Ninth House

The Book in 1 Sentence

A grounded supernatural book that makes you interested in the Astaire secret societies that "run the world."

Brief Review

Secret societies have always captured the imagination of the masses. There are things in our world that we can't explain. This book provides a believable story line that is for sure false, is full of enough truth, that you don't care. Some of the characters are annoying, but overall it is good.

Why I Read this book

Recommend to me at the bookstore.

In-Depth Review (Favorite Quotes)

For attempting to find a book for the Halloween timeframe, and being my first book dealing with the paranormal. There was a simple reality that doesn't take much to understand which is traditionally the issue with jumping into a new series or genre.

The main characters, Alex and Darlington, are very well written. Two characters that have survived a different and rough upbringing, leading to two different personalities. One is still attempting to escape and survive, the other has pushed into status and class. These two have a great forced relationship.

This relationship is re-enforced by the story. Which is the idea that the secret societies have the ability to do real magic. However, after years of the magic going beyond their control, a ninth house is created to keep them in check. Each person in the 9th house is given a code name and Darlington is Virgil and Alex is Dante. Named for the book Dante's Inferno. With that they are forced to work together, but their shared struggle and mistrust really pays off in the long run.

There are also some adult themes in this book that don't feel like a "woe is me" or a forced chain for the protagonist. It is a part of who they are and in some cases a recallable plot point that pushes them forward. It is really well done.

Rating

I am struggling to give this a score. The problem is that I really enjoyed it, but due to some work and personal travel, it took me longer to finish it. I wasn't rushing to get back to it like I was Ghost Station, but it was calling me to finish. The pacing is good, the characters are good, the story is good, but it just didn't pull me in deep. I am not mad at it at all. I want to give it a 9, but I think because of that lack of pull it is an 8.

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