I absolutely LOVE this series! A Deadly Education is in my top two reads this year and this is up there with it! What a rollercoaster! What a ride! The last third of the book had me hyperventilating and sobbing because my body couldn't contain anymore emotion. And I'm not talking only sadness, I'm talking tension and worry and the thrill and scariness of the unknown and love and bravery and a million other things roiling around inside of me that I was gushing tears just to have the release. I am chomping at the bit to read what comes next. This was so great! If you haven't started this series yet, you need to. I loved this!

I read the firs tin this series and loved it and there was no surprise that I loved this one as well.

The Last Graduate carries on where A Deadly Education left off and if there is a criticism it would be that there is no backstory in the sequel. This seems to be a trend in fantasy from the US which isn't a problem if you have already read the first part, but leaves you utterly bewildered if you have't or can't get hold of it.

El and Orion continue to fight the Scholomance but this time, after the fixing of the cleansing machinery in the graduation hall, the scholomance seems to be out to get El - there are few mals coming up to eat the students and those that do appear, seem to target El. This leave Orion rather depressed as he literally lives to kill mals and save people, and with no mals, what is he to do?

As the school year proceeds, El's talents are displayed more and more and the students have to recognise her extraordinary power, and she finds that sh'es centre of attention, something she isn't comfortable with, especially as not all students think she's their saviour, but it there for the opposite reason.

There are more twists and turns in this as we know more about the scholomance and the students in it and we are so much more engaged in their story. And yet, the ending left me open mouthed. There HAS to be a third!

It took me a bit of time to get back into the book but I enjoyed it much better than the first one !

This was a very enjoyable return to the Scholomance - I'd enjoyed the previous book but struggled a little bit with the volume of worldbuilding, but with all of that in place, Novak was able to really explore the characters (and the monsters) that populate her world. There are still fun battles, toxic magic and ruthless sarcasm, but it felt more measured and more like the story was leading us in a new direction. I'd have loved a little more romance between El and Orion, and there were a couple of things that felt a bit convenient, but the ending blew the word wide open and I'll definitely be back for more.

In this sequel to “A Deadly Education”, El is in her final year at a terrifying wizarding school, where surviving graduation has very low odds. She’s also resisting living up to her darkly prophesised future, which comes from her “affinity” (magical gift) of destroying multitudes. It’s very imaginative, engrossing, and nicely gory. El is a complex and interesting character, and the relationships between all the characters are fantastic. Really looking forward to the last part of the trilogy.

I honestly didn't think the 2nd book could top the 1st but this is my new favourite of the series. I cannot believe that ending and I need the next book immediately. As usual Naomi did an amazing job and has managed to create some of my favourite ever characters. Something I love learning in these books in more about the general day to day in the scholmance and mundane tasks, as mundane as they can be in a magical school out to get you anyway. Easily my favourite book of the year.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, and whoever made the mistake that let me get this ARC you're a real one ❤

I read A deadly Education the day it came out and it quickly became one of my favourite books. So as you can imagine the cliffhanger at the end combined with the long wait for a sequel left me a lot of time to think up theories for how this one was going to go. I ended up being right about the ending but at what cost???

I loved The Last Graduate; it was a proper sequel it didn’t feel like a filler novel and I definitely wasn’t bored. I have to mention though if you were one of the people who disliked how info-dumpy the first book was don’t come into this one thinking she already did all the world-building that there was to do because there was so much more.

The character development was great in this one as well. You still read everything from El’s very jaded perspective but you also see how she grows as a person and learn to enjoy moments with her friends whilst wrestling with the prophecy of her becoming evil. That being said El's dry sense of humour and her dismal outlook on life was just as present in this book as it was in the last:

"If you’re wondering which of those two options I picked, then you must not know me, as pain and dismay were obviously my destination."

It's such a teenage viewpoint and she has some valid points but most of all it’s entertaining as hell

I also can’t forget Orion. He’s largely absent in this book…well not absent he’s silent but he’s there. The funniest part of this book to me was that I don't think Orion says more than 2 sentences consecutively for ¾ of this story. His role this entire book was to show up and be pretty. Then you get to the last two chapters and well, he certainly did have some things to say but you can read that yourself.

Whilst I loved this book I do have one question about one topic. We learn a lot about the Chinese language kids in this one but are they all speaking Standard Chinese/Standard Northern Mandarin? I’m not sure if I missed it but I can't remember if it was explained that they all came in with that as their first language or if they all speak various Chinese Languages. There are times when it’s clear that just saying Chinese was utilised as an umbrella term for the Chinese language kids but other times it was never really made clear what dialect they are speaking. I might have to reread the first book if I missed something.

Other than that a lot of the questions I had from book 1 were answered. I just wish this wasn’t an ARC so I could talk about the problems introduced in this one but alas!

Also, I recently found out that Naomi Novik is a cofounder of AO3 which is very fitting because that’s where I’ll be trying to heal from that stab to the heart she called an ending.

What was that ending?! How am I meant to wait at least another year to find out what happens after that epic throw-your-book-across-the-room cliffhanger? As you can tell I thoroughly enjoyed The Last Graduate, sequel to A Deadly Education and the second book in a planned trilogy. I found the first book exciting in premise but lacking a little in execution but the second book is back up to the author’s usual storytelling standards.

The tension slowly builds in this instalment as graduation day looms ever closer and the seniors train to survive the usual massacre. However, this year is different. El has big ideas and, with help from Orion, Aadhya and Liu, hopes that things can be done a new way and perhaps they can even help each other survive. Friendship can be life-saving in this world and I loved the friendships El has made and cherishes.

The mals (monsters) in this book are wildly inventive and gory. The author has expanded the world-building which in turn fleshes out the story and enhances the characters. El remains one of my favourite snarky characters, endlessly grumpy and ungrateful but ultimately a hero. Her relationship with Orion was nicely developed and I appreciated the direction it took. The whole book has a humorous tone to it that resonated deeply with me and kept my attention engaged throughout. As I mentioned at the beginning, the cliffhanger will leave you gasping in outrage but also desperate for the final instalment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I didnt think I could love the second book as much as I loved the first! However I was gladly mistaken! First, I adore El throughout this book! Her character is really developed throughout this book. Her relationship with Orion, is the sweetest.

I adore this world and the book was well paced throughout! I cant wait for the next installment!

Does the world need another book series about a magical school and an underdog hero who goes there? Yes, if it's this one. This is the second book in the Scholomance series, and I haven't read the first, but requested this purely because I enjoyed Novik's Temeraire books. Since finishing this, however. I have downloaded book 1, as I now want to fill in the missing story. I loved the heroine, El - she's sarcastic, angry, clever and easy to dislike, but yet I didn't. I was absolutely hooked into her story all the way through. I really hope there's a third book soon so we can find out what happens next!

Jeezo what a cliffhanger! I'm surprised my other half didn't wake up with my rather loud AAAARRGH WHAT THE HELL!!

It's the final year at the Scholomance for El, Orion, and friends and graduation day is looming.The Scholomance graduation is a ritual that leaves few alive.

There's a lot going on in this book, as the students prepare for the event, and new alliances formed. El and Orion are great characters and it'll be interesting to see what happens in the next book.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC

This book was amazing. Total and complete madness but utterly enthralling. I don't think I have ever read a book quite like this before. The first one was great, this was even better. Thank you Naomi Novik!

Sometimes second books in a trilogy are the weak link - providing a bridge between a strong start and a stunning conclusion. 'The Last Graduate' is not in that category. It is a brilliant book in its own right, expanding on the excellent opener and leaving you desperate to read the conclusion. That doesn't mean it could be read as a standalone - it couldn't - so readers should go back and start with 'A Deadly Education' if they haven't already.

The action picks up immediately where the first book ended. Our narrator, El, and her friends are beginning their final year at the deadly dangerous 'Scholomance' - a wizard school that makes Hogwarts look like a soft play centre. But even the lethal daily existence within its walls is nothing to final horror awaiting them at the end - the 'graduation' which few students make it out of alive. The students need to focus everything can into staying alive long enough to reach that point and be as well prepared as possible for running the gauntlet of tentacled monstrosities to reach the outside.

But the school has a mind of its own and is behaving oddly - more specifically, it seems to be 'out to get' our heroine. El finds herself singled out by every passing monster and the building itself appears to be against her. It's natural for teenagers to feel the whole world is against them, but in El's case she may actually be right. As El is forced to use more and more magic to protect herself, she risks revealing just how powerful she is to the other students - something she's been avoiding. El is still determined not to fulfil the prophecy that she will become a dark sorceress, but events keep conspiring to push her in that direction regardless.

That in itself would make for more than a compelling story but things develop in a way I didn't expect and the story unfolds in a way that is clever and incredibly readable. It really is hard to walk away from this story once you start reading - a gift of Novik's. I've learned by now to read her books on days when I have time to spare, or risk struggling to concentrate on other things whilst I itch to get back to it.

El is a very sympathetic and likeable character, partly because she isn't a particularly 'nice' person or someone that is easy to get on with. Her goodness is well hidden, and yet fundamental to who she is. She is surrounded by similarly interesting and well developed characters. Novik has created a very original and complex set up, with its own politics and rules, and obviously thought very carefully about how humans would behave when placed in this extraordinary set of circumstances. Having had the first book to introduce the concepts and get used to the way this world works, there is more time in this second book to expand on the more nuanced elements of their society and the interactions between different groups.

If you enjoy fantasy adventure then this is a must read - it deserves to be right up there with the best series. I can't even imagine where she will go with the third and final book but I have every confidence it's going to be unmissable.

The Last Graduate is the second instalment in the Novik's Scholomance series. It picks up straight off from the end of the first book, with El, Orion and the others in their Senior year of school, where they face 'graduation'. In the Scholomance this literally means running the gauntlet of hungry 'Mals' and if you survive being eaten in a rather gory way, then you graduate.

First of all, I adore El. She's the queen of wit and sarcasm, fighting the 'prophecy' that she will indeed be the most dark and evil witch of her generation. Her character really starts to develop throughout this book. Her frequent dark and droll quips made me giggle. Her relationship with Orion, the golden 'chosen one' just melts my heart and it's one I wish that Novik had explored more. We get to know more about the other students, how they form alliances and the way in which the Scholomance (who is a character in their own right!) works.

I was immersed in the dark world the students are forced to live in, but found the pace of the book a bit slow at times. I found myself skimming over the pages of background information that didn't really add to the plot. That said, the last half of the book picks up and had my heart racing to see if they were going to survive what the Scholomance had planned for them....but that ending! I threw the book (in a good 'Oh my God, I didn't just read what I thought I just did' way) and now I'm desperate to read the final instalment to see how it ends!

Thanks to #Netgalley and the publishers for giving the opportunity to read this fantastic book.

The second book of the Deadly Education series. After the cliffhanger of the last book I was desperate to find out what happened.
Unfortunately it didn't hit the mark. It was a very slow start and quite a information dump at times, that had me struggling through the majority of the book it only really picked up in the last quarter of story.
They overall story was good and the main character, it's just as snarky and great as ever and I cannot wait for the next book.

Actual rating : 3.5 stars rounded off to 4 out of 5.
I enjoyed the first book and was eagerly looking forward to the second. I was hoping that the author might wrap this up as a duology but the ending has been left open for a trilogy (hopefully it will end as a trilogy).
I felt The Last Graduate had a lot of repetition. The first half kept going in the same loop and the second half was another loop of the same thing. That made it a bit of a drag IMO. I would’ve loved for it to be a bit pacy instead of continuously focusing on how great both Orion and El are.
The ending was a nice cliffhanger (though predictable a bit) and so I would read the third just to know what happens!

I loved A Deadly Education and didn't really see how it could be topped, but it most certainly has been.
Fabulous! What an ending......roll on the next instalment

The Last Graduate picks up where A Deadly Education left off: the seniors graduated after fixing the cleansing mechanism, and El's year is now the new senior year. More importantly, El has friends and an alliance.

The tone and style are just like Lesson One: a lot of information, slow pacing, not a lot of action in the first half. I didn't expect that, so it threw me a bit. I thought the info overload was just part of the first book, which introduced the world and the Scholomance. It really does feel like we're attending lessons with El.

El is my favourite part of this series. I love her grumpiness and the resulting humour from all her interactions. Her development and shift in perspective in The Last Graduate were great.

I would have liked more El & Orion scenes, though. Especially in the first half. I didn't re-read the first book before starting this one, so all their interactions and growing attachment weren't fresh in my memory anymore.

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.

But WARNING! There's a huge cliff-hanger. +1 year now until the next lesson...

I’m still in literal shock over that ending that words are hard to come by.
THAT ENDING?! Once again I’m in desperate need of the next book RIGHT NOW.
I have a strange relationship with this series in that I find a large part of the book rather unengaging but also… I find it compelling enough, either because of the actual writing or the strength of the plot, to continue.
I had the same issues as last time that we get such a wealth of useless info dumping while also still learning so little of actual value about other character.
El and Orions Relationship was my favourite and least favourite part of the book. I wanted them to have WAY more moments together, actually talking and getting to know one another, than they did have.
But I seriously cannot wait for book 3 and need it badly.

I absolutely love this series!
Dark and gripping, this book is excellent, to say the least. I'm really hoping there's more to come in this series. This would be perfect for YA and adult readers.