Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (ARC Review)

Title: Ninth House
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy, Mystery
Publisher: Flatiron Books (Macmillan Publishers)
Date published: October 8, 2019

A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review.

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 Review ⬻

I finished Ninth House a few days ago and the book hangover is strong with this one. I also needed a few days to process my feelings about Leigh Bardugo’s adult debut before I could sit down and put them down on paper (or in this case the textbox for this blog post draft, haha). Oh my gosh. Ninth House left such an impression on me, but let me start at the beginning. It took me a few chapters to orient myself and get used to the writing style Bardugo used, and the setting she painted for us. But once I kind of got my bearings, I was 100% completely hooked. The visuals in Ninth House were so rich. I could almost smell New Haven and Yale University by the middle of the book (and I want to go visit it even now while I write this review because of the impression Bardugo made on me. I want to go there and sit on campus and just re-read Ninth House all over again).

The characters were also quite amazing as well as unforgettable for me—and this is especially the case with my favourites, who I won’t name because of potential spoilers, of course. Also, the way that the mystery of not only the main plot, but also of Alex’s life story, unfolded was addictive for me. I can’t remember the last time I craved a book so much whenever I didn’t have it in my hands. I also want to point out that yes, there are some violent scenes in Ninth House, but they’re so much a part of the story that it just wouldn’t be the same without them. Ninth House was gritty, and fun, and dark, and full of magic and mystery and I absolutely loved it. Ninth House might just be my favourite read of 2019 (if not of the last 2 or 3 years)!

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse. With over two million copies sold, her Grishaverse spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, and The Language of Thorns—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, where she can occasionally be heard singing with her band. She would be delighted if you followed her on Twitter, elated if you visited her website, and fairly giddy if you liked her selfies on Instagram.