Holy Cliffhanger, readers! Naomi Novik is, once again, the queen of world building. Novik could publish her grocery list and I would pay money to read it. The Last Graduate picks up where we left off in A Deadly Education. We follow El on her journey to graduation and her relationship with The Orion Lake. El is, once again, fantastic and badass and and a natural born grump but she's sincere. Novik knows how to create characters who are compelling, even if they are not "likable" and the world she has created is unbelievable. She makes you believe that maybe this place does, in fact, exist and that we are all missing out on the magic... and danger, around us.

I really cannot get on with NN’s writing style. It takes the fun out of the fantasy world and just makes it work to get through. I think the story is great and I loved the cliffhanger, but there are way more exciting ways to write this story

A suitable follow up to the first Scholarmance novel. The narrator continues to grow and develop as she figures out how to have friends and a life beyond her efforts to not become evil. Novik's use of a rambling internal monologue feels very authentic to El as a character. This book won't be for everyone, but anyone looking for a fully developed world that they can sink in should be given this book.

Thank you Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The living school seems to be out to get El. She is put in a class with new students on a floor far from the rest of the senior classes, and what creatures are left after having fixed the school's machinery seem to be targeting the students she studies with and no one else. Orion is ticked that he doesn't get to fight the demons. The school year is off to a very unusual start, but then El and her the rest of the seniors have to start practicing for their final exam: the obstacle course. The school appears to be giving El a message, but it takes a while for her to figure it out. This sequel has less class time and more spellcasting, some of which seemed to go on and on. However, the story picked up after El makes the decision to undermine the school. And, oh, the cliffhanger...

This book was such a ride. It picks up directly where A Deadly Education ends. El is now a senior and it seems like everything is out to get her. But what is actually going on in not what El expected, at all.

I was a little disappointed in the beginning because there wasn't much El and Orion interaction, which I really enjoyed in the first book. But Orion came back. I really enjoyed the friendships that El is developing and trying so hard not to care about, especially Chloe.

Awesome book! Also I cannot wait for the next book because holy cliff hanger!!

I love Naomi Novik’s work, and this book was no exception. She does an amazing job with building magical worlds. The Last Graduate is the second in the Scholomance series and picks up right where the first left off. El and her friends are now trying to figure out how to survive senior year and make it through graduation, but the school has other plans. To share more than that would potentially ruin the ride and also make no sense for someone who hasn’t read it because of all the unexpected twists. I enjoyed it a lot, though it felt a little long-winded at times with the exposition. I’m curious to see how the series will end, especially with the cliffhanger at the end!

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Last Graduate in exchange for an honest review!

Naomi Novik's second book in the Scholomance series does not disapoint.
The Last Graduate follows El as she deals with the fallout from the graduation ceremony her previous year. El is forced to make new alliances and break all of the rules she set for herself to insure that she and her friends survive the year.
I loved this book just like the first one and can't wait for the next one.

This is a hard story to review. I adore the characters and the world, and Novik is one of my favorite novelists. But, THE LAST GRADUATE is not as present and vivid as her other books. Most of the time our main character is telling about their world or telling something that happened. There is a lot of summary and talking ABOUT the world.

The characters are complex; the main character has a strong, spunky voice. I enjoyed this book and recommend this book if you are a Novik fan. I highly recommend UPROOTED or SPINNING SILVER over this novel, though.

If you read another BIG series about a group of young witches and wizards at a magical school and thought to yourself "You know what would make this book series better? If the school was actively TRYING to kill all of the students inside." Then Novik's series is probably a great fit for you.

After El, Orion, and company repair the cleansing machines in the Graduation Hall they immediately have to begin preparing for their own upcoming graduation. As the year progresses and students begin to form graduation alliances, El is busy trying to figure out a way to keep her growing circle alive.

As the school's dangers begin to ramp up as the day approaches, El begins to realize that maybe everything she thought she knew about the Scholomance works might not be what it appears.

I enjoyed Novik's return to the Scholomance universe and am looking forward to the next book in the series because I need to know what happens to El, Orion, and the rest of their friends as they graduate. Novik is really great at the cliffhanger ending, and this book leaves you with a pretty good sized one at the end.

This is a great middle series book. I find this magical world perplexing and dynamic, and two books in, I'm very attached to the characters. The ending was unexpected, so I await eagerly for the next book. EEEEEK!

This is the second in series by Novik, and it really lives up to the premise set by the first book. The teenage characters are continuing to change and learn more about how their world works - as real teens do. At this point in the story, I think most readers will have realized how unreliable the narrator is - this was used to great effect in the first installment in the series. In The Last Graduate, we have learned to listen more closely to the other characters and really try to perceive the events at the school from multiple perspectives, so the main character's blind spots become opportunities for humor and insight more so than in the first book. I get the sense that the author really trusts her readers. The ending is a massive cliffhanger, and effectively raised my heart rate. But, I am looking forward to the next book in the series with relish. Entertaining and read quickly for me because I could not put it down.

Real Rating: 2.75/5

The second book in a series can either be the best one yet or something that is rushed and lacks the depth the first one had. I decided to give this sequel a chance, not particularly because I liked A Deadly Education, but because I was hoping this was one of the cases where the second book was better. But in all honesty, it was a letdown. One of my main issues in both books is El’s notorious ramblings about nothing and everything all at once. In the first book it was understandable because of the need for world-building and explaining the magical system, but that spilled over into The Last Graduate, which made the book about ten times longer than it needed to be. Even the simplest things elicited info dumps and info that added little to the plot, leading me to skim some scenes as the last resort. Even the chapters were unnecessarily long, and paragraphs seemed to go on forever, further contributing to the rambling nature. I was expecting more from this sequel, but the repetitive nature in The Last Graduate took away from all the charm the Scholomance had to offer. El felt very different from the first book as well, and the new relationships she formed in this one felt very underdeveloped. That being said, I continued to love Orion Lake. He’s an extremely refreshing character, and at times I wished we were reading from his POV and not El’s. The last 10% of the book was entertaining, and the action picked up, whereas the rest of the book left more to be desired. Overall, this sequel to A Deadly Education lacked substance, but the cliffhanger may intrigue me enough to continue the series.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for a copy of The Last Graduate in exchange for an honest review!

A Deadly Education, first in the Scholarmance series, was one of my top books for 2020 and so I had high expectations for my most anticipated read of 2021, The Last Graduate. After being left with quite the cliff-hanger in the first novel, I was extremely happy to get my hands on this novel and dig right back into the dark academia and suspense that left me wondering what would be happening between my favorite couple foil, the dark and mysterious, El, and the oblivious and heroic, Orion.

To start with what I enjoyed, this book seamlessly brought me right back into the setting and storyline with the dark atmosphere I love, characters I was familiar with, and curiosity of what would happen next in the novel. It was great to see El grow out of her shell even further in this novel and find trusting relationships, overcome negative friendships, and become a mentor of younger students. I was happily surprised to find that many more characters came into focus in this sequel and the depth of their characterization really drew me in to them as more than just side characters, but other students to root for and follow on their journey. Once again, this plot had action, action, and action that kept me rooted to the story. Whether it was monsters, the school, or evil students, so much was constantly happening in the story and it was impossible to not get sucked into the drama and conflicts.

Now, there were a few issues I had. One being, the ending. Yet another cliffhanger and even more abrupt than last time. Also, the relationship between El and Orion seemed to fizzle for me. Orion in general seemed to disappear for long periods of time and his character just didn’t connect as it had previously. Lastly, I did feel that there were some descriptions in the novel that had me skimming due to secondary stories and details that were drawn out a bit more than I cared for.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first, but it was still thrilling and captivating to the point where I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. I loved the atmosphere and setting and I am already anxiously, impatiently waiting for the third book!

If you loved really A Deadly Education you’ll love this sequel that continues to follow El’s time at Solomance. During the first book I often found El to not be a likeable character but in this book she definitely grew on me. Her and her friends fight the monsters of the school and the book does a good job of highlighting how social status can have a huge effect. I loved the friendships and the character development as well as the shocking ending.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of ‘The Last Graduate’ by Naomi Novik. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I totally wasn’t expecting to be approved for this one so yay! After the ending of the first book I was eager to dive into the second. The world in this story is so interesting and vivid. And at the beginning I thought we were going to get a fast-paced action-filled book similar to the first one. But the pacing was much different and I think the book suffered a bit for that. The school isn’t attacking this time so that sense of danger is lost. There are long stretches of the characters planning and sitting around and even they seemed bored. While there were some interesting new elements like the gym training ground setting and learning more about El’s magic, this book just didn’t grip me as much as the first one did.

However the cliffhanger got me though and I will be picking up the next book. I also think I preferred the audiobook of the first one and I would have liked to have read this one as an audiobook too. Maybe I’ll try and pick up the third as an audiobook.

3/5 stars

Coming off of the cliffhanger of the last book I went into this with hopeful wonder about what it all meant. While that was kind of put on the backburner a bit in this installment it still had its enjoyable elements. El and Orion's relationship kind of fizzles until the end of the book. However, I really liked the coming together of the characters as they worked out a way to all survive graduation. This is going to be a polarizing book in terms of enjoyment. Readers will either love it or hate it. This one is just as wordy and info dumpy as the 1st book. It also ends on another cliffhanger because apparently that is how you keep people wanting to come back.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book.

Let me start by saying I do love this series and I’m anxiously awaiting the third installment.

That being said I think this one suffered from Second Book Syndrome a bit. There was a lot of explaining, a lot of telling, and a lot less showing. Character interactions didn’t really pick up until the last quarter of the book and I felt like it was an awful lot of exposition and politicking. Then finally in the last quarter it moved like lightening and everything happened in an instant.

Don’t get me wrong: the background info was unique and interesting. But after how A Deadly Education exploded in my mind, this felt a bit more like a sparkler after the grand finale. Still fun and enjoyable but not nearly as mine blowing.

However this one does leave you with a gut wrenching cliff hanger and I’m dying to see what happens.

Love this book. It's such a great follow up to the first one, I love the dark academia vibes so much. I'm left with so many questions in the best possible way. I hope there is more of this universe from Naomi Novik.

Naomi Novik envisions a complex fantasy world in which wizards go to The Scholomance for training and education; graduation can be fatal. It follows A Deadly Education as the second lesson Scholomance. El hopes to join one of the wizardly enclaves like New York. She plots with her friend Orion to get all the students graduated and into the outside alive. Great plot.

The sequel in Novik's Scholomance series was just as satisfying as I'd hope—deepening the world-building, elevating the stakes, and giving us more time with these characters I've grown to love. For such a long book, I flew through it in no time—so readable and vividly realized!