Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I am so mad at myself for taking so long to get around to this book. The hype surrounding this one was real, with good reason. When I heard what Ninth House was about, I had to snatch up a copy even though I've never actually read any of Leigh Bardugo's other books. It's basically the type of book you would write if you wanted to set a trap to catch me.

Secret societies and the occult? Seeing ghosts? Magic? Murder and some pretty disturbing rituals? A girl named Galaxy? COUNT ME IN. This one does need trigger warnings for murder, drug abuse and overdosing, rape (including rape of a child) and other sexual assault, racism, medical procedure descriptions, gore and other graphic descriptions. I know that sounds like a lot, but if none of those are triggers for you this book is an intensely wild ride.

In Ninth House, Galaxy (Alex) Stern has just begun at Yale. After surviving a traumatic and harrowing incident, she was offered a deal she couldn't refuse: free education at Yale in exchange for using her "gift" to monitor the secret societies on campus. But when she agreed, she had no idea what exactly it would be that she was policing.

I completely ate this book up. I was constantly torn between wanting to put it down to savor the experience and get to read it for a longer period of time and fly through it. I ended up giving in and flying through it. I loved seeing Alex grow and fight her own demons and really come into her own. I really enjoyed Darlington's character and would have loved getting more of him. I was fascinated learning about the different secret societies and their different types of magic. It's dark. It's heavy. It's twisted. But it's fascinating.

I honestly got a lot of City of Ghosts (Victoria Schwab-Cassidy Blake series) vibes from this one, but with a much more adult tone. 

Ninth House will also be developed as a TV series from Amazon, and Bardugo has also said there will be a sequel, so I'm super excited to get more Alex Stern content!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Author Spotlight: Adriana Mather

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I hadn't heard much about this author until I was offered the chance to review her newest book. Upon researching, I discovered that her subject matter seemed right up my alley. If you've heard of Adriana Mather, you know that she wrote the fantastic YA novel How to Hang a Witch. Her new book, Haunting the Deep, was also just released. Since I obviously couldn't read the second without reading the first, I had to pick up a copy of How to Hang a Witch so I could jump right into the world of Samantha Mather, her main character (and yes, their last names are the same!).

How to Hang a Witch follows Samantha Mather, a high school girl who moves to Salem with her stepmother when her father falls into a coma. Sam is immediately an outcast, due to being related to Cotton Mather, one of the main players in the Salem Witch Trials. When strange things start happening and people start dying, Samantha seems to be the one at fault, and the Decendants (relatives of the original accused and hanged witches) are quick to pin the blame on her. But everyone soon realizes that Sam might not be the cause, and in fact may be the only one able to help put a stop to the disastrous events occurring in Salem. Throw in a cute next door neighbor, a handsome ghost that only Sam can see, and some mean high school girls and you have the making of the perfect paranormal YA novel.

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Haunting the Deep picks up with Samantha about six months after the dramatic ending of the first novel. Her father has woken up, and she has found some unlikely friendships. Everyone has moved on from the scary events, or so it seems, until one day at breakfast Samantha spots another ghost. As the Spring Fling theme of the Titanic is announced, more strange things begin occurring, as items begin being left for Sam and her father, and she becomes transported to the Titanic in her dreams. Is it a coincidence, or the makings of something more sinister? Using her newfound allies, Sam and her friends must work to save the spirits lost on the Titanic, and Sam herself, from meeting the same repeated fate of the cursed ocean liner.

Both of these books were fantastic. I loved Samantha's character, and the Descendants as well. I thought the plot was definitely realistic, and wasn't too paranormal to be believable. They were both quick reads that kept me engaged the entire time. My only issue with both books was that I was able to predict the villain a little earlier than I would have liked. I was satisfied with both endings, however less than satisfied with Sam's choice of love interest. I think these are both great paranormal YA reads and would 100% recommend them!

Overall Rating (for both books): 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks to Blogging for Books for the copy of Haunting the Deep to review! All opinions are 100% my own.