Naomi Novik wrote one of my favorite books; Uprooted. So of course I was interested in her dark academia series The Scholomance. Last year I got an eARC for A Deadly Education and I LOVED that book. It was one of my favorite books I read in 2021. And after that last line I needed the second book badly!! I also got an eARC for that one but because I was so busy it took me a while to pick it up. Once I actually did though, I finished it in about 2 days. And today I want to tell you all about it!
A budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education, the start of Naomi Novik's groundbreaking crossover series.
At the Scholomance, El, Orion, and the other students are faced with their final year--and the looming specter of graduation, a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake. El is determined that her chosen group will survive, but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up. Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules . . .
Praise for A Deadly Education
"The scholomance is the dark school of magic I've been waiting for, and its wise, witty, and monstrous heroine is one I'd happily follow anywhere--even into a school full of monsters."--Katherine Arden, New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale "Novik deliciously undoes expectations about magic schools, destined heroes, and family legacies. A gorgeous book about monsters and monstrousness, chockablock with action, cleverness, and wit."--#1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black
"A must-read . . . Novik puts a refreshingly dark, adult spin on the magical boarding school. . . . Readers will delight in the push-and-pull of El and Orion's relationship, the fantastically detailed world, the clever magic system, and the matter-of-fact diversity of the student body."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The Last Graduate (The Scholomance, #2) by Naomi Novik
Published by Del Rey Books on 28/09/2021
Pages: 388
Goodreads
Cover
I love the covers for this series. The cover for the third book, The Golden Enclaves, was just released. I love the style, the illustrations are great and for the story really well. The colors are pretty and I really enjoy the typography. I wouldn’t mind all my books to be in this style haha.
Review
A Deadly Education introduced us to this brutal world with its interesting magic system. I really enjoyed being back in it. The Scholomance is a magical school and it’s just as brutal as the rest of the world is. There is a lot of classism and I think that’s very interesting. You can see parallels with our world and the opportunities some of the characters had over others.
Magical schools are a favorite trope of mine and this one doesn’t disappoint. The students have to be careful and all times or they will die. It’s high stakes all the time and that keeps the story interesting and pretty fast paced.
“I’m not some sort of pallid romantic who insists on being loved for my shining inner being. My inner being is exceptionally cranky and I often don’t want her company myself.”
I fell in love with our main character El in the first book. She might not be everyone’s favorite but she is one of mine. I loved her background, the prophecy about her and the way she dealt with it. Sure, it wasn’t all healthy and she definitely makes things harder on herself, but she’s also a very good person. Despite what others may think.
Orion is a great character as well and I liked getting to know him more in this second book. El developed a couple of relationships in the first book and we get to see more of that in The Last Graduate. It was good to see her surrounded by some more people and by extension learn some more about the world.
“You’d rather run away and wallow in angst than ask for help or anything else horrible like that.”
I wasn’t sure where the plot of this second book was going to go at first but I can tell you I loved it. Our main characters are working to graduation and that is hard work. It was really cool to read more about graduation and what the previous students had to go through. I was very anxious reading those last couple of chapters and couldn’t put the book down. And maybe I should’ve expected it after A Deadly Education but damn that last line…. I wanted to scream at my book and at Naomi haha. The synopsis for book 3 gives me a little bit of hope and need it as soon as possible. I plan on reading it as soon as I get my hands on it haha!
My thoughts on The Last Graduate! I would highly recommend this series if you haven’t yet read the first book. If you have, what are you waiting for, pick up The Last Graduate! Now I just have to count down the days until I can read The Golden Enclaves.
