Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Ninth House

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

127 reviews

lrose02's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

Leigh Bardugo, as ever, is a Queen. I really thought I wasn’t a dark academia fan but this has set some high expectations for that genre. The lore building is amazing. You can really tell how she’s jumped from the YA genre with the Grishaverse to this Adult series. Please check the trigger warnings before reading as certain scenes caught me off guard throughout. I didn’t really know what this book was about before buying and reading and the blurb really doesn’t give it much away. Alex Stern is a morally grey character. She’s traumatised, savage and trying to make the best out of her situation. She’s painfully and admirably stubborn but it’s what drives the plot perfectly. This book has so many twists and turns that it really does keep you hooked. It was a slightly slow start as you try and wrap your head around the facts that are presented to you. It seems by the end that most of the plot points have been wrapped up, and in a way that doesn’t seem rushed as it often does in other books, but then the twist comes right at the end. I hope we get more of Michelle in the next book. The romance between Alex and Darlington is very much a subplot and I hope it gets developed a lot more in the next two books. Normally the romance is an aspect I’m interested it but it’s overshadowed by the plot and the world. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but I do want more of the duo without drowning out the other parts. I have a feeling Mercy or other parts of Alex’s normal Yale life will end up being dragged into the world of Lethe.

Now that Sandow is dead, as he rightfully deserved, it’s interesting to see how Lethe will survive and the shit show Alex and the group will return to after rescuing Darlington from Hell. Hell is also going to be really interesting in how it’s presented and what’s actually happened to Darlington. Lots of trauma for him. The plot twist surrounding Alex and Hallie was amazing and the depth there was to the murders had me gasping. That ability to absorb ghosts into her is probably going to cause immense trouble in hell

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys modern day magic world building, something darker than YA, murder mysteries with lots of twists and just lovers of Leigh Bardugo. Not the full 5⭐️ purely due to the unexpected trigger warnings regarding SA and how explicit they were as well as the slow start but still a top book

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illiteratewench's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

I still don't read much fantasy but I definitely like this urban fantasy, dark academia setting in Ninth House. I love Darlington and I love a golden boy bad girl dynamic! The multiple timelines worked for me, I was pretty interested (there's present time where Darlington has disappeared, the past year of Alex joining Lethe, and then into the past fleshing out Alex's life). The privilege and classism of academia is exemplified through Lethe, a secret society in Yale. Magic is used as another institutional power that furthers real world problems. It's secretive and only a top 1% can access it. It is used to hurt minority groups or vulnerable peoples. The plot is slow to start but really tense and addicting later. I really liked this book as well as Alex and Pammy warming up to each other and working together. The sequel Hell Bent is not as exciting as this one, but it still ties up plot ends and starts new ones, so I'll definitely still be catching the third book when it's out.

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jennamonaco's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Content Warnings

bibliorama's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

Enjoyment - 5
Really well written and knows what vibes it wants to go for. Ghost story + murder mystery + secret societies = my cup of tea. Oh, and all on the Yale campus during winter - another plus.
Start - 5
Character - 5
Everyone was consistent and made choices that went hand-in-hand with their traits and beliefs.
Atmosphere - 5
Plot - 4.5
Ending - 4
Style - 5
This book must have taken a hell of a lot of research and work. I think it paid off.

Overall - 4.8 (basically a 5)
I'll write more of a review when I get around to it. Will definitely pick up the sequel.

Content Warnings