Years of rejection due to her aura of darkness have made El prickly and unfriendly to her fellow schoolmates. No one at the deadly school for mages, Scholomance, knows that El has amazing killing magic, or that a prophecy says she is fated to rain death and destruction on other mages. When El attracts the unwelcome attention of Orion, the Scholomance’s hero and savior, she not only acquires an unlikely companion but discovers heroism in herself. With her help as well as Orion’s, their fellow students might just survive four years at a school that wants to kill them.

After a rocky beginning, this fantasy young adult novel got its bearings and became—probably—the book I had the most fun reading this year. The first time I read it, I loved the last 60%, so much so that I read that part twice more. Then I went back to the beginning and read the entire book again, this time enjoying all of it. I think I may have read it one more time after that.

I normally love Naomi's stories but for some reason, this volume, apparently the first in a new series, was very challenging. It took me forever to get into this world and even longer to figure out what it was about.

It feels like the entire first half was set up and the second half is where the other characters come to life and become interesting.

Our heroine feels like a jaded, yet innocent, YA protagonist.

There's a casualness about dying teenagers that pervades the book and doesn't sit well with me. As a result, I have skipped volumes two and three.

This has been a long awaited read for me! I am finally finished and I can sigh with relief…just kidding! That cliff hanger at the end is going to leave me questioning everything. But alas, we must continue on with this review, haha.

To me, this wasn’t like anything I have read by this author before. I read and loved Uprooted and thought Spinning Silver was okay but this one just felt so different but in a good way.

The title promises a deadly education and it doesn’t disappoint. From crazy monsters in the dark to psycopath students who want to feed off you, this school doesn’t have the best survival rate but it does make for an interesting story!

From the very beginning, Galadriel or El for short is introduced and she has it out for a guy named Orion Lake who happens to be the hero she never wanted. She is rude to pretty much everyone and maybe evil like some people think but she doesn’t let that stop her.

Throughout the book she comes out of her shell more and more. I liked to see her progress and her realization that even though people may seem one way on the outside, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have their own struggles.

The relationship that her and Orion have is a pretty interesting one. I wouldn’t say that its enemies-to-lovers because she is the one doing all of the hating, haha. He does save her quite a bit and it was fun to read the sarcasm that spewed from El! Whatever they have between them is very slow and by the end you just want them to get it all out there.

The pacing for this book can be seen as slow with a lot of information being thrown at us from the beginning but I didn’t mind it. Some books lack with setup, especially when it comes to the magic system, but this author gives us everything we need to know.

The plot wasn’t what I expected in some ways but I liked where it took me. It was filled with interesting plot twists and many tense moments.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and I am looking forward to the sequel. The cliffhanger gave me a giant unanswered question and I am going to be dying for the answers!
Edit Review

A Deadly Education does something really unique: it gives you an extremely unlikable protagonist and makes you actually like her and want her to succeed. Our feisty little ball of bitterness and vitriol spends most of the book hating on everyone around her - all the while fighting off all manners of scary creatures (including nasty humans). But the book is strangely catching and once you start reading, it is hard to put it down.

Story: El joins the deadly school for mages knowing it is likely a one-way ticket to the grave. Many students don't survive the creatures that infest the halls and the ones that do survive tend to be from wealthy guilds who stick together. A lone straggler like El is a waving red flag to every supernatural creature that prowls the grounds. But it should be no surprise that a girl whose every spell is destructive and who has been prophesized to destroy the mages might have a few aces up her sleeve. But it won't be easy to survive, especially alone.

The story revolves around El meeting other students and slowly earning respect and friends among the other stragglers. Along the way, she'll also have to work with the guild elites - many of whom have no qualms about killing her. One of those, a 'white knight' but incredibly dense young man named Orion, will become fixated on her, sure she is the one sucking souls and killing fellow students. As expected, El treats him (Orion) with disdain. But they are among the strongest in the school and each with different skillsets that might just be needed to learn exactly what is happening to the school. If they don't kill each other first.

The mystery is the school itself: it is in its own dimension and wasn't created to be deadly. But something has clearly gone wrong over the centuries and it is becoming more and more dangerous. The elders are unable to remove the dangers but at the same time want only the best mages and so force their children to attend. The school is a crucible to test skill and mettle and the guilds write off the student deaths as being from students who could not survive in the magical world anyway.

Of note: those expecting a Harry Potter should look elsewhere. El is a hard, bitter character (but incredibly funny in her own snarky way) and this is not a 'feel good' type of book. As well, some think the 'mance" in Scholomance means romance and don't realize it means magic. There isn't much romance here at all in this first book.

In all, I listened to the Audible version and had mixed feelings on the narration. Some was very good but other accents and voices were joltingly odd or felt inappropriate for the character. She did an excellent job with El, though.

This was an addictive read that had me invested right from the beginning. I never wanted the story to end and greatly look forward to the next book in the series.

Not sure why I was granted this 3 years after publication! I will say that I read this one awhile back and loved it. The Dark academia vibes were amazing. The story was well done and kept me interested.

This was my first book by Novik and I really enjoyed it! The world building was a wild ride, and sometimes difficult to follow, but it felt like we were on that wild ride right alongside the main character. I’m so excited to find out more in the rest of the series!

A Deadly Education reminded me a lot of Nevernight: a nonexistent plot and questionable content in regard to race set at an *edgy* school.

OK, 5 stars is not enough for this book, or this series really. I have listened to the audiobook of this at least half a dozen times, no exaggeration, and the entire series at least three times. This is perhaps my favorite series or book from Naomi Novik, and that is saying something, since I haven't read a book of hers yet that I haven't loved. I've read and listened to Uprooted and Spinning Silver multiple times each and read the entire Temeraire series. A Deadly Education is my "comfort read" audio book, because the story pulls the reader in hard and keeps the reader anchored. My "complaint" for the first two books are the cliff hanger endings, which I understand some people like. Myself, I like a book to have a natural end, so it doesn't feel like a super long book broken unnaturally into multiple parts for marketing. However, Ms. Novik clearly chose to use the cliffhanger endings, and they work for her. And the audiobook narrator is a brilliant choice, no doubt.

The book is the first in a trilogy, and as far as I know, there are no plans to go beyond this, and I think the author chose well. Each book covers different ranges of time. A Deadly Education follows approximately the last four weeks or so of junior year in a magical boarding school, while the second book covers the entire senior year, and the third book covers a few weeks after graduation. This makes for some difference in the perspective of the passage of time within each book, but that does not mean any of the books lag. Ms. Novik keeps a nice pace to the action, with a suitable buildup and time for character and plot development. The series follows "El" as she navigates the deadly school, trying to protect herself and her friends, from different types of threats in each book. I'll leave out plot details to avoid spoiling this, but I will say that, despite some mild romantic description, foul language, and potential triggers (abduction, violence), this is a book/series that I would be comfortable sharing with a child in high school or an adult, as the series is compelling. The language is much what you would expect a room of adolescents from different cultures might use talking together, and the romantic conduct and violence are not gratuitous and serve to advance the plot. The reader simply does not want to put the book down. I can honestly say I was angry after A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate, as I had to wait for the story to continue. I felt The Golden Enclaves gave proper closure to the story, although there are enough plot lines established that Ms. Novik could continue the story should she choose to do so in the future. If you are thinking about this book, be prepared to read all three, as you won't want to stop the story.

And to be clear, this is not a Harry Potter riff. The entire school, wizard community, and world view are different, and magic works much differently in the two story worlds. This has more of a modern fantasy feel than the Harry Potter series.

Not sure why the publisher granted my request THREE YEARS after publication, but I'd already read and loved A Deadly Education.

Here's the review from my blog:

At Scholomance, a cutthroat school of magic, students are expected to graduate or die. The main rule: don't ever walk the hallways alone for monsters lurk everywhere. A standoffish loner, El doesn't have the advantages of the bigger cliches, but she does have a powerful magic that tends toward destruction. When she befriends the popular hero of the school, El must balance her survival with the survival of the other students in one of the best dark magic books out there.

Of the fantasy books I read this month, A Deadly Education was by far my favorite. My husband told me I had to try the "Dirty Harry Potter" series he was reading, and I quickly fell in love with Novik's fantasy series. With top-notch world-building and a great premise, A Deadly Education blends the perfect mix of teenage angst and romance to make it a perfect YA series to read. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book from my library.

It's like a dark Harry Potter if Hogwarts tried to eat the kids. Dark, hilarious, and highly entertaining, I highly recommend this series.

**I was provided an electronic copy of this book post-release by the publisher through NetGalley.**

Naomi Novik's completed Scholomance Trilogy begins with A Deadly Education. El is a girl especially gifted with magic, but in a school designed to attack student mages as they pursue their studies, her loner status is almost more dangerous than her magic.

In full disclosure, I am leaving this review because this was a "wish granted" by NetGalley nearly three years after the wish was made, but I read this book in 2021. As such, my memory does not allow the level of detail typical to my reviews.

I enjoyed the dynamics between El and her classmates, particularly her himbo academic rival Orion. This book does cater to its intended age demographic (young adult) and I would say it edges closer to the middle of the age bracket. There is a humor to Novik's storytelling in this series that will either be a hit or miss for readers. Some reviewers find El's characterization to be grating, but I would say I did not find that to be the case when consuming the book via audio.

Overall, I thought this was a decent start to a series I enjoyed.

Naomi Novik books always suck me in without me even realizing it. A Deadly Education was one of those books.

The world building for the school and the monsters was absolutely enthralling. I loved every second of it.

Every character made you want to know more and I honestly can’t wait to read the other books in the series.

I would highly recommend A Deadly Education!

I loved this book, the author has an amazing and descriptive writing style and El is such a wonderfully dark and loveable character. The descriptions and setting in this book were beautilly terrifying and macabre. You really feel like this is a place in the real world you can actually visit. The best part of the book I think is the side characters who are all fully fleshed out and realistic and I really came to adore them.

I can't wait to finish this series!

I definitely enjoyed this book! It has dark academia and it has magic, and combined those are two of my favorite things. And honestly, I just work really well with Novik's writing style, it always draws me into the book. I find that she's a talented writer and knows how to make use of "common tropes" and turn them into something fascinating.

At some parts I was a little like ??? but then I was all "OHHH" This book was a wild ride on so many levels. I enjoyed those moments where I could get lost. Novik is able to bring this world to reality, and she mixes our everyday world with this magical one, but she does it in a seamless way that works for me. Sometimes you get parts that almost don't mesh, but I felt like that was the point at times, to show how odd this whole situation was. Like a rite of passage.

El as a main character was excellent, especially her narration style. It worked for me, and I thought how Novik built out her relationships in the book was done well. There are a few reasons for this, and the main one is it felt like they naturally progressed. And it gave a real look at friendships -- they can take work, and you can make mistakes in them. So in those aspects I think she did a great job. I even enjoyed the "romance" in this book.

Overall, this was an excellent book, and such a unique take on a magic school and dark academia!

If I were to sum this book up quickly, it would be "Harry Potter meets Gideon the Ninth." There’s even a moment early on where our decidedly-not-Harry-like protagonist makes a point of telling the reader how much she hates treacle tart. I see what you did there, Novik.


Our protagonist is a junior at the Scholomance, a magical academy for wizard students from all over the world. Her name is Galadriel (not her fault; her mom is something of a hippy) and she goes by El. El is focused on a single goal: surviving to and through graduation. Because as the title of the book suggests, the Scholomance is not a safe place. Monsters of all sorts (called “mals”) are attracted to young wizards, and Scholomance was built as a relatively safe place for young wizards to learn. The “relatively” bit is key here - even with all the protections built into the school, mals are constantly finding their way in. Managing the day-to-day routines of class, the cafeteria, and going to the bathroom requires constant vigilance. Graduation is even worse - the mals know where the exit to the school is, and know that a few hundred tasty morsels brimming with mana will be leaving the school’s protections. The fatality rate at Scholomance is high (though much better than the 60% or so it is for young wizards outside), and to make it out of graduation alive requires having allies to watch your back.


And this is where things get tricky. Everyone at Scholomance wants to survive, of course, and as the old saying goes, if you and your classmate are desperately trying to escape a horrible tentacled monstrosity from deepest nightmare, you don’t actually need to outrun the horrible tentacled monstrosity from deepest nightmare - you just need to outrun your classmate. Nothing personal, but better you than me. And if I happen to trip you, well, do unto others before they do unto you.


Many of the students come from wizard communities on the outside, and as such, come with alliances pre-arranged. All the students from the same wizarding enclave will support each other. For independent students, getting allies is key. The preferred way is to find a group of enclave students that will take you on, with the possibility of being admitted to the enclave after (hopefully) making it out alive.


And here’s where our protagonist has a problem. El is snarky, sarcastic, has a huge chip on her shoulder, and is constitutionally incapable of doing anything that might possibly be viewed as sucking up to the enclave kids. Given the depth of her talent, she should have the various enclaves in a bidding war over her. Instead, she conceals her talent and hopes to … well, she’s working that part out, but she’ll think of something.


And then Orion Lake, mal-slayer extraordinaire, protector of the student body, scion of the peerless New York enclave, burts into El’s room one night and “saves” her from a soul-eater even though she would have been fine, she didn’t ask him to save her from anything, and now everyone will think she’s just the latest of oh-so-great-and-wonderful-Orion’s damsels-in-distress. Big shot has been in classes with her for three years and he doesn’t even know her name. Asshole.


Things develop from there, and it’s a pure delight to read. It’s got all the angsty teenage drama you could hope for, with a backdrop of absolute mortal danger at every turn that is nonetheless completely banal. I called it “Harry Potter meets Gideon the Ninth,” and seldom have I ever seen an X-meets-Y that fits so perfectly. Naomi Novik hardly needs me heaping more praise on her, but holy hell was this book awesome.

Fans of dark academia are in for a treat with Novik's first book in a series set at the Scholomance, a school that is for those with magical talent. Also, the Scholamance itself is actively trying to kill those students, it seems. When El, who is always prepared and is always on the straight-and-narrow, finds herself aligned with those she never would have dreamed of, she finds out if she can make it through the school's dangers and fight through the monsters that are out to get the students. Will she make it to the end of the term?

Naomi Novik is one of my favorite contemporary fantasy authors. Her writing style and knack for absorbing stories doesn't fall short with this new series. Dark academia, teenage drama, monsters, and friendships (maybe? Jury is still out on if they are really friends), take center stage in this fantastic book. This was a 5-star read for me!

My favorite part about this book was the relationship between El and Orion. El’s prickly attitude towards Orion, who does nothing but nice things for her, totally amused me from beginning to end and I found their dynamic to be silly and endearing.
The writing style very much rambles since it’s directly from El’s voice, and is therefore peppered with sarcasm and brooding petulance. This book would be better enjoyed by people who like reading dark academia YA stories (it definitely steers younger rather than adult), expositional world building, and lots of inner monologue. You have to be invested in the world of these magic schools to want to go through the info dumps, as well as like the main character to enjoy her style of rambling.

I agonized over what to read after this book before giving in and just reading this book again. I wasn't ready to leave El, the stubborn sorcereress who doesn't want to murder all her classmates even though it would be so much easier. I wanted to stay with this magical school where the high death rate isn't a bug, it's a feature. I just loved everything about it so much. Is it too soon for me to read it again a third time?

I requested this book before some word got around about problematic passages in it, and I unfortunately no longer wish to read it.

Though extremely dark, this one also had some boughts of fun and hilarity. I loved the snarky, sassy heroine and it felt fun to escape into another magical world that felt a little more grown up! I can't wait to read the next book in this series!