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sunriseat0519's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
I was screaming. Amazing! Never would have guessed that twist!
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Murder
clarissa_lily's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, and Abandonment
gretchini's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Being generous by giving it 3 stars, but I've never been a harsh critic.
The best way for me to review this book is to share some of the thoughts I was having 3/4ths of the way through to the end.
(strong language used)
I am so confused.
Maybe it's just cause I'm dumb, but I don't understand how any of this magic secret society works.
There are only 2 people (Dante and Virgil) there to deal with and basically police all 8/9 societies' powerful magic and shit? I guess it's 4 if you count Oculus and Centurion, 5 with the dean. Wtf? That makes no sense; like it took 15 people just to make a club at my college?!?
And all the old Virgil just go off and live their own lives knowing all this magic, like it's an internship?
I still have no clue what all the houses are or what they actually do. Like I feel like we need a more in-depth explanation.
I don't mind being thrown in the dark at the start of the novel, but I'm still in the dark at the end.
The one time we started to get some actual explanation was at the end when detective Turner was asking questions.
There is so much unexplained that I don't even want to read the sequel.
Like you made up this world of magic and then said there were rules but never told us what they were?
And I thought we would be going along with Alex figuring out the rules. But then you get halfway through the book and realize that Alex knows so much more than you the reader does.
What the fuck is up with the hellbeast sitch? They're all like ope I guess it was a hellbeast that ate him, welp goodnight guys, good try. ??? Are they not concerned there's a hellbeast at the school? Is it normal for hellbeasts to just be lurking in dark corners? Can't this one come back and eat someone else? Is it even gone?
Oh so it's just magic used for corruption/ capitalism. But like did it start out that way? Where do all these magic people come from? They are all just chosen? And they're college students? Who the fuck would put college students in charge of this shit? And what do these students get out of it? Just a free ride to Yale? When you have to do triple the work as normal college students? And if someone decides they wanna duck out, do they just kill them? Again where do all these magicians go after college; do they all just roam free?
I love Dawes. And her growth and friendship with Alex. But who is she? Wtf is the oculus position and like why is one person in charge of literally being a nurse/ researcher/ chef/ housekeeper????? I didn't even realize she was human. I swear when she was first introduced she was like a friendly ghost. She never leaves Darlington's house? Like does she even go to classes as a grad student? Does she seriously have zero friends?
And nothing came from North and Alex's bond/ deal? Like wtf was the point?
At the very end, North is trying to send a message. It just seems like there is something much more evil at work and no one seems to care/ notice? I know Alex is focusing on surviving but is she not curious for her own life/ attachment to ghosts that there is more going on?
Okay guys. If you make it to the last 50 pages, things actually happen.
The big reveals at the end were a little late, and not very surprising (except for one), but were at least interesting. The founding of the societies' magic source is explained, so there's that. Still very confused about how magic works in this world.
The ending sort of saved this book. Absolutely love an unhinged girlboss.
But still won't be reading the sequel.
Shit, Darlington is gonna come back. If I break my own promise of not reading the second book, you can't blame me.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
katielaine_w's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, and Classism
siannn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Trafficking
uranaishi's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Car accident, and Toxic friendship
eed8's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Gore, and Suicide
scarlettskyes's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
storine's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
adancewithbooks's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ninth House follows the story of Alex Stern who is taken into Yale for her abbilities. She can see ghosts, or grays as they are reffered to in this book, naturally. Under the roof of Yale 8 houses are housed who can do magical things and do magical rituals. She joins the Ninth House that is there to control the other 8. They keep watch on the rituals and work together with the police to make sure the big 8 don't make victims.
The start to this book is a little messy and hard to follow. We start with the present and then move into two past timelines. One that follows Alex in the Winter towards the Spring and the other follows Darlington as he mentors Alex until the start of Alex's winter timeline. It was also hard to follow because I had so little clue as to what was actually going on and what Alex was doing. But as we continue throughout the story the pieces start falling together. And I do like when that happens in stories.
Alex is our main characters despite that we also follow Darlington. She is tough, having had to survive where she did. Seeing ghosts as a child was not easy on her and she turned to drugs and a drug dealer to deal with that. She ended up running away from home because she couldn't deal with turning on her mother like that. She just did whatever she had to, to survive. As a result she is very guarded and even to me as a reader she feels very guarded. So I was glad that at the start we did also have the story of Darlington weaved through. He was a breath of fresh air for a while, until we got to know Alex better.
Even so I do have a preference for the side characters like Darlington more than Alex. Maybe it is because I can see a light with those characters and it is hard to find a light with Alex. Maybe feelings wise I just didn't want to commit to Alex because I knew it would hurt. Regardless I was more drawn to Darlington, Dawes and her roommates. I especially loved seeing the development of the Alex and Dawes friendship develop in the second half of the book.
As you might have picked up from the trigger warnings at the top, this book deals with a lot of heavy themes. It can make for a hard read at times and Alex isn't a character you will always be agreeing with. She makes 'interesting' choices. So be very aware of that when you do pick up this book.
Despite that I did enjoy this book. It sucked me in once I was able to get through the messy start.
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Minor: Self harm
Rape of a child | Drowning | Drug Addiction | Drug Overdose | Blackmail | Ghost Inhabitation