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This series does not give up its secrets easily. It holds them closely and tightly like a squirrel with its nuts. I was left at the end of the last book with a lot of questions, and really pressing plot developments that I needed answers to, and “Harrow the Ninth“ wasn’t going to give them to me lightly. The book does its best from the get-go to upend your sense of reality, attacking your memories of what exactly happened in the first book. It does this both in story content - it directly contradicts events as you remember them from book one - but also in the narration. style. I can’t say that I have ever read another book that spends this much time in the second person. It took me quite a while to get used to it, as I typically despise second person, but once I did it won me over. It’s use emphasized the tone, and set up some surprising reveals in the last act. I don’t want to say too much aside from the fact that all of the strangeness and confusion is worth it for those big reveals, and I recommend sticking with the book through it. It is worth the ride. The story follows Harrow in both the present and past, with the past reliving events from the first book from a different angle and with those big inconsistencies, while the present focuses on her experiences with the Emperor and the other Lictors, as she learns more about the truth of the state of the empire, and her role in it. The book is full of interesting world building, conflicting personalities, mysteries, and occasional flashes of action and violence that are thoroughly satisfying to read. I personally would not say that I like this one better than the first, because I missed some of the characters I liked from that first book, but this is very easily a worthy successor that does very interesting things with its narration, and it is a strong recommendation from me.

Let me start off by saying to all my fellow fantasy and urban fantasy fans out there, do not go into this one expecting strong world building or magic systems. The magic and the trials are used for instigation, and as basic plot tools to put characters into confrontation with one another. In that, it is used well enough, but it is definitely not the focus of the story.

The characters and relationships, as well as the core conflict inside the main protagonist, are the key to the book's successes. Much of the tension comes from the connection of he main character, Emmy Harlow, to her hometown, and the way she is torn between loving it, and not wanting to feel trapped in it. Will she return home to the place she loves but with all the responsibilities and past pain that entails, or will she stay away in the big city that she likes a lot, but doesn't have the magic, both literal and not, that she finds in the town she grew up in?

I resonated with the core conflict a lot. It's something that I've struggled with in my own life (we even both moved to the same big city, no less), and while we came to different conclusions, I felt a kinship with Emmy's struggles.

Add to that complex family and friendship dynamics that were made all the more-so by Emmy moving away, and a steamy romance with Talia Avramov, and you have a recipe for lots of interesting character development and struggle, which the story takes advantage of.

I bought the romance hook, line, and sinker, and is the other major thread of the story that I remember best. I love Talia and the way she both fits the archetype of the sexy dark witch and slowly adds layers of softness and complexity to it. I have enjoyed a number of sapphic relationships in my reading lately, but this is a standout in that it feels like the relationship was really focused on and important to the story and the characters. It was also quite hot, and I'm glad it didn't shy away from being intimate.

The plot's resolution is a bit weak, though. Where most stories try to intertwine the different major conflicts near the end of the story, at least one major danger to a character's life happens mostly off-screen, on the periphery of the main action. It felt a bit like we were looking in the wrong place. That's the downfall of writing entirely from one character's perspective - she can't be everywhere at once, but it does make it feel a bit disjointed. After the main action is complete, it switches gears a bit to suddenly feel like everything wrapped up into too tightly and nicely a bow. Like things worked out a little toooo well.

Honestly, in terms of quality of the plot and worldbuilding, the book deserves three or fewer stars, but the themes, the romance, and the character relationships all elevated an otherwise mid fantasy story to something that I enjoyed quite a lot.

If romance isn't your thing, or if interesting magic systems being a strong pillar of the story are important to you, you might not like it. But if that doesn't hold true for you, it's a light and breezy read, and I recommend giving it a try.

True to its title, this follow-up to the first book, “Malice,” deals with themes of what it means to rule, to lead, and the ways cycles of abuse and violence result in misrule and bad leadership that further feeds those cycles. It asks the question, can these cycles be broken? Is reconciliation possible? Is forgiveness possible?

The misrule of leaders past and present on all sides fuel the chaos and tragedy that plagues the lives of everyone involved, as does systemic bigotry and abuse. All of this feels very pertinent to our times, while being broadly applicable at any time.

I don’t believe the novel nailed the conclusions the book arrives at in those themes, but I admire the attempt, and it’s far closer to the mark than every fairy tale perfect ending. The author recognizes that mistakes are not easily rectified, and forgiveness may or may not ever be possible. But there is hope.

I felt this strongest in the fluttering and faltering relationship between Alyce and Aurora, which after the end of the previous book start in a very perilous place indeed. Watching them both struggle with the fallout, it was hard to see how they could ever come out the other end the way they were.

There is political maneuvering, diplomacy, and especially war throughout the book that make up significant parts of the plot, but the heart of the story always revolves around the core relationship, and those political machinations mostly feel their weight in how they affect Alyce and Aurora. That is, in my opinion, how it should be, though if you find politics and war in a fantasy setting to be one of your primary interests, then the book might feel a bit melodramatic to you.

All in all, I found the book to be very satisfying. I was invested in the characters who are all morally complex, and the themes, which were done well, if a bit uneven. The plot is good, but a bit secondary to the relationships of the characters, which may or may not be your vibe but it follows well after the individual focus of “Malice,” and I dug it. I strongly recommend it to people who enjoyed the first book.

I just wish I had gotten some soft and sappy sapphic romance 🥺 Unfortunately everything’s too muddled for much of any of that.

This book managed to be both pretty much what I was expecting and yet surprising at the same time.

Pop-Goth vibes. Science-Fantasy. Necromancy. Skeletons. Mysteries. WLW. Enemies to Lovers. Angst. Hurt/Comfort. Etc. Basically a wall of AO3 tags. I have been more or less aware of Gideon the Ninth for some time now, and from all of the fanart and mentions I saw of it I went in expecting all of the above. It had all of that and served it in plenty.

What surprised me about it was not the content, but rather how fresh and vibrant it was. It felt like the author loved what they were writing, loved the characters, and was just plain having fun. I found that tone to be infectious and charming, and by the end, I loved it all as much as the author did.

The characters were easily the standout elements. The main pair were wonderful, with delightfully contrasting and conflicting personalities that made their interactions great reading. The side characters also felt unique and well realized, and even the most minor characters felt like integral parts of the book’s tableau.

There was some stuff I had to get accustomed to - the dialogue, for instance, feels very contemporary, despite being set in a science fantasy world (which is, I theorize, or hypothesize, our solar system in the far future?), which makes it very accessible to a YA audience and fun to read but feels a little anachronistic to everything else.

I do wish a little bit of the sapphic parts had been more overt, because I am a romantic sap and want it shoved in my face. I have high hopes for the future, however. Also, the names of some of the characters were a little difficult to keep straight, particularly because I was listening to the audiobook.

I feel like it is the kind of book that you will either love or hate. Will the sarcastic banter and contemporary styles of speech, and overtly “cool“ settings and magic seem childish and annoying? Or are you not an uptight and prudish stick-in-the-mud?

Ultimately, this book pushed all of my buttons just right. I found the world fascinating, it was full of great atmosphere in its setting, interesting twists and turns that surprised me once or twice, and most importantly I characters I grew to love despite their myriad flaws.

If you think all that sounds like something you would like, then I hope, like me, you will. I highly recommend it.

The book does a good job building atmosphere. The gothic melancholy and mystery, laced with is-it-real-or-not supernatural happenings, is delightful. Between that and the ability to create a few vivid images that really stick in my mind, there are some definite strengths here.

A few of the twists and turns were also solid, with the tension of the final act being the strongest piece of the writing.

I wish that were true of the rest of the book.

Frankly, the characters were generally unlikeable, though Ellis at least was interesting due to how much of an enigma she was.

Felicity was a wet blanket. I get her grief, and the more you learn the why the more understandable it becomes. That doesn’t make it interesting to read. I don’t know how realistic her mental issues were, but they felt like a convenient excuse to hide information buried in her memory, and a bit ham-fisted at that.

The rest of the characters just don’t have presence to them. I couldn’t remember their names if I tried. They are most useful as devices and background dressing.

I have no idea how the school itself operates. As far as the book is concerned the only locations of consequence on campus is Godwin House, the library, and one advisor’s office.

The themes and ideas are muddled. The representation is present but feels token. The sapphic romance is a bit unconvincing and lacks the spice I wanted from a wlw book.

A final note on the book’s weaknesses, it feels like it is trying too hard. The atmosphere was good, usually, but sometimes the author went a bit heavy on adding particularly gothic words to descriptions. It couldn’t just be as cold as dirt, it had to be as cold as graveyard dirt, etc.

I don’t want this to be just a big old pile of negatives. The thriller aspect is satisfying, and there are particular scenes and reveals that we’re very well done.

I wasn’t taken for a ride or anything, but I enjoyed my time with the book. I give it a hesitant recommendation for anyone who thinks the premise or genre sounds interesting, just be aware that your mileage may vary.