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Ninth House

(Alex Stern #1)

Leigh Bardugo (Goodreads Author)

4.04 · Rating details · 174,788 ratings · 27,107 reviews

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 li ...more

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Hardcover, 459 pages

Published October 8th 2019 by Flatiron Books

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Average rating 4.04 ·

Rating details

· 174,788 ratings · 27,107 reviews

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Aug 13, 2018 chai ♡ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-releases, fiction, dark-academia, trope-morally-fraudulent-characters, adult-sff, adult

〘 find other reviews on my blog 〙

I picked up this book with a mad feeling of hope. The premise promised me an entry to what I now consider to be my favorite genre: novels that initiate their readers into a secret society, hidden from everyone else the way an oyster conceals the pearl at its heart, which is probably what every good novel should do. I couldn’t imagine anyone in a better position to deliver this story than the author I believe to be one of the finest in her field.

But what a sli ...more

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Mar 29, 2018 Melanie rated it liked it

Shelves: contemporary, book-expo-2019, read-in-2019, new-adult, magic, paranormal, dark, arc, ghosts

ARC acquired at Book Expo in exchange for an honest review.

“There were always excuses for why girls died.”

Ninth House is a love letter to living and surviving unspeakable abuse. This is a book all about trauma, and PTSD, and healing, in any and every way that you can. This is a book for victims, who have felt they will never get the piece of them back that someone forcefully took. This is a book for anyone who was willing to do anything to feel empowered after something horrible occu ...more

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Oct 24, 2019 Teodora rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, contemporary, fantasy, on-app, adult-new-adult, 2019-releases

4.25/5 ⭐

Full review on my Blog: The Dacian She-Wolf 🐺

me: *seeing the whole anarchy this book has created* I wonder if I too can ruin my life
description

Oh, behold the majestic weird shit that I am, reading my first Leigh Bardugo book ever!

YES. You may laugh at me and judge me and all that, but honestly, this book has created some serious anarchy after publication, a type of anarchy that made me stop and think: “If this book makes people feel so intense, then it is a make it or break it for me for sure” ...more

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Oct 18, 2019 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it liked it

Yesssss! I finished this book in one hour and got all references at one time. I turned into most intelligent book reading machine and started to turn two pages at a time (because my mind can already feel what’s written at the next page, unbelievable, isn’t it?) I didn’t get bored. I didn’t yawn or complain about my heavy eyelids because I was so alert and concentrated. And of course, I loved those characters so much, I never had an urge to slap one of them or hate any of them. They were memorabl ...more

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Oct 04, 2019 emma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-ya, i-love-these-characters, fantasy, recommend, reviewed, beautifully-written, reread, 5-stars, dark-academia, couldn-t-wait-to-read

TOTO, WE’RE NOT IN YA FANTASY ANYMORE.

Can you believe that of all the eras we could have been born in, we are all blessed to live in the one in which Leigh Bardugo is publishing books?!

I have often felt like Leigh is able to sneak into my brain and write exactly what I need. (I am calling her by her first name because if she is, in fact, a presence inside my mind then it’s a given that we’d be on that level of familiarity.)

For example: I love heists and ragtag groups of friends and slow burn rom ...more

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Feb 07, 2019 Chelsea Humphrey rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Chelsea by: Flatiron Books

Shelves: favorites, audiobooks, bookstagram-made-me-do-it

CONGRATULATIONS-Goodreads Choice Awards Adult Fantasy Winner!

"I am a daughter of Lethe, and the wolves are at the door."

Hello friends, and good evening. Do me a favor will you? Could you all please stand up? Thank you. Now, if you're a fan of dark fantasy/horror and stories involving occult magic, please remain standing; everyone else can sit down. Remain standing if you also retain the ability to push through a read that has a slew of triggers, such as sexual assault, graphic rape of a 12 year CONGRATULATIONS-Goodreads Choice Awards Adult Fantasy Winner!

"I am a daughter of Lethe, and the wolves are at the door."

Hello friends, and good evening. Do me a favor will you? Could you all please stand up? Thank you. Now, if you're a fan of dark fantasy/horror and stories involving occult magic, please remain standing; everyone else can sit down. Remain standing if you also retain the ability to push through a read that has a slew of triggers, such as sexual assault, graphic rape of a 12 year old girl, murder, gore, death, drug abuse/overdose, possession, the forced eating of excrement to a rapist, and many more subjects. Great, now also remain standing if you are ok with reading a book where you are dropped into the middle of a world much like our own, but you have no idea what's going on and have to figure it out as you go at a slow burning pace, until all is revealed. If you're still with me, follow me to the next portion; the rest of you may be excused.

Why the dramatics, Chels? Well, to be fair, this book won't be for everyone. I'll go as far as saying that it won't be for a majority of people. Ninth House is an extremely dark and heavy read, one that is well-written and plotted, but contains many aspects that are so niche that I can't imagine a majority of Bardugo's YA fantasy fans crossing over into this realm. Many of my close, trusted friends have struggled with this book, and I highly respect their opinions and reasons for not resonating with it, and if you're looking for a wonderful, objective 3 star review to offset mine, I suggest you read Melanie's HERE.

If you're still with me, I'd like to take a moment and break down, into sections, just what ground the book covers. There will be no major spoilers, but if you want to go in blind without any sense of what the book is about, stop here.

"That was what magic did. It revealed the heart of who you'd been before life took away your belief in the possible. It gave back the world all lonely children longed for. That was what Lethe had done for him. Maybe it could do that for Alex as well."

The book opens with a touch of an ending, and abruptly brings us back to what I will refer to as Present Day. We are dropped directly into Alex's daily schedule, and over the course of the first 150 pages or so, we slowly gather information on the various secret societies at Yale, how magic is involved, and snippets of Alex's past that lead her to Yale in the first place. This is the section where the book weeds out those who bought this because it's one of the most popular new releases of 2019, and those who are genuinely interested in dark ADULT fantasy. Once we get a general sense of this alternate contemporary world, we realize there are two mysteries at hand. One is the murder of a local and there appears to have been magic involved. Who killed her and for what purpose? This particular mystery does tie into the next mystery I'll be mentioning, but suffice it to say that this murder is solved and completely wrapped up in this first installment. The second mystery is the disappearance of Alex's mentor, Darlington. This mystery receives answers but will continue on into the sequel. Along the way, Alex teams up with a few human people and also Grays (spirits of the deceased that still roam the earth) to solve both mysteries, while also revealing the entirety of Alex's background and how she came to be at Yale.

I'll be honest, I had my doubts in the beginning. When I say that the pacing is slow, I mean it is S-L-O-W. The audio version of Ninth House features two of my favorite narrators, and I found that this format worked best for me in the beginning, and I enjoyed it so much that I mostly listened to the entire book rather than reading my hard copy. Once the ball gets rolling, I became fully engrossed. I can't tell you how interesting it was to read about all of these real societies with the added flair of magical abilities. Bardugo created a world that felt eerily realistic; no detail is left untouched and she used the old Stephen King method of "make it real, but change the slightest detail to make it not real," and this worked beautifully.

After a majority of the book being the slow burn, the ending is absolute bonkers in the best way! Wild, action packed, and with a few twists I did not see coming! I felt the ending was brilliant; it wasn't a cliffhanger but it did leave me ready and wanting to come back for more. I'll stop before I ramble on, but I'd like to cautiously recommend this book with gusto. If you've read it, I'd love to chat with you about it. If you decide this isn't for you, I respect that, and I can't wait for the next book we get to chat about together. ...more

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Oct 15, 2019 Emily May marked it as dnf

Shelves: paranormal-uf, 2019

DNF - pg 146.

I actually cannot do it. I can't finish it. I wanted to like this book so bad, and then I just wanted to finish it so bad, but it's sending me into a serious book slump. I'm giving up.

After struggling through the first 100 pages, I decided to take a break, read something else, and then come back to it. Sometimes it's the timing, you know? So I went and read a good portion of Isaacson's The Innovators, got myself neck-deep in some quantum computing, because after reading that, some m ...more

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Oct 25, 2016 Kai Spellmeier rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"There were always excuses for why girls died."

