Book Review – Hell Bent

#2 in the Alex Stern series

Alex & Dawes take matters into their own hands, behind the backs of Lethe authority, and splash head first into Hell to save Darlington. With it being Alex, nothing goes exactly as planned and the group ends up biting off a bit more than they can chew. When some things follow them home, the real dangers begin.

I want to start off by saying that I have only read Alex Stern and Six of Crows series, but what I have read of Leigh Bardugo’s work has been astounding. She’s a master at crafting an intricate and complicated story with so many twists and turns and little hints along the way that I have an unusually difficult time pulling it all apart and often find myself being surprised at the reveals, which doesn’t regularly happen for me. I thoroughly enjoyed Hell Bent after the 50% mark. The story was rich, had a consistent gloomy presence, and showed vulnerabilities to every character in a way that made me love them all that much more.

The detail and depths with which Bardugo creates a puzzle within a puzzle within a puzzle is captivating. I’m nearly convinced that everything she wrote about all the artifacts, secret magical items, links between secret societies, and historical people truly do exist. It’s all so vast and cunning and clever.

Walking in each character’s shoes during parts of the adventure was a great way to create an oppressive atmosphere. I felt so terribly bad for Alex, Dawes, Turner, and Tripp. However, the one thing I did not like at all was Babbity Rabbit. I do not support any unnecessary harm to animals in stories and using a rabbit as a way to show that Alex cared about the wrong things was low effort. Normally, I DNF those books, but since this one did not explicitly say what happened, I let it slide because Alex was extremely guilt-ridden and remorseful. Anyways, my favorite part of the whole book was Darlington and his new… situation. Loved the turn and can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

Highly recommend this book. Read it now.

Overall, I give it a 4 out of 5.

If you’d like to read more about Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo, check it out on Goodreads.

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