Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Ninth House is stunning. In fact i’d go so far as to say it’s my favourite Leigh Bardugo book, end of. But at the same time, this really is NOT a book for everyone. You might have heard this so many times but Ninth house is a massive departure for Leigh from her widely successful and well known Grishaverse books. When I heard about Ninth House, I instantly had questions and my doubts about it but thought “ahh, it’ll be like an adult version of Six of Crows since that’s dark.”. I was right, but I was also wrong. Ninth House feels like the book that was waiting to written, it’s a book that I feel will make her a mainstay in adult publishing and adds to her portfolio of stunning work. But even then, this book is a lot, in it’s subject matter and in story, it’s not a book you should read lightly. When you read Ninth House prepare yourself, look at the TW, know going into it that it won’t be an easy read but that you will be entirely immersed and devour every single page.

“I want to survive this world that keeps trying to destroy me.”

In Short

In Short: Mystery + Intrigue + Dark Magic + Disturbing Content = Ninth House

“Do you know what my mother said?” Turner asked. “She told me there’s no doorway the devil doesn’t know. He’s always waiting to stick his foot in. I never really believed her until tonight”

In Depth

Creepy university with shady behind the scene going ons. Doesn’t that sound compelling? Well, what if I added magic on top to that? Actually, what if I told you – each one of Yales secret societies deal in a specific type of dark magic, that has a dark cost. It sounds a bit absurd but also you’d want to find out more right? Well that’s how I felt about Ninth House going in, until I opened the first page and it grabbed me and compelled me to read until I finished the whole book. Ninth House feels very, well… real. Like if magic wasn’t involved I wouldn’t be surprised if this was based of a true story, such is the power of Bardugo’s writing. Reading Ninth House though, I didn’t recognise the author who penned the Grishaverseseries. The writing style is much more vivid and in-detail than any of her previous work, but I have a feeling her style might have changed due to this being a more adult novel.

“Only two things kept you safe: money and power.”

Ninth House deserves to be treated like a debut novel if I’m honest. Like, yes it’s a book from a well established author but it is also her first foray out in the adult general fiction genre, and I think it should be treated as such. Even with all of this taken into account it’s a fantastic book, it’s a bit heavy at the beginning but I guess that’s to be expected as it’s the first a series. The world building here is incredibly important to the story since although it’s in a world much like ours it also has magic, ghosts and the like. Honestly? The way this is introduced is a tad confusing at first but once the plot kicks in it feels like an effective method to introduce the magic aspects of Ninth House. Talking about introductions though… Within the first 5 pages this book makes very clear it isn’t for the younger fans of Leigh’s previous works even if you adored Six of Crows and the darkness surrounding that, this might be too much for you. Within the first 5 pages you’re introduced to the magical aspects of the series with a bloke on the operating table with his chest open wide described in vivid detail.

“Alex felt something dark inside her uncoil. “You’re a flat beast,” Hellie had once said to her. “Got a little viper lurking in there, ready to strike. A rattler probably.” She’d said it with a grin, but she’d been right.”

Detail feels like it’s key to enjoying Ninth House. You need to pay attention to every detail that’s drip fed to you to really enjoy this novel, there were many a times when I was listening or reading, realised I needed go back a chapter so I could understand what was happening. It actually took me two goes to start reading Ninth House as well but once you get into it Ninth House becomes a ride that you simply won’t forget. Yes it’s shocking, yes it includes moments that make you go “What The…” and yes sometimes it feels like an example of “Yes.. Yes you can include that.. but should you? Should you really..?”, but should you read it well that one is up to you. If you feel like you can cope with the myriad of trigger warnings then I would totally go ahead and read it right now. However, if you’ve though, meh trigger warnings, they don’t bother me this book is different you NEED to read the trigger warnings, TWs are brilliant but I implore you to check them out before reading this.

“I let you die. To save myself, I let you die. That is the danger in keeping company with survivors.”

Last but not least, I want to talk about the characters. Like most of Leigh’s books this is a very much character driven story enhanced by the setting and plot. You have Galaxy Stern (Alex) whose a misfit teen whose ended up at Yale under mysterious circumstances on a scholarship. You have Darlington a final year student whose in charge of running The Ninth House and making sure the secret societies don’t do anything to cause any danger, whilst at the same time needing to train Alex up in the art of dark magic and how to keep the houses safe. They are the two main characters and their relationship is one of the highlights of this book. They are very much two different characters and their relationship reflects as much. Alex herself is actually one of many favourite protagonists of 2019 she’s just a kick-ass character with an unwavering amount of doing what she thinks is right. I won’t say much about the other characters in the way of spoilers, but it’s safe to say the story revolves around a small key group of characters who are integral to the plot. My one gripe with Ninth House though is that I wish some of the other characters were more fleshed out. Like don’t get me wrong, Alex & Darlington most certainly are fleshed out but I wish some of the side characters were as well.

“They tried to kill me, Hellie,” she rasped as she slid into the dark. That means I get to try to kill them.”

In Conclusion

“A lie isn’t a lie until someone believes it. It doesn’t matter how charming you are if there’s no one to charm.”

This isn’t a book for everyone and it certainly isn’t a book I’d recommend for teens. It feels like this book will divide opinion much like marmite does. If you like it I have a feeling it will be high up there, because the quality is superb but at the same time it might also put you of because of the content involved in the book. My one huge grip is that we need to wait so long for the second book in the series!

Content Warnings

rrovezzi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

Content Warnings

rosies_book_shelf's review against another edition

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5.0

Content Warnings

starshynebrite's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my review which is unbiased and honest.

All I knew about this book going in was dark academia and paranormal activity and while I’m usually not a person that’s into scary things, this had the PERFECT level of “scare”.

The first chapter threw me off a little because I legitimately had no idea what was going on, but once I got into it it was like a puzzle trying to piece together what was happening, especially because the timeline alternated between “present” and past with dual POV.

I gotta say, I absolutely loved the narrators for both Alex and Darlington (especially Darlington, whoops). I was easily pulled into the story and it was really easy to follow along which is always great in audiobooks especially!

I also just really loved that this was such a visual book. I really felt like I was in the book and seeing everything play out vividly, especially in the end. It was overall a really vivid experience which I didn’t really expect.

The plot itself was a bit slower paced, but I enjoyed it a lot. It helped ease me into the new concepts and everything that was introduced was easier to grasp because of that. It does pick up a little over halfway, especially as we get to know Alex’s character a bit better.

I wasn’t too fond of Alex in the beginning because she was very closed off as a narrator and I didn’t get any background or substance until later. But I grew to enjoy her POV, especially as the storyline picked up and pieces started to come together. I’m a sucker for development and especially love it when things start to click in different ways. If I want to re read a book, that’s always a good sign. And this was definitely a book I would enjoy diving back into to see the trail of clues left to solidify that ending.

I would definitely recommend looking into the trigger warnings HERE because this does deal with a few really intense scenes and because the book is a very well rounded experience, it can definitely get a little graphic.

I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of ghosts and mysteries, a little bit of murder (okay a lot), dual POVs, some kind-of embarrassing moments, and illusions and other kinds of fun magic. This is perfect for anyone who wants some interesting female friendships, likes to solve mysteries even when they literally have no idea what they’re doing, communicating with the dead, and tragic backstories.

Content Warnings

theotheleo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

daniellew03cd3's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

3.5

Content Warnings

nikkiblack17's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

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