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greymalkin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
An incredibly satisfying and pleasing conclusion to the trilogy. I loved it and immediately started re-reading the series again for reasons mentioned under the spoiler tag.
It is very rare for an author to be able to drop a twist so late in a series and pull it off. Either the twist is predicated on information that the reader never knew or couldn't possibly know (e.g. That there were two murderers, that one particular song has huge personal meaning for the main character even though it was never mentioned, etc.). But Naomi Novik did a marvelously satisfying job at it. As soon as it came up I was like OMG now so many things make sense!! There were always little moments that felt interesting but not particularly significant, and to have them suddenly all be huge clues as to what was really going on was very very cool. The twist didn't feel like it came out of nowhere and it didn't make me feel stupid for not noticing all the hints. I love when I can be delightfully surprised (and horrified because of the actual content of the twist).
I also really loved that this book focused on El really deepening her friendships and feelings for other people and showing how she could bring together disparate groups even though she's not particularly charismatic or great at social things. I had liked Liesel from the second book but I really loved her in this one. And Orion... my heart bled for Orion.
It took me a while to finish the book because I was deliberately pacing it out, savoring the moments because so many huge things happened all the time it was better to take in the book in sips rather than gulps. And once I finished it, I immediately started reading the first book again. Only a few chapters into the first book and I was very pleased to see that yes indeed, there's a huge clue right there right at the start and yet we had no idea what we were looking at so it meant nothing. Tremendous.
I also really loved that this book focused on El really deepening her friendships and feelings for other people and showing how she could bring together disparate groups even though she's not particularly charismatic or great at social things. I had liked Liesel from the second book but I really loved her in this one. And Orion... my heart bled for Orion.
It took me a while to finish the book because I was deliberately pacing it out, savoring the moments because so many huge things happened all the time it was better to take in the book in sips rather than gulps. And once I finished it, I immediately started reading the first book again. Only a few chapters into the first book and I was very pleased to see that yes indeed, there's a huge clue right there right at the start and yet we had no idea what we were looking at so it meant nothing. Tremendous.
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Racism
Minor: Child death
chamaeleontis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.75
I loved this book. It was a great way to end the series. But I was a little disappointed by the ending (rushed and has a trope I don’t like), or it would have been 5 stars.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia
fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.5
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced review copy.
When I tell you I gasped and had to close my kindle 60% through....
I very much enjoyed this final installment of the Scholomance trilogy. I was concerned the final book wouldn't live up to the others as it's not set in the Scholomance, but it was a fun adventure! The Golden Enclaves was quite different than the prior two, and the world-building wasn't quite as precise, but that didn't distract from my enjoyment of it.
When I tell you I gasped and had to close my kindle 60% through....
I very much enjoyed this final installment of the Scholomance trilogy. I was concerned the final book wouldn't live up to the others as it's not set in the Scholomance, but it was a fun adventure! The Golden Enclaves was quite different than the prior two, and the world-building wasn't quite as precise, but that didn't distract from my enjoyment of it.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, War, and Classism
Minor: Bullying