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This one was a little disapointing compared to the other two. It all just happened so quickly and yet not a lot of new things were going on. The ending felt way too abrupt. It was still really nice, but it had more potential.

(audiobook)

I was pretty satisfied with the ending to this trilogy. I wasn‘t sure I was going to get into this one as much since it happens outside the school, but it felt like everything came together from the first two books, the world is continuing to be revealed to us as a reader and Naomi Novik really thought out every single detail into this magic system. The pacing continues to be a little slower in the beginning but I think it pays off in the end.

Since all of my is out of town/state for the 4th and the people I usually spend the day with made different plans this year guess now is as good of time as any pick up the last book in this trilogy. Let's see how far I can get.

One of the highlights was the phenomenal world-building. The way that Novik described the magical enclaves, and how she laid out the magic system with so much detail, truly brought the world to life. I could picture the world and feel like I was there.....
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6615678401

This book packed a whole lot into a single book and the ending was not very satisfying, but overall a good read.
El learns the very dark secret of how the enclaves that protect wizards from monsters are made and meets the woman who is the dark sorceress she‘s tried her whole life to NOT become leading to unexpected and painful revelations.
4/5 a good finish except for the kind of lame ending.

The first half of this book I had to slog through. So much more world building, which, since we got so much of that in the first two, I just wanted to get more story in this one. About the halfway mark, it did pick up pace but still just slightly above a slog. I was still enjoying it because I love this world so much. Then the ending happened, and I was ugly crying. I loved the ending so much. Then, the last chapter happened and ruined it. 3.5/5

On the whole, I was way into the conclusion to this trilogy. There were some great twists that still made sense within the world and I genuinely like El. That said, there were also some writing choices I didn't like and that I felt didn't fit with character development from the last two books. I also need more books set in this world!!

Sort of similar to Nona the Ninth in the sense that I‘m not sure I always know what‘s going on with these books, but I do enjoy them. I may be hazy on some details as I was listening in a rush before libby returned it and I had to go back on the holds list. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Okay so, this series was just about perfection? Literally stunning; the writing is excellent, the characters are utterly compelling, the world building is solid. El is the consummate anti-hero, and her struggle is so well drawn. I cried more than once over three books, but also laughed and sighed, and thought about the world and humanity. Highly recommend.

Happy first day of fall, ya‘ll! 🎃🍂 a quiet, cool morning allowed me to FINALLY finish the last few pages of this one. What a ride it has been with El, Orion and the Scholomance crew. This one had some unexpected twists and turns and overall, I think it was a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.

I pre-ordered this book a year ago. My account said was paid for and preparing for dispatch last September. I contacted the bookseller in February with no response. I reached out again in April. Waterstone‘s found a copy at Blackwell‘s and had it mailed to me. My collection is complete. Thank you Blackwell‘s! 🎉

Galadriel manages to escape her magical school, the deadly Scholomance, but her friend Orion remains trapped. Also, someone is attacking all the wizarding enclaves around the world. Are these two events linked? Can she save her friend? A fantastic conclusion!

This final installment started a little slow, but that made sense and anyway the trilogy definitely avoided the second-book slump, so I can forgive it 😆 I really enjoyed the massive expansion of the magical world, with El jetting all over the world and meeting lots of new wizards… and terrifying them. I had a suspicion pretty early on of the big reveal, and was partially correct, which is always satisfying.

#doublespin for May @TheAromaofBooks

The idea behind the storyline was good, but I didn't feel like the final installment was as good as the other two.

I definitely preferred the two before this one… as awesome as it was getting into the world outside the schoolmance, El‘s character development really crashed in the first quarter of the book (rightfully so) and turned me off of the story. However this novel does make a come back in the last half of the book and ties up loose ends that were left from before. Ultimately a decent end to the trilogy but didn‘t knock my socks off.

It‘s an excellent book with a style that‘s basically the opposite of the Locked Tomb series in that it‘s not unnecessarily vague and unexplained as to the working of the world it built. It‘s basically a story about the negative consequences of greed and selfishness on innocent people.

While I did miss the Scholomance in this book, I still loved the characters and enjoyed the twists that came along with the story. A solid conclusion to the trilogy!

And finishing off the re-read, the finale of the trilogy throws the doors of the world open. New people, new places, and still building on the groundwork (for both world and character) in the first two books. Things get bigger, the stakes get higher, and everything still found its way to a satisfying conclusion.

I really love this trilogy, and tearing through these three books again in a matter of days was a week well-spent.

Thanks so much Chrissy for letting me borrow this book! It always takes me so long to read the final book in the series, because I never want it to end.

This one is a lot different than the other 2 books because they aren‘t in school anymore. It was an interesting premise and I enjoyed seeing El getting in touch with her fellow students.

This was definitely an interesting series and I enjoyed it.

#SeriesLove2023

Wow wow wow. What an amazing end to this trilogy. I loved the resolution and also the ending that left space for more stories in this universe. Highly highly recommend!

I preferred book 1 and 2, but The Golden Enclaves is still a worthy conclusion. I enjoyed meeting all of the characters and discovering more about the enclaves. El really grew to me as a character, although she felt very overpowered. Orion has great golden retriever energy.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
#NaomiNovik #Schoolomance

What a finale to the Scholomance trilogy!
El got everybody out of the Scholomance except Orion and she can‘t forgive herself. The only thing that rousts her is two of her classmates from the London enclave showing up begging her help when a mawmouth attacks.
This sets her on the path to saving enclaves, rescuing Orion, and fulfilling her gr. grandmother‘s prophecy. El tries to rebuild their world with lots of twists along the way
Finished 1/6/2023

The Golden Enclaves was such an amazing end to the Scholomance trilogy! There were a lot of twists and surprises as El goes on her journey to "balance" the looming enclave war! I would like to do a reread of this series knowing what I know now to see what I can catch! #booked2023 A Book described with "twist" and "balance" @cinfhen @alisiakae @BarbaraTheBibliophage

I could tell from the ending of the last book that this one would be different. One character missing, plus a change of setting, meant the story would have to go in a new direction. Due to those changes, I preferred the first two books. The twists are good, but the plot seems to drive the story, with little space for the characters to shine. I couldn‘t quite understand their decisions or their emotions on a deeper level. Not bad, but not great.

“Also I haven't lost an ounce of the passionate desire to beat him over the head with a large stick. And surely that was a sign of true love.”

First book of the year and I seem to be carrying on my Sci Fi and Fantasy fascination - escapism is working for me! This is Book 3 in The Scholomance series and is action packed with a lot of the drama now large scale and world changing. It was a great end to the series, but I do prefer Novik‘s first two books that were smaller scale and more intimate. Still that‘s nit picking - it had to go big!

How can a third book feel like a bridge book?

Golden Enclaves picks up moments after The Last Graduate and brings much of the same interesting world building that the previous two did, some characters you know and love fine back, but the much like the Temeraire series, I felt like El was pulled along with few choices to make it surprise us with. El's growth comes from outside revelations and direction, not internal wrangling. Still loved it!

I loved this series and the third installment did not disappoint. El has survived graduation day but unfinished business leads her to work with the Enclaves to save them from mysterious attacks. An intricately plotted story with exquisite world building and vivid characters, whose story arcs come to unexpected but deeply satisfying conclusions, The Scholomance series is officially a personal favorite. Loved it!

I love this series. A lot. And I highly recommend listening to it on audio.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

This entire series was too intricately plotted for me. The strategy, the battles…all not my jam. I know this is a problem I have with the genre & not something that all Fantasy readers will balk at. Still. When Novik focuses on her characters, relationships, & even her creatures, I‘m all in. I started the book crying (a fun experience! 😅) & mostly maintained that level of emotion. But if I had to do it all over again, I don‘t know if I would.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Novik stuck the landing and even elevated the trilogy for me as a whole! It‘s so expertly and intricately plotted - I was shocked by a lot of the twists, but also felt like they made sense and were being set up since the first book. The ending had me on the edge of my seat with tears welling in my eyes. With incredible imagination, complex characters, sharp social commentary, and a fierce, golden heart at the core - it‘s pure magic.

I‘m bailing on this, at least for now. Somehow the MC is even more insufferable and it is now keeping my attention. I may come back to the series eventually.
#bookspinbingo

Happy Sunday morning! Forgot it was DLS this weekend, so getting extra reading in while the hubby is still in bed.

So excited to finally pick this one up!

#currentlyreading

At my favorite beach, on this gift of a day, deciding what to read.

I never expected to be back this late in the season (and without a jacket!)…but I‘ll take it.

"To speak the future is to shape the future."

I didn't like the book overall - it's not about the school anymore, and it's much less exciting than the previous Scholomance novels. But it has its moments.

So many loved this book, but I am not one of them. I thought the first two were imaginative and had great characters. This one dragged for me and I was not a fan of where the author went with the MC. Her actions were so out of character. I did like the ending but it was not strong enough to raise my rating to above 2⭐️.

#Scarathlon2022 @StayCurious #TeamMonsterMash

Finished this book while I was babysitting Poppy here, and WOW does it have some thoughts about capitalism, class, climate change, etc. Novik‘s plotting is as strong as ever (I feel quite clever for figuring out the main twist) and there are some really wonderful friendship moments. Some if her twists call back to the first book; it makes me want to reread the series already to see how it hangs together. Can‘t wait to see what she does next.

I am going slow (apparently my migraines hate school this year, which is helpful) but I am engrossed. So much so that even with a mild migraine last night I could not put this book down for two hours! I‘m going to have to be careful about when I pick it up next, because I think I‘m getting to the point where I won‘t be able to stop until the end.

#fantasy #queerbooks

A fantastic end to a really great series. This was full of surprises, made me very anxious at times, but ultimately ended in just the most perfect way. Novik amazes me with her ability to write such complex and fascinating worlds and fill them with imperfect characters you can‘t help but love.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

#NSR22 #NoShameReadathon22
Set in a darkly magical world, full of monsterous terrors. People send their children to the hungry halls of the Scholomance only a fraction of them will return from. But some survivors are better than none. Naomi Novik kept me guessing at where this was all going from book to book and delivered a fantastic conclusion to this #Fantasy trilogy! I loved this engrossing juxtaposition of #Grimdark horror and grudging hope.

Loved this conclusion to the Scholomance trilogy! Seeing El‘s growth throughout the series has been wonderful, and I loved seeing her friendships deepen and her find her own way in the aftermath of the events of the previous book. There were some jaw-dropping revelations in this book—all so well done. I want to go back and re-read the whole trilogy now.

Have the day off today, starting out with a cup of chai and some book time. My spouse read this in the 48 hours after it came out! I‘m taking it slower but really enjoying it. Novik is so good at twists and satisfying endings; I have some guesses but I‘m also sure she is going to surprise me.

Just finished!! It's a great ending to the series, but I have so many spoilery thoughts! Reply with the spoiler button in the comments if you've read it too and want to chat!

#monster #ominousoctober #teamslaughter #scarathlon #witchathon #spookoween #pointsathon #bookspinbingo #bodycountbingo #autumnbingo2022 #octoberbookbingo

I liked this just as much as the first two books. It was full of surprises for me, which was fun!

I love El‘s personality, and especially related to her frustration with situations that seem to unnecessarily stack obstacles in her way. I feel that sister! The friendships formed through the trilogy continue to strengthen, even in the face of impending doom.

If snarky dark academia fantasy is a genre, this falls solidly into it. Love!

A little reading in paradise

Currently reading!

This serious, satisfying, and ambitious finale to the Scholomance trilogy follows the freshly graduated El as she keeps the enclaves she despises from falling apart under force from a mysterious threat. Novik weaves every thread from the first two books into a deft, surprising, and thrilling conclusion, with a valuable consideration of systemic injustice and moral absolutism to boot. Maybe not quite as fun but just as excellent as the first two!

I am currently in the middle of two books I'm really enjoying. But this came in the mail yesterday and I kind of want to drop everything and read it right now... lol nevermind the fact that i have to be teaching in 10 minutes!