Ninth House

Haven't started it yet but I love the edition :)

This was a hard book to read. The writing style was so awkward that it took until half way through the book to get a true sense of what was going on. I read this with a group and everyone felt the same.In my opinion, this book was way over-hyped and definitely not fantasy! Paranormal maybe, but not fantasy. Also read more like YA than adult.

TW: Violence, murder, death, drug abuse, human experimentation and multilation, emotional manipulation, ghosts, dark magicHoly ****.Leigh Bardugo’s debut adult novel, Ninth House, is beyond anything I expected. It’s a magical and intellectual tour de force; a powerhouse of plot and prose, suspense and suspicion, murder, magic, and madness. I came to it thinking it was a standalone, but it’s actually the first in a series, and I’m so relieved at that because I am hungry for more. I believe the sequel is slated for 2021, and honestly that can’t get here soon enough.2019 will, for me, be the year of amazing books. I’ve read some fantastic novels this year, and I thought I had my Book of the Year already picked out. Now, I’m not so sure. Ninth House is mind-blowing and I’m still wrapping my head around it.I first came to Leigh Bardugo through her YA series, the GrishaVerse, in which she’s written multiple novels and short stories. Ninth House is her first adult novel, and her writing here is an immense cut above her YA fare, honestly. It’s bold and brutal and striking, yet lyrical and magical. She’s really stretching her writing chops with this book, and it shows: her imagination and ability to plot and characterise is amazing.Ninth House follows Galaxy (Alex) Stern, a former drug user and high school dropout, in her freshman year at Yale. How did she get into Yale? Through the sponsorship of a mysterious society called Lethe — the titular Ninth Nouse — which is tasked with monitoring the magical workings of Yale’s secret societies and their members. Alex is recruited from her hospital bed, the sole survivor of a gruesome multiple murder scene, by Dean Sandow, who offers her a chance at a different life. Different, of course, can mean many things…One night, a murder on campus gets Alex’s attention. The victim isn’t a student from Yale, but her horrific demise isn’t something Alex can ignore. Her instincts say there’s more to the case than what the cops claim — an abusive boyfriend gone too far — but finding the evidence isn’t as smooth or easy as it initially appears. Woven into this storyline is the mysterious disappearance of Alex’s Lethe House mentor, Darlington, some months before; a disappearance that has sent shockwaves through the House and its surviving members, including Alex who is very much left thinking on her feet when it comes to dealing with the various societies’ extra-curricular activities.The societies are powered by tombs, which are nexus of occult power built up over the years of students dealing in magic and the occult. These are the high-powered and elite, both past and future: Wall Street bankers, Hollywood stars, politicians, and other members of high society are students or alumni, and many of these still fund their societies, both financially and otherwise. The occult magic that is wielded by these societies can do more than change GPAs or ensure exam success; some are prognostications which provide glimpses of the future, some change a person’s appearance, whilst others guarantee social standings and wealth. This is the place power is born, cultivated, and unleashed upon the world.Such magics are dangerous though, and can have drastic consequences, including blackouts and unexplained deaths. They all come at a cost — something which Alex is just discovering.Alex, of course, has her own history — what brought her to drugs in the first place, her family life, her friendships, and why she alone survived a murder spree. Most of all, why would she, of anyone, be of value to Lethe? For Alex harbours both a secret and a dangerous gift — which will help to identify the victim, the conspiracies, and the magics underpinning what looks like a love crime gone bad.Ninth House is complex and absorbing, and reading it is like drinking incredibly fine, incredibly potent, incredibly dark, alcohol. The story and prose are intoxicating. The setting is so vivid that I actually felt like I was attending Yale. There is a map in the hardback edition which was helpful at times, but on the whole I could sense the buildings and locations, observe the brickwork and streets.Alex is an extremely complex character; deeply flawed yet noble, wiry yet strong. She goes through a lot in this book, physically and mentally, and in terms of character growth. The other characters — Darlington, Dawes, the Bridegroom, Mercy, Lauren, and others — are all well-drawn and really do get under your skin, for good and bad reasons (Blake, I’mma looking at you). They’re well-balanced, with positive and negative traits, and you can discern so much about their various personas by way of a throwaway line or comment, or one of Alex’s shrewd observations. I particularly liked Darlington and his wit.It took me a moment to realise that, within each society, members have codenames to cover their identities. For instance, Alex is Dante. Darlington is Virgil, and so on. I liked how these were themed according to the leanings of each house — Wolf’s Head being a particular favourite — but it took me a while to put each codename to each character, where I had both available to me. Not all of them were disclosed, which I also appreciated — secrets are secrets, after all.The pace never lets up in this novel, and it feels like a rush of blood to the head. There’s always something happening, or a sinister sense of something about to happen. The story alternates between the present events revolving around the murder and two past timelines — one of Alex’s former life, and one centred around Darlington and what happens (or doesn’t, depending on how you view it). This changing between timelines is handled beautifully and doesn’t ever feel disjointed or problematic; in fact, it’s so absorbing that, by the time the novel returns to the events of the prologue, it took me a moment to pick that back up, and that’s good.If you have a background in witchery or the occult, there’s lots of symbolism throughout the novel — specific herbs, plants, rituals, which will cause you to sit up and take notice. If you don’t have such a background, that’s okay, because knowing about these elements won’t detract from the story at all. They’re just an added layer for anyone who does have such a background. Regardless, if you like fantasy, crime, the supernatural, and/or just love a damn good story, this is it. Ninth House is brilliant and will leave you thinking about it for days afterwards. It’s also perfect for Halloween…I bought Ninth House and didn’t receive an advanced copy from the publisher. All thoughts and comments are my own and in no way reflect the opinion of the publisher or author. I received no reimbursement (financial or otherwise) for this review.

This is a dark (like, very dark in some places) adult fantasy.‘The Nineth House' follows a young Galaxy (Alex) Stern through her first year at Yale. She's been plucked from a dismal life with no prospects, and given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study at a prestigious university AND be part of a secret magic society (I mean, who wouldn't do that?).The narrative is set in a few different timelines, and from two perspectives (Alex and Darlington). I particularly enjoyed this because I really thought Darlington was a bit of an arse to start with, but as I read his backstory I really connected with him.Alex won me over pretty quickly, and her rash, crude personality really shone through!What I particularly love about this book is the fact that you can really immerse yourself in the magic. However, the darkest part of this story has nothing to do with magic and secret societies; it's the harsh realities that some women are faced with.This is definitely a book to savour and not devour!It's a 5/5 for me!Favourite Quote:"Mors irrumat omnia."

2.5 StarsThis rolled from weird, to strange, to turning my stomach in certain scenes, to being completely devoured by the story in others and off putting in others. This was, simply put, a strange ass read and conflicting when it comes to rating. Overall, I did enjoy this book, especially the second half once it really got going and I started to fully understand this world and got a handle of all the lingo within this fantasy horror world.It was originally such a dense read that had so much exposition, yet it still took me so long to understand all of what was going on within this world. If it wasn’t for the second half, or last third and for something finally clicking, then I probably would’ve rated this lower. I went through such a sluggish reading period because of this book, whether it was because of the writing or the story I don’t know, but the relief I had when I finally finished it and was finically invested in this book was so satisfying. I am intrigued to read more of Leigh Bardugo books, just to see how her writing in those compare to this one and whether I enjoy those ones and the worlds in those, a lot more than I did when compared with this one.

I enjoyed reading this book, and I’m super excited for next book to come out. I’m not going to lie, it is a steady book until near the end where lose ends all starts to be connected. If I had to describe this book as anything it’s like watching a cake rise, purely because I felt that this book is laying some major ground work for book 2 in the series.This is not a bad book, this is not a boring book, it covers some dark and complex topics on top of the plot. I just think that Ninth House is paving the way for something in the next book. I had a similar feeling when I read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas and that series is… I don’t think I have the words, it was a dream. My favourite series. Hands down. But it took until book 3 in the Throne of Glass series for things to get super juicy. So, on that logic I’m hopeful with Ninth House.The book is written in a mix of chapters based on the present and flashbacks. There is an argument that the book could have been written chronologically but I personally prefer this format as to me it adds to the mystery. You are following a story arc linked to the present through the flashbacks and story arc where the flashback give premise to the actions in the present. It’s honestly not as complicated as I’m making it sound! Some might find all the toing and froing a bit disjointed but that didn’t impact me and think it adds to the overall book.Characters, we spend most of our time with our main character Galaxy “Alex” Stern, so her bad girl gone good story suited me for some reason. I enjoyed the representation of how someone from the wrong side of the tracks creates a life at an Ivy League school where some of the most privileged kids go adapts to such a change. Alex is serious tough on the outside but like overwhelmed on the inside and I dare anyone out there to say they haven’t put on a tough exterior whilst drowning on the inside, like I dare you. So, in that sense I found her really relatable. Alex has extra reason behind her exterior, she has a gift, a gift that can be cliché in this genre, but it is presented in such an interested way that it adds a level of fear to the book. She’s also experienced some major traumatic events. Ultimately, this book is the story of a survivor, Alex just wants to make this opportunity go good for her, so she can have a good life. Isn’t what we all do to give ourselves a good life. There is some sound development with Alex which I think we’d see more of in other books. The biggest development was seeing her create new relationships with people in this alien setting for her, learning to trust again and start healing. I felt this representation to be quite understated but poignant.The Flashbacks give us an introduction to Darlington, who is Alex’s mentor. I didn’t connect with him in the same way as Alex, but he isn’t the MC and he’s also missing in the sections set in the present. You do see his values and his thought processes, classic rich boy at the beginning looking down on Alex but then learning to look beneath the dark exterior, which is a bit cliché, but it works here. Their relationship is quite complex, and I couldn’t make a solid reading on it.I wish the supporting characters were developed more, it’s like just enough is done for them to have a connection to Alex but the relationships aren’t built up in a way that would be completely believable. It doesn’t ruin anything, just makes some scenes feel a bit awks or create some questions. Also, an antagonist in this book did not get enough bread crumbs dropped and their motivation came out of the blue. The motivation was super interesting but maybe a missed trick not having bread crumbs to it earlier in the book.The author did an amazing job of describing Yale and surrounding areas, I really enjoyed the map provided at the beginning. You are taken on a journey around the campus and you start to get a feel for the place and its history. It felt like a real place (I know Yale is actually a real place btw, just in case you were wondering) and that bit of realism gave the book a tone that made it feel unique to me. Bringing the fantasy to reality.SummaryThis is the first Leigh Bardugo book I’ve read, I’ve since heard really great things about her other books so they’re on my Amazon Wishlist waiting to be purchased. I really enjoyed this introduction to her work. The books atmosphere and setting were on point, Yale was cast as a pretty spooky and twisted place to be. The idea of secret societies isn’t new when referencing Ivy League schools but the magical twists added to each house was a new concept to me and I love it. I’ve took this book as a book doing groundwork for the next one, planting the seeds for the plot of the next book where more can happen because we now know the basics. If I didn’t feel this, I’d have rated the book at a 3 stars rather than a 4 stars. It lost a star for me for a few reason: I missed the building of the side characters. It can be a little slow at points because of laying the possible groundwork. There are missed opportunities with an antagonist.Leigh Bardugo wasn’t scared to cover some difficult topics either, this book is a dark book for a number of reasons, some were hard to read but ultimately needed to be in there to make the book what it is.Potential Triggers: Rape, Sexual Assault, Date Rape, Physical Abuse, Violence, Murder, Drug Use, Death by Overdose.