A Deadly Education Review: Squandered schoolstuffs
I have to admit, I don't hate the magic school trope whatsoever—if anything, when done right, it's one of my favorite tropes. I was super excited to see what horrifying traps might come around the corner, or what insane implications a deadly school might entail. So, did the first Scholomance book live up to its potential? That's what I, Brighton Nelson, will be discussing in today's review. Thanks so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy your time on the site!
Let's start with the positives. First, I love that the main character isn't trying to be some basic chosen one. Her hardcore cynicism made the book an absolute treat at times, full of unexpected opinions and reactions. Sure, she was a pain in the butt all the time, but her intentionally abrasive personality mostly works.
This novel also does a good job of establishing unique worldbuilding, both inside and outside the school. I especially loved when it dove into the implications of linguistics on magic, cafeteria seating, and social hierarchies. There were so many interesting observations I didn't even know I wanted to know, but I was happy to learn them.
However, outside of the worldbuilding and the main character's vibe, this book had a couple of major problems. The novel may have had great lore and backstory, but the execution was quite distracting. We'd get a snippet of an active scene, followed by multiple pages of pure exposition delivered by the main character, then a tiny bit more plot progression, and repeat. It got to the point where, any time I picked up the book, I had to actively refresh my memory on what was actually happening.
Since I often go the audiobook route, I can't just flip back four pages to find where the plot last moved forward. I got so frustrated with how often I got lost that I had to pick up a physical copy just to finish it. I rarely have time to read instead of listen, