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phantomgecko'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
5.0
This brings a horrific new face to dark academia/magic boarding school. The premise for this book raises questions and concerns galore, but it works. When I laid out the premise to my husband, he asked if it was a horror novel (it's not).
The characters are interesting as well. El is a reverse chosen one--a fated dark lord that is NOT interested in being evil. I liked this take more than I thought I would. Orion is a himbo.
Honestly, my biggest regret is probably listening to the audiobook instead of reading it myself. I feel like the voice and tone, particularly of the main character, would have been different and better in my head. (No shade to Anisha Dadia, the voice actress)
This is a fun one to read.
The characters are interesting as well. El is a reverse chosen one--a fated dark lord that is NOT interested in being evil. I liked this take more than I thought I would. Orion is a himbo.
Honestly, my biggest regret is probably listening to the audiobook instead of reading it myself. I feel like the voice and tone, particularly of the main character, would have been different and better in my head. (No shade to Anisha Dadia, the voice actress)
This is a fun one to read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Gore
aroraback's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-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
4.5
I borrowed this from a friend, who recommended it but also informed me that they weren't planning on continuing with the second books so I didn't have high hopes. BUT I really ended up enjoying it.
More and more I find I enjoy books that have a YA feel, but are directed at adults one way or another (new adult?). And who doesn't like dark academia?
I appreciate Galadriel's snark, and the slow build of relationships that happens over the course of the book. The end solution does feel a little like it came out of the left field, but I'll be interested if that type of actions continue. The one other thing that stood out to me, is that this definitely felt like they were really just setting up a larger problem that hasn't really been introduced yet, I won't know until I read the others if I'm correct though haha.
More and more I find I enjoy books that have a YA feel, but are directed at adults one way or another (new adult?). And who doesn't like dark academia?
I appreciate Galadriel's snark, and the slow build of relationships that happens over the course of the book. The end solution does feel a little like it came out of the left field, but I'll be interested if that type of actions continue. The one other thing that stood out to me, is that this definitely felt like they were really just setting up a larger problem that hasn't really been introduced yet, I won't know until I read the others if I'm correct though haha.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Death
blewballoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
I had been sitting on this book for a long time and finally decided to read it. I ended up doing the audiobook, and I think the narrator did very well.
This book is quite exposition heavy, but the exposition is in the main character's voice so you get a bit of flavor of their personality along with the info dumps. Sometimes it felt like the story would come to a halt for some fairly irrelevant exposition, while other times the story would plunge along and I felt like I didn't have context to fully understand what was happening. It's a bit of an exhausting story because the Scholomance is such an exhausting place to live. There are monsters, school rules, and complex social hierarchies that make every action and every conversation loaded with potential repercussions, and all of those things constantly need explaining.
All that being said, I did enjoy this book. The main character was a lot more likable than I expected from the blurb, and there were some interesting supporting characters as well. As a character driven reader, these characters worked for me and carried me through the book. I am not sure if I will pick up the rest of the series or not, though.
This book is quite exposition heavy, but the exposition is in the main character's voice so you get a bit of flavor of their personality along with the info dumps. Sometimes it felt like the story would come to a halt for some fairly irrelevant exposition, while other times the story would plunge along and I felt like I didn't have context to fully understand what was happening. It's a bit of an exhausting story because the Scholomance is such an exhausting place to live. There are monsters, school rules, and complex social hierarchies that make every action and every conversation loaded with potential repercussions, and all of those things constantly need explaining.
All that being said, I did enjoy this book. The main character was a lot more likable than I expected from the blurb, and there were some interesting supporting characters as well. As a character driven reader, these characters worked for me and carried me through the book. I am not sure if I will pick up the rest of the series or not, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Murder, Child death, and Gore
Minor: Death of parent
scarlett_f's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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
3.5
Takes 2/3rds of the book to get to any real story or action. Too much detail-building. Maps of the school and cross-sections are at the end of the book. Should've been at the beginning for better understanding of the layout. Strong female protagonist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content
clairelikesbooks95's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Very fun! But dear god what a lot of exposition. It was disguised in the sassy internal monologue of the MC, but you can’t fool me, Naomi!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Death
violinknitter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Death and Violence
andriacarver's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Overall a very entertaining read. It took a while to get oriented into the world but picked up nicely once there. The main character is a bit of a mixed bag. It's hard to like her at first, she's rude to everyone and then wonders why she doesn't have friends. Later on the story gets more into the social hierarchy and classist system of the world and her attitude starts to make more sense. The world is intriguing enough that I'm definitely going to read the next one!
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
fronk10's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A good magic school, and really unique creature mythos that I enjoyed. The first bit is definitely a hard transition into first person, but as you ease into El’s narrative it’s a lot easier to immerse yourself in. A cute read but nothing to really grasp my imagination. I’m intrigued to read the sequel, but not sure how much milage the idea has for a whole series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
mabechel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Animal death
baestation's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Classism