The Golden Enclaves

by Naomi Novik

Overall: I loved the first two books of the Scholomance series (A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate). The Golden Enclaves wraps up the trilogy with a bang! As book 2 ends on a cliffhanger (almost literally), and I don’t want to give anything away for those who haven’t read the whole series, I’m not going to go into a lot of detail in this review. Suffice to say, we continue to follow the adventures of witch Galadriel “El” Higgins now that she’s back in the real world following her time in the monster-infested wizarding school known as the Scholomance. El, who can summon spells of mass destruction at the drop of the hat, is still determined to be a righter of wrongs and defy the prophecy (made by one of her own family members) that she is destined to destroy the “enclaves,” the locations where wizards live in relative secrecy and safety. Additionally, El has suffered a terrible loss, and she has to figure out how to pick up the pieces and keep moving forward.

Likes: The world-building in this book is next-level, with locations scattered across the globe that each have unique magical elements. Each enclave has its own cultural characteristic, look, and feel, and the locations almost become characters in themselves. Some of the smaller supporting characters in the first two books get more of a spotlight (looking at you, Liesel!). We get to know more about El and Orion’s families of origin. I thought the book did a great job of wrapping up some of the major plot threads that extended back into book 1. This book has great themes about found family, family reconciliation, acceptance of differences, and trying to undo the wrongs of the past, all of which make it more than just a fun fantasy diversion. But it’s fun, too! And El’s such a great character – full of snide remarks, snarkiness, self-deprecation, confusion, and love.

Dislikes: the final battle was a bit convoluted. I also wished we’d seen a bit more of El’s initial gang of friends. But these are minor quibbles that did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the book!

FYI: terrible parenting choices, violence, murder, attempted murder.