Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo | Alex Stern #1

Hands down, Ninth House is worth your time. Leigh Bardugo writes to compel and immerse readers into new worlds. In Ninth House you are exposed to magic, secret societies (I kind of viewed them like fraternities except with magic), and murder.

Alex Stern can see ghosts and its this rare power that gives her a full-ride to Yale with the stipulation she has to be the new Dante. Her mentor, Darlington craves her gift but Alex can assure you, it's not all its cracked up to be. But before Darlington can teach her how to use her "gift", and how to keep the societies in line, he goes missing and almost instantaneously a girl turns up dead. Alex feels it in her bones that the societies have something to do with it and then the story begins.

Read Ninth House if you are looking to be captivated by the protagonist and their journey to uncover the truth. This novel is filled with guts, determination, frustration, surprise, and a plethora of blood. This novel is definitely worth your time.

The characters in Ninth House are extraordinary! All characters you encounter are fully formed and are written to propel to the story forward. Alex, the protagonist is an A+ for me. She is a young, strong, and definitely a messed up woman determined to do her best in the role that has been thrust upon her.

My favourite character is Dawes, the protector of Dante (Alex = Dante) and Virgil (Darlington = Virgil). She is a powerful snack.

All of the characters will have you grinning for ear to ear and when motives are exposed, true personalities are revealed, and unknown strengths are brought to light you'll be sucked in further; you'll be having a blast reading this because of the characters.

You may find the beginning of Ninth House a bit confusing in terms of world building. Initially, there is a dump of information to kick start the world building and it drops off from there. I think the novel would have been stronger if there had been more in-depth discussion of the societies, how magic came to be, and whether or not it is a worldwide phenomenon.

Upon finishing the novel, I was still lost on certain aspects of the world and is why I wish it was explained a bit more. You may feel this too when reading Ninth House but don't let that deter you from reading this novel as luckily with a sequel in the works, there is undoubtedly more world building to occur.

You will be reeling at the end. It is an on-the-edge of your seat type of ending that leaves you gasping for more. Thank goodness there is a sequel coming which I CANNOT wait to read and I bet you will be craving for once you are done with Ninth House. With that ending, maybe wait until the sequel is out to read this novel so you don't have to wait.

Wowie, Ninth House took me on a ride. I don't have too much to say except that that was an enjoyable fantasy experience. I am still confused on the origin of magic and whether it expands outwards from New Haven and if so, how much by, but that confusion did not deter from how much I enjoyed this novel.

Seriously, Alex is a great character that I loved reading. And I loved the supporting characters! Dawes is my favourite but I was also not impartial to Mercy but as she lacks any magic prowess, I think she won't be prevalent in the next novel. I mean, they are traveling to the underworld after all.

I am so stoked for the next novel and despite the length of Ninth House, it had me hooked the whole way through and I enjoyed every moment!