Reviews

Hell Bent, by Leigh Bardugo

bannedfrombookclub's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

4.5

Had so much fun, but I definitely feel edged on the Alex/Darlington front. I get it, it's justified but goddamn.

Again, Bardugo's strengths in character and world building shine through and her mystery plotting/pacing I would say is improved from Ninth House. You could argue that some plot lines get uneven treatment. 

Since book one dealt with the traditional dark academia themes of privilege, misuse of power, and class/outsiders in the castle - Hell Bent deals more with guilt and sin, violence and 'goodness'.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

marcellemml's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

As coisas que acontecem no livro são boas, a Leigh Bardugo tem ótimas ideias, mas falta ela deixar os personagens processarem os acontecimentos. Eles estão sempre fazendo algo, ou se preparando, aí quando algo impactante acontece, é basicamente "Tá, sua mãe foi sequestrada e você teve que fazer um ritual vendendo sua alma pra salvar ela, ok, mas vamos agora pra faculdade matar o reitor", por exemplo. Queria ter visto mais dos personagens e das relações entre eles, deles reagindo mais profundamente ao que acontecia. Foi o mesmo problema que tive com o 3o livro de Educação Mortal.

Mas, como disse antes, o que aconteceu com os personagens é MUITO bom. Gostei que houve

Spoiler

tentativa e erro no plano de salvar o Darlington, não foi fácil

, e que esse processo tem várias consequências. E desde o começo da leitura eu tava pensando

Spoiler

que o livro estava com muito clima de Buffy, e de repente: vampiros

. A explicação para isso só enriqueceu a mitologia do universo que a Leigh Bardugo criou, expandindo a trama e o risco que os personagens correm, e criando muitas expectativas em mim pro terceiro livro. Outra coisa boa é que a sensação de confusão que aconteceu no começo do primeiro livro não está tão intensa aqui (e eu total entendo quem não gosta tanto do primeiro livro por isso). A nota real é um 3,5, o problema que me incomodou afeta mesmo o livro, mas arredondei pelo aprofundamento na construção de mundo e porque a Alex é uma personagem feminina cheia de defeitos tentando sobreviver. Precisamos de mais anti-heroínas em livros, filmes, séries, etc.

nicolabastianello's review against another edition

adventurous sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

akaske's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

carysbeesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

emam999's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? No

4.0

celeste57's review against another edition

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

“You always looked like you had trouble chasing you.”
Alex jabbed the door-close button. “So?”
“Now you look like it caught up.”

I’ve been anxiously awaiting this book since I finished reading Ninth House shortly after its release in 2019. A specific plot line was left unresolved and I was desperate for answers. So when I finally had a copy of Hell Bent. in my hands, I was nervous that there was no way it could live up to my absurdly high expectations. But man, did Bardugo ever deliver. If possible, I loved this even more than I did its predecessor, which was one of my favorite reads of 2019. If Hell Bent isn’t on my list of favorites for 2023, I’ll be shocked.

“Life is cruel. Magic is real. And I’m not ready to die.”

Because so much of Hell Bent’s narrative is tied to that open-ended secondary plot line from Ninth House, I won’t be discussing specifics of the story itself. Instead, I want to focus primarily on the characters. From the beginning of Ninth House to the end of Hell Bent, Alex Stern has grown tremendously. While still a heroine with a “bruised heart and bleeding knuckles” as Joe Hill so eloquently described her, that heart is beginning to heal even as her knuckles are callousing over. There is a lot she still has to face down and deal with, both internally and externally, but she’s getting better and better at not supressing the emotions that comes with those showdowns. Her past may be catching up with her, but she no longer feels as though she has to face it alone. She’s built a bit of a reluctant found family for herself. This supporting cast of characters has also grown and changed significantly, specifically Dawes and Turner. I’ve grown to truly love every member of this motley crew, down to the Lethe house of Il Bastone, which has a personality all its own. 

“And what tools did Alex have? A little magic. A talent for misfortune. The ability to take a beating. It would have to be enough. 'This is my home,' she vowed, and nothing will take it from me.”

Like Ninth House, a mystery propels the plot of this story. But where Ninth House is a murder mystery at its heart, Hell Bent is a puzzle box. Which was incredibly apt, as demons are core to the story being told, and demons in Bardugo’s world are obsessed with puzzles. I love this world that is exactly like ours with a dark, supernatural twist, and I love that the setting is such a solid part of the story, to the extent that it’s basically its own character. There is also a ritual that, as it was being planned, reminded me of a heist story in the best way. This part of the story elicited the same feelings as the heist portions of Mistborn and The Lies of Locke Lamora.

“Stories exist in all worlds. They are immutable. Like gold.”

The way Bardugo blends genres here is incredibly satisfying. The Alex Stern novels are dark academia, but they are also mysteries, supernatural thrillers, and urban fantasy. In fact, I’d venture to say that this series could scratch the same itch as Dresden and Mercy Thompson and other urban fantasy series of the like while also delivering more complex stories with greater substance. (Side note: This is nothing at all against Dresden or Mercy Thompson. I love and appreciate both. But the Alex Stern novels thus far strike me as a bit meatier.) And with how Bardugo is choosing to end these novels, with a wrapped up central plot combined with an open-ended secondary plot paving the way for the next installment, I can see a lot of readers who love episodic series like Dresden coming to adore this series, as well. I’m already among them.

“That was the problem with love. It was hard to unlearn, no matter how harsh the lesson.”

Hell Bent is a brilliant, well balanced, tense, thoughtful, perfectly paced follow up to Ninth House. This is exactly what I have always wanted from both dark academia and urban fantasy, though I’ve never been able to properly verbalize that desire. The fact that both are beautifully packaged in the same story is more than I ever could have hoped for. These books are dark and dense (though never slow, in my opinion) and they’re not going to be for everyone. But I feel like they were written just for me. And isn’t that exactly how the best stories make you feel?

saralou_92's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.5

okjaaaaa's review against another edition

4.0

going to spend the next 4-5 business days thinking about the Stern/Darlington and Orpheus/Eurydice parallels. goodbye.

klinhan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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