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etecho's review against another edition
5.0
Just as good as the first time around, and really enjoyed the narrators. Next up: trying to finish Hell Bent before leaving town next Tuesday.
vallentiinaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lunaria_raven's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tprsjr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mollymoll44's review against another edition
4.0
Trigger Warning: Ninth House has a fair amount of sexual assault. It’s not glorified at all, but it is pretty graphic at times. The plot and character development are pretty wrapped into it. It wasn’t bad, but very startling coming from Leigh Bardugo’s ‘Shadow and Bone’ and ‘Six of Crows’ series. It has thought and intention behind it from her and her peers experiences, especially within a institution. But parts were very tough to read.
Overall I really enjoyed the dark academia investigation, but was a bit disappointed by the conclusion. The author attended Yale and it's all based off of real secret societies there, minus the magic and ghosts (maybe), which is pretty neat. It makes me want to explore around Yale and visit these giant tombs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, and Suicide
mitchbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-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
emilyb_chicago's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the end of this book, which got quite propulsive in the last third and became unputdownable. The passion of college and youth came through the pages even though this is definitely an adult level of darkness. It’s a very complicated story, intricately created and nicely tied up at the end. The dual timeline between two character viewpoints was a lovely way of giving us flashbacks without getting confused about the close timelines.
Stage setting is important, but the beginning of the book is dark, heavy and slow (reminiscent of the whole of Gideon the Ninth) and the prolong was so dripping with foreshadowing that it turned me off. It felt long and long winded until the story caught me almost half way through (but I tend to want my stories quite tight).
While I absolutely recommend this narrator on audiobook I would have liked to have it in print as well to see the pre-chapter excerpts and be able to page back through them easily. It was hard to catch all the bits of story hints from those in the audio (which has them before the chapter breaks). However, if you have to choose only one then choose audio because it has an interview between the author and the narrator that is fantastic.
Stage setting is important, but the beginning of the book is dark, heavy and slow (reminiscent of the whole of Gideon the Ninth) and the prolong was so dripping with foreshadowing that it turned me off. It felt long and long winded until the story caught me almost half way through (but I tend to want my stories quite tight).
While I absolutely recommend this narrator on audiobook I would have liked to have it in print as well to see the pre-chapter excerpts and be able to page back through them easily. It was hard to catch all the bits of story hints from those in the audio (which has them before the chapter breaks). However, if you have to choose only one then choose audio because it has an interview between the author and the narrator that is fantastic.
miagoth's review against another edition
HOLY SHITTTTTT THE WAY EVERYTHING TIED UP AT THE END WAS FUCKING INSANE I CAN'T WAIT TO READ THE SEQUEL
i'll admit it took me several tries to get into this, partially because it has a really weak start (+ did not like the way the societies and their histories were introduced, it did sound a bit snobbish but i get maybe that was the entire point. howeverrrr I found myself getting more and more invested in the book as the story progressed and I was at the edge of my seat by the second half and that ending??!! the way it connected everything in the end (+ esp with the subtle foreshadowing twas genius)
the only thing I found too corny was the similarity in the names darlington and the darkling but who am I to complain? it feels good to read some well crafted fantasy after so long (and i was secretly delighted that it didnt turn out to be another one of those generic 'dark academia' books) can't wait for daniel arlington to return !!
i'll admit it took me several tries to get into this, partially because it has a really weak start (+ did not like the way the societies and their histories were introduced, it did sound a bit snobbish but i get maybe that was the entire point. howeverrrr I found myself getting more and more invested in the book as the story progressed and I was at the edge of my seat by the second half and that ending??!! the way it connected everything in the end (+ esp with the subtle foreshadowing twas genius)
the only thing I found too corny was the similarity in the names darlington and the darkling but who am I to complain? it feels good to read some well crafted fantasy after so long (and i was secretly delighted that it didnt turn out to be another one of those generic 'dark academia' books) can't wait for daniel arlington to return !!