Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy “Alex” Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory―even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.
Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies’ most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren’t just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she’ll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university’s very walls.
If you Google how many books there are going to be in Leigh Bardugo’s ALEX STERN series, you’ll probably come across the same Q & A thing on Goodreads that I found. In it she mentions that, while this is going to be a trilogy, she had originally conceptualized it as more of an ongoing series, like 12+ books.
Which is wild to think of, because Bardugo mentions in the answer that the amount of research that goes into one of these books is significant (this is very evident when you read these books), and would make the reality of writing this as a more one-per-year type of urban fantasy next to impossible.
At any rate, HELL BENT is a worthy sequel to NINTH HOUSE…ultimately I didn’t love this one quite as much as I did NINTH HOUSE, but I think Leigh Bardugo is a phenomenal writer & she’s got a really cool story on her hands here. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent a halfway decent amount of time in New Haven, some of it even checking out locations from the books. But this series has such an incredibly vivid & realistic vibe to me…as much as we tap into some dark, arcane, macabre shit here, it all feels very grounded. I would LOVE to see this adapted into a really cool show someday! Fingers crossed, because I think the visuals could be amazing!
Unsurprisingly, the focus of the book is on Alex’s quest to bring Darlington back from Hell. This is in direct defiance of the powers that be, who insist that Darlington is simply dead. Somehow, Alex just knows that’s not the case & is fiercely committed to bringing Darlington back home. But she’s not doing this alone, as she depends more & more on both Dawes & Turner. All three of these characters are so compelling, and we get significantly more backstory on everyone in this book. I especially love the sniping/antagonistic vibe between Alex & Turner, even as they slowly, reluctantly learn to trust & rely on one another.
Like NINTH HOUSE, this one takes a really hard look into Alex’s past. But some of her past troubles are about to collide with her present in a really direct & nightmarish way. Definitely some “just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in” vibes in this aspect.
I think the way Leigh Bardugo conceptualizes ghosts (the Grays) in this series is just fucking amazing…there’s something so eerie about it all & the way Alex can communicate with them. But also there’s a lot of sadness & grief built into a lot of these moments.
I have struggled mightily with writing a review for this one…I listened to a lot of this on audio (which was really cool!) and I kinda blew through it and moved on to other things right away and then…it just got harder & harder to get anything written for this at all. But I did just want to have something on my page for it because I’m enjoying this trilogy a whole lot.
As I said, this one didn’t quite feel as magical as NINTH HOUSE, but I still loved it. Bardugo is second to none when it comes to capturing a vibe, or transporting the reader somewhere. There’s a lot to do with Halloween in HELL BENT, too, which only heightens the overall excellent New England autumn vibes.
And as protagonists go, Alex Stern is just as cool as they get. She embraces her dark side, her traumatic past, and the messiness in her heart. And she just keeps moving through this fucked-up, chaotic, and genuinely scary world of hers. Yeah, I love this character with my whole entire heart & I’m really looking forward to seeing where this story takes her.
Grimdark Dad 