Week 36 Reviews: A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate

From Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver comes the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic.

I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life.

Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I'm concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I'm not joining his pack of adoring fans.

I don't need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts. I'm probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I'll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world.

At least, that's what the world expects me to do. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me like one more evil thing that's crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school itself certainly does.

But the Scholomance isn't getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone's idea of the shining hero, but I'm going to make it out of this place alive, and I'm not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either.

Although I'm giving serious consideration to just one.

With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates a heroine for the ages—a character so sharply realized and so richly nuanced that she will live on in hearts and minds for generations to come.

From Goodreads:

A budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education, the start of Naomi Novik's groundbreaking crossover series.

At the Scholomance, El, Orion, and the other students are faced with their final year—and the looming specter of graduation, a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake. El is determined that her chosen group will survive, but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up. Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules . . . 

My first review of A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate

My second review of A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate 

My Review:

I was planning on rereading these books. But I was thinking of doing it closer to the release of The Golden Enclaves, because that ending of The Last Graduate is just evil. But I read the teaser of The Golden Enclaves, and just had to dive into the series again now! 

El is angry at the world and for good reason. She's supposed to be a dark sorceress, but she's been raised by the kindest person in the world. So while she's working hard to keep from going down that path, but there's something about her that makes people stay away. Which, bah!

Her and Orion, I just love it. He's got all this privilege, and he doesn't care. And how he's a bit of a masochist, because he likes that she's mean to him, and I just love the two of them together. So his actions at the end of The Last Graduate, I could strangle him! 

Then there's the inherent unfairness of the enclaves, and how the kids from enclaves are treated in the Scholomance. And now that El as the basic building block spells for enclaves, I'm betting that's going to be a portion of the plot. I'm excited to see if I'm on the money or not! 

Loved reading these books, and the wait for the final book is almost over, I need it! 

Author: Naomi Novik
Series: Scholomance #1, 2
First Read: October 5th, 2020, September 28th 2021

Second Read: October 6th, 6th, 2021

Read: September 5th, 6th, 2022
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Rereading, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Books!
Publisher: Del Ray
Published: September 29th 2020, September 28th 2021

A Deadly Education:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Last Graduate:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars