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A review by saucy_bookdragon
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“The chance to show someone else wonder; to watch them realize they had not been lied to, that the world they’d been promised as children was not something that had to be abandoned, that there really was something lurking in the woods, beneath the stairs, between that stars, that everything was full of mystery.”
Ninth House is messy and very flawed, yet I was captivated by it the entire time.
I initially DNF’d it in 2019 due to the darker and triggering elements giving me anxiety. Since then, I’ve gotten significantly better at handling those elements, so I had zero problems with anxiety reading it again in 2024, which is a testament to my own improved mental health. That said, definitely pay attention to the trigger warnings before going into this because a lot of heavy stuff is included, rape in particular is a big one.
I buddy read this with a friend who’s Jewish, which was great because he was able to catch a lot of references to Judaism that would have gone over my head, in particular with how Leigh Bardugo built this world. It’s very detailed and interesting thematically with how it combines elements of Judaism, Catholicism, Greco-Roman mythology, while also being its own, unique world. These elements also have an impact on the plot through parallels, so much so that by analyzing them me and my buddy read partner actually predicted a few plot points in the ending. It’s also done in a respectful, delicate way given how easily a story about the occult and secret societies could be antisemitic.
The world building is the highlight of this novel. It's so creepy and atmospheric and detailed. A place where spirits and magic are extremely present if you know where to look. In making this world even more immersive, Bardugo has such a great writing style that nearly disappears, allowing you to get lost in the story.
Darlington as a character was another highlight. Clearly the same breed as the Darkling, down to having similar names and appearances, Darlington is like “what if the Darkling was nice?” He is very charming and complex. I also really enjoyed the slight hints of romance he had with Alex, Bardugo is excellent at making romances that are so slow and yearnful and delicate (to this day Kaz and Inej have a chokehold on me).
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the protagonist, Alex. Though her backstory is well fleshed out, I never felt I truly knew or connected to her. It was like I knew facts about her, but not who she was as a person.
Her ethnic representation is also questionable. She’s half Sephardic and half Latina. Now Bardugo herself is Sephardic and you can tell she gave a lot of attention to that side of Alex’s identity. However, Alex falls into negative stereotypes around Latinx people (in particular her past with drugs and crime). Though Latinx people with her traits do exist, the way it is done with Alex leaves those stereotypes unexamined, just throwing them at her with little regard to how harmful these stereotypes are. And I’m not the only one to notice these problems, I’ve also seen a few Latinx BookTokkers point them out.
In the spoilers tag, I will be discussing how the book handles rape. I’ve hidden it so anyone who finds the topic too triggering can skip it over. The section also contains some small spoilers. The rest of my review doesn’t touch on the topic.
I also have mixed feelings on how this book handles rape. I actually liked how Alex’s experience was handled. Slight spoilers, but she was raped by a ghost when she was twelve years old. I thought the scene was relatively tasteful, focused mainly on her emotions and the surroundings without a ton of description around the actual act, the scene is over after about a page. I also liked it thematically, she was violated by a ghost so no one believes her, he faces no consequences, and her trauma is invalidated. It was a sad reflection on how sexual assault victims are treated in real life with little justice or regard for their trauma.
However, later on a side character named Hellie gets raped and murdered. This scene is used as backstory and development for Alex and I found it distasteful. We know little about Hellie as a character, she wasn’t even introduced before this scene. Her existence begins and ends with being assaulted, and it’s all for Alex's character development. There was no reason to include sexual assault in this scene, Alex would have reacted the same had it just been the murder. It also immediately fridges the character. I do believe this scene could have been rewritten in a more respectful way while still fitting the dark tone of the book.
The plot itself is also pretty messy. It’s got uneven pacing, the flashbacks did not have to happen when they did (yet they're more interesting than the main plot), the side characters are uninteresting, and some of the mystery’s answers come out of the blue. Though in my buddy read we predicted some of the answers because of the themes and references, the actual way they’re executed is out of nowhere, especially with the magical elements. The magic system is too soft and too random.
The lack of a clearly defined magic system also impacts the academia elements. Supposedly, these secret societies are studying magic, but most of it feels random and poorly explained. Once again, the world building is super cool and detailed, but it isn’t well defined.
It’s actually strange this is set at Yale given very little academia actually happens, I couldn’t even tell you what Alex and Darlington are majoring in or what their class schedule looks like. The Yale setting is really only there to use the real life secret societies (by the way, Bardugo made the society she was a part of the animal shapeshifters).
So yeah, Ninth House is a pretty mixed bag. The book seems to be something you either love or hate and I get that, I myself am divided over it. I’m not sure who I’d recommend it to, like I know some specific people who might like it but not the overall audience. I am glad I gave it a second chance because the parts I liked I really liked, I overall had a good time with this! I’m also intrigued enough to read the second book. I’m glad that Leigh Bardugo has this series and an upcoming historical fantasy for her to write stories outside the Grishaverse, it’s nice to get some variety from her and shows she is an overall talented writer!
