclusion of multiple mythos would be confusing, but Bardugo does it in a clean and elegant way.

I’ll be honest. I had no idea what this book was really about. Huge case of “bookstagram made me read it.” I’m so glad I did. The plot was fast paced and easy to get into. I think the non-linear plot-line really helps with the flow and establishing context in an efficient yet engaging way. Idk what it is, but I love me a good non-linear plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

brigiddolan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

oktuber's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot, and how the conflict was deeply woven into the setting. I have only two complaints. One, it was a bit hard to get into the book at the beginning because it starts directly in media res: Alex is already mostly through the semester in which the plot develops, and we're slowly told the backstory through flashbacks integrated with the rest of the story. The amount of characters and world building at the beginning was hard to push through, but once I did, these aspects made the book more enjoyable. My other main complaint is that the big reveal seemed out of nowhere: it contained information that the reader could have never figured out beforehand,

as Professor Belbam seemed to come out of left field. She was there at the beginning, but then seemed to be so absent through the story, that I was genuinely surprised when she was there at the end. I wish that she and Alex had more interactions leading up to the reveal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Gun violence, and Excrement

Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Gaslighting

imgayforspace's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, and Excrement