Reviews with content warning for Trafficking - Das neunte Haus

Before I go any further, please check the TWs before picking this book up — There are graphic descriptions of sexual assault, child molestation, and rape, as well as domestic violence, racism, drug abuse, overdose, non-consensual drugging, and relationships between a minor and an adult.

I overall really enjoyed this book, which was unexpected, since I DNF'd the second book in the Six of Crows duology. I thought the story was really unique and layered expertly.

My main quarrel is with Leigh's tendency (this is why I DNF'd Crooked Kingdom) to tell you rather than show you. What I mean by that is that there is very little dialogue and more paragraphs and paragraphs of text that are hard to focus on and make progress slow. I also was VERY concerned during the first 60 or so pages of this book, because we are thrown right in with NO context, and you just have to read and try to retain the information for when it is finally explained (it is finally explained, I promise). There are a lot of terms that you have to wrangle and a lot of characters to keep up with, but it is worth it to push through.

I loved the characters (Alex is my gf, I really hope we get more of Darlington in Hell Bent because I have a huge crush on him just from the Manuscript Party scene, Dawes is my other gf, North is my pining bb) and I thought the plot was really good. Dark academia, secret societies, a murder mystery, ghosts?! It's full of good stuff.

Can't wait to read Hell Bent!

Content Warnings

jessreadreceipts's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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aprilbethp'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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ktv's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I loved this book. Perfect first read of the year. I loved the timeline being nonlinear. Foreshadowing was predictable at some parts in the beginning but at the end (last 25%) I had no idea what I was going to be hit with next.

Loved how the wheel symbolism came back fill circle. Also how Bardugo characterized Belbalm like I thought she had something to do with magic at first but then my scent was thrown off that trail because of how convincing the writing was saying that Alex just wanted a normal and calm life.

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bookishgia's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Very long list of trigger warnings attached to this one.

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delvie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

I would put money down that Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black wrote their occult-adjacent adult debut novels together on some secret writers' retreat. They're eerily similar on tone and theme. Additionally, the main characters in both books, Alex and Charlie, would be fast friends.

My feelings on this book are extremely similar to my feelings on Holly Black's debut adult novel: the critiques hold up. It IS slow. It IS boring.

I called the first half of the twist shockingly early along; I don't think that's due to me being clever so much as it being obvious. That being said, the second half of the twist wasn't so much of a twist as it was a lore dump. Books with mysteries that don't give the reader everything they need to solve them aren't mysteries so much as messy. And the plot threads that are left after the initial murder is solved are tied up by some piece of lore neither you or the main character had an idea about. It's supposed to be this mic drop "oh shit" moment that puts you onto the sequels, but I was left feeling annoyed that I had wasted energy trying to solve something that I couldn't have solved. It's not clever; it's not a trick question- it's annoying and poor writing.

Alex is extremely dry as a character. I couldn't tell you a thing about her that isn't her aesthetic or her trauma. Same goes for every other character in this book, unfortunately.

Check the trigger warnings; I don't think having to read/listen to the graphic scenes were worth what I got out of this book in ANY stretch of the imagination. I won't be reading the sequel.

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nenya's review against another edition

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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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