All posts tagged Leigh Bardugo

Ninth House

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Ninth House cover

So many amazing books have come out this month and Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House is one of them! This is a book that can be read any time of year, but if you’re looking for something a little creepy in October, you might want to check out this one.

You may have heard stories about creepy secret fraternities over at Yale like Skull & Bones before. George Bush was a member and… was he involved in the occult? Ninth House takes the idea of creepy Yale fraternities and makes an awesome tale about it. It has ghosts, murder, and creepy fraternity magic.

Alex Stern sees ghosts. You might think that’s kinda cool, especially at this time of year, but for her, it nearly ruined her life. Before she learned to keep her mouth shut, people thought she was crazy. But it did land her at Yale, so there’s that. The Lethe House, or Ninth House that oversees all the other creepy fraternities, could really use her skills.

Still, Yale isn’t a picnic. Alex needs to keep up with her classes, along with her fraternity activities. It can be pretty stressful. When a girl is murdered, Alex decides to investigate–then discovers that there’s a lot of bad things going on at the campus.

There’s a lot of things to like about this book. Creepy fraternities? Yes! Bad guys getting what they deserve? Also there… well, kind of. This is Yale we’re talking about, and people with lots of money sometimes use that money to keep things quiet. There’s quite a few bad people in this book, and some of them do get what they deserve.

I love the character of Alex Stern. She’s had such a hard life, but she keeps on going. Ninth House doesn’t give you all the answers right away; you’ll want to keep on reading to find out what actually happened in her past. There are still a few unanswered questions by the end of the book. It looks like this book is a duology, so we’ll have the opportunity to find out what happens… in the next book.

The creepy Yale fraternity setting is great. There’s a map in the front, which I found useful, but the book does a great job bringing you into this world. I’ve never been to Yale, so it was a lot of fun being immersed into the life of another college.

This book does have some trigger warnings you should be aware of. There is sexual assault. Drugs. Murder. I didn’t think there was anything gratuitous, but your reading mileage may vary.

Overall, I really liked Leigh Bardugo’s adult debut, Ninth House. I do plan on reading the next book sometime after it comes out. If you’re looking for a creepy book for October, you might want to check this one out.

Crooked Kingdom

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment
Crooked Kingdom cover

After finishing Six of Crows, I immediately wanted to read Leigh Bardugo’s sequel, Crooked Kingdom. The first book of the duology ended in a cliffhanger and I didn’t want to go for too long without finding out the ending. Fortunately, I already had a copy. I was not disappointed in how this duology turned out, and I definitely plan on reading the next Grisha Verse book, King of Scars, in the future (I’ve already pre-ordered her first adult book, Ninth House, which comes out October 1st).

Because Crooked Kingdom is the second book in a duology, expect spoilers in this review.

Inej has been taken and all the plans that Kaz and his crew had to become wealthy beyond imagination… went up in smoke. Not only does Kaz want to get Inej back… he also wants to find a way to enact revenge upon Jan Van Eck. Maybe he’ll be able to find a way to get wealthy in the process.

What Makes This Book Amazing

I thought this book was great and I can’t really think of anything I didn’t like about it (okay, I wasn’t a fan of the prologue). However, there are a lot of things I can say that I loved.

Setting: the setting in this universe = author goals. I just love how this universe has a rich setting. Every location in this world has a unique culture, climate, foods, and history. Ms. Bardugo brings it to life in a magnificent way.

Characters: over the course of Crooked Kingdom, we’re able to learn more about these characters and what makes them tick. They all have demons that come from events in their pasts, and we get to learn more about them. We learn more about their families. This was as well done as the setting.

Incorporation of the previous Grisha Verse books: even though this book is set in a different part of the world, I love how the previous Grisha Verse books were incorporated into this one. Crooked Kingdom even incorporates some of the old characters; as readers, we have inside knowledge that the characters initially don’t have.

The plot and ending: I love how these characters solve the problems at hand and bounce back from their setbacks. I also love how the characters (mostly) get their happily ever after. Now I want to read more from them!

Conclusion

I highly recommend this book, and I’m pretty sure that I’ll be reading most of Leigh Bardugo’s books in the future. I do recommend reading this book after reading the original Grisha Verse books and Six of Crows. You’ll definitely get more out of this series if you read them in this order. If you start with Six of Crows, it’ll still be good, but the worldbuilding will be more awesome if you start with the original books.

Six of Crows

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Six of Crows cover

Last year, after I started really getting into this book blog, it seemed like everybody was talking about the Six of Crows duology. I was even in the bookstore and almost got it. But I waited until I read the Grisha Verse Trilogy first. It was worth the wait, because both series are amazing, but they both are part of the same world. I listened to this on audiobook.

Ketterdam is a dangerous place to be. There are slavers that will capture Grisha (and other people) around here. Money is their god and the wealthy have all the power. It’s into this world that we are introduced to Kaz Brekker and his group of gangster friends.

A new drug has been discovered: jurda parem. This drug can make grisha do amazing things, but it is highly addictive and will shorten the grisha’s lifespan. Kaz has been given the opportunity to earn an incredible amount of money if he can just do the impossible: capture it’s creator, Bul Yul-Bayur, from the impenetrable Ice Court. It’s a dangerous job, but if anybody is going to do it, Kaz and his crew can.

What I Loved

Worldbuilding: I loved everything about this book, but one of the things I loved about this book was the amazing worldbuilding. It’s obvious that many of the cultures in this world were inspired by real cultures, but as the characters travel though the world, you can sense that all these little details were well thought out. The characters have favorite foods, the lands have different climates, and even the different people groups have different senses of morality. I also love how this world builds on the Grisha Verse universe. There is the occasional mention of the Ravkan civil war (from the original trilogy) or even Sankta Alina.

The characters in Six of Crows are amazing and well thought out as well. They each have their own histories and motivations, but we don’t get to learn about it right away. Their pasts bring demons into their present, which causes them to act the way they do.

I kept wanting to read more of this book. The plot was fast-paced, and not everything went exactly according to plan (which happens in so much of life). I kept wanting to root for these characters, and the cliffhanger at the end made me want to read the next book (which I did).

Conclusion

You definitely want to read Six of Crows if you like fantasy books with great worldbuilding and amazing characters. While you can read this book without reading the Grisha Verse books too, I recommend that you do, because it just adds depth and meaning to this story. I highly recommend you add this to your TBR.

Ruin and Rising is More Rising Than Ruin

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Ruin and Rising cover

While reading Siege and Storm, I was so happy to find out that Ruin and Rising was available at my library! I loved the first two books of this series and wanted to find out what happened.

This isn’t exactly part of the story, but the dedication of this book was so sad. It was dedicated to Ms. Bardugo’s dad: “Sometimes our heroes don’t make it to the end.”

Since this is the third book in the series, there will be spoilers for the first two books.

The actual story begins underground. Alina is the Sun Summoner, and hordes of people see her as a saint. As a sun summoner, Alina doesn’t do so well being cooped up in the dark. And the Apparat is keeping her friend Mal away from her. Even though she’s the celebrity, Alina is more like a prisoner. As a prisoner, she has to find a way to break herself out. Along with the rest of her friends.

Once above ground, Alina and the group have to avoid the Darkling, as well as the forces at war that would do her harm. Fortunately, she ends up meeting up with Nikolai, and they make plans for the future. Nikolai still thinks that Alina should be his queen, even though that’s not really where her heart lies. First things first though: they have to find the third amplifier.

On their journey to find the third amplifier, they discover some heartbreaking news (which I will not share here). They also learn about Mal’s ancestry, and why he is such an amazing tracker. Mal’s family is not the only bit of interesting backstory that we discover in this book.

All of this leads to the final showdown. I can’t say what’s going to happen, but I will say that the ending (for me) was incredibly sweet. I know that some people have a different opinion as to how Ruin and Rising should have ended, but it was the ending I would have liked. If I ever write fanfiction about this book, it won’t be fix-it fiction, because it ended on a satisfying note.

Overall, I loved Ruin and Rising, and started reading Six of Crows (on audiobook) shortly afterwards. This series made me love Leigh Bardugo’s writing, and I even pre-ordered Ninth House, her next book, which comes out in the fall.

