Thank you Penguin Random House for this book in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis:
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.
Review:
This is one fantastic read!!
I haven’t read any of Naomi Novik’s work but I have non-stop heard incredible things about her previous books and after reading A Deadly Education I can see what all the praise is about!
Naomi Novik has created a highly entertaining, crazy and a wonderfully dark story full is a school romance like none you have read before.
You meet El, a snarky character that leaves you questioning if you like her? Novik has the creative technique of writing a character that leaves you questioning if you like this bad ass character or if she is a pain in the arse. However, as the story continues, you find yourself fawning over the complicated soul of El. Add on top that this is a magic school with creepy creatures and dark secrets.
I loved the world building behind the school and the politics of the students, the angst of growing up and not to mention I loved reading a unique magic system that has pros and cons to its use, creating a balance in the magic! Not enough authors think of this!
This is one of those books that you can’t put down and as soon as you finish it, you contemplate if it needs to go back on the TBR pile to read it again!
If this brief review doesn’t convince you to read A Deadly Education, maybe I should have mentioned Orion??
Rating: 5/5
Publisher: Del Rey Books
ISBN: 9780593128480