Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

 
You know that book that you put up on a pedestal and you compare others too? Yep this is one of those for me. First off, I don't read fantasy. I can count the number of "fantasy" books I have read on one hand. Yet I was only half way done with this baby and I was hitting up everyone I know that has read it to ask, what even compares to this book...because I did not want it to end!!!

So why am I literally obsessed with this book???? Look nobody is more shocked than me. First off...when I think fantasy, I think another world, some make believe place. This took place at Yale University....YALE...a real live place that we have all heard of. So bonus points right there. I could relate to it. Then it is filled with secret societies...which we all know exist. Including the very exclusive and infamous Skull and Bones.  Extra bonus points in my book for that. I mean who isn't interested in what would go on there? Then ghosts.....everywhere....I LOVE it! I love a story with a ghost and when there is more than one...well...I just can't resist.

Alex Stern got a full ride to Yale and is just starting her freshman semester. Yet a couple of months prior, Alex was found overdosed in a house full of known drug addicts that had been murdered...yet she survived. No money, no family support, a complete mess- how is it that this girl got into Yale? Completely paid ride and accepted into a secret society into a position within it that many yearn for. Something sketchy is going on here!

Many reviewers have stated this was a slow read for them. I personally did not feel that. In fact I wanted more!! I think for me, I got so into this book because I don't skim at all. I read every single word and held onto to. I will admit in the first couple of chapters, I had to google a couple of words that just aren't in my vocabulary...prognostication, Haruspex....to name a few. It was so worth it because my careful reading really drew me into the story. So if you are a skimmer you may miss some vital information. Must like ghosts....because there are lots, and lots and lots of ghosts.

I can't tell you how excited I am for the next book in this series. Meanwhile I will be reading everything I can find by this author. Apparently reading outside your genre sometimes works out so well that you may add it to your all time favorites.