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shewanella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Never before have I read a book that so utterly fails to live up to its spectacular beginning.
The first few chapters are excellent (and the only reason I’m giving this book any stars). Bardugo weaves the character’s personalities and worldviews and backgrounds into the action flawlessly while also setting up a number of compelling topical themes.
It’s all downhill from there.
To me this feels like a YA book made “adult” by throwing in a bunch of disturbing content in for shock value alone. At first, I tried to give Bardugo the benefit of the doubt, believing she’d be able to give us a reason for why things weren’t just graphic, but borderline (or maybe fully) pornographic. But no. She fails to explore anything on a deeper level, speaking about complex issues such as classism, racism, and sexism without doing any work to ever dip below the surface. In fact, her ability to swerve away from actually choosing a side and stating an opinion is almost impressive.
Still, I pressed on thinking “surely Bardugo will find a way to wrap this up in a somewhat satisfying way.”
No.
The last 15% is a slog and (spoilers) the who that dunnit turn out to be both the most boring who-you-expect and the most throwaway character.
The first few chapters are excellent (and the only reason I’m giving this book any stars). Bardugo weaves the character’s personalities and worldviews and backgrounds into the action flawlessly while also setting up a number of compelling topical themes.
It’s all downhill from there.
To me this feels like a YA book made “adult” by throwing in a bunch of disturbing content in for shock value alone. At first, I tried to give Bardugo the benefit of the doubt, believing she’d be able to give us a reason for why things weren’t just graphic, but borderline (or maybe fully) pornographic. But no. She fails to explore anything on a deeper level, speaking about complex issues such as classism, racism, and sexism without doing any work to ever dip below the surface. In fact, her ability to swerve away from actually choosing a side and stating an opinion is almost impressive.
Still, I pressed on thinking “surely Bardugo will find a way to wrap this up in a somewhat satisfying way.”
No.
The last 15% is a slog and (spoilers) the who that dunnit turn out to be both the most boring who-you-expect and the most throwaway character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Excrement
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Medical trauma, Murder, and Classism
megbar15's review against another edition
Graphic sexual violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, and Rape
boojangler's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Rape
frawst_disasta_reads's review against another edition
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
4.25
This book has everything I love: fully realized characters, dark moments, fantasy, and budding friendship. What it doesn’t have, which is refreshing, is romance. This is what A Discovery of Witches should have been, and could have been, if Matthew was a differently written character.
There are graphic scenes, though, and a couple descriptions left me feeling sick.
I couldn’t give it five stars, because I felt the prologue and first chapter didn’t draw me in, so much as confuse me. However, chapter two helped and I found after that, the timelines were fascinating, not just confusing.
There are graphic scenes, though, and a couple descriptions left me feeling sick.
I couldn’t give it five stars, because I felt the prologue and first chapter didn’t draw me in, so much as confuse me. However, chapter two helped and I found after that, the timelines were fascinating, not just confusing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse
moonlitmarauder's review against another edition
CSA
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
robles2yggdrasil's review against another edition
Alright, I didn't finish the book because I was uncomfortable with the sexual assault and rape that happened in the book. Given I only made it to Chapter 17 (pg. 266), I loved the story and the universe and everything with the occult was great. However, the visualization of the sexual trauma was too much for me.
I added a toned-down, but inclusive overview of what transpired.
I added a toned-down, but inclusive overview of what transpired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Excrement
Spoilers (Sexual Content and Rape): p. 122-123grisha's review against another edition
dark
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, and Drug abuse
brewdy_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 • 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘢 • 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭
𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 • 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 • 𝘋𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘖𝘝
I am so glad that Leigh Bardugo took the risk to do something 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 different, yet still epic fantasy - showcasing her incredible skill at creating complex worlds and magical systems, blurring the boundaries between fantasy and reality. The magic was deeply layered making it fun to learn about each secret society - all of which are actual real structures on Yale's campus! [side note: I have never wanted to go on a guided tour of New Haven until now.] The paranormal aspects were haunting, contributing to the overall dark academia vibes.
Ninth House is less accessible than her prior series like Shadow & Bone or Six of Crows (Grishaverse). Let me explain why: the first half of the book is spent world building, creating a fully immersive environment for the reader. There is a lot to take in between characters, their pseudonyms, dates & places, and timeline flashbacks, not to mention the houses themselves and what type of magic each uses. Then there is the main plot: an unsolved murder. I loved watching the case unfold alongside Galaxy "Alex" Stern, aka Dante.
But you get my point: a lot of readers want fast action & not have to do a lot of thinking. This is a much slower build, but if you are willing to wait for it, you will see the brilliance of the writer at the end. I loved Centurion, Darlington, Dawes, and North. Simply amazing.
This is truly a dark fantasy, lots of trigger warnings: Rape, Sexual Violence, Death, Murder, Classism, Violence, Gore, Drug Use, Drug Abuse, Misogyny, Addiction, Blood, Body Shaming, Toxic Relationship, Adult/Minor Relationship.
𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 • 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 • 𝘋𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘖𝘝
I am so glad that Leigh Bardugo took the risk to do something 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 different, yet still epic fantasy - showcasing her incredible skill at creating complex worlds and magical systems, blurring the boundaries between fantasy and reality. The magic was deeply layered making it fun to learn about each secret society - all of which are actual real structures on Yale's campus! [side note: I have never wanted to go on a guided tour of New Haven until now.] The paranormal aspects were haunting, contributing to the overall dark academia vibes.
Ninth House is less accessible than her prior series like Shadow & Bone or Six of Crows (Grishaverse). Let me explain why: the first half of the book is spent world building, creating a fully immersive environment for the reader. There is a lot to take in between characters, their pseudonyms, dates & places, and timeline flashbacks, not to mention the houses themselves and what type of magic each uses. Then there is the main plot: an unsolved murder. I loved watching the case unfold alongside Galaxy "Alex" Stern, aka Dante.
But you get my point: a lot of readers want fast action & not have to do a lot of thinking. This is a much slower build, but if you are willing to wait for it, you will see the brilliance of the writer at the end. I loved Centurion, Darlington, Dawes, and North. Simply amazing.
This is truly a dark fantasy, lots of trigger warnings: Rape, Sexual Violence, Death, Murder, Classism, Violence, Gore, Drug Use, Drug Abuse, Misogyny, Addiction, Blood, Body Shaming, Toxic Relationship, Adult/Minor Relationship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism
danidea_'s review against another edition
Not only were the first 100 pages (plus more) was confusing, dense and hard to get through the excessive, graphic and unnecessary SA sealed the deal for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault
trickz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Suicide
Minor: Child abuse, Self harm, Murder, and Abandonment