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kproctor2's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
3.75
It was different from Ninth House but a good read.
I didn’t mind the ending except the weird awkward tension between Alex and Mercy didn’t need to happen in the first place but then wasn’t resolved; there wasn’t as much emotion or vulnerability between the group as I would’ve liked or expected; and the tension between Alex and Darlington wasn’t even mentioned like ya girl fought for a year and went to hell twice for you and you’re now supernaturally bound to her bc she saved you from hell and will “serve her forever” but y’all can’t talk about that huh? I get being scared of the demon but you just got your friend back after life or death fights, where was the emotion??
I didn’t mind the ending except the weird awkward tension between Alex and Mercy didn’t need to happen in the first place but then wasn’t resolved; there wasn’t as much emotion or vulnerability between the group as I would’ve liked or expected; and the tension between Alex and Darlington wasn’t even mentioned like ya girl fought for a year and went to hell twice for you and you’re now supernaturally bound to her bc she saved you from hell and will “serve her forever” but y’all can’t talk about that huh? I get being scared of the demon but you just got your friend back after life or death fights, where was the emotion??
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Murder, Grief, and Drug use
blissofalife's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
4.75
As convoluted and detailed as the first! It all comes back around, and every little thing tied in. And I mostly followed all of it. Great character building and witty writing. Can’t wait for the next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Drug use, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking
carolynkwolff's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Animal death, Drug use, Gore, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Rape, Animal cruelty, and Slavery
Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
beebeewin's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Once again Leigh Bardugo killed it with this novel! I loved how this novel built the world of magic at Yale out, with the magic extending beyond what we learned last time. That meant the story was kept fresh as I still felt like there were all these mysteries that needed to be unfolded. Also, I appreciate that some of the mysteries are still yet to be solved. It was very interesting to learn more about all the characters and it really deepened my understanding of their motives and personalities. I will say my one fault with the novel is I felt like Michelle was the one character I didn't learn anything about before her death. I don't know if this will be something rectified in later novels, but I wanted to hear more of her story. Overall, the plot was interesting with how all the parts weaved together and the charcters relationships felt like they developed beautifullly. It will be interesting to see how the relationships and lingering plot poonts from this novel feed into the next. This novel was a perfect addition to the last one and I didn't want to stop reading at all. I am so excited for the next novel as I want to see how everything plays out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexism
cady_sass's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Struggling to put together the words to express my disappointment. The second installment lacks all of the dark academia, secret societies, and cult vibes that I loved about Ninth House. Of course they are still AT Yale, but there is little actual school content, there’s even less discussion about the actual Lethe work and the other 8 houses and the rituals, which is the content I want.
The entirety of this novel is about Darlington, which, as I said in my review of Ninth House, we don’t know nearly enough about nor did we spend enough time with him in the first book to actually care about him. Everything else about the world they built falls away and the only thing that matters is finding Darlington and bringing him home, and the hell that comes along with it (pun intended). To that point, it’s completely nonsensical and out of character for any of these characters to care about Darlington too, except for Pam who is by far the best part of the whole book. Tucker has no reason to join them in their endeavors. The friend (I literally already forget his name) has no reason to risk his life here. ALEX has no real reason here either- they make a point, over and over again, to tell us how she feels nothing and everything she does is self serving. NONSENSE, all of it.
I get that this might do it for some people but for me it’s a let down. I’m sorry, I just don’t care about Darlington. Give me more secret society shady dealings and unsanctioned rituals and detective work and leave the hell portals at home.
The entirety of this novel is about Darlington, which, as I said in my review of Ninth House, we don’t know nearly enough about nor did we spend enough time with him in the first book to actually care about him. Everything else about the world they built falls away and the only thing that matters is finding Darlington and bringing him home, and the hell that comes along with it (pun intended). To that point, it’s completely nonsensical and out of character for any of these characters to care about Darlington too, except for Pam who is by far the best part of the whole book. Tucker has no reason to join them in their endeavors. The friend (I literally already forget his name) has no reason to risk his life here. ALEX has no real reason here either- they make a point, over and over again, to tell us how she feels nothing and everything she does is self serving. NONSENSE, all of it.
I get that this might do it for some people but for me it’s a let down. I’m sorry, I just don’t care about Darlington. Give me more secret society shady dealings and unsanctioned rituals and detective work and leave the hell portals at home.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, Death, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Vomit, Abandonment, Body horror, Classism, Kidnapping, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Misogyny
martinatan'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Leigh Bardugo owns this ass
ok ok some thoughts that ran through my head, but not a cohesive review because I will always be too insane and biased about her writing to write something balanced:
- she strikes again with the calculated development ofunconventional and intense romance! i swear that she makes an art of slipping in well-placed sentences that convey barely restrained emotional tension. I feel like similar to Kaz and Inej in the Crows duology, Alex and Darlington have such a specific set of neuroses that make them tragically terrible for each other but maybe even worse if they were to be paired with anyone else or left alone. Their dynamic is heartbreakingly good with a little sexual tension as a treat. the rest of the plot was pretty good too.
- Also I am enjoying this crew becomingmore monstrous, as their world becomes increasingly hellish. There’s something inherently queer and found family-ish about a bunch of university age adults coming together over murder and blood magic. don’t @ me.
- She did a great job of introducing antagonists into the story and slowly revealing and resolving conflicts throughout. This is something that was done well in the first book and I was pleasantly surprised that it was still so satisfying and fresh in this one.
- I was similarly worried about attempting to replicate the mixed timeline format from the first book but it was just as effective, just made me wary at first because the opening to this series was such an immediate draw for me and to see it attempted again felt like she was setting myself up for disappointment. but it did NOT disappoint.
- I was also anticipating more backstory and development for characters introduced in the first book. This met my expectations and I found their histories to be really compelling, if not admirable or enviable.I was so delighted by snippets of Dawes and Turner POVs, and I really hoped Dawes would become a more central perspective. This didn’t quite happen but I see a lot of room for that in the next book.
- The book deals with issues of race and exploitation in an okay way.I think Turner’s story was important to tell, and his actions in the moment of his flashback made the most sense for a “sympathetic cop” character to me, but all the same, his decision to not leave the force even after this traumatic moment in his career feels maybe disingenuous to me? I wish there had been more follow up about how this moment affected him afterwards. In fact, his emotionlessness being sort of explained away as a defense mechanism or a technique he developed for professional settings does not bode well for me. A Black character, by a white author, written to have no emotions? In the face of an extremely painful and fucked up line of work that sees the death of a lot of Black people? I’m sure Bardugo did her best to deal with it, but I assume it’s near impossible to do justice to Turner’s storyline in her position. Still processing this. That’s what I’ve observed and analyzed about the situation with regard to Bardugo writing a Black character in a low fantasy setting.
I could say more but I’m done ranting for now. This book truly thrilled me and I was happy to delve into this world again.
ok ok some thoughts that ran through my head, but not a cohesive review because I will always be too insane and biased about her writing to write something balanced:
- she strikes again with the calculated development of
- Also I am enjoying this crew becoming
- She did a great job of introducing antagonists into the story and slowly revealing and resolving conflicts throughout. This is something that was done well in the first book and I was pleasantly surprised that it was still so satisfying and fresh in this one.
- I was similarly worried about attempting to replicate the mixed timeline format from the first book but it was just as effective, just made me wary at first because the opening to this series was such an immediate draw for me and to see it attempted again felt like she was setting myself up for disappointment. but it did NOT disappoint.
- I was also anticipating more backstory and development for characters introduced in the first book. This met my expectations and I found their histories to be really compelling, if not admirable or enviable.
- The book deals with issues of race and exploitation in an okay way.
I could say more but I’m done ranting for now. This book truly thrilled me and I was happy to delve into this world again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Body horror, Drug use, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Classism, Confinement, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Sexism, Slavery, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Self harm
laurenvoice's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-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 was a rollercoaster ride, and that ending has me wanting more!
Similar to Ninth House, the first half of Hell Bent started slow, whilst the second half was fast. At times it was frustrating how slow the start was and the many failed attempts to retrieve our "gentleman demon", Darlington, from hell , but that frustration was worth it in the end!
Alex and Dawes teaming up with Turner and Tripp was something special; these two new additions to the Darlington rescue mission were perfect. After Ninth House, I didn't think much of Tripp; however, Hell Bent added depth to his character and his development was good to see. Also, Hell Bent saw much character development for Turner, Alex and Dawes.
Although Hell Bent had some marvellous character development and storylines, some didn't hit the right spot. Michelle's storyline seemed a tad too random; it needed more explanation. Plus, I am having some trust issues with Mercy; at first, I was glad she became in the loop, but I don't know why something just isn't sitting right with her character. Finally, the bad guy in this story was too predictable.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten some of the events that had happened in Ninth House by the time I read Hell Bent, but thankfully, Leigh Bardugo put some reminders throughout the story; I had forgotten about some of the Blake, Dean. Sandow and Belbalm storylines. I hope we see the third instalment of the Alex Stern series sooner rather than later because that ending has me needing more!
The ending of Hell Bent was perfect, especially the final chapter. I didn't see that Tripp twist coming, but I am happy it came because it was better than the alternative. Also, it was sweet to see them salt guardians protecting the Rebel Lethe Gang (not sure what to call them). I am excited about the next book, and I hope we see Alex and Darlington finally getting together because the tension between them is too much!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Bullying, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Confinement, Death of parent, Classism, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Slavery, Torture, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Mental illness
sauvageloup's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
while slow to get started, hugely enjoyed this, especially after half way
pros:
- the ingenuity and originality of the magical system is fab, I love the dark rituals and magic that the societies come up with.
- the plot is intricate and intriguing, with plot twists, but theres always hints that the reader can spot afterwards like with Michelle wearing turtlenecks to show shes in league with the vampire, and Anselm suddenly changing personality because hes possessed. they were both clear but subtle and I didnt see it till after the reveal
- I do really like the characters, they're all so different and their own people, Alex, Darlington, Turner, Dawes and Mercy, but also all the side characters have their own motivations
- the writing is very good, with some rly vivid imagery and turns of phrase that I wish I'd marked
- I love the extremely grey morality in how we have a lot of compassion for Alex, but she is a dark soldier of a character and so is Darlington. that's never minimalised and actually takes front stage in the book.
- the setting is basically a character itself and while I didnt really fall in love with it, I still appreciated the research and beauty of it all
- I also liked how it didnt shy away from linking magical exploitation to real life, like with the runaway slaves map, and how it was never brushed aside. it showed the dark side of the magical and wealthy.
cons:
- it's a dense book, with a lot of time switches near the start, which threw me. keeping track of characters can be tricky and I definitely needed the summary of the 1st bk to remember a lot of things. the complexity if the book all comes together near the end but it takes some getting your head round and was partly why it took me a longer time to read.
- I do kind of wish the series had started at a different point. leigh mentioned it might have been a much longer series and I kind of wish we'd seen the events with hellie and Alex's introduction to lethe by Darlington first hand, rather than in erratic flashbacks. it was hard to feel very invested in Darlington's return for a lot of it because we dont get to view himself ourselves, only through glimpses through Alex.
- sometimes things happened in the plot that felt a bit random, too much out of nowhere. like when they got the tattoos of the salt animals that would repeatedly save their lives, it was just snuck in there as a little ritual they did like on a whim. why didnt they do some more protection earlier on? while some plot points came together nicely, sometimes it did feel kind of episodic and thrown from one plot point to the next, rather than a tightly woven web. but that also sort of fits the chaos of Alex's character so idk
but overall I did really like it, especially the badass last scene and I very much want to read the next one. (it was also amazing to meet and see leigh talk, would do that again also)
pros:
- the ingenuity and originality of the magical system is fab, I love the dark rituals and magic that the societies come up with.
- the plot is intricate and intriguing, with plot twists, but theres always hints that the reader can spot afterwards
- I do really like the characters, they're all so different and their own people, Alex, Darlington, Turner, Dawes and Mercy, but also all the side characters have their own motivations
- the writing is very good, with some rly vivid imagery and turns of phrase that I wish I'd marked
- I love the extremely grey morality in how we have a lot of compassion for Alex, but she is a dark soldier of a character and so is Darlington. that's never minimalised and actually takes front stage in the book.
- the setting is basically a character itself and while I didnt really fall in love with it, I still appreciated the research and beauty of it all
- I also liked how it didnt shy away from linking magical exploitation to real life, like with the runaway slaves map, and how it was never brushed aside. it showed the dark side of the magical and wealthy.
cons:
- it's a dense book, with a lot of time switches near the start, which threw me. keeping track of characters can be tricky and I definitely needed the summary of the 1st bk to remember a lot of things. the complexity if the book all comes together near the end but it takes some getting your head round and was partly why it took me a longer time to read.
- I do kind of wish the series had started at a different point. leigh mentioned it might have been a much longer series and I kind of wish we'd seen the events with hellie and Alex's introduction to lethe by Darlington first hand, rather than in erratic flashbacks. it was hard to feel very invested in Darlington's return for a lot of it because we dont get to view himself ourselves, only through glimpses through Alex.
- sometimes things happened in the plot that felt a bit random, too much out of nowhere.
but overall I did really like it, especially the badass last scene and I very much want to read the next one. (it was also amazing to meet and see leigh talk, would do that again also)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Sexism, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, and Drug use
Minor: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Slavery, Suicide, Sexual assault, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Self harm
focus on animal death and violence in one graphic scene. the self harm is to do with cutting an arm for a magical ritual the suicide attempt/thoughts are a brief mention by a side character but do come up a couple timeshelenastinks's review
adventurous
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Animal death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Body horror, and Cursing
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Slavery and Sexism
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
My notes while reading:
-Literally the prologue I am already "WTF"ing
-Leigh Bardugo is a goddamn genius. That is all.
-Cat scream gif forever.
-I AM READY TO GO TO HELL!
-IT HURTS (& theories)
-THE GASP I GUSP
-I AM ON FIRE
Anyway I really wish we didn't have to wait years for the next book :')
It's also somehow technically 0/5 🌶️ but still I'm 🥵
-Literally the prologue I am already "WTF"ing
-Leigh Bardugo is a goddamn genius. That is all.
-Cat scream gif forever.
-I AM READY TO GO TO HELL!
-IT HURTS (& theories)
-THE GASP I GUSP
-I AM ON FIRE
Anyway I really wish we didn't have to wait years for the next book :')
It's also somehow technically 0/5 🌶️ but still I'm 🥵
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Animal death, Death of parent, Sexism, Drug use, and Misogyny
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, and Racism