Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

158 reviews

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

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

crpettit'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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Trafficking, Violence, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

mylargirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Gore, Death, Violence, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Addiction, Classism, Physical abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Adult/minor relationship

mirandaleighhhh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

3.75

This was slow-medium paced, mostly due to world building. I had a hard time following for at least the first 40% of the book, but by the end it was tied together. It also took some time to get used to the perspective and timeline shifts, but ultimately that is one of the more interesting aspects of the story. I loved Darlington and Dawes, I love Alex to- she’s full of fire and justice and yeah it all reads like she’s morally grey but honestly????? She’s the one with the strongest morals. I wasn’t expecting the ending, and I’m looking forward to the next book!

<spoilers>
I felt that the r*pe scene was unnecessary? I understand its purpose, but I don’t think her characterization would have suffered at all if that scene had been physical abuse rather than sexual. It seems there were enough horrifying men throughout the course of her life so far, and I just don’t know that going further with a ghost scenario in the fictional world was necessary. 
I also wish there had been a little more development or detail (even an extra chapter or two) about Dawes and Darlington's relationship, and some experiences on the job between Alex and Darlington, to fill some of the gaps where the world building could have been better.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Addiction, Body horror, Drug abuse, Rape, Blood, Death, Sexual assault, and Violence

moistwaffle's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

Honestly, Ninth House is one of my favourite fantasy reads in a long time and I am angry at myself for not reading it sooner. 
I think this book really shows off Bardugo's talent as a writer; the prose here is really elevated compared to her YA books and the characters wonderfully fleshed out. Also, her creativity in expertly intertwining real New Haven and Yale history with the occult was so fun to read. 
The main reason I docked the last 0.25 is because the ending felt rather rushed and the pacing felt a little off in that section. The final chapter

where they tell us that Darlington is a demon

kinda gave me whiplash because I wondered whether I had missed the particular scene where this was worked out. Turns out, nope, they're just setting the scene for the next book. Either way, really looking forward to more of Bardugo's adult novels because I feel they really give her space to shine, and I am getting started on Hell Bent tomorrow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Murder, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Excrement, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

prairieraven's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Car accident, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Violence

carmencolette's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Murder, Drug use, and Adult/minor relationship

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I really liked this and I'm excited to read the next book. I don't read a ton of books with magic, but this world is just really well-developed, and I felt so connected to a lot of the characters. Excited to read more by this Ms. Bardugo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Grief, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Toxic friendship, Blood, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, and Bullying

Minor: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Alcohol