The Last Graduate
- Downloads：8496
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-22 09:16:32
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Naomi Novik
- ISBN：B08M5G5F8Q
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education， the start of Naomi Novik’s groundbreaking crossover series。
At the Scholomance， El， Orion， and the other students are faced with their final year—and the looming specter of graduation， a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake。 El is determined that her chosen group will survive， but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up。 Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules 。 。 。
At the Scholomance， El， Orion， and the other students are faced with their final year—and the looming specter of graduation， a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake。 El is determined that her chosen group will survive， but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up。 Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules 。 。 。
Reviews
Julie Monson
，
Don't mind my internal raging at that cliff hanger。 I may or may not have thrown my kindle across the room。We find ourselves back at the Scholomance， where El and Orion have fixed the cleansing machinery of the school and are in their last year at the deadly school。 But El quickly learns that this year will be unlike any other。 She has to put aside everything she has learned about how to interact with people and form alliances she never wanted， to save them all。 I'm not going to lie。 I almost w Don't mind my internal raging at that cliff hanger。 I may or may not have thrown my kindle across the room。We find ourselves back at the Scholomance， where El and Orion have fixed the cleansing machinery of the school and are in their last year at the deadly school。 But El quickly learns that this year will be unlike any other。 She has to put aside everything she has learned about how to interact with people and form alliances she never wanted， to save them all。 I'm not going to lie。 I almost want to take a star away for the massive cliffhanger at the end， but the story held it's own so well that I can't bring myself to。 Naomi Novik does an amazing job relating the magic and the world she has so painstakingly created。 We are introduced to many more characters and conflicts， but they never felt overwhelming， but integral to the story。 And what a beautiful story it is。 Now can we get an early release of the third book so I'm not screaming for the next year？？？Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel。 My views and opinions are entirely my own。 。。。more
Marta Cox
，
Eek ！ I loved it ❤️ Review to come later
Samantha
，
A book I had to read all in one day because I couldn't put it down。 Fast-paced and filled with dark， sarcastic humor， the school itself is a character you can sympathize with。 There's a persistant hope despite all odds that lights of the very dark place they live in。 El's character development is excellent， watching her come out of her shell。 And then I almost had to throw the book in disbelief and outrage when it finished on the most Awful cliffhanger， just like the last one。 Novik enjoys our p A book I had to read all in one day because I couldn't put it down。 Fast-paced and filled with dark， sarcastic humor， the school itself is a character you can sympathize with。 There's a persistant hope despite all odds that lights of the very dark place they live in。 El's character development is excellent， watching her come out of her shell。 And then I almost had to throw the book in disbelief and outrage when it finished on the most Awful cliffhanger， just like the last one。 Novik enjoys our pain。Highly recommended。 。。。more
Kristina
，
Welp。 That happened。
Cindy
，
Rating 3。5。 I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher from NetGalley。 GRRRRRR。 This falls to middle book of a trilogy syndrome and it makes me mad。 The story picks right up where the first book ends。 So don't think about skipping that first book。 But it is a slog through 3/4 of the book。 WhY？？？？？ It's all--hey lets do this， lets talk about it， and then lets do it again。There is so much that could have been explored。 More detail about the prophecy， for example。 I do like that th Rating 3。5。 I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher from NetGalley。 GRRRRRR。 This falls to middle book of a trilogy syndrome and it makes me mad。 The story picks right up where the first book ends。 So don't think about skipping that first book。 But it is a slog through 3/4 of the book。 WhY？？？？？ It's all--hey lets do this， lets talk about it， and then lets do it again。There is so much that could have been explored。 More detail about the prophecy， for example。 I do like that they gave more background on several of the other characters in the book。 But the more the book went on， the more it made me think about the holes in the setting。 Why is this school so horrible？ How come the enclaves don't work to improve it and make it safer for their kids？ Why aren't there more schools for the kids， why is there only one school for the entire world， making it so selective？ The last 1/4 is were everything of substance happened and it made me excited for the next book。 It wasn't wholly unexpected， but shocking in a way I didn't expect。 。。。more
Amy
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Incredibly solid book。 Like everyone else I became obsessed with this series - it's such a unique take on a magical school。 This book does a great job of not only developing El but also those around her at school: how people make choices when faced with difficult situations， balancing the mundane of teenagers with the massive challenges of a life/death world， and more。 I enjoyed seeing those around El develop their own voices and make their own decisions - she's not alone。 I have to say I feel a Incredibly solid book。 Like everyone else I became obsessed with this series - it's such a unique take on a magical school。 This book does a great job of not only developing El but also those around her at school: how people make choices when faced with difficult situations， balancing the mundane of teenagers with the massive challenges of a life/death world， and more。 I enjoyed seeing those around El develop their own voices and make their own decisions - she's not alone。 I have to say I feel a bit empty after the cliffhanger。 I thought the first book was really solid: the ending left you wanting more but you still felt satisfied with where things left off。 The abruptness of this book actually left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth （that will be resolved in book 3 but still felt like an odd time to cut off）。 Overall I quite enjoyed it and would easily recommend it to others， but I'm a bit disappointed in how it ended。 。。。more
Susan Crawford
，
I was not prepared to love this book as much as I did。 I mean， I enjoyed the first book in the series， A Deadly Education。 If I had a complaint about that book， it was that we were told a lot of things， but shown a great deal less。 But I enjoyed El’s snarky voice and if the action dragged at times， I was still entertained and eager for the next book。 Enter The Last Graduate and oh my goshness， this was sooo good。 Picking up precisely where A Deadly Education leaves off， we find El at the beginni I was not prepared to love this book as much as I did。 I mean， I enjoyed the first book in the series， A Deadly Education。 If I had a complaint about that book， it was that we were told a lot of things， but shown a great deal less。 But I enjoyed El’s snarky voice and if the action dragged at times， I was still entertained and eager for the next book。 Enter The Last Graduate and oh my goshness， this was sooo good。 Picking up precisely where A Deadly Education leaves off， we find El at the beginning of her final year at the Scholomance。 She’s officially a senior， and after years of only looking out for herself， she finds herself with real friends， allies and even a boy she’s not dating （even though she really kind of is…）。 But the Scholomance is still a dangerous place， and it seems to be gunning for El particularly。 With the school testing her in a myriad of ways， El has to decide what she’s willing to do to ensure her friends make it out of the school alive。 The answers surprise her。Things I loved about this book: -Watching El come into her power。 With a dark prophecy hanging over her， El has been reluctant to embrace her potential， but she finally taps into her power and it was great。-The secondary characters。 El could not accomplish what was needed without others helping her along the way。 Since we see everything from El’s perspective， we don't really get to know many of the other students on a deeper level， but so many of them were given moments to shine。 -The Scholomance。 （Truly。 My heart。。。）If I had a complaint with this book， it would not be the exposition this time。 I don’t know if I just got used to the author’s style， but the pacing seemed brisker and the action more exciting。 No， my only real problem was Orion Lake。 I never felt like I really knew Orion， even though he is the one person with whom El is ostensibly the most in tune。 I feel like I know Liesel better than I do him。 He remained an enigma through 98% of the book。 And even when we see him clearly through El’s eyes on graduation day， it is from a distance。 Which robs the ending of a little bit of its power。 Which is maybe a good thing for me， because even with that caveat， the ending was epic and I am already desperate to get my hands on the last book。 That’s a minor quibble， however。 On the whole， I highly recommend this book。 It builds on the first installment and just gets better as it goes along。 This is not the place to start though， so if you haven’t read A Deadly Education， do so immediately so you can join me in waiting impatiently for the final book in the series。 。。。more
Shauna
，
I can't believe I have to wait a WHOLE YEAR for the next one。 I can't believe I have to wait a WHOLE YEAR for the next one。 。。。more
Samantha B
，
RTC
Meag
，
Hell is hot and that's exactly where Naomi Novik is going for ending the book like that edit:First of all， thank you to NetGalley， Random House UK， and whoever made the mistake that let me get this ARC you're a real one ❤I read A deadly Education the day it came out and it quickly became one of my favourite books。 So as you can imagine the cliffhanger at the end combined with the long wait for a sequel left me a lot of time to think up theories for how this one was going to go。 I ended up being Hell is hot and that's exactly where Naomi Novik is going for ending the book like that edit:First of all， thank you to NetGalley， Random House UK， and whoever made the mistake that let me get this ARC you're a real one ❤I read A deadly Education the day it came out and it quickly became one of my favourite books。 So as you can imagine the cliffhanger at the end combined with the long wait for a sequel left me a lot of time to think up theories for how this one was going to go。 I ended up being right about the ending but at what cost？？？I loved The Last Graduate; it was a proper sequel it didn’t feel like a filler novel and I definitely wasn’t bored。 I have to mention though if you were one of the people who disliked how info-dumpy the first book was don’t come into this one thinking she already did all the world-building that there was to do because there was so much more。 The character development was great in this one as well。 You still read everything from El’s very jaded perspective but you also see how she grows as a person and learn to enjoy moments with her friends whilst wrestling with the prophecy of her becoming evil。 That being said El's dry sense of humour and her dismal outlook on life was just as present in this book as it was in the last: "If you’re wondering which of those two options I picked， then you must not know me， as pain and dismay were obviously my destination。" It's such a teenage viewpoint and she has some valid points but most of all it’s entertaining as hell I can’t forget Orion。 He’s largely absent in this book…well not absent he’s silent but he’s there。 But you still learn a lot more about him and start to see some of his darker qualities。 The funniest part of this book to me was that I don't think Orion says more than 2 sentences consecutively for ¾ of this story。 Then you get to the last two chapters and well， he certainly did have some things to say but you can read that yourself。 Whilst I loved this book I do have one question about one topic。 We learn a lot about the Chinese language kids in this one but are they all speaking Standard Chinese/Standard Northern Mandarin？ I’m not sure if I missed it but I can't remember if it was explained that they all came in with that as their first language or if they all speak various Chinese Languages。 There are times when it’s clear that just saying Chinese was utilised as an umbrella term for the Chinese language kids but other times it was never really made clear what dialect they are speaking。 I might have to reread the first book if I missed something。 Other than that a lot of the questions I had from book 1 were answered。 I just wish this wasn’t an ARC so I could talk about the problems introduced in this one but alas！ Also， I recently found out that Naomi Novik is a cofounder of AO3 which is very fitting because that’s where I’ll be trying to heal from that stab to the heart she called an ending。 。。。more
Alicia
，
I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley。 I knew， after finishing A Deadly Education， I would have to read the sequel。 It did not disappoint。 I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley。 I knew， after finishing A Deadly Education， I would have to read the sequel。 It did not disappoint。 。。。more
Connie
，
Jeezo what a cliffhanger！ I'm surprised my other half didn't wake up with my rather loud AAAARRGH WHAT THE HELL！！It's the final year at the Scholomance for El， Orion， and friends and graduation day is looming。The Scholomance graduation is a ritual that leaves few alive。 There's a lot going on in this book， as the students prepare for the event， and new alliances formed。 El and Orion are great characters and it'll be interesting to see what happens in the next book。 Thank you Netgalley and Publis Jeezo what a cliffhanger！ I'm surprised my other half didn't wake up with my rather loud AAAARRGH WHAT THE HELL！！It's the final year at the Scholomance for El， Orion， and friends and graduation day is looming。The Scholomance graduation is a ritual that leaves few alive。 There's a lot going on in this book， as the students prepare for the event， and new alliances formed。 El and Orion are great characters and it'll be interesting to see what happens in the next book。 Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC。 。。。more
Patricia Moren
，
This book was amazing。 Total and complete madness but utterly enthralling。 I don't think I have ever read a book quite like this before。 The first one was great， this was even better。 Thank you Naomi Novik！ This book was amazing。 Total and complete madness but utterly enthralling。 I don't think I have ever read a book quite like this before。 The first one was great， this was even better。 Thank you Naomi Novik！ 。。。more
Anne
，
Speechless。 I held my breath。 I reread the ending four times。 The outcome was still the same。 I need the next book immediately。 The world of the Scholomance， El， and Orien cannot possibly be thrown into this much turmoil before my eyes。 I loved this second book of the series。 El began to understand her magic and all she is capable of， and her relation with Orien continued to grow。 An excellent magical read with alluring characters。 I loved it！
Ess
，
I wish so much that I found this book at the end of the series instead of the beginning so that I wouldn’t have to wonder at these cliffhangers anymore， but a part of me is glad that I get to experience this tension alongside El and her newfound companions。 All throughout the book， I knew it was gonna end on a cliffhanger and full disclosure， it’s kind of a predictable cliffhanger， but it’ll still wreck you。 Overall， I’d give this book 3。5 stars if possible， but chose to round up and not down be I wish so much that I found this book at the end of the series instead of the beginning so that I wouldn’t have to wonder at these cliffhangers anymore， but a part of me is glad that I get to experience this tension alongside El and her newfound companions。 All throughout the book， I knew it was gonna end on a cliffhanger and full disclosure， it’s kind of a predictable cliffhanger， but it’ll still wreck you。 Overall， I’d give this book 3。5 stars if possible， but chose to round up and not down because Naomi Novik is incredibly talented at developing well rounded characters in a few interactions。 I greatly enjoyed seeing the growth of El and really feeling like I knew her。 Novik’s ability to change the way the other characters shift their view of Orion’s character was so well done。 Novik has a way of normalizing abnormalities in characters and fleshing out their backstories and traits in short anecdotes and conversation fragments。 However， there were still things that could be better developed。 While I have to admit I’m enchanted with the way Novik makes me feel like I’m truly a student at the Scholomance and understand life as a magic user， the tense scenes are few and far between and there is no large climax or intense battle that gives me the chills and a rush of adrenaline。 It was a very character driven installation to the trilogy， more so than the first novel。 Novik did a great job with pacing and informing the reader where in the timeline the book is， but it was just trudging along。 You understand what it’s like to be a student at the Scholomance but you don’t experience the true dread and danger like in book 1。I received an ARC from the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Sarah Rice gallego
，
The Last Graduate is the second instalment in the Novik's Scholomance series。 It picks up straight off from the end of the first book， with El， Orion and the others in their Senior year of school， where they face 'graduation'。 In the Scholomance this literally means running the gauntlet of hungry 'Mals' and if you survive being eaten in a rather gory way， then you graduate。First of all， I adore El。 She's the queen of wit and sarcasm， fighting the 'prophecy' that she will indeed be the most dark The Last Graduate is the second instalment in the Novik's Scholomance series。 It picks up straight off from the end of the first book， with El， Orion and the others in their Senior year of school， where they face 'graduation'。 In the Scholomance this literally means running the gauntlet of hungry 'Mals' and if you survive being eaten in a rather gory way， then you graduate。First of all， I adore El。 She's the queen of wit and sarcasm， fighting the 'prophecy' that she will indeed be the most dark and evil witch of her generation。 Her character really starts to develop throughout this book。 Her frequent dark and droll quips made me giggle。 Her relationship with Orion， the golden 'chosen one' just melts my heart and it's one I wish that Novik had explored more。 We get to know more about the other students， how they form alliances and the way in which the Scholomance （who is a character in their own right！） works。I was immersed in the dark world the students are forced to live in， but found the pace of the book a bit slow at times。 I found myself skimming over the pages of background information that didn't really add to the plot。 That said， the last half of the book picks up and had my heart racing to see if they were going to survive what the Scholomance had planned for them。。。。but that ending！ I threw the book （in a good 'Oh my God， I didn't just read what I thought I just did' way） and now I'm desperate to read the final instalment to see how it ends！Thanks to #Netgalley and the publishers for giving the opportunity to read this fantastic book。 。。。more
Ellen-Arwen Tristram
，
How can it end there？！？！？！！？ Aaaaaaaaaargh！！More coherent review to come…
Rebecca | Velvet Opus
，
Thank you to the publisher for an early review copy！ Review to come but WOW-EE。
Christina
，
Just finished the ARC I received。 Will edit later with a review。
Ellie
，
Surprising amount of warm and fuzzies for the sequel to A Deadly Education！ Well at least until the finale。 A lovely message of international cooperation and looking out for others。
Andrea
，
Thank you NetGalley & Random House UK， Cornerstone， Del Rey for the eARC！ I screamed when I saw my request had been approved！The Last Graduate picks up where A Deadly Education left off: the seniors graduated after fixing the cleansing mechanism， and El's year is now the new senior year。 More importantly， El has friends and an alliance。The tone and style are just like Lesson One: a lot of information， slow pacing， not a lot of action in the first half。 I didn't expect that， so it threw me a bit。 Thank you NetGalley & Random House UK， Cornerstone， Del Rey for the eARC！ I screamed when I saw my request had been approved！The Last Graduate picks up where A Deadly Education left off: the seniors graduated after fixing the cleansing mechanism， and El's year is now the new senior year。 More importantly， El has friends and an alliance。The tone and style are just like Lesson One: a lot of information， slow pacing， not a lot of action in the first half。 I didn't expect that， so it threw me a bit。 I thought the info overload was just part of the first book， which introduced the world and the Scholomance。 It really does feel like we're attending lessons with El。El is my favourite part of this series。 I love her grumpiness and the resulting humour from all her interactions。 Her development and shift in perspective in The Last Graduate were great。I would have liked more El & Orion scenes， though。 Especially in the first half。 I didn't re-read the first book before starting this one， so all their interactions and growing attachment weren't fresh in my memory anymore。In terms of plot I had a couple of things that didn't make sense 100%， but I really enjoyed the direction it all took， how the school became a character in its own right really。 But WARNING！ There's a huge cliff-hanger。 +1 year now until the next lesson。。。 。。。more
Debb
，
You’ve got to be bloody kidding me。 She did it。 AGAIN。 BUT WORSE。 Imma go cry for a bit while I despair that I have to wait AT LEAST a year for the next one。
Michelle Johnson
，
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik is the second volume in the Scholomance series。 The Scholomance is a school of magic and wizardry。 Students enter and they see nothing of the outside world until they hopefully make it through graduation。 There are no teachers as the school provides materials and tests that the students receive。 Complicating the education process are maleficaria （mals）， which are creatures that feed on magical energy and magic users。Our focus is still on El and the friends she wa The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik is the second volume in the Scholomance series。 The Scholomance is a school of magic and wizardry。 Students enter and they see nothing of the outside world until they hopefully make it through graduation。 There are no teachers as the school provides materials and tests that the students receive。 Complicating the education process are maleficaria （mals）， which are creatures that feed on magical energy and magic users。Our focus is still on El and the friends she was able to make last year。 She is supposed to be working on preparing for graduation and finding a way to survive that deadly rite of passage， but the school seems to be actively hindering her efforts by placing her in a classroom with defenseless freshmen。 Instead of furthering her studies she is fighting a daily influx of mals lest her inexperienced classmates are slaughtered。Discoveries await in a thoroughly satisfactory read that has engaging characters and rich world building。 The characters are distinct and well developed and I can't wait to see where the next book goes， There is a bit of a cliff-hanger ending that leaves you wanting more。Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this arc and this is my honest opinion of this title。 。。。more
h o l l i s
，
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha。That ending。。 I just。。 the only two options are stupefied silence or hysterical laughter and right now I'm alternating between the two。My one。。 not complaint， really， but observation， is that there is a lot going on in this world， in the day to day， and Novik strings together some long-ass sentences sometimes -- and as a result I completely lose the original thought or point and have to reread or， occasionally， just give up and keep going。 It doesn't always feel like den Hahahahahahahahahahahaha。That ending。。 I just。。 the only two options are stupefied silence or hysterical laughter and right now I'm alternating between the two。My one。。 not complaint， really， but observation， is that there is a lot going on in this world， in the day to day， and Novik strings together some long-ass sentences sometimes -- and as a result I completely lose the original thought or point and have to reread or， occasionally， just give up and keep going。 It doesn't always feel like dense fantasy when there's action or bickering or brainstorming but there are huge swaths of this that is actually quite wordy or complicated。 Sometimes I gobbled it up， other times， well， like I said， I just cruised on by。 Otherwise， though， I had such a good time with this one。 The banter， the action， the romance， the snark， the cut-throat ruthlessness， and， yeah， even that e n d i n g。。 I can't wait for book three （and this isn't even out yet， arg！）。Full review to come。** I received an ARC from the publisher （thank you！） in exchange for an honest review。 ** 。。。more
Rachael Mills
，
What was that ending？！ How am I meant to wait at least another year to find out what happens after that epic throw-your-book-across-the-room cliffhanger？
Kristin Gleeson
，
An intense and clever sequel to the first book。 It’s their final year in the School of Scholmance and all is to play for。 El finds herself challenged in new ways as she begins to realise that the school is targeting her in ways no other student has ever experienced and this challenge requires her to examine her own moral compass and inner truths。 And now she must understand the full meaning of the warning against Orion that her mother gave her even as she denies the growing feelings she has for An intense and clever sequel to the first book。 It’s their final year in the School of Scholmance and all is to play for。 El finds herself challenged in new ways as she begins to realise that the school is targeting her in ways no other student has ever experienced and this challenge requires her to examine her own moral compass and inner truths。 And now she must understand the full meaning of the warning against Orion that her mother gave her even as she denies the growing feelings she has for him。 It proves to be a tough year for her and for all the members of the Scholomance。 Novik continues to unfold a very engaging and clever story told with great imagination and very complex yet captivating world building。 Her characters are rich， complicated and extremely believable。 I would recommend the series for adults and older YA。 。。。more
Laura Martens
，
It's El's final year at the Scholomance， and the deadly Graduation Ceremony is looming。 Highly against her will， she has started to care about the other students， and is finding it harder and harder to stay indifferent。 Her new schedule doesn't make any sense， and why does it feel like the school is specifically coming after her all of a sudden。。。？ Buckle up， guys， because you are not ready for how incredible this book is。 Naomi Novik is on a straight track to becoming my favourite Fantasy autho It's El's final year at the Scholomance， and the deadly Graduation Ceremony is looming。 Highly against her will， she has started to care about the other students， and is finding it harder and harder to stay indifferent。 Her new schedule doesn't make any sense， and why does it feel like the school is specifically coming after her all of a sudden。。。？ Buckle up， guys， because you are not ready for how incredible this book is。 Naomi Novik is on a straight track to becoming my favourite Fantasy author， and with this book she has all but secured the position。 I don't think I've ever loved two main characters as much as I love El and Orion。 Every single of their interactions is just pure gold， and my only criticism is that I would like this book to be even longer， please。 The narrator's tone of voice is absolutely brilliant: super entertaining and at times incredibly funny， it makes putting this book down extremely hard。 The CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT in this book！！ I could shout for hours about it， but I'll leave it at completely incredible。 Again， if you finished the first one and thought， surely this cannot get better - think again！ All in all， I will say: If you have ever enjoyed a fantasy book in your life， you have to pick up this series。 It will bring you so much joy， （and it will bring me more people to talk about it with）！ Thank you to netgalley for the earc！ 。。。more
Nathan
，
You end it like that？？？？ What the ever loving。。。。。like that？ You。。。。。the 。。。。。the hell？？？？ I。。。。just！！！ Aaaah！Ok。 Yeah it's a good book。 I guess。Like that。。。。。。。 You end it like that？？？？ What the ever loving。。。。。like that？ You。。。。。the 。。。。。the hell？？？？ I。。。。just！！！ Aaaah！Ok。 Yeah it's a good book。 I guess。Like that。。。。。。。 。。。more
Bentgaidin
，
'The Last Graduate' is Novik's second book about a deadly wizard's school and the grumpy proto-'evil sorceress' attending it。 （Coming in September; I got an ARC through work） I am once again of two minds here - the first being that this book is a delight， I loved the character's voice， the world is fascinating， and I always just wanted to see what was going to happen next。 Who wouldn't want to follow the adventures of a bitter goth grump discovering that she does have friends and that evil magic 'The Last Graduate' is Novik's second book about a deadly wizard's school and the grumpy proto-'evil sorceress' attending it。 （Coming in September; I got an ARC through work） I am once again of two minds here - the first being that this book is a delight， I loved the character's voice， the world is fascinating， and I always just wanted to see what was going to happen next。 Who wouldn't want to follow the adventures of a bitter goth grump discovering that she does have friends and that evil magic doesn't mean she has to kill everyone （no matter how tempting that might be at times。。。？）。 Add on a side of wizard class politics and organization and you've got a great book。The second mind is that （you may recall） the tacked-on romance from the very end of the first book comes up here again， but also goes nowhere until the very end of the book。 It was very frustrating to be forty pages in， be reminded of heroic boyfriend's existance， and realize that I'd forgotten about him because he hadn't shown up at all in the three months and multiple chapters so far - neither on screen nor in the character's thoughts。 This continues for most of the book; she has deep， meaningful， thoughtful relationships with her female friends and acquaintances， and basically no interaction at all with the boy she's supposedly dating （according to the teasing from said friends）。 When they do interact， she snipes at him for making her life difficult or for not helping her with her plans， and then goes back to ignoring him。 I realize that we're very deep in her viewpoint， and I think what we're supposed to take from it is that she's just very committed to hiding from herself a desire to actually be kissing his stupid handsome face， but when it's possible for me to actually forget his existence， this might be taking it too far - she has female friends she has complicated relationships with， and there's one guy that she actively dislikes and they all show up in the text more than heroic boyfriend does。 （There's also the scenes where another female student attempts to seduce said boyfriend， and we get more thoughts about how attractive she is in that chapter than I think we do about him in the whole book。。。） Then at the end she decides that she doesn't want to see him die fighting monsters while they escape the school， and maybe she's a bit attracted and could consider kissing him and it's just exhausting - even setting aside their not-romance， he's not been on screen enough to care about， and he's not been in her thoughts enough to care that she cares about him - and I just feel like it's a dull nothing running through an otherwise shining book。I'd love to know more about the school's own desires for its students; give me more wizard enclave politics as the kids have to deal with being trapped in a place that's upending their social norms; I'd happily read another hundred pages of just her complaining about the world-conquering magic specialties that keep getting foisted onto her。 Just please， no more comp-het boyfriend nonsense。 All that said， I'm still excited for whenever the third book comes out， and I'd really recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy wizard schools， and just ignore the romance subplot。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Last Graduate
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Last Graduate&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Last Graduate&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0