Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

890 reviews

tarawade17's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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brandywinebooks's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0


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sarahfaith_822's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

3.0

This book took me forever to get into and I found it very confusing at times. The last half was much better but still just wasn't my favorite. Idk a bit of a miss for me but definitely not like bad by any stretch 

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tomasalbanez's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

MEU DEUS. QUE LIVRO BOM! A história te prende enquanto o mundo de Alex desabrocha na sua frente. A mudança de perspectivas é perfeita! No final eu mudei umas 5 vezes entre "como ela vai conseguir terminar a história nesse livro" e "como vai ter mais coisa pra ser contada no livro seguinte". Um começo maravilhoso, um meio intrigante e um final extremamente satisfatório. 

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hnicole01's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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cmillerwang's review

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challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

Simply, I really liked this book. If you’re looking for a lighthearted page-turner, this is not the one. Read some of Leigh Bardugo’s other writings for that. But I HIGHLY recommend putting in the effort. Get through this one. Every bit you read, you will probably find something amazing. It will slowly attach itself to your heart. Bardugo’s writing has done this to me and I think it has changed my life.
Alex Turner is everything I want in a lead, especially an ‘imperfect’ female lead. She’s angry and powerful, smart but troubled, self conscious but bold, but she’s also human (I think?). Alex has such a dark backstory, but these funny little details sprinkled throughout. I loved hearing about her grandmother and the little adventures with Hellie and the oh, so realistic two-sided nature of her relationship with her mother. Who else can you steal from and abandon and yet they will come running when they think you need them?
In a rather unorganized list, here are a few other things I liked: 
Sephardic Jewish influence. We don’t hear much about Sephardic Jews at all, or the Jews who hid in Latin America, many of whom ended up mixing their faith with a version of Christianity to hide from persecution. As an Ashkenazi Jew, I’m hoping for little bits more in the 2nd book. 
Alex’s flaws. I know she has many. But I like that’s she’s not all-powerful. As a HUGE fan of Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology, this is common for her writing. The characters are so strong, but they are not gods. Alex is vulnerable, whatever happens next in her story. She’s even kind of pathetic and whiny, but not in a way that’s unpleasant for the reader. 
I love that this book has layers of understanding. The more you relate or a concept applies to you, the more meaning you can get out of it. Maybe this is true for all media. I don’t know anything about secret societies, but someone who does will have more insight into those aspects. I got more out of the Hebrew references that some might. A survivor of abuse might struggle more or gain more from Alex’s story. And so on. 
In conclusion, 5/5 stars. I think I’ll love it even more on a reread. This book was slow going for me. I’m usually a speed reader. This one took nearly a month. But every page I read was with love. And with every page I got more and more attached to the characters and story. You can put it down and come back. But don’t give up on it. I’m so, so excited to read Hell Bent next.

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moistwaffle's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.75

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
Spoilerwhere 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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prairieraven's review

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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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audriew9's review

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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? Yes

4.5


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annarak's review

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

4.0

Very creepy, dark magic and the occult.  Demons, ghosts, and secret societies.  Not a light read.

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