A review by jdamae11
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 ** spoiler alert ** Bardugo excels at putting together misfit crews, and the one in Hell Bent had promise from its stronger foundation in its predecessor, Ninth House. The characters all have great potential, but I would have loved some time for them to breathe and for us to get a feel for their relation to one another, more of a “why” to get at their loyalty to each other. This book is filled to the brim with plot & at times I felt suffocated by the action of the book. However, let’s talk about how they do a HELL HEIST. Hello!?? I was LIVINGGG for this and really locked in for about the middle 100 pages of the book when the buildup for this event and the actual event is happening, and then the rest of the book is just kind of doing the absolute most. I enjoyed the heavier Horror genre lean in this book, thought it was scarier than Ninth House, and the collegiate First-Gen low-income narrative was really relatable. One thing I think is done really well is capturing the feeling of being trapped when you just do NOT have resources—especially in a U.S. context—and how ever-present that burden can feel. I really feel for Alex and relate to her so much in this regard. I think this book overall was a stepping stone to the rest of the planned series Bardugo has for the main protagonist, Alex Stern. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings