oliviak_96's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Blood
Minor: Antisemitism
jelliestars's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Drug use, Gore, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Antisemitism, Classism, Excrement, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Cancer, Colonisation, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Infidelity, and Slavery
patienceholmes's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Sexual assault, Death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment, Gore, Grief, Sexism, Torture, Racism, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Vomit, Antisemitism, Cancer, Classism, Cursing, and Gaslighting
naturally's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
BE WARNED: ninth house is NOT a light or easy read. the topics touched upon are very distressing, and the writing is overflowing with information. at times, it feel like i was reading a historical text book about yale, secret societies and new haven. the pay-off was definitely worth it, though. the real meat and potatoes of the plot is served up after the first hundred pages? the meal was plentiful! the mystery and suspense surrounding tara's murder and darlington's disappearance sucked me in, and i didn't want to put the book down...
as a supporter of both women's rights and wrongs, i really appreciated alex. she was a fascinating anti-heroine. her slow-burning friendship/alliance with dawes and turner were highlights. plus, there was a tension between alex and darlington that...ngl i was a fan of. very intrigued to see how that will develop because the origins of their sexual attraction to one another (whether they will ever admit to it) was pretty f*cked up??
Spoiler
i'm suspecting that darlington will be just as morally "tainted" as alex when he returns from hell in book 2. the revelation that he has committed an act of murder and was thus turned into a demon was...definitely a jaw dropper. my prediction is that he murdered his grandfather (with permission) so that he could hang into black elm idkhowever, where ninth house fell short for me, is that alex's sense of moral justice toward the end never felt 100% believable to me. the young woman we are introduced to is understandably crooked and willing do whatever she has to do to survive/never return to her old life. i had a hard time believing that she would be so dedicated to upholding the function and strict rules of lethe. following on from this, the knowledge that hellie and alex were besties does a lot of the heavy lifting. on the actual pages, there is little to no development given to their actual friendship. alex's past was very f*cked up and drug addiction was a huge part of that...yet alex has virtually no inner conflict about being surrounded by drugs and alcohol? i get that her relapsing would have interrupted the flow of the story too much, but i was shocked that alex was able to get/stay clean so quickly, and that there was no temptation considering the drug culture at yale...
Graphic: Torture, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Vomit, Body horror, Excrement, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Addiction, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Racism, and Mental illness
Minor: Antisemitism
mutterwithtutter's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Murder, Medical trauma, Gore, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Physical abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Antisemitism
reachingforstardust's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Excrement, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Medical content, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, and Antisemitism
ddarlington's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical content, and Self harm
Moderate: Grief, Blood, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Gun violence, Death, and Child abuse
Minor: Antisemitism
mals_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Drug use, Murder, Violence, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Gore, Rape, Medical content, Classism, and Medical trauma
Minor: Vomit, Excrement, and Antisemitism
ktv's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Spoiler
Loved how the wheel symbolism came back fill circle. Also how Bardugo characterized Belbalm like I thought she had something to do with magic at first but then my scent was thrown off that trail because of how convincing the writing was saying that Alex just wanted a normal and calm life.Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Death, Blood, Body horror, Addiction, Cursing, Pedophilia, Drug use, Murder, Trafficking, Alcohol, Gore, Racism, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Physical abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Slavery, Cancer, Excrement, and Antisemitism
solypoly's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Murder, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Medical content, Sexual violence, and Vomit
Minor: Excrement, Antisemitism, Racism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship