A review by sophiaxscherm
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this book and even though I never felt like I was so into it that I couldn't put it down, there aren't many things I can point out which I didn't like. I think it might have gotten an even better rating if I read it again at a different time because it took me quite a while to finish it so I never was fully immersed in the story and I quickly got confused about all the people from the different houses. I think I would have liked it more if we would have gotten more stories from the houses and what they're doing to get a better picture of everything and especially of how Lethe is connected to all their doings. I'm also not sure how I feel about the murder mystery and how it was solved in the end because I feel like it was a bit to predictable that the first assumed murderer wasn't the actual murderer and so on.
However I loved any kinds of flashbacks in the book, whether it's about Alex' past or Darlington's point of view when getting to know Alex. I somehow looooved the entire bridegroom story,

especially when Alex sees what happened the day of the assumed murder suicide, I think this chapter is one of the best things I ever read and I loved all Alex' theories of how what happened could be connected to the houses (like that it could have to do with Skull and Bones and one of their prognostications).

I loved the setting and the overall vibe of the book. Also, the way it shows the issue of social class without being too on the nose with it was really nice, however I feel like it could have gone even deeper with that.
All in all I have a few things I disliked but overall enjoyed it a lot.