A review by whytrytohide
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Candidly, it’s nothing short of a masterpiece. Completely engrossing. What struck me most about this book was the writer’s talent for making you care deeply about every character. Alex, of course, but Dawes and Darlington and the hatable characters and even bit parts like Alex’s mom, who appears for only a few pages but gets a beautiful sequence that made me deeply sympathetic and reminded me of my own mom. 

There are MANY twists and turns, but impressively the pacing is quite even. Reveals come thick and fast but they keep coming. This is a fantasy book yes but I’d class it more as a thriller. 

I found the obsession with Yale and New Haven a bit alienating, as I just can’t relate. And if magic is so powerful, why leave it up to a few college kids to harness? So there are some oddities in the world building.

Plus, major SA trigger warning for this book. It’s a reoccurring theme. And I honestly have to say that the crucial backstory element where
Alex gets raped or almost raped by a ghost??
was super gross to read and honestly not even necessary to the plot.

But honestly, I can’t recommend this book enough. The pacing, the characterization, the adventure, the different types of magic. Once I got about 60% of the way through I had to finish it in one sitting. 
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