NINTH HOUSE - Review

My review of Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House. A Modern Occult fantasy.
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[@DanielGreeneReviews]

GET THE BOOK HERE: amzn.to/37Njq3t

[@connorpoblete5090]

Daniel please i have a family to feed

[@superbubble6679]

Drinking game: Drink a shot everytime Daniel says Lea Bardo, instead of Leigh Bardugo. I promise that you will be drunk in 8 minutes and 12 seconds.

[@VicRibeiro777]

You'll get alcohol poisoning man... I love Daniel, but geez... How do you get Leah Bardo? Please, for the love of what is good, let Maddy or someone else help you with the author names, BEFORE you butcher it... K, thanks.

[@IcoKirov]

@@VicRibeiro777 dyslexia man. strange words and names are very easy to mispronounce. i do it all the time too. but yeah, it would be a nice additional effort for him to double check names, at least of the authors.

[@ninac.5921]

was looking for this comment lol

[@chrisofatlantis1553]

The drinking game still works lmao

[@booknerdwithlipstick]

You'd think after 15 times I'd stop laughing at "Lea Bardot" but it's just magnificent.

[@SaraMGreads]

Booknerd with lipstick I get a chuckle every time I look at the book. Not laughing at you Daniel, just like a “we share an inside joke” chuckle.

[@justwonder1404]

Me being like "wait, who's that Lea Bardot character?" first time I heard that😅

[@kaytamurray]

Thank god it was a bit

[@megabytetsp1]

Everytime he says her name I'm like "Dyslexic squard REPRESENT!"

[@radotenev6995]

Omg I can't 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@hellothere2464]

I love how it’s so real-world, especially because her YA books take place in a completely fantasy world. And the occult elements are really intriguing and I do love the secret societies aspect. Also, I might be in love with Darlington. Also, her grisha trilogy is very very generic YA fantasy but her Six of Crows duology (which takes place in the same grisha universe) is fantastic, it’s much grittier and not as heavy as Ninth House but has very similar subjects

[@turtleanton6539]

Cool

[@sofiandolga]

totally agree! you just said everything i had to say about Ninth House and her other books

[@katiejones9175]

Leigh Bardugo is actually one of my favorite authors and this review brought tears to my eyes. 😭 I'm so happy! Her previous books are amazing too, I love her characters and she's incredibly great at writing dialogue. I'm so thrilled you enjoyed it, Daniel!

[@Tamar-ph8ov]

It’s Lee Bar-du-go, l lol every time you say her name!

[@mohisy5029]

Leigh Bar-thoooooooooooo- 😭

[@ElondriaGrey]

I cringed so hard each time he said it, lol

[@berenicethegirl]

The first time he said it I thought it was a joke 😂😂

[@ktsbookishescape4299]

I loved how he butchered her name so bad 😂

[@panchorosselli]

Me: Thresh is the best support champion. Daniel: Bard tho...

[@alexiaherrington3851]

I know you mispronounced her name but that just proves to me that you tried something waaay out of your comfort zone and I love that! Keep reviewing all kinds of fantasy and how you say the author’s name doesn’t matter as long as you give spot on, Honest and well articulated reviews.

[@rangerlucy1998]

I’m tempted to read this one, I haven’t read any of her other stuff but adult thriller/ occult is far more in my comfort zone

[@gabrieltoscano8480]

I’ve read her Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows (both series YA) and of all YA I’ve read she is the best. Her writing is amazing. I’m really looking forward to reading her new adult novel. I’m glad you liked it Ps.: give six of crows a shot. Fantastic heist novel

[@albinodeer7449]

I second that. SoC is the best YA that I've read, imo

[@MrShaiya96]

It's almost like you can expect quality work from someone that went to Yale.

[@jasminv8653]

soc is NOT a good heist. A good character exploration, maybe, but the heist plot's pacing suffers *massively* from the frequency of flashbacks. I really expected an actual plot-driven fantasy heist from hoe it was hyped up, but until the midway point I felt like no character wanted to commit to the plot either, so why should I.

[@chrys.k.mwarriorsofpiathos1501]

Hey Dan, I have been following your channel got about a year now and I am a big fan of how honest and respectful you are on the literature that you read.

[@derekmarshman6154]

The sequel is out! I was sceptical that it could stand up to the first book, but I was pleasantly surprised! I would love to see you review it!

[@smartlikewoah]

Lea Bardough 😂😂😂 I knew I made the right decision when I subscribed 🙈

[@wonhyukult6039]

i just finished this book and i completely agree. i loved the fact that it wasn’t typical YA for teens and that it developed in the real world with real people as characters

[@achintyaupadhyay5528]

I'm loving the facial hair.

[@unkempthawk]

Really happy to hear you liked this book! I’ve only ever read the first book in the Grisha Trilogy before, so I had very little experience with Bardugo as an author. However, this book was incredibly and I really struggled putting it down, especially as I approached the ending!

[@Nasser851000]

0:00 dat time lapse doe XD

[@TheWinglessHawk]

Thank you so much for the reviews. This makes my choices on fantasy books so much easier, because I have a really unique taste in how characters should be etc. Also damn! Your blue eyes are hypnotising. So bright, I am jelly. Greetings from germany.

[@_Sedorikku97]

Read Six of Crow duology! Skip Grisha trilogy!

[@kb-ih7ni]

I would advise the opposite lol but perhaps I'm into the story mostly for the magic system and the politics rather than the SoC characters, who honestly feel like caricatures.

[@_Sedorikku97]

@@kb-ih7ni different strokes for different folks. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@mohisy5029]

I'm reading it now. Nearly halfway of the book 1

[@Muskan-rs7ws]

Agreed! The ending of Grisha trilogy is too disappointing

[@captainanopheles4307]

You should read The Magicians by Lev Grossman if you like real world occult stories. Also a fine TV show.

[@turtleanton6539]

Cool

[@heathermoore1395]

I was iffy on wanting to read this u deff changed my mind on that thanks 😊

[@darraghhoulihan7259]

For occult type books I would recommend skulduggery pleasant. It's a series that keeps getting better with each instalment.

[@erikcarp9359]

Really? I read the first book and found it to be a bit meh

[@YannLL]

Hey Daniel, hi from London! I discovered your channel thanks to your Stephen King reviews this week and started looking at your other reviews - you sold me on that one - ordered!

[@bookishandbewildered]

Love the review! I struggled through the bathroom scene personally - so I was interested to see what other people thought about it. The Age Of Murder is a pretty good book about secret societies authors like Agatha Christie were in and the world of espionage that authors engaged with during the war (ww2). You might like it(?) just an idea. Thrilled to have found you via a DanamyteReads recommendation anyway as I’m a newbie and on the hunt for fresh faces to watch!

[@32mybelle]

So far, I have enjoyed your book review the most!

[@mastersal4644]

I wasn’t going to pick this up but when you said best of the year, I started to reconsider plans. Dang it!

[@jonathancampbell5231]

6:05 The majority of veterans, including those who have seen a lot of action, do not develop PTSD. Whether someone develops Combat PTSD is only influenced partially by their experiences (which is usually not just combat, but things like being badly injured, seeing friends injured or killed, witnessing or partaking in war crimes etc). The most relevant factors are things like basic temperament and personality along with negative childhood experiences. There have been numerous studies into this subject. While its' obviously a serious issue, it's not really that unrealistic for a combat veteran to not get PTSD.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Yesss!!!! I picked up Ninth House because I'd loved Leigh's Six of Crows duology (I read her Grisha trilogy as well. Wasn't a big fan but SoC was soo goood) and I had high expectations going into Ninth House. I was so happy that she met and exceeded my expectations with it as well. I wanted dark and gory and I got that in spades. I also loved how moody and atmospheric the whole book was. It felt otherwordly for most of it and then something mundane would happen and then just as I got comfortable with that, the atmosphere would change again. That, along with Galaxy Alex Stern was my absolute favourite part of the book. Even though there are a lot of favourite elements present in it. Leigh is definitely cementing her way into "Favourite writers" status. Glad you enjoyed it! Now you can join the rest of us in holding our breath and anticipating the second book which sadly isn't coming out until 2021.

[@sethwilliams9623]

Noria Reads can I read SoC first? Like before the other trilogy.

[@ChroniclesofNoria]

Seth Williams it depends on how big your disdain for spoilers is. If you don’t like to be spoiled at all, then I would recommend powering through the Grisha trilogy first. This is because certain characters and certain changes happen in Crooked Kingdom that would totally be a spoiler if you still plan on reading the Grisha trilogy and you hate spoilers. However, if you don’t mind spoilers, then definitely check out Six of Crows. Also, Leigh didn’t do that much world building in Six of Crows (eg. explanation on exactly how the magic system works) because she already laid that foundation in the Grisha trilogy. So that’s something else to consider as well.

[@trishacleveland8059]

I wasn't sure how you would like this one and I'm glad you did! Leigh has come such a long way in her work!

[@annelooney1090]

I think I might have to get this book. I haven't gotten into Leigh Bardugo's other books just because I'm not super into secondary worlds but this sounds right up my alley.

[@xaviercopeland2789]

She wrote my favorite YA franchise in Six of Crows, so it’ll be interesting to see how she does in an adult setting when I get my hands on it! Edit: You has me laughing at the Shia Leabouf edit 😂.

[@b.b.9694]

I gotta say, I was slightly worried you were about to drag one of my favorite authors 😂 very glad that you enjoyed Ninth House!

[@HaileyAnnReads]

I’ve seen so many mixed reviews of this from YA booktubers so it’s cool to see someone that doesn’t have any previous knowledge of her backlist reviewing her first adult novel!! Ps PLEASE read and review Nevernight 🙏🏽

[@israaahmed7168]

I am now even more excited to read this book!!!!!! I highly recommend reading her Grishaverse books!!!!!!!

[@Miadabratt7]

Awesome review Daniel. I have been meaning to read that book. I read her novel the language of thorns. That's an awesome book as well. Are you going to continue with the broken earth trilogy as well?

[@cherilyncleveland1284]

I absolutely loved this book also. I saw other people DNF the book because it was too much for them. I think this is what I loved most about the book. It's gritty and raw. Most people dance around topics and she just went with it. Great review btw. I always enjoy your taste in books.

[@merkabamagick9096]

Just ordered it! Could you recommend some other real world fantasy books like this?

[@rodethos]

i really didnt like her previous books, but the way you talking about this, maybe i should give it a try

[@stasepaxton9959]

I didn't like her previous books either. The premise of each gripped me but the actual storytelling let me down. I wasnt going to pick this one up for fear of being burned again, but I had to know why Amazon bought the rights so quickly. And i found Ninth House to be the exception! You should give it a try for yourself! :)

[@sabrinasspellbookspens5136]

Sorry, I stopped watching when the spoilers started, but I will be picking up this book soon. Thanks for giving me that final nudge I needed. I'll finish watching it when I'm done reading.

[@untitledremedy]

Sounds a lot like Donna Tart's Secret history,which is an excellent book!

[@yasiraffan7804]

Yeah they are Dark Academia

[@kb-ih7ni]

TSH where the rituals actually work hahaha

[@lovekatie3528]

I loved this book just as much as you; it's a new favorite of all time for me. I would encourage you to check out her YA series (seriesES? What's the plural here?) and see if they work out for you. The first few books in her Grishaverse are a little rough, as authors' first books tend to be, but they really find their footing and Leigh Bardugo has created a really interesting high fantasy world in them.

[@monferno71]

Hate to be that guy, but it's Lee Bar-doo-goh Also, for some reason I never thought you would read this book, but I really enjoyed the review, seeing as this is my favourite book by her

[@monferno71]

@@Kage-jk4pj it's an edited comment, mate 😂

[@mcz_13]

I totally recommend reading Six of Crows! It’s YA, but a really good heist novel. And those are fun. It’s only a duology, so it’s not a commitment either. It’s in the same world as her Grisha trilogy, but I gotta say those books aren’t fantastic. If you read SoC, definitely read the explanations of what Grisha can do what that are at the front of the book, since it’s not very well explained. She kinda assumes you already read the trilogy. She definitely has been improving very fast and gets better with every book. Glad to see you read Ninth House! I loved this one and I gotta say this is my favorite of Leigh’s books.

[@myonnareads]

pls do an occult book recommendations video!

[@jaimeerindy4573]

Hmm I'm about 150 pages into this and so far... not feeling too hot about it. Came to see what you thought and you convinced to keep reading!

[@stargaryen2611]

Her Six of Crow duology is a work of art but I havent read The Ninth House yet. This seems like a good reason to start it

[@apocalypseplague67]

Did you read the six of crows duology? I avoid YA usually but that became a favorite series of mine

[@katieschoenagel3327]

Would love to see what you think about Six of Crows now. Best YA series out there in my opinion

[@darianasarca4287]

i'm a leigh bardugo ya fan and i still LOVED this book

[@kb-ih7ni]

Same here, Ninth House was a surprise for me. The Grisha series was fair, I wasn't into SoC at all so I never expected to like this book. But hey it's on my top books this year too

[@waleedarif3982]

Not a book but Penny Dreadful. The dialogue alone makes me want to think of it as a piece of art let alone the performance by Eva Green

[@KD-CD]

My girl Vanessa Ives 😭❤

[@jaikiratsandhu7950]

Do you put your "To be read this month" anywhere ?

[@MegaNea99]

Do you need to read previous Bardugo books or is Ninth House its own thing?

[@thynameisjoy]

Not sure why I was "surprised" to see this book here because the more I think about it, the more I'm like not surprised at all. Great that you liked the book so much! :D

[@user-ny1wo1vp9r]

Same. I think perhaps it is because it isn't high fantasy, which is most of what Daniel reads.

[@thynameisjoy]

@@user-ny1wo1vp9r Haha yes, those pesky preconceived notions strike again. May we never get blinded by them, or something less lame.

[@reader2012]

It took a long time to really get into this book. I had to switch over to the audiobook. I think the time shifts while setting up the world and the plot wasn’t handled super well at first. And I personally would have preferred saying Arlington over Darlington. It’s a stupid nit pick, but yea...

[@danielwatts796]

Not sure if you're a graphic novel guy, but the original hellblazer comics are some of the best modern occult fantasy out there. Dangerous habits is a great story to start with. Good review as always

[@myrdraal2001]

You need to start reading Brian Lumley. He's been compared to Bram Stoker because of his Necroscope series and has even written some HP Lovecraft style Cthulhu books.

[@MissMokate]

lol I had to rewind some 15sec of the video bc I got distracted by the harry potter books on the shelf

[@gpapeur8264]

Definitly gonna give this book a try ! It sounds awesome. If you want a kinda New and funky take on occult and lovecraftian horror, i suggest you meddling kids, by edgar cantero, which i loved ! Im not a native english speaker so i can't really appreciate how well a book is written but this one was nonetheless a blast fore sure ! Cheers from broken-english-land (France)

[@andrewannotates]

I know you have your issues with YA but I really really REALLY wish you would review the diviners by Libba Bray. It’s horror fantasy and historical fiction in 1920s New York and kind of “the great gatsby meets Stephen king” I haven’t read ninth house but I feel like from what I know about it if you enjoyed it, you would probably really like the diviners.

[@MaryAmongStories]

well...I might give this one a try then :D

[@colburn0004]

I ended up falling off this book because I had a hard time parsing at first if it was supposed to be like the suedo fake occult stuff in the usual secret society books or if there was actual occult stuff going on. I know this sounds weird, but going in knowing nothing I was really confused going through the first couple chapters. Like they're cutting up a human to tell the future....can they actually tell the future or is it the usual dumb secret society ritual type stuff.

