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rinku's review
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
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!wickedgrumpy's review
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
blissofalife's review
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
Could hardly put it down! Unlike the previous two books in the series, the stakes remain per high for the entire book. It doesn’t really feel like there’s a climax so much as several climaxes as El grows and gains an understanding of the nature of the enclaves. Lots of time spent on explanations. Ties the whole series up very nicely, and doesn’t leave any loose ends. Naomi clearly did a very thorough mapping of the series before beginning!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Cursing
Moderate: War, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Child death, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Classism, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Gore
kadtide's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Grief, and Torture
Moderate: Murder and Death
Minor: Death of parent, Classism, and Drug use
allyareads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Grief, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, War, and Medical trauma
brianneh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, War, and Classism
ailsaod's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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
After the cliff-hanger book 2 ended on I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but it very quickly surpassed all expectations I had. This is my favourite book in the trilogy by far and expands the world outside the scholomance. I really enjoyed El's friendships which once again were more prominent in the story given Orion's ...situation. I also thought the plot twists in the story were amazing - Novik is just an incredible writer at everything she attempts it appears! Prepare yourself for some mild emotional devastation though as some of the things revealed really got me (in a good way though!).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Classism
Minor: Death of parent and Murder
imds's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death of parent, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Body horror, Classism, Grief, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, and Murder
coffeebot18's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
A stunning conclusion - to a brilliant trilogy - that makes sense of the events of the first two novels and clarifies El’s purpose . Novik’s magical world is desperately dark, but protagonist El and her people are tenacious in their pursuit of a glimmering, golden hope for a better future.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Body horror, and Violence
Minor: Cursing, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Murder