Week 36 Reviews: A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate, The Golden Enclaves

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 . . . 

From Goodreads:

Saving the world is a test no school of magic can prepare you for in the triumphant conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.

Almost singlehandedly--although backed by an increasingly large cadre of genuine friends--El has changed the nature of the Scholomance forever. But now that she is back in the real world, how will the lessons she learned inside the school apply? Will her grandmother's prophecy come true? Will she really spell the doom of all the enclaves forever?

As the quest to save her one true love ramps up, however, El is about to learn the most significant lesson of all--the dire truth on which the enclaves and the whole stability of the magical world are founded. And being El, she is not likely to let it lie....

My first review of A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate, The Golden Enclaves

My second review of A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate, The Golden Enclaves

My third review of A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate 

My fourth review of A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate

My Review:

I'm honestly obsessed with this series, this is another where I tend to reread it around this time, it's comforting to me, and I need that right now with grieving Jax. I love El's narration style, of how angry she is at the world, and the way that it treats her. 

The way each book builds upon what the first book developed, of El and her growing gang of friends and friendlies, of how they were going to get out of the school, and then dealing with being out in the world again when someone is going after enclaves. 

I adore these characters so much! That we only get 3 books with them is sad, but I'm so glad that we did get them. That's part of why I'll always reread this series, to spend time with them, and with this excellent story! 

How well plotted that this series is, with the character arcs, and the plot details being sprinkled throughout, with the maw-mouths, and her opinions on enclaves and enclavers, it was so well done! I remember how shocked I was when I first read The Golden Enclaves and that whole truth came out.

Absolutely loved reading these again, and I need to read more by Naomi Novik! 

Author: Naomi Novik
Series: Scholomance #1, 2, 3
First Read: October 5th, 2020, September 28th 2021, September 27th, 2022

Second Read: October 6th, 6th, 2021, September 3rd, 2023

Third Read: September 5th, 6th, 2022

Fourth Read: September 2nd, 2nd, 2023

Read: September 4th, 4th, 4th, 2025
Source: Own
Reason Why: Rereading, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Books! And The Golden Enclaves is a End of Series 2025 Book! 
Publisher: Del Ray
Published: September 29th 2020, September 28th 2021, September 27th 2022

A Deadly Education:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Last Graduate:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars