Hell Bent

by Leigh Bardugo

**PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS BOOK IS FOR ADULT READERS, SO THIS REVIEW WILL BE WRITTEN FOR ADULTS AS WELL.**

I can’t believe I got my hands on this book early. Dream come true, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a final copy!

The best way I can think to describe Hell Bent is that it’s the natural next step of Ninth House, and that it gets to “enjoy” the fruits of the world building labor that Ninth House so kindly put in for us. If Ninth House was the introduction and groundwork foundation of magic, Lethe, and The Houses of the Veil, then Hell Bent is the exploration and expansion of the true world of magic Lethe and the Houses dally in. The Houses use magic for power, but the true world and nature of magic, as we discover more in Hell Bent, is dark, gritty, deep, expensive in sacrifices and costs, and so much more than we see in Ninth House.

If Ninth House whetted your appetite for this kind of magic, Hell Bent will feed that appetite – and then leave you begging for more.

I had a few theories from Ninth House, including the return of a somewhat minor character, that very satisfyingly came true in Hell Bent and then some. Even if you haven’t guessed, though, it doesn’t make you feel “stupid” for not having figured it out, if that makes sense? Also, just like with Ninth House, the beginning of Hell Bent is a little slow, and also basically identical in “format” to the beginning of Ninth House. It starts out with a teasing, exciting “future” scene that has you wanting to know more – and then hits you with the usual slow-paced “current” scenes.

Recommendation: If you loved Ninth House, you’ll probably love Hell Bent. They do feel different, but they still work together at their core. The dark academia vibe is strong in Hell Bent, if that’s something you particularly enjoyed in Ninth House, but it’s so much more. Despite the slow beginning, I think it is a book worth pushing through. I do recommend you read my “recap” review of Ninth House to make the beginning of Hell Bent easier because, not only does a lot happen in Ninth House, but there are some connections that might not have seemed very important that come up in really satisfying, “Ah-ha!” moments. All that said, I don’t think you need to.

“The Devil knows your name now, Galaxy Stern.”  Technically, this isn’t a quote on Goodreads, but it is a quote shared by Leigh Bardugo pre-pub, so I think it counts as spoiler-free?  Anyway, onto Alex in this book, our badass Gray-seer and Mistress of All Things Fucked Up, round two. Not to give too many spoilers away, but I don’t really see this as a spoiler – we get to discover/see a progression of sorts on Alex’s Wheelwalker abilities/powers. We see her blend her old ways with her new, Darlington-influenced ways. If you though you knew Stern in Ninth House, think again. We meet an Alex closer to the one Hellie knew – and I’m kinda here for it.

I can’t really talk too much about Dawes without getting too spoilery, but I hope even that implies what I’m trying to convey here – we get more Dawes, which is what I was really hoping for. Well, that and seeing Darlington as the Gentleman Demon. Because, duh.

And Michelle, just . . . wow.

Other things we get to see, non-spoilery: more rules and exposure to Hell and demons and the steep cost of magic; a return of some beloved characters [in several ways! Some bitter sweet!]; learning more about our key characters; heartbreaking moments, depending on what and who you care about; and the opening of yet-unexplored doors.

**SPOILER WARNING – I’LL TRY TO KEEP THE GUSHING TO A MINIMUM, BUT SOME MIGHT LEAK THROUGH. SO, BE WARNED – GO READ THE BOOK WHEN IT COMES OUT AND THEN COME BACK. OR READ ON AND SPOIL YOURSELF, LIVE YOUR LIFE THE WAY YOU WANT TO. I’M ONLY HERE TO HELP YOU DO JUST THAT.**

OMG, THAT INTRO!

I mean, of course part of you was like, “That can’t be because of Darlington! . . . Right?” But then you just didn’t quite know.

AND I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I WAS HERE FOR THAT.

Anyway – I love that we got to see some more of Dawes. We got to see a bit in her head, to see how she works, to see how her story and introduction to Lethe went. We get more of the new Dawes/Alex dynamic, which is just so endlessly amusing and fantastic to me. I love them so much.

But we also see more of Turner, which was great, too. Seeing more of him, more of how he ticks, and how he got where he is now – it’s just all so well done. I loved his refreshing, normal-person response to the world of magic. We saw it a bit in Ninth House, but you see it more in this book, I think. For Dawes, it’s just sort of . . . another area of study that doesn’t exactly describe her, given the nature of her dissertation before Lethe even picked her up? For Alex, as much as she didn’t exactly realize she was magical all her life, it’s more of an, ” . . . Oh, ok, this is starting to help make everything make sense . . .” Darlington has been searching for magic basically all his life, so, he’s not exactly a “normal person” the way Turner is. Turner is almost more skeptical than your average person, but, even so, that just helps bring his almost antithesis perspective to everything. He responds the way most people actually would respond if they were confronted with things, though most people want to believe they wouldn’t. I don’t know, I just appreciate his presence serving as a reminder that none of this is actually normal, even though it’s kind of . . . become the normal for the rest of them?

MOVING ON – can we just take a second to just be in jaw-dropping awe of Alex’s Wheelwalker powers? Just . . . the easy-walk-into-Hell ability, the depth of power and control she has, and the fact that she can now hear Grays?!?!?!? Without having to do anything extra?? I mean, of course, that’s more a cost of her magic rather than a reward, but that doesn’t stop her from using it for her own gain, does it?

Which reminds me – her unapologetic blunt, and maybe harsh, ways are, for some reason, fantastic to me? Like, she has no problem reminding people that she doesn’t fit society’s rules and expectations for “genteel” women, or women in general, for that matter. She doesn’t care who she hurts to get when she believes she needs to get done. While she isn’t without remorse or regret, there’s a certain . . . self-acceptance she’s developed to cope with the sometimes-steep cost of doing what needs done. It’s respectable, I think, to a certain degree. Ruthless, sometimes reckless, but still something to – maybe not admire – but respect.

AND THAT MICHELLE TWIST, OMG!

I mean, I think we all knew something was off with her, especially throughout Hell Bent, but THAT? It definitely makes sense, the signs were all there, but because you didn’t expect it of her, you didn’t see it until it was practically right on top of you. It’s fantastic.

I’d keep going on about everything I loved, but then I would end up just writing another [fangirl-esque] recap, and that’s not what I want for this review. Basically, whenever you think you know what to expect next, it’ll somehow be different, but also not, and it’s just phenomenal.

There’s just so much to unpack in this story! I will likely reread at least Hell Bent before Alex Stern #3 comes out because I know I missed things that another read through will bring to light. Maybe I’ll even be able to make [accurate] predictions for book 3!

This book is becoming a study in well-handled twists, character building, character execution, and character-impacted-plot-development [is that a thing?], and I’m still mulling it over over a month later! I was going to get this review up about a month ago, but I just kept feeling like I was falling short of doing this review justice.

That said, I really hope this review helps convince someone to pick up this series, or to give Hell Bent a try if you felt kinda meh about Ninth House. Because, so long as you can handle the triggering, dark content, I think this series is well worth it to try.

All that said, until next time: be safe, be kind, and read on!