Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?
Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult …
Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?
Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.
This book had all the elements I like, but for whatever reason I found it hard to keep my attention focused on it. I'm wondering if I were to read it when we're NOT in the midst of a pandemic if I would've been more immersed. Love the strong (and unlikely) Alex Stern as its protagonist. I'll look forward to her next adventures – hopefully without the distraction of these crazy times.
Thriller mystery with fairly conventional magic world set in current day college life at Yale. Pacing builds well, traumatic encounters to wish you could make right, to avenge, to come to peace.
Where do I start with this book? I just finished, and i'm craving more of this world.
Firstly, I think Alex is an immensely likable character. She's rough and troubled and I was rooting for her the whole time. Furthermore, all of the characters are well-written and seemed "real." It was easy to imagine Darlington, Dawes, Sandow, and even the bougie Yale kids. I know these people, or at least they resonated with my perception of things during my own college years as a first gen student.
The plot is winding and I did have to reread a few passages to fully comprehend the gravity of some information. However, I enjoyed Leigh's writing and there a ton of amazing quotes to stew on, one of my non-spoiler favorites being:
The purest Marxists are always men. Calamity comes too easily to women. Our lives can come apart in a single gesture, …
Where do I start with this book? I just finished, and i'm craving more of this world.
Firstly, I think Alex is an immensely likable character. She's rough and troubled and I was rooting for her the whole time. Furthermore, all of the characters are well-written and seemed "real." It was easy to imagine Darlington, Dawes, Sandow, and even the bougie Yale kids. I know these people, or at least they resonated with my perception of things during my own college years as a first gen student.
The plot is winding and I did have to reread a few passages to fully comprehend the gravity of some information. However, I enjoyed Leigh's writing and there a ton of amazing quotes to stew on, one of my non-spoiler favorites being:
The purest Marxists are always men. Calamity comes too easily to women. Our lives can come apart in a single gesture, a rogue wave. And money? Money is a rock we cling to when the current would seize us.
I would recommend Ninth House if you like dark academia, occult stuff, and intersectional feminist themes. This might be one of my all-time favorite reads.
That being said, it is heavy, including multiple scenes of rape (adult and child), sexual assault, domestic abuse and extreme poverty. If you were thinking of picking this up you probably anticipated some amount of ritualistic gore, but if you are sensitive to real-life violence, it might not be your bag.
For the first few chapters I did not enjoy any of the characters or how they were presented. The protagonist was a leaf tossed here and there by the winds of fate, without will or intent. As the story develops, however, it becomes clear that Alex is considerably more than she first appeared. By the end of the book I was thoroughly enamoured of all of the characters, even several that initially were more irritant than interest.
I read this almost a year ago, and just now finished a reread/listen on audio. I think the first time I read it I must have blown through it really fast. I liked it but I felt like I must have missed some details or something, I finished it a little cloudy on the story for whatever reason. After listening to it this time, I absolutely love this book! I love Alex, I love Darlington, I want the next book now so I know what happens next. I’m really excited to keep reading this series now. It also helps that the narrators on the audio of this book are amazing. They were perfect for the characters!!!