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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
I don’t know that I have EVER been this devastated to finish a story. Why can’t I just live in this world FOREVER. Surely Novik can just abandon anything and everything she has going on in her life and just keep this going. Right?!?! But then it would drag on and make me mad and honestly, the ending was pretty perfect. Did I understand everything? Not really. Did that make it any less spectacular? Not even a little tiny bit. These books are straight up MAGIC. GO READ THESE BOOKS. And now I’ve read every work Naomi Novik has published and I really and truly am DEVASTATED. There’s no other word for it. And I’m terrified that this is it- I’ll never read another good book for the rest of my life. Although the new Thursday Murder does come out today. So maybe there’s hope. #engelbrechtreads2023 #engelbrechtreads
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
the plot was fine but WHAT was that romance subplot good lord
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Damn, chapter 13 you know what you did, I think I am still unwell
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
🤯🤯 HOLY SHIT. Where do I even start!? This book was everything. It was the perfect ending to a clearly well thought out series that had its cogs turning from the very first line in A Deadly Education.
The final chapter in the Scholomance series delivered everything it promised it would, and more. All those plot twists!? - had my jaw ON THE FLOOR. Every twist that unravelled the veil and shed light on the answers that were burning deep in my brain just kept getting bigger and bigger. I kept thinking there possibly couldn’t be another plot twist after the last, but I was wrong. Every. Single. Time. I won’t mention the plot twists here cause I could go on for days, but those of you who have finished the series, you know what I’m on about.
I started the series as A Deadly Education was my book club’s July book, and I honestly went back and thanked everyone who voted for the genre because I’m so glad I had that book, I’m so glad this series exists. I honestly rate it higher than the likes of Hunger Games and Percy Jackson, this series was just *chefs kiss*.
El’s development in this last book is the best yet. You see her truly face that internal battle inside of her as she strives to do the right thing every single time, despite the initial unknown cause and effect those decisions were creating. Watching this final chapter unfold really emphasised that the cogs were turning before she was even born. Every decision taken from the very first moments all led to the grande finale, the choices that would change and shape the future.
I personally was hoping for a slightly different ending, (spoiler to the ending - you’ve been warned)where El and Orion would do exactly what they promised each other while in the Scholomance, go off and build all those Golden Enclaves together. But honestly, their endings were just right for them individually, it made perfect sense. And despite my wanting them to ride off into the sunset together full time, I can’t even be mad at the final outcome because it really was the only true fulfilling ending for them.
This series will forever hold a special place in my heart. I’m sad it’s over and selfishly I want more because it truly was THAT good. Now it’s time for me to find another book to fill this void left behind by the Scholomance series. 🥲
The final chapter in the Scholomance series delivered everything it promised it would, and more. All those plot twists!? - had my jaw ON THE FLOOR. Every twist that unravelled the veil and shed light on the answers that were burning deep in my brain just kept getting bigger and bigger. I kept thinking there possibly couldn’t be another plot twist after the last, but I was wrong. Every. Single. Time. I won’t mention the plot twists here cause I could go on for days, but those of you who have finished the series, you know what I’m on about.
I started the series as A Deadly Education was my book club’s July book, and I honestly went back and thanked everyone who voted for the genre because I’m so glad I had that book, I’m so glad this series exists. I honestly rate it higher than the likes of Hunger Games and Percy Jackson, this series was just *chefs kiss*.
El’s development in this last book is the best yet. You see her truly face that internal battle inside of her as she strives to do the right thing every single time, despite the initial unknown cause and effect those decisions were creating. Watching this final chapter unfold really emphasised that the cogs were turning before she was even born. Every decision taken from the very first moments all led to the grande finale, the choices that would change and shape the future.
I personally was hoping for a slightly different ending, (spoiler to the ending - you’ve been warned)
This series will forever hold a special place in my heart. I’m sad it’s over and selfishly I want more because it truly was THAT good. Now it’s time for me to find another book to fill this void left behind by the Scholomance series. 🥲
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Classism
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Blood
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
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
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
The way the themes: of love, of complicity, of forgiveness, of 'the lesser evil,' of what it means to be human, are woven in is so beautiful. The tight worldbuilding of the first two books really paid off as well. There was enough foreshadowing that I felt vindicated when my theories were correct.
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
My least favorite of the series. I spent the entire book with a thousand questions. It took until the last 30 pages to answer those questions, and it just caused me to become uninterested halfway through. The characters spent the majority of the book apart, and I think that bothered me because the characters spent the entirety of the other two books together. With all that being said, I still love these characters, and I was satisfied with the ending even if it took me a lifetime to get there.