In “Ninth House,” Leigh Bardugo introduced us to Galaxy (Alex) Stern. In the sequel, “Hell Bent,” Bardugo takes us to hell with her.
Alex Stern needs to go to hell. And she needs to get there as soon as possible in order to retrieve her co-worker, her Virgil, her possible future lovah (**kissy sounds**), Darlington. Unfortunately, finding a way into hell isn’t exactly easy, even for a Wheelwalker like Alex. It takes all of the efforts of Alex and her friends/not-entirely-willing accomplices to find Yale’s secret path to hell and break in.
And finding a way into hell is, somehow, just one of Alex’s worries. She, and Dawes, also have to find a way to keep sexy-ass Demon Darlington from breaking loose from his shaky bonds and wreaking havoc. And she and Dawes have to keep up with their Leith House duties while keeping the “responsible adults” of Yale and the board in the dark about their trip to hell. There are also some suspicious, possibly occult-related deaths for Alex to help investigate. And, of course, she needs to keep up with her classes.
But wait, that’s not all! Which brings me to the crux of why I loved “Ninth House,” but found “Hell Bent” to be only okay. There is just too much going on for my tastes. In addition to the troubles above, Alex is dragged back into her old life in LA as well. The sociopathic, drug dealing cousin of the even more sociopathic victim of ghost-Hellie has figured out Alex’s secret. Or at least figured out she’s more than she seems. So, in order to keep her mother safe, she’s forced to work for him too.
All this, not one but multiple trips to hell (which is a whole other thing), demon fights and then, to top it off, there are vampires. Like I said, too much going on. And it’s also very bleak. Like, “Ninth House” was frightening, but it offered at least some hope. “Hell Bent” was, for me, just bleak as, well, hell.
Rating: 3 stars
CBR18 Bingo Circle: “Wheels” because Alex is a Wheelwalker and the Wheel of Fortune tarot card plays a role in the story.
