Name: Alissa 's review of Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Item: Ninth House
Rating: 4.5
Author: Alissa

Leigh Bardugo

The mesmerizing adult debut from Leigh Bardugo, a tale of power, privilege, dark magic, and murder set among the Ivy League elite 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. In fact, by age twenty, 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 prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.

Ninth House

Paige Leitner

"'Not every flower belongs in every garden.'"

Darlington was a good talker, but he was happiest when no one was speaking to him, when he didn't have to perform the ritual of himself and he could simply be left to watch others. 

Isabelle

While the Garden of Eden may be closed, Hell is always open. 

"'Gentleman scholar' seems like a good description for you" 

"A true gentleman doesn't boast of the title, and a true scholar has better uses for his time than downing flaming Dr Pepper shots" 

Bethany Jenkins

“The uniforms had sent a jolt of panic through her, but then... 

Whats your name, kiddo? Talk to me. Can you tell me what happened? You're all right now. You're all right.

 How gently they spoke to her. How gently they handled her. She heard Turner talking: 

. Magic words. Yale falling over her, shroud and shield. 

. Such power in a few words, an incantation.”

She'd been a good girl trying to keep up. 

My motivation leaving the house, if I can muster enough energy to pick a cute outfit might as well leave and show it off 

Shanelle M.

She thought of ditching the lecture  and just going back to the quiet of her warded dorm room. But she had gone to the trouble of putting on clothes she might as well make the most out of it

Oh to have a love that every time you kiss it feels new... 

Daisy had earlier been described as 'exquisite'.. and in my head all I can picture is Queenie from Fantastic Beasts...

"You needn't flirt with me anymore."  She held up her hand fluttered her fingers, the emerald glinting on them. "I've already said yes."

 He snatched her hand from the air and pulled her near something in her eyes kindled but with what? Desire?Fear? She was sometimes impossible to read. In the mirror above the mantle he saw the two of them and the image thrilled him. 

"Let's go to Boston after the wedding. We can drive up to Maine for our honeymoon I don't wanna long sea voyage." 

She only lifted a brow and smiled "Bertie, Paris was part of the bargain." 

"But why we have all the time in the world." 

"You have time. I will be a mother to your children and hostess to your business partners but for a moment…" She stood on her tiptoe her lips a bare breath from his the heat of her body palpable as her fingers pressed against his arm.

"I might simply be a girl seeing Paris for the first time, and we might simply be lovers." 

"Paris it is,"  he said on a laugh, and kissed her It was not their first kiss but like every kiss was Daisy it felt new

"Didn't someone say love is a shared delusion?" 

"Cynical Darlington. Doesn't suit you at all."

"Call it magic if you prefer. Two people reciting the same spell."

Listen 👀👀 to me this is giving Rhys vibes in the best way possible, but also a little bit of Kaz. 🤏🏻🤏🏻 

(And they say this isn't a romance 😔) 

Alex slept in Darlington's bed and dreamed he was curled behind her on the narrow mattress. 

He pulled her close, his fingers digging into her abdomen, and she could feel claws at their tips. He whispered in her ear "I will serve you 'til the end of days." 

"And love me," she said with a laugh, bold in the dream, unafraid. 

But all he said was, "It is not the same."

This is by no means a fluffy/cheesy romantic moment at all but dang it the way some of the way he phrases things ugh 🤩😍

...or am I just that much of a sucker for phrases so well phrased??? 

"I class profanity with declarations of love. Best used sparingly and only when wholeheartedly meant."

The instant SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestseller, and Goodreads Choice Award winner, that Stephen King calls 'Impossible to put down' The mesmerising adult debut from Leigh Bardugo. A tale of power, privilege, dark magic and murder set among the Ivy League elite. Alex Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale's freshman class. A dropout and the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved crime - the last thing she wants is to cause trouble. Not when Yale was supposed to be her fresh start. But a free ride to one of the world's most prestigious universities was bound to come with a catch. Alex has been tasked with monitoring the mysterious activities of Yale's secret societies - societies that have yielded some of the most famous and influential people in the world. Now there's a dead girl on campus and Alex seems to be the only person who won't accept the neat answer the police and campus administration have come up with for her murder. Because Alex knows the secret societies are far more sinister and extraordinary than anyone ever imagined. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living . . . 'Ninth House is the best fantasy novel I've read in years, because it's about real people. Bardugo's imaginative reach is brilliant, and this story, full of shocks and twists, is impossible to put down' Stephen King 'Ninth House is one of the best fantasy novels I've read in years. This book is brilliant, funny, raw and utterly magnificent - it's a portal to a world you'll never want to leave' Lev Grossman, bestselling author of The Magicians trilogy 'Ninth House rocked my world. I could not get enough of Alex Stern, a heroine for the ages. With a bruised heart and bleeding knuckles, she risks death and damnation - again and again - for the people she cares about. I was cheering her on the whole way: from the first brilliant sentence of this book to the last' Joe Hill, bestselling author of N0S4A2

Bianca Miller 

Anything that reminds them of being alive. Salt, sugar, sweat. Fighting and fucking, tears and blood from human drama 

 Her map had been changed. Her coastline altered. Mors irrumat omnia. Death fucks us all.

this seems like an unfortunate foreshadowing….

Eimear O'Connor 

Grays-ghosts--were harmless. Mostly. It took a lot for them to take any kind of form in the mortal world. And to pass through the final Veil? To become physical, capable of touch? Capable of damage? They could. Alex knew they could. But it was close to impossible.

Ninth House is the mesmerizing adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo, a tale of power, privilege, dark magic, and murder set among the Ivy League elite. 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. In fact, by age twenty, 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 prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.

This is why he had done it, not because of guilt or pride but because this was the moment he'd been waiting for: the chance to show someone else wonder, to watch them realize that they had not been lied to, that the world they'd been promised as children was not something that had to be abandoned, that there really was something lurking in the wood, beneath the stairs, between the stars, that everything was full of mystery.

Romi

"Maybe good things were the same as bad things. Sometimes you just had to let them happen"

'It's okay,' Dawes said "we had too many friends already' "

"If she'd been a social butterfly, they would have said she liked to drink away her pain. If she'd been a straight A student, they would have said she'd been eaten alive by her perfectionism. 

There were always excuses for why girls died"

Caroline 

“I have waited a long time for this moment.” Alex popped the carob pod into her mouth. “Moments pass.”

"A lie isn't a lie until someone believes it. It doesn't matter how charming you are if there's no one to charm"

He whispered in her ear, “I will serve you ‘til the end of days.” “And love me,” she said with a laugh, bold in the dream, unafraid. But all he said was, “It is not the same.”

Jayme Bosio

She knew loss, and he’d lost Daisy twice - first the girl he loved and then the dream of who’d she been. 

He needed her and she needed him. That was how most disasters began. 

Kirstine Dueholm

This book was absolutely thrilling. Every chapter had me dying to know what came next. I loved how unique and mysterious the magic systems were. I didn’t feel super connected to Alex, but I always find it impressive when an author can capture my attention through the eyes of a character that I don’t really like. Overall this book was a bit like a good piece of dark chocolate— a little bit bitter to bite into, but once you start you can’t stop.

Alissa 


This book was absolutely thrilling. Every chapter had me dying to know what came next. I loved how unique and mysterious the magic systems were. I didn’t feel super connected to Alex, but I always find it impressive when an author can capture my attention through the eyes of a character that I don’t really like. Overall this book was a bit like a good piece of dark chocolate— a little bit bitter to bite into, but once you start you can’t stop.

Cuando ganeden esta acerrado, guehinam esta siempre abierto. While the Garden of Eden may be closed, Hell is always open.

“Ninth House” is a great blend of thrills, a fierce female protagonist, and a touch of magic—everything I could hope for to keep my mind racing. The story was so gripping that the 13-hour flight I read it on seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. This was my introduction to Bardugo’s work, and I’m pleased to meet with her.

Alex Stern, is a compelling character—a Yale student and the newest Dante in Lethe House, the enigmatic organization tasked with overseeing New Haven’s secret magical societies. When a girl named Tara is found dead, Alex is dived into an investigation. The stakes are high as she works to ensure the magical houses aren’t behind the murder, and Bardugo keeps you guessing at every turn.

Dark, atmospheric, and utterly engrossing, Ninth House is an excellent read that left me want more. If you’re drawn to stories with rich world-building, sharp heroines, and a touch of the macabre, this book will not disappoint.

Bilge Ince

Cuando ganeden esta acerrado, guehinam esta siempre abierto. While the Garden of Eden may be closed, Hell is always open.

“Ninth House” is a great blend of thrills, a fierce female protagonist, and a touch of magic—everything I could hope for to keep my mind racing. The story was so gripping that the 13-hour flight I read it on seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. This was my introduction to Bardugo’s work, and I’m pleased to meet with her.

Alex Stern, is a compelling character—a Yale student and the newest Dante in Lethe House, the enigmatic organization tasked with overseeing New Haven’s secret magical societies. When a girl named Tara is found dead, Alex is dived into an investigation. The stakes are high as she works to ensure the magical houses aren’t behind the murder, and Bardugo keeps you guessing at every turn.

Dark, atmospheric, and utterly engrossing, Ninth House is an excellent read that left me want more. If you’re drawn to stories with rich world-building, sharp heroines, and a touch of the macabre, this book will not disappoint.

Wowie!! The end of this book is a whirlwind and entirely unpredictable. I literally cannot wait to read the sequel. This is the perfect combo of mystery, thriller, fantasy, dark academia, friendship, romance- it's got it all! If any of those are your vibe, read this!

Maria youngberg 

millena

I don’t even know where to start, I picked this book knowing I was going to hate and instead it ended up being the best book I've ever read???

The beginning was TOUGH, you probably won’t understand the first 150 pages but I swear that at some point something just click and you won’t be able to put the book down (!!!!! please check the TW list !!!!!)

Alex is without a doubt in my top 3 favorite FMC’s, her story is so sad and painful to read and even though she went through what she went she’s still so fucking strong, my girl deserves the world 😭


  ”I want to survive this world that keeps trying to destroy me.”


Unfortunately I’ll need at least one month to recover from all Darlington's content so I can find words to describe how much I love him (I need more him in book two please!!!!) ((honorable mention to halloween party scene 🏆))

The side characters were my favorites of all time (specifically Dawes and Turner), at first I thought I wouldn't like them much but after 50% I just couldn't live without them anymore???!? The friendship between Alex and Dawes was so good for the development of the story AND for the personal development of both, I really love it! Turner made me laugh so many times, the man simply can't take the magic seriously and we love him for it

I'm not even going into the plot twists bc there were so many that I'm still shocked, I can't wait to start the second book 😭

A great mystery with loooots of twists/reveals. The characters had so much color and texture and I enjoyed the non-linear timeline. It took on a much stronger fantasy tilt than I expected  especially as it went on but I still was able to find it enjoyable. Excited to read the second book. 

Liyah 🤎

matti horckmans

Jennifer Gosnell

So overall I really liked it!! I liked how morally grey most of the characters were. And there was a LOT goin’ on. Lots of twists. Really interesting history (with the Yale history and societies being real and such, not the magic part obvs haha). 

The world building was really good and immersive. A bit disturbing. VERY disturbing in some parts. (Really could have done without the bathroom ghost scene. Horrifying.) 

I was looking for dark academia and hell, this is DARK academia. I will be picking up the next one to see where this story goes!

radhika dhawan

i think i’m officially a fantasy girlie

Preston Carey

Action packed adult fantasy. Buying Hell Bent rn

Isabella

4.75 ⭐

What an enjoyable ride, truly. I see the criticisms people have of this book and while I can understand them I genuinely thought this was greatly written. I love Alex so much she will live in my heart forever and I found myself relating to her more than once. Very excited to read book two!

I first started this book sometime last year and just couldn't really get into it. Two weeks ago I gave it another go and while it again took me a little while to really understand the plot, I did enjoy the book. 

Ninth House is a unique book with a plot unlike anything I've read before. The beginning was however very vague and the world-and storybuilding took a while but definitely worth it. 

 I'd recommend it if you're into mysterious books with a little magical aspect. 

I first started this book sometime last year and just couldn't really get into it. Two weeks ago I gave it another go and while it again took me a little while to really understand the plot, I did enjoy the book. 

Ninth House is a unique book with a plot unlike anything I've read before. The beginning was however very vague and the world-and storybuilding took a while but definitely worth it. 

 I'd recommend it if you're into mysterious books with a little magical aspect. 

It seems like a very long time since I last enjoyed a fantasy /dark academy novel! So I am going to dive into « Hell bent » straight away. I was not very much into the Grisha series (I read them all anyway) so I had 0 expectations. I like the characters, the plot, the twist, the ideas, hope that the 2d volume of this duology delivers. 

Barbara

the plot was amazing and it had the most unexpected plot twist. Had a hard time with all the name and places but it was totally worth it. Can wait to read the second book!!!!!!

Elena Tsakona

sani

“we are the shepherds.”

4.5★. what a brilliant book! leigh bardugo is my favourite author from now on. i didn't read this book. i lived in this book. the worldbuilding was a little bit confusing in the beginning but i suppose that happens to the best of us when it comes to her books. 

alex stern from the beginning was so intriguing. i think i loved it when it was shown that she's powerful not because she can see the grays but because she can do anything to get what she wants. i mean, my girl literally crossed borderland.

AND darlington? the golden boy of lethe. the gentleman demon. if he doesn't come back in book two and darlingstern ship doesn't sail, i will rip my hair off and never touch a book again. i am not kidding. i am THAT serious. 

“and maybe he wanted her to be the kind of girl who dressed as queen mab, who loved words and had stars in her blood.”

Emily Wisnesky

lemme tell you the amount of times i wanted to dnf this book because of those first 200 pages were crazy. thankfully the pace does pick up after and i did start to understand more of what was going on as well. i really don’t know what to say other than i did enjoy the read and i will be picking up hell bent :)

Everything I ever wanted in a book! Perfect!!!

Samantha Cummings

Omar 

Broke me out of an insane reading rut 

I had a lot of love for the characters and the format and the setting. Got really attached to certain figures, and the format of houses and the history and so forth was really fun and enjoyable. 

At the core of Leigh Bardugos writing is the ability to place sympathetic characters in exciting and well crafted settings and scenarios, and this is at display here.

A LOCUS AWARD FINALIST! The mesmerizing adult debut from Leigh Bardugo, a tale of power, privilege, dark magic, and murder set among the Ivy League elite 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. In fact, by age twenty, 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 prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.

Rebeca Keren Nuñez

"Ninth House" de Leigh Bardugo es una novela que te atrapa desde la primera página y te sumerge en un mundo oscuro y fascinante de magia, misterio y secretos ocultos. Publicada en 2019, esta obra marca el debut de Bardugo en la literatura adulta y muestra su talento para crear mundos complejos y personajes memorables.

La historia sigue a Galaxy "Alex" Stern, una joven con un pasado turbulento y un don para ver a los Grays, espíritus que habitan entre los vivos. Alex es reclutada para unirse a la novena casa de Lethe, una sociedad secreta en la Universidad de Yale que se encarga de vigilar las actividades mágicas y asegurarse de que no se salgan de control.

A medida que Alex se sumerge en el oscuro submundo de la magia, se enfrenta a peligros inimaginables y descubre conspiraciones que amenazan con destruir todo lo que conoce. Con la ayuda de su mentor, el enigmático Darlington, y sus propias habilidades únicas, Alex se embarca en una búsqueda de la verdad que la llevará por caminos tortuosos y llenos de peligros.

Lo que hace que "Ninth House" sea tan cautivadora es su mezcla única de elementos sobrenaturales, intriga política y exploración de temas profundos como el poder, la corrupción y la redención. Bardugo crea un mundo vívido y detallado que te absorbe por completo, con una prosa elegante y evocadora que te transporta a las calles empedradas de New Haven y los oscuros pasillos de la novena casa.

Además de su trama absorbente, la novela está poblada por personajes complejos y multifacéticos que saltan de las páginas con vida propia. Desde la valiente y decidida Alex hasta el misterioso y carismático Darlington, cada personaje está hábilmente desarrollado y aporta capas adicionales a la historia.

En resumen, "Ninth House" es una obra impresionante que combina intriga, magia y suspenso en una narrativa inolvidable. Con su mundo ricamente imaginado y sus personajes convincentes, Leigh Bardugo nos ofrece una experiencia de lectura que te dejará sin aliento hasta la última página.

Galaxy "Alex" Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale's freshman class. A dropout and the sole survivor of a horrific unresolved crime, Alex was hoping for a fresh start.

But her free ride comes with a catch. She has been tasked with monitoring Yale's secret societies - notorious haunts of the rich and powerful.

Now there's a dead girl on campus, and Alex is the only person willing to look deeper. Because societies are far more sinister and extraordinary than anyone ever imagined.

They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And sometimes they prey on the living.

Maria

a solid 4.5 read for me

i think my rating says it all, i enjoyed this a lot. a fair warning though that there is a lot of discussion around and depiction of sexual assault (rape, csa), as well as drug abuse and general gore.

the writing worked well for creating the general ominous atmosphere of the story, and establishing the setting. i have to say though i felt like the first 100 pages or so kind of dragged, although there were things happening. it might have been because a lot of information about the socities, the so-called ninth house, the magic, and characters were all introduced to us, but i struggled a bit at first. there was also a great detail of information, which was good for establishing the setting, but sometimes hard to keep track of. another thing that did not work for me were the societies themselves: i had a hard time distinguishing between them. i remember maybe three of them and only barely what they were specializing in. however, i do understand the intent behind the societies: they represent the rich and powerful, those privileged enough who can get away with anything, no matter how horrible their actions. so it makes sense that they would blur and blend into each other, they’re all after all the same, no matter what magic they would specialize in.

i enjoyed that the narrative moves between two timelines, and while it could risk becoming annoying or adding a sense of constant interruption to the present timeline, it did not. the plot also kept me invested all the way through, and even though i guessed the culprits involved in the murder mystery i still found every second of it to be intriguing.

the characters really shine through this story. i think leigh bardugo’s writing is at its best when she’s focusing on these morally grey characters. i loved alex, i felt her pain and anger, and understood her frustration with the unfairness of the world she lives in. i admired that through all this she still fights hard to get some justice, to get some power for herself. darlington on the other hand was so delightful to read about, he was just waxing poetics about new haven at every turn, and hoped desperately there had to be more to life than just whatever we see around us; how could i not love him? 
i also thought the little tidbits of magic around lethe and all the other houses was fascinating. 

a really surprisingly good read overall. i hate that i have to wait for the next book, because that ending really has me on edge.

Ella Newton

I enjoyed the dark academia/secret Ivy League societies vibes, but it ended up doing a lot more telling than showing in order to explain the background. As many have said, the start was definitely somewhat slow and confusing until the background was built up, and after that I found that it didn’t quite meet my expectations, but it was interesting. I’ll probably read the sequel just to see, but could’ve been a bit more thrilling in many ways.

Erin Goss

Super long but the ending makes it worth it! Different from what I normally read and I’ll definitely read the next book based on this one 

Kirstine Dueholm &
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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