Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

La Neuvième Maison by Leigh Bardugo

80 reviews

brewdy_reader's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 • 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘢 •  ⁣𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 
𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 • 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 • 𝘋𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘖𝘝

I am so glad that Leigh Bardugo took the risk to do something 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 different, yet still epic fantasy - showcasing her incredible skill at creating complex worlds and magical systems, blurring the boundaries between fantasy and reality. The magic was deeply layered making it fun to learn about each secret society -  all of which are actual real structures on Yale's campus! [side note: I have never wanted to go on a guided tour of New Haven until now.] The paranormal aspects were haunting, contributing to the overall dark academia vibes.

Ninth House is less accessible than her prior series like Shadow & Bone or Six of Crows (Grishaverse). Let me explain why: the first half of the book is spent world building, creating a fully immersive environment for the reader. There is a lot to take in between characters, their pseudonyms, dates & places, and timeline flashbacks, not to mention the houses themselves and what type of magic each uses. Then there is the main plot: an unsolved murder. I loved watching the case unfold alongside Galaxy "Alex" Stern, aka Dante. 

But you get my point: a lot of readers want fast action & not have to do a lot of thinking. This is a much slower build, but if you are willing to wait for it, you will see the brilliance of the writer at the end. I loved Centurion, Darlington, Dawes, and North. Simply amazing.

This is truly a dark fantasy, lots of trigger warnings: Rape, Sexual Violence, Death, Murder, Classism, Violence, Gore, Drug Use, Drug Abuse, Misogyny, Addiction, Blood, Body Shaming, Toxic Relationship, Adult/Minor Relationship.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

abundance_of_fiction's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

gwynnfox's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

hnicole01's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism

prairieraven's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lottieingham's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Racism and Medical content

colittle's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Wonderful prose, but the worldbuilding felt rushed at times and dragged at others. The characters were not as three-dimensional as one would expect from a book of this length, though some were likeable enough. At times the dialogue felt as real as an overheard conversation, and other times it was full of snappy, whiplash comebacks that fell utterly short of realism. 

Felt like a YA novel with gore and sexual content thrown in as set dressing; when mature themes were actually discussed, it was brief and without depth. SA used gratuitously and egregiously as a plot device, with a minor character in one instance seeming to forget about it overnight— ick. 

Biggest strength was the use of tension and suspense; while I didn’t always enjoy reading Ninth House, I kept turning the pages all the same. 

A competent book overall, but that should be a given from a bestselling author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

estefizaga's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative 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

If I could, I would give this book more that 5 stars 😩🤌🙌🏻🖤

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

count_zero's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Violence and Murder

There is a mind control drug that plays a major part in the book's plot.

risaleel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Racism, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Colonisation