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abee_3_c's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- Ms Bardugo's fantastic world building!
- Intricate plot and twists!!
- Many many layers of "whodunit" and "what's going on"!!!
- Loveable characters that I would spend an eternity reading about!!!!
- Leigh took me to hell with this book and I enjoyed it!!!!!
Graphic: Alcohol, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Vomit, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Drug use, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Rape, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Violence
lizzie24601's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Death, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Addiction, Blood, Grief, and Child abuse
Minor: Cancer
callmesheets's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Gore, Violence, Drug abuse, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual content
nebraskanwriter's review against another edition
1.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Addiction, Cursing, Blood, Gaslighting, Medical content, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Vomit, Rape, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Body horror, Suicide, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Gore, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Death, and Alcohol
jeggert10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Gore, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual violence, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Vomit, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Misogyny
chamaeleontis's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Child death, Cursing, Sexism, Violence, Rape, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Excrement, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
cre8withcait's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Body horror, Rape, Drug abuse, Addiction, Blood, Drug use, Excrement, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Violence
emptzuu's review against another edition
4.0
Her transition to adult fiction with "Ninth House" was unexpected yet vital to my reading repertoire. From the outset, I found myself utterly engrossed in its dark academia setting, rich with murder, mystery, and ghosts—a perfect match for my literary tastes. The complexity of protagonist Alex, with her facade of being a good girl, added depth and intrigue to the narrative.
However, "Ninth House" isn't flawless. The book faces pacing issues, possibly stemming from the challenge of transitioning to adult fiction. The non-linear storytelling, while attempting to weave past and present together, occasionally becomes convoluted, especially with the addition of flashbacks. It feels as though Bardugo, unbound by the constraints of YA, attempted to incorporate a wide range of themes and elements, resulting in an experimental narrative that occasionally feels overstuffed. The ambitious scope of the series, initially planned as a 12-book saga, may have contributed to rushed sections, attempting to cover too much within a 500-page novel and overwhelming readers with information.
The perspective shifts, particularly to Darlington, occasionally feel redundant and slow the pacing, detracting from the narrative flow. While Bardugo handled multiple perspectives adeptly in "Six of Crows," the limited dual perspectives in "Ninth House" struggle to effectively advance the story.
Certain aspects of the narrative feel forced, particularly in the realm of horror and drama. It prompts questions about the authenticity of certain scenes—are they crafted for shock value or integral to the plot's development? The crime mystery plotline, especially in the final 150 pages, felt predictable and clichéd, lacking the satisfaction of a well-crafted conclusion.
Nevertheless, Bardugo effectively builds the world and its mechanisms. Her storytelling prowess shines through, leaving readers with a thought-provoking and immersive experience. The book may require slower reading to fully appreciate, but its depth and detail ultimately pay off. The extensive thought, detail, and research invested in crafting this story and its world are impossible to overlook. It's been a while since a book has left me feeling this way. Bring on the journey to hell!
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Murder, Death, Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual content
uncica's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Otherwise, it's a really interesting story with a couple of mysteries, multi-faceted characters, and a solid magic system. I particularly like how Bardugo incorporated her fictional world within the real-life New Haven/Yale campus. She played off Yale's real-world secret societies quite well. Bardugo also made it difficult to predict the resolution.
Would recommend it to anyone interested in fantasy and mysteries.
Quotes:
He didn’t know how precious a normal life could be, how easy it was to drift away from average. You started sleeping until noon, skipped one class, one day of school, lost one job, then another, forgot the way that normal people did things. You lost the language of ordinary life. And then, without meaning to, you crossed into a country from which you couldn’t return. You lived in a state where the ground always seemed to be slipping from beneath your feet, with no way back to someplace solid.
Death words could be anything, really, as long as they spoke of the things Grays feared most—the finality of passing, a life without legacy, the emptiness of the hereafter.
Peace was like any high. It couldn’t last. It was an illusion, something that could be interrupted in a moment and lost forever. Only two things kept you safe: money and power.
...harmless people high on nothing more than their own pretensions.
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Drug use, Addiction, Murder, Blood, Death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
jhuang's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse