A review by kaycie51782
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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? It's complicated

4.5

This books needs some content warnings. There's domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual humiliation.

This book wasn't at all what I was expecting, but that wasn't a bad thing. It's about secret societies at Yale. The story is well written. The jumps between timelines are well done, though there were a few times I got lost and had to back up to figure out what happened.

The story was very interesting: what if you could see ghosts and no one believed you, so it ruins your life... Until it gets you a free ride to a premier Ivy League University.

The plot moves along at a good pace. I never really felt like it was dragging, but it also wasn't action all the time. There's magic, ghosts, intrigue, humans being humans (for good and bad), college parties, murder investigations. It's a fascinating story.

And the ending? Perfect. I went to the library the minute it opened the next day to get the sequel! 

It's a good read, but heed the content warnings. They are in context with the story. They aren't necessary (and I'm increasingly annoyed that they are used as plot devices) but they don't stick out as egregious either.

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