Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Ninth House

Disappointing. The writing style is pretty banal for a novel that is immersed in a paranormal setting, with secret societies and an MC desperately trying to unravel a deadly mystery. It also comes across as much more YA than I expected at the outset.

I understand the MC had a depressingly bad background, but even so I found her unappealing, foul-mouthed and arrogant. I think the author was aiming at undaunted, go-getting and savvy. Perhaps it is a cultural thing? a generational thing? – but regardless, I have concluded that I am not at all the target audience!

As the CWs indicate, the novel has a lot of nastiness throughout, too. It’s not gratuitous, but be prepared for it if you decide to read it. I felt the novel improved a little from about the two-thirds mark, as some threads fell into place. And the twists within twists towards the end was a pleasant surprise, albeit a final twist unable to be deduced from prior clues by the the reader any more than by the MC until the final reveal.

As an alternative to Ninth House, I recommend Vita Nostra by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko – a truly gripping, disturbing tour de force of this genre.

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dododenise's review against another edition

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

3.0

This book leaves me conflicted about how to feel about it. There are fantastic ideas, character elements and world building in this. However, I was never hooked. Something about the way this story was written left me feel detached from it.

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whytrytohide's review against another edition

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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

Spoiler

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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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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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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thenoodlevore's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I think the book tackled some difficult issues well and I could identify with some of the complex feelings of the characters. I appreciated the honesty in it.

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accidentallyinspace's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I am apparently a sucker for books set in cold northeastern universities, with a dark or arcane academic magic system (trying to avoid using the oft-shamed dark academia), because this slapped.

I really thought I wasn't going to like the main character at first as an example of a "look at how badass I am" but honestly really ended up on her side. She's got specific and believable (also horrific) trauma and I think the impact on her personality rings true and makes her very interesting.

I am also a sucker for tall knowledgeable well-dressed dudes. This book was like fuckin catnip for me and I will be picking up the second one, fingers crossed

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massivepizzacrust's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

I was surprised by how much I liked this! I loved the atmosphere and I want to dive into book #2 immediately. I actually really loved Alex and the relationship she's building with Dawes and Turner. I'd really encourage people to check out content warnings before heading into this one - there are a lot of quite messed up scenes and they get very explicit.

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