hell bent: a slow burn from hell, literally
- paigenherbooks
- Oct 19, 2023
- 4 min read
4/5
Well, well, well here we are again, reviewing another Leigh Bardugo novel, her sequel to Ninth House. My review for Ninth House is cringey but true to how I felt at the time--I loved that book. I recently re-read her and found that I love her even more than the first time. So, after literally a year, I decided to finally read Hell Bent and wow, was I, not surprised, but absolutely enthralled by this novel. Bardugo just has a way with words, characters, and a slow burn that literally has me foaming at the mouth, while kicking my feet in the air. It's disgusting and I love it. Hell Bent was, quite frankly, one hell of a sequel, it surpassed any expectations I had, so without further a-do...
Synopsis: In Hell Bent, Alex Stern is determined to save Darlington from the clutches of hell, even if it costs her her precarious position as a student at Yale and her role at Lethe as an overseer of the university's secret society's magical goings-on.
I'm going to try and keep this as spoiler free as possible, but no promises. First, let's talk Alex. I love Alex Stern, I think her "too cool for school but actually loves school and just wants a normal life" character arch is beautiful. She's relatable, she's funny, and she's loyal. Alex Stern would do anything for those she cares about and the author does a truly wonderful job of showing this, not just telling it. Hell Bent is really Alex's book, it's her progression as a character, her deep dive into the Hero's Journey, where she "comes home" changed and totally different. Diving into her learning more about her powers and exactly who she is and what she is, is powerful and empowering. It made me wanna break stuff and run a marathon, had me on the edge of my seat placing metaphorical bets that this little skinny girl could kick anyone's ass.
She's my hero.
Throughout Hell Bent though we get more into Alex's emotional side as well, her want to be able to stay at Yale, her desperation to save Darlington, and her overall deep care and love for those close to her. It brings me to tears to think about just how far she goes for some of the characters in the book, and it's truly (stressful) but inspiring to see. We see her face demons from her past (literally), dive into hell (literally) and protect her friends from the supernatural, all the while trying to be the best person, student, and daughter she can be. That's a full schedule if I've ever seen one. Her narration style is one I adore, and I just really love being inside the mind of Galaxy Stern.
Throughout the novel we see Alex try to save Darlington, the "golden boy of Lethe", and she does in the end, in her own way...and I'm going to be honest, this slow burn, hinting at them getting together has me in a literal chokehold. When he tells her "I'm bound to you Stern. To the woman who brought me out of hell. I will serve you till the end of days"
I was screaming.
Kicking.
Crying.
Throwing up.
I was just like wow. I LOVE a slow burn and one like this, where this is the stuff we get but it's still just barely smoldering???? I loved it. Besides fangirling over their projected relationship, Darlington and Alex have a complicated and complex relationship that has deeper themes other than eternal servitude. The thematic concept of judging someone based on their past or where they come from applies heavily to these two, and it's eye-opening at times to see how they perceive each other after they do something that wasn't totally "expected" of them. Watching two characters or just two people in general have this understanding, that maybe people aren't as boxed in as society thinks, is hard hitting. We see these two, total "opposites" start to realize they have things in common and even in the things they don't, come to the realization that, that is totally okay. The give and take, the push and shove, the slow burn, makes Alex and Darlington's relationship one worth reading.
The overall plot of the story was cohesive and had me most of the time. There was a few times where I had to sit and close the book and just take a second because of things said or a new character, entity, concept was just introduced. It, at times, bordered turning too much into itself. Though, at the end of the day, it's a fantasy novel and most of these things were explained in ways that made sense given the world. The time changes and shifts is something that I've always enjoyed of Bardugo's writing, it makes the plot intriguing and almost creates a mind & timeline maze inside the reader's head. Trying to piece together what exactly is happening and when, and when she's going to unveil how everything connects. I genuinely thought the ending was cheesy as hell, giving very much "the gang decides to stick together and fix the issues they caused by trying to do the right thing" but at the end of the day, I liked it. Hell Bent was such a dense and at times, tiring novel, that ending it on more of a darkly painted "light note" was just the right thing to do.
Leigh Bardugo's Hell Bent was an amazing & fantastical sequel to Ninth House and left the reader wanting more and eagerly waiting for her to release the third book. I seriously can't wait to see how Alex, Darlington, Dawes, and the others tie up the loose ends and quite literally battle Hell.
Hell Bent deserved every one of those four stars.
Till next time, happy reading :)
xoxo,
paige
Coming Soon: The Ballad of Song Birds & Snakes: Suzanne Collins
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