This was a really fun book! I’m so obsessed with this series. I enjoy how we learn more about the other characters in the story. Even though the primary character is still Alex, this book also focuses on a team being built, everyone bringing something different to the table. I don’t want to spoil anything, I just want to say how much fun I had reading this, and diving more into this world Bardugo has created for us. ( )

When my reserved copy of [b:Hell Bent|60652997|Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648744814l/60652997._SY75_.jpg|55016610] arrived in the library I needed a reminder of the preceding book, [b:Ninth House|43263680|Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553102141l/43263680._SY75_.jpg|53348200]. That I read back in March 2020, the week before the first lockdown, and I retain very little memory of what happened in it. (My review tells me it was enjoyable.) I remembered that the protagonist can see ghosts and that a character was in hell, but not how or why. Neither could I remember what any of the characters looked like, so eagerly seized upon visual details in [b:Hell Bent|60652997|Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648744814l/60652997._SY75_.jpg|55016610]. After reading this summary (spoilers for [b:Ninth House|43263680|Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553102141l/43263680._SY75_.jpg|53348200], obviously), I managed to follow events just fine.

The main focus of the plot is on attempts to recover a main character from hell, while dealing with the administrative and supernatural consequences of the previous book's events. This proves exciting and compelling, as there are plenty of twists and setbacks. The depiction of magic is pleasingly uncanny and I loved the library as a portal to hell. There is a generous amount of violence and death, accompanied by a generally harsh and dark narrative tone. I appreciated this interrogation of the tropes that supernatural fantasy of this kind draws upon:

Mercy had changed clothes three times before they left their dorm room, finally arriving on a snug tweed jacket and velvet skirt.
"You know you're doing us the favour, right?" Alex had asked.
"Dress for the job you want."
"What job do you want?"
"I don't know," Mercy said. "But if magic is real, I want to make a good impression."
Do we all hunger for this? Alex wondered as she shepherded Mercy into Il Bastone, watching her eyes grow wide at the sight of the sunflower staircase, the stained glass, the painted tiles that framed the fireplace. Why raise children on the promise of magic? Why create a want in them that can never be satisfied - for revelation, for transformation - and then set them adrift in a bleak, pragmatic world? In Darlington she'd seen what grief over that loss could do to someone, but maybe the same mourning lived inside her too. The terrible knowledge that there would be no secret destiny, no kindly mentor to see some hidden talent inside her, no deadly nemesis to best.

Alex needn't worry, as it turns out she does have hidden magical talents, a kindly mentor (when he isn't on sabbatical in hell), and at least one deadly nemesis that she bests. Thus there is still a traditional and triumphant feeling to the ending: the main characters have acquired magical superpowers (or levelled them up, in Alex's case) which happen to look like really cool tattoos. Darlington has been rescued from hell and the team are ready to kick the ass of demons. Not a hugely unexpected conclusion, but definitely an enjoyable and satisfying one.

Compared with my experience of [b:Ninth House|43263680|Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553102141l/43263680._SY75_.jpg|53348200], I was in less need of escapism when reading [b:Hell Bent|60652997|Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648744814l/60652997._SY75_.jpg|55016610] so enjoyed it at slightly lower intensity. The plot and characters are great. Academic world-building, which really stood out in [b:Ninth House|43263680|Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553102141l/43263680._SY75_.jpg|53348200], is not given such emphasis in [b:Hell Bent|60652997|Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648744814l/60652997._SY75_.jpg|55016610] due to the exigencies of plot. Also the presumption that the reader remembers more of the first book than I did, probably. Still, I found the setting evocative and was easily immersed in [b:Hell Bent|60652997|Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648744814l/60652997._SY75_.jpg|55016610]. It's a strong sequel to [b:Ninth House|43263680|Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553102141l/43263680._SY75_.jpg|53348200]. ( )

Fantasy is not my go-to genre, but I could not put this book down. What an adventure! Glad to hear there will be a third book in this series. ( )

devoured this in a week, loved the characters, loved the twists, did not loved the cliffhanger but an amazing book thats all. ( )

I was a little annoyed at the various time jumps that took place in the beginning of the book. I hate that trope in TV shows and movies where they show a scene from the ending as a hook at the beginning and to me, that's just lazy writing. It interrupts the flow of the story and doesn't usually serve the story. I'd rather see the story progress naturally. But that's a minor pet peeve of mine. Overall, I found the book to be very enjoyable, although many problems could be avoided or eased if Alex would just communicate with people more. There were almost too many villains in this one, what with the demons, the vampire, the antagonistic adults, and the drug dealer. But it somehow worked. The story resolved in a mostly satisfying way. I hated what happened to Tripp at the end and felt that Alex and crew should have tried harder to get in touch with him when things were really dangerous. I feel like it might seem that I'm complaining a lot, but I really did enjoy this book. ( )