Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I was in desperate need of a lit fic to push me out of my romance-induced binge, and what better way to do a 180 and throw myself into a modern day Persephone and Demeter retelling. As a sucker for anything involving Greek mythology and a girl in her twenties who is drawn to literary fiction like a moth to a flame, this book has been on my TBR for a hot minute. When camp counselor Cory catches the eye of pharmaceutical mogul Rolo, a single father of one of her campers, she is whisked away to a private island to be his private nanny. As she continues to butt heads with her mother, the book switches perspectives between the mother daughter duo as they embark on separate journeys and explores varying degrees of consumerism, desire, and control.

It is so intriguing - and often disorienting - to see Cory slowly succumb to the draw of Rolo's charm and enticing nature as she becomes more integrated into the luxurious island. As her time there progresses and her use of Rolo's pharmaceuticals steadily increases, Cory begins to question the intentions of her charming host while convincing herself that she remains in control of her decisions and actions. Surrounded by Rolo's workers and influenced by their clique-like behavior, Cory seemingly begins to want to repair her relationship with her mother with the simple step of reaching out to her.

Cory's mother, Emer, is an ambitious head of an agricultural NGO and desperate to locate her teenage daughter that has seemingly disappeared from her camp counselor job into thin air. As she attempts to contact her, she is bombarded with questions regarding the status of rice growth and inquiries on how much longer investors will have to wait. Torn between her business and her child, Emer's life is disrupted as she abandons all and embarks on a search for Cory, no matter the cost to her reputation.

It was incredibly intriguing to see Rolo's characterization develop as Cory spent more time on the island and taking Fruit of the Dead - he becomes more alluring while also showing increasing signs of agitation and sporadic decision making. When he first appears to Cory, he is showcased as a god-like man with incredible draw, and yet we see this persona slip and form into a controlling man with tunnel vision. Cory's presence on the island continues to influence her own decision making and she becomes part of Rolo and his children's lives. Those around Rolo, including a mildly disgruntled ex-wife, seem to send warning signals to Cory every chance they get, but with infatuation blinding her and Fruit of the Dead muddling her mind, she stuck in island set on keeping her unaware of her surrounding.

Lyon does an impeccable job at incorporating myth and modern together. Her writing style abandons quotation marks in conversation - not one of my favorite stylistic choices, but I do say it worked well as it causes confusion for both the reader and the characters. Your brain begins to feel muddled and you are going back to past paragraphs to confirm you did not miss anything. Readers are left spiraling down the rabbit hole along with Cory as she is entangled in some serious fixation with a life of luxury with Rolo. I had a great time reading this disorienting exploration of capitalistic greed, carnal desire, and familial bonds - as a lover of Greek mythology, Lyon hits the nail on the head with this vivid retelling.

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The Divine Flesh by Drew Huff ARC Review

This is a spoiler-free review! This is an ARC review - The Divine Flesh will be available on March 4, 2025. Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.

I would first like to thank NetGalley and Dark Matter INK for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. There is an insane amount of body horror in this book, and after the excellence that was The Substance (2024), I was excited to see what the genre had in store for us this year. This book was so much more intense than I expected - the author does not hold back, and brings the readers in for a ride they did not see coming. The fascinating concept of the Divine Flesh and Jennifer existing together a single body truly adds a level of self-awareness and power dynamics to their characterizations.

The internal struggle we see not only with the Divine Flesh and Jennifer, but a multitude of side characters, was a great touch by Duff. We are able to contextualize the significance their actions have on the outside world, and how their power struggle influences a domino effect on a number of people. The intensity of change in which every character had to experience, whether it being trapped, hunted, or seeking a common goal, was absolutely more than I expected. This book went places I never expected, and the author truly pushed the boundaries of body horror and everything in between.

Jennifer and the Divine Flesh being one individual while simultaneously being two entirely different beings really drove the story to its true conflict point, and without their internal battle with each other, so many consequences could have been avoided. The Divine Flesh's reasoning to be separated from Jennifer differed from Jennifer's own reasoning to be separated, and with that came the downfall of so many individuals. Daryl's involvement with both the Divine Flesh and Jennifer could be considered the major factor that lead to the explosion of events in this book, and his presence throughout the story has significant impact on Jennifer and the Divine Flesh's actions.

Horror enthusiasts will be thrilled by Huff's work, and the squeamish should proceed with caution. The tone of the book is heavy and extreme - every single action had an immediate consequence that could lead to even more potent reaction from another character. Every single page had presented with something new and absolutely unimaginable - there were so many instances where I could not believe what I was reading. Every page felt as through I was exposed to something so completely out of the park, and Huff's ability to create so many nuanced characters while still upholding the integrity of the book's main theme kept me drawn in.

Emotionally, these characters are put through the ringer, and physically, they are completely transformed by the end of this book. Much like how humans evolve and grow, these characters are challenged beyond their wildest expectations and realities in order to get to their final form. Literary fiction and body horror merge together to form a symbiotic connection, much like Jennifer and the Divine Flesh's beginning relationship.

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Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Cursed Bunny was on my TBR shelf for nearly a year-and-a-half, and I had been looking forward to finally diving into these short stories. Considering many described these stories as grotesque and horror-filled, I was excited to see what Chung had in store for readers. However, I felt unsatisfied with the cohesiveness of the collection, as well as mislead in the sense that only a few of the stories truly held onto the horror genre as advertised. The science fiction and magical realism were certainly present, but did not hold my attention as much as the other stories, and I found myself bored by the end of the collection. Only a few stories stood out to me, while the rest had no impact on my subconscious after finishing this book - once again, the magical realism and fairytale stories did little for me.

While I do have my issues with the collection as a whole, Cursed Bunny does an excellent job at gaining the reader's attention from the very first page. Constructively, I would have put the stores in a different order, as the current order tends to fall off by the end. Chung is a champion at truly harnessing the horror she wishes to convey, and I did genuinely feel a sense of unease during those particular short stories. The Head takes first place as most memorable and has sat with me since reading this book. It felt surreal yet entirely plausible in the sense that women are often haunted by what comes from them and how their bodies speak to them in ways that may not be understood by society. Chung's ability to really get into body horror and the grotesque realism of life is appreciated, and is clearly elevated off the page and into the reader's mind.

In no way am I stating that Chung's works are overrated, but rather this anthology of short stories felt lackluster when looking back at them as a whole, singular piece of art. She is able to touch upon a number of important topics throughout these stories, but their connection to each other felt weak, and I had to push myself to find interest in order to see this through to the end. I found that a majority of these stories did not leave a large impact on me as a reader, and I would have loved to see a cohesiveness to her stories that would have allowed readers to come to a major realization at the end that tied everything together. Instead, the stories ended, and so did my interest in her tales.

Overall, the prose in a number of these stories truly wraps the reader up in the tale, while others felt more like filler chapters that became easily forgettable as you move on to the next story. I would certainly have enjoyed a more structured set of stories that did not genre-jump as much - while horror, science fiction, and magical realism can be interesting avenues to connect, Chung's stories did not flow into each other to warrant a breakthrough. I am definitely open to exploring more of her work in the future, but perhaps rather when it is a single title rather than a collection of short stories.

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Dracula by Bram Stoker Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Going into this book, I had a different idea of what the tone and focus of the story would be -- and I was pleasantly surprised on how much I enjoyed the formatting of this classic. Stoker utilizes diary entries, journaling, phonographs, and newspaper articles to string together Jonathan Harker's encounter with Count Dracula, and the consequences that followed. The use of multiple perspectives of side characters in addition to Jonathan allowed the story to unfold and the reader is able to see the true outcome of Jonathan's stay with the Count.

There were a few points in the story where I felt as though Stoker was losing his audience, and I found myself pushing through side plots that only aided the main story for a brief moment. The majority of the book, to my surprise, takes place in both England and in Transylvania, with a number of locations as the tale moves back and forth between Jonathan and his wife, Mira, as she waits for his return home. Rather than focus on the environment or surroundings in this story, it was more so the emotions that took precedence as the characters sought to protect themselves from tales of the undead.

Introducing a number of side characters to Jonathan's story, Stoker is able to give the reader a more enhanced understanding of the way society viewed the lore of the Count. With Mira's letters and diary entries, along with Dr. Van Helsing and numerous other individuals, readers are truly given the full perspective -- if only we were able to have a single chapter from Dracula's point of view. There were times where chapters from Mira's entries felt as though they were taking away from Jonathan's story, and I was frustrated with the focus being turned to her worrying about him for forty pages instead of actually seeing what was going on with him and Dracula at his estate.

Humor is sprinkled in throughout the story, and while sparse, it does make the characters more enjoyable and personable, especially for the characters that do not have nearly as many dedicated chapters to their thoughts and diary entries. Some of the reasoning of solutions that characters would come with in order to protect themselves were downright hilarious, especially when claiming a string of garlic was actually a flower necklace.

As far as pacing goes, it takes a minute to readjust yourself to the language of the story, but a few chapters in and you will have the hang of it in no time. When Jonathan was while Dracula, the story moves quickly and entices the reader, but I found myself losing a touch of interest when we abandoned Dracula and moved to a new subplot. Once Dracula was no longer the main event, the story began to drag on and the last 15% of the book was tough to push through, but I was determined to see this classic to the end. I wish Stoker had expanded more on Jonathan's experience with Dracula, rather than only showing their interactions briefly compared to the aftermath.

An excellent piece of gothic literature that explores the horrors of men and monsters while remaining open to interpretation regarding the true nature of violence and society. A true classic and essential piece to truly understand the genre as a whole as well as one of the most popular characters in horror.

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Satan's Affair by H.D. Carlton Review

This review contains spoilers for Satan's Affair. Please read reviews or go to the author's website for more details on trigger warnings. It is recommended that you read the prequel novella, Satan's Affair, prior to reading the Cat and Mouse Duet, but is not required. You can read my review of Haunting Adeline on my blog, here.

I genuinely did not know what to expect or had an idea about what I would think of this book since I was not jumping up and down after reading Haunting Adeline, but I wanted to go back and read the prequel just in case it gave more a little background before I go diving into Hunting Adeline. Compared to Haunting Adeline, I would say that Satan's Affair definitely prioritizes gore and violence in the first half of the book, while the smut takes a secondary priority.

Through the use of her own haunted house and a handful of very attentive henchmen, Sibby is able to take down the demons she finds one at a time in a very particular way. You can tell that while she does let her emotions come through from time to time, she is typically very particular about how she goes about these killings. She certainly is creative, and with the haunted house on her side, she is able to basically do whatever she wants and have her henchmen clean up the pieces.

When Sibby was doing her thing to Gary, I was literally so surprised that he was still conscious and aware of what was happening -- if someone was getting their limbs cut off and bones broken, you would think the pain would have taken them out pretty quickly. She really has a bone to pick with him, especially after overhearing what he did to his girlfriend, Jennifer. There is definitely an up on the gore and violence factor in this prequel, and while I did not find it unbearable, some may find the content a touch too disturbing.

This novella will definitely prepare readers for what is to come in the Cat and Mouse Duet when it comes to both smut scenes and graphic depictions of violence and assault. While the content in Satan's Affair certainly heads towards a blurry line, I would say that it is just getting readers ready for what is to come.

I love that we got to see Sibby watching Zade follow Adeline and Daya through the haunted house -- not really a spoiler for Haunting Adeline, but just one scene that we see in the book that I actually appreciated really after reading Haunting Adeline. To be quite honest, the scenes between Sibby and Zade from her perspective somehow made me like Zade more, and made me even more excited to continue the duology. Looking back, I do wish I read this novella before starting the duology, and I would recommend reading Satan's Affair first just to get a touch of background information on Sibby, but it is entirely up to the reader's preference.

It was such an interesting choice to see that the henchmen were not actually real -- I knew people always referenced a twist with Sibby at the end, but I did not expect it to apply by extension to the henchmen. There were some definite negative connotations made towards Sibby's mental struggles, especially towards the end of the novella when she is in the institution.

Overall, this is a decent introduction to the Cat and Mouse Duet, and provides a quick and interesting read for those looking to get into the taboo genre while still being a little cautious of where exactly they may draw the line when it comes to dark romance.

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Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet, #1) by H.D. Carlton Review

This review contains spoilers for Haunting Adeline. This book was previously banned on Amazon due to the trigger warning. Please read reviews or go to the author's website for more details on trigger warnings. It is recommended that you read the prequel novella, Satan's Affair, prior to reading the Cat and Mouse Duet, but is not required.

I keep telling myself that I am going to stop taking recommendations from TikTok and actually work on my TBR pile, yet for some reason I could not go any longer going without reading this book after about ten videos in a row showed up on my feed, so it was a sign. Now hear me out -- the red roses being left for Addie... I knew my Phantom of the Opera would come back in full force one day and did not expect this book to be the driving force for that. Yes, I did see the red flags in Zade, but I have chosen to ignore them!

We get a dual POV between Addie and Zade that are both in first person, and get to see how absolutely off the walls he is when it comes to Addie, but at the same time we see him literally killing the nastiest people in society. Meanwhile, Addie is running around her victorian manor renovating and enjoying having a stalker while being a successful author. Clearly, they were made for each other.

I cannot believe I read half of this stuff with my own two eyes... he put a GUN inside of this girl... it is so much worse than the golf ball scene in the second 365 Days movie. I genuinely did not think anything could be so unhinged, yet here we are. As yet another disclaimer, this book is clearly meant for adults and contains so much smut that it is basically dripping off the pages, and the gun scene only happened within the first third of the book. He does the craziest things to this girl and a lot of it definitely borderlines on psychotic.

Zade is running around inside and outside of Addie's house, leaving body parts, red roses, and empty whiskey glasses in a trail behind him as he hides in her closet and does unspeakable things to her. I genuinely do not know how Addie was surprised to wake up with him in her house so often -- she literally was always hearing him walk around and would straight up have staring contests with him while he stood outside of her windows.

Addie always seemed shocked that her little stalker would show up inside her house and do exactly what he said he would do to her in their texts to each other. Yes, they text each other. Because that is a completely normal thing to do with a stalker that has killed dozens if not hundreds of people.

Zade is out here killing rapists and pedophiles and acting like it is his side gig to stalking Addie as if he did not create an entire company whose sole purpose to get these people off the streets and to save the people that they have kidnapped and trafficked. I have to say, this man is quick with his business and does not hesitate even for a second when he and his team are on a mission. Every time that he is with the guys that him and his organization are trying to take down, I wanted to throw up in my mouth. It really is disgusting, and thankfully there was nothing graphic when it came to those scenes.

The biggest crime committed in this book by Addie is her using a straw to drink a martini. She is woman in her late twenties and does not know how to properly drink a martini... Maybe I did overestimate her self preservation and survival skills after reading that scene in the bar. Also, it felt as though the author kind of abandoned her author storyline, because I swear she was supposed to be reviewing her editor's suggestions, but I could have made that up in my head.

I have to say that the beginning of the book was more enjoyable than the last part of the book -- the last one third mostly focuses on Addie and Daya trying to solve Gigi's murder, as well as Zade trying to put an end to the rituals that are taking place. I'm not saying that it was bad, but it felt like the book was losing it momentum when it came to Addie and Zade interacting with one another and set them on two paths that definitely needed some work done, plot wise. I think I ended up overhyping this book more than I should have, and pretty much went in blind other than knowing that a girl is getting stalked and she likes it.

This book deals with some pretty heavy stuff and I definitely agree with reviews saying that it leans more towards the 21+ rating rather than 17+ due to its content. The author does do a pretty good job of creating this creepy environment as Addie's house, but I am still left a little confused if there were actually ghosts in her house, or if it was just a feeling. We are of course left on a big cliffhanger, and while I originally did not think that I was going to read the second book, now I might just have to, so I can find out who betrayed Jay and Zade and what is going to happen to Addie after that whacky car crash.

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The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Review

The Yellow Wall-Paper is available to read for free on iBooks! This review contains spoilers for The Yellow Wall-Paper.

With the intent of bringing his wife to a rental home for fresh air and a calmer environment to heal her from illness, a doctor unintentionally -- or perhaps, intentionally -- causes his wife to dive deeper into a madness. We see a woman isolated, alone yet almost never out of sight from her husband, John, or his sister, Jennie. Left to her own devices when they want her to rest, she begins to analyze and critique the old and decaying yellow wallpaper that surrounds her.

The author does an incredible job of describing this wallpaper with such detail that it not only becomes the prominent plot point of the story, but a character itself. No longer is the wallpaper a mere inanimate decoration for this woman's room, but rather something that is alive and stirring. The more time she spends alone in solitude with only this wallpaper, the more we see the woman descend into a madness that reflects the conceptualized place of women in their marriage.

Any time that the woman expresses a need to leave this country house or renovate the bedroom wallpaper, her husband dismisses the ideas and speaks to her in an infantilizing manner that is sure to contribute to her worsening depression. Left only with the yellow wallpaper as a companion of sorts, she is swept into following the pattern on the walls and hyper-fixating on what she believes is a woman trapped behind the paper. While not a true horror in name, the author does an exceptional job of creating an atmosphere where you can physically feel the woman's pain overcome her, even though it is not physical.

As one of the first takes on feminism and reflection on a woman's inherent role in a marriage, we see a woman -- who is never named, but rather referred to as someone's possession or in relation to another. A child's mother. A doctor's wife. But never given a name of her own, perhaps to encompass any individual who may relate to her and allow themselves to place themself in her shoes. She is left virtually helpless in a room that feeds on her loneliness and desperation to be free of the confines of the yellow wallpaper, while anyone who could help her leave is actively keeping her in a house she so desperately wants to be free of.

The more she becomes infatuated with the wallpaper, the more she shows a fear or aversion to John, suggesting that as she continues to live this life as a wife or mother instead of simply her own person, she is trapped by the constraints of what society and her husband expect from her. She is left misunderstood despite being explicitly clear on her feelings about the very wallpaper that heads her spiral, very much reflecting how women have been and continue to be treated in society's view of a marriage. Ignoring the true root of the problem in favor of his own ideas of how to "cure" his wife, the husband is shown to think he is doing what he can to help her, but rather is the one to undo her even more.

The Yellow Wall-Paper remains relevant as ever as a commentary on mental health, marital roles and expectations, feminism, and individual identity. In less than one hundred pages, the author is able to depict so many ever-lasting issues that continue to affect today's society.

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The Cherished by Patricia Ward Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I would first like to thank NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of The Cherished in exchange for an honest review -- this is an uncorrected proof, and there may be changes to the book in the final version.The Cherished releases on April 18, 2023.

I first have to say that I absolutely love the cover art for this book, and it is one of the main things that drew me to reading it. Combined with the description, my expectations were high, especially because I was in the mood for a good horror book. However, the writing was not what I expected, and it felt as though the story was dragging on while at the same time throwing in random information or characters that did not have anything to do with the plot.

Jo, Abigail, and Robert all have a nagging voice about them that makes almost everything that they said sound grating to the ear. Jo is sixteen years old and thinks in the most outrageous ways that cause her character to be hard to follow, especially as the main character. Abigail's character felt two-dimensional at first, but then started to get a little bit more in depth as the story went on, but never really expanded in a way that made the reader want to read about her.

The plot felt sporadic and was moving at an inconsistent pace -- I felt as though I was reading a book that had passages removed, making it harder to follow what exactly was going on. Instead of a horror book, it felt more like a short story you would read in English class that barely touched the surface of what horror embodies. Instead of being a little spooked while reading, I actually felt annoyed at almost every single character, especially Jo, because no one would communicate with each other, or they would talk in vague warnings that were not going to help anyone.

Hattie's character, while interesting and helpful to the plot, actually provides yet another annoyance to the reading experience. She just feels very out of place and not well developed enough for her implied importance to actually take root in the reader's view of her. The relationship she has with Tom is very much father/daughter, but they also try to warn Jo about certain things while not telling her anything all at all, which is frustrating to read.

I found that the plot's pacing was making it hard to read the book -- it was slow in the first half, but then it started to jump around quickly and begin to incorporate ideas that seemed to be only half-developed rather than something more solid. 

Overall, I think that the concept was definitely there, but the execution was not living up to how it needed to be played out. I felt a little bored during a lot of the chapters, and other chapters were kind of just jumping around and did not feel as though they were completed. Expecting a horror book, I was disappointed to say the least -- there was certainly nothing scary about this book, and while the concept would be considered eerie, it just did not pull through.

If you are looking for a quick read that has somewhat of evil fairytale elements, then The Cherished will definitely check those boxes for you. 

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A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers Review

This review contains very mild spoilers for A Certain Hunger. A list of trigger warnings can be found here.

Welcome to the NBC's Hannibal to girlboss cannibalism pipeline, so glad you could join us for dinner. We are taken into the mind of Dorothy, a woman jailed for her actions as a food critic turned cannibal, through her first-person memoir as she recounts her journey that led her to where she is. Dorothy is quick, frank, and gets straight to the point as she details her killings -- and recipes -- to the greatest extent. 

With each chapter focusing on a particular dish, accompanied often by a particular kill or experience, we gain insight on Dorothy's inner workings and her view on life, food, and the complications of feelings. She recounts her initial love for food and the day that she was thrown into a career as a food critic, her college days and friendship with Emma, and the countless entanglements she has with men who become meals.

Dorothy's meticulous planning of both her meals and her killings are done in such a way where both feel as though she is reading through a recipe book and adjusting the measurements to her own preference. She is sharp and calculated with nearly everything she does in her life, even after she is jailed -- we see it in the group therapy sessions, her refusal to allow Emma to visit her, and her acknowledgement of her never-empty commissary account.

She is at times reckless, and some could argue that the feelings she claims she does not experience make an appearance when she is at her most vulnerable. However, her recklessness is still coated in careful planning and has passion behind it, even if it ends in carnage. At times her killings are spontaneous, even taking her by surprise in the moment, and others have been brewing inside her for some time before executing them, much like her take down of a certain food critic magazine founder.

Some of the men that Dorothy killed were actually good people -- and even she admits that, literally during some of her plots she admits that some did not deserve the meal that they became, if only they had been more careful with their actions. Loyal to Dorothy, but not loyal to their wives. Unable to be persuaded to eat anchovies, but able to focus on it until his last breath. The men that Dorothy surrounds herself with all have flaws that may initially turn other people away from them, but draw Dorothy in -- perhaps the intrigue overshadows the indiscretions, perhaps the sex really was that good -- and that leads Dorothy down a road she expected she would eventually go down.

Summers stays true to the satire of early foodieism in the book summary as we see the exaggeration of Dorothy's superiority when it comes to cooking and ingredients, reviewing restaurants, and the transition from glossy printed magazines to the online buzzword food articles. From the preference of white truffle versus black truffle -- personally, I agree with Dorothy on the favoritism of the white truffle -- to the graphic depictions of Dorothy's crimes and acknowledgement of her elitism, Summers is able to create such a complex character that pulls traits from the likes of Amy Dunne of Gone Girl and Patrick Bateman of American Psycho.

The writing is extraordinary and I cannot believe this is the author's first novel -- it truly is one of the most compelling reads that I have come across as a reader. The complexity of Dorothy's character and relationships she forms with her lovers/meals, along with the friendship she has with Emma bring her character such depth that you feel as though you know everything you could about her in under three hundred pages. Dorothy is clearly not the perfect person, and a single slip-up being her downfall shows that even the most strategic killer can be brought down by a simple mistake.

A page-turning read that has you on the edge of your seat as Dorothy recounts every step she took that led her to where she is now, from Corpse Reviver #2 to barely edible prison food and cup noodle, we are taken on her journey fueled by rage, intrigue, and superiority. A must-read for readers looking to expand their literary genres and explore unhinged main characters that lead you to root for their success, even as they commit truly heinous acts.

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Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) by Leigh Bardugo Review

This review contains some mild spoilers for Ninth House - no major plot or character spoilers are included. A list of trigger warnings can be found here.

You can read my reviews of other publications from Leigh Bardugo here: The Grisha Trilogy, Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom, Little Knife, The Tailor, The Witch of Duva, and The Too-Clever Fox.

When I first started reading this book, I was constantly confusing who the main characters were, since they have nicknames or go by their last names. Once I was able to orient myself into the plot after a few chapters, it was a lot easier to follow. Ninth House is very content heavy, so I found myself reading at a slower pace than I am usually reading it -- there is a lot going on all of the time, so I definitely suggest to take your time.

Reading about the trauma that Alex has gone through and comes to encounter, especially the bathroom flashback early on in the book, was heartbreaking. She constantly is trying to tell people what she is going through and what she sees, and it seems that no one will listen and those who do only use it against her or spread it like gossip. I could never imagine sending a child to one of those wilderness rehab programs for "troubled youth" like Alex's mother tried to do.

Darlington and Alex's relationship definitely starts off pretty rocky -- he expects her to do everything perfectly, and she has only been exposed to proper magic for a few weeks. He does not quite understand what she has been through and how she has lived her entire life seeing the Grays and basically being tortured by them for as long as she can remember. Alex is still discovering so much of the world that Darlington has been involved in for so long, but I appreciated the way that Bardugo is able to show the evolution of their relationship as they learn more about one another through flashbacks.

Dawes really is a mystery to Alex in a sense -- she is friendly, then turns cold, then agrees to help Alex but does a poor job of it. One third of the way into the book and I was still on the edge of deciding if I liked Dawes and if she was actually looking out for Alex. She did not let Alex know when Turner showed up at the medical examiner's office, even when Alex explicitly stated that she needed to give her a warning. She definitely grew on me as the book moves forward, and provides a lot of great back and forth with Alex.

I really enjoy seeing Darlington's past before coming to Yale and being a part of Lethe House -- watching him grow up and see his complicated relationship with his parents and his love for his grandfather put it in perspective to me of why he is the way he is. The way we see his development in flashbacks allows us to truly understand his character despite him not being actively present at Yale.

Alex may be spontaneous and make rapid decisions regarding dying and going to the underworld, but she is first and foremost a protector. We see her constantly trying to save and protect others throughout the book, whether they be dead or alive -- she fully embodies "girls protect girls" when it comes into play. Yes, she definitely does some questionable and perhaps unethical things, but she gets the job done at the end of the day. Her development as a character was fantastic, and we see her grow and expand into someone with so much more confidence than she started out with when she came to Yale.

The Bridegroom reminds me of Dorian Gray's portrait for some reason -- every time he shows up in a chapter, it has this haunting energy around him, from the way that he speaks to the way that he insists on particular things. He pops up in the most inconvenient times for Alex, yet also has a way of showing up in just the right moment.

Ninth House deals with a ton of world building and understanding the societies at Yale and what they specifically specialize in. Bardugo does an excellent job with character development and is able to clearly depict each character and the flaws they encompass. I definitely recommend this book to fans of An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson, The Wicker King by K. Ancrum, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

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