Omg i had so much fun reading this! I mean, of course i did. it’s dark academia. I enjoyed this world so much. This book in particular did have a lot of world building but i didn’t mind because there were so many things i found cool. For Example the moving stairs you couldn’t be on after classes because you don’t know where you’ll end up or the fact that you can’t be in your room after curfew. Also, these kids were crazy as hell and literally was trying to kill the main character El. I know a lo...

Harry Potter’s massive cultural impact means that we haven’t seen the last of magic schools set in Britain, and we probably won’t for a long while. In some ways, the fantasy genre’s response to Rowling’s work is tiresome. In others, it’s exciting—because a generation of readers and writers have grown up to bring their own perspective to the limits of Rowling’s work and push it beyond the limits of its author. However, if you’re looking for a transgressive magic academy book that interrogates the...

Hogwarts meets Deadly Class’ world building with sassy, smart, humorous vibes, completely badass, snarky, grumpy, sarcastic queen as a heroine and a clueless hero walking between the lines of being irritating and hysterical.I was waiting more bloodshed, bleak, horrifying, gory premise but instead of that I got dark comedy with creative ideas, deliciously absurd twists, extremely entertaining, addictive story with a sassiest and smartest ( of course she is half Indian, half Welsh) heroine called

well, its official - third time is not the charm. i assumed because this is NNs first try at the YA genre, her storytelling would feel more modern and less stuffy than her adult fairytale retellings. but nope. this is the exact same slogging narrative i have come to know and dislike. NNs style of 80% internal monologue/narration is just not for me. theres just a lot of info-dumping, tedious and repetitive descriptions, and too much telling/not enough showing for my liking. i also had a massive p...

Just released my Top 10 Books from 2020 BookTube Video - now that you know this one made the list, click the link to find the rest!Annnd here's my original reaction to this book!Couldn't resist doing a Video Review for this dangerously good book!!YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review - thank you! EDIT: I do NOT believe this book is racist. I'm suddenly noticing that a few people are levelling accusations of racism at this book. I don't believe these accusations are justified. IMO, all the complaints are attributable to the fact that a) El is very antisocial, meaning she struggles to connect/care about anybody, regardless of what race they are; and b) she grew up in Wales away from her Indian family. Of course she's not goin

My favorite part about this book was the relationship between El and Orion. El’s prickly attitude towards Orion, who does nothing but nice things for her, totally amused me from beginning to end and I found their dynamic to be silly and endearing. The writing style very much rambles since it’s directly from El’s voice, and is therefore peppered with sarcasm and brooding petulance. This book would be better enjoyed by people who like reading dark academia YA stories (it definitely steers younger

Why didn't anyone tell me the lead is a Murderbot? I would have read this much, much sooner.Alright, the full review is here, with sub-spoilers:(view spoiler)[Undoubtedly five stars. What makes it so? The ability to capture my attention and hold until finished, the daze of finishing, and the desire upon finishing to flip to the beginning and start reading all over again. Sure, it has some shortcomings. But I haven't felt like this since the first Murderbot. I was on the fence for months over thi...

This Review ✍️ Blog 📖 Twitter 🐦 Instagram 📷Actual Rating: 2.5 starsI just went through some reviews before starting this reviews and I am seeing a lot of “I am a big Naomi Novik fan but this was not for me/ DNFed/ not as good as her other books”. Personally, I preferred this over Uprooted and Spinning Silver but I still am giving it 2.5 stars. The book has been the center of a recent drama while I was reading it this week and I will touch upon that in this review a bit.My biggest problem with No...

3.75 stars Before I outline my thoughts on this book, if you’ve missed it, please read some reviews from BIPOC reviewers in response to some of the missteps about race in this book. I read reviews from both sides before deciding to proceed with reading it myself as planned. My review will not speak on any of the accusations against this book, as it is not my place to say whether something is harmful to a marginalized group that I am not a part of. Based on what I read from reviewers, the misstep...

⇓ Edited to Add: On the Controversy ⇓ Since its release, this book has been accused of racism. I respect those who have been hurt and am sorry for their pain, but I want to say that—as a Middle Eastern who has also strived to be as aware of racism as possible—I personally did not find this book racist. Most of the accusations I’ve read have seemed insubstantial to me—if you view words out of context with the aim of finding something offensive, of course you will succeed.The school giving El c

WOOOOOOWW........GOOD SHIT!That's it. That's my review. Am I a professional or what. Honestly a super super strong 4 STARS for me. Hmmmm 4.5? I reaaallly enjoyed this; I actually didn't think I would at first. But after the hurdle through the first fifty pages, dannngg I really ate this up. If anybody asks me what this book is about, I literally still don't have a clue. I would say 60% went over my head with all the mechanics and magics and works of the place, system, school, whatever. And the e...

I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

EDIT 1: It seems that some people have gone out of their way (and, likely, minds!) to label this book a racist one. Well, I'd advise them to have their brains checked since they seem to be morons. There isn't anything even remotely racist in here. Races aren't even discussed. The languages that are. Discussed. Are discussed in a general multicultural way. So no need to go crazy. Amen! EDIT 2: It seems that NN was forced to apologise for the passage on dreadlocks that can get infested with magi...

Note: I received a free copy of A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik in exchange for my honest review.I’m surprised by how much I liked this book. It has a very dark Hogwarts type feel, but with way more monsters and death. 🙃 I enjoyed the hate/love relationships between El and well... pretty much everyone. 😜 And sweet Orion is the golden retriever who you just have to love ❤️ I’ll be looking forward to reading that sequel! Update: I’m having dreams about this world and am still thinking about it.....

never mind. i don't like anything about this book.read Asma's review----------------i like a lot of things about this book, but my favorite thing is that the title sounds like if you ran "dark academia" through a thesaurus

DNFI got 50 pgs in and just did not care for the writing style at all. It’s a lot of stream of consciousness kind of rambling that is just throwing buckets of info at you at once and just did not make me interested in the slightest. Probably could’ve given it more of a chance but the rest of the book seems to have the same style of writing and I’m just not interested enough to push through

I love magical schools but this was disappointing.Didn't care for the characters, the setting, the story... most of it tbh.

$1.99 Kindle sale, August 29, 2021. I was a bit on the fence with this first book, but I have to say that I really loved the second one, so overall this fantasy series gets a strong thumbs up from me, so far.Review first posted on FantasyLiterature.com:The Scholomance: It’s kind of like a semi-sentient Hogwarts with extra teeth (actually, more like a mouth bristling with razor-sharp fangs), no teachers, really brutal cliques, and an out-of-control infestation of all sorts of magical monsters (ca...

2021 reread: Yes, of course Carol is right (as she always is) — the protagonist *is* a Murderbot. How did I not see it myself???Upping to 4.5 stars on reread, given how much absolute delight it brought me.————2020: “We’re not meant to all survive, anyway. The school has to be fed somehow.” Scholomance is an isolated magical boarding school in the Void that you enter at fourteen and - maybe, possibly, if you are *very* lucky - get to leave four years later. But before you sign up, keep in min...