Hell Bent

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Format: Digital (Kindle Purchase)

Publish Date: January 2023

Read: January 2023

Favorite Quote: This was what real magic looked like—indecent, decadent, perverse.

SPOILERS TO NINTH HOUSE (BOOK 1) AHEAD - PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

Story Synopsis: Hell Bent is book two in Leigh Bardugo’s latest fantasy, the Alex Stern series. Hell Bent begins after the end of Ninth House and follows Alex as she works to fulfill her mission to rescue Darlington from the hellbeast who ate him. Alex finds herself, again, trying to balance the demands of Yale academics, friendships, the secret societies and activities of Yale, and rescuing her beloved mentor from hell when everyone believes him to be well and truly dead. When Alex and Dawes think they’ve uncovered a long-buried secret to a gateway to hell, they recruit an unlikely group of helpers and allies to perform a sacred blood ritual and hopefully find a way to return Darlington to New Haven.

Why does this book beguile? Leigh Bardugo takes no prisoners in Hell Bent. From the beginning, there is a puzzle to solve, a mystery to unfurl for Alex. Stern’s character grows in Hell Bent, and we see more relationships with other characters, like Dawes, Mercy, and Detective Turner. Hell Bent grips you from the beginning and keeps you thinking about it when you’re not reading it. Bardugo’s done a great job with the sophomore book in her latest urban fantasy series.

Rating: 5/5

Link*: Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Book Club Reading Guide: Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo