This was a solid follow up to my favorite read of 2021.

In this sequel to A Deadly Education, we follow El and her friends as they fight to survive their final year at the Scholomance, an elusive boarding school filled with magic and monsters. Even if they can make it through the year, they’ll have to find a way to overcome their biggest challenge yet- graduation.

Compared to the first book, I didn’t love this one quite as much, because it was longer but had less action. This story focused more on the relationships between characters than than the magic and struggle to survive. However, the major gap was in the relationship between Orion and El and, in that sense, this book never paid up on what the end of the first promised us. Speaking of endings, this story’s conclusion is unsatisfying and sets the third book up for an unrealistic and borderline non-sense plot given the central conflict and resolution of this story.

Despite the faults with this book, the tone of this series is the epitome of dark academia fantasy- mystery, elite education, secrets, magic, and a sprinkle of murder. Plus, it’s filled with lovable characters that I whole-heartedly cheer for.

Naomi Novik does it again in THE LAST GRADUATE. Every page is dripping with narrative voice, and the plot is both tight and tense. A fast read for all that happens!

I love the cover of this novel! Can I just say, the cover really hooked me and the emerald green with gold is just *chefs kiss*. My review will be written as I read the book, but I’ll also post my overall thoughts as a summary once I’m finished.
So far I’m still in the first 10% of the book and I am still finding my place in this novel. It starts out slow but I’m beginning to get a sense of what is troubling the young protagonists. The writing style is a bit hard to enjoy, but I think it should get better as the plot progresses. Another issue I found was with how dry the first page/chapter was. I’d expect a bit more excitement from first pages to hook the reader in, but this first page was a dry information dump that left me with a bit of skepticism about how the rest of the book will go.

I absolutely loved this Scholomance sequel! I love this dangerous place, and I'm enchanted by this dark story.

This book improved on the second reading.

I was provided with an ARC for an honest review for the paperback release.

In this book El is in her last year at the Scholomance and is, like all the seniors (and all the other students) trying to survive the school year and get out alive.

Novik is a wonderful writer. Anyone who wants to try writing a point-of-view story should read her fantasy novels as the character voices are so distinct. We have great characters, great plot and outstanding world building. We also have the mother of all cliff-hangers.

As this was a reread, I was able to gallop along with the story while knowing what it all meant and what was going to happen, and it made it an even more enjoyable read.

I cannot recommend this series highly enough. How good is September going to be, when the third book is released? Those of you who are lucky enough to start with book one are in for an immersive fantastic experience. Just watch out for the having-to-get-up-in-the-morning thing.

I hope Novik keeps writing about these characters and this universe for ever and ever.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. I requested it thinking it was the final book of the trilogy. I've already read and loved The Last Graduate. Looking forward to The Golden Enclaves!

I was looking forward to finally continuing on with this trilogy. After the last one sent I needed to know what would happen after that massive cliffhanger! Even this one started with such an interesting first line. Although I overall liked the continuation of the plot, I did feel like it wasn’t as action packed as the first, especially in the beginning.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from El. She is still trying to survive in her deadly school but this time she has experience and isn’t the weakest link. On her journey to staying alive, she has to figure out what she wants from Orion, what her mother meant when it came to him, and how to keep the freshmen alive she has come to know through her classes. It’s tough out there!

I did still like El as a character. She is very selfless and wants to help as many as she can survive which isn’t always the goal of others. It doesn’t help that without deaths there isn’t much “magic” to use and that puts a dent in staying alive as well. Even with this problem, she still rises to the challenge and continues doing what she must. I admire her persistance.

I wouldn’t say that I was as invested in the sequel as I was in the first book. It felt like the plot was much slower and nothing too exciting happens until after the halfway point. It does give the reader more information about the school and even the enclaves. The ending did make up for a lot of the book though and it once again makes me more intrigued about the next book!

Overall, this was a good read. I wish there would have been a bit more to stay invested but I am still curious enough for the final book.

The Last Graduate is Naomi Novik’s second novel of the trilogy The Schoolmance. In this novel, we accompany El in her senior year, which hopefully will be her last. If everything goes according to plan, she will be able to graduate, leave the schoolmance behind and go out into the world again.

I loved this book and I think it was a great sequel, but I am still super confused. I feel like we don’t know enough about the school system and where the mals come from... seriously where do they come from? I have so many questions about this school, and how it came to be, and who actually rules it. Is it really a sentient school?

I think the pacing is very good and the story is overall very interesting and intriguing. There were so many surprises and things I did not expect to happen!

As for the characters, Orion is definitely my favourite, and he is such a cute lil angel but the hero complex hit hard in this one... and I mean HARD. (mild spoilers ahead): I just hope he is okay and we will see more of him in the next book.
I loved El trying to get all the seniors to work together, and succeed at it! and also I fully support her as my dark queen and wish the best for her. Some of the other seniors got on my nerves but it's fine because they are teenagers, they are supposed to be annoying. Also, I liked the new students it was so sweet having El care for them.

Also, we never got an explanation about El's letter! what does her mum know?? I can't wait for them to reunite and answer all of my questions, because I have a LOT of them.

Link on my review on goodreads here: goodreads.com/review/show/3730424324

My wish was granted for this title via NetGalley

El has finally made it to her senior year at the Scholomance and with the help of her new allies is preparing for an epic battle of life or death...graduation. Meanwhile, her relationship with Orion Lake becomes even more complicated when she receives a letter from her mom saying to stay away from him. El is running out of time to find a way for her and her friends to escape the school forever even if it means fulfilling her destiny of dark sorcery and destruction.

The Last Graduate is the epic second novel in the The Scholomance series by author Naomi Novik. This has been such a fun series to follow and I love El's snarky comments and skepticism towards her ability to not turn into an evil sorceress despite always helping others. In this second novel her relationship with Orion becomes a little more complex, she acquires some new allies and maybe an enemy or two, and she formulates a plan that could get her and everyone she cares about killed. The ending of course is the real kicker leaving the reader left waiting for the third and final novel to see the outcome.

Naomi Novik does it again! This book was an excellent follow up to A Deadly Education. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and finished it quickly. The character development was great in addition to the development from the first book. It was intriguing and thought-provoking for me. I would definitely recommend this series for my students to read.

This follow-up to A Deadly Education was everything I needed and more. With masterful world-building and character development, Naomi Novik absolutely nailed this sequel on the head. I simply cannot believe she left us with that ending, and you will find me anxiously awaiting Book Three!

I really enjoyed this second book in the Scholomance series. El, Orion, and the other seniors are all training hard to survive graduation - unsure of what mals may be waiting for them. The story is developed so well, particularly with the progression of El who goes from being on her own, to part of a loyal alliance, to determined to save the entire school itself. Novik builds the story and characters well, but leaves us on another ending that will leave readers desperate to get their hands on the third and final book.

What most impresses me about this series is Novik's world-building. This second book in the series definitely expands the scope and background of the Scholomance but the book still moves very quickly.

THAT ENDING?!?
I finished this book over 7 months ago and the cliff hanger still makes me anxious for The Golden Enclaves. I need it like yesterday.
I love this series so much. The character development. The magic system. The malificers. All of it is brilliant. I cannot wait to see what El is up to next!

I really enjoyed this installment of Naomi Novik's Scholomance trilogy! It continued with her expansive world-building and there was a lot of positive character growth as well.

This series is so incredibly addictive! I think the style of writing is distinct and funny, and the plot is so quick that I flew through this book just as quickly as I did the first one. That cliff-hanger though… I’m waiting on bated-breath for the final installment this upcoming autumn!

Honestly? This series is both really interesting and incredibly boring at the same time. I don’t know how to best explain it, but I just don’t love El or Orion that much, but I love the side characters a lot more. I guessed what would happen at the end, which made it feel ultra predictable. I WILL SAY that I’m not sure where they’re going to go with it from here, so I will continue to 1) finish the series and 2) find out how this can be salvaged. Until then, I must wait.

I absolutely am in love with the Last Graduate
a deadly education is the first book for this series (I checked and I’m going to preordering Scholomance #3 as soon as I freaking can) and it’s heavy worldbuilding and a lot of run on paragraphs that go back and forth but it’s also very good.
After the events of A Deadly Education and that interesting cliffhanger, I decided I might read the second book and I am so glad I did!
We get back with our absolutely anti-social angst filled main character El and her heroic himbo of a boyfriend (still up for debate to El, but everyone else says they’re together)Orion. I absolutely loved the character growth and seeing all these new (old) characters and their dynamic. I love Orion and how he literally has two priorities- hunting down mal and trying to hold hands with El. He is so precious to me and while he’s a dumbass he’s MY dumbass
I will warn those that this book relies heavily on worldbuilding and long explanations that go off on tangents before circling back to the main plot.

I never know exactly what to expect from a sequel, but Naomi Novik's The Last Graduate absolutely delivered. I actually enjoyed the second book in the Scholomance series far more than the first, as El and crew face their final year (and looming graduation, which most students don't survive). I still don't like El very much as a main character--I find her a bit obnoxious, to be frank--but I certainly enjoy the story, the world-building, and the other characters (especially new, badass, brilliant ones like Liesel!) enough for it not to matter much. The stakes in book 2 were higher, the story was faster-paced and darker, and THAT ENDING! I truly don't even know what will happen next in this series, but I'm definitely hooked.

I absolutely love Novik's other work (Spinning Silver is among my favorite books of all time), and I HIGHLY recommend this series to any fans of her other books, dark academia, or YA fantasy.

I received an ARC of this book and downloaded it, but realized I had already read it. I was hoping for the third book: The Golden Enclaves.
So, that's my review. I was so excited about the first two books that I snagged this, hoping to finish the series, too excited to even make sure it was the right book.
I'd recommend this series to any fan of Novik, dark academia, or fantasy. In fact, I have been recommending it for months.

I enjoyed this book a lot! I was super excited to get this as I loved the first book! I loved the story and characters! The story had a steady pace and was hard to put down.