A review by a_picara
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

A fabulous follow up to The Ninth House. This novel continues in the vein of Gothic academia meets ghost story, but builds upon the initial world building. A book predicated on the existence of magic and that which ties historical events and items to magical purposes is fun, but can also fall into the "ancient aliens" trap (ie: if something is magical in nature, that means there is a judgemental that the culture it actually came from would not be able to produce that thing-- a form of casual racism). This novel does a great job at avoiding this trap and at drawing attention to how racism is interwoven into both real society of north American readers and the fictional world of this novel.
The world building is well researched, and also well balanced against lively characters. The returning characters are familiar, but also are allowed space to grow. Some characters that had side roles in the first book return as more central figures here, which adds to the dynamics.
As a sequel book, this is also just well written. It eases you back into the story, world, and characters in a natural way that fits into the narrative voice. Excited for the next book!