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A review by frenchtoast_n_books
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book, but the more I read the more the mysteries kept pulling me back in.
TW: rape, sexual assualt, grief, death, drug use, and possibly more.
First, I know next to nothing about New Haven and Yale, except what was said in history classes and the general buzz of the school's status. This book definitely makes you curious about Yale's campus and the truths that you can flesh out via Google about its secret societies. It seems Leigh Bardugo did her research, and it helps that she went there for her undergrad. Now where fact blurs into fiction, that is certainly a very interesting thing to look into.
Alex is a very shifty character. She loves manipulating others and she is very good at it too. She does anything to uncover the secrets behind Darlington's disappearance, the death of Tara, and Yale's secret societies, at the expense of others and breaking the law. Though her reasoning may be for good reasons, I wouldn't consider her a good person, and I'm here for it.
Many of the other characters are also developed well on the page but I also thought more attention could've been placed on others.
Now, this book jumps between before Darlington's disappearance and after, fall and winter respectively. I think the jump made for a great storytelling tactic, but I also thought it was unnecessary because they seem to go over what happens in the past also in the present through Darlington's perspective and Alex's. It broke up the flow of the mystery in both successful and unsuccessful ways leaving a depth to the characters while stilting the pacing.
The pacing could have been buffeted by the removal of the mystery surrounding Alex's past. The reveal was certainly interesting, but could have served a different frame for the story. Making her past this mystsry to solve while Alex solves all these other mysteries made the story feel too crowded. I kept thinking "oh, so this is happening too" instead of feeling shocked or impressed by a new shroud being lifted for the reader.
Though, I can say this is me nit-picking the story because overall it was a great mystery. I was constantly guessing and being proved wrong. The atmosphere and characters were rich, and Leigh Bardugo's writing, as always, impresses.
I think this would've been great as a stand-alone, but following Alex's journey to uncover more about Yale's secret society, her own powers, and the occult itself will be quite fascinating. Will Leigh Bardugo keep with the mystery dynamic and storytelling method in the sequel by introducing new mysteries? Or will she opt for a more traditional urban-fantasy method as many mysteries from this book have been solved?
I'll pleasantly wait to find out.
TW: rape, sexual assualt, grief, death, drug use, and possibly more.
First, I know next to nothing about New Haven and Yale, except what was said in history classes and the general buzz of the school's status. This book definitely makes you curious about Yale's campus and the truths that you can flesh out via Google about its secret societies. It seems Leigh Bardugo did her research, and it helps that she went there for her undergrad. Now where fact blurs into fiction, that is certainly a very interesting thing to look into.
Alex is a very shifty character. She loves manipulating others and she is very good at it too. She does anything to uncover the secrets behind Darlington's disappearance, the death of Tara, and Yale's secret societies, at the expense of others and breaking the law. Though her reasoning may be for good reasons, I wouldn't consider her a good person, and I'm here for it.
Many of the other characters are also developed well on the page but I also thought more attention could've been placed on others.
Now, this book jumps between before Darlington's disappearance and after, fall and winter respectively. I think the jump made for a great storytelling tactic, but I also thought it was unnecessary because they seem to go over what happens in the past also in the present through Darlington's perspective and Alex's. It broke up the flow of the mystery in both successful and unsuccessful ways leaving a depth to the characters while stilting the pacing.
The pacing could have been buffeted by the removal of the mystery surrounding Alex's past. The reveal was certainly interesting, but could have served a different frame for the story. Making her past this mystsry to solve while Alex solves all these other mysteries made the story feel too crowded. I kept thinking "oh, so this is happening too" instead of feeling shocked or impressed by a new shroud being lifted for the reader.
Though, I can say this is me nit-picking the story because overall it was a great mystery. I was constantly guessing and being proved wrong. The atmosphere and characters were rich, and Leigh Bardugo's writing, as always, impresses.
I think this would've been great as a stand-alone, but following Alex's journey to uncover more about Yale's secret society, her own powers, and the occult itself will be quite fascinating. Will Leigh Bardugo keep with the mystery dynamic and storytelling method in the sequel by introducing new mysteries? Or will she opt for a more traditional urban-fantasy method as many mysteries from this book have been solved?
I'll pleasantly wait to find out.