ARC Review // Five Reasons You Should Read A Deadly Education

 
Title: A Deadly Education [book depository | amazon]

Author: Naomi Novik

Publisher: Del Rey
Published: 29th September 2020

Pages: 336 [Hardcover]

Lesson One of the Scholomance

Learning has never been this deadly

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets. There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere. El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students

Have you been crushing on A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik but aren't sure yet if this book is for you? As someone who loved this darkly entertaining novel, here are five reasons you should read A Deadly Education, a story about dangerous magic spells, powerful alliances, and deadly monsters.

 

A dangerous school of magic. I would not mind being in Scholomance, a vicious magical school in which students learn by going to classes and receiving assignments that they must complete without a teacher to help. Unfortunately, not completing a task or failing a class means death, but those are just details. Right? 😋 Scholomance ends up being the most unsafe school I ever read about: walking alone in the school halls or being in a classroom all by yourself signifies being exposed to deadly attacks by mals, monsters lured by magic that will suck one's vitality and later feed on the corpse. Nonetheless, something was enticing about Scholomance and its darkness. I must say that I would love living in the library -- that is if the school didn't turn it into a mortal maze.

Spine-chilling and blood-curdling monsters. Don't judge me, okay? I love monsters! Most mals are unnamed, notwithstanding, they are all unique, creepy, and most importantly deadly. These beings are actually things made of nightmares -- some have a spider-like appearance but double their size, others are shadow-like beings and can crawl under door cracks, and so on. Always hungry, these creatures can hide inside cupboards or among books and worksheets, patiently waiting for their human prey.

 

Galadriel (also known as El). My grumpy and fierce, Galadriel (yes, she shares the name with Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings), I just loved being inside your head. 💛 El is constantly thinking about her next step -- which class to take; what to trade; which language should learn next to get her hands on good spells to trade -- and alert not to become the next mal meal. Of course, sometimes one gets distracted and that is how Orion ends up saving her countless times, even though El can defend herself. As a matter of fact, she can destroy the whole world with her magic/affinity. 

 

There were a few moments I wanted to hug El. She was never welcomed by her peers, feeling lonely for most of her stay in Scholomance. She did have some people with whom she traded spells and materials and students who would let her join them while walking to and from classes because there is safety in numbers, but that's all. So when Orion, who belongs to the most powerful enclave in the whole world, decides to be her friend (which means walking with her to classes, seating at her table at lunch, following her to the library, and saving her from monstrous beings), things get awkward. El is not the most approachable person and attempts to keep her distance from Orion. Nevertheless, she can't! I simply loved her reactions to Orion (she refused to be nice to him just because he belonged to an enclave) and how she was never afraid to speak her mind or being blunt.

 

*Galadriel is half-Indian, half-welsh. To learn if it is a good or bad rep, please, read the opinion of own voices reviewers.

 

Strong friendships and dubious alliances. When Orion bursts into her life (literally), El finds herself slowly building friendships and alliances. Although she was in uncharted waters, El was faithful to her convictions and wasn't easily charmed by the possibility of being part of an enclave. She was able to build not only alliances with people who would protect her but also friendships that I cannot wait to see how will blossom in the sequel -- especially after that ending. And that leads me to the last reason you should read A Deadly Education.

 

A jaw-dropping cliffhanger! How am I going to survive a whole year after how A Deadly Education? I don't know if my poor heart will be able to deal with so much anticipation.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Are you excited about A Deadly Education? Do you love monsters as much as I do?

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