I was a little disappointed by this conclusion to such an interesting trilogy, to be honest. I loved three things about the first two books in this series: my himbo golden retriever Orion, the fascinating setting of a school infested with monsters, and El's intense hatred for people (and her refusal to hide that hatred). But it almost seemed like this book removed all three of those aspects - Orion did not nearly get enough screentime, El had to save the world (what has the world ever done for El...), and the school was gone.

It wasn't all bad - Naomi Novik's fascinating storytelling style was still present, with gorgeous imagery amongst the (insane amount of) inner monologue. Exhibition A:

"If the garden above was a fairy yale, there was another story being told in this place, one where the children never came home, and smiling wizards drank a soup of bones."

But I couldn't even properly enjoy the world, because honestly I don't think I was smart enough for this book. I had no idea what was happening 80% of the time, and I simply didn't have the IQ to try and read between the lines and understand the plot of this book.

Look, I can see why people would have enjoyed this, had they the brains to understand what was happening. But that wasn't me, and the loss of Orion for the majority of this book was a blow. And I loved the bi rep, but not so much the cheating vibes?

This one wasn't for me! I loved the rest of the series though. Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for the ARC copy :).

Thank you to Naomi Novik, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and Netgalley for this free, advanced reader copy of "The Last Graduate: A Novel" for an honest review.

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I flew through this entire series in the space of 6 days, two years after my best friend started requesting of me to read it — Because of that, though, this whole series is a giant blur in my head, and I'm only going to do one review across all three of them together and drop this in all of them. <B>If you happen to be reading this and haven't read Books 2 and 3, avert your eyes!</B>

SPOILERS:

I have so very many feelings about these books.

- About my love of how El had to go through all the struggles of her childhood and of rejecting her nature (due to her mother's love and her own true moral fortitude that is all HER OWN) to be strong enough to do the work that needed doing (and how the prophecy was the only way her grandmother could make sure she was strong enough and would make the right choices not just for herself, but for the whole world)

- About Orion and his creation, what he is and how he is, and that so much that we realize he's missing from book one, and especially in book two, finally makes sense in the end, when we discover what is at the true root of that problem. How he handles it and the choices El makes at the end still make me tear up.

- I do wish we'd gotten to know more about Scholomance. How and why, an what. It's the one thing I went in with my best friend telling me I'd learn more of, but never as much as I'd want to know about it. I do feel the book lacked in shoring that up.

- But I also felt that book 3 foundered for purchase with the Scholomance no longer as the focus of where everyone was and what was happening. My hat is off to the creations of the enclaves and how things piece together. </spoiler>

Naomi Novik is always so readable. The Golden Enclaves is probably the weakest in the series so far, but it's still really enjoyable. Novik's imagination and world-building ability is second to none. She is such a great thinker, so creative. The whole mythology of the enclaves is every bit as good as Tolkien, Le Guin, or similar "classic" fantasy authors. My one issue (and missing star) is due to the obsessive narration. Everything is being explained all the time. I wish that Novik could find more ways to show, so that she didn't have to tell ala Babysitter's Club so much. But, overall, great read. I absolutely plan to recommend to teen readers.

I never know how to feel about finishing the final book in a trilogy, however this book does not disappoint at all! The author has done a wonderful job weaving in mere mentions of moments in book one and two into engaging story lines (and explanations!) into this final chapter. The characters are subtly developed and embrace their story lines with little objection.

The joy of this book was seeing El develop her own desires, needs and reconnect with family. All without a man, which is a welcome breath of fresh air.

🗺️ The world building is pleasantly presented outside of the Scholomance and deep diving into the world of enclaves. With a few trips to well known and popular tourist destinations.

🌶️ There is a hint of spice in this book but again we're dealing with teenagers that have recently turned 18 so it's more a touch of what could be happening rather than the nitty gritty details.

📚 This book is for you if you enjoy a sassy FMC and are ok with evil creatures trying to eat the FMC more often than not.

✈️ An easy read that's perfect for travel and is a lovely final book to this delightful series.

I fell in love with The Scholomance from the first book, A Dangerous Education, immediately. I loved the mix of danger, snark, and magic with which Novik infused the book. I loved the sequel, The Last Graduate, just as much, especially how it ramped-up the action and tension while also expanding the world. The Golden Enclaves is a powerful next step and I'm now kinda sad to have to leave this world behind.

What I loved about The Golden Enclaves as a conclusion of this series was how much of it was about choices. El has had a prophecy of the destruction she will wreak hanging over her head for her entire life now and every choice she makes either prevents that destruction or brings her closer to it. But she isn't the only one who is faced with difficult choices, choices that form a point of no return. I liked how this was worked out and how it made the entire premise a lot more complex. The friendships and relationships she has, reluctantly, built up along the way also continue to matter a lot and I was so very happy that when it came to trying to create a better future it became a group endeavour. My heart low-key swelled at this entire generation of youngsters coming together to try and make something better. While El is undeniably the protagonist, she carries the lessons from The Last Graduate with her throughout this book: especially asking for help, listening to advice, and taking a second to think. I really felt like she had grown since the first book and had become more settled in herself. Since the plot of The Golden Enclaves takes place within a few weeks, rather than an entire school year, it was good to see these things come to fruition.

This plot summary contains spoilers for the previous book, so skip if you don't want to read that! The plan to not just survive graduation but lure the entire mals population into the Scholomance and then yeet it into the void was a success. Unfortunately Gideon's self-sacrificial heroic streak came through at the last moment and now El is home with her mother, heart-broken and unusure of where to go. When Liesel and Alfie come calling on behalf of London, she might as well help them because she has no idea what to do next. When it becomes clear, however, that the attacks on enclaves are continuing and that Gideon may not be lost forever, El has to begin something of a race against time to save the enclaves and get Gideon back. Except that the question really is whether the traditional enclaves are worth saving or whether their destruction might pave the way for the Golden Enclaves. El and co. are on a whirlwind journey in The Golden Enclaves which takes them pretty much across the entire world. After having spent the last two books stuck in the Scholomance for an entire year, the fast pace of events in this book can be a little overwhelming, but I think that's part of the point. Suddenly our beloved crew is out in the world and now they have to deal with all the politics and rules that have been background noise to them for the past years. I really liked this expansion of the world and how we get to see our characters trying to adapt to their new lives.

I've seen some reviews complaining about the fact that the romance very much comes second in the sense of how many pages are dedicated to it. And in a way I get it, but mostly I wholeheartedly disagree. While EL and Orion are separated for most of the book, her emotions towards him, in all their complexity, are a constant theme running through her narration. If what you're looking for is interaction then I guess yes, it's not enough, but if you're looking for the impact of a romance, for a depth of feeling, it is absolutely there. And as I'm personally not really looking for major romance in my fantasy, I liked how it worked and how other relationships were also shown to be very important. When the world feels like it's ending, when everything is crashing down, perhaps making out with your boyfriend is not the most important thing, even if it's nice.

Naomi Novik is a brilliant writer and it's only really now, in The Golden Enclaves, that I realised just how brilliant the writing style of the book is. I really noticed how El is talking to us as readers, how we are basically in some kind of dialogue with her. Now that we know her well enough, we get to see a slightly different, more honest side to her, and I adored her the more for it. Novik also continues to excel at descriptions, which really comes to the fore in how the different enclaves are described. Each is different in its own, nuanced way and that really helped with the fast pace. I also appreciated how Novik didn't necessarily go for the easy answer of a big villain. The Golden Enclaves feels like a big, epic conclusion, yes, but its focus is not on big action scenes and evil villains and brilliant heroes. Rather it tries to tell its reader how important collaboration, recovery, and empathy are, but also how important it is to take a strong stance on misuse and abuse of power. While some of the void-stuff went slightly over my head, these themes absolutely didn't and I love a trilogy that doesn't pretend defeating the big bad fixes everything. It's continuous work, making a better world, and some of that work might have to happening the shadows. God I'm going to miss this world.

The Golden Enclaves is a fast-paced, expansive, and stunning conclusion to The Scholomance trilogy in which a lot of its themes come to full fruition. While not everyone might enjoy the choices Novik makes, I loved every page of it.

4 stars - Satisfying conclusion to a great trilogy!

Maybe I am the last to finally read The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik, but better late than never, I guess?
Having really enjoyed the second book in the series which ended on a huge cliffhanger I was very curious how Novik would resolve said cliffhanger and wrap the story up.

As in the previous two installments the story is narrated by El, who does have an engaging, snarky voice as ever. Also as ever, we have the huge infodumps which do become necessary as the story finally leaves the Scholomance and takes place all over the world in different enclaves. I don't want to spoil because there are some pretty major twists, but we finally do learn what the deal with Orion's very peculiar powers is, as well as how the prophecy that El will bring death and destruction to the enclaves (which she forever tried to prevent from happening) will eventually unfold and the truth behind the maw-mouths.

Events take place at a pretty breathless pace which keeps the narration engaging. This makes for quick and also satisfying reading as one twist after the other brings together the different threads to a really well-rounded conclusion.

However, there were things I noticed in this last installment that maybe have been there all along but only now ended up annoying me a bit. El's default reaction to just about anything is total, all-encompassing seething rage. Which actually makes a lot of sense, but I thought that the trauma that lies beneath these anger management issues was being handled a bit lightly or maybe not taken seriously enough. Actually, I felt that in this whole wizard's society the massive trauma that going through the Scholomance must cause every single child is sort of being shrugged off. Another thing that bugged me was the fact that the magic system doesn't really have rules and El (or others) will be able to do basically just whatever the plot requires, even if it is something that no one has ever been able to do before.

On the other hand, I thought that Novik handled the implication of one idea very well: is the suffering of few worth it if it secures the lives and well-being of many? Where do you draw the line? Is it easier to justify suffering if it will protect the particularly weak (children)? Is it easier to live with this guilt when you don't have to see the suffering? Where does this slippery slope lead?

All in all this is an excellent trilogy, bursting with inventive ideas and great central characters and I am going to recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre!

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

This was such an amazing read! I flew through this book in one afternoon because I could not stop! The characters were so unique and gripping that I really adored them. The author did a great job with keeping the plot moving and avoiding any stale moments. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know!

I love Naomi Novik, I've read everything from Tem through Uprooted, Spinning Silver, and now Scholomance. I'll be honest, this isn't my favorite work of hers. However, of the 3 Scholomance novels, I do think this one is the best. The world building is fascinating, and she does a great job of wrapping up the story while leaving enough threads dangling for a continuation if the mood strikes her. I think the biggest flaw in this book is that I expect so much more from Naomi Novik. The whole stream of consciousness writing is a little distracting, and her usual breadth of language was reduced to a more elementary style for a younger audience. I think if Scholomance is the first or only series of hers you read, you won't hate it. There's enough interesting to keep you turning the pages, and it's easy to see the characters are intentionally unlikable so they have room for growth. But if you read it because you love her other books, you'll probably be disappointed. I give it three stars because I can see where someone else might love it, especially if you're into the whole dark academia genre, I'm just not that reader.

This book was an appropriate conclusion to a solid dark academia book series. I can see an argument for this volume not actually being dark academia since the characters had already graduated, but they do continue to learn and grow as they emerge into the post-school world so I'd say the line is blurred. This is not a romance novel and if anyone had any expectation for that, they would probably be disappointed, but I did not. This is also <spoiler> not a dark revenge fantasy culminating in an apocalypse. </spoiler> This is a book that ties up loose ends from the prior two books like what became or Orion, what will El [and her friends] do with the rest of their lives, or at least the immediate rest of their lives, how does El confront the prophesy made about her future, and will we get a "happy" ending? In my opinion, all of these questions were answered in a sufficiently satisfactory manner with some added globe trotting and more world building (since we never really didn't get a clear view of the world outside the school in the prior two volumes).
The writing, as with the prior 2 books, is solid and easy to read. The story moved around a lot more but was easy to follow, still in first-person. El's "voice" seemed to mature a bit with this one but I find that consistent with her character's growth. Overall, this finale fulfilled the need to wrap things up left by the prior book.
I received advanced digital access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

El and Orion have just saved all the students in the Scholomance, and then boom major cliffhanger from The Last Graduate. Now El is stuck back in the ‘real world’ mourning the lost of Orion. Except El never expected to get out of the school alive and she has no idea what to do next. That is until some of the recent graduates from the London Enclave come to her, begging for her help saving the London Enclave. Suddenly all of the once safe enclaves are in danger of collapse and El might just be the only one who can save them.

I loved El and Orion both in the first book. In the second book I loved Orion even more and while I didn’t grow to love El more, I didn’t find myself disliking her. This book El was almost an entirely different person and I didn’t particularly like her. Orion, though mentioned a ton, is only in a small portion of the story. I’m not sure what happened but they felt like totally different characters and the addition of new characters/ reappearance of recent graduates just didn’t feel fully developed.

This book definitely dove deeper into darker themes than the first two books, and really what I would expect from a YA read. There was a ton of discussion about inequality, capitalism, privilege, nepotism, etc, and while I love a story with underlying themes they took away from the main plotline of the series.

The romance between Orion and El was still kind of there, but also there’s a romance extra side story that comes in with El, and it felt entirely unnecessary and forced that it was a bit cringy. And I LOVE a good romance but hate when these plot lines are just thrown into the mix like a side thought. I know this is a YA book, but gah this whole thing irritated me to know end.

Realistically though, I just didn’t feel as invested in this story. The first two books had all this tension, anticipation, and high risks. And while technically this book had even higher risks, it just didn’t feel that way. I felt it took us too long to get to the crux of the issue and then the ‘big ending’ fell completely flat for me. The dark academia feel that we get in the first two books disappears in this book, which seems natural considering it takes place outside The Scholomance, but the transition felt too abrupt.

I’m also not on board with El’s roll in all that takes place with the Enclaves. It all felt a little too clean and even though all my questions were answered, I still feel like I don’t fully understand the greater WHY of what happened. Novik does try and answer these questions (the ones I didn’t know I had) but the explanations start to get a too philosophical and theorical and maybe as an exhausted new mom I just don’t have the brain cell to comprehend the explanation, but for a YA book it was a bit much and too away from the story.

I normally hate a series to end, but in this case, I would have preferred it to stay a duology than have this extra book that just didn’t quite work. Naomi Novak is an amazing storyteller and world builder. I will completely keep reading her work but I’m so bummed that this one didn’t live up to my expectations, especially since I adored both Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.


The Golden Enclaves is out now. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books.

It was very strange to not be in the Scholomance anymore but to be confronted with the real world, from which didn't know that much before.
Unfortunately, this one felt a bit like the second one (2 stars) and less like the first book (4.5 stars) for me.
It was very action-driven and less character-driven, which essentially was what kept me going - I loved all the character and relationship dynamics in the first book and didn't see enough of it in this one. The writing style is, same as the other two books, kind of dry at times and those drag a bit in my eyes.
El and the other characters are still enjoyable to read though and I liked where the story was going - the plot twist would've really destroyed me if I had been more emotionally invested.


- 3 stars.

I absolutely adore this series and I loved the way Novick ended it. I want to go back and reread the whole thing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ if you love Harry Potter and are an adult read this. Loved. Thank you NetGalley! Highly recommend

I'm completely unwell due to this series. It made me feel so many things, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Naomi Novik really stuck the landing with this one-- this book was an excellent end to an amazing trilogy.

El is such an amazing, complex character that I rooted for so hard. I loved her exploring who she was, and also learning more about her family and the world outside of the Scholomance. All other side characters were terrific as well, but no one holds a candle to El (except maybe Orion, but he was less present in this book than previous books).

Even though this book is set in a magical world, the author somehow managed to make it feel like these were real people and the problems that El faced felt like things that could happen in reality. How so many things in this world are done out of fear and selfishness, felt almost too real.

I cannot say enough good things about this book/series, but it is definitely one of my top reads of the year.

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey for this ARC!!! I hope we have something special coming about The Scholomance trilogy and that's why these are back on Netgalley!!! 👀

Incredibly satisfying ending to one of my all-time favourite series. It delivered in all the ways I hoped and thought it would, and still managed to sneak in a few surprises for me too.

<3

*Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.*

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC!

Boy, this book. 🤯 4.5 stars.
Absolutely blown away by some reveals. What an ending for the trilogy!

It was so strange to go into the real world after spending two years in the Scholomance.
El shone so brightly in the entire trilogy. And I support all of her choices in book 3. Yes, you know what I'm talking about, we're not shaming *WOMEN* for these types of choices in the 21st century. Honestly people. Her wit and humor were everything and I laughed out loud several times during this book.

I would've loved a little less repeating of the things we've heard in the same book or previous books. That's my only complaint.

Otherwise, Miss Novik delivers. Always. I am yet to read her book I dislike. I am going to miss El.

I absolutely adore this whole series and wish I could read it all again for the first time. The Golden Enclaves was the perfect ending!

A solid ending to a great series. Everything really does come together in a way that feels right, with some standout character moments and shocking reveals that kept me turning the pages way later than I should have been.

Naomi Novik fans will be well pleased with this final installment.

A lackluster ending to a great series. I absolutely loved the first two books in this series, but alas, I felt let down by this finale.

An outstanding conclusion to the trilogy. Novik once again reminds us why she is at the pinnacle of her craft. Foreshadowing from earlier works are neatly tied in.

Just superb on every level.