“stories exists in all worlds. they are immutable. like gold.”

ninth house was alluring. but hell bent... was epic.

riveting, dark, and bold — hell bent pushed me back into the world of fantasy i have long left with only a simple nudge. with my recent re-read of the first book, ninth house, continuing this right after definitely amplified the experience overall as the story picks up right where we left off in the first book. my oh my, it was a ride. an intense and terrifying one i might add if i were to compare it to the first volume of the trilogy.

leigh bardugo did not shy away with exploring myths and legends of demons and hell at all, as well as introducing new characters — or shall i say creatures — through this adventurous plot which kept me and my reading buddy, aina, on the edge of our seat (which we in turn couldn't help ourselves from keeping our besties on edge too in the group chat by speaking in codes and hints just to devilishly entice them into picking it up as soon as possible). oh the characters were all so well-developed and everything was simply well-written that i almost forgot we had to wait nearly 3 years for this book. leigh bardugo really said "i'm sorry, but here's the masterpiece you've waited for".

everything i had anticipated for was checked off the list and even more! i can't even begin to explain how much this book made my heart palpitated ever so violently throughout my reading with how intense the storyline was. it was definitely the very factor that made me love this book even more so than the first. this right here... this is the main course. the star of the show. there's truly nothing bad about the book that i could think of to say (except for the glowstick part, good god leigh bardugo what the fuck was that?) and i simply cannot find the will to love any other upcoming fantasies as much as this. perhaps i'm exaggerating for the sake of the moment but indeed this is my no. 1 fantasy read this year.

you got ivy league's secret societies, ghosts, demons, creatures, magic, love, friendship, all wrapped up in one story. what more could you possibly need in a dark academia fantasy?

i feel as if i have gone on and on of how much i love this book without giving any intellectual input that might have satisfy what you potentially look for in a review but believe me when i say this series is worth giving it a go. it shall transport you to a world of magic one might nearly believe to be true and yet fictional it is entirely.

thank you to definitely books by pansing for gifting a copy for me to review