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.
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.
Title: Ninth House (Alex Stern #1)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: October 8, 2016
Review:
I'm a huge Bardugo fan. I truly enjoy her Grishaverse so it's not surprise I was itching to jump into anything else she writes. And this one did not disappoint in the least! But this is NOT her Grishverse. And this is not a book for the feint of heart.
This one comes with some trigger warnings. I don't have any triggers so I didn't even look into them, to be honest. But if a dark story with secret societies, murders, occult activity, and magic aren't your thing, then take a pass on this one.
Enter the world of Yale where secret societies abound and Alex Stern is tasked with patrolling what happens. After suffering a horrific event, she is recruited into the world and offered a second chance As she slowly uncovers the occult activities of politicians and well known business men, she has to try to keep herself alive and not reveal who she is, what she knows, or how she knows it.
I listened to this on audio and really enjoyed the narration. The author did a great job with jumping back and forth between past and present to unroll the story. Each chapter leavings trinkets of information as the book unfolded. The pacing was great and I found myself wanting to rush through so I could find out what happened with the characters.
Alex Stern is such a well written and developed character. I really adore a snarky FMC who is tough as nails. Her trauma follows her around like a lead weight on her shoulders, but she still does what she needs to survive. She does build walls between herself and others but they slowly get broken down as she works with others in her circle. She does take chances she probably should not. She does put herself in situations that could cause her harm. But she does this all in the name of preventing the abuse of magic. I easily connected with this character.
Darlington is also an extremely well developed characters. I loved his voice. And he is a prime example of how something evil can actually turn out to be good. He's got a very magnetic personality and just pulls you in. It's truly impossible not to like him. I also loved his relationship with Alex.
Bardugo built her world in so many layers and I enjoyed every bit of it. She writes an original and authentic story which is completely entertaining. I will say, the beginning is a bit hard to gel with. There is a lot of information presented which seems confusing. But Bardugo does a fantastic job revealing what you need to now in dribs and drabs throughout each and every chapter. There is nothing she writes that isn't important. So pay attention to it all! I had my doubts that I would enjoy the story because I felt like I was a little lost, but I'm so glad I stuck with it to see where the story went.
This is not the young adult writing I know from Bardugo. This writing is adult, dark, disturbing, and full of triggers people need to look into if they have any. But, I will say this, if you are ok with giving this darkness a try, you will not be disappointed.
Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House 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 much more. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University. For information on new releases and appearances, sign up for her newsletter.
She would be delighted if you visited her at LeighBardugo.com and fairly giddy if you liked her selfies on Instagram.
She would be delighted if you visited her at LeighBardugo.com and fairly giddy if you liked her selfies on Instagram.
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