A review by wizardingwisteria
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.
I really tried to enjoy this book. The premise and the plot were interesting but it has so many issues.  The writing style is dense. Normally I enjoy a lot of description, but this book is so thick with needless detail.  This is compounded by the main character's perspective being heavy-handed and incredibly judemental. Side characters are not described as people but described as tools or assets to help El graduate.  This is also what makes the romance feel so odd. I didn’t read far enough in to see them fall in love with each other, but the groundwork being laid was shakey.  El as a character is unbearable. She is so obnoxiously rude for little reason.  I understand having a flawed character that learns their lessons but El's flaws were turned up to such an extreme that I couldn't stand watching her transformation. To make it worse there is some minor instances of casual racism.  This book cleary had good bones to start with but is written so poorly overall. 
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