Review

This is Book #3 of The Scholomance series (first book: A Deadly Education, second book: The Last Graduate), so contains a few spoilers for Books #1 & 2. If that’s a problem, please turn back now!

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El has made it out of the Scholomance alive, and with a consciousness of her burgeoning powers, but without Orion, who pushed her out the doors a split-second before they closed, so he could face a maw-mouth alone. El, reaching out to him magically, finds only maw-mouth… Orion is gone.

Not only that, but the enclaves of the world are under attack, and El is drawn in to their defence. Who could be causing these terrible attacks? Can she overcome them?

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Absolutely loved this entire trilogy, including this book. It took a chapter or two for me to get used to being out of the Scholomance, but once El was contacted to help the enclaves, I was off to the races. There’s a certain amount of detailed worldbuilding at times, but I’m fine with that… I pretty much just let it enjoyably wash over me. I absolutely loved the character of Liesel (also fun in The Last Graduate) and the way she’s voiced in the audiobook is fabulous. The theme of unearned, unfair global privilege at the expense of others continues and concludes beautifully.

Hats off to Naomi Novik. That woman can write. (And the plotting! Chef’s kiss.) A cracking conclusion to a must read trilogy.

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Occasional swear words, including f-words; grief and depression; YA style fantasy violence, including violence against a baby (backstory, not graphically depicted); a couple of extremely brief and not detailed sexual encounters; relationships depicted are mlw, wlw and mlm, and some suggestions of (but not actual) apolyamorous relationship.

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Novik, N. (2022). The golden enclaves (A. Dadia, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Penguin Audio.

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