Very good book! I definitely enjoyed reading this.

North was my favourite in Ninth House, but since he wasn't here, I'd say my Hell Bent favourite is Darlington. I really like his whole obsessive-knowledge-seeker thing, and although he's kinda cliché, that's kinda the point.

... and I won't pretend that him being a sexy demon-thing wasn't a factor, either. I'm only human.

I don't really have much bad about it to say other than that it was pretty predictable. There was never an «Oh, shit,»-moment, and I really missed it.
The prologue caught my attention immediately, and I just couldn't wait to know what happened next, but I never really got that same feeling throughout the rest of the book.

However, finishing off with a positive comment, it is an interesting story, with interesting characters, and an interesting setting nonetheless. I love how Bardugo depicted demons, vampires, and probably most of all: ghosts.

I recommend this to anyone who's interested in reading a dark academia, mystery, urban fantasy type story with an fantastic take on ghosts.

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hopefully_purple's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

Brandon Sanderson has his famed “Sander-lanche” but there needs to be a term for Leigh Bardugo’s roller coaster. This is such an excellent part 2 of 3!! A lot of times part 2’s leave you with more questions than answers, kind of like a lull in the story that’s just meant to be a set up for the main event in part 3. But Hellbent does not feel like that at all. It grips you just like Ninth House, and the mystery is just as multi-layered. If you liked Ninth House, 10/10 you will love Hellbent.

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morganish's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

Well, dear reader, I thoroughly enjoyed Hell Bent.

I don't typically have a lot of books that I anticipate, but I've been waiting for this one since I closed the pages on the last one. I hate that this is true, but it's actually pretty rare for me that I finish one book and then immediately feel the need to read the next (if it's available). So when it happens, it's just... a next-level positive reading experience for me. Ninth House gave me that, and I'm happy to report that, for the most part, Hell Bent did, too. This second entry in Leigh Bardugo's Alex Stern series finds our main protagonist building a tentative alliance with some familiar names (and dealing with some mysterious/dangerous subplots) as they work to figure out how to save fan-favorite Darlington from Hell.

What Worked For Me

The Pacing, and Balance of Plotlines: I honestly got so sucked in that I didn't take much time to smell the roses or do too much critical analysis. I just... enjoyed it. I liked almost all of the plotlines. Unlike Ninth House, where as much as I loved it, the main plot felt confusing and murky to me at times, and the book overall seemed just a bit overstuffed. Maybe it's just because I know the world better, or because the main plotline's stakes revolved around a character we actually know.

The Worldbuilding: I don't have anything especially grand to say, and I don't know that I think other people will love how the magic functions here, both literally or as metaphor. Magic is very much a metaphor for power here, a tool that is utilized to help the privileged accomplish their goals. There are some moments throughout the series of people doing casually horrific things tied to real-world brutality and exploitation. The metaphor at times becomes intentionally thin, so that you're not really looking at magic at all, just at people with power behaving in predictable yet awful ways, without much in the way of growth or clean justice. But I do like how Bardugo writes magic, as something that even the powerful don't really know how to use, but something they hoard. It works in a very academic sense, too; knowledge of ritual and language and incantation which builds upon itself. There's an interesting sense that magic (and knowledge) is meant to be safe, but that actually there are no rules, and no one is really in charge, but that there are a lot of scholars and rich people and bureaucrats that think if they establish organizations like the societies, they'll get a grasp on it. It also allowed magic and what exists in the sort of magical sphere to feel much, much bigger than the books suggest, but to show you very little of it; only what our protagonists care about pursuing, and what they accidentally interact with.

The Characters: I just like them! This isn't some sort of objective statement about how all characters should be like this (although I've made my feelings about a preference for protagonists like Alex Stern known in other reviews before). I just like them, they all worked well together, and they all felt realistically gray and flawed enough to feel three-dimensional and real, which is probably one of the things that helped me sink into the world so easily.

What I Have Mixed Feelings About

The Themework: This is complicated. I really do like, on certain levels, how the book casts an unflinching light on the way that wealth and academia can operate together, enabling hyper-privileged elites to do great harm in the world. Bardugo largely doesn't play at metaphor; she states directly into the text over and over and over that power and privilege harm the system and everyone standing downwind. But there are times the protagonists are in some ways the very people she's speaking about. She doesn't take them to task nearly as harshly, or she makes excuses for them because they have trauma in their pasts. (She does not state this directly. More it's implied by how the text treats those characters). The underprivileged characters never quite learn how to detach from the powerful umbrella they've suddenly found themselves under. And no one seems to really learn the "right" lessons about systemic privilege. Alex herself repeats over and over that the only good she knows is how to protect the people she cares about in her immediate sphere, and that there is no other morality. Because the book ends in a certain way, I'm not 100% sure there are going to be any future books. (Probably, but the ending seemed like it was left in a such a way that if there wasn't, it wouldn't be completely infuriating.) So it's unsure if the novel just leaves us there, with a bunch of characters who both seem to know the system is bad, but who still like Lethe and Yale and magic, still identify with it and see it as a kind of home. The reality is, IMHO, that none of these characters are quite ready to fully fight the system yet. And are actually in pretty real danger of simply being absorbed into it, whatever the narration may state to the contrary.

What Wasn't My Thing

Not Much! There were a couple of moments where my engagement (which was overall very high) stuttered out for a chapter or too. And I do think the story goes to a place around the last leg of the journey where my investment did wane a bit. But knowing other readers and what they liked from the first book, I think I'll be in the minority there.

Who This Is For/Content Warnings
The Alex Stern series really does earn the moniker "dark fantasy" in a more traditional, classic sense. Lots of really fucked up stuff happens, the characters absolutely morally gray (at times walking the knife's edge of believability). While there's sexual content and hints of romance, I'd say this isn't the kind of "dark fantasy" you see in the type of fantasy romance books for adults that are popular right now. It might have the same types of archetypes and tropes, but I'd say this leans a bit more toward the ASoIaF side of content - most of the violence (including sexual violence) exists in this series to highlight the themes. The grimdark elements here do NOT exist here as primarily tonal choices. The goal doesn't seem to be, at least to me, to shock or titillate the audience only for its own sake, or to create cheap stakes. There is theme work happening here. On the flip side, so far the way the dark elements work in this story have been what I would call expository, rather than conclusive. Which means, it's trying to draw stark, unflinching attention to the horrific realities of ivy league academia, not really in trying to offer solutions. If you like that (or can hang with it) and you like dark academia, urban fantasy, and/or a series with a lot of dangling mysteries/questions, jump right in. And if you're a fan of the first, I have a hard time imagining you not liking this one... unless the only thing you care about is Darlington being immediately returned to the real world on page 1.

Warnings for:

Multiple conversations referring to past sexual assault, short description of implied magical sexual assault (maybe inside the protagonist's head). Lots of gore and violence. Ghosts, and corpses in various unpleasant states. Police investigations and police characters, several scenes focused on racism within the police force, including the immediate aftermath of the murder of young Black man by police. Use of a magical artifact which had been used to hunt escaped slaves. Casual mentions of violence toward homeless people; a scene which takes place in a mental hospital, with other mentions of a past time in mental hospitals. Bullying of children, including one intense scene which almost leads to death. Bodily injury and blood rituals. Brief mentions of drug use and cravings. Murder is a major theme of this book, including by protagonist characters. High-ranking members of the military proactively plotting murder. Stealing and a pretty weird desecration of a foreign national's corpse. Graphic, prolific on-page nudity. Lol, at this point, I figure you get the picture; this is just probably not a great series for people with major triggers, or readers who prefer fluffier reading material.

