Ninth House – Book Review

T.W.: Rape; PTSD; Sexual Assault; Overdose

Title: Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Number of Pages: 458 pages

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publication Date: October 8, 2019

Purchase: Thriftbooks//Amazon//Book Depository

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

My Thoughts:

I told myself that I wasn’t going to get this because I was going to be disappointed. I was really wrong.

Also, before reading this, look up all of the trigger warnings. There’s quite a lot and I know I missed some because I don’t find too many things to be triggering.

I love the world building and atmosphere that Bardugo created here. She put a lot of care and intrigue into this world. It sucks you right in. I like that she was building a world at a place that actually exists. I love when authors do this.

I can completely see why people saw it as slow because it really can be in some places and especially at the beginning when the story is being set up. The dual story lines are confusing at first because you are flung into a story that is already happening that one story is trying to get you caught up on what was happening the first chapter.

I really like the characters. They are all so very different but seem to compliment each other perfectly. I love Darlington and Dawes but in all honesty, Turner is my favorite character. I really don’t want to say too much because it would ruin parts of the book.

I took a chance on this book when I picked it for Book of the Month Club. I was really surprised that I liked this book as much as I did. I was not a fan of her YA fantasy books but she is amazing as an adult fantasy writer. I highly recommend checking this out.

Have you read this? If so, what are your thoughts?

What are you currently reading? Any recommendations?