Everyone raves about the Scholomance books. The first book in the sequence, A Deadly Education, gave us an entirely new concept – a magic school with no teachers (the school itself is magic) which is trying to kill its students. In order to graduate, a student has to make good alliances, be really lucky, or exceptionally talented. El (Galadriel) is supremely talented but with great potential for dark magic and death. In the first book she was an outsider with not much chance of graduating but she acquired friends, and even a love interest in Orion Lake, a young man with a hero complex, and a penchant for killing the monsters that are trying to kill the students. In this book, graduation is approaching and El has a plan to get all the graduating class through without casualties (which is unheard of). Pretty soon that stretches to encompass the whole school. There is a bit of a cliffhanger ending (which I’m not fond of).but the third book, The Golden Enclaves, is due in September 2022 and is already available to pre-order. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, but a fair amount of the second rehashed similar themes, at least for the first half. It started to get more interesting when El’s plan kicked in.

The first person narrative style didn't work for me - I need more structure and dialog than this book provided.

The characters were interesting, as was the world and context.

FUCK I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH AND THAT CLIFFHANGER WAS SO BRUTAL

I’m suffering y’all. I always forget how much I like El until I’m faced with her stream of consciousness type narration, and then I love her all over again. This book slaps and I absolutely cannot wait to read the last book in this trilogy, I cannot emphasize how much I love and enjoy it. I miss El so much!

Following El, right where we left in the previous book, A Deadly Education, in the magic shool. Her second and final year.

Naomi Novik, creates, yet again, a spectacular and rich atmosphere with her writing. Detailed and addictive.

El Is a very strong character and easy to love.

This book was a great book, after the fist one you didn't think it would get better, but belive me Novik didn't disappoint.

This book should be on your to-read list if you like Magical, YA Fantasy books.

Wow! Consider my jaw dropped. If you are looking at books in the fantasy genre then this is it for you. This is the second book in the trilogy and if you haven't started it yet, it is time to join this bandwagon already!

I loved Naomi Novik's style of writing. The characters and their storyline is amazing. It has good themes, friendships and romantic interests making it an engrossing read. And those cliffhangers! Definitely recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sharing the digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Preliminary 5-star review. Will post a full review and adjust the rating accordingly after I finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

This series was described to me by a coworker as a dark wild version of Hunger Games plus Harry Potter. i agree with this assessment.

This is a fantasy dystopia with lots of sci-fi elements. i say fantasy because of the magic and all the made up words and mythology one has to learn for the world they are in. Novik always makes it very easy to understand the world she has created. the context clues she gives are just part of the story. you do not even realize you are learning rules and terms for a whole new world. It is a seamless. I say sci-fi because they use a LOT of science and mechanical and technological things in order to make their magic work in this world. i say dystopia because it is set in our everyday modern world but with a twist - magic. Also dystopia because the world is kinda ending and a HUGE change (revolution!) is about to happen in the way the world is governed.

I loved this book. It was a sequel that thankfully was already out when i read the first one. this does need to be read after the first one. it is like one continuous story just broken up into volumes by the different novels. i thought i was requesting the 3rd book. i was very excited. i am sad. hopefully the third book will be available on netgalley soon!

Scholomance #1 ended with a hell of a plot twist as the VERY LAST SENTENCE, and Novik keeps up the streak in this second book. And now I'm glad I'm at the front of my library's hold list, because I HAVE to know how this ends. And I am VERY glad, on checking, that this is a trilogy, and there's been no announcement of that changing, because I can not HANDLE Novik doing this to me again.

This book is all about managing survivor's guilt. The whole plot is really about making the world a better place for those who come after us. And a lot more directly than a generational thing. El and her classmates must find a way to make the Scholomance safe PERMANENTLY, or else their lowerclassmen, their siblings, and eventually their children will also be die in the droves they themselves have.

Add on to this the standard YA romance. Oddly, this book manages to put the romance both on the backburner, but make it a pretty central issue. El has received a VERY VAGUE warning about her beau, Orion, and so she puts a lot of her mental energy into forming an alliance with two girl friends. And all three of them get along so well! Nothing toxic, no love triangles, just friends working together to save thousands of magic youngsters.

Special mention goes to El's new familiar, a mouse named Precious. Sassy little thing, unerring judgement. I hope she keeps showing in book 3!

Advanced review copy provided by the publisher.

"The Last Graduate" is the second book in the Scholomance series by Naomi Novik.
I must admit that I started this book with very low expectations, due to the fact I didn't particularly like the first book, "A deadly education", and rated it 1 and a half/2 stars.
But this book exceeded my expectations so I gave it 3 stars.
In this second novel, we follow Galadriel, aka El, in her last year in Scholomance and into the preparations for graduation, which will not be as easy as everyone has thought.
I liked the writing style that has changed from the previous book, making this second one much more interesting and fast-paced. However, I wouldn't say that it is exactly a page-turner, in fact, I read it in 17 days, which is a lot for my standards.
I found the main character but in general, the characters, much more relatable and less annoying, which helped me dive into the book a lot faster.
There were some plot twists, some predictable from the beginning but others that shocked me.
I think I'll definitely read the next book if there will be one.

What a delightful ride! Readers who fell in love with A Deadly Education won't be able to put The Last Graduate down. Just as engaging and fascinating as the first in the series; Novik's world building and character development suck you in. She, of course, leaves us with another cliffhanger as we eagerly await the next in The Scholomance series

Alright, so I received a copy of The Last Graduate from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

And thank you.

But if you’re thinking “this book has been out for over a year, how and why did you get an arc book”. How? Because they still had it on netgalley. Why? Because I have constant 24 hours a day headaches and I thought this was the third book, the Golden Enclaves, and I wanted to read it as soon as possible.

So, that gives my thoughts away rather quickly, but let’s get into a little more detail about why I absolutely love these books and give this one 5 stars. El has to be one of my favorite angry characters. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good angry character who just burns the world to the ground, but I love how much El feels empathy with everyone around her. While people all around her instinctively fear her because of her ability to do great evil, and her anger and personality will turn them even more away, her actual personality is one that ultimately leads them all to look for what’s best for everyone instead of everyone looking out for themselves, and then their fellow enclave mates.

And while I wish she wasn’t tied to Orien; I understand why their love interests. Not only are their powers opposed to each other, but it’s also slowly revealed that their personalities are, well, as close as they can be without Orien being a malificier at least.

The school itself also gets more personality, which I love because it already had so much, to begin with, which… well, saying anything more would be a spoiler.

Which speaking of spoilers. That cliffhanger reminded me why I need the third book now!!!!

Thankfully it is coming out soonish.

But really, I’m finding myself becoming truly involved not just in magical systems and worlds when reading, but in characters, and the characters here on point. I loved not just El, but how every character played off of her, and how you could understand why they were acting the way they were.

This was a wonderful book, and I can’t gush about it enough. It’s one of those books in a trilogy that takes an already great premise and makes it even better. I truly am looking forward to the third book!

So I got the first on of these books in a book sub and loved it as El was so out spoken that I loved her. This books has middle book issues but still good as it was building up to the last book.

The ending of this book killed me and I did scream at it as I was fuming

The Last Graduate takes you back to the Scholomance and keeps you on the edge of your seat for another action packed novel. Just when El thought school couldn't get any more deadly, she enters her final year. El, Orion, and their friends must work harder than they ever have in order to escape during graduation - a ritual that leaves more dead than graduated. Things seem to be going worse than expected and it is left to El and her friends to fix things in a way that saves not only their own lives but the lives of the entire school.

I could not put this book down. I wish I could reread it again for the first time. The characters are witty, hilarious, and honest. Their final year is full of sweet moments and moments so gruesome, I'll be thinking of them for a long time. A perfect read for fantasy fans, leigh bardugo fans, and harry potter fans alike.

3.5/3.75 Stars

I was not aware this would be a trilogy and that ending left me reeling! Scholomance has excellent world-building and very well-thought-out lore. There were moments when it was overwhelming especially when we're already 75% into the story and we're still going a boat-load of info dump but it did make sense with the story and the world. El isn't your typical fan favorite YA heroine and for that, I appreciated her. I loved the twists and turns and relational developments El has made not just with Orion. I am torn about Orion and El's relationship. On the one hand, I am glad it didn't take center stage in her story, but I wish we could have seen more of its development happen on the page. I also wish there was more research done on the different cultures included in the story. I can see why readers might have issues with it. I thoroughly enjoyed the last quarter of the book. It was way more action-packed than the beginning of the story but it made up for it. And I am so invested in this story and where it is going. I can't wait for the last book and see how it all ends.

In this second book we follow El, Orion and their friends where we left off in the first book, that El gets a warning from her mom about Orion.
Everybody getting ready for Graduation, building mana, fighting monsters. In this second book we get to know a little bit more about the story and the characters, there was more drama between them that I did not care about to be honest. But also secrets were revealed about the school that changed everything about their world and their graduation, so there was some tension that made the story more interesting.

The first half of the book was a bit “meh”, some parts were pretty boring, there was just too much inner monologue, and felt like it was a lot of “telling and not showing”. Then the last 30% kicked off and became more exciting, so I enjoyed that part better.
I realized I do not really like the main character, El, she is a bit annoying, and I wasn’t a big fan of the teenage drama either.

I just wish there could be more info about the monsters and their background, I still feel like we dont know much about this world, why this all happened. Also, this second book also ended on a cliffhanger and by the end of the book we dont learn anything about El’s mom’s warning about Orion either, I guess everything will be in the third book…Which I don't like, because I do not want to read 3 books to get to know the whole story and the world… I am not even sure we will learn much more in the final book, and I am still thinking about it if I want to read it.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sharing this digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you so much to Random House Ballantine/Del Ray and Netgalley for fulfilling my wish and letting me read an eARC of the Last Graduate! This book came out in September 2021, but my wish was fulfilled this summer, and I’m guessing that’s because book 3 comes out later this year. I enjoyed book 1 and so I was really excited about reading The Last Graduate, and I was not disappointed!
The Last Graduate 4/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads: 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 . . .
I loved reading El, Orion, and the rest of the gang’s foray into their final year at the Scholomance! So much happened and so many alliances were made and El and Orion made all the decisions- ones that impact more than just themselves- but it was so good. And I really liked how much El started to open herself up to others- I know growing up somewhere like the Scholomance, especially when you’re someone like El, would not be easy, but after making friends and finally finding a community of sorts in book 1, I loved how she was able to grow that and really become the glue that held her year together in book 2. Book 2 ends on a massive cliffhanger and now I’m eagerly awaiting book 3 (but I’m also glad I didn’t actually read this one until closer to when the last book comes out because OMG if I had had to wait a full year for answers rather than a couple of months, I would have been miserable!) If y’all haven’t picked up A Deadly Education or The Last Graduate yet, make sure y’all go out and grab them today!

Link to be added once my post goes live.

This was such an anticipated read for me. I loved every second and think Novik is such a masterful writer in how she tells her stories. Sucked in from the beginning!

I could not put this book down. This series has utterly enchanted me and I am desperate for more. Novik's writing is so rich and fluid I am fully immersed from the second I start reading. Can not recommend highly enough!

This is the perfect book to get lost in. It carries on right after the first book, A Deadly Education. The world building is divine. I can practically see and smell everything described in the book.

I love the characters. Throughout the book we're very much stuck in El's head. There is a lot of internal monologue and if you don't like her, you probably won't like the book. But I think she's so funny and witty. The friendship between El, Aadhya and Liu is so wholesome. I loved their scenes and conversations.

And Orion. I don't usually say stuff like this, but the romance between El and Orion was so nice! It's so different and refreshing and that ending made me want to scream.

I cannot wait for the last book! The cliffhanger will be the end of me.

In A Deadly Education, Naomi Novik really set herself up well for The Last Graduate. Though the plot may be slower, the stakes remain as high as ever. Novik's style in this series continues on its delightful, meandering way, playing upon both sarcasm and pity to create a dark, humorous, emotional novel. Throughout, the suspense is perfect - the plot may be somewhat slow, though the characters do develop terrifically - the stakes are quite high but it's not a thriller (thankfully not, in my opinion, too much suspense is hard to read). And the ending... a terrible bit of chicanery creates one of the best (worst?) cliffhangers I've ever read. Speaking of suspense!

Content warnings: the author continues to use bad language (continues on from the first, I mean) and there's SPOILER ALERT one sex scene - skip a bit when Orion + El get to the pavilion thing in the gym and read the ending of that chapter - lots of character development happens at the end of the scene SPOILER END.

Therefore I'd only recommend this to mature YA readers; mid-to-late teens and up.