Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

La nona casa by Leigh Bardugo

520 reviews

abbeyyyrosee's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

Daaarrrk academia. Wonderfully written, compelling plot, complex characters, and a few curveball plot points - not entirely unpredictable, but there were some surprises. Beginning of the book bounces back and forth in POV and point in time; a little confusing initially since you're still learning the world, but you figure it out. You'll know within a few chapters if this book is for you - see trigger warnings below. 

Trigger warnings: rape, gore, violence, death, microaggressions, racism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, Violence, Gore, Addiction, Blood, and Rape

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Racism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

robles2yggdrasil's review against another edition

Alright, I didn't finish the book because I was uncomfortable with the sexual assault and rape that happened in the book. Given I only made it to Chapter 17 (pg. 266), I loved the story and the universe and everything with the occult was great. However, the visualization of the sexual trauma was too much for me.

I added a toned-down, but inclusive overview of what transpired.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Child abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Addiction, Drug abuse, Excrement, and Cursing

Spoilers (Sexual Content and Rape): p. 122-123

This is a flashback to the main character's youth (12~13). She is sexually assaulted and raped by a ghost. While it doesn't go into every single detail, the actions are depicted and enough given to form a vivid image. Main insight: The main character learns that the ghosts, "Grays", can physically interact with and harm her.

p. 249-250, 259-260

This relates to a present roommate of the main character. Said roommate is drugged and raped during a party. A video is used to blackmail her. The main character goes to stop the blackmailing and finds additional videos of other girls. Uses slang for genital and degrading/pornographic language and imagery. Main result: We find out that the murdered victim, Tara, was making the purple drug with her boyfriend.

daralexandria's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug use, Rape, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Death

sjbshannon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Death, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abandonment

grace_b_3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Addiction, and Rape

sgtz00's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Murder, Sexual assault, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

vanitzas's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Gore, Sexual assault, Vomit, Drug use, Violence, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Blood, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Sexism

laurariexx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Blood, Sexual assault, and Addiction

Moderate: Gore, Rape, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

neetarattan's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 • 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘢 •  ⁣𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 
𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 • 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 • 𝘋𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘖𝘝

I am so glad that Leigh Bardugo took the risk to do something 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 different, yet still epic fantasy - showcasing her incredible skill at creating complex worlds and magical systems, blurring the boundaries between fantasy and reality. The magic was deeply layered making it fun to learn about each secret society -  all of which are actual real structures on Yale's campus! [side note: I have never wanted to go on a guided tour of New Haven until now.] The paranormal aspects were haunting, contributing to the overall dark academia vibes.

Ninth House is less accessible than her prior series like Shadow & Bone or Six of Crows (Grishaverse). Let me explain why: the first half of the book is spent world building, creating a fully immersive environment for the reader. There is a lot to take in between characters, their pseudonyms, dates & places, and timeline flashbacks, not to mention the houses themselves and what type of magic each uses. Then there is the main plot: an unsolved murder. I loved watching the case unfold alongside Galaxy "Alex" Stern, aka Dante. 

But you get my point: a lot of readers want fast action & not have to do a lot of thinking. This is a much slower build, but if you are willing to wait for it, you will see the brilliance of the writer at the end. I loved Centurion, Darlington, Dawes, and North. Simply amazing.

This is truly a dark fantasy, lots of trigger warnings: Rape, Sexual Violence, Death, Murder, Classism, Violence, Gore, Drug Use, Drug Abuse, Misogyny, Addiction, Blood, Body Shaming, Toxic Relationship, Adult/Minor Relationship.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, Murder, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Violence

_lazyreader_90's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Self harm, Grief, Gore, and Toxic relationship