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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Violence
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Dark, mysterious and atmospheric read. Loved every second of it, and found it to be a page tuner from start to finish. A top 5 book for me this year! The cast of characters is incredible- Darlington, Dawes ! I am very glad I waited until book two was released to pick this up, and would suggest other readers do the same. Also heed the TWs — there are some very intense scenes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book put me in a huge reading slump. I liked some parts but overall I'm just glad it's over. Will I pick up the sequel? Who knows..
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use
Minor: Death
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As always I get overwhelmed with world building so I'll overlook the complexities of this verse when giving my rating.
This plot was interesting once it started to pick up and each character was carefully placed in the story. At first I thought there were so many characters that I couldn't keep track of them all but they all had a very specific role to play which came together so beautifully at the end 🤌 can't wait to see what happens in the second book !!
This plot was interesting once it started to pick up and each character was carefully placed in the story. At first I thought there were so many characters that I couldn't keep track of them all but they all had a very specific role to play which came together so beautifully at the end 🤌 can't wait to see what happens in the second book !!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Vomit, Grief, Murder
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
Holy shit. Went into this blind and honestly one of the best books I’ve read all year. Just found out book three isn’t even announced yet so that sucks but now I have something to look forward to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence
Moderate: Drug use
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
First, an upfront warning: if there are certain topics you do not read, please check the content warnings before picking this up. This book puts the dark in dark academia. There are several graphic, gory, and descriptive scenes, including (but not limited to) child molestation, rape, substance abuse, and drug overdoses. These scenes are not romanticized or added for simple shock value; the characters are affected by them deeply, and the consequences of all these events (for the characters, their emotions, and their motivations) are explored in detail. However, these scenes are very hard to read, even for someone without these triggers—so please, take care of yourself. Reading this book is not more important than maintaining your well-being.
In addition to the dark subject matter, this book is hard to read because there's just so much going on. In Ninth House, we are immediately dropped into the unfamiliar world of Yale University, a broody campus full of magic and ghosts, secret societies and tombs (which are real!), and oddly-named college buildings and landmarks. Characters and locations are mentioned in passing as if we're already acquainted. This—along with non-linear narratives and multiple POVs—may be off-putting to some readers, but I enjoyed the extra element of mystery that these stylistic choices added. As the novel progresses, the reader must unravel the campus's and other characters' mysteries just as the protagonist, Galaxy "Alex" Stern, does.
On that note, let's talk some more about Alex and the plot of this whole thing. Alex is not the typical protagonist one might expect in the dark academia genre. She's a biracial high-school dropout and recovering addict. Unlike other students at Yale, Alex isn't academically or athletically skilled. Her family doesn't have money or power. However, Alex has a natural talent all her own: she can see ghosts ("Grays"). This talent is highly desirable to the secret societies at Yale, and as such, Alex gets a free ride to attend the University, on the condition that she offers her services to Lethe House as a sort of "magical hall monitor" to ensure the safety, security, and secrecy of the other societies. When a townsperson turns up murdered under suspicious circumstances, Alex is suddenly thrust into the dangerous epicenter of uncovering a mystery that others desire to keep hidden.
With her underprivileged background, Alex acts as a foil to the typical Ivy League student. On numerous occasions, the classist privilege afforded to the well-connected young (white) men of these institutions is called out on the page. Those who benefit from privilege are asked to answer for it. Other societal injustices are called out, too, including racism and sexism. (Sometimes, these callouts can feel a little too gratuitous, but I'd rather have an overly-aware author than one who injects bias in their books.) I wish Alex's heritage was fleshed out a bit more to give more justice to her background, but perhaps it was left semi-ambiguous because our character herself is not intimately familiar with her family either.
Overall, I enjoyed this book! It was slow at times, and occasionally I questioned plot lines or motives, but I always felt drawn to the moody atmospheres and mysteries woven throughout the pages. I greatly appreciated the depth of Bardugo's research into Yale's and New Haven's history and on world mythologies, literature, art, and other erudite topics. (It was super cool to see Bardugo's notes on the first chapter of this book. You can see how she spent great attention in tying her book together. I liked that a lot.) Like many others, I loved Darlington and Dawes. I'm hoping to see more of them in the sequel, Hell Bent. If you generally like darker, occult tales steeped in mythos and mystery (and you're also not opposed to watching Criminal Minds or Law & Order in your free time), then give this a try!
In addition to the dark subject matter, this book is hard to read because there's just so much going on. In Ninth House, we are immediately dropped into the unfamiliar world of Yale University, a broody campus full of magic and ghosts, secret societies and tombs (which are real!), and oddly-named college buildings and landmarks. Characters and locations are mentioned in passing as if we're already acquainted. This—along with non-linear narratives and multiple POVs—may be off-putting to some readers, but I enjoyed the extra element of mystery that these stylistic choices added. As the novel progresses, the reader must unravel the campus's and other characters' mysteries just as the protagonist, Galaxy "Alex" Stern, does.
On that note, let's talk some more about Alex and the plot of this whole thing. Alex is not the typical protagonist one might expect in the dark academia genre. She's a biracial high-school dropout and recovering addict. Unlike other students at Yale, Alex isn't academically or athletically skilled. Her family doesn't have money or power. However, Alex has a natural talent all her own: she can see ghosts ("Grays"). This talent is highly desirable to the secret societies at Yale, and as such, Alex gets a free ride to attend the University, on the condition that she offers her services to Lethe House as a sort of "magical hall monitor" to ensure the safety, security, and secrecy of the other societies. When a townsperson turns up murdered under suspicious circumstances, Alex is suddenly thrust into the dangerous epicenter of uncovering a mystery that others desire to keep hidden.
With her underprivileged background, Alex acts as a foil to the typical Ivy League student. On numerous occasions, the classist privilege afforded to the well-connected young (white) men of these institutions is called out on the page. Those who benefit from privilege are asked to answer for it. Other societal injustices are called out, too, including racism and sexism. (Sometimes, these callouts can feel a little too gratuitous, but I'd rather have an overly-aware author than one who injects bias in their books.) I wish Alex's heritage was fleshed out a bit more to give more justice to her background, but perhaps it was left semi-ambiguous because our character herself is not intimately familiar with her family either.
Overall, I enjoyed this book! It was slow at times, and occasionally I questioned plot lines or motives, but I always felt drawn to the moody atmospheres and mysteries woven throughout the pages. I greatly appreciated the depth of Bardugo's research into Yale's and New Haven's history and on world mythologies, literature, art, and other erudite topics. (It was super cool to see Bardugo's notes on the first chapter of this book. You can see how she spent great attention in tying her book together. I liked that a lot.) Like many others, I loved Darlington and Dawes. I'm hoping to see more of them in the sequel, Hell Bent. If you generally like darker, occult tales steeped in mythos and mystery (and you're also not opposed to watching Criminal Minds or Law & Order in your free time), then give this a try!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement