Hell Bent is the second book in the Alex Stern series, with the first book being Ninth House. It follows Alex Stern, a girl with a dark background and dangerous ability, when she is given a full-ride scholarship to Yale in order to become part of a mysterious society to monitor the eight secret societies of Yale. It involves secret plots, murder, the occult, and an entire world of magic and mystery. I think this book beautifully elaborates on the plots and concepts of the first book. The novel is well thought out with strong, unique characters and Bardugo’s writing is full of dark mysticism and is wonderfully detailed. I enjoyed seeing Alex’s character development, especially in consideration to her previous character development in Ninth House. I especially enjoyed the character arcs of Dawes and Turner and thought that Darlington’s character and role in the novel were well-designed. This series being Bardugo’s first venture into adult fiction, I think it is a wonderful extension of her young adult writing style. I would recommend it to anyone who has read her other novels (such as Six of Crows or Shadow and Bone) and anyone who enjoys dark, complex fantasy. Publisher's Description:
Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy “Alex” Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory―even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale. Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies’ most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren’t just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she’ll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university’s very walls.