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A review by deedireads
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Hell Bent was an awesome sequel to Ninth House. I loved diving deeper into these characters and their relationships, all while happily along for the plot ride Leigh Bardugo is famous for.
For you if: You like dark fantasy/academia (and already read Ninth House).
FULL REVIEW:
Hell Bent is the long-awaited, much-anticipated sequel to Ninth House. It’s the second book in the Alex Stern trilogy (although until I read this book I totally thought this was a duology 😅) , an adult dark academia/fantasy series about Yale’s secret societies by our queen, Leigh Bardugo.
We knew from Ninth House that this was going to be a wild ride, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. No spoilers here, but I will say that the story picks up a few months after the last book ended. And whereas Ninth House was more of a world/character introduction by way of mystery (“what happened to Darlington?”), Hell Bent is all about deepening our relationship with those characters while we ride along on the unputdownable plot journey Leigh is famous for (“OK, so how do we save him?”).
I loved getting more time with our motley little crew: fierce but loving Mercy; soft but strong Dawes; moral but loyal Turner. I also felt like Alex kept her badass, unapologetic nature while also growing a bit more mature, but in a way that felt organic for us as we’ve gotten to know her. And of course, Leigh’s skill at using a non-linear timeline to keep us engaged and guessing without making things confusing was on full display.
So the good news is that this was totally worth the wait. But the even better news is that it doesn’t look like we’ll have to wait as long between books 2 and 3, because she’s already hard at work on the finale.
And finally, for those of you who’ve already read this, I’ll just say: glow sticks. #IYKYK.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Hell Bent was an awesome sequel to Ninth House. I loved diving deeper into these characters and their relationships, all while happily along for the plot ride Leigh Bardugo is famous for.
For you if: You like dark fantasy/academia (and already read Ninth House).
FULL REVIEW:
Hell Bent is the long-awaited, much-anticipated sequel to Ninth House. It’s the second book in the Alex Stern trilogy (although until I read this book I totally thought this was a duology 😅) , an adult dark academia/fantasy series about Yale’s secret societies by our queen, Leigh Bardugo.
We knew from Ninth House that this was going to be a wild ride, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. No spoilers here, but I will say that the story picks up a few months after the last book ended. And whereas Ninth House was more of a world/character introduction by way of mystery (“what happened to Darlington?”), Hell Bent is all about deepening our relationship with those characters while we ride along on the unputdownable plot journey Leigh is famous for (“OK, so how do we save him?”).
I loved getting more time with our motley little crew: fierce but loving Mercy; soft but strong Dawes; moral but loyal Turner. I also felt like Alex kept her badass, unapologetic nature while also growing a bit more mature, but in a way that felt organic for us as we’ve gotten to know her. And of course, Leigh’s skill at using a non-linear timeline to keep us engaged and guessing without making things confusing was on full display.
So the good news is that this was totally worth the wait. But the even better news is that it doesn’t look like we’ll have to wait as long between books 2 and 3, because she’s already hard at work on the finale.
And finally, for those of you who’ve already read this, I’ll just say: glow sticks. #IYKYK.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death and Gun violence