I went into this book with very few expectations beyond 'magical school' so I was kind of expecting a dark academia sort of story with floppy-haired sorcerers brooding on plush armchairs - so it was a pleasant surprise to discover that this book was...something else. 

One of the most significant things I found was that this book doesn't start with a 'freshman' character. At the point where the book starts El is only a couple of years away from graduation, I liked this because it means the story could go to different places, El already knows what's what, we get to see her navigate the halls with a degree of confidence. The book is written in first person so I imagine it would have been pretty devoid of substance if we were learning everything at the same pace as the narrator!  I'll be interested to see how many books we get in this series since in theory the next year is El's graduation year but time will tell!

This setting was incredibly cool. I will say I got a little confused by the layout of things at first but gradually I managed to understand this strange rotating school that gradually lowers it's classes towards the graduation hall. The fact that any pipe, vent, or crack in anything could contain a lurking creature ready to kill the unsuspecting student was really well done. Naomi Novik manages to convey the exhausting effects of being constantly on guard against potential death and I really felt for the characters. What I thought was also well done was the way that Novik conveys the benefits of the scholomance - otherwise I think I would have spent the entire book wondering why on earth anyone would choose to go there?

The magic was also very cool. It was a fairly hard magic system, though you don't get a blow by blow account of how all magic works it does get explained fairly well. I liked the way that spells were another thing students could barter and the development of new spells throughout the book was very cool. I won't spoil it but I think this will be good for booklovers (without being a book about books). 

One thing I will touch on is the recent discourse about non POC authors writing books from the perspective of a character of colour. In this case El is biracial and (as far as I a aware) this is not an ownvoices representation. I don't think the rep was damaging in any way but I thought it would be remiss not to mention, and those looking for stories that go more into the lived experience of people who are biracial might find this lacking. Obviously I'm a white lady so can't comment on this from any position of authority and, as always, urge you to seek out the opinions of ownvoices reviewers. 

This book is a fun story, I liked the characters, I even enjoyed the romance (it's not a big focus of the book but it was fun). I loved being inside El's head as she was just so delightfully cynical and grumpy - I could relate. The one thing missing, and it has been missing from every Naomi Novik book I've read, was LGBTQIA+ representation. You have a whole school of kids and not one mention of anyone LGBTQIA+? Or if there was it was blink and miss it. I still really enjoyed the book but I will keep singing 'it should have been gay' until the end of time. I'm not asking for tokenistic representation I just feel like if you're going to put out a magical school story in 2020 there had better be some queer youth...

Overall I would say this book is worth reading, and I'll certainly keep reading the series - the setting is what makes it amazing so if you want to read a truly unique magical school then I humbly place this recommendation at your feet!

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley - all opinions are my own. 

A Deadly Education is out September 29th

I was thoroughly disappointed by this book. I thought it was going to be something it wasn’t, and what made it worse was the fact that it had all the potential and all the right kicks in the story but it felt like it was missing something.

The book sounded good and on paper it sounds like completely my thing, and i’m not joking when I say I screamed when I was approved for this! But it was SUCH boring book. We’re stuck in the perspective of one character which isn’t bad, but it just feels like it wasn’t edited. Like one stream of consciousness, and at times it jumped and felt purposefully confusing. Like we’d meet a character and not know anything about them and then later we would hear something more about them and who they are etc. But what really got to me was the definitions of the magic based language. It was used over and over again before being defined and clarified what it meant leaving you in a state of weird confusing wondering if you’d missed something when you hadn’t.

Like dark magic? Amazing. School that tries to kill you whilst you study there? Amazing. Sorceress with the potential to be the most powerful evil witch of all time? Sign me up! But what really annoys me is that the book felt way too short for the amount of content and the concept it was trying to set up. Like it’s a strange conundrum of not being edited enough but also not expanding on the story and helping it achieve it’s full potential, Though it’s not all doom and gloom. The last 20% of the book was actually really fun and it did pick up, and i’m looking forward (albeit, sceptically) to the next book. Because the ending did end on a slight cliff-hanger and intrigue me slightly towards the next entry in the series.

The book is just too small for the story it’s trying to tell. Like when i saw it was just over 300 pages I was like, “oh”. As in, this could either be a really great slim-lined dark academia book or it could feel extremely thin and empty. Unfortunately as I was nearing the end of the first chapter, it already felt like it was the later and it just got worse and worse. Like it’s not a bad book?? but it’s also not a good book and it just felt disappointing especially from such a well renown author. But who knows remember this book isn’t actually published so things can change from the time I read it to release you never know! Also you might enjoy it was more than I did! and if you did i’d love to hear your thoughts about it

I have been anticipating this book, having heard lots about it. It did not disappoint! Like a dark Harry potter, with a feminist twist. I will be getting the illumicrate edition, and it will live on my most loved shelf! Highly recommend, you can't miss this one

Just fantastic. Like Harry Potter from a Slytherin's perspective - but also something wholly original and unique. Yes, there is lots of complex world-building and passages of description - but the world is so amazing that I ended up enjoying some of those bits the most. The final sentence had my reeling. Novik is a genius.

The Scholomance is a school for wizards where everything is trying to kill you and the only way to graduate is to survive a hall full of wizard eating monsters. Everyone spends their time collecting the best spells and items and making alliances.
I really enjoyed this. I wasn't sure if it was going to end up being a bit 'Harry Potter for grownups' but it's fun, and dark and has a really interesting world and magic system. The two main characters are a bit unlikable in completely different ways (as are a lot of the other characters) and it made for some really fun interactions between them and everyone else. It was really interesting to see how the characters behaved in a world where being out for yourself was the norm and the idea of 'the greater good' was dangerous and possibly harmful to others.
I had a good idea of where the plot and characters were heading about halfway in but it didn't spoil the rest of the book as that often can.
I'm hoping that there will be a sequel.

A magical school unlike any other, where there are no teachers, no rules, no parents, sounds great, doesn't it?

Oh, did I forget to mention the cliques that could literally spell life or death if you don't get invited to join? Or the fact that once in the school you can't leave until graduation (which is an event that makes 'The Hunger Games' a walk in the park), and the fact that there are monsters lurking down every dark corridor, waiting to enter your nightmares or maybe even pop out of the book you are reading.

Galadriel, or El, is the prickly social misfit with a secret or two is navigating her way through the school. Determined not to give in to the lure of dark magic or let her defences down and make friends she is forced to reassess her prejudices when she is targetted by one of the more privileged students. Woven into the plot are themes that examine power and social hierarchy, diversity and injustice, peer pressure and self-esteem. It's cleverly done and El is a fantastic MC that I really liked.

There's a brilliant cliff hanger of an ending and I'm really looking forward to the next installment.

My thanks go to the publishers and Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This is a fun read that is a mash-up of Harry Potter (and the magic school genre), Mean Girls for the wonderfully snarky El, and books like The Hunger Games/Divergent. I first came to Novik via her Temeraire books which I love (love!) but I'd say this is very different: it doesn't have the same depth of characterisation or the solid historical foundation that made those books so addictive - this new world floats in the 'void' which means that students have read 'Lord of the Flies', say, and generally speak English so it's more or less a generic fantasy world with contemporary overtones.

This definitely feels like the opener in a planned series: there's lots of scene-setting and laying out of information that the reader needs to orient themselves. At times these info-bulletins hold up the action and are even placed mid-speech: at 80%, for example, just as someone is about to unfold a dastardly plan, the narrative stops for 3 pages to explain the absence/presence of academic ranking boards... There is also a... not quite cliff-hanger ending, but one which is designed to overturn what has developed in this book in preparation for the next.

For me, this feels YA - it's fun, especially the narrative voice, so if you fancy a darker Hogwarts with a snarky, sparky female lead then go for it!

A Deadly Education is a well written story, as a fantasy reader, I loved to falling deep into its pages. Secrets, magic, romance, and surprises make this a great start to the beginning of a new series. There is plenty of breathtaking action full of plot twists.

The story of Galadriel, Orion, their classmates, and makeshift alliances pulls you deep into this young adult fantasy. The world A Deadly Education takes place in is easily built around the reader as you flip through the pages. No detail is left out as the main character does a great job of explaining every situation. There’s almost too much explanation for my liking. While I am one to appreciate background detail I found myself skimming through pages waiting for the story to pick back up again. Once it did I was immediately drawn back into the

This was the first book in the series and while I did feel it dragged on in a few spots, I find myself intrigued to see what happens next for Galadriel & Orion.

Uprooted may be my favourite book by Novik but this is a very close 2nd and one that I know I will enjoy again and again. I love the character El that is sassy, violent and trying to stay as untainted as humanly possible even though it would be so easy to turn dark for her. I love that the male lead is more of a bumbling hero than the ultra-perfect alpha male type guy that a lot of books use (nothing wrong with them but this is just refreshing). I love how it doesn't centre around a relationship and is more about how El plans to survive and the dangers they have to face daily to survive and graduate.

I didn't like the cliffhanger but it was more because I knew I would have to wait forever for the next to come out!

This is my first Naomi Novik book and I got super intrigued by the premise as soon as I heard it. But the book itself fell short of my expectations although the world Novik came up with is fascinating.

Deadly Education has the setting of a magical school where there’s no teacher and no guarantee you will make it out alive to graduation. The world in this book is brilliant but also very complex and Novik does dump a lot of information on us from the get go and I’m not gonna lie, I was very confused for the first 20% of the book. Names of creatures and such are thrown out like I’m supposed to know what it all means right away but it takes a bit of time and more story to really grasp it all - once you do, totally worth it though!

I liked our MC, Galadriel, enough as well as the side characters. The main love interest was a bit meh and the chemistry between him and Galadriel is a bit of a strange one to be honest but I could end up rooting for them depending on how it evolves in the sequel.

The story in itself was okay - I liked certain parts and was indifferent to others. I was disappointed by the ending as I imagined something bigger but I can’t hold it against Novik as it is only the first book in a series and she therefore needs to keep the more exciting stuff for later.

To conclude I can say I enjoyed Deadly Education but expected more from it and was left a bit disappointed. I will probably continue on with the series as I really want to see what Novik decides to do with some elements revealed in this first instalment.

A Deadly Education captured my imagination right from the start. I loved the premise of a more deadly kind of magical school, and El came across well as a character. I felt an instant affinity for her and became caught up in her story, wondering how things would turn out. The pacing of the book was nicely handled, with plenty of action and adventure propelling the story forward, alongside good development of the principal characters. The world building was beautifully realised without unnecessary info dumping, and I appreciated the subtle twist at the end that left me keen to know what would happen next. Fans of Novik's writing will definitely love this new work, and anyone who enjoys magical adventures in a school setting, with a dark twist, should also check it out. A solid 4.5 stars from me.

A totally immersive and thrilling read. Exactly what I would expect from Naomi and a great start to a new series.

This book was one of my top 5 most anticipated of the year. I was so ready to love it. After all, this is the same author who wrote one of my favourite books, Spinning Silver.
The amount of thought and care that went into the worldbuilding is exceptional and was, undoubtedly, where this book shined. However, the explanations needed to know what was going on where dumped paragraphs upon paragraphs throughout the whole book, which made it tedious for me, as the reader.
There was just so much information that actions were constantly being interrupted. Not that a lot was happening. I found the plot lacking. It felt like you were only reading about the world and not the characters. And that combination made me bored at the start. But, after knowing more about the characters, and getting a grasp on how the school worked, I became wholly invested in the story.
I was surprised to find that this book was indeed YA and not adult, like her other works. The setting was a magical school, not a university, which wasn't what I expected. Also, even though the main character, El, meets the love interest at the beginning, nothing happened until the last chapter. But, it's set up very well for the next book (*fingers crossed*).
It saddens me that this could have been a new favourite if the info-dumping wasn't so severe. A category I still hope the sequels will reach, because I'm hugely excited for them after THAT cliffhanger.

absolutely loved this! This is about how our heroine’s life goes through a total turn about in the space of a year. The setting of the school was so well thought out and absolutely nothing like Hogwarts! El (Galadriel) is a girl I thoroughly empathised with from the beginning, although I’m not sure what that says about me! Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

This was my first time reading anything by Naomi Novik and I was pleasantly surprised. The concept of this book was so interesting to me and I think Novik executed it quite well. It was a refreshing take on the magic school concept which made it very enjoyable for me.

The pacing of the book was a bit of an issue for me as I felt like the explanations the author would make in the middle of a scene to give us some backstory kind of took me out of the scene and by the time I was back in the present I forgot some of what was going on. With that being said, it was nice to be given such an extensive knowledge of the world to completely understand what was happening.

I'm looking forward to continuing with the series and seeing where Novik goes with the story. I would definitely recommend reading this book.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.

I absolutely loved this book and read it in two sessions, only because at 2am I was too tired to stay awake!

It has everything I enjoyed in Uprooted and Spinning Silver; a fast pace, fantastic world building, characters that I’d like to know and a conclusion that leaves me more wanting more because I don’t want the story to have ended. I’m so glad that this is book 1 in the Scholomance
series and I’ll be waiting eagerly for the next book in the series.

El is in her second to last year at the Scholomance; a loner, desperately trying to work out how to make a strong enough alliance to survive graduation, and even, how to survive the monsters infesting the school until then. It makes for riveting reading (the same as Uprooted and Spinning Silver) and the characters and story will continue to resonate long after the story is finished.

4-4.5 stars

I’m a bit dithery over that rating, take it as 4.25 if that helps! I just about devoured this book whenever I could and it made for tasty reading. The Scholomance was a school like you’ve never imagined, a school trying to kill its pupils with brimming magic, a void and tonnes of deadly creatures.

This was a witty read and that really surprised me. We’ve definitely seen shades of Novik’s sarcastic humour through Uprooted but this story had a lighter, laugh-out-loudness to it. I thought the whole concept of The Scholomance (the boarding school for wizards) was unique. Add to that the snarkiest heroine I’ve read in a while in Galadriel (El) and it was hard for this book to put a foot wrong.

"When I want to straighten my room, I get instructions on how to kill it with fire."

Odd right? Spells didn’t flow in the expected way for her, but Galadriel was not a conventional wizard by Scholomance pupil standards, she was quietly and covertly exceptional. I loved reading about her systems, her talents and the languages she was studying. Most of all, I enjoyed reading her growth in friendships. El was almost made perfect with her use of British swears. I can say that Novik wrote a Brit (she was actually Welsh) particularly well.

The begrudging friendship/white knight (not needed) in Orion made for hilarity and chuckling. It was hard not to like Orion despite his saviour complex but there’s definitely more to unpack with him and I’m so glad we hopefully get to do that in the next book.

“You know, it’s almost impressive,” he said after a moment, sounding less wobbly. “You’re nearly dead and you’re still the rudest person I’ve ever met.”

The heirarchies in the school were something else and the void was just nausea-inducing to me. This truly was the school of nightmares and I wouldn’t last more than a minute in there! I simply cannot wait for the next instalment. And so I leave you with my favourite line (kudos to Jane Eyre here).

"Reader, I ran the fuck away."

Thank you to Cornerstone/Random House for the early review copy.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Deadly Education is the first book I’ve ever read by the famous author Naomi Novik. After falling in love with this eerie story, I can guarantee you that I’ll be looking forward to reading more of her work, especially the sequel to this book; that ending left me with a lot of questions!

A Deadly Education follows the story of Galadriel who, alongside her fellow wizards, studies at the Scholomance; which is a very dangerous and magical school full of monsters. At the Scholomance, sitting alone in the cafeteria or even walking to your classes by yourself is a terrible idea because maleficaria lurks everywhere and they are drawn to wizards’ magic.

In order to survive until graduation, which is when they will fight against all the monsters who weren’t able to get inside the school, Galadriel and everyone else spend their time with schoolwork; learning as many spells they can in different languages, trading stuff and finding themselves some allies for their graduation.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this one before and I think that’s what made me love it even more; the Scholomance is very peculiar school. One of the things I loved about A Deadly Education was the definitely the beginning; I absolutely loved they way it started, it made me laugh out loud!

Galadriel and Orion are without a doubt my favorite characters. Galadriel is sarcastic, she isn’t afraid to speak her mind, doesn’t care what people think of her and she doesn’t like to be saved; she could totally do that herself. Meanwhile Orion is the total opposite: he is kind, patient and tries to save as many students as he can, but his actions are having a negative effect in the school.

While Galadriel isn’t popular and does not have as many friends as those around her, she’s actually a very powerful wizard. I’m really look forward to read more about her magical abilities in the next book! And I also think there’s something Orion isn’t saying and I really want to know what that is, lol, I really want to read the sequel now!

Overall, A Deadly Education is a fascinating must read; it was a marvelous story from beginning to end. I can’t wait for you all to meet Galadriel and Orion, they are wonderful characters. And Naomi’s writing style, just like her book, was magical.

Blog post live on August 31st.

I think that this book is definitely going to be a love it or hate it kind of book. I absolutely adored it but I think for some people the narrative style just isn’t going to work. It is unusual, but I found myself totally drawn into it and I can’t wait for the rest of the series, not just because I need to know what happens next but because I kind of miss El’s perspective already. To me the narrative feels a lot like a stream of consciousness – or like the haphazard way that I tell stories. It feels very personal, like El is talking to you as the reader, and as she’s relaying what’s happening she will slide into stories about her past that relate to what’s happening. It means the worldbuilding is a little heavy at the start, but I think it works with the idea that El is telling you about her life and I think Naomi Novik did a really good job of making sure that the story never wandered so far off that I lost track of what was happening before.

The narrative style also worked really well for me because I absolutely adored El. I kept joking before I got the review copy that with her sharing my name and having destructive magic, I was guaranteed to love El. Well. I was right. By the end of A Deadly Education I felt like I was friends with El and hitting the last page of the book pained me. She wasn’t what I was expecting from seeing the book marketed as ‘girl with destructive magic at terrifying murder school’ but I actually liked her better than I thought. El could commit atrocities. She could easily walk out of the school without a scratch, and all it would cost her is a little murder. It would be easy for her. But she doesn’t want to do that. Instead she makes her like three times harder to do things right. It’s almost aspirational, even if I did desperately want to see her do something hugely destructive (I like powerful women, okay).

This book was tropey as hell in SUCH a good way. Fake dating. Accidentally dating. Chosen One. And the school itself is just about the coolest (scariest) idea I could imagine. It’s a school for magical students where the students are trapped until they graduate, and the only way to leave is to walk through the graduation hall. Which just happens to be full of monsters that want to kill students. So ‘learning’ at the school isn’t exactly a structured curriculum, but a concentrated effort to learn enough to get out alive, or to be useful enough that someone else gets you out alive. Add in that the school is sentient and exists in the void and it might just be the school from hell. I can’t wait for the next book, because the end of A Deadly Education had me literally gasping out loud.

The only thing that seemed a little off to me was that the main character is biracial (Welsh-Indian) but while it was mentioned once or twice, it didn’t feel like it really showed in the text at any point? I’m white, so it’s not something that I can really comment on, but I hope ownvoices Indian and Indian-British/Welsh reviewers are getting to read this because I’d love to read their take on the character. It didn’t feel like bad representation to me, but equally, it didn’t feel like her Indian heritage was really represented at all so I hope it wasn’t just put in for diversity’s sake.

I'm giving 5 stars to my girl El because she deserves every single one of them!

"Yes, now I was worrying I'd be turned to the dark side by too much crochet."

I've started this review several times, always with, I love this book because...and then about ten things immediately spring to mind.

So, instead, I'm going to start at the beginning.

I loved the premise. The synopsis grabbed me instantly and I couldn't wait to dig in.

But, it took me a little while to get really into the book. I knew that I liked it, but I wasn't really sure why. Then, it did a complete one-eighty on me the more I got to know El.

I'll be honest, in terms of actual plot, not a great deal does happen BUT this is the first book in the series, and it's clear that there's a lot of setup going on AND we do get fantastic world building, character building and really great monsters.

El though is my new hero. I absolutely love her, and might also be a little in love with her. It's really not often that you're introduced to a morally good character that's also incredibly powerful, witty, stubborn and 100% interesting.

"I love having existential crises at bedtime, it's so restful."

It's El who makes this book worth reading, and I love the humour she brings while at the same time bringing a lot of heart to the book, making you really care for and root for her.

The premise is fantastic - it's a school that almost tries to kill you!

"The school has to be fed somehow."

I love that the traditional "hero" trope in this book is turned on its head and I just love the dynamic between El and Orion. Think Legolas and Gimli, but a little more frank.

"Lake, I hate you more than words can possibly express."

The secondary characters are also fantastic and add a lot of unexpected humour, tension and drama to the plot.

"Mom told me that all boys are carrying a secret pet mal in their underwear, and if you get alone with them they let it out."

As the tension and danger built throughout the book, I really wondered how it was going to end but it was great, with just enough tension to keep me hanging on for the next one.

Overall, a fantastic start to a new fantasy series! I can't wait for the next instalment!