A review by icarusandthesun
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

a great sequel with the most brutal cliffhanger one could imagine. thrilling.
quite a curious read, especially regarding the characters and their development. the whole book centers around graduation, and a very important and substantial twist in el's thinking. the ideas behind the book were brilliant, if perhaps a little "out of character" with a lot of new concepts that make the reader basically scrap everything they know about the dark school of magic (and partly the characters as well) from the first book. it wasn't at all unpleasant or anything, quite the opposite - it filled the sequel with fresh and interest-evoking ideas, but just know that this one is swerving in the 'everything is going to be alright' and positive-thinking direction. i seriously missed the 'fuck we're all gonna die' mood from the first book and also just some death in general, but alright.
the romance sort of peaks in this one as well, and i'm really in love with the dynamic. the cliffhanger made me want to haul the book against the wall because it was just so so ... screaming crying throwing up yk, in a good way.
the one awkward sex scene made me a little uncomfortable because it was simply so uncalled for and just an unnecessary like, three-page-filler, so nope, didn't like that at all.
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