Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Dziewiąty dom by Leigh Bardugo

124 reviews

brewdy_reader's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 • 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘢 •  ⁣𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 
𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 • 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 • 𝘋𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘖𝘝

I am so glad that Leigh Bardugo took the risk to do something 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 different, yet still epic fantasy - showcasing her incredible skill at creating complex worlds and magical systems, blurring the boundaries between fantasy and reality. The magic was deeply layered making it fun to learn about each secret society -  all of which are actual real structures on Yale's campus! [side note: I have never wanted to go on a guided tour of New Haven until now.] The paranormal aspects were haunting, contributing to the overall dark academia vibes.

Ninth House is less accessible than her prior series like Shadow & Bone or Six of Crows (Grishaverse). Let me explain why: the first half of the book is spent world building, creating a fully immersive environment for the reader. There is a lot to take in between characters, their pseudonyms, dates & places, and timeline flashbacks, not to mention the houses themselves and what type of magic each uses. Then there is the main plot: an unsolved murder. I loved watching the case unfold alongside Galaxy "Alex" Stern, aka Dante. 

But you get my point: a lot of readers want fast action & not have to do a lot of thinking. This is a much slower build, but if you are willing to wait for it, you will see the brilliance of the writer at the end. I loved Centurion, Darlington, Dawes, and North. Simply amazing.

This is truly a dark fantasy, lots of trigger warnings: Rape, Sexual Violence, Death, Murder, Classism, Violence, Gore, Drug Use, Drug Abuse, Misogyny, Addiction, Blood, Body Shaming, Toxic Relationship, Adult/Minor Relationship.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, Murder, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Violence

dawntin's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective 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

3.5

This book had so much information and so many characters that it was overwhelming. It kind of fell into the same situation as Bardugo’s King of Scars and Rule of Wolves with how many things were going on at once.  The plot was interesting and all 3 mysteries were connected in the end, but the storylines were difficult to keep track of. This is an adult book, so some pretty messed up shit happens (grooming, drug abuse, assault, and literal

shit eating

). Some of it was warranted given the main character’s background, but I also felt like some events were purely for shock value. I still loved the characters though, especially Alex and Darlington, and the author’s descriptions were lush as usual.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Excrement, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Death, and Violence

tarawade17's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Drug abuse, Blood, Body horror, and Gun violence

hnicole01's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Addiction, Grief, Sexism, Rape, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Violence, and Cursing

Moderate: Classism

cmillerwang's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

5.0

Simply, I really liked this book. If you’re looking for a lighthearted page-turner, this is not the one. Read some of Leigh Bardugo’s other writings for that. But I HIGHLY recommend putting in the effort. Get through this one. Every bit you read, you will probably find something amazing. It will slowly attach itself to your heart. Bardugo’s writing has done this to me and I think it has changed my life.
Alex Turner is everything I want in a lead, especially an ‘imperfect’ female lead. She’s angry and powerful, smart but troubled, self conscious but bold, but she’s also human (I think?). Alex has such a dark backstory, but these funny little details sprinkled throughout. I loved hearing about her grandmother and the little adventures with Hellie and the oh, so realistic two-sided nature of her relationship with her mother. Who else can you steal from and abandon and yet they will come running when they think you need them?
In a rather unorganized list, here are a few other things I liked: 
Sephardic Jewish influence. We don’t hear much about Sephardic Jews at all, or the Jews who hid in Latin America, many of whom ended up mixing their faith with a version of Christianity to hide from persecution. As an Ashkenazi Jew, I’m hoping for little bits more in the 2nd book. 
Alex’s flaws. I know she has many. But I like that’s she’s not all-powerful. As a HUGE fan of Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology, this is common for her writing. The characters are so strong, but they are not gods. Alex is vulnerable, whatever happens next in her story. She’s even kind of pathetic and whiny, but not in a way that’s unpleasant for the reader. 
I love that this book has layers of understanding. The more you relate or a concept applies to you, the more meaning you can get out of it. Maybe this is true for all media. I don’t know anything about secret societies, but someone who does will have more insight into those aspects. I got more out of the Hebrew references that some might. A survivor of abuse might struggle more or gain more from Alex’s story. And so on. 
In conclusion, 5/5 stars. I think I’ll love it even more on a reread. This book was slow going for me. I’m usually a speed reader. This one took nearly a month. But every page I read was with love. And with every page I got more and more attached to the characters and story. You can put it down and come back. But don’t give up on it. I’m so, so excited to read Hell Bent next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Addiction, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Classism, Blood, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Gun violence, Grief, Excrement, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, and Cursing

prairieraven's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Car accident, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Violence

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

I really liked this and I'm excited to read the next book. I don't read a ton of books with magic, but this world is just really well-developed, and I felt so connected to a lot of the characters. Excited to read more by this Ms. Bardugo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Grief, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Toxic friendship, Blood, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, and Bullying

Minor: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

emily_zylstra02's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Animal death, Gun violence, and Blood

peaceloveandmeow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Vomit, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Physical abuse

thenoodlevore's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I think the book tackled some difficult issues well and I could identify with some of the complex feelings of the characters. I appreciated the honesty in it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Classism, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Body horror, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Gun violence, Bullying, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Body shaming, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Car accident, Death, and Terminal illness