A review by fionamclary
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The premise and plot of this book were excellently executed. Alex was a great main character, and I loved how she had a strong moral compass that still lead her to do grotesque things.

A couple minor but significant complaints:

The way Alex reacted to Darlington's behavior at the Manuscript party seemed odd considering she is a survivor of SA. While you could argue that she is sympathetic and understanding that the drug he got was a form of SA as well, considering how it affected him, that still doesn't make it reasonable that she'd just be fine with everything. This was jarring amidst Bardugo's otherwise decently sensitive and realistic portrayal of Alex as a SA survivor.

I found that Dawes was autism-coded, and that the way Alex describes her initially indicated that Alex dislikes her for her autistic traits. She seems annoyed by her adherence to rules, alienated by her single-minded focus, put off by her ever-present headphones and favoring the same comfortable clothes.
When Alex does finally get closer to Dawes, it's due to shared trauma, not because she sees that there's nothing wrong with the aspects of her that she was initially put off by.
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