Review: Ninth House

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Um.

LOVED IT.

✓ Magic
✓ Murder
✓ Mayhem
✓ Monsters
✓ Mystery

Plus it's just dark and twisted and gory and Alex is such a badass anti-heroine who isn't afraid to cause a little drama. Fun times!

I know a few people have said it was a slow, confusing beginning but, personally, I loved the way it all unravelled slowly and intricately. I found it to be rather clever storytelling that kept me engrossed and dying to know more, without the feeling of floundering. Plus, there was still plenty happening, and more characters being introduced. There was a lot going on, but it never felt too disjointed - it all seemed related. I am not surprised Alex was not doing too well at school though because she did not seem to go to a lot of classes throughout the duration of this story.

The content was unique and intricate, and I loved the idea of these secret societies living amongst everyone else, going about ordinary business most of the time and just occasionally doing nasty things to support their bad magic habits. Very dark, very mysterious.

Alex has some serious issues and I really enjoyed that aspect of the story - too often are our fantasy protagonists the good-doers and the perfect ones; the people who may have found themselves in tough situations but always did the right thing because they have a heart of gold. Alex's heart is definitely tarnished. She is not afraid to do bad things if she has to, and she will not feel guilty. She's made a mess of things in the past and she's probably going to make more of a mess here. But she's still trying to live up to the second chance she's been given, so there's still a ray of hope there.

The characters are a lot of fun, and there's plenty of them so you're unlikely to get bored. There's plenty happening - ghosts and monsters, rituals, murder, enchantments ... lots of fun stuff to keep you entertained and let those pages just fly by.

Honestly, I just really enjoyed how dark and twisted this was, after the lightness of the Grishaverse.

Definitely an addictive novel once I got stuck into it, and I'm keen to see where the next one takes us! Highly recommend for people looking for a darker, more grim sort of fantasy. YES PLEASE.

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