Reviews with content warning for Death - Harrow the Ninth

While "Gideon" was a fun and funny genre experiment, a sci-fi haunted house murder mystery, "Harrow" takes that basic setting and tweaks pretty much everything about it. It operates, at least at first, as a fun-house mirror version of "Gideon", where everything seems similar but just different enough to make you wonder what's going on. It plays with memory a lot, both for the characters and for you as a reader. And in those experiments, it shows just how strong of a writer Muir really is. I'm looking forward to Book 3.

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lovelyinnature's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

Okay so this was a whole lot slower to get into then Gideon but god by the end I loved it so. I was so attached to so many characters and just the twists were so interesting. The writing was so fascinating. Tamsyn completely changed the prose bc its now in Harrow's pov and wow is it intense. Christ this did in fact reinforce I hate Ianthe tho and Harrow my Tragic beloved I love you so. I'm so not normal about Augustine and Mercymorn ahhhhh. God (god) John sucks so fucking much. Anyway time to be insane about them once again!

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bdingz's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Jail for Tamsyn Muir for one thousand years.

I found myself missing the dynamic between Gideon and Harrow for most of the book. The wild ride that was the final act made it worth it, but still, it lacked some of the (how to put it?) macabre joy I loved about the first in the series. I am also not completely sure who is alive or dead, but y’know, minor details…

Despite everything, I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

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trips's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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

Harrow the Ninth is a confusing but heavily entertaining continuation in the Locked Tomb Series. I feel like I can't say a ton about this that won't just be a spoiler.
But what I will say is -
it made me laugh, it made me feel incredibly emotional towards these characters we as the reader has come to know, and it made me want to jump into the third book in the series immediately.

I also think Muir is one of those authors that understands how to write an unreliable narrator without being so unreliable you can't even tell what's happening in the story. Truths are exposed by the end that provides some logic if you couldn't figure it out before then as well! So, in any case, lovely book, great time, even if Ianthe totally gaslight gatekeep girlbosses in that one moment and it made me really angry, lol.

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tbd24's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.75

god i love middle books

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shelbymarie314's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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