Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Ninth House

Loved, loved, loved.

First of all the cover is just so aesthetically pleasing, even more so after actually falling in love with the characters…
I kind of equate it to being about Alex’s tattoos. Alex’s most prominent tattoos are the snakes that wrap around her collar bones, and I feel like they would be the epitome of her shame when it comes to her tattoos, it’s the most blatant in the macabre nature of the art on her body, spider webs are a more common choice, other things could be given an alternative explanation of importance, but not many people, especially those within the stereotypes of ivy league alumnus, have two huge black snakes curling around their shoulders. I love the symbolism of it being on the cover of the book because Alex used the stereotypes of her outward appearance to avoid attachment, when given the opportunity to flee her environment she covers them as a way of separating herself from the memories she had of being ostracized. Her tattoos later become a different kind of cover, an armor.

I saw some people Say they loved darlington but thought it was hypocritical that he judged Alex for killing someone, since at the end of the book we find out his fate is connected to the fact that he is a murderer.but Let’s be real here, his shock said more about him than it did about Alex. I think darlington unplugged or smothered his grandfather to finally give him piece, I think he colors himself as a monster because of that experience. Enter Alex, who makes him feel like someone with purpose. His whole life he turned towards magic to heal him from the trauma of his parents, I think his grandfathers death took something away from his obsession of magic and the hopefulness it represented to him, until he met Alex who reshaped his view of magic because of her abilities and what she had been through. To learn that the person who reignites your purpose in life is guilty of the same actions you hate yourself for has to be so overwhelming in that it probably completely disillusioned him.

I even saw some people say Bardugo tried to hard to be dark in her content by making Alex’s trauma explicit but failed to give the character any justice, but my response is that the entire present day timeline is Alex’s justice…. Alex was abused and violated by something the most privileged people she knew saw as a gift. It is a widely known horrible part of our reality that the world doesn’t believe or protect victims, it doesn’t protect women. The fact that so many people saw her trauma even if she didn’t want them to and completely wrote her off so they didn’t have to deal with what it meant, is the most realistic part of her character. She was poor, a woman of color, homeless at more than one point in her life…I can think of nothing more realistic that her not getting feasible, malleable justice. But to say she got none at all would be wrong, Alex’s justice was cosmic and metaphorically and more meaningful than some get in the real world, she gained a different sense of self worth imprinting herself onto Tara’s circumstances, fighting to find out what happened to tara meant acknowledging that she and Alex were one in the same— at least in The sense that the world values them the same, she became attached to Tara because she saw herself in a dead body that no one else seemed to care about and couldn’t help but imprint on that experience. Alex knew the world valued her and Tara the same, she saw the parallels between Tara and herself and yet she still came to the conclusion that Tara deserved better than what she got in death, and in life. Those thoughts are more kind than Alex was to herself on a normal basis, and maybe they wouldn’t have meant anything if Alex wasn’t the narrator but she was, she was the one aligning their value, and ultimately accepting that she deserved better than what she got out of life…Alex’s justice was aligning her value with every victim belbam took and saying that they all deserved better.

Content Warnings

egurgens's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective 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

I am now in desperate need of book two. I listened to the audiobook, so when I saw 30 min left, I assumed there was more story. Nope. There was an author interview, so I was left on an unexpected cliffhanger. However, this story is so interesting, that I had no issues paying attention and keeping up with what was happening. There are two points of view, there are 3 different time frames, and is just so good! I can imagine that the time skips would be confusing to some, but the book is complicated and interesting enough to keep the reader engaged. When I began the book, I didn't realize it was part of a series, so its safe to say my heart broke when the book ended, but the story continued.

I definitely recommend reading this book, but be warned there are several difficult topics. Drug use, sexual assault, graphic death, bullying, and more. However, the cast of characters is pretty diverse; not perfect, but definitely better than other books I have read. The magic is pretty realistic, as its use is modern, and takes place in the modern world. No hidden world, just a secret society of magic users, that can use it for good or bad.

So many plot twists, you end up hanging onto every word. Friends are enemies, enemies are your greatest allies. No one is who you think they are. Bardugo does POV and time changes well, as each is labelled at the beginning of the chapter. Highly recommend reading this book. Realistic fantasy, secret societies, magic, ghosts, monsters, just so many good things.

Content Warnings

jessikittyx's review against another edition

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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? Yes

5.0

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