I just finished Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell. A follow up to Winter’s Orbit.

Very good scientific fiction. Queer, slow burn romance nestled inside a space opera with neuro modifications, military coups, and intergalactic intrigue. Slow start but fantastic world building and exiting finish.

So, reading Ninth House again with the knowledge gained in Hell Bent as well as the end of Ninth House is pretty fun. Lot of detail to pick up on.

I'm annoyed that I have to work when I'd rather be reading Hell Bent.

RIGHT?!? Very same.

I just read this like a week ago or something and already on listening to it anew I'm finding A LOT that had already fallen right out of my brain, so having to move my attention to sales forecasts is intensely annoying

Okay, I enjoyed Hell Bent immensely. I absolutely did not see Tripp becoming a vampire coming, and I cannot stop laughing at it. I love how Alex was like, he's a terrible vampire; we probably shouldn't kill him. And the rest of the Scooby gang just agreed right away, because they can all see what a terrible vampire he is.

And also, I loved how Mercy just threw herself wholeheartedly and cheerfully into the spooky business. Although there's definitely going to be fallout from her participation in killing a dude.

I feel like Tripp and Mercy are Team We Don't Actually Understand This Spooky Shit But Hell Yeah Let's Do This Anyway!

I still love Alex, Darlington, Dawes, and Turner. Half-demon (or whatever proportion demon) Darlington is WAY more interesting than original flavor Darlington.

I got hungry every single time Dawes cooked something. Dang.

Agree with alla that, Tep! Tripp was never more relatable than when he said "just move in and make me fat" to Dawes. I always liked Darlington but adding demon to the mix is extremely interesting. And by interesting I might mean pretty hot.

I just hope the next book doesn't take place a year later or something because I do not want to miss any demon/vampire hunting that will surely be happening immediately and possibly dismantling secret societies and/or Lethe that may get underway.

The first time I finished it I had a kind of let down feeling that this was the second book in a trilogy but after re-reading I feel more like it's opening up the world into what might contain a longer series of adventures

I would like someone to explain to me what all the rabbits mean. I feel like I'm missing something.

It was very rabbit-tastic, and I also have no idea why. (I kind of hate the cover picture for Hell Bent. It creeps my shit out.)

Oh, also:

And by interesting I might mean pretty hot.

I know that's right, baby.

The cover is very creepy and does not get less so after reading. It makes me think of T Kingfisher’s horror novels, although I haven’t gone to look at her covers to see if there is actual resemblance

The rabbits did make me think of Buffy, as did the vampire arguably with a soul, the hellmouth in the library, the other actual mouth that sent Darlington to hell when it ate him, and the red-headed scholarly witch. Not that I think that was the point if any of that, but it’s fun for me. As is Tripp’s Renfieldish dining habits and the image of Linus/Lionel walking through campus in the shade of a white umbrella carried by his companion. I can’t quite place what that reminds me of, I want to say a comic panel, but it’s charming.