To answer your question: yes, it really is that good.

Ninth House and I had a bit of a slow start. The new world that Bardugo has created might not be set in a fictional fantasy universe, but it features enough new concepts, characters, and settings that it takes some time to take it all in. Not only does every character have an alias and maybe even a nickname, so do the buildings at Yale. And since all my Yale knowledge is based on that cute little "There were always excuses for why girls died."

To answer your question: yes, it really is that good.

Ninth House and I had a bit of a slow start. The new world that Bardugo has created might not be set in a fictional fantasy universe, but it features enough new concepts, characters, and settings that it takes some time to take it all in. Not only does every character have an alias and maybe even a nickname, so do the buildings at Yale. And since all my Yale knowledge is based on that cute little courtyard from Gilmore Girls, I struggled to figure out where and who and what was going on. As soon as I had grasped all of that, though, I was unable to resist the pull of this dark, compelling, murderous book.

I don't know where to start. The book was sombre and thrilling, brimming with ancient mysteries, magic, and the promise of danger. The characters were incredibly well-painted, my favourites being Turner and Dawes. The plot was thought-out, and until the very end, it was tense and exciting. My only criticism comes with the one or other reveal during the final showdown. Bardugo dropped enough clues here and there that the reader could have figured out who might have been behind the murder at the centre of this novel. That is until the plot is twisted yet again and delivers an explanation that adds new possibilities that no reader could have suspected. It was drawn up out of thin air and therefore not as genius as I had expected it to be.

Now, be warned. If this book is one thing, it's violent. There are some graphic scenes that show sexual abuse. There is trauma and pain and it's not glossed over. I've seen people get mad at Leigh because she chose to show these horrible acts of violence. They accused her of exploiting the pain for shock value. I cannot agree with them. The novel is deeply feminist and shows characters with a past that is tough, that made them survivors. Readers also have no right to know whether the scenes in the book are based on the author's personal experiences. She doesn't have to justify writing about sexual abuse by proving that she has been in a similar position. I do, however, agree that the book needs trigger warnings.

I honestly can't wait for the sequel. I mean, I personally don't care about [redacted] and whether they'll manage to save them or not, but the world that Bardugo created is so rich and leaves so much to discover that I wouldn't mind another three to five books. It feels like Alex Stern only just got started kicking ass.

Find more of my books on Instagram ...more

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Apr 21, 2020 Miranda Reads rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobook

mmm....not the best record with Bardugo but...everyone loves this one.

Fingers crossed.

Update 1

Everyone is telling me that the beginning is rough. I'm 1/3 of the way through.

Can the beginning be over yet???

#2

CAN WE GO LIKE TWO PAGES WITHOUT SOMEONE GETTING RAPED???

#3

OKAY YES, BUT DID WE HAVE TO TRANSITION TO POO?

The audiobook, a summary:

1-12 hours - Ugh ugh ugh.
12-13 - hmmmm... this is interesting
13-15 - holy. Mother. Effing. Crap. I can't. It's just. F*ck. I have to read book ...more

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Jul 04, 2019 Emily (Books with Emily Fox) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, 2019-releases

This was honestly…. really disappointing.

I enjoyed the beginning, the world, the school setting and the magic seemed interesting but it went downhill fast.

Soon it was clear that Darlington was the only thing interesting and he wasn’t there for most of the book so… bleh.

Generous 2 star. So much potential but did not care for the story at all and frankly the last 3 hours of the audiobook could have simply not existed :/

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Apr 26, 2018 NickReads rated it it was amazing

the power that that has, the intelligence that that has, the clearance that that has, the access that that has, the influence that that has, the profile that that has, the international implications that that has

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Aug 22, 2019 Sabaa Tahir rated it it was amazing

This book is just fabulous. It has excellent worldbuilding; deep, dark mystery; fascinating characters that you root for even when you don't like their choices; a twisty, original and unexpected plot that had me guessing all the way until the end. Highly, highly recommend. ...more

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Dec 08, 2019 Regan rated it it was amazing

4.5 loved

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Nov 22, 2019 Emma Giordano rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks

Review to come!

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Jun 13, 2019 • Lindsey Dahling • rated it it was ok

I should start this by saying had anyone other than Queen Leigh Bardugo written this, I would have given it 1 star. There's also a 90% chance this would be on my DNF shelf.

Things I liked:

1. Darlington
He was the most likable character in the book for me, but even he fell flat. I get it, Dar. You love the big old mansion you inherited. What else do you have going for you? (Jury is still out on that one.)

2. ....................

Welp. I've just realized that I liked literally nothing else about t ...more

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Sep 09, 2019 jessica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

leigh bardugo is synonymous with five stars, as far as im concerned.

so believe the hype because its real, its here, and its very adult.

alex stern is doing slytherin proud. 🖤🐍

____________________________________________

the hot trend for 2019 is snakes on covers and it makes me wish i was a slytherin. their brand/culture is t h r i v i n g.

↠ 5 stars

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Oct 26, 2019 Cindy rated it really liked it

I enjoyed reading this as a murder mystery and I appreciate the level of care that Bardugo puts into the world building and atmosphere. She builds intrigue and tension throughout the story, though I can understand why some people might find this too slow for their tastes. The dual storylines are a little hard to follow at first because there's so much to know about the world from the beginning, but I was able to get into the hang of it and just focused on enjoying watching things unravel. Charac ...more

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Oct 27, 2019 Kat rated it liked it

why couldn’t the whole book be like the last 100 pages??

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Aug 07, 2019 Alex ✰ Comets and Comments ✰ added it

Shelves: fantastical-creatures, unpopular-opinion, fantasy-me-up, most-anticipated, dnf, abuse, darker-than-my-soul, mental-health, unlikeable-characters, what-the-actual-fuck

"That was what magic did. It revealed the heart of who you’d been before life took away your belief in the possible. It gave back the world all lonely children longed for. "

description

-dnf @30%-
I don't think I have ever been more disappointed in myself for not being able to love this book. Leigh Bardugo continues to be my queen of fantasy, this one was just a complete and utter miss for me.
_______________

*all the sighs*
I'm still not certain that this review will get all my thoughts across. I' ...more

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Oct 13, 2020 chan ☆ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adult-fantasy, 2020

yall wanna play another round of guess that rating?

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Sep 12, 2017 karen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bea-2019-wishlist, thank-you-bea-or-ala, death-is-not-the-end, girls-gone-wild

oooh, goodreads choice awards semifinalist for BEST FANTASY 2019! what will happen?

THIS happened! WINNER! goodreads choice awards best fantasy 2019!

There were always excuses for why girls died.

i am going to review this carefully, for all of you who were too cool or too civilized to run for copies at BEA and have to wait for october to grab a copy. me, i regret nothing.

when i first heard about this book, there was only a little teaser of a synopsis available, and when i finally got my hands on i ...more

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Mar 18, 2019 Hamad rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, good-covers, 2019-reads

This Review ✍️ Blog 📖 Twitter 🐦 Instagram 📷

“MORS VINCIT OMNIA”

★ This time I decided to bring you my review immediately without the usual RTC because with a rating like that, everyone is curious and many people already asked me to review this one and what my thoughts are on it.

★ I need to make some things clear before you come to put my head on a pike! Bardugo is one of my favorite authors, I read all her books, I do own all her books (Including the collector’s edition of SoC and CK) ...more

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Sep 03, 2019 Caz (littlebookowl) rated it it was amazing

HOLY WOW.

This was something else - incredible writing, so atmospheric, bloody, gruesome, intense.

The ending was RUDE, I need the next book NOW!

Content warning: sexual assault including child rape & date rape drug, self-harm, suicide, physical abuse, overdose, violence, murder.

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Mar 20, 2019 ✨ A ✨ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, four-stars, disturbing, arcs, 2019-release, new-adult, read-in-2020, audiobook, main-characters-of-colour

I, the biggest scared-y cat, actually enjoyed this?! Leigh Bardugo really be working that magic

‘We are the shepherds.’
The time for that was done. Better to be a rattler.

Galaxy ‘Alex’ Stern, a drop out, a girl who can see the dead, the only survivor of a multiple homicide — is offered a chance of a lifetime: a free ride to Yale University. She can leave her terrible past behind and start fresh.

However, Alex knows that nothing is without its price and in exchange for this new life, Alex is recrui ...more

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Jul 01, 2019 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it did not like it

Shelves: own, mystery-thriller-etc, audio, unhauled, fantasy-all, hardback-own

I don’t know what the hell I was thinking the first time I listened to this, I mean I fell asleep a lot. Tried to relisten and had to skim through for falling asleep. The only part was about an evil person forced to eat shit that I thought was gross and cool. I was falling asleep again so 1 Star and I unhauled and got credit back for Audio.

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more

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Aug 20, 2019 Cardan Greenbriar rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: panicking

after reading drunk hangover:

oh i'm sorry did i make a mistake?

The Darkling didn't make the cover

The Darkling is the whole book himself

And Leigh was cackling behind

pre reading:
Two theories:

Either The Darkling made the cover

or

The cover is The Darkling ...more

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Apr 24, 2019 Tucker (TuckerTheReader) rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Tucker by: Macmillan Publishers

Shelves: chronic-illness-disability, 5-stars, contemporary, adult, favorites-2019, fantasy

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

[12/10/19] - Congratulations, Leigh Bardugo, on winning the 2019 Goodreads Choice Award for Fantasy!!!

-----------

I totally forgot to tell you guys that, in an interview at the end of my audio file, Leigh stated:

"I am, alas, not a shapeshifter but if you give me a large pizza I can shift into a slightly bigger version of myself."

if that's not the biggest mood ever...

-----------

”It is only thro
...more

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Jul 23, 2020 megs_bookrack rated it really liked it · review of another edition

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Ninth House is moody, dark and secretive. In other words, it's everything I love in my fiction!!

This book is a delightfully intriguing start to the all-new Alex Stern series by Leigh Bardugo.

I have been fascinated by the idea of this book for a while. What's not to love about the Yale campus in Autumn, paired with secret societies and magic?

On a recent road trip, I finally decided to give this one a shot.

I have to say, while I really enjoyed the audiobook, particularly th ...more

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Dec 06, 2019 Daniel B. rated it it was amazing

An absolutely brilliant read.

I found myself completely taken by the blend of examining social issues and well-realized occult themes. This was my first read for Leigh Bardugo, and it has absolutely convinced me to read more from her in the future.

Ninth House is flat out brilliant. There is a reason Stephen King called it one of the best fantasy books he has read in recent years.

"best fantasy I’ve read in years" - King

The main protagonist is well-realized and motivated. The world is our own b ...more

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Jan 02, 2020 Elena May rated it it was amazing

If I have to describe this book in a single word, it would be “solid”. Well planned, well executed, with (almost) no cracks that could make it fall apart. This is my first Bardugo book, and while it did nothing to convince me to try her other works, I’ll definitely keep an eye on this series.

Ninth House is one of the best books I’ve read in a while, but don’t worry—I’ll still find stuff to complain about, as usual ;)

What the book gets right

Ghost, magic, mythology, and a unique, brave heroine ...more

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Horror Aficionados : June 2022 Group Read #1 - Ninth House	115	246	Jun 30, 2022 02:12PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Adult Collegiate Urban Magic. Strong, female protag wins scholarship to go to a (Boston?) college, joins a magical fraternity with her mentor, Darlington. [s]	3	18	May 11, 2022 12:19PM
Turn of a Page: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo	11	15	Mar 24, 2022 10:37AM
Book of January 2022	2	17	Dec 18, 2021 04:43PM
Book Nerds Unite: November 2021 BOTM \| Ninth House	5	16	Nov 11, 2021 07:11PM

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About Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo

130,104 followers

Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, the King of Scars Duology, and The Language of Thorns—with more to come. Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including the Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy. Her othe ...more