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riss__reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒔."
Alex "Galaxy" Stern is tormented by both the ghosts of the dead and of her past (sometimes they're one and the same) navigating a double life of supervising secret societies and being a Yale student.
Alex isn't there because she's a straight A student though, in fact that couldn't be further from the truth. A drop out, recovering addict, and ab*se survivor, Alex was head hunted by the big wigs at Yale due to her paranormal abilities and the fact she has nothing to lose.
Her mentor, Darlington, however, is missing and he's somewhere Alex can't find him. When a de*d girl is found on campus, Alex is against the clock to figure out what happened and find her lost mentor.
--☆--
I'd heard so many stellar reviews going into Ninth House that I was a bit skeptical it'd live up to all the buzz. But by now, I really should've learned not to doubt Leigh Bardugo.
Ninth House utterly blew me away. I'm not sure I've read something before which so deftly, and powerfully, walks the line between fantasy and reality in both of their most beautiful and brutal aspects.
At its most gritty, it's like a car crash that you just can't tear your eyes away from even though you know what you see is going to be a gut punch.
Alex "Galaxy" Stern is the epitome of a tortured soul. Learning about her past as her inner narrative fights at keeping it out of mind is at once a sob and a sour taste in your mouth. Alex is a survivor, in all senses of the word, and in discovering what she survived and seeing her edge closer towards trust and progress only to fall back into old habits makes her one of the most human and endearing characters I've possibly ever read.
Set amongst the dark drama of secret societies, the mysterious murders and disappearances Alex is set to uncover are counter balanced with relatable struggles of every college student alongside social commentary on class struggles, sexism and assault, and growing up an outsider. And it does so beautifully, jarring in just the right way to leave an impact without taking away from the central plotline.
In short, Ninth House had me glued to the page, anxious to uncover the mysteries as they unfolded, and on an emotional roller coaster as I learned about Alex's past.
This book is astounding and I cannot wait for the sequel to be released!
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Drug abuse, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Suicide, Self harm, Abandonment, Violence, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
gretchini's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Being generous by giving it 3 stars, but I've never been a harsh critic.
The best way for me to review this book is to share some of the thoughts I was having 3/4ths of the way through to the end.
(strong language used)
I am so confused.
Maybe it's just cause I'm dumb, but I don't understand how any of this magic secret society works.
There are only 2 people (Dante and Virgil) there to deal with and basically police all 8/9 societies' powerful magic and shit? I guess it's 4 if you count Oculus and Centurion, 5 with the dean. Wtf? That makes no sense; like it took 15 people just to make a club at my college?!?
And all the old Virgil just go off and live their own lives knowing all this magic, like it's an internship?
I still have no clue what all the houses are or what they actually do. Like I feel like we need a more in-depth explanation.
I don't mind being thrown in the dark at the start of the novel, but I'm still in the dark at the end.
The one time we started to get some actual explanation was at the end when detective Turner was asking questions.
There is so much unexplained that I don't even want to read the sequel.
Like you made up this world of magic and then said there were rules but never told us what they were?
And I thought we would be going along with Alex figuring out the rules. But then you get halfway through the book and realize that Alex knows so much more than you the reader does.
What the fuck is up with the hellbeast sitch? They're all like ope I guess it was a hellbeast that ate him, welp goodnight guys, good try. ??? Are they not concerned there's a hellbeast at the school? Is it normal for hellbeasts to just be lurking in dark corners? Can't this one come back and eat someone else? Is it even gone?
Oh so it's just magic used for corruption/ capitalism. But like did it start out that way? Where do all these magic people come from? They are all just chosen? And they're college students? Who the fuck would put college students in charge of this shit? And what do these students get out of it? Just a free ride to Yale? When you have to do triple the work as normal college students? And if someone decides they wanna duck out, do they just kill them? Again where do all these magicians go after college; do they all just roam free?
I love Dawes. And her growth and friendship with Alex. But who is she? Wtf is the oculus position and like why is one person in charge of literally being a nurse/ researcher/ chef/ housekeeper????? I didn't even realize she was human. I swear when she was first introduced she was like a friendly ghost. She never leaves Darlington's house? Like does she even go to classes as a grad student? Does she seriously have zero friends?
And nothing came from North and Alex's bond/ deal? Like wtf was the point?
At the very end, North is trying to send a message. It just seems like there is something much more evil at work and no one seems to care/ notice? I know Alex is focusing on surviving but is she not curious for her own life/ attachment to ghosts that there is more going on?
Okay guys. If you make it to the last 50 pages, things actually happen.
The big reveals at the end were a little late, and not very surprising (except for one), but were at least interesting. The founding of the societies' magic source is explained, so there's that. Still very confused about how magic works in this world.
The ending sort of saved this book. Absolutely love an unhinged girlboss.
But still won't be reading the sequel.
Shit, Darlington is gonna come back. If I break my own promise of not reading the second book, you can't blame me.
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Rape, Gore, and Drug abuse
katielaine_w's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Cursing, Sexual violence, Rape, Gore, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Domestic abuse
siannn's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Gun violence, Gore, Sexual harassment, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Infidelity, Excrement, Cursing, Classism, Blood, Torture, Suicide, Sexism, Rape, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Addiction, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Drug use, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Trafficking, Racial slurs, and Racism
uranaishi'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
4.75
Graphic: Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Murder, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Gore, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Sexism, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Stalking, Vomit, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Blood, Infidelity, Police brutality, Car accident, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Racial slurs, and Suicide
eed8's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape
Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gore, Suicide, and Body horror
scarlettskyes's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Torture, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny
storine's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Drug use, Drug abuse, Violence, Murder, Suicide, and Gore
adancewithbooks's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ninth House follows the story of Alex Stern who is taken into Yale for her abbilities. She can see ghosts, or grays as they are reffered to in this book, naturally. Under the roof of Yale 8 houses are housed who can do magical things and do magical rituals. She joins the Ninth House that is there to control the other 8. They keep watch on the rituals and work together with the police to make sure the big 8 don't make victims.
The start to this book is a little messy and hard to follow. We start with the present and then move into two past timelines. One that follows Alex in the Winter towards the Spring and the other follows Darlington as he mentors Alex until the start of Alex's winter timeline. It was also hard to follow because I had so little clue as to what was actually going on and what Alex was doing. But as we continue throughout the story the pieces start falling together. And I do like when that happens in stories.
Alex is our main characters despite that we also follow Darlington. She is tough, having had to survive where she did. Seeing ghosts as a child was not easy on her and she turned to drugs and a drug dealer to deal with that. She ended up running away from home because she couldn't deal with turning on her mother like that. She just did whatever she had to, to survive. As a result she is very guarded and even to me as a reader she feels very guarded. So I was glad that at the start we did also have the story of Darlington weaved through. He was a breath of fresh air for a while, until we got to know Alex better.
Even so I do have a preference for the side characters like Darlington more than Alex. Maybe it is because I can see a light with those characters and it is hard to find a light with Alex. Maybe feelings wise I just didn't want to commit to Alex because I knew it would hurt. Regardless I was more drawn to Darlington, Dawes and her roommates. I especially loved seeing the development of the Alex and Dawes friendship develop in the second half of the book.
As you might have picked up from the trigger warnings at the top, this book deals with a lot of heavy themes. It can make for a hard read at times and Alex isn't a character you will always be agreeing with. She makes 'interesting' choices. So be very aware of that when you do pick up this book.
Despite that I did enjoy this book. It sucked me in once I was able to get through the messy start.
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Suicide
Minor: Self harm
Rape of a child | Drowning | Drug Addiction | Drug Overdose | Blackmail | Ghost Inhabitationalenarosev's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, and Kidnapping