Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

153 reviews

emilywemily6's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I still really enjoyed this book, but the major themes differed greatly from what I loved and what intrigued me in the first book. This book was less dark academia/Yale and secret society lore, which I missed. And while the plot had plenty to twists and turns, some parts were slow and I didn’t really see where the book was going. This book takes the series in a different direction than the first, and I’m not sure if I will like that direction as much as the first book. Though I’m excited to read more in the series and see how it goes!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Cursing, Violence, Torture, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Body horror

Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Animal death, and Medical content

hippievamp's review

dark funny mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Blood, Murder, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, Bullying, Gun violence, and Medical content

Minor: Chronic illness, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Rape

raptorq's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Misogyny, Death, Confinement, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape

cwolf83's review

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Blood

_likethefruit's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

4.5

As a sequel to Ninth House, Hell Bent is a fantastic book with an epic adventure to hell. Unfortunately, the epic level of this journey is so complex, and loaded with so much history and context, that the book is sometimes an information overload. I kept wondering if I missed too many details from the previous book, but in reality, the author was dropping more world building so casually that it felt pre-established. This made the book a little harder to read, but the adventure was totally worth it. Total book hangover after this one! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Drug use

Moderate: Body horror, Sexual violence, Gore, and Classism

Minor: Slavery

leexpenandpages's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

4.75

📝 SYNOPSIS:
I love you to Hell and back. Immersed in a world of occult magic, Alex vows to return her mentor from Hell with the help of her friends and a magical gift that is hers alone.
👩‍🏫⛪️👻📜💀🐇😈🧛‍♂️🎩

👍🏻 RECOMMENDATION:
💚 READ it! 

💬 FAVORITE QUOTES:
[PENDING]

👓 FORMAT: 
🎧

📑 COMMENTS:
• Um, this is a sequel? LOL I jumped in here, and it works fine.
• In the contemporary fantasy setting, Bardugo captures the dark academic aesthetic well. When it comes to the real-life setting, the northeast and California are believable (but I haven't spent enough time in Connecticut specifically to judge that). The magic system is convoluted, but the loose logic does fall apart at the end.
• The characters are complex, three-dimensional, and flawed. Their races and genders influence them in meaningful ways. Some are more lovable than others, but they are all understandable. Mercy & Turner are my personal favorites! The antagonists are rounded, too. 
• Apt imagery and metaphors flow into the prose. There's plenty to dissect if that's your thing. (It's mine!) I'd love to see it on the page, particulaely to see the tome excerpts.
• Why did they switch audiobook narrators so late into the story? It was jarring, and it pulled me out of the story! The character's voice is defined, but I also hate it. It adds nothing to the story. Overall, Part Two lags.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Classism, Blood, Sexism, Racism, Murder, Rape, Death, Drug abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Gun violence, Animal death, and Sexual content

Minor: Cursing, Colonisation, Body shaming, Drug use, Alcohol, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Slavery, and Vomit

itsheyfay's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Stalking, Vomit, and Gun violence

Minor: Child death, Slavery, Drug use, Racism, and Suicide attempt

saucy_bookdragon's review

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

Hell Bent is an absolutely wild sequel to Ninth House, so much so there's literally a glowing demon dick and its just a minor thing. It's not even for smut its just there!

In this sequel, the crew is trying to figure out how to get into hell. Its an overall improvement on the first book! Its got a more intriguing and unhinged plot, Alex and the side characters have a lot more personality and development, and this is more solidly dark academia (especially with a focus on mythology and theology, we also finally find out what Alex is majoring in it's English). And where I found Ninth House to have inconsistent pacing and a disappointing answer to the mystery, I was m0re engaged with Hell Bent and the ending had me gagged!

Though I do wish this had addressed some of the other problems from book one. In particular, Alex still has some stereotypes tied to her Latina identity and Hellie is still not a character outside of Alex's own trauma. Though this book doesn't make these problems worse, it could have improved them.

Also Alex and Dawes are definitely in love I don't care if Darlington is also in love with Alex and probably endgame Dawes has more chemistry.

TWs: this book is about the same level of triggering as the first one, a little less so actually since there isn't any on page sexual assault. That said, there is a scene with animal death (a rabbit) that was gory and difficult to read. Other TWs are violence, gore, death, horror elements, murder, drug use, mentions of racism including slavery and police brutality, misogyny, spiders. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Death, and Animal death

Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

notsohopelessromantic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

*Spoilers Ahead*

The kindling romance between Darlington and Alex is just that. Kindling. If you wanted romance, boy howdy let me tell you it's a slow burn. A very confused, hesitant flame, with a very eager wick, on a willing candle. That might not make sense to you but it does to me.
Anyway, the book was very good. Much like the first where it just seems to be one thing after another, after another. Nonstop misfortune, bad luck, catastrophe. It really makes you wanna tear your hair out. But, to be fair, they did manage to get Darlington back from the Underworld, something I truly did not believe would happen until the 3rd book with the way things were looking. I am grateful to at least have that issue resolved, if only temporarily.
There is most definitely something off about the current Praetor. He knows more than he's letting on, I'm just not sure why. I probably won't know until it's literally spelled out to us in the next book.
I loved the character development on all fronts. Learning that Turner wasn't as straight-laced as we all thought, that Tripp isn't all that harmless or innocent, that Mercy is stronger than she seems. And speaking of Tripp, I do love what was done with his character at the end of the book. That will be interesting to see play out in the next one. Dawes has grown even more as well, becoming less timid, more sure of herself, confident in her abilities; very much the witch Alex saw her to be. I know that there is even more to unpack with Alex and why she's been described as sitting on a throne with a crown on her head, Darlington her faithful servant (and lover 👀). I can't wait for it all to unfold.
The book truly twisted and turned at all of the unexpected, and expected, moments, making this one helluva ride (read). I cannot wait to receive news on the final book in the trilogy and can only hope that I won't have to suffer for very long. Though if Darlington can survive over a year in hell, then I can certainly wait that long to be saved too.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Gore, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Drug use, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Mental illness, and Violence

Minor: Torture, Cancer, Cursing, and Grief

carolyn_baird_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder