Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

290 reviews

kelsnevi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Murder, and Drug use

Moderate: Excrement

_madelinemarie's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

READ THE TW FOR THIS BOOK!


This book was so slow at the beginning, and there is so much world building that I felt like I never had any idea what was going on. However, in true Bardugo fashion, once things started moving they did not stop! She does a great job of laying down the groundwork which makes it feel super slow, and then running on those rails at lightning speed.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the “gotcha!” villain switcheroo at the end (and honestly, all of the  Darlington bits about looking into the deaths of these girls could and in my opinion should have been stretched into its own novel, but we might get more of that in the second book so I’m not too hasty in my judgments) and I do think that’s a little bit overdone but there is nothing quite as beautifully written as the way she writes, and her growth is remarkable.

Alex is to me if you were to have the cunning-ness and tenacity of Kaz, but the kindness and humor of Nina. Darlington it so perfectly counterweighted to Alex that the story never seems uninteresting!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Medical content, Body horror, Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, and Drug use

Moderate: Rape

aisling214's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Classism, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Gaslighting, Sexism, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Body horror, and Mental illness

emmiemopho's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

I bought the sequel to this book at an airport not knowing it was a sequel until I realized certain terms were not being explained. So I did some digging and borrowed this one from a friend. So glad I did that! This isn’t my normal type of story but it had everything I love. Good adventure, natural mysteries, other worldly experiences, and the best of all? Not a single romance. It had a girl as the main character being a freaking bad ass and not one man came to knock her down or lose her shine with a relationship. It was all about enjoying that mystery murder and the drama of magic. Fun read! Onto the next one! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, and Misogyny

Moderate: Blood and Addiction

Minor: Bullying

strixy16's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

A little slow to start, especially trying to keep up with the time skips. But the ending makes it worth it I thought.
Definitely read trigger warnings for this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Vomit

gothic_moss's review against another edition

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

5.0

I honestly don't have the words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. The plot twists had me spinning, and the atmosphere was so perfectly dark. I loved Alex's character and the messages in this book. I can't wait to read the sequel!
(If you want to read this book, do check the TW)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit and Sexual assault

emilywemily6's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

I’ve never read a book like this before, and it’s so refreshingly different than Bardugo’s YA novels (which I also loved!). I loved the sinister magic/dark academia vibes and how the multiple storylines unfold throughout the book. Lots of great plot twists I didn’t see coming and made me gasp out loud. I wish I understood more about the history of the houses/general world-building, but I think the book is written intentionally vague with a trickle of information as you are thrust into this world within our world, which adds to the mysterious, sinister feel. It kept me hooked and I can’t wait to read the next book. Apparently, lots of this book (not the magic lol) is true too, and now I want to go to New Haven.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Classism, Terminal illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Medical content, Gore, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Body horror, Grief, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Rape, Vomit, Racism, Addiction, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexual violence, and Stalking

adrienreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Self harm, Gore, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Rape, Addiction, Death, Child abuse, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, and Toxic relationship

candicet114's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

The secret history 🤝 necromancy 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Rape

deanchaudhri's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

I have never rly read fantasy before so this was a first and i was really pleasantly surprised - it still had the darkness and grit that I like in thriller/horrors in addition to the magic and world building which was really cool. Also it had one of my fave atmospheres: ‘dark academia university’ vibes which really made it that more immersive & I kept wanting to enter this world. Was slow at first and a little convoluted but the last 1/3 or so was very action packed and thriller-esque with some nice twists. Very unique story and I really was rooting for the characters - they were very well crafted. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Gore, Grief, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Medical content, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, and Emotional abuse