Ninth House was a bit of a mixed experience for me. I’ll be honest, I spent a good chunk of the book feeling confused, like I was playing catch-up with the world-building and all the secret society details and I can't be sure I understand yet. There’s a lot packed into the story, and at times I wasn’t sure if I was missing something or if things just weren’t explained yet. That said, in the moments it did click for me, I really loved it.

The atmosphere is fantastic. It's dark, moody, and exactly what you’d want from a secret-societies-at-Yale type of story. Bardugo’s writing style also has something about it that really works so well for the tone, and I liked how she wove in both the supernatural elements and the heavier, real-world themes. The mystery aspect kept me hooked, even if I didn’t always feel totally grounded in what was happening.

So, overall, parts of it left me scratching my head, but the moments that worked for me really worked. It’s one of those books that’s rewarding if you’re willing to sit with the confusion for a while.

Ninth House was a bit of a mixed experience for me. I’ll be honest, I spent a good chunk of the book feeling confused, like I was playing catch-up with the world-building and all the secret society details and I can't be sure I understand yet. There’s a lot packed into the story, and at times I wasn’t sure if I was missing something or if things just weren’t explained yet. That said, in the moments it did click for me, I really loved it.

The atmosphere is fantastic. It's dark, moody, and exactly what you’d want from a secret-societies-at-Yale type of story. Bardugo’s writing style also has something about it that really works so well for the tone, and I liked how she wove in both the supernatural elements and the heavier, real-world themes. The mystery aspect kept me hooked, even if I didn’t always feel totally grounded in what was happening.

So, overall, parts of it left me scratching my head, but the moments that worked for me really worked. It’s one of those books that’s rewarding if you’re willing to sit with the confusion for a while.