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locajohanna's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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jessereadsthings's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

2.0

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cjladygoodman's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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laurenvoice's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

Hell Bent was a rollercoaster ride, and that ending has me wanting more!

Similar to Ninth House, the first half of Hell Bent started slow, whilst the second half was fast. At times it was frustrating how slow the start was

and the many failed attempts to retrieve our "gentleman demon", Darlington, from hell

, but that frustration was worth it in the end!

Alex and Dawes teaming up with Turner and Tripp was something special; these two new additions to the Darlington rescue mission were perfect. After Ninth House, I didn't think much of Tripp; however, Hell Bent added depth to his character and his development was good to see. Also, Hell Bent saw much character development for Turner, Alex and Dawes.

Although Hell Bent had some marvellous character development and storylines, some didn't hit the right spot. Michelle's storyline seemed a tad too random; it needed more explanation. Plus, I am having some trust issues with Mercy; at first, I was glad she became in the loop, but I don't know why something just isn't sitting right with her character. Finally, the bad guy in this story was too predictable.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten some of the events that had happened in Ninth House by the time I read Hell Bent, but thankfully, Leigh Bardugo put some reminders throughout the story; I had forgotten about some of the Blake, Dean. Sandow and Belbalm storylines. I hope we see the third instalment of the Alex Stern series sooner rather than later because that ending has me needing more!

The ending of Hell Bent was perfect, especially the final chapter. I didn't see that Tripp twist coming, but I am happy it came because it was better than the alternative. Also, it was sweet to see them salt guardians protecting the Rebel Lethe Gang (not sure what to call them). I am excited about the next book, and I hope we see Alex and Darlington finally getting together because the tension between them is too much!

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sauvageloup's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

while slow to get started, hugely enjoyed this, especially after half way

pros:
- the ingenuity and originality of the magical system is fab, I love the dark rituals and magic that the societies come up with.
- the plot is intricate and intriguing, with plot twists, but theres always hints that the reader can spot afterwards

like with Michelle wearing turtlenecks to show shes in league with the vampire, and Anselm suddenly changing personality because hes possessed. they were both clear but subtle and I didnt see it till after the reveal

- I do really like the characters, they're all so different and their own people, Alex, Darlington, Turner, Dawes and Mercy, but also all the side characters have their own motivations
- the writing is very good, with some rly vivid imagery and turns of phrase that I wish I'd marked
- I love the extremely grey morality in how we have a lot of compassion for Alex, but she is a dark soldier of a character and so is Darlington. that's never minimalised and actually takes front stage in the book.
- the setting is basically a character itself and while I didnt really fall in love with it, I still appreciated the research and beauty of it all
- I also liked how it didnt shy away from linking magical exploitation to real life, like with the runaway slaves map, and how it was never brushed aside. it showed the dark side of the magical and wealthy.

cons:
- it's a dense book, with a lot of time switches near the start, which threw me. keeping track of characters can be tricky and I definitely needed the summary of the 1st bk to remember a lot of things. the complexity if the book all comes together near the end but it takes some getting your head round and was partly why it took me a longer time to read.
- I do kind of wish the series had started at a different point. leigh mentioned it might have been a much longer series and I kind of wish we'd seen the events with hellie and Alex's introduction to lethe by Darlington first hand, rather than in erratic flashbacks. it was hard to feel very invested in Darlington's return for a lot of it because we dont get to view himself ourselves, only through glimpses through Alex.
- sometimes things happened in the plot that felt a bit random, too much out of nowhere.

like when they got the tattoos of the salt animals that would repeatedly save their lives, it was just snuck in there as a little ritual they did like on a whim. why didnt they do some more protection earlier on? while some plot points came together nicely, sometimes it did feel kind of episodic and thrown from one plot point to the next, rather than a tightly woven web. but that also sort of fits the chaos of Alex's character so idk

but overall I did really like it, especially the badass last scene and I very much want to read the next one. (it was also amazing to meet and see leigh talk, would do that again also)

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