TWs: there are two on page rape scenes, one of which happens to the main character as a child. Drug addiction is another major theme and part of the main character’s backstory. The story’s world building has a heavy emphasis on ghosts and death so there is a lot of corpse imagery and grief. Literally eating shit, murder, lots of gore including dissecting people, and some racist comments about Latinx people. (less)
Ninth House is messy and very flawed, yet I was captivated by it the entire time.
I initially DNF’d it in 2019 due to the darker and triggering elements giving me anxiety. Since then, I’ve gotten significantly better at handling those elements, so I had zero problems with anxiety reading it again in 2024, which is a testament to my own improved mental health. That said, definitely pay attention to the trigger warnings before going into this because a lot of heavy stuff is included, rape in particular is a big one.
I buddy read this with a friend who’s Jewish, which was great because he was able to catch a lot of references to Judaism that would have gone over my head, in particular with how Leigh Bardugo built this world. It’s very detailed and interesting thematically with how it combines elements of Judaism, Catholicism, Greco-Roman mythology, while also being its own, unique world. These elements also have an impact on the plot through parallels, so much so that by analyzing them me and my buddy read partner actually predicted a few plot points in the ending. It’s also done in a respectful, delicate way given how easily a story about the occult and secret societies could be antisemitic.
The world building is the highlight of this novel. It's so creepy and atmospheric and detailed. A place where spirits and magic are extremely present if you know where to look. In making this world even more immersive, Bardugo has such a great writing style that nearly disappears, allowing you to get lost in the story.
Darlington as a character was another highlight. Clearly the same breed as the Darkling, down to having similar names and appearances, Darlington is like “what if the Darkling was nice?” He is very charming and complex. I also really enjoyed the slight hints of romance he had with Alex, Bardugo is excellent at making romances that are so slow and yearnful and delicate (to this day Kaz and Inej have a chokehold on me).
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the protagonist, Alex. Though her backstory is well fleshed out, I never felt I truly knew or connected to her. It was like I knew facts about her, but not who she was as a person.
Her ethnic representation is also questionable. She’s half Sephardic and half Latina. Now Bardugo herself is Sephardic and you can tell she gave a lot of attention to that side of Alex’s identity. However, Alex falls into negative stereotypes around Latinx people (in particular her past with drugs and crime). Though Latinx people with her traits do exist, the way it is done with Alex leaves those stereotypes unexamined, just throwing them at her with little regard to how harmful these stereotypes are. And I’m not the only one to notice these problems, I’ve also seen a few Latinx BookTokkers point them out.
In the spoilers tag, I will be discussing how the book handles rape. I’ve hidden it so anyone who finds the topic too triggering can skip it over. The section also contains some small spoilers. The rest of my review doesn’t touch on the topic.
However, later on a side character named Hellie gets raped and murdered. This scene is used as backstory and development for Alex and I found it distasteful. We know little about Hellie as a character, she wasn’t even introduced before this scene. Her existence begins and ends with being assaulted, and it’s all for Alex's character development. There was no reason to include sexual assault in this scene, Alex would have reacted the same had it just been the murder. It also immediately fridges the character. I do believe this scene could have been rewritten in a more respectful way while still fitting the dark tone of the book.
The plot itself is also pretty messy. It’s got uneven pacing, the flashbacks did not have to happen when they did (yet they're more interesting than the main plot), the side characters are uninteresting, and some of the mystery’s answers come out of the blue. Though in my buddy read we predicted some of the answers because of the themes and references, the actual way they’re executed is out of nowhere, especially with the magical elements. The magic system is too soft and too random.
The lack of a clearly defined magic system also impacts the academia elements. Supposedly, these secret societies are studying magic, but most of it feels random and poorly explained. Once again, the world building is super cool and detailed, but it isn’t well defined.
It’s actually strange this is set at Yale given very little academia actually happens, I couldn’t even tell you what Alex and Darlington are majoring in or what their class schedule looks like. The Yale setting is really only there to use the real life secret societies (by the way, Bardugo made the society she was a part of the animal shapeshifters).
So yeah, Ninth House is a pretty mixed bag. The book seems to be something you either love or hate and I get that, I myself am divided over it. I’m not sure who I’d recommend it to, like I know some specific people who might like it but not the overall audience. I am glad I gave it a second chance because the parts I liked I really liked, I overall had a good time with this! I’m also intrigued enough to read the second book. I’m glad that Leigh Bardugo has this series and an upcoming historical fantasy for her to write stories outside the Grishaverse, it’s nice to get some variety from her and shows she is an overall talented writer!
TWs: there are two on page rape scenes, one of which happens to the main character as a child. Drug addiction is another major theme and part of the main character’s backstory. The story’s world building has a heavy emphasis on ghosts and death so there is a lot of corpse imagery and grief. Literally eating shit, murder, lots of gore including dissecting people, and some racist comments about Latinx people. (less)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Rape, Murder, Drug abuse, and Death
Moderate: Racism