Siege and Storm

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment
Siege and Storm cover

Siege and Storm is the second book in the Grisha Verse trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been thinking about reading these books for months, and I finally got around to it.

Since this is the second book in a trilogy, there may be spoilers for the first book in this review.

Alina and Mal are on the run from the Darkling. Even though this isn’t exactly the perfect life, they seem to be content. But this temporary respite is not to last. Because they get caught.

The Darkling’s forces now want another amplifier for Alina: Rusalye, a sea creature that inhabits the north. It’s a good thing that Mal happens to be the best tracker out there, because it keeps The Darkling from killing him (that, and the fact that he can use him against Alina). They end up tracking down the sea creature, but then things take an unexpected turn.

Siege and Storm forces Alina to think about who she is and what she wants. She’s the most powerful Grisha ever, and perhaps she is the only person that can stop the Darkling. Unfortunately, as she gains power, Alina wants more of it. Will this thirst for power push her away from Mal? The ambitious prince of Ravka, who is a new character in this book, thinks that because she is so powerful, Alina should be with him. Neither Alina nor Mal want that, do they? It feels as if forces are pushing him away and they are destined to be apart. It made me so sad.

“I have loved you all my life, Mal,” I whispered through my tears. “There is no end to our story.”

p. 416

I did not know the ending to this trilogy prior to reading this book. Quotes like this made me so sad, because I wanted these lifelong friends to end up together and… it didn’t seem like they were meant to be.

I loved this book and read it in two days. I loved these characters, I loved the setting. Funny, there is a minor character named Privyet in the book. Privyet (привет) means “hello” in Russian, so when they called the character that for the first time, I thought they were saying hello instead of saying the character’s name. The plot kept me wanting more, and the book ended with a bang.

Siege and Storm was a great book, and I absolutely love Leigh Bardugo’s writing. I recommend this series to people that like to read fantasy books, especially if you enjoy the whole Russian vibe like I do. I’ve already finished the rest of this series, listened to Six of Crows on audiobook, plan to read the rest of her books, and have pre-ordered her new book (out on October 1st like Rebel and The End and Other Beginnings), Ninth House. Even though I waited far too long to start reading her books, I’m definitely going to keep on reading them as long as she keeps writing.

Shadow and Bone was Amazing!

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Shadow and Bone cover

Shadow and Bone is the first book in Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha Verse books. For months, I’ve heard people ooh and aah over the Six of Crows duology. Since I tend to believe in starting book series from the very beginning, I always said to myself “I have to read the Grisha Verse books first.” I finally started the series, and I was not disappointed.

Alina is an orphan girl who now works in Ravka’s army with her best friend, Mal. While Mal seems to be able to do everything right, Alina is mediocre at best. Everything changes when her unit tries to cross the dangerous Shadow Fold. When Mal is nearly killed, a dormant force inside her awakens and saves his life. It also changes her life forever.

Alina is kidnapped and taken to The Little Palace, where she learns that she is a Grisha (magically able to manipulate matter in some way) and hones her magic skills. She misses Mal, although she makes new friends along the way. One of the people she meets is The Darkling, who tells her that she is unique among Grisha; he tries to befriend her (and more). You’ll have to read the book to see how it turns out.

What I Loved

Is there anything I didn’t love about this book? I actually can’t think of anything. I loved the characters, and I thought Alina and Mal were so sweet together. It made me so sad to see them forced apart as they were. I know that some people who read this series rooted for Alina and The Darkling to develop a relationship, but I was rooting for Alina and Mal from the beginning.

I adored the Russian vibe of this book! Since I speak Russian and go to a Russian meetup group almost every week, when I discovered that Ravka has this Russian thing going on, I was overjoyed! I didn’t know about that before reading this book. Had I known this, I probably would have read this series sooner.

Conclusion

After finishing Shadow and Bone, I went on to read the remainder of the Grisha Verse series, and I loved it. I’m now listening to Six of Crows on audiobook. This universe is amazing and I love Leigh Bardugo’s writing. I highly recommend this book and plan to read more of her books in the future.