I don’t like to come into a series anywhere other than with Book #1. However, since my goal was to read all the books nominated for the Hugo Awards, I read The Last Graduate without having read A Deadly Education, the first book in the Scholomance series, first.

Probably the best recommendation that I could provide for The Last Graduate is that I want to go back and read A Deadly Education, and I intend to find out what happens after the events of this novel. This series is a good example of the burgeoning genre known as “Harry Potter”replacement, although direct comparisons to that series would be unfair. For one, the Scholomance series is much more adult in tone and peril than the HP series. For another, the school narrative predates HP by, oh, a century or so—which is to say that The Last Graduate participates in a much older literary tradition.

The system of magic and the norms of the school narrative are both solidly applied without overburdening the narrative. Readers who likes these kinds of novels don’t need heavy exposition, which Novik knows. What is interesting that Novik gives the reader is a perspective on how what goes on in the school could affect life outside of the school, which is an effective way of building suspense. I also particularly appreciated the sense that Novik gives the reader of “life isn’t fair.”

The Last Graduate feels like a book that isn’t going to take it easy on its reader, and I think that is something that readers will genuinely appreciate.

One of the most popular fantasy subgenres in recent years has been Magic Schools. Whether it is a middle grade book, like the early “Harry Potter” books or one intended for teens or adults, the trend is extremely popular. Within that category there are a lot of Dark Academia series. Although These books can be realistic or Fantasy, they are always a school setting with a deadly twist. The Scholamance trilogy is one of the best of these series in recent years. I have enjoyed many of author Naomi Novik’s works and she doesn’t disappoint here. In the first book, “A Deadly Education”, Novik created a magic school for wizards that was quite different from the ones we all know and love. In the world that she has created there are entities that sense emerging magic and feed upon adolescent wizards. The scholamance is built in a crack in reality, a respite for all young wizards lucky enough to attend. There is still immense danger, but survival rates at school are much greater than out in the world without the support of several wizards. The main character, Galadriel Higgins, or El, starts off a lonely outcast who eventually makes friends and creates a found family. The world building and the large variety of main characters in that first book are excellent. In this second book, “

The Last Graduate” Novik continues El’s story as she spends her senior year preparing for the deadly graduation ceremony. The setting remains the same, so there the work of world building is already done, but the characters continue to grow and evolve. This is not a standalone book, but the middle of a much larger story. Be aware that this book ends with a shocking cliffhanger. Readers who enjoyed this book when it was first published waited on tender hooks for about a year to read the end of the story. Fortunately for today’s reader, you can grab all three books at the same time. This will definitely be one of your favorite binge reads.

This story does address, danger, death and grief, but there is no foul language or sex scenes. Although this is a young adult series with teenage protagonists, the books can be enjoyed by middle-grade through adult. If you enjoy magic schools and/ or dark academia, you will love this series. I rated each of these books five stars the first time I read them. I received a review copy from Random House Publishing Group through NetGalley and I enjoyed his book just as much the second time.

A fantastic second book in this series as we return to the Scholomance to be introduced to the next wave of incoming students and learn more about the wizarding world and how people view their magical offspring.

Be warned that last page is emotionally destroying and you'll want to have book 3 ready to roll before starting this book.

🗺️ The world building is easy to follow - we're still based in the world of the Scholomance.

🌶️ The spice level is 0. Remember this is highschool aged characters here.

📚 This book is for you if you loved the young adult fantasty with a dark twist.

✈️ An easy read that's perfect for travel. Just don't forget to grab book 3 before you leave home!

What a wild ride, and what a cliffhanger! Purchased all editions for my library and extra copies to make it a book club book. Warning: cliffhanger!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ if you love Harry Potter and are an adult read this. Loved. Thank you NetGalley! Highly recommend

There is nowhere I can begin but with the ending, and to that I can only say that I am so glad that I did not read this when it first came out having to wait another year until the next book was published. That was no mere cliff-hanger, it is like being led to the top of Mount Everest and then getting shoved off the edge with only a fishing line to hold you in suspension. But really it was brilliant, and for anyone who has waited to read this book or has only heard about it, you are in luck since the last book of the series is already available and will reel you back to the top of the cliff's edge as soon as you get there.
And, before the ending, this book provided everything that I had enjoyed from A Deadly Education but tuned up, bolder, more intense. The solid first-person narrative seeing the world thru El's eyes, the friends' group which grows larger and about whom we learn more, the relationship with Orion deepens, dangers escalate and the adventure of The Last Graduate really provides a read as exciting as climbing a steep mountain slope.
I've rarely seen someone pick up a sequel who did not enjoy the first book in the series, so I will say that if you liked A Deadly Education, you should read The Last Graduate. Fair warning though, if you fling your e-reader out of your hands at the ending, it makes it that much harder to read the next book.
I received advanced digital access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

What an incredible sophomore book in The Scholomance trilogy!

The writing was so good, and I love how in book one we're seeing a lonely El who starts to make real friends and then book two has those relationships blossoming even more. I love the politics inside the Scholomance. The way all these teens have to navigate all of these interpersonal relationships is so fun and interesting to read.

I'm so glad this book is just as good as the first book. Like the first book, it has a lot of moments of levity but also some really sad, heartbreaking moments. Also? That cliffhanger that I did NOT see coming. Such a rare and surprising thing, but I love when it happens.

This series makes me want to read every single sentence that Naomi Novik has ever written.

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey for this ARC!!! I hope we have something special coming about The Scholomance trilogy and that's why these are back on Netgalley!!! 👀

CLIFFHANGER WHY?!

I love the way everything that was started or alluded to in the first book was continued and expanded on in book two. The school itself was such a major player and I absolutely loved that.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.
What can I say? I absolutely love this series. But the cliffhanger of this book? I'm extremely hyped to see how the series concludes. I can't wait to read the last book.
In this book, El and her friends are preparing for graduation. So they do a lot of training and they also form alliances. And we also get more of El and Orion. But will they make it out alive? All of them?

The writing style has not improved. So it's was sooooooo massively boring and annoying to read.

Also to repetitive on al accounts and al the immense info dump and  helllloooooo have you heard of space in between the ramblings of words that just keep going and going and going....

As always you can read a chapter and hallway thrue you have no idé what you where reading cuz it's so much mindless repetitions and dravel.

And the only action you get is the last few chapters when it gets good. Just as the first book.

I am loving this series. This ended on such a cliffhanger. I need the next book right now. I just love El and all her grumpiness! She is one of my favorite characters. The story was so good. I was pulled in from the beginning and did not want to stop reading. I love the friendships that are being formed. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Naomi Novik continues to deliver a delicious dark academia picking up with El in her last year at the school and prepping for graduation. This book picks up where we left off with El being told to stay away from Orion, and it sucked me in even more than the first book since El is just objectively so much more likeable now that she kind of got over herself. Here, El seems to be the target of all of the school’s malice, but as a senior she has some perks to help her get by even if she does have to expend some of her precious mana to save freshmen every now and again. El comes up with a plan to make sure everyone graduates safely, maybe so that everyone in the future will also graduate safely. It all goes off without a hitch, until….. what the heck is that ending man.

I really want to come back to this at some point as I don't think I was in the right mindset for it. It's a bit more dense than I expected but I liked where the story was going.

I enjoyed it immensely. The world building, the heart bounding action, and that endinggg. I was hooked from start to finish! Ah Naomi's cliffhangers will be that death of me. I need the next book in the series ASAP.

It’s graduation year for the seniors of the Scholomance. El and her Allie’s have to figure out how to get out alive and figure out what their plans are after surviving graduation. However, El isn’t happy just getting her Allie’s out alive, she wants to save everyone.

I struggled to get into the book. There is so little dialogue that I felt like I was just being told what happened. I never felt like I was reading what was happening. I loved the first book but this one felt different. As the book moved along I enjoyed it more but I worry about the next book. Hopefully I can get an audiobook from the library to help me through.

"The Last Graduate " is a thrilling and captivating novel that takes readers on a dark and perilous journey within the walls of a school where survival is paramount. The author masterfully creates a unique and intricate magical world where wisdom is scarce, and danger lurks at every turn. The protagonist's determination to defy fate and protect her friends adds depth to the story, while the constant threat of maleficaria and the mysterious graduation hall create suspenseful moments throughout. With its engaging plot, well-developed characters, and the exploration of themes like destiny and sacrifice, The book keeps readers hooked until the very end. A must-read for fans of dark fantasy and intricate world-building.

An excellent sequel and expansion of the world. The cliff hanger was a bit expected and yet still emotional. Looking forward to reading the conclusion.

Free copy received in exchange for an honest review.

Still snarky, still fun.

The Last Graduate continues on the same dark humor note as A Deadly Education. And right from the beginning, we can see that El will have a lot to deal with this year. Luckily, she is not alone anymore.

If I said that in the first book, I had trouble seeing how many students are actually in school. This book definitely fixed that problem. As the graduation nears, the alliances are being finalized and El, the past loner, is forced to interact with more and more people. Some she likes, some she can barely stand, some can barely stand her.

With so many new characters, El's and Orion's interactions get pushed into the background. I wish we have gotten more of their relationship right from the beginning, but later we get enough to make up for it.

There is also more focus on learning about the school itself. There is a lot of new mystery and discoveries. Some of those are quite game-changing.

This book probably even more than the first one deals with morality. Should you be selfish or risk your life for others? Especially in this place where selfishness became the norm. And one thing is thinking about how someone will behave in a crisis, but how will they actually behave? And are certain actions good if they have worse consequences? For a YA, this book delves quite deep into that area.

Also, can I say how glad I am that I finished just a few days before the third book comes out? Because I have no clue how I would survive waiting one year after reading that ending.

The second book might not have been as great as the first but still a 5* material. It did have a bit slower start, in my opinion, but the end really made up for it.

I absolutely loved this book as much as the first one! Makes me even more excited to read the conclusion. I love Naomi Novak, she never disappoints.

I loved this series so freaking much! Unique plot and tbe characters were phenomenal! I need more from this author!