Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

59 reviews

bristleconebby's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I don't get the hype around this book - it was pretty slow and the worldbuilding was surprisingly surface-level given her previous work. I wish we got to know the societies more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture

kiwij96's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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

This was a fantastic adult debut by Leigh Bardugo, I was genuinely impressed. It was a bit of a rocky start with the time jumps but about 80 pages in it definitely came into its own. Great magic system in the contemporary world, great mysteries surrounding the characters, and the plot twists were brilliant.

The concept for this book is well thought-out: Alex is a young girl plagued by ghosts, both metaphorical and literal, who finds herself with a free pass to one of the most prestigious universities as a result of her gift, and also where finds herself in the midst of at least 3 murder mysteries. However, at times the chapters were too long, paragraphs too clunky or generally too wordy. Her roommate characters were also super forgettable and definitely plot devices.

I would highly recommend checking your trigger warnings for this because there are some heavy topics and triggering scenes in here if you are unprepared.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

paperbacklyds's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

mc_castle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I don't know if I enjoyed it, but I was GRIPPED. It's was a blend of dark academia, fantasy, a commentary on the upper classes and a murder mystery. Everything bad that could happen to someone happened to the protagonist but with ghosts involved. Also was interesting pacing as it wasn't linear storytelling, especially at the beginning where you're thrown into a weird future telling ritual, where a group of students reach into a man's innards to predict the stock market prices. With NO context. I was very confused at first. Also why do college kids have so much power? Read to find out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism

rory18's review against another edition

I don't think I can stomach listening to this one. I'll read it later. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Blood, and Medical content

Moderate: Kidnapping

lau4491's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

It starts off SO slow and doesn’t go far enough into the things it should and goes way to far into the things it shouldn’t. I want to read the next one out of sheer curiosity but I’m not sure if I should.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Excrement, and Injury/Injury detail

katschkekat's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Murder

cwallace1005's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Ninth House not only gives a dark and fascinating mystery to unravel, but it also takes on issues of class, race, and gender without being overly heavy-handed. Alex was a really interesting main character thrown into a world she feels like she doesn't belong in for many reasons. This was like a grown-up Great and Terrible Beauty and I loved every minute.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Blood

madinhoa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

heather_harrison's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A delicious combination of occult magic, dark academia, foreboding, and social commentary. 

Alex (Galaxy) is yet another example of Bardugo’s crafted flawed protagonist; a former high school drop out drug addict who is provided a chance to join Lethe, secret society at Yale. Their purpose is the monitor the other magical secret societies but when a girl turns up dead, Alex is convinced something is off. 

It is unapologetically dark and graphic at times. A blend of horror & dark adult fantasy. 

The time line was a bit confusing when listening via audiobook but I otherwise really enjoyed this and cannot wait for the sequel Hell Bent 😈

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Sexual harassment