Book Review: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Synopsis

Galaxy "Alex" Stern, a high school drop-out with a history of drug use, drug dealer boyfriends, and dead-end jobs is in for a surprise when she starts her freshman year at Yale. With the history she has (including being a survivor of an unsolved homicide that killed multiple people), she seems like an unlikely candidate for the university. However, Alex is tasked with monitoring the school's secret societies and is in for a surprise. This book is full of magic, suspense, and trauma. Uncover mysteries that will leave you thinking about them after the book is finished. Goodreads link: Ninth House

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ★★★★☆

I picked this book up because of the hype and knew little about it other than there were magical elements and possible triggering content. It took me a while to connect to the story and it started out slow for me, but it picked up once the characters' backstories began to unravel. As someone who doesn't read a lot of fantasy, this one really interested me because of the cult-like relationships. While the overall plot is fantasy/magic based, the book touched on several real-life topics that college kids typically encounter. I ended up enjoying this, but I don't plan on reading the next book in the series.

*Trigger warnings: drug use/addiction, rape, ghosts/possession.

Reading Habits Tag

I saw a video on Ariel Bissett's Booktube channel called the reading habits tag and thought it would be a fun first book blog post so everyone can get to know me! 

Questions:
1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
I don't. I kind of just read everywhere/anywhere I have a chance. I think most of my reading happens in bed though.
2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?
I mostly use bookmarks unless I don't have one. If I don't have one, I'll use receipts or whatever I can find.
3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/ a certain amount of pages?
I used to only stop after I finished a chapter, but now I can just stop whenever.4. Do you eat or drink while reading?
Sometimes. Snacking mostly, because it seems kinda hard (and messy) to hold a book while eating pizza ;)
5. Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?
No thanks. I adapt if I'm in a room where someone else is watching TV or in the car when music is playing, but I don't choose to do so on my own.
6. One book at a time or several at once?
Ok so it used to be so hard for me to read multiple books at one time, but I joined a book club on Facebook (We Be Book'N) and I've been mastering the art of reading more than one book at a time.
7. Reading at home or everywhere?
E V E R Y W H E R E. I always carry a book with me.
8. Reading out lout or silently in your head?
Silently.
9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?
Nah, unless I'm checking to see how many pages are left in a chapter but I always go back.
10. Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?
Whatever happens, happens. I don't really pay attention.
11. Do you write in your books?
I will for school-related purposes, but I prefer not to.

Let me know if you agree or disagree with any of my reading habits in the comments!