Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - La Neuvième Maison

The premise and plot of this book were excellently executed. Alex was a great main character, and I loved how she had a strong moral compass that still lead her to do grotesque things.

A couple minor but significant complaints:

The way Alex reacted to Darlington's behavior at the Manuscript party seemed odd considering she is a survivor of SA. While you could argue that she is sympathetic and understanding that the drug he got was a form of SA as well, considering how it affected him, that still doesn't make it reasonable that she'd just be fine with everything. This was jarring amidst Bardugo's otherwise decently sensitive and realistic portrayal of Alex as a SA survivor.

I found that Dawes was autism-coded, and that the way Alex describes her initially indicated that Alex dislikes her for her autistic traits. She seems annoyed by her adherence to rules, alienated by her single-minded focus, put off by her ever-present headphones and favoring the same comfortable clothes.

When Alex does finally get closer to Dawes, it's due to shared trauma, not because she sees that there's nothing wrong with the aspects of her that she was initially put off by.

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oleaceae_18'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? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I thought the premise of the book was really interesting with secret societies and ghosts and things. I found it really hard to get into though, I thought the beginning was hard to follow and a lot of information overload. I honestly might read this a second time now that I've finished it and I think I'll probably like it a lot more because I'll know what's going on. The beginning switches between two POVs, but I feel like it was done in a way that was just more confusing than really adding to the storytelling, I actually liked the book way more after it just became Alex's POV.

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alex_heald's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious

4.75

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star_witch's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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vanitzas's review against another edition

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4.0

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hiddenfallacies's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

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laurariexx's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

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abundance_of_fiction's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

DONT GIVE UP ON NINTH HOUSE!
This book was sooooo slow to start. It caused me to go into a book slump, and not read a page for 2 months. I opened the book on March 11 and could not FORCE myself through the introduction. The lore building was elaborate and just seemed to drag me along with no purpose; so, I just couldn’t get the hype. Everyone told me to finish it, so I finally got the audiobook and OH MY GOD!!!

A 9 month journey finished in 2 days! The audio book was great and got me through the introduction and into the thick of the story. I quickly got the physical version back out and blew through the last 100 pages. The lore and lagging have SO MUCH payoff. Not entirely unpredictable, but just enough that you’re engaged, the twists in the stories keep the pages turning.

I am SO GLAD I didn’t give this one up, because I am now fully invested in the chaos that is Galaxy Stern! I am jumping straight into book 2. I NEED our Darling boy to be okay and can’t wait to see what is next.

So, YES READ THE BOOK. But also, don’t feel bad if it takes you almost a year. It IS worth it.

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