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aglittercobra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
5.0
***5 Stars***
Overall,
You know when you read a book not knowing much about it and then it surprises you just how great it is. I was immediately engrossed in this book. I truly TRULY enjoyed it. It is definitely firmly dark academia, taking place at the Scholomance. While the story takes place in a pretty narrow portion of this world, the world building is fantastic. The main character El, is fabulous. I love her and all her anger and darkness. The rest of the cast is diverse and interesting.
Recommendation,
Yes, I absolutely recommend this book. If like me you are in your thirties, grew up on Harry Potter and have been looking for something that gives you a bit more of the darker aspects of that series I would say you will likely enjoy this book. It is definitely geared towards an older audience, at least 16+ but maybe 18, there is quite a bit of dark topics and gore, but overall its pretty tame in my opinion. I will definitely be finishing this series, and I have a good feeling I will be rereading them again because I enjoyed this one so much. If the rest of the series goes like this than I can see this being one of my favorites series.
Overall,
You know when you read a book not knowing much about it and then it surprises you just how great it is. I was immediately engrossed in this book. I truly TRULY enjoyed it. It is definitely firmly dark academia, taking place at the Scholomance. While the story takes place in a pretty narrow portion of this world, the world building is fantastic. The main character El, is fabulous. I love her and all her anger and darkness. The rest of the cast is diverse and interesting.
Recommendation,
Yes, I absolutely recommend this book. If like me you are in your thirties, grew up on Harry Potter and have been looking for something that gives you a bit more of the darker aspects of that series I would say you will likely enjoy this book. It is definitely geared towards an older audience, at least 16+ but maybe 18, there is quite a bit of dark topics and gore, but overall its pretty tame in my opinion. I will definitely be finishing this series, and I have a good feeling I will be rereading them again because I enjoyed this one so much. If the rest of the series goes like this than I can see this being one of my favorites series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Violence, and Death
laursyloo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.75
If you like the magic or Harry Potter, the characters of Twilight and the gore and disregard for life of Game of Thrones, this is your book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
vicwaltz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
slow-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: Gore and Violence
Minor: Rape
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
A bit less dark academia than I was expecting. The world building is a bit confusing, you kind of just have to go with it. Since it's a series, I hope that a lot of things will be much more fleshed out and deepened in the subsequent books. I really loved the MC's mom ~haha. There's a bit of dry humor throughout. Minor romance subplot. I will be continuing the series, but I am expecting a lot now from the next books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Grief, Pregnancy, and Racism
tsundokuuu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.5
Really good fantasy book, read it all in one sitting! Absolutely loved the concept, the crazy school and the characters. I absolutely loved how El and Orion went from snarky enemies to snarky girlfriend and powerful himbo . The .5 off is because there were some things that I didn't understand, for example; why was her mum famous and such a big deal? At the end everyone is shocked when it's revealed who her mum is, like she's super famous even though the vibes we get about the mum before that is just a very hippie feel-good lady that likes crystals and yoga.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Racism, Death, Body horror, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Lots of mentioning and describing gore and death because the monsters eat kids, so be prepared for some bloody shit.black_cat_iiix's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Classism, and Death of parent
katiieecat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Gore, and Murder
severelyhopefulcloud's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Death, and Cursing
finesilkflower's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
A gritty magic school story that is inevitably easiest to describe as "dark Harry Potter" (though it draws more from the Harry Potter fanfic tradition than from HP itself.) I found the first half hard to get through because it is so grim - the main character is a loner in a school that's so dangerous that student death is commonplace and you can't get too attached to anybody, which makes it relentlessly bleak - but the second half really drew me in as our protagonist El developed real friendships and caught a few breaks in amongst the trauma, and the adventure plotline kicked into gear.
The world details felt novel, clever, and well thought-through. Novik gives enough detail to the worldbuilding and the magic system to make it seem grounded, complex, and rules-based, but handwaves enough to give plenty of room for future plot hooks (and/or leave plot hooks for fanfic).
Tonally, I would say it is pretty similar to "Hunger Games," though where HG is dystopian commentary on inequality and exploitation in the real world, this book is more of a dystopian commentary on inequality and exploitation in Harry Potter. Deadly Education says the quiet part out loud, and fully commits to things that are true-but-disavowed in Harry Potter: that the school is actually super fucking dangerous; wealth and connections are crucial to survival; it's lovely that everyone has their own special talent but some of them are straight up evil; the status of hero-celebrity is lonely and unenviable; the monster-killing jock is somewhat boring and the smart friend who can see the writing on the wall is the real protagonist.
Also thematic shades of vampire or werewolf fic, as the main character is one of those "dark magic creature too powerful for their own good who has to constantly be alert against being evil" types. Typically these characters show up a lot in fanfic because they are reformed versions of antagonists in canon, and it was fun to see such a character as the main POV protagonist here. El's dynamic with Orion reminds me a lot of Draco/Harry, Baz/Simon from Carry On (also derived from Draco/Harry), or other (typically m/m) ex-villain/hero fanfic pairs. It was a nice touch to have El call Orion by his last name.
The world details felt novel, clever, and well thought-through. Novik gives enough detail to the worldbuilding and the magic system to make it seem grounded, complex, and rules-based, but handwaves enough to give plenty of room for future plot hooks (and/or leave plot hooks for fanfic).
Tonally, I would say it is pretty similar to "Hunger Games," though where HG is dystopian commentary on inequality and exploitation in the real world, this book is more of a dystopian commentary on inequality and exploitation in Harry Potter. Deadly Education says the quiet part out loud, and fully commits to things that are true-but-disavowed in Harry Potter: that the school is actually super fucking dangerous; wealth and connections are crucial to survival; it's lovely that everyone has their own special talent but some of them are straight up evil; the status of hero-celebrity is lonely and unenviable; the monster-killing jock is somewhat boring and the smart friend who can see the writing on the wall is the real protagonist.
Also thematic shades of vampire or werewolf fic, as the main character is one of those "dark magic creature too powerful for their own good who has to constantly be alert against being evil" types. Typically these characters show up a lot in fanfic because they are reformed versions of antagonists in canon, and it was fun to see such a character as the main POV protagonist here. El's dynamic with Orion reminds me a lot of Draco/Harry, Baz/Simon from Carry On (also derived from Draco/Harry), or other (typically m/m) ex-villain/hero fanfic pairs. It was a nice touch to have El call Orion by his last name.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Child death, Murder, and Death of parent
Minor: Body horror, Vomit, and Animal death
space_bandit'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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Murder