This was a delightful, quick read with a very accurate title. It was part heist, part mystery, and part magical realism. I typically don't like when aThis was a delightful, quick read with a very accurate title. It was part heist, part mystery, and part magical realism. I typically don't like when a book jumps around in time because sometimes that's more style over substance, but it worked out well in this case.
The only glaring thing about this was the use of old timey derogatory terms for Black people. I can see why they chose to use those terms to fit into prohibition era colloquialism but it was still jarring to read....more
I liked Bardugo's previous YA works so when a coworker approached me and asked if I wanted to read an ARC of the author's adult debut, I said, "Sure, I liked Bardugo's previous YA works so when a coworker approached me and asked if I wanted to read an ARC of the author's adult debut, I said, "Sure, why not?"
Ninth House is mostly set in New Haven, on the Yale campus to be exact and it could be describe as one part secret society participating in the occult and one part mystery. At its heart, it's most whodunnit complete with twists, turns, and everything that kept me turning the page.
I notice that Bardugo really likes the flawed-heroine characters in her books and this one is no different. Alex Stern is definitely flawed and sometimes unreliable, but she always seems to just barely scrape by. Part of the mystery is trying to discovery what Alex isn't telling us and normally I would be annoyed with that sort of mystery, but it kind of worked in this one.
I know this is an adult book, but I found some scenes and things that happened gratuitously graphic and I have a pretty high tolerance for these things. It also felt kind of skimmed over and unrealistic how quickly some minor characters bounce back from traumatic events. The other thing I had trouble with is because there is an element of the occult and it's sometimes difficult to pinpoint the exact rules of Alex's world, there's not really a good way to logically figure out who the culprit is, unlike in a traditional mystery novel.
Despite its shortcomings, I'll probably still read the other books in the series. The lore-building is decent and I'd like to see where Bardugo goes with some of the loose ends....more
This was surprisingly good. The book came to me as a recommendation and I knew nothing about it when I dove in, but it caught me right away and I coulThis was surprisingly good. The book came to me as a recommendation and I knew nothing about it when I dove in, but it caught me right away and I couldn't stop reading it. Once *something happens* the book doesn't let up and it's one thing after another. I felt almost breathless at the end. I loved how magic described and worked with in this book, I loved the main character despite her bumbling ways, loved all kickass female characters, and I even thought the usual good and evil part was handled well.
The only disappointment was the whole (view spoiler)[backstory about how the Wood was created, since it seemed very similar to many curse stories like The Ring. (hide spoiler)]. That part was a bit confusing at first because of how many similar characters were involved, but I'll try not to overanalyze it....more
I've heard mixed things about this book. Some readers seem to really love it while others have called it all style and no substance. I tend to agree wI've heard mixed things about this book. Some readers seem to really love it while others have called it all style and no substance. I tend to agree with the later group of readers, except there wasn't much style either. The book is like a mediocre magic trick: a lot of flourishes and things going on, but it's mostly stuff I've seen before and the payoff is what you would expect. I also think this book could have been edited down a lot more. A lot of word that don't add to the plot....more
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