I loved this sequel even more than the first book. It took all the great parts of A Deadly Education and expanded on them, creating a lush and captivating sequel. There was still a great plot, lots of action, great main and side characters. It was wonderful watching our main characters (especially El and Orion) grow and learn and make really important choices, while still being themselves. The ending is a HECK of a cliffhanger and I'm dying for the next book and seeing where Novik goes next.

I loved The Last Graduate. Naomi Novik does the "magical boarding school" trope in a way I've never seen it done before. This book picks up immediately where A Deadly Education leaves off, and Is just as good as the first book in the series. My only problem is, I got a review copy from NetGalley and the third book doesn't have a release date yet.

Friends in my bookclub highly recommend this series, so when I saw the second book for request on NetGalley, I quickly requested it. Then I had to hustle to read the first book (I listened to an audiobook) before diving in.

This school, The Scholomance, is a nonstop Hunger Games kind of place. Students’ lives are constantly threatened by hidden creatures, alliances are made and broken – and that’s just to get downstairs to the cafeteria where food often runs short. Graduations are traditionally a bloodbath, with students required to fight their way out a monster-filled pit. Even making it to senior year is nothing short of a miracle. Definitely a survival of the fittest scenario.

If you’re as big a fan of snark and sarcasm as I am, you’ll immediately fall for main character El. She doesn’t hold back her feelings – unless it comes to chosen one and her maybe boyfriend (she keeps denying it) Orion. The conversations and interactions between the two of them are sometimes awkward, occasionally combative, and always entertaining. Initially a loner, El now has friends and allies and is determined they all survive their final year. She and Orion may be the only people capable of ensuring that happens.

This story is told from El’s POV and while I love her voice, there’s very little dialogue throughout the novel. It’s a writing style I haven’t come across often, and I admit to veering off the path of the story while El’s thoughts ramble before making their way back to the original point. Pacing in the first half of the novel isn’t as brisk as I’d expected, but around the 75% mark, the action really takes off like a rocket. And that ending! For some reason I thought this was a duology, but clearly there will be a third book – there better be – but I’m almost scared to see the direction it takes.

If you’re looking for a darker magic academy type of story with incredibly dangerous and life-threatening stakes, this is a series I’d recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the second book of a planned trilogy and has the required cliff-hanger ending. Nevertheless it is a thoroughly enjoyable read. The character development begun in "A Deadly Education" continues as does Naomi Novik intelligent humor and well-drawn action scenes. Novak does an admirable job of describing each new horror as they attack and of building her magical world for us as the action and plot move forward. This reader anxiously awaits the last installment.

I had a rough time getting into book 1, Deadly Education, until it finally stopped the exaggerated amount of backstory it was displaying. Once we finally got into the characters and fleshed them out a little I was hooked. Book 2 is WAY better in terms of less worldbuilding and is so much more character driven . It definitely slows down from the explicit detailing of how magic or anything in the school works for that matter. As the story develops you realize it's for a specific reason. The Last Graduate says it all in the title, without giving too much away, El is in her senior year and this is finally her last year. She's almost made it! Which means even though she is the biggest grouch, she's going to be saying goodbye to the few friends she's finally made. All those side characters finally bloom across the pages, it's a little worrisome since this hunger games type school takes anyone out. Even the new freshman are blossoming, so I read these pages with dread and trepidation for the death and gore that was sure to come. This is the second in a trilogy so it's basically a bridge to what is to come AFTER this death school. Which means I ended it with many more questions than I started. The question that is weaved throughout both books is what makes you a good person, is it actions, is it thoughts, is it both? The story develops around that and El is the best example of it until someone comes up out of no where with crazier thoughts and actions than El. I cannot wait for the third book and I really hope it doesn't all end in death and despair because Lord Jesus, I cannot.

”Wizards like us do come along every so often: a single individual powerful enough to shift the balance of power…”

Several months ago, I discovered A Deadly Education, the first book in the Scholomance series, and was lured in by the stunning cover art and the promise of a slightly-villainous, super-sarcastic MC. I didn’t connect with the writing style, though, and gave up pretty quickly around the 20% mark when I realized it just wasn’t for me.

”I’d already done something horrible beyond imagining: I’d made the Scholomance worse. Top marks for inflicting mass trauma.”

I was willing to give the series another shot when I got the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of The Last Graduate because, again, the cover. I’m glad I did, because I definitely fared better this time - I’ve grown to appreciate some of the things that irritated me in the first book, and the story here (with its epic cliffhanger!) really pulled me in. But I think it’s pretty fair to say that this series has consistency working either for or against it: if you enjoyed the first book, you’ll probably fall head over heels for this one, and if A Deadly Education wasn’t for you, you might still feel that way about this book by the end.

”I’m not some sort of pallid romantic who insists on being loved for my shining inner being. My inner being is exceptionally cranky and I often don’t want her company myself.”

In book 2, El, the first-person narrator, is now a senior at the Scholomance, the magical school she attends where malevolent beings are intent on destroying the students. While she was previously something of an outcast, she’s now made a few friends and formed alliances, which will be helpful, as the stakes are higher and surviving inside the Scholomance has become even more difficult. And El intends for everyone to make it out alive…

”I had friends. Which felt even more unreal than surviving.”

I connected more with El this time around and was able to appreciate her snarky personality more than I did the first time—perhaps that’s because we see a different side of her, where she’s also learning to navigate and prioritize relationships with others, which I really enjoyed.

”Stop thinking how you can help the people nearest to you. Think about what help you can give best, and look for the nearest person who needs that help.”

In keeping with the previous book in the series, the info-dumps, long-winded internal monologues, and stream-of-consciousness narration (that gave me such a hard time with book 1) were very much still present in The Last Graduate, and unfortunately were still pretty distracting for me. But, the plot of this book picked up enough to keep me interested the whole way through, and it was definitely worth hanging on for a great cliffhanger of an ending!

”I didn’t know what I was going to do. I only knew what I wasn’t going to do. I wasn’t going through. I wasn’t going through until everyone was out.”

I’ll definitely read the next book in the series, in part because I need to know how that last-page situation gets resolved, and also because I’m super interested to see if/how El will fulfill the prophecy that surrounds her. A 4-star read for me, overall!

——

A huge thank you to Naomi Novik, Ballantine, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

thank you for the chance to return to Naomi Novik's wonderful world building with the Scholomance universe. I was a fan of A Deadly Education, a change of pace genre switch for me that was most welcome during the pandemic days. I love a strong, sarcastic, and flawed female protagonist, I love stories set in schools, and I love coming of age themes so this series hits a lot of marks for me, particularly as it is a series so I get to see characters change and grow, engage in adolescent identity exploration.

The Last Graduate is a strong second book in this series, a surprise as I often find second books to be weaker than the first book and often a bit of a let down but this is not the case. Here with get El preparing for senior year and the long awaited and dreaded graduation, a deadly event at this school. What really stood out to me was the focus on El in terms of giving her depth within her relationships, it is wonderful to see a writer understand that often adolescents at this point are seeking intimacy and emotional, even romantic and sexual, connection with others and to appreciate the value in this part of development. There is great value in seeing El focus on relationships and grow more into herself even as this potentially deadly event looms.

I am looking forward to talking about this book with friends who are fantasy lovers and having a few readers, who are like me and don't tend to read this genre but love a strong female protagonist and well developed plot. I appreciate the chance to be a part of supporting this series and the chance to read this arc. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for this book and the chance to review for you.

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of The Last Graduate in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: Fantasy
Pub Date: September 28, 2021
Star Rating: 4 Stars

I was so excited to read this book, and it did not disappoint! I loved A Deadly Education, and I loved The Last Graduate even more! The Scholomance came to play with this second installment in the series, and Naomi Novik has woven a tale of fantasy and lore that has me hooked.

This book has a lot of positives, but something I really enjoyed about it was the focus on El and her relationships. Her relationships with her peers, her friends, her love, and even the Scholomance itself are explored in this story and explored thoroughly. I really enjoyed that the story focused on more than just El and Orion and their budding love because it gave the story so much more depth.

El grows so much in this story, and I think there's something magical about her relationships with her two best friends. They are the first people, other than her mother, that she feels like are in her corner. She fights for them and they fight for her, and I think their relationships are super special. I also loved how they all trained their familiars together. I've always thought familiars are a cool part of fantasy books, and I've always wanted one!

I enjoyed learning more about Orion in this story, too, and more about what has shaped him into the "hero" he is. He hasn't enjoyed an easy upbringing at all, and El is really the first person who has liked him for him, not what he can do. She really likes him despite of what he can do, and their bond grows so organically throughout the story you really don't know it's so strong until it slaps you in the face.

I found this story magical and captivating, and I enjoyed it so much. My only complaint is the chapters are a bit long, and that caused me to want to skim over some details at points because I got impatient. I think from an editing perspective, the chapters could have been shortened and expanded to be more than 14, and that would have made the book easier to read. This is more of an editorial complaint, though, than a content complaint because I thought the content of the book top notch!

I really enjoyed A Deadly Education so I couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequel. This book is such a fun read with a delightfully sarcastic, yet very relatable, protagonist. So this story starts off senior year with El and her lovable band of misfits trying to navigate how they will make it through graduation without ending up dead. I won't spoil it for you, but they come up with a brilliant plan that includes a whole slew of new players and the entire school's participation.

I will admit to getting lost in some of the language/slang for what's in the school and who's who. Also, there wasn't nearly enough of the protagonist's love interest in the bulk of this book, but he is mentioned quite a bit and by the end he is there and things get complicated. I'll just leave it at that. I kept on reading through my confusion because I was pretty invested in how this all turns out, and by the last 25% things started to click into place.

For a second book in a trilogy, this book didn't seem to be suffering. It is very enjoyable and not just some filler while we wait for the climax. This story is the "real" story and not to be skipped. The first half is a really the set up and the last half is action packed. I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped open with I realized that ending was all we were getting until the next installment, I can't wait to see how this ends!

This sequel to A Deadly Education is just as good as the first book. Both books are set in the Scholomance, a high school for magical students, but a much darker one than Hogwarts, as most students do not live to graduate. In this fantasy world, monsters are attracted to a magical force which is especially present in young wizards - so they are locked into the school for four years as they try to survive attacks from the monsters already living in and/or breaking into the school. Our heroine, El, is very powerful but has always been a loner, and in this book is getting used to having actual friends and allies while trying to figure out a plan to get everyone safely through graduation.

Once again, a great story with great characters, great action, and an interesting and fully believable world. If it sounds interesting to you, definitely start with the first book - this is definitely not a standalone novel. My only issue - it barrels towards the ending only to end on an extreme cliffhanger - the kind that makes you wish you had waited til the whole series was published before starting! But who am I kidding - I have been a fan of Naomi Novik since her very first book in her very first series 15 years ago, and was so excited to read this one I couldn’t even wait til it was published (it comes out September 28th). 4.5 stars.

I think it speaks to the strength of the first book that I had no trouble picking up the plot and the characters of The Last Graduate despite the gap between publication dates, since my brain typically can't retain that kind of info for longer than like, a week.

I enjoyed this immensely and ended up reading it in like, my car, during lunch, and briefly attempted to read it in the shower before that proved to be a Bad Idea. Watching El grow and develop stronger connections to her peers (against her own will, funnily enough) was delightful, and the increased stakes actually made me physically tense up! There were some moments where the action seemed held up by El's explanations of the magical world, which felt like it occasionally stalled the plot, but overall I was fascinated and even the extensive worldbuilding explanations were interesting enough to maintain my attention. Also, I screamed at the ending.

This magic school bites! We are back with El and the other kids in the Scholomance, just in time for senior year and graduation. The Scholomance seems to have developed a grudge against El; not only did she end up with a grueling class schedule, but there are things trying to kill her every time she turns around (literally). Since the graduation hall has a well earned reputation as a slaughterhouse, El and her friends will need all their wits, cunning, and spell work to make it out alive.

I adore this world that Naomi Novik has built! The magic system is intricate, but easy to follow, and the school itself is a gothic nightmare rendered to perfection in these pages. The characters, of course, are the stars. Novik has created a cast that you can't help falling in love with. There are no absolutes, no good or bad with them. Chosen one? Ha! Just you wait. Each of the main characters have so much going on beneath the surface. They are multifaceted and complicated, and sometimes a little frustrating, too. But there is so much heart in each of them, and I love them all for different reasons. They are just great. Then, there's the absolutely wonderful snark and dry humor deployed throughout the book. It's the icing on the cake. This story is a little more fraught and tense than the first, what with graduation preparation and trying to avoid certain death and all. Just when you finally notice the pain in your palms from your fingernails digging in, you'll find yourself choking out a startled laugh from a well placed joke. You really can't ask for more. Well, except for when I read the end and had to throw my e-reader across the room because.... You can't do THAT and then leave us hanging until book 3!! I'm not a fan of cliffhangers in general, but this one was done with panache, so I can't even be a hater. I'll just commiserate with my friends until the 3rd comes out.

I would recommend this book (read book 1 first, though!) to everyone, but there are some mature themes to consider for readers younger than 12. If you're looking for something with a completely original setting, incredibly compelling characters, danger, adventure, humor, and heart, you'll find it in The Last Graduate. This book, this series, is not just about magic; it IS magic.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine/Del Ray for the chance to review this advance copy.

I really enjoyed The Deadly Education and couldn't wait for the sequel, this definitely didn't disappoint!
In terms of plot I had a couple of things that didn't make sense 100%, but I really enjoyed the direction it all took, how the school became a character in its own right really.

Part action-packed, part comedy and part romance, The Last Graduate is a surprisingly heartwarming tale of how friendship can blossom in the darkest of places. You're able to see how El and her crew transform into decent human beings all while cracking a few laughs along the way. By the end, you're hopeful and rooting for their impossibly crazy plan only to be left with the biggest of cliffhangers. Can't wait for the third book!

I LOVED this book!! This was absolutely one of the best books I’ve read this year, if not the best (and I’ve read quite a few hyped up/well rated books this year). The world building is amazing, the characters are both likeable and complex. The intricacies of the plot and thought processes of the students and the school politics are so impressive. I really enjoyed the first book and this one is even better. The suspense, especially at the end, is so good, I didn’t even mind the cliffhanger ending. It just made me that much more excited for the next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!!

If you liked the first book in the series, you're going to like this one too. It does a good job of expanding the world and raising the stakes, though there is a bit of wheel-spinning as well. Novik answered a lot of questions I had about the school itself, as well as introducing more information about the outside world. There's also a good bit of character progression. My one gripe with this book is the pacing - sometimes it feels like the plot has stalled out and other times it feels like it's accelerating too quickly. If you're not fond of cliffhanger endings...well, be warned.

The first book was definitely a favorite of mine earlier this year and after that ending I was dying for the sequel. I'm pleased to say The Last Graduate didn't disappoint. I still absolutely love El. She's definitely not your typical heroine, but I just love her. If you like magical stories set in a school, this is one you need to pick up. It has a budding romance, but that storyline isn't the main focus. Another great Novik book and I absolutely cannot wait for the next installment.

Magical, dark academia with some great plot twists. The novel is engaging and fast paced, a fitting sequel to A Deadly Education. Naomi Novik knows how to spin a story and this is a series you don't want to miss

TL;DR: A solid second installment that brings fresh plot twists. My rating 3 of 5 stars.

The Last Graduate is a solid follow up to A Deadly Education. I enjoyed the first enough to request an e-ARC of the second installment when it popped up on NetGalley. That said, my feelings on the Scholomance series are merely mildly positive. I enjoy reading them, but they’re not making my list of favorites that I recommend to friends and family.

The Last Graduate opens with a reminder of the pretty ominous cliffhanger of the first book--a grave note from El’s mother from the outside, warning her to stay away from romantic interest, Orion Lake. While El occasionally ponders why her mother sent the warning, she largely ignores it and that question does not get satisfactorily resolved in this sequel.

Despite that letdown, Novik definitely brings new sources of excitement and conflict into the Scholomance. As predicted, El experiences quite a rise in her social cachet after the events of book 1. So while there’s still some repetitive talk of strategy for dodging mals in classrooms and cafeterias, the plot has graduated (heh heh) beyond questions of mere day-to-day survival. From Day 1 of the new school year El notices some major shifts in how the mysterious school operates. She eventually realizes that the school is trying to communicate with her and train her to aid in fulfilling its mission.

Novik closes the book with yet another big cliffhanger that pretty much guarantees I’ll likely read the next book as well. To be honest, I am intrigued where the plot will go and how relationships will hold up and develop after El, her allies, and her conclave frenemies are back in the outside world.

Why only 3 stars? I still find El’s voice and tone pretty grating. I hoped her change in circumstances would have mitigated her contradictory mix of self-importance and self-deprecation. It didn’t. The scale just shifted a bit more in the direction of self-importance. Also, some may recall the controversy over Novik’s racist description of Black students in the first book. While perhaps not as egregious, I still definitely experienced moments of discomfort in how non-white characters were portrayed. In particular, the description of Liu (El’s maleficer-turned-strict-maliya ally and friend)’s family didn’t sit right with me coming from a white author. It read like a caricature (and condemnation) of a domineering Asian family willing to prioritize the good of the family at large at the cost of the safety and survival of one daughter. Let’s please get some BIPOC & AAPI editors to read for this shit in book 3!!!

This book was absolutely MAGICAL! Truly an amazing book. It’s been a long time since a series has been able to capture my imagination and get me excited like this series has (probably since Harry Potter), but Naomi Novik has done it again!
The setting alone—the dark, dangerous school of magic. Plus, the unusual characterization with El, and the romance. Not to mention the diversity really sets it apart, although I hope there isn’t a huge increase in this because then it may feel like the author has a political axe to grind.
I loved the plot, the romance(Orion is fascinating!), everything! Well, everything except that cliffhanger of an ending. I loudly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.