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gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I am surprised with where this book ended up going and how it concluded the series as a whole. It subverted all expectations I had, but not in bad way. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I loved how different the world and rules were once we were outside the Scholomance. It was interesting to see how characters changed or did not change once they were in a different environment form the first two books.
There were some new characters introduced and the plot twists that happened in this book were so shocking that I had to put it down for a bit to digest what I had read and then had to go back to reading so I could get answers.
I think this book is a lot more character driven than the first two books. The book overall is still a mix of character and plot but I think how people are feeling and what they are doing because of that drives the book forward more. I feel like this book ended the series well and enjoyed reading each and everyone one of these books.
I loved how different the world and rules were once we were outside the Scholomance. It was interesting to see how characters changed or did not change once they were in a different environment form the first two books.
There were some new characters introduced and the plot twists that happened in this book were so shocking that I had to put it down for a bit to digest what I had read and then had to go back to reading so I could get answers.
I think this book is a lot more character driven than the first two books. The book overall is still a mix of character and plot but I think how people are feeling and what they are doing because of that drives the book forward more. I feel like this book ended the series well and enjoyed reading each and everyone one of these books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Violence, Grief, Body horror, Death, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, War, Kidnapping, Blood, and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual content
rinku's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The Golden Enclaves is yet another series finale that disappointed me this year. Almost everything that made the first two books great is gone now, and the finale itself was just not satisfying and barely gave any conclusion. I lowered my rating a bit to 2 stars since there’s nothing really that I enjoyed about it.
Of course, the main conflict is just as dramatic as ever. Orion was left behind at the Scholomance and El wants to get him out of it, while also finding a way to end the attacks on the enclaves. This sounds great on paper, but the execution wasn’t great. One of the reasons his that El just has no plans for everything and just vegetates for most of the story which became boring and annoying quite fast. It takes them a fourth of the book until they make a plan to save Orion and half of the book until they finally return to Scholomance. I really liked the atmosphere there and I wish that our character would’ve spend more time there. Most of the time though, I wasn’t really understanding what was happening which made it extra boring for me. I was especially irritated by the enclaves and didn’t really understand who fighting whom for what reasons.
Another thing I just didn’t like about the plot was the focus on the maw mouths. I find them so disgusting and hated them from the beginning, so I wasn’t happy with this. Learning their origin was extra terrifying. In general, there is just nothing positive about being a wizard or living in this world. This is of course okay and not every book needs to be positive, but for me personally, it was just a bit too much. I recently had an idea for a novel where humans have to fight for their survival just like animals do, and I think that this is maybe the vibe Novik wanted to achieve with the series.
Additionally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending itself. It was nice to see the graduates working together but I hated that Orion is apparently a maw mouth which was just so weird, his mother is so evil. Furthermore, like I’ve said above, there’s just no sense of closure. There’s nothing good about the ending, and El even says that she thinks that nothing will change in the end since new enclaves will be created anyways which is just so unsatisfying. Why was I even following the characters then ?
Still, the novel had some great emotional moments, like El returning to her home or her getting angry at Orion’s dad. I also still like how she tries to fight the classism of the enclave system. I furthermore always love to see how novels integrate magic into our world, and it was nice that they were travelling around the world for different missions.
Another problem I had is that because Orion is not with El for most of the story and not himself, their amazing dynamic is just gone. I generally hated how weird Orion behaved throughout this novel but compared to many other reviewers, I didn’t have a problem with El and Liesel . Besides this though, I still liked to be in El’s head, and she felt much like a real person.
Yeah, the Scholomance is a series that I won’t be re-reading in the future; it was just too negative even for me. I believe that it should’ve been a duology, ending with our main characters destroying Scholomance and fleeing from it, maybe undermining the enclave system by doing so, or something. But it seems to me that Novik just didn’t want this kind of happy ending and extended on this whole enclave conflict that was just not too interesting, sadly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Classism, Confinement, and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Pregnancy and Vomit
crimsonreader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It's been a few hours since I finished the book and I am still almost speechless. It was SUCH a good ride and, as always, Novik literally makes me feel all the things; sadness, happiness; fear; annoyance; helplessness; hope; love etc etc. I couldn't stand having to put it down and I truly do not want to leave this world. I know this is the last book but if we ever get The Adventures of El - Maw Mouth Hunter in any form I will be first in line.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Grief, Confinement, and Child abuse
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Minus 1/4 star for the very slow start, I honestly think they could have seriously condensed down the first ~150 pages to half of that. I literally read the first 25-30% and it was so slow that I put it down and didn't pick it back up for over another month.
But then I read the rest in like 2 days - and honestly as the rest of this story unfolds I was in awe at the intricacy of the storytelling. This third and final book is definitely the one where all the little pieces of the puzzle come together so masterfully to tie everything together. You know when you get to that point in a series where everything just starts clicking, and things are being revealed that are just blowing your mind? I was screaming and squealing and just having such a good time. I also just absolutely adore El - I think she is honestly one of my favorite main characters ever. I love this series so much!
I am kinda mad Ophelia is just like... still there??? but otherwise, I loved the ending.
3/5 🌶️
But then I read the rest in like 2 days - and honestly as the rest of this story unfolds I was in awe at the intricacy of the storytelling. This third and final book is definitely the one where all the little pieces of the puzzle come together so masterfully to tie everything together. You know when you get to that point in a series where everything just starts clicking, and things are being revealed that are just blowing your mind? I was screaming and squealing and just having such a good time. I also just absolutely adore El - I think she is honestly one of my favorite main characters ever. I love this series so much!
3/5 🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Classism, Child abuse, War, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Child death
Torture in the sense of how Maw Mouths *work* IYKYK Child abuse - Orion's parents are literally the worst!abookwormspov's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child death, War, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, Sexual content, Murder, Torture, Domestic abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, and Body horror
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
It's been a while since I read book 2 in the series and I contemplated re-reading before picking this volume up because when I initially tried to read it I was overwhelmed. Book 2 leaves on a cliffhanger and book 3 starts right after and so you see the immediate events and it was a little difficult to jump right it.
I thought that the series was quite solid. Book 3 really tied it all together and bits that were resolved were introduced in book 1 so it was quite good closure to see actions that have consequences and a resolution all together.
Some of the reveals were also top notch, since there's (in hindsight) a lot of foreshadowing but to be able to put it all together wasn't something I managed. I don't know if it was because of the gap between the books and it would have been obvious if I read them in closer succession but I was satisfied with how it came together.
I thought that the series was quite solid. Book 3 really tied it all together and bits that were resolved were introduced in book 1 so it was quite good closure to see actions that have consequences and a resolution all together.
Some of the reveals were also top notch, since there's (in hindsight) a lot of foreshadowing but to be able to put it all together wasn't something I managed. I don't know if it was because of the gap between the books and it would have been obvious if I read them in closer succession but I was satisfied with how it came together.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Vomit, War, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, and Medical trauma
toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Great ending to this series and just as good as the first two!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Murder, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Child abuse
pages_with_panda's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really liked the entire series as a whole. The premise was interesting, El as a character who was the unwilling, snarky hero who still tried to do as little harm as she could, the overarching themes of classism and elitism...I think this book was a good ending for El's story, but I did think this book had a whole lot of things to get through in a very short amount of time.
My issue is with the pacing because we've spent two books, years setting up how to escape the Scholomancy, and then we're given half a book to explore the world outside and how to save it. There was a large amount of information given to us, new characters to meet with entirely new dynamics and politics from each enclave.
I did like the reveals though. The truth about the Enclaves, El's prophecy and her family, and how the book was ultimately about hope and wanting to do good for others without wanting a reward. I loved El's character for that. No matter how bad things got or how angry and hopeless she felt, she still didn't give in to that destructive power within her.
The pacing at the end was a little off too - It seems everything happens very, very quickly despite entire pages at the beginning where nothing happened, but even though I liked the happy-ish ending, I would've liked to see more of the aftermath and spent some more time with the characters.
Overall really good series. Might have teared up once or twice.
407 pages.
(⚠️Content Warnings;
Graphic: Death, Torture, Grief
My issue is with the pacing because we've spent two books, years setting up how to escape the Scholomancy, and then we're given half a book to explore the world outside and how to save it. There was a large amount of information given to us, new characters to meet with entirely new dynamics and politics from each enclave.
I did like the reveals though. The truth about the Enclaves, El's prophecy and her family, and how the book was ultimately about hope and wanting to do good for others without wanting a reward. I loved El's character for that. No matter how bad things got or how angry and hopeless she felt, she still didn't give in to that destructive power within her.
The pacing at the end was a little off too - It seems everything happens very, very quickly despite entire pages at the beginning where nothing happened, but even though I liked the happy-ish ending, I would've liked to see more of the aftermath and spent some more time with the characters.
Overall really good series. Might have teared up once or twice.
407 pages.
(⚠️Content Warnings;
Graphic: Death, Torture, Grief
Moderate: War, Child abuse, Child death
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent )
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Torture
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and War
Minor: Sexual content and Death of parent
flyintothestorm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Me ha gustado, pero hubiese preferido un final distinto. Hay veces que la muerte de un personaje importante encaja más que que se salve.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, Child abuse, Confinement, Grief, Torture, and Child death
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content
Minor: Dysphoria
yourpal's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A great finale to the series! I honestly think it would’ve been more beneficial had the book been longer as it kind of felt like the author was bored by the end and rushed through the big parts but good none the less!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, War, and Death