Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Een dodelijke opleiding by Naomi Novik

98 reviews

chalkletters's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

When A Deadly Education was introduced as ‘a nasty magic school’, I was worried it would be another Witchsign; I couldn’t have been more wrong. The tone and the characters are completely different, and while both books have similar themes, A Deadly Education delivers friendship overcoming the odds far more effectively. 

The Scholomance is a dangerous place which thrives on inequality, but nothing about A Deadly Education is delivered to grind the reader down. Instead, El’s savviness, self-knowledge and pragmatism are immediately captivating. Naomi Novik creates an amazing contrast between El and her non-privileged peers who have to be smart to survive versus the 'enclave kids’ who can coast on generations of magical alliance. 

El’s character development is awesome, and ties seamlessly in to an action-packed plot. It’s rare that a moment of intense self-discovery will also be an attempted murder, but Naomi Novik manages it. Against the background of self-interest and betrayal, El’s developing friendships shine particularly brightly. While there is a romance, it doesn’t overshadow the platonic relationships.

Even though El’s mother never appears 'on stage’, their relationship is beautifully portrayed. Gwen Higgins is the goodest of good witches, but the mother-daughter bond isn’t all unconditional love and endless support; it’s complicated and realistic and oh, so fantastic to read about. 

It’s always a good sign when there’s enough plot going on that the reader can make guesses about a situation and be wrong. No detail of the plot felt wasted or cumbersome, and Naomi Novik manages to set-up such a brilliant cliffhanger that even if you know there is one, you probably won’t guess what it’s going to be. 

A Deadly Education was a complete joy to read, despite the darkness of the world and setting, and I can hardly wait to move on to the next book in the series!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Animal death, Blood, Death, and Death of parent

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.

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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.

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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.

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Gore, and Murder

tspice24'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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Violence

berglindsh's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Gore, Abandonment, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Body horror and Toxic friendship

phoebemurtagh's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Gore, and Body horror

Moderate: Abandonment and Racism

colie923's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

cgn's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring 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

Wow. I haven’t had such a strong five-star in ages. This book fed me energy. I took several moments to breathe and just process the emotions running through me. It gave all the delicious tension and reward I want from both the plot and the characters, and I can’t wait to see where both go next. I was only 15% into the book when I put the sequel on hold, and I’m so grateful for past-me. I’m already thinking about buying the book and re-reading it, especially to catch all the social commentary I missed the first time around. What a blessing of an experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Violence, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Murder, and Medical content

Minor: Pregnancy

tinybluepixel's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Body horror, Classism, Gore, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Racism, Death of parent, and Murder