[@karkatvantas9557]

I don't think you're supposed to be able to tell until later.

[@QieraAnuuar]

I saw you gave positive feedback on Ninth House, I subscribe.

[@marykay8587]

Leigh Bardot? Anyways, ive known about her for years but only found out about this book this week......anyways I bought it and cant wait to read it! :))))

[@NigelGrab]

Good GOD how do you read so quickly

[@Hellscream250]

I would really like Daniel to check out Berserk, even though it is not a book but a manga. Hell, I'm not that much of a manga reader, but reading Berserk had me on the edge of my seat many times and it is the only occult-ish/dark fantasy series that I can fully recommend

[@kaylemkerr6989]

Petar Bušić I don’t know if your a gamer and have heard of this series but I’ve heard that ‘Berserk’ is a massive influence on the Dark Souls games (souls series). I do plan on reading ‘Berserk’ but not time soon. A manga I’m hoping to get and read very soon is the highly influential story ‘Akira’.

[@Hellscream250]

@@kaylemkerr6989 Of course, I'm familiar with it, but I haven't played Souls series because of the lack of time and money tbh haha. And Akira and Ghost in the Shell are a must read/watch if you are a cyberpunk fan (I know I am), and it really sucks that there is not so much modern cyberpunk stuff to enjoy, aside from the new Blade Runner and eventually Cyberpunk 2077 when it comes out. Shame, because the atmosphere of that kind of Sci-Fi stories is really something special to me. Cheers man, I really hope you enjoy reading that stuff, it's pretty great if you get into it

[@stargaryen2611]

Her second book Hellbent is coming out January 2023

[@simrangill370]

Leigh said that Alex is worse than Kaz Brekker and thats what sold me to buy this book. Daniel plzzz read Six of Crows duology bcz i think u will love it. And dude its Lee Bardugo!

[@KateMaccio]

I just recently finished this as well! I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it and couldn’t put it down. I think I especially enjoyed it as I’m from CT and visit New Haven/Yale fairly often. I think she perfectly captured “locals” feelings about New Haven- magical & tragic. Also captured the haughtiness and self importance of the rich kids who blow into our state, talk shit, contribute nothing, then breeze out.

[@bradyweed4124]

I literally just finished it and yeah I agree, really fucking good

[@TheGeekyHippie]

The only books with occult style magic that I could think of was the Adept series by Kathering Kurtz ( www.goodreads.com/series/64189-adept ) which I believe she co-wrote with Deborah Turner Harris. I read them way way way back in time, probably not long after they came out. I kinda remember the plot and story, it dealth with occult magic, psychic powers, the Templar Knights, and the Freemasons. And they fought Nazis (that's *ALWAYS* a plus!).

[@justwonder1404]

I know you didn't like SoC (which I loved) but I'm pretty sure Leigh had to write that duology as well as the Grisha series to get to the point where she could write this one. Can't wait for the sequel.

[@bmwilsonify]

Does anyone know if this is a standalone or the first in a series?

[@alexiaherrington3851]

Brandon Wilson first in a series. I think there are supposed to be 7 books in total

[@karkatvantas9557]

@@alexiaherrington3851 I heard five.

[@willforlife_]

sounds like a great book

[@Riverpeth]

The mispronunciation is a VERY common occurrence in these videos. Normally isn't a huge issue for me but this time it was all I could hear, lol. I'm curious if it also affects the audiobooks Daniel has been working on?

[@christinawhitmer8446]

I’m starting to wonder how many books are now written by ai. How would we know? Doubt they’ll sign “ai.”

[@Taylorwest626]

review 9 princes in amber?

[@laci2966]

Her name is not Leah, but pronounced Lee. Just FYI. I’m currently reading it. Thanks for the review.

[@uptown3636]

Is Leah Bardo related to Adele Dazeem?

