Scan barcode
abigails_books's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
CW: mild sex scene, general monster-fighting violence
Rating: 4 stars
"Orion didn't look over at me again, even when he surfaced in between the killing waves; he was too busy. It was just as well, because if he'd looked over at me, I'd have smiled stupidly back at him. I was glad, so glad, even pinned down in this room with all the monsters in the world trying to come at me, at Orion, because it wasn't despair in his way after all; it was just the clumsiness of learning. He could want other things. I wasn't the only thing he'd ever want; I was just the first other thing he'd wanted."
This book was very cute and overall I enjoyed it as the follow-up to A Deadly Education, Lesson One of the Scholomance.
Summary: Galadriel 'El' Higgins and her cast of friends, including Orion Lake, who was quickly firming up to boyfriend status in this book, start their senior year at The Scholomance, picking up exactly where we left off in A Deadly Education. As a new senior, El quickly realizes the school, its own entity and almost a character, is trying to tell her something. At first, she thinks the school is out to get her but eventually realizes the school is trying to tell her it wants to help her save all the students from the quickly breaking-down school they are all locked in for protection from the vicious monsters, or mals, that are hungry for wizard children's mana, or magical life force.
Upon realizing what the school wants from her, and realizing that her dark sorceress prophecy actually helps her to fulfill her mission, El and her friends come up with a plan to save every student in the school and trap all (most) of the mals in the world within the school, before pushing it into the void — trapped, but not really taking up space either.
Along the way, El and Orion get much more familiar with each other, and El learns another level of what makes Orion who he is, which was probably the best part of the book.
My first thoughts:
I felt a little bored in the first half of the book, despite a few very cute moments and sarcastic comments between El and Orion. The main reason I felt this way was because I realized the major plot of the book didn't fully start until the second half of the book.
Some gossip around this series is that Novik originally intended to only write two books, but after writing a majority realized it would work better as a three-book arc. To me, this rumor explains a lot because the first two books felt like they very easily could have been one book.
Issues:
I felt the themes in this book would have been stronger had it simply been a continuation of the first book, and also the relationship building between El and her growing circle of friends. I definitely think Orion and El's relationship would have made much more sense to read it in one book develop from enemies to actual lovers, rather than begrudging almost lovers at the end of the first book.
I also think the boring bit at the beginning of this book wouldn't have been so boring if it had been bridging the cliffhanger from book 1 to the major plot of book 2 — it probably would have felt more cohesive that way and also she wouldn't have wasted so much word space regurgitating history and facts from the first book, which is a YA pet-peeve of mine. If we read the first book, we know -- you don't need to re-write half of it. So anyway, I did end up skimming quite a bit of the first half because it was mostly re-written from the first book.
However, once I got through the first half, El and Orion finally engaged in a more realistic and continuous way, and the plot both sped up and steamed up if you catch my drift. But, then it was over, and with that cliffhanger, I mean! I just would have loved about 200 more pages? Is that too much to ask for?
All in all, I'll have to wait to read the final book to decide how I feel, but I do think this could have been in A Deadly Education instead of its own book.
Things I liked:
-Seeing El and Orion's love story finally come to fruition was exactly what I wanted from this book, so it delivered on that front.
-El's developing deep friendships with Liu and Aadhya was excellent, and her growing relationship with her familiar Precious was hilarious.
-So much of these books is just what El is going through and sometimes the dialogue is non-existent. However, it was great to finally get in-depth conversations between El and Orion and, most importantly, to get to understand who Orion actually is as opposed to what El assumes. I finally felt like I understood his character rather than seeing her inward feelings about why he made certain decisions.
-It was very CUTE, which is what I WANTED, and I definitely squealed and smiled my way through the latter half of the book. It also kept up the sarcasm and dark optimism from the first book, which I appreciated.
Overall, I just think I'm a more mature, longer book reader, but these books have been a very nice little break. I almost feel like I'm my younger self while reading it, which is a really nice little get-away.
Rating: 4 stars
"Orion didn't look over at me again, even when he surfaced in between the killing waves; he was too busy. It was just as well, because if he'd looked over at me, I'd have smiled stupidly back at him. I was glad, so glad, even pinned down in this room with all the monsters in the world trying to come at me, at Orion, because it wasn't despair in his way after all; it was just the clumsiness of learning. He could want other things. I wasn't the only thing he'd ever want; I was just the first other thing he'd wanted."
This book was very cute and overall I enjoyed it as the follow-up to A Deadly Education, Lesson One of the Scholomance.
Summary: Galadriel 'El' Higgins and her cast of friends, including Orion Lake, who was quickly firming up to boyfriend status in this book, start their senior year at The Scholomance, picking up exactly where we left off in A Deadly Education. As a new senior, El quickly realizes the school, its own entity and almost a character, is trying to tell her something. At first, she thinks the school is out to get her but eventually realizes the school is trying to tell her it wants to help her save all the students from the quickly breaking-down school they are all locked in for protection from the vicious monsters, or mals, that are hungry for wizard children's mana, or magical life force.
Upon realizing what the school wants from her, and realizing that her dark sorceress prophecy actually helps her to fulfill her mission, El and her friends come up with a plan to save every student in the school and trap all (most) of the mals in the world within the school, before pushing it into the void — trapped, but not really taking up space either.
Along the way, El and Orion get much more familiar with each other, and El learns another level of what makes Orion who he is, which was probably the best part of the book.
My first thoughts:
I felt a little bored in the first half of the book, despite a few very cute moments and sarcastic comments between El and Orion. The main reason I felt this way was because I realized the major plot of the book didn't fully start until the second half of the book.
Some gossip around this series is that Novik originally intended to only write two books, but after writing a majority realized it would work better as a three-book arc. To me, this rumor explains a lot because the first two books felt like they very easily could have been one book.
Issues:
I felt the themes in this book would have been stronger had it simply been a continuation of the first book, and also the relationship building between El and her growing circle of friends. I definitely think Orion and El's relationship would have made much more sense to read it in one book develop from enemies to actual lovers, rather than begrudging almost lovers at the end of the first book.
I also think the boring bit at the beginning of this book wouldn't have been so boring if it had been bridging the cliffhanger from book 1 to the major plot of book 2 — it probably would have felt more cohesive that way and also she wouldn't have wasted so much word space regurgitating history and facts from the first book, which is a YA pet-peeve of mine. If we read the first book, we know -- you don't need to re-write half of it. So anyway, I did end up skimming quite a bit of the first half because it was mostly re-written from the first book.
However, once I got through the first half, El and Orion finally engaged in a more realistic and continuous way, and the plot both sped up and steamed up if you catch my drift. But, then it was over, and with that cliffhanger, I mean! I just would have loved about 200 more pages? Is that too much to ask for?
All in all, I'll have to wait to read the final book to decide how I feel, but I do think this could have been in A Deadly Education instead of its own book.
Things I liked:
-Seeing El and Orion's love story finally come to fruition was exactly what I wanted from this book, so it delivered on that front.
-El's developing deep friendships with Liu and Aadhya was excellent, and her growing relationship with her familiar Precious was hilarious.
-So much of these books is just what El is going through and sometimes the dialogue is non-existent. However, it was great to finally get in-depth conversations between El and Orion and, most importantly, to get to understand who Orion actually is as opposed to what El assumes. I finally felt like I understood his character rather than seeing her inward feelings about why he made certain decisions.
-It was very CUTE, which is what I WANTED, and I definitely squealed and smiled my way through the latter half of the book. It also kept up the sarcasm and dark optimism from the first book, which I appreciated.
Overall, I just think I'm a more mature, longer book reader, but these books have been a very nice little break. I almost feel like I'm my younger self while reading it, which is a really nice little get-away.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
nutm3g's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
I devoured The Last Graduate like my life depended on it, or more accurately as if I were a maw-mouth on a war path towards my next treat of a graduating Scholomance class. El's heroic journey develops wonderfully, albeit emotionally draining as she comes to terms with her potential and destiny. Orion and El truly appear as opposites perfectly balancing one another out, or as two sides of the same coin. I was delighted at the appearance of two queer couples (mlm and wlw) as well as a vaguely mentioned background love triangle turned triad. The cliffhanger has me desperate to get my hands on the next book in the series, even though I know the first chapter will most likely appear devastating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Genocide, Homophobia, and Murder
ednam0dewannabe's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Grief
Minor: Blood, Child death, Confinement, and Panic attacks/disorders
adalieslittlelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
I am sick. This book was spectacular. Never have I ever been pulled into a story so quickly and so completely. I was utterly sucked in from page one. Everything else in my life became a nuisance. I knew I would like this book simply because I loved the first one, but this book exceeded all of my expectations. The characters, the world, the magic system, all of it was just *chef’s kiss. And then, with about 100 pages left, it took a turn that shot it into my top read, maybe ever. I loved every second of this book. And I am absolutely sick that we won’t have the next one until likely September of 2022! Talk about a cliffhanger ending. I am completely and utterly blown away. I felt like this book perfectly catered to everything I need in a book: flawed characters, snarky leads, the lightest dusting of romance, high action, and magic. I honestly can’t even begin to describe how much love I have for this book and cannot wait for the next installment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Murder, and Gore
Minor: Death and Sexual content
susirecio's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
I was looking foward to reading this book so much... but I have to admit that even though I've loved the story I was somehow disappointed. The plot is good and I like how the story is unraveling and I'm still in love with the world that the author created... but I found that there are too many reminders of what happened in the previous book and Gal spends so much time just acting like a horny teenager obsessed with sex. She also became a bit too "I'm not like other girls". Not so much that I don't want to read the next book but I liked her much more in the last one. Still is a solid second book leading to a seemingly very interesting third one and I'm looking foward to reading that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
bluejayreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book has so many problems. I have read several of Naomi Novik’s books so far, and compared to the meticulously-plotted and deftly told previous books that I’ve read, this one is definitely a weaker story. But … Well, I’ll get there.
I like lists, so let’s have a list of the most glaring problems I can remember off the top of my head.
- El is even more absurdly powerful than she was in the last book, but doesn’t seem to be surprised by or even notice it, and it doesn’t even cross her mind to question why. I don’t even know if the story wants that question asked, but I want to know why she’s so powerful.
- There’s apparently a whole enchanted gymnasium where many students exercise that somehow never got brought up in book one.
- Neither did a bunch of framed news articles that are apparently all over the school and are critical to the plot now.
- I never got the sense in book one that the school was fantastically big and yet there’s apparently a thousand graduating seniors.
- There’s supposed to be a thing about lingering trauma from El’s experience with the mormouth last book, but the climactic moment of that plot thread ended up very anti-climactic.
- Several threads from book one that either get dropped entirely or get shoved to the background with no warning or mention.
Most of these problems are continuity issues from the previous book, and none of these are “you only notice if you think about it too hard” issues – they were all glaringly obvious to me while reading. And yet with all those obvious issues, I’m going to come back and say that I loved this book.
The main reason for this is that I absolutely adore the trope of the protagonist being so much more powerful than everyone else and all the people around them being repeatedly astonished as they discover bit-by-bit how absurdly powerful the protagonist is. The Last Graduate is that trope incarnate. In book one El by herself kills a monster that previously had only been killed by a group of ten of the world’s top magicians. In this book she is stronger. I cannot put into words how much fun it was to watch her go from being an overlooked non-Enclave kid to the absolute most powerful kid in school and probably the only way most of them are getting out alive.
I can’t say I entirely enjoyed El’s kinda-romance thing with Orion Lake, but I didn’t hate it and it was brief enough that it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story. There were also some interesting questions raised about Orion and how his magic works. I’m wondering if there’s some underlying reason that there are two absurdly powerful magical teenagers the same age that will get explained in book three.
Yeah, the book has problems. I won’t deny that, and those will probably be detrimental to your enjoyment if you don’t love the overpowered character trope. But I do love that trope and so I still thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I’m very much looking forward to book three.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Bullying, and Gore
Minor: Vomit and Animal death
stephernay's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, and Vomit
caidyn's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Not as good as the first book imho but still a lot of fun. I can't wait to see the conclusion with the third book. I was only expecting this to be a duology, so I'm excited.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Death
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, and Vomit
mandkips's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Child death and Sexual content
Minor: Bullying