Ninth House (Ninth House Series, 1)

"The best fantasy novel I’ve read in years, because it’s about real people... Impossible to put down." —Stephen King

The smash New York Times bestseller from Leigh Bardugo, a mesmerizing tale of power, privilege, and dark magic set among the Ivy League elite.


Goodreads Choice Award Winner
Locus Finalist

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.

Don't miss the highly-anticipated sequel, Hell Bent.

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Published Oct 20, 2020

496 pages

Average rating: 7.44

711 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

sneed
Jun 18, 2025
8/10 stars
I had high expectations for this book, and then I had a really hard time getting into it and worried it was gonna horrendously fail those expectations, but I was wrong and LB delivered, as always
bizzyyoung
Oct 12, 2023
10/10 stars
Leigh Bardugo masterfully weaves magic into our world in a dark and sinister way, complete with class politics.
Dreacakes22
Jun 05, 2023
9/10 stars
Loved every character and the development. Very well executed. Had me hooked from the first chapter
Mary Raven
Jan 28, 2023
8/10 stars
I’m sad there is no more of this book to read. I hate waiting for the next installment(s).
Harrietaspy
May 04, 2025
6/10 stars
Fantasy isn't really my thing but I was intrigued when I saw that it was set at Yale and about the secret societies.

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