Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

34 reviews

nenya's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

this was such an easy 5 stars holy smokes. i‘ve got to be honest, i found it quite hard to really get into it at first (it’s not being told chronically and there are like 3-4 points in time that keep changing throughout the narrative and that you need to keep track of - but once you figure it out, it really adds to the reading experience, i loved it) but the plot, characters and especially the plot twists (!!) really won me over - especially the plot twists, because they are partly very hard to predict (also because of the time jumps), which made this book a very mysterious and catching read. the only complaint i have is that the sequel won’t be out until next year :((

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Body horror, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, and Misogyny

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, and Gun violence

mcczaw's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Can be very slow at times despite lots of action! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Gore, and Trafficking

fourfootedbeasts's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Vomit, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Trafficking

Minor: Forced institutionalization

renikajw's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Trafficking, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Gore

queenstaves's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Rape, Trafficking, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

The author uses rape, date rape, sexual assault, sexual trauma, etc. in a way that reads as trauma being a character flaw/trait instead of a part of an emotional arc. It is used in a way that reads as "edgy flavor" and not the horrifying things they are. They are used to position the protagonist as an edgy savior. She "gets revenge" for women being date raped by forcing the men to eat shit (literally), and it's used as this "I really showed them!" kind of moment. It is a gross use of the content.

elthechameleon's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This just wasn't the book for me. I loved the narrator, Lauren Fortgang, and I highly enjoyed the added interview at the end. I just felt that I never really connected with any of the characters, despite me thinking that I would because I know the vibe of Yale really well. Darlington's commentary and his gentleman antics were rather entertaining, and I even think he draws out a connection between able-bodied fitness and prestige that appears so often in old boy schools. I just didn't really grab onto the secret societies. They weren't fleshed out for me in a way that felt intriguing. 
I have heard people say that Legendborn did this dark academia niche better and after finishing, I agree. Spoiler for both Legendborn and Ninth House:

I think there was something really fitting about the UNC Chapel Hill secret society having history and roots in slavery and misogyny and rape. The revelation that a woman on the inside of the university betrayed other women from all different classes and races felt...unspecific.

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There was always something about this book that felt off in representation. I can't put a finger on it exactly. Maybe it was because Alex's life felt so violent without any positive joy? Or that her background was so non-specific - especially in comparison to the overly descriptive trauma Alex went through? I will say that I was glad that Alex's background with food insecurity was explored, but there were just other problems, too. (Also - there is still food scarcity for some students at prestigious universities. Food isn't automatically solved after admission). It felt like Bardugo was unwilling to commit to Alex having a distinct ethnicity out of nervousness of having poor representation. And then her indecision made that happen anyway.  

There were upsides. Dawes is an incredible character, and the ending is intriguing.

This just was such a step down after the King of Scars duology. I had high hopes, and it just didn't deliver. 
Maybe it is someone else's perfect book, though! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Classism, Death, Grief, Rape, and Trafficking

also lots of mentions of possession

orndal's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

• 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

Could have been real great with a better story structure and more world building. Linear storytelling would have helped with upping the stakes.

The ending came out of nowhere with little to no setup for the reveals. As a mystery novel, this is terrible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Rape, Addiction, Vomit, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Medical trauma

Minor: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cancer, Car accident, Classism, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, and Murder

siannn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• 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

favourite read of 2022 this book is everything and more 

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Content Warnings

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

erikaj_h's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

An okay read. Started off confusing with unlikeable characters so was a little hard to get into. Middle of the book was slow and not much happened. More of a murder mystery than a fantasy. 
Saved only by the last few chapters where the pace picked up significantly and it became much more the fantasy/magic book it is sold as, but still not amazing. I will probably read the next book, but I won’t be rushing to get it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Death, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Trafficking, Vomit, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Medical content

biancafrancisco's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

Adorei, deixa mistério suficiente o livro inteiro para querermos sempre saber mais, li metade de uma só assentada porque não não conseguia largar o livro. Preciso do próximo asap

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Murder, Self harm, Trafficking, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction