Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

La Neuvième Maison by Leigh Bardugo

218 reviews

bookishfabledfiction's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book is right up my alley. I really enjoyed it and would have given it 4.5/5 ⭐️ had it not been for the last chapter or so. I didn't (and still don't) quite understand

how Darlington had become a demon and, more importantly, how Alex had arrived at this conclusion.

It felt like Bardugo was trying maybe a bit too hard to leave an opening for a sequel (which has been published, of course). I believe I would've liked the story better had it ended without

Darlington surviving and becoming a demon (or something??).

That being said, I still plan on reading the next book in the series.
Otherwise, it's a really interesting story with a couple of mysteries, multi-faceted characters, and a solid magic system. I particularly like how Bardugo incorporated her fictional world within the real-life New Haven/Yale campus. She played off Yale's real-world secret societies quite well. Bardugo also made it difficult to predict the resolution.
Would recommend it to anyone interested in fantasy and mysteries.

Quotes:

He didn’t know how precious a normal life could be, how easy it was to drift away from average. You started sleeping until noon, skipped one class, one day of school, lost one job, then another, forgot the way that normal people did things. You lost the language of ordinary life. And then, without meaning to, you crossed into a country from which you couldn’t return. You lived in a state where the ground always seemed to be slipping from beneath your feet, with no way back to someplace solid.

Death words could be anything, really, as long as they spoke of the things Grays feared most—the finality of passing, a life without legacy, the emptiness of the hereafter.

Peace was like any high. It couldn’t last. It was an illusion, something that could be interrupted in a moment and lost forever. Only two things kept you safe: money and power.

...harmless people high on nothing more than their own pretensions.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

kileyjojo's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

Content Warning: This book depicts several sexual assault scenes in detail.

This was a fun read. It was a little difficult to get into in the beginning but the middle to end was super suspenseful and interesting. The ending felt like it fumbled the ball just a bit but overall I enjoyed the book. It takes a while to get into it but the payoff is worth it. If you like realistic fantasy and the paranormal, this is the read. 

In terms of the content warning, a lot of the SA scenes feel very rushed and used only for shock value. In the moment, they are relevant but they seem to just disappear and never have any other message behind them when all is said and done. They are all very shocking and it makes it very difficult to want to continue the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Excrement, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

emmaggedon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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? No

5.0

HOLY MOLEY I NEED TI PROCESS THIS PROPER REVIEW PENDING

Ok, shit. So this was one of the best books I’ve had the privilege to live in for a long time. Pacey, topical, beautifully crafted characters and narrative, magic, mystery, academia but not too much. Obsession doesn’t even begin to cover it. So glad it’s a series. Not for the faint hearted though - it is Dark

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Excrement, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

jhuang's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

Phenomenal, thought provoking, and relevant

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

cj_underw's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, and Blood

strixy16's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

A little slow to start, especially trying to keep up with the time skips. But the ending makes it worth it I thought.
Definitely read trigger warnings for this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

gothic_moss's review against another edition

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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I honestly don't have the words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. The plot twists had me spinning, and the atmosphere was so perfectly dark. I loved Alex's character and the messages in this book. I can't wait to read the sequel!
(If you want to read this book, do check the TW)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Animal death and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual assault and Vomit

emilywemily6's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

I’ve never read a book like this before, and it’s so refreshingly different than Bardugo’s YA novels (which I also loved!). I loved the sinister magic/dark academia vibes and how the multiple storylines unfold throughout the book. Lots of great plot twists I didn’t see coming and made me gasp out loud. I wish I understood more about the history of the houses/general world-building, but I think the book is written intentionally vague with a trickle of information as you are thrust into this world within our world, which adds to the mysterious, sinister feel. It kept me hooked and I can’t wait to read the next book. Apparently, lots of this book (not the magic lol) is true too, and now I want to go to New Haven.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, Police brutality, and Stalking

britmston3's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment

tessamariee's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Drug abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Excrement