Elias reviewed Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo (Alex Stern, #2)
An improvement on its predecessor
5 stars
Content warning Heavy spoilers
As is customary, I'm reviewing it immediately after I finished it. It is 01:19.
What an improvement on the first! There was still some pacing issues in the beginning, but I think the slight lag in the beginning of this book was acceptable in contrast to the large lag in the beginning of the first book. This book gets the benefit of there already being significant setup for the main conflict of the novel in its predecessor, so it's able to get to things quicker than the first one did. I still think the beginning of the book could've been a bit punchier/quicker and would've been better for it, but I'll happily take this.
I think what really made me give this one whole star more than its predecessor is twofold: I felt like we got a real chance to get to know and appreciate Galaxy, and there was a lot of leaning into the lore of the world.
Alex felt significantly more real to me in this entry. Through her interactions with Dawes, Lethe's administration, Tripp, and Turner, we saw the Alex that is a loyal survivor to her core. We saw her conflicted over her mourning of Darlington while still trudging on with her work, we saw her sharing quiet moments with Dawes in between the chaos, we saw how she eventually got Turner's buy-in. Alex may not have remorse over killing the people in her past at ground zero, but she has real attachments to Yale and Lethe. Her connection to Darlington and how it built over time was intoxicating too —it was properly steeped in the mystery that accompanies all good fated connections. I also really love the Dante/Virgil imagery, and also the Orpheus and Eurydice imagery that popped in a little bit. Their chemistry in this book was absolutely magnetic.
Speaking of imagery... the world here is so rich. I love that it draws on real societies and the real campus of Yale while still altering it to give it a little bit more mystique. All of the deciphering around how we got to the library being the portal and the trickery of the demons was fun to decipher and look back on. I feel like the mystery actually slotted in this time, unlike in the first book. All of these separate strings beautifully wove together this time, and oh my god do I adore it. The only thing that was a little disappointing was how the praetor that took over after Anselm (I literally never remember his name, I only remember that it's hyphenated and starts with a W) felt like he was an issue then immediately dropped out. We never found out if demon Anselm met with the Lethe board or not. I assume he probably didn't and that's why nothing ever happened to Dawes and Alex, but I would've liked a confirmation on that. I would've also liked a confirmation on that praetor being in on it or not, even though it seems pretty clear from the hints that we got that he is.
Anyway, oh my god. I'll definitely be coming back for the third when it releases. What a whirlwind. Couldn't put it down for the back 60%.
As a parting note, I'm a little disappointed we didn't see the bridegroom in this novel because he quickly became my blorbo, but I'll excuse it. I'll be looking for him in the next book, Bardugo... (/half joke)