[@mariasilveriagrassi]

Daniel is there any warnings for Rape or sexual abuse? Cannot deal with that =( But after this review I want to read the book.

[@SharonVictoria90]

There is sexual assault or mentions thereof in the book. After receiving backlash for the lack of content warnings (which male authors also never have but whatever) Leigh stated that her writing about this topic stems from her own trauma and experiences. I’m certain this is handled better than most cases, but just so you go in prepared: it is there.

[@randallhext8057]

Should we bring up the fact that the last like 3-4 books in Sword of Truth try to bring "occult magic" into the story line. And when I say Try, i mean fail.

[@kitkatt24]

You should read Scythe by Neal Shusterman

[@blacksocks111]

*get outs good reads app, adds to "to read" list.

[@knitgirl09]

As a survivor , it has taken me almost 15 months to read.... between you both.

[@nocompromisetostand]

DANIEL! LEIGH (LEY) BAR-DU-GO HAHAHAHA

[@gayfrickinfrog7168]

Noice vod

[@davidshead1323]

Dude I love IKEA, I need to read this

[@fuguefire1886]

Not gonna lie, I finished this book a few days ago, and I had to wait to digest it a little longer to watch this video. Hi! I'm late to the party

[@tommheow7129]

wait so who is Lea Bardough?

[@chowyee5049]

Sounds like Netflix's The Order.

[@jurinpoh10]

Please try out the Six of crows duology! It is one of my favourite series and the characters are amazing.

[@Westly.3]

Many YA books leaning towards adult tend to have huge trigger points. I almost always have to check this before a sale because 16 to 20 year olds might not be able to cope with some of the written content. The last thing any one wants is for loyal customers to have a bad or terrible experience.

[@Westly.3]

As a side note, if these triggers are perhaps mentioned in a careful way, then perhaps the customer or family might be like that's okay he or she can handle the triggers and content. This way it is less of a shock to encounter.

[@karkatvantas9557]

This isn't "YA leaning towards adult" it's just "adult." It's set in university. Also while your effort is noble, it's the reader's responsibility to look up the book to make sure they can handle the content, and nobody else's. Furthermore, ability to cope with dark themes in books really has nothing to do with age, and is more about someone's life experience. I certainly would not have appreciated it if when I was a teen, a bookseller had tried to dissuade me from an adult book. I'd find it patronising.

[@taraestelleadelizzi9975]

Dark academic/fantasy/magical realism/who done it/ and a cliffhanger ending baiting readers to read the sequel. So many characters and too little significant details to distinguish them at times. Too formulaic and over ambitious with the use of magic/occult as a tool, it felt lacking in consistency. I think this should have been broken into two books, it would have possibly worked better. As a writer, I had to finish because I found a great lesson in questioning how it could be better and imagining how to arrive at that instead of how it stands. And I have to mention that Stephen king is paid a TON of money to put his praises on books. This just wasn’t the best one for me, but enough to get me to finish. I love the Ground Zero grittiness. Great story but the execution wasn’t there. The voice didn’t capture, It wasn’t for me and no way I can bring myself to read the sequel. Love your opinions, gave me a lot to consider on the stronger points.

[@zona4554]

What’s YE ?

[@fouzya8310]

YA. Young Adult :)

[@jonahbardwell551]

So I haven't read this book, but it's worth noting that Six of Crows was also really dark. Beyond the violence, like Kaz cutting out a dude's eye, there's other real world dark stuff. For example, Inej was a victim of sex trafficking, and was forced into prostitution when she was only like 13 years old. Again, I haven't read Ninth House, but I'm guessing that the dark tone won't turn off fans of the Six of Crows books.

[@ozzymandias8265]

Watching this, I went from "hey I have that same shirt" to "I'm literally wearing that shirt right now wtf"

[@andreszydlowski5546]

Leia Bardot is the new Adele Dazeem

[@SamRid72]

This is like the Netflix original show The Order

[@fasdaVT]

Welp you sold me on the book so I'm not watching the spoilers so here's a comment to help balance out the algorithm hit you'll get