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I have a confession. I bought three of Leigh Bardugo’s books a couple of summers ago and haven’t touched them. They look beautiful on my YA bookshelf and I’ve heard they’re amazing, but sadly, I still haven’t read them. After all the buzz about her first novel written for adults I was very excited to see that it was a Book of the Month pick.

Yes, that’s two in one week!

It was my November pick and once again, I waited and waited to read it because I had quite few Library holds come in all at once. I’m kind of glad that I did wait on this one because I had read a whole string of college/prep school books in a row, along with several books with secret societies. Waiting a bit gave me some space to not compare it constantly to one of the other titles and just enjoy it.

This is another one of those books that can be tricky to summarize without spoiling the whole story. Galaxy Stern, known to everyone as Alex, finds herself the new Dante of Lethe House at Yale. Helping to oversee the magical and supernatural activities of the other eight houses, Alex is in over her head trying to juggle her difficult classes during the day and learning the secrets and rituals of Yale’s most secret societies. After losing her mentor in an unexplained attack, Alex is convinced that the murder of a young woman near campus must be the missing link to Darlington’s disappearance. Battling demons of her own, both figuratively and literally, Alex is running out of time to save Darlington, herself, and possibly everyone around her.

I really enjoyed this one. I’m a big fan of secret societies, fantasies, and magic! Put it all out there in basically plain view of the public-yes, please! Alex has the ability to see Grays, or ghosts, and has seen them nearly her entire life. Having a mother who believes in tarot, healing crystals, and sage but not her daughter’s ability to see ghosts led to a tragic childhood of bullying, teasing, and even assault. When she is discovered by Dean Sandow of Lethe House, Alex believes she’s going to have a second chance at life but how does he know about her? The manipulation and deception that goes on in this book is extraordinary. Ninth House really looks at the difference between those with magical abilities that believe in beauty and mystery of magic and those that see the power it can bring. Not going to lie, I really enjoyed when streetwise Alex put some snotty rich kids in their place.

It’s easy to finish this one quickly because the plot moves so quickly it’s really hard to put it down. There’s plot twist after twist and just when you think you have it all figured out, something big is going to throw your whole idea out the window. Bardugo also made the integration of magic into reality seamlessly. Sometimes you really need to know why the local detective is willing to cover up a magical death.

Spoiler-cash. It’s always cash.

But truly, the network of people required to keep nine secret societies secret in the middle of an elite university campus is extraordinary. And what they use the magic for? Again, cash. It’s always cash.

This one is definitely worth picking up and spending an afternoon with. I enjoyed mine with a glass of bourbon-it seemed the perfect combination.

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This was my November 2019 Book of the Month pick. If you are interested in starting a membership with them, you can use this link. I have loved every book I’ve received so far and who can pass up beautiful hardcover books for less than $10? That’s how much your extra books cost and the selection is amazing.

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