Reviews with content warning for Addiction - La novena casa

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.

Content Warnings

_lazyreader_90's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

Content Warnings

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.

Content Warnings

trickz's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad medium-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

5.0

Content Warnings

thelexy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Absolutely addictive. Entrancing characters. Great supernatural mystery that felt balanced and grounded in the world she built.
But heads up about the content warnings. If you have any triggers they are probably in here. It didn't read to me as violence porn, as in shallowly gratuitous just for the sake of getting a cheap reaction. Maybe because the main character feels so real?
If I had known about the content warnings I probably wouldn't have read it but once I started I couldn't stop just because I loved all the main characters so much and needed to know what happened.

Content Warnings

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