Ninth Houseby Leigh Bardugo
Published by Flatiron Books
Expected Publication October 8th, 2019
Genres: New Adult, Fantasy, Fiction
Series: Alex Stern - Book One
Format: ARC
Source: Kindly provided by Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review.
Summary from Goodreads:
The mesmerizing adult debut from #1 New York Timesbestselling author Leigh Bardugo
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.
Review
Ninth House, the first book in Leigh Bardugo's new adult series Alex Stern, was one of my most anticipated read of 2019.
Galaxy "Alex" Stern, raised by a hippie mom in Los Angeles hinterlands, dropped out of school early and was thrust into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much worse. By twenty-years-old, she was the sole survivor of an unsolved, horrific, homicide. It is while she's in her hospital bed that Alex is offered a second chance: attend one of the world's most elite universities on a full ride. What's the catch and why her? Upon arriving at New Haven, Alex is tasked by her mysterious benefactors to monitor the activities of Yale's secret societies. These "tombs" are well-known haunts of the future rich and powerful, but their occult activities are much more sinister and extraordinary than anyone might ever conceive.
Ninth House takes its readers on a journey between both the past and present, focusing on Galaxy "Alex" Stern, an unlikely member of Yale's freshman class, and Daniel Arlington ("Darlington"), her guide/mentor teaching her about these societies. This set up of past and present made any and all plot twists seem that much more impactful and poignant. Being the sole survivor of a horrific homicide, Alex is offered a second chance in the form of a new life. Taking this opportunity, she packs up what's left of her life and moves across the country to begin monitoring Yale's secret societies for the next four years. There she is taught by Darlington about the societies and their occult activities.
Ninth House has a wide arrange of delightfully intriguing characters, however amongst them all Alex, who happens to be the main character, stands out. Being able to see Grays, the term for ghosts in this world, as well as her abilities with them are not all as it seems. The atmosphere, being extremely palpable, and characters, both three-dimensional and captivating to read, make this book that much more enthralling.
As mentioned previously, Ninth House was one of my highly anticipated reads of 2019, but while it did not fully live up to its expectations it was still a highly enjoyable book to read. The only thing that stopped this book from getting a full 5 star review, is due to the pacing. You have to at least give this book around 100 pages before the it truly takes off and you are better able to understand the entirety of this story to its fullest. It at times felt as if the pacing was dragging, so unless you are invested in the story and/or characters then it is easy for it to fall flat for you. In the end, I still personally enjoyed Ninth House and can not wait to get my hands on the second book.
With that being said, before diving into this book I strongly suggest looking at its trigger warnings. A list of trigger warnings will be made available at the end of this review. If you are looking for more in depth trigger warnings, there are a ton of reviews out that may be able to fully address concerns you may have. Ninth House is a dark book that looks at the lengths we go to in order to survive when faced with situations both out of our control and traumatizing. If you think you're in a good place to pick this book up then I definitely recommend it, however, if you feel like you're not then don't push yourself to pick it up. Though I understand the hype around this book and that we've been waiting a while for it but please focus on your mental health and put it first.
TRIGGER WARNING: Extreme violence, graphic scenes, sexual assault, drug abuse, date rape drug, suicide, self-harm, and murder.
NOTE: This book is NOT young adult. Both Leigh Bardugo herself as well as her publishers have classified this book as New Adult and should be viewed and read as so. There are dark themes and graphic scenes.
Rating
★★★★
About the Author
Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse. With over three million copies sold, her Grishaverse spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, The Language of Thorns, and King of Scars—with more to come. (To hear about new releases, tour dates, and giveaways first, sign up for Leigh's newsletter here.) Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including The Best of Tor.com and the Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and the forthcoming Ninth House. Leigh was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Southern California, graduated from Yale University, and has worked in advertising, journalism, and even makeup and special effects. These days she lives and writes in Los Angeles.
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