Hell Bent
Ratings290
Average rating4
give me Darlington or give me death
Edit: Vastly different from Ninth House, but I had a really good time reading it. I love the characters much more than I did in book one, and the new plot was really engaging!
Contains spoilers
Meeeh.
The pacing issues I had with the previous book are still present here but in a lesser degree. I’m starting to suspect there’s a page count Bardugo needed to hit so we got all this unnecessary information and back-and-forth. Was it really necessary to go to hell THREE TIMES? I get not succeeding right away to have the story progress and to add to the idea that this was an impossible task. But wouldn’t it be better to have the gang be close enough but not being to enter, instead of having some inexperienced 20-somethings and a cop come in and out willy-nilly?
Once again, there are unnecessary graphic scenes (more Hellie abuse, really? the rabbit, really?). Fortunately, it was not as much as the previous novel so I’m thankful for that.
Mercy having a more prominent role this time was fine but once again, there are no visible consequences of the events of the previous book or the ones that happened in this one, for that matter. I honestly can’t fathom her having such a carefree disposition about finding out Yale’s magical secrets, especially since she has been directly affected by them.
Also, her being an expert on the artifacts and magic overnight to the point she is on par with Dawes and Darlington? Really?
Also, WHY, AFTER A YEAR OF TORTURE, TRAUMA AND FINDING OUT HE KINDA KILLED HIS PARENTS THE FIRST THING DARLINGTON THINKS ABOUT IS HOW HORNY HE IS FOR ALEX? SERIOUSLY?????
I liked the inclusion of the new supernatural creatures, though.
If the first book could be boiled down to world building and dread, then this book is a big shift forward.
The themes are still dark, but you get the sense that Alex has hit rock bottom and is pushing towards something better. She allows herself to hope, and this really softens how bleak everything gets. This really picks up right where the first book left off, and you don't have to wait long for more action.
The audiobook was mostly great, I just didn't enjoy the few chapters from the male narrator as much, and wish Lauren Fortgang could have read those as well.
Would recommend. Will continue to read.
Leigh Bardugo's brain is out of this world. I didn't know what I was reading 25% of this book and didn't even care. I love all of the characters so much. I have nothing profound to say besides this was a bad ass book and better than Ninth House so if you were 50/50 on Ninth House don't give up! I can't believe we have to wait for book 3...
I loved the concept of this one but the execution was disappointing for me. It took me a while to get through, & I never really found myself eager to pick it up.
march 2022
there is a TITLE and a COVER and a RELEASE DATE
ARE WE ALL FREAKING OUT OR IS IT JUST ME
march 2024
“I'm bound to you, Stern. To the woman who brought me out of hell. I will serve you ‘til the end of days.”
asdfghj
LOVED how plot-heavy and fast-paced this book was, but it didn't wow me the way ninth house did. can't fkn wait for the next book tho bc i love every character
Hell Bent is a phenomenal follow up to Bardugo's Ninth House. It takes all the lore of the first book, and absolutely sets off running with it. (Though I did miss seeing more rituals happen in Hell Bent!) We find out more about the secret societies and how they all began, which added weight to the world. We travel to Hell and back, which...ooooof. But the best part of the book was when the team finally dragged Darlington back into the real world.
Seeing him on page as an actual member of the team was so much fun – up until this point he'd only been in the books as a memory. Seeing Darlington contribute and be more ‘real' made the journey looking for him much more tolerable. Alex grows a lot in this book, but she also quite stubbornly remains who she is. She's learned how to manipulate the people around her into doing what she wants or what she thinks is right. It was...I don't want to say fun but at least interesting to see her dominate other people like that. She's taken so much shit in her life, to see her succeed in something was fantastic.
Speaking of Darlington and Alex, I sure hope we get some resolution to whatever romance we're dancing around in the last book. There's a tremendous amount of sexual tension between them, and I know I'D love to see them both get some happiness. There's been so little of it in either of their lives.
I liked what we saw of the Lethe team (Dawes, Turner, Mercy, Tripp, etc) in this book, and I loved that we got more backstory from everyone. I just wish maybe these characters were even more fleshed out, even more whole. Instead, they still remain something of stereotypes, which while it does work for this kind of book in this sort of setting, leaves you feeling less than full.
REGARDLESS, I enjoyed HELL BENT, and I can't wait for the next book.
This sequel was off to a slow start for me, with some slight confusion due to the chapters being different periods of time during that year for Alex. However, once I settled into it, it picked up just as Ninth House did, and I was rushing to finish the book so that I could find out everything as soon as possible.
I would have loved to see some more development between the characters - there were always little hints and teasers, but nothing more ever developed from them. Especially between Alex and Darlington, as the author kept throwing at us like a bouncy ball.
Maybe in book three?
Silly me for thinking this was the final book in the series, of course it'd be a triology!
I've noticed a pattern with Leigh Bardugo's books, the beginning is slow and hard to get into. But once the action starts I can't stop reading until the end. Hell Bent was no different, the time jumps at the start felt like we were meandering and rehashing parts of Alex's life outside of Yale. Once we stayed in present day it was a lot easier to get engrossed in the story. The puzzle within the puzzle plot line was clever, it added extra paranormal elements to the book. I really loved how Mercy & Alex's friendship was portrayed in this book and can't wait to see how it plays out in the next book.
I had a good time with this book, but was disappointed with the uneven pacing. It made the book feel way too long. I found myself often re-reading as settings or timelines abruptly changed. And Darlington's demon cock....why?
Death fucks us all... WELL IM THE ‘US' CAUSE THIS BOOK GOT ME FUCKED UP. I NEED THE THIRD NOW. I CRAWLED OUT OF HELL ALL BLOODY BUT IM READY TO GO BACK. Leigh the glow stick caught me SO OFF GAURD but I'd still go to war for you babe
I was a little hesitant to pick this up because I didn't really connect with the first book. I kept thinking about the Dresden Files and how if I was going to read something so similar to it I might as well read some more of that series. But the premise was interesting and Leigh Bardugo really knows how to lead into a sequel. I took a gamble on this one and damn dude, this shit rocks.
Before I jump into this sequel I want to address a few of the flaws that held Ninth House back for me. I guess I didn't like Alex's nature in the first book, I'm all for a flawed main character but she just kind of face-rolled the scenario while complaining the whole way through. She came off as overly slick and unreliable. I wasn't buying it and I don't care how tragic her back story was. That disconnect lowered the sense of stakes for me, I didn't like Alex and I didn't especially care about what happened to her.
I want to highlight these failings because Hell Bent has totally filled in the gaps for me. This book has one major change from the first; Alex is kind of the badass now. She's a badass now, and I buy it somehow. I think that this book starts off strong and does an amazing job filling us in on Alex's summer, and it does a lot to rehabilitate her character for me. It seems like Alex has matured/is maturing into the role of Virgil, and her previous weakness is largely written off as inexperience. But she's a badass ghost bitch now, and Darlington is trapped in hell.
This whole book had a Stranger Things meets Hell Boy meets Dresden Files vibe to it, and that's such an amazing combination of ideas and themes. I think that I have fully accepted that we're playing by the Dresden Files set of rules and I am more than okay with it. I am glad that this series is pulling from the strengths of DF and not its weaknesses; if Alex gets a duster and a wide-brim hat and starts to wax poetic on how old-fashioned she is in the next one I think I will burst a blood vessel. I think that explains a lot of my shift in opinion, this is better than the Dresden Files in all the ways that matter.
(Since you asked, I don't cringe when Alex interacts with the opposite gender, and I don't have to look past how much of a dork she is because she's not a dork.)
Let me stop meandering.
Hell Bent is damn good. I was really impressed by the jump in quality across the board, but hey this series is not in the highly marketable Grishaverse so we had to wait four years. The book is better off for it, Leigh Bardugo continues to evolve as an author, and this book is proof. The choppy pacing is gone, the prose is much improved, and this book really banks on the world-building of the previous entry.
Alex Stern is going to hell, and nothing is going to get in her way. That's the plot and we stick to it this time, no pauses to let us know how Pam is feeling or how fucking cool these 150-year-old arches are. No, we are going to hell, we are getting Darlington and that's what's happening. I really love the plot this time around, it's as simple as it gets but the places it goes are unexpected and interesting. I won't spoil it suffice it to say we get as many answers as we do new questions concerning the nature of Alex's powers and the nature of magic in this universe.
I like that the references this time were more Shakespearean in nature, it's cool to have those English surveys from college count for something. I like that the story occupies the span of a year so the chapter titles aren't as confusing as they were the first go around. The story is still non-linear but not to the obnoxious degree of the first one.
The biggest change between this and Ninth House is the absence of social commentary. We've been there and done that, and now we can get to unofficial Lethe business. I have to say I prefer it this way, the more grounded focus really lets this book piggyback on the gritty charm of the Dresden Files.
The only thing holding this book back is that you need to read Ninth House first. I am looking forward to the next one.
I know who my ship is now lmaooo. I'm way too much of a sucker for the fall-at-your-feet-in-service-and-love to go any other way.
I have a great time with Alex in these books! There are times when it gets a little ridiculous in terms of how things just happen to fall into place.
The magic also goes full swing in this one. If I thought the end of Ninth House was just bordering on the line into too much magic, this book definitively crossed it. I still had a great time, but that's why it doesn't reach the same height as the first.
I still can't get over the fact that these characters will simply quote a million different authors and scriptures without batting an eye as if it's normal for a whole group of people to simply have that kind of memory.
That aside, I love the dynamic between the characters. I love the way Dawes loves so easily, and the way Alex protects so fiercely. I love women <3
The first 20% or so took a bit to get into, but after that I flew through this book. This series is such a fun concept and I'm excited to see where it goes from here. I also appreciate the level of cliffhanger in this book too. Like she left the door open to write more but I wouldn't be upset if she didn't.
I'm sure now that we had our infernal dramatic scavenger hunt we can go back to the awesome urban fantasy academia that I loved in the first book! I will ignore that this book happened actually.
The Darlingtons POVs?? Never happened. I refuse.