Science Fiction and Fantasy Fridays

NINTH HOUSE

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: Alex Stern #1

Source: Audible

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publication Date: October 8, 2019

Summary:

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.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

This felt like it wanted to be a mix of The Magicians and Harry Potter but edgier and it was mostly just a tedious novel that ended up being a huge disappointment. I love Leigh Bardugo's work and was super excited for this one and it was just so meh. 

It took me SO long to listen to this and I have my audiobooks read to me at 3x the speed! This should not have taken me half as long as it did. But I found myself not caring and not wanting to go back. There was a cliffhanger ending to set up the series and I just don't care.

The setting itself should have been enough for me: Ivy league setting with a switch between Winter and Spring that has dark secrets and societies. Throw in a murder mystery and ghosts and you've got me hooked. But nothing was ever fully done, fully there, and I never felt like I was brought into the magic of it all. 

I thought the characters were plain and not as well developed as I would have liked. They felt like caricatures rather than actual human beings to me. Their actions were also formulaic - based on their position in the book, as well as the timeline for the book, they had to do certain things to push the plot along. Which I did not enjoy.

On top of that, there were extremely triggering scenes: there are graphic rape scenes, sexual assault on vdeio, suicide, PTSD, grief, self-hom, drug use, murder, and so many more that I am probably forgetting. Because it was basically a mixing pot of all the dark things Bardugo could think of pushed into one book.

I feel like this was basically just an "edgy" version of The Magicians that missed all the points, didn't have strong characters, and made me put down the book multiple times, almost causing me to go into a reading slump in the middle of a quarantine. I definitely don't know that I recommend it.

What are some of your favourite Adult SFF books?

CROOKED KINGDOM

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Read my review of SIX OF CROWS!

I'm very disappointed in this one. It felt more like a set up for the next series (King of Scars) rather than a decent conclusion to this duology. I didn't care about the characters or their conclusions and I wasn't even that sad at the way things turned out because it was the only logical conclusion if we wanted to continue with the next series.

I found myself really bored during this one, which shouldn't have been the case since there were so many heists and action scenes. But at the same time, I think that was it's downfall. There was too much of that - because there are only so many times characters can succeed in a roundabout way before you get sick of it.

I listened to this as an audiobook so that I could read it at work and have something to distract me while I was working. However, I found myself having to go back to previous chapters to listen again because I zoned out during the reading process. I mentioned in my status updates on Goodreads how disappointed I was in this one.

But really, I just wanted this to be a different book than it was. I just want authors to write the story at hand, not the next ten. Because it is one thing to know where stories can overlap and connect and another to purposefully create a storyline that directs people in a certain way. On to the fanfiction it is!

Have you read this one? What was your favourite part?

• ONCE UPON A SUMMER
• AT THE MOVIES
• ANGIE THOMAS

January 2019: Leigh Bardugo

• A copy of King of Scars (regular edition) signed by the author
• A letter from Leigh Bardugo
• An exclusive King of Stars travel mug – perfect for that fortifying hot or cold beverage to help you battle through your day
• A tube of FOLKLORE Sweet Honey Hand Cream to soothe your hands after turning each of those awesome pages
• Grishaverse pin that looks amazing on my pinboard
• Bookmark for CROWN OF FEATHERS by Nicki Pau Preto