Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Das neunte Haus by Leigh Bardugo

203 reviews

mae_dexter_author'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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

naturally's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.75

for the longest time, i've held the opinion that leigh bardugo's work is adult fiction with YA packaging. in ninth house, i feel as though her creative voice was/is given the space to run free. and, honestly, i enjoyed most of the journey that ninth house took me on, as a reader.

BE WARNED: ninth house is NOT a light or easy read. the topics touched upon are very distressing, and the writing is overflowing with information. at times, it feel like i was reading a historical text book about yale, secret societies and new haven. the pay-off was definitely worth it, though. the real meat and potatoes of the plot is served up after the first hundred pages? the meal was plentiful! the mystery and suspense surrounding tara's murder and darlington's disappearance sucked me in, and i didn't want to put the book down...

as a supporter of both women's rights and wrongs, i really appreciated alex. she was a fascinating anti-heroine. her slow-burning friendship/alliance with dawes and turner were highlights. plus, there was a tension between alex and darlington that...ngl i was a fan of. very intrigued to see how that will develop because the origins of their sexual attraction to one another (whether they will ever admit to it) was pretty f*cked up??

i'm suspecting that darlington will be just as morally "tainted" as alex when he returns from hell in book 2. the revelation that he has committed an act of murder and was thus turned into a demon was...definitely a jaw dropper. my prediction is that he murdered his grandfather (with permission) so that he could hang into black elm idk

however, where ninth house fell short for me, is that alex's sense of moral justice toward the end never felt 100% believable to me. the young woman we are introduced to is understandably crooked and willing do whatever she has to do to survive/never return to her old life. i had a hard time believing that she would be so dedicated to upholding the function and strict rules of lethe. following on from this, the knowledge that hellie and alex were besties does a lot of the heavy lifting. on the actual pages, there is little to no development given to their actual friendship. alex's past was very f*cked up and drug addiction was a huge part of that...yet alex has virtually no inner conflict about being surrounded by drugs and alcohol? i get that her relapsing would have interrupted the flow of the story too much, but i was shocked that alex was able to get/stay clean so quickly, and that there was no temptation considering the drug culture at yale...

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Antisemitism

tara_valeria's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, and Medical trauma

kokopeach's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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? No

5.0

Boy I did not see this book coming. Picked up Hell Bent because I liked the cover not realizing it was second book in a series. So of course I had to start from the beginning and this book took me on a WILD ride I couldn’t put it down. The lore is amazing. The prose is on point. None of the cringe clichés that you often see in fantasy and a decent amount of humor to get you through the dark points. Check content warnings. This is a serious adult fantasy. Everything that I want to see in the venger and handled with care. The twists. Whew. I couldn’t guess what was coming next and yes that’s plural because there are multiple that when revealed kept me hungry for more. Starting the next book ASAP.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault and Blood

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, and Drug use

alisonluongo's review against another edition

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? No

5.0

I loved the way she weaves plot points throughout the story. It really added to the mysterious vibe and character and world building really well. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

amelianotthepilot's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

oliviah1111's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

csmall73's review against another edition

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

5.0

Dark intriguing mysterious 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

dixiecarroll's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.25

An interesting take on the dark academia genre though I would call this more of a murder mystery with some dark academia in it - Alex Stern is not in a secret society, she is the “law and order” for them (vague take). I ultimately think this was trying so hard to be an adult book that it was over complicated and confusing, but I had fun and I’m excited for the sequel!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

reachingforstardust's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism