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A review by bethsreading
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.75
I will start with some of my favourite things about this book. The best part, in my opinion, is the main character Alex. She is complex, quick witted, and takes no prisoners. The most fun part to read was how Alex refused social norms and protocols to figure things out her own way, which usually meant fuck1ng sh1t up — and I loved it! The story/mystery was fun, with lots of twists and turns. Dark magic secret societies at Yale is such a great idea from Bardugo, mixing up a classic dark academia cocktail of politics, pride, and corruption. I appreciated the ways in which Darlington fit into but also broke the ‘nice rich boy’ trope and his complexity was very welcomed.
Now onto the ways in which this book was not perfect for me. From the get go, the book really just throws you head first into the deep end. It was just a bit too much too soon with info dumping without enough explanation and left the start of the book to be confusing. I also felt like the pacing was off, it really went 100mph and while it was a fun ride, it was also a bit exhausting having Alex in near death experience after near death experience without many breaks in between. I know the book is considered on the longer side already, but Leigh Bardugo is established enough that her editor could’ve given her an extra 50-100 pages of leeway so Alex could have some down time. I really wanted to see more of her with her friends, studying, researching etc. so the dramatic scenes packed a bit more of a punch and the pacing calmed a little. Finally, the book had multiple depictions of SA, and I felt these were very important to include because the reality is that within the setting of a rich college where privileged kids have access to power they really don’t know how to handle properly, of course such magic would be abused in these ways. However, while I do believe Bardugo was careful and respectful of the severity of the topic, it is always my personal opinion that details of SA are never necessary. As the audience we are smart enough to know the weight something like that holds, without needing details to ‘show it’. But once again, that is just my person opinion on broaching such a topic.
Overall, the book really pulled me in and took me on a wild ride. I will definitely be picking up the next book soon!
Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder