Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.
I’ve been really struggling (what else is new) to get reviews written & keep up with what I’ve been reading. Ugh, this is…not exactly New Year New Me energy, but oh well.
I’ve especially wanted to get a review posted for NINTH HOUSE, a book I was perpetually going to read “like, really really soon” for a couple years. And then I finally did, right at the tail end of 2022, and it wound up being one of my favorite reads of the year! And I can’t post a Favorite Reads of 2022 thingy without one of my favorite reads of 2022, and so here I am, trying to wring some semblance of a coherent review out of my foggy brain.
I try my best not to get too hung up on genre. There are so many amazing books that really blur the lines between multiple genres, but even then…they’ll typically settle into my mind in one way or another. NINTH HOUSE is proving to be really elusive that way for me…the book gets referred to as fantasy a lot. It’s got horror elements, a bit of urban fantasy flair, tons of mystery. But maybe it’s just dark academia? Which is a genre (or sub-genre?) I’m not terribly familiar with.
Whatever NINTH HOUSE ultimately is, it’s a fucking radical book. One that I went into with a decent amount of expectations (it’s a favorite among a lot of my Bookstagram friends), all of which were exceeded. It’s always a strange feeling when you know a little bit about a book from reading other people’s thoughts, seeing character art, different aesthetic/mood board kind of things…like you get the vibe, while still not really knowing a whole lot about the story.
So then you start the book.
And it just draws you in, completely. Oof. Yeah, NINTH HOUSE is a really special book & I’m so glad to have finally read it. This is the sixth book I’ve read by Leigh Bardugo and I’ve honestly loved everything, she’s just an amazing writer!
NINTH HOUSE is set (primarily) at Yale, which is about 45 minutes away from my house. I’ve had the opportunity to see some of the places mentioned in the book, so it was kind of a fun puzzle to put it all together (backwards) as I read! The book also blends fact & fiction in some delightfully macabre ways, so if you if you are planning to read this, I strongly recommend Googling some of the names & places you come across as you read…it definitely enhanced my enjoyment!
NINTH HOUSE is a book that felt simultaneously dark & comforting. Like, this book has teeth & goes to some deeply serious and uncomfortable places. But there’s just an impeccably cozy vibe to so much of it as well…oof.
Alex Stern is recruited into Lethe House (the titular Ninth House), one of the magical secret societies at Yale University. It’s Lethe that works almost as a system of checks and balances, keeping an eye on all the other houses & monitoring their activity.
Alex (whose given name is actually Galaxy) is someone with a really tough outer shell, and a zero-fucks-given attitude that she’s cultivated over her life. The story is told in multiple timelines, and we learn that Alex gone through some deeply traumatic things before arriving at Yale. So, in addition to being able to see actual literal ghosts, Alex is a character that’s just haunted by so much.
There’s a great supporting cast in NINTH HOUSE, folks that really round out the found family vibe. But also well-developed characters that take some time to get to know. I know Darlington (he is essentially training Alex to be his replacement) is a fan favorite, and well deserved. He’s really enigmatic & charming, and rarely what you expect him to be.
As the book went on, I fell harder and harder for Dawes. She’s this sort of reclusive academic type, and it was never really clear to me that her & Alex were ever going to hit it off & be able to work together. But their relationship slowly evolves into one of my favorite book friendships in awhile! Really can’t wait to see more of them in HELL BENT!
I don’t think I’ve said a whole lot about what NINTH HOUSE is even about, and probably that’s just as well. Like I said, I’ve been in a weird headspace for reviews & just wanted to get something down for this book, which felt like such a great escape at a time when I really needed it.
Yeah, NINTH HOUSE was fucking incredible. This is a world of arcane rituals, secret societies, ghosts walking among us…it’s a story of survival, of trauma, of found family. I just loved it…one of my favorite reads of the year!
Grimdark Dad 
I need to start this series. Excellent review!
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