Jordan

Update (09/12/23): Rereading this book is one of the wildest experiences. This series is truly something special.


How to even describe the plot of this book? I was so lost for so much of the beginning that I'm not sure I'll be able to explain well, but I'll do my best. This book follows Gideon, a woman who was orphaned as a child and who lives in the Ninth House. She is trying to escape this place that has done nothing right for her. However, the Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House, Harrowhark, always stops her plans before they ever get far enough to be successful. After her latest escape attempt, Harrow strikes a deal with her. Harrow is in need of a swordsman, and it could be Gideon's chance of leaving the Ninth House. What follows is a murder-mystery, who-dun-it, hilarious string of events.

I gave this book 3 stars because of how slow the beginning started. I couldn't follow anything going on throughout the first half of the book. I ended up looking on the Wikipedia for it to explain what was happening. There is a lot of descriptions of necromancy that use a lot of terms that I didn't know and I was left clueless. However, the banter between the characters was so funny that it kept me listening. Then, towards the end, it really picked up and so much was happening at once. I really enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting the sentimental ending, but I think it was done really well.

The characters are really the highlight of this book. Harrow and Gideon's relationship is hilarious. Even though there were too many characters to keep up with, I still thought all of the side characters also had really funny interactions. The narrator did a great job of bringing these characters to life.

Ultimately, I would recommend this book to anyone into a dark, gay, fun book.

TW: body horror (graphic), deawth (including children), gore, injury, murder, mutilation, necromancy, self-harm, suicide (depicted and referenced), trauma, violence

I have been so excited to read this book because I have seen so many book reviewers raving about it. However, it fell short for me.
Let me start off by saying that the world building and the magic system are some of the most interesting I've read in the fantasy genre. Bending reality to do certain things is bizarre and hard to wrap your mind around while reading, but ultimately is so fresh and interesting.
However, because of the complexity of this world, half of the book felt like an instruction manual to me. I felt like I was just trying to learn how everything works with a little bit of a story sprinkled in through much of the beginning of the book. Sancia as a character is fun, and I love heist stories, but I just couldn't get behind some of these characters. They were entertaining, but I didn't feel emotionally connected to them in any way.
The ending really turned much of this book around for me. I texted my husband as soon as I finished and was like “I take back everything I said I loved it”. Now that I've sat with it, I still agree with my critiques, but the ending really was suspenseful and super fun. I'm excited to read the second, and I hope that now that we've learned how a lot of the world works, we will be able to dive right into the story.