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fkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
1) She casually drops that Alex was a good fighter because she was once a stripper It was just one line in the middle of the book. It was a throwaway line that was completely unnecessary to building Alex's character. We already knew she could fight for life at this point because she'd done it before. Anytime a writer throws in a salacious tidbit like that in the guise of building character indicates to me: A) the author lacks confidence in their writing abilities, or B) the editor missed. Either way, it really turned me off even more than I already was.
2) She says Edmund Spencer's The Fairie Queen was a bore. I strongly disagree. I am not the biggest Arthurian fan, but I did really love this epic poem. It's possibly one of the longest books I've read, but it was worth every word. This is clearly a disagreement of opinions, so ok, but I still take exception.
These two points aside, like The Familiar, I really disliked the writing. I was bored all the way through. I have no desire to continue with this series, and I must remember to stop trying to read her books!
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
emsavors's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
kellirogue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
evelynnreading'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? It's complicated
2.25
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
mealexc'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, and Toxic friendship
sarahcelia's review against another edition
1.0
Leigh Bardugo is an excellent writer. Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom are new favorites from my reading list this year. But Ninth House was absolutely not for me.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
iworshipcthulhu's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
klsreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Starting with cons: Due to the setting at Yale, this book runs the high risk of making its readers feel dumb sometimes. Leigh Bardugo went to Yale for undergrad, was in Wolf's Head, and also researched the h e l l out of Yale's history to make a cohesive, believable backstory. The depth of information fell flat to me as someone who doesn't care about the architecture and alumni of Ivy Leagues. It was a good plot device to show Darlington's intelligence, but occasionally read as, "Look at how much I thought this out and how smart I am!" She toes the line between knowing how grating academics can be and becoming an insufferable know-it-all herself (I understand this bc I am a huge nerd, currently in grad school, and can be academically insufferable). There are probably a ton of references I didn't understand (I'm sure some of it was written for English buffs and Yale students). This makes the book a bit too long, imo. Also, the chapters skip around in time and I don't think that was necessary, though it wasn't too hard to follow.
To be fair, Bardugo's world building ability is unbelievable, and I thought all of her main characters were unique, real, and multifaceted.
Pros: Pretty much everything else. Fun magic system, spooky dark academia, ghosts, sentient houses, whodunit, powerful misfits, revenge, a bi (?) female lead, extremely developed world, and a twisty-turny plot.
Important to note - this book is DARK. Like, graphically dark, and sometimes very gross, and often sad. Check the TWs/CWs.
Leigh Bardugo is an excellent writer and I highly recommend this if you like second chances, dark academia, and magical murder mysteries. It feels like this book was set up to knock the next one out of the park - I can't wait to start the sequel!
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Xenophobia
blue_skye's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail