Review: Ninth House

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Ninth House Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fabulous debut (adult) fantasy novel from YA author Leigh Bardugo. This engrossing tale of an alternate Yale University where magic is real and needs to be policed by Lethe House is a great cliff-hanger beginning to a new series with unforgettable characters. Alex Stern has had a rough life, to put it mildly, so when she wakes up in a hospital with a strange man in her room who offers her a way out, she grabs it.

I loved Alex. She's a kick-ass heroine, a survivor, and one whose streetsmarts will carry her through tough situations with dangerous frat boys, preppies, professors and townies who all may have had a hand in a tragic murder. I also liked how Bardugo wove Sephardi culture and life into Alex's story, something we don't see enough of in literary portrayals of American Jews. I can't wait for the next book!

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