SO I read this first book and loved it, and was absolutely ecstatic when I received this arc!

The book did not disappoint and lived up to my harry-potter-esque fantasy boarding school dreams.

Loved it!

4.5/5 stars

Thank you Netgalley for the arc

Was not able to read the entirety of the book and cannot give an accurate or overall rating/review . As a librarian for a big library system, we most likely have a copy of this item. I will look forward to reading it in future since I am sure I will. We have gotten positive feedback for this title thus far and I am excited to read it when possible.

I absolutely adore El's sarcastic witty personality. I will say however that this author is starting to kill me slowly with the endings of her books. Its like no worries just leave me hanging here off a cliff. But on a serious note there is something about the way that these books are written that transport me back to being a childhood and reading something like Harry Potter for the first time.. just pure magic. I am very impatiently waiting now to hopefully be pulled up from this cliffs edge to see how the story further develops.

Once again I'm impressed by Novik's writing and characters. The main character is as interesting and charming, in a strange way, as ever before. Although some of the enchantment of the characters and Scholomance itself is lost from the first book just because of how good the first one is, this is a very good sequel. It does end with a cliffhanger, fair warning. I look forward to the next book whenever it comes out, I will be more than happy to reread the two previous books once again beforehand. If you are a dark academia fan, then this will be right down your alley.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

5 Stars - Brilliant second part of the trilogy, brimming with great ideas

I was lucky to receive an ARC of this book via NetGalley as I had hoped to check out the Scholomance trilogy anyway. The first part set up the rather unusual magical school scenario and was fun but also really heavy on the exposition and info-dumps.

This really paid off now in the second part. The world is mostly established and we can fully focus on El and her last year in the Scholomance. We pick up right after we left and and since I don't want to spoil anything I'll just say that the way the plot progresses over the course of the school-year was in many regards unexpected, full of new developments and still making perfect sense in the end.

What did come expected was El finally finding, or rather making, friends and finding a place among her fellow students. This made for some very satisfying character development and really made me enjoy her voice even more. She stayed a snark-monster, but at the same time became so much more grounded in herself, accepting who she is and growing into the person she will become.

The other, secret, protagonist was the Scholomance itself and the ways it communicated with El by shaping the world around her - this was brilliantly done and we also finally learned more about how this school came to be the dangerous place it ended up being in spite of its founders having something very different in mind.

The conclusion to the plot was an absolute fireworks of ideas and while there is generally a conclusion, there is also a really good cliffhanger.

So, I guess that means I'm going to read the last part as well?

I have received an advance review copy via NetGalley from the publisher and voluntarily provide my honest opinion. Thank you very much!

While not quite as good as the first “The Last Graduate” is still the perfect wizard school book for those of us who loved Harry Potter in our younger years. El is such a wonderful character. She is Funny, relatable, frustrating, and just a joy to go on this journey with. Her relationship with Orion is well done and so believable and beautiful. I loved the expansion of the world and the myth building in this one even though at times it dragged the story a little. Sometimes it felt like the story stopped for a huge information dump and it made me put it down a few times. Still, Novik is one of the best fantasy authors working today and she works her magic on this incredible inventive, compelling and thrilling tale. Love a cliffhanger ending and can’t wait to read the next one!

The Last Graduate was an interesting read. I enjoyed the story, but it felt like it was rushed and all over the place (unlike A Deadly Education). I felt like the characters weren't as close, but the story was enchanting and fun to read. It definitely was a bit of a letdown after the amazing relationships, story, and ending of A Deadly Education.

I didn't like how the relationship with El and Orion progressed, but the ending of this story made up for their relationship. I'm reading this story from the perspective of a 36 year old married woman, so that may have something to do with how they speak and act with one another.

The ending left everyone hanging which was the intention, so I will be reading the third and final book in the trilogy, but not sure that I will enjoy it as much as the first.

A Deadly Education was such a thrilling ride, I was eager to continue this series. I appreciate the world Novik has crafted, where magic truly comes at a cost: the children. Also those craving magical school series will delight in the first story.

Unfortunately this one fell apart for me early on. Over half the book is main character inner angst. The slow pace and lack of plot made this feel more like filled than second in a series. I'm not sure I'll continue this series, but will read more of Novik's work geared towards adults.

I so wanted to like this book. I love the whole magic school concept. I Just found the world very confusing. The prose is very wordy and I felt like not much was happening. The best part was the last paragraph. I am going to have to force myself to read the next book to find out how it ends.

I initially gave this four stars, and I have no idea why. I've read it twice now and thought it was fantastic. It's joyful, surprisingly, given the content.

This story picks up exactly where the last installment left off, and I liked that it jumped right in rather than needing to recap what’s happened since we last saw these characters. El has just come back from successfully helping the seniors graduate, and she has one more year at Scholomance to go. But now that she’s let people in, she has to consider what her responsibility is to protect those she cares about.

I love stories with found families sticking it out against all odds, and i love a grouchy protagonist with a heart of gold.

I also thought Novik didn’t make the same missteps she did with the first book in this series regarding her non-white characters.

I’m eagerly anticipating the last book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine!

This knock-out second installment in The Scholomance Series follows El, Orion, and their group of friends as they enter their senior year. However, with the increasing mal attacks on El, will she make it to graduation? Or will the school find a way to kill her beforehand? This second book started a little slow, but man did it pick up the pace towards the end. Readers will enjoy meeting the entire senior class and learn a bit more about the enclaves that rule the outside world. But with a threat looming outside, destroying entire enclaves, is it safer in the school?

This was great! I must say that I liked this book even more than I liked the first book in the series. El is no longer a loner and has a group of friends that she seems to work well with. I really enjoyed seeing El and the rest of the students work together to solve a major problem, which just happens to how to survive graduation. I love the way that El has become a leader in the school and the way that everyone seems to look to her for answers.

I was thrilled to see the progress in the relationship between El and Orion. I think that these two are really good together and I love the connection that they share. They are both very good at magic and have taken on a lot of the responsibility for getting everyone out safely. Anisha Dadia continues to do an excellent job with the narration of this series. I thought that she added a lot of action and excitement to her reading. This book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger which left me eager to jump into the next book in the series.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

GOD this book was everything.
The mere fact that this simply EXISTS in our world is getting me thrilled <3
It's darker than the first book. It's even more fun.
EXCEPT, that ending.
what was that?
I need the 3rd book immediately.

Thoroughly enjoyed this second installment and eagerly await the third book in the series! This kept me reading late into the night; I finished the book in one sitting.

This was such a fun book. I love the misanthropy of the main character. The world building is excellent. All around great book that's honestly such a better twist on magic schools than HP. It's so much more dangerous, with real stakes and consequences for the characters. This is the second in the trilogy, and it does a lot of building on the previous book without retconning anything.

Really enjoyed this.

*Chefs Kiss* I absolutely fell in love with Naomi Novik with her Deadly Education and was ecstatic to receive The Last Graduate! I LOVE Dark Academia, ugh this was the perfect sequel book!!!!!!! I am lost for words ugh, I honestly cannot get over how fabulous this read was. More to come on my IG and TT!

This was a great follow up to A Deadly Education and I'm very much looking forward to The Golden Enclaves. This does end with a bit of a cliffhanger, but the 3rd book just came out so I'm not too mad about it. This does not work well as a standalone, you need to read the first book to understand what the heck is going on. It is dark academia, so you can expect some darker moments.

This book is told in a bit of a stream of consciousness style which takes a bit of getting used to especially if you are listening to the audiobook. I'm not normally a fan of that type of writing, but Novik does a great job sucking you in with her worldbuilding and characters. The magic system is kind of complex with each of the kids having their own affinities and the various creatures being unique. Normally I want to know details about the magic system, but I feel like the author did a good job explaining it in enough detail that you kind of understand it, and what you don't understand you just accept.

This follows El, Orion and the rest of their friends as their graduation approaches. El has received a cryptic note from her mother warning her to stay away from Orion, but El has only just started to tolerate him. She has also started to make friends, and she realizes that she likes having people around. As she and the other seniors work to finish up their classes and prepare for the fight of their lives to exit the Scholomance, El figures out that the school is trying tell her something with all of the weird things that have been happening to her. Weird is normal at school, but extra strange things have been happening to El all year and she can't figure out why. As she and her friends begin their graduation practice, she realizes that the school has been preparing her for something big. Writing up a review for this is tough because I don't want to give spoilers.

This was action packed, had lots of humorous moments and characters you love! I really enjoyed the series to date and can't wait to get my hands on the next book. I have to know what happens next.

Phew🥲 that was a wild ride.
I really enjoyed book 1 in this series and the voice in this is the same, really distinctive and different from Noviks’s other books. Huge long sentences without taking a breath and lots of diversions mid-point. It takes a bit to get used to, but if you’ve read book 1 (and you do need to start from the beginning with this series) then you get it.
Plot wise I was sort of unsure what was going on till about 60% and then I really got hooked. I can’t give a spoiler free version of why I’m happy but needless to say I love the direction this book took. And I’m equally thrilled to not have to wait for book 3! This took me a long time to get to but my timing is pretty lucky.
Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC 😍
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The school of magic is back, picking up right off from a major cliffhanger. It's not just another YA book about teens in a magic school.

I really enjoyed this book. I hope the author continues to write more books in the future. I can't wait to see what the author releases in the future.