Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - Ninth House

(specifically, Lethe, the Ninth House she becomes a member of) for her unique ability to see Grays (this world's version of ghosts, essentially). It was interesting seeing Alex and Darlington (her guide in Lethe) interact.. Darlington has grown up in high society and has a background that contrasts Alex greatly. In their initial interactions it is clear that he is quite judgemental of Alex. However, as we discover more about both Darlington's and Alex's past, it is clear that they share experiences that parallel each other. This explains why they understand each other very well as they get to know each other.

The story switches back and forth between the past and the present. It took me a few moments to realize that events were occuring in a dual timeline, but it's not something that was too confusing or took away from the story. There were intermittent snippets of Alex and Darlington's backgrounds sprinkled in. It made it easier to understand their motivations within the story and also created a lot of sympathy for both of them. Additionally, it made me want to keep reading to find out more about them.

Furthermore, I appreciated the female to femlae relationships in the book. Dawes and Alex don't really like each other that much when they first. As the story progresses it is clear that the most unexpected people can become the best allies. We don't see Alex's roomates very often in the story. However, via events in the story, it is clear that they are becoming friends more than roomates. There were cathartic moments that they had together that involved pain, vengeance, and justice that felt satisfying to me. I also appreciated the loving mother/daughter relationship shown between Alex and her mother. There is a lot of painful history between them. Despite that, it is clear that they absolutely love and care for one another .

This books explores very dark themes including drug addiction, sexual assault, rape culture, etc. The theme exploration I enjoyed the most in the story is that of poverty and how growing up in poverty or scarcity affects how you think about things as an adult. There are a lot of moments where some of the thoughts Alex has or the way she perceives things show us that she grew up poor. That was also probably the most impressive thing about Leigh Bardugo's writing; she has an amazing way of showing you a character without having to tell you about them. It made this reading experience incredibly enjoyable for me. I'm looking forward to the sequel because this story was such a pleasure to dive into.

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lauramparis's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

Writing: 5⭐️/5

The writing in this novel is stunning. Bardugo moves easily from highly controlled and crafted prose to snippy, sassy quips with ease. Part of the reason it took me a few hours longer to read than I would have guessed is because I spent so much time writing brilliant, eloquent quotes into my notes app. Absolutely stunning writing.

Characters: 5⭐️/5

The characters felt real and fully developed. I enjoyed how much time was spent seeing characters from other character’s perspective, giving us insight into how each character presents themselves, as well as their internal bias and judgement they push onto others. Certain characters that, at the beginning felt fairly flat, were given time and space to showcase their personalities later, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also thoroughly enjoyed the way the female relationships were explored in this novel. The care in which these relationships were engaged made me very happy both as a reader and a woman.

Plot: 4.5⭐️/5

**Spoilers below**

I took one issue with the plot, which was the employment of a rape scene. Personally, I felt this scene was unnecessary both to the development of our main character, as well as the progression of the plot. This particular scene didn’t really fit for me and could have been written in a different way to give the same effect. My main takeaway from the scene was that it mostly read as an easy way to give our MC “trauma,” which could have been done in a number of more interesting and less triggering ways.

Otherwise, the overarching plot was entirely enjoyable to read and kept me thoroughly engaged until the end.

Who Should Read This Book?

Lovers of dark academia, fantasy and/or magical murder mystery novels
Those who want an adult fantasy read with a spark of romance and little to no spice
Readers wanting an engaging world and well-established magic system
Someone looking for a strong fantasy read with strong female relationships

Content Warnings?

Rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual content, gore, blood, vomit, medical trauma, death, abandonment, drug use, alcohol use, excrement, injury, pedophilia,

Post-Reading Rating: 5⭐️/5

I was engaged until the final page. Excited for the sequel.

Final Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

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nenya's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

this was such an easy 5 stars holy smokes. i‘ve got to be honest, i found it quite hard to really get into it at first (it’s not being told chronically and there are like 3-4 points in time that keep changing throughout the narrative and that you need to keep track of - but once you figure it out, it really adds to the reading experience, i loved it) but the plot, characters and especially the plot twists (!!) really won me over - especially the plot twists, because they are partly very hard to predict (also because of the time jumps), which made this book a very mysterious and catching read. the only complaint i have is that the sequel won’t be out until next year :((

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fourfootedbeasts's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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samrp01's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

More like 4.5 stars.
I'm so glad I finally got around to reading this. It would have been a 5 star if I hadn't wanted to skim over some of the school history stuff, but that's just me. There were some things, like the descriptions of the assault on Alex when she was young and the description of the assault on Mercy, and also the whole Bryce-toilet-thing, among others, that made me feel sick. There was a point a little over 2/3ds into the book where it got very sad when you find out that one character seems like a lost cause. I like how the ending was left off in a way where Leigh could totally come back and write a sequel, but it would also make sense for Alex and Dawes to go off and do that on their own, 'without us'. There were times when I was confused about the story line and character plots, but the historical stuff. I don't do well with timeline jumps. But again, that's a me problem.

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theespressoedition's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I've been going back and forth in my mind on how to rate this book properly since I finished reading it last night.

On the one hand, I didn't love it. Truthfully, I didn't expect to. I knew enough about it ahead of time (trigger warnings and all) that I was aware it's not my normal style of book and the content might just not be my cup of tea. However, there was a part of me that really hoped I would surprise myself and wind up adoring it - primarily because I just adore Leigh.

The book is kind of icky. And I'm not just talking about the gore or even the triggering content, but there are just moments that made me actually nauseous and I would say, "UM EW" aloud. That's not the most pleasant feeling while reading a book, I gotta be honest. And then, of course, there's the gore and the triggering content itself. I wasn't as uncomfortable with that as I anticipated, but it's definitely a huge part of the story, so there's a reason why everyone and their mom is recommending that you read the warnings ahead of time. Even Leigh herself has been ridiculously vocal about this.

On the other hand, the interview at the end of the audiobook made me appreciate the story so much more. Leigh is a phenomenal person with an incredible mind and I respect her so much and the amount of her heart and soul that she put into the creation of this story. How so much of it is based on reality, rather than purely fiction.

The characters didn't really suck me in, though I did like that they were basically all morally gray. That always makes for an interesting story. And the ending was interesting enough that I may pick up the sequel. I'm undecided.

I'll add my voice to the trillion others who have said that this is nothing like The Grishaverse. It is not YA - nor should anyone younger than 18 read it, in my opinion. Please read the trigger warnings and know that it is very dark and won't necessarily leave you feeling hopeful when you walk away from it. But it is wonderfully written and has an interesting (albeit confusing af) story.

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uranaishi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

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