I was a bit disappointed, the plot seemed boring and uninteresting. For me, the characters seemed flat, I didn't like them at 100% and I found the main character annoying. While the atmosphere of the academy was great, it didn't meet my expectations, I may read the next book but it's not that I'm dying to read the sequel.

Naomi Novik has written a classic fantasy in A Deadly Education. The Scholomance is a survival school for magic students. Galadriel is a sorceress with an affinity for maleficent magic; she is in a difficult relationship with Orion who is super popular. The novel is told from her point of view; many students will perish in the school year and she wants to survive without using her mal talents. Dip in and enjoy this first chapter on Scholomance.

I have had Naomi Novik titles on my TBR for years and have never gotten around to reading them. When I saw this title come up to request, I thought I would give it a try! I really loved the idea of the story. This book follows El, a student at the Scholomance, a magical school hell bent on killing all the students. The likelihood of getting out alive is slim, especially if you are alone with no one to watch your back. That's where El is when the book starts out, but as the plot moves on it becomes apparent she will need some friends if she wants to have a fighting chance.

I did struggle with the pacing of the story, and the format I think. There was a lot of inner monologue, and I found myself going back and forth a lot because the sort of rambling inner thoughts had gotten away from the plot and by the time it came back to the present I had lost the thread of what was going on. I did enjoy the story, and I liked El, as well as a lot of the supporting characters. I think a map would have been helpful, although I know there was one on the endpapers of the physical book. Overall I enjoyed the story and I am excited to read the next one!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for gifting me this copy.

This has been one of my most anticipated books of the year so I was definitely excited to read it! If you think this is going to be like any other magic school think again.

The world of the Scholomance is similar to our world except for the existence of murderous monsters and unfortunately our lead Galadriel is a super magnet for them. Our story takes place entirely within the walls of the school where the students are locked in and constantly under attack. This brings in one of the main themes of the book of class and privilege as enclaves are formed for protection. Much of your time at school is either trying to get into or protect your enclave group. These are most often formed according to geography and of course who you know. I found this aspect fascinating and heartbreaking, much like the unfairness of real world systems that protect the powerful instead of the needy.

As for our characters our 1st person narrative of Galadriel (or El for short) is filled with observations she makes of her classmates and the unfairness of the system as she is a constant loner. She is smart and witty but also grouchy and angry with the world. As someone who loves these kinds of characters (like Nesta in ACOTAR) I quite liked her. She reminded me of Gideon in Gideon the Ninth. I found her arc in this book wonderful as she finally starts to open up and find people who will accept her.

I liked the side characters too and disagree with others who have said they have no substance. We meet a boy who shows us kindness and selflessness but also how that is tearing him apart. Other characters show how dark humanity can get when it comes to survival and how hard making true friends versus allies can be. I feel with this being the 1st book of a series their stories will be even further fleshed out as is the case with other series.

Overall I really enjoyed this story. I found it intriguing and unpredictable. The main negative for me was indeed the many info dumps which seem to take up much of the 1st half of the book. Once I got to the halfway mark the story started to flow better and have actual progress. I expect that to improve in the next book since this one was mainly the introduction. I will be eagerly awaiting it's release.

Finally addressing the controversy since it's release. If you read this book and were hurt by it those feelings are valid. My review is not trying to take that away. However I will argue that I found much of the complaints not as bad as I've seen portrayed. That being said we all rate books different based on our expectations and experiences, what I like might not be what you like. In this case what I find offensive might not be what you might. We all come into these books with things that will trigger us differently. I agree I did not like the locs passage as it felt unnecessary to single out them in that way. She made an apology for that and other complaints and has said she will try to do better. I accept that as it seemed to me she was truly trying to make this a diverse world. I won't fault her for trying and as this is a fantasy I don't expect her to explain real world conflicts or understand every single culture's nuances. I would rather her try than keep all the characters white and I don't think she shoved other cultures in for sales as I've seen people accuse her of. If you've ever seen her speak she always advocates for more diversity on page and in publishing. In my opinion people should make up their own minds when it comes to books and as a POC even we come into reading from different backgrounds so feel free to disagree with me.

I don't know how Novik does it. She is one of the best storytellers of this generation for sure. I wasn't sure if I wanted to read such a dark take on a. magic boarding school, but the humor and snark of El carried me through the scariest parts. This novel takes places in a high school for wizards, where the likelihood of living through breakfast is low. Having an alliance of friends or belonging to a powerful enclave increases your chances. But El is too cranky and snarky to make friends. She is also one of the most powerful wizards of all time. And her fellow students are going to have to put their trust in her if they want to survive. I'm so glad that this is a first in a series. This is a world that I never want to leave.

Harry Potter, but if Hogwarts was actively trying to kill off all of its students.

This is a fun and mostly unique take on the magical boarding school sub-genre. It lacks the cozy comfort and noble good vs evil battle of Harry Potter and can’t match the eeriness and world building of something like the Gemma Doyle trilogy, but A Deadly Education mostly makes up for that with its humor and outstanding magical system.

It’s a different kind of book than most in its sub-genre. The way the school is structured is almost dystopian in a kill-or-be-killed way, but it maintains a light touch that is sorely absent from most dystopia.

The plot is a little disappointing. It’s tough to give meaning in this sub-genre when the students don’t really have an enemy. Sure, the school is trying to kill them (which is entertaining) and the enclaves are elitist (which is not), but without a tangible enemy, the good vs evil battle that we need to really get invested in a story like this is absent. I wonder if something like this will manifest later in the series. I hope so.

That aside, the book is mostly a good read anyway. Novik is still far better at writing humor than she is at writing action (as was the case in the Temeraire series), but the clever, unique workings of the magical system keep you invested even when the action sequences drag.

Galadriel (“El”) proves to be an intriguing and worthy heroine. What the magical system means for her specifically and how she reckons with that is one of the most interesting parts of the book.

The childish and insipid “I like you so I’m going to kick you and pull your hair” bickering between she and Orion gets tiresome and obnoxious, but her relationships with her friends and the other students are well drawn, sweet, and a little heartbreaking.

This book was amazing, I love the magic and the mechanics of how it works. I loved the horror of the school. I loved El.
Naomi Novik knows how to write fantasy. I found nothing missing or sup par in the book, She really is a master of the craft.
I have made a mistake because I need to know what happens and now I have to wait until June of 2021.

Deadly Education was a quick and delightful read. From the start it's clear that the Scholomance (a school for magical kids) is nothing like the wizarding schools in the fiction I grew up on. Here characters face mortal peril at every turn, and taking a shower or eating lunch can be a dangerous feat. El, the protagonist, is an unlikey hero in this tale, having been an outsider haunted by a dark prophecy her whole life. She's unlikeable and cynical from the very beginning, but is unafraid of speaking her mind and questioning the practices that favor the elite few and damn the rest of them. I'm excited to see where El's journey leads in the future of this series.

Absolutely excellent; I will be recommending this to everyone! Hilarious, inventive, diverse, delightful!

I was really looking forward to this book, but I have decided to not finish reading this book after discovering racist language.

I think it's well-written, but I did not enjoy the characters or the setting. I never got particularly invested in the story. It just wasn't for me, but I know we have library patrons who will want it due to the author's popularity.

The writing is really not working for me, the world-building is very info dumpey, and it just does not make a lot of sense. The world and the magic lack grounding for me and I just kept waiting for something to pull me into the story but it did not happen.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey/PRH for the advanced copy of this book! I ended up buying a copy anyway because it was so gorgeous, but the advanced copy was a treat. (But seriously, the cover and art of this book is stunning. I highly encourage y’all to snag a copy of the physical book rather than the ebook, if at all possible.)

Naomi Novik is truly one of my favorite fantasy authors. Her works are startling and original, and her protagonists will stick with you long after you’ve finished the book. This new novel is no exception, though it’s remarkable different than Uprooted and Spinning Silver.

A Deadly Education follows El, a junior student at a deadly (duh), cutthroat school for magical children. The school is perilous, full of monsters that want nothing more than devour the magical children whole. El herself is just as dangerous—she has an affinity for destructive magic at apocalyptic levels. Although El tries to ignore her affinity, Scholomance is determined to give El as much deadly power as it can.

On the other side of this story is Orion Lake, the hero of the school, who has saved hundreds of lives from the monsters. After Orion saves El, the two form an uneasy alliance, though they’re as different as they can be. But Scholomance is growing deadlier by the second, and it’ll take a lot more than the two of them for their class to make it to graduation alive.

I think my mistake in this book was expecting it to be ANYTHING like Novik’s other works. I found myself waiting for El to be anything like Agnieszka from Uprooted, or for the plot to tend toward to fanciful and fairy tale-ish. She’s not, and it doesn’t. El as a protagonist is angry and rude and desperate to live. The environment of Scholomance is relentlessly creepy. The prose fluctuates between academic and casual and often runs through pages of angsty monologue without much dialogue or action. It is a GOOD book, but not at all what I was expecting. Still, despite my adjustment period, I found myself hooked and speeding through the last 100 pages to find out what happened.

I’m greatly looking forward to the next books in this series. I might reread this one again soon, bearing in mind what I know now. In a way, it’s really incredible that Naomi Novik can write such entirely different books, and be so damn good at it. 4/5 stars with a ton of excitement for book two!!

A Deadly Education had a very promising synopsis that had me excited to read about the full story. It was dark, full of witchcraft and had a feminist heroine.

Narrated in first person point of view, the story kicked off with Galadriel--a young sorceress in a school of magic, the Scholomance. It had creatures creeping at any time of the day, and students literally watch their backs. Even as they sleep, they need to stay protected from the lurking monsters to stay alive. The solution? Form allies with others to survive until Graduation. But El doesn't have a lot of friends because of a prophecy.

With the story revolving around being in a school of witchcraft and wizardry, it's hard not to slightly compare it to the Harry Potter books. Some even say that The Scholomance is a feminist spin-off of the infamous series. But I didn't see any resemblance at all. A Deadly Education is entirely different and has its own flare.

Reading another book by Naomi Novik means reading another great fantasy novel. However, my excitement faded as I rushed through chapters with annoyance. Instead of reading about great adventures and magic spells, I dealt with a whiny and immature protagonist. Going on and on about how she hates another student, Orion Lake, and then proceeds to having a childish "relationship" with him. Not only that, but most of the time she is rude to others. These types of protagonists are not very pleasant to read about. The book was a bit of a drag, especially the first few chapters.

The only sensible character in the book for me was Aadhya, the one who mostly tolerates Galadriel. Unlike El, she sees things in a better perspective and considers every aspect before acting upon situations.

A Deadly Education had a lot of potential just from reading the synopsis, although it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. It could've been more enjoyable with less whining of the immature characters and should've just focused on the story of survival. Although I had some adverse feelings about the first book in the sequel, I am still looking forward to reading the next one. The last two sentences in the book gave me hope, and wishing that time around, I won't be disappointed anymore.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
This is Harry Potter meets Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House. There's magic and good vs. evil and a wonderful protagonist who is snarky and fun. I flew through this book and cannot wait for more!

While I really loved it, let's get what I didn't love out the way.

The singling out of dreadlocks as a hairstyle that is dangerous and could be infested with monster, specifically a bug like thing that lays eggs, is racist. Yes, the school is trying to kill them, but it was the only hairstyle singled out and one predominately worn by Black people when the author is white is not a good look. There are probably several other microagressions that I'm just not aware of as a white person. So, just go in knowing there's probably going to be a couple of problematic things. Okay, moving onto what did work.

I read this in barely over twenty-fours hours, which is something I haven't done in a long time. The plot was well paced and fast, the characters were liekable, and I loved El's voice. Her voice and sarcasm were what drew me in and kept me reading. The cram with much world building into a little over 300 pages is an impressive feat. Bravo on that.

It was dark and deadly and gross and monstrous and also freaking hilarious. It made my black heart happy. The comparisons to Harry Potter of course are there and are earned. A deadlier and darker Hogwarts is a very apt description of this book, and though it is being marketed as an adult book, and the tone and voice are adult, it will have crossover appeal to older teens.

I am really upset that I now have to wait for book two, especially with that slight cliffhanger.

This was a surprisingly therapeutic 2020 book for me.  
I play D&D with friends, and in one campaign I play an assassin rogue (soon to be an assassin/barbarian).  Other characters in the group will solve puzzles, talk to people, look for clues.  My character is the one that is turned to when we reach the "eff it, kill everything" stage of things.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is this book.  
Our heroine, El, is a half-Indian Welsh high school junior trapped at a sentient boarding school. There are no teachers, so it's a "school" in a very monastic, independent study sort of way.  Except the school is also crawling with monsters that want to suck the mana/magical life force out of students.  And graduation means descending into the bowels of the school to make a mad dash past all the biggest, baddest monsters towards the exit.  
Early on in the book, we realize El has the capability and power to turn very evil very, very easily.  Her own family prophesied her as a great destroyer.  Under the influence of her lawful-good mother, she is trying very hard to avoid that.  
The first third of the book follows clique politics pretty closely, but, on the other hand, cliques are a survival strategy here.  After that, I tore through the book and wanted a sequel as soon as it was done.

I may have expected too much from this book. It was poorly executed with its weak writing and stodgy characters. Steadily, reading this became more of a chore than something enjoyable.

Everyone knows the story of Harry Potter and his time in Hogwarts. The friends he made, the home he created. Well this is not Hogwarts, this is Scholomance where every corner holds a deathly lesson. El has survived this long by keeping to herself and keeping a low profile. Until she becomes involved with the golden child Orion and all her plans are destroyed. A Deadly Education is a dark and magical adventure into one of the most dangerous schools you will encounter. Novik gives readers a mature and deadlier version of Harry Potter by taking the perspective of the supposed villain. El is struggling to make it through her education because of her past but refuses to fail. She is smart, witty and vulnerable. She is the outcast sorcerer we have been waiting for. The structure of the book is fluid and follows an unconventional educational outline. With all the freedom the students have, it seemed rather slow when it comes to action. Instead of structured classes and a dark lord, the students have to compete against themselves to succeed. With this premise, I would have expected a little more action and back stabbing to occur, it is "high school" after all.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for the gifted review copy!

This book was definitely not what I expected. The first few pages were okay but after a while I felt like I didn't really understand what was going on. There was a lot of info dumping and there was a lot that I'm still not really sure I understand. I switched to audiobook at some point in the beginning to help me get through the story.

I didn't really like any of the characters. Not the main one or any of the others really. I just never felt connected to them or really interested. I found the story to be really strange too. There were a lot of instances where I was kind of lost and was trying to piece certain things together. I was expecting something with a bit more magic I guess? I also didn't feel like there was much of a story to follow. I wasn't sure where the plot was going until the last 20% or so when things started to actually happen. There were also some comments that made me a bit uncomfortable. The last line in the book made me a tiny bit curious but this overall just wasn't my cup of tea.