It took me a little while to get into the rhythm of Ninth House. There was so much world building that needed to happen in the first third of the book that at times it weighed the story and I almost put it down. I wish I'd just muscled through the bit, because holy literal hell once the story got going, I absolutely could not put it down. Its essentially a murder mystery thriller, but with magical forces and dark backstories and an atmosphere so gray (pun intended) and grim that you almost have to read it during the New England winter. Alex makes for an incredible fierce main character and the many twists and turns and tunnels she does down as the novel progresses definitely make this my favorite novel of the year thus far!