Review - Ninth House

In the mood for some dark magic mixed with academia, crime, brooding characters, and witty sarcasm? Allow me to present Ninth House - the first novel of Leigh Bardugo’s Alex Stern series.

From its unravelling, heavy secrets to its gorgeous depiction of Yale, New Haven, this book is indulging to read.

And, with the second novel in the series, Hell Bent, due to be released in January 2023, it’s the perfect time for some Ninth House appreciation.

Let’s get into it, shall we?

Judging a book by its cover

Upon glancing at the cover, the snake winding through the title is the most striking - and very clever.

Why? One of the secret societies (or “Houses”) featured in Ninth House is ‘Book and Snake’, and here we have a book with a snake on its cover. Very amusing.

Orion Books (the cover designer) did well to include a recommendation from Stephen King on the cover, too - the King of Horror’s approval further intrigued me into reading.

And lastly, the matte black cover colour is gorgeous - although, in my opinion, it does create a need for shinier lettering than is featured.

Author context

Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author based in Los Angeles.

She is perhaps best known for her creation of the Grishaverse, which features in the Six of Crows duology, the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and the King of Scars duology, to name a few.

Her works feature intricately crafted magic systems and societies, complex character relationships, and detailed (but not overly so) descriptions.

Bardugo writes within the fantasy, young adult, science fiction, and historical fiction genres - and does so masterfully.

A short, spoiler-free synopsis

Protagonist Galaxy “Alex” Stern was born with a rare, magical gift: the ability to see "Grays" - the dead.

The sole-survivor of a mysterious crime, Alex is given the opportunity to study at Yale after her ability captures the attention of Lethe House - an organisation that monitors Yale’s other secret Houses.

As her guide Darlington shows her, these Houses practice dark magic - including necromancy - for their respective morally-corrupt purposes. Under Lethe’s watch, though, the Houses have been kept in check (well, so it seems).

But, with Darlington suddenly gone, Alex finds herself in deep water - a girl has been murdered and she believes that the Houses are involved, yet her own past threatens to catch up with her.

Reasons to love this book

1. The vibes are immaculate.

Ninth House feels like a modern, fantasy take on dark academia classics like Donna Tart’s The Secret History.

As with The Secret History, this book features the prestigious, close-knit feel of secret academic societies entwined with their inevitable moral collapse.

Talk of late-night studying, enchanting libraries, powerful magic, and code names will have you wanting to run off to New Haven and abandon your morals.

The book’s eloquent descriptions of Yale romanticise university life in true dark academia style, but Alex’s character brings some needed balance.

Alex’s past of violence and drug abuse juxtapose prestigious academia - in fact, she is well aware she would not have been accepted into Yale were it not for her magical ability.

This calls to attention the privilege of those characters who thrive at Yale and functions as a reality check for dark academia fans like myself - without taking away from the literary aesthetic. Excellently done, Bardugo.

On that note, this book does contain some heavy themes apart from violence and drug abuse, so I would recommend a quick look at the trigger warnings before reading.

2. The murder mystery keeps you guessing until the end.

A girl has been murdered on Yale campus - and anyone could be involved.

Each character is shrouded in mystery, with varying - and often unclear - motives, leaving you guessing at who can be trusted until the book’s end.

Each of the Yale’s secret Houses could have their own dark, magical motives for murdering an innocent girl, too…

I found myself taking notes in my attempt to decipher everyone’s behaviour - with little success up until the three quarter mark. But hey, maybe I missed something obvious and you will do (or did) better than I.

Ninth House’s fractured timeline adds to the mystery; Bardugo starts us off in the thick of the chaos and sprinkles in context as the reader moves along.

I loved slowly piecing together Alex’s past and Darlington’s disappearance - it made for some intriguing reading.

3. The romantic tension shrouded in sarcasm is to die for.

Alex and her love interest (who will remain unnamed to preserve suspense for those who haven’t yet read Ninth House) initially dislike each other.

They can’t exactly avoid each other though, and as they unwittingly become closer, their witty banter escalates into flirting dipped in sarcasm.

There is nothing I adore more than an “enemies to lovers” trope (here, I use the term ‘enemies’ loosely) in which the two characters pretend to dislike each other long after the dislike has faded.

A heads up - this is a slow-burn romance, and by slow-burn, I mean that it appears to be a series-long slow-burn. I wish they’d just hold hands already.

So there we have it - Leigh Bardugo’s fantasy-academia masterpiece, Ninth House.

Between its mystery, witty romantic tension, and appreciation of Yale campus, it’s an absolutely enchanting read.

Keep an eye out for the release of the next book in the series, Hell Bent, on January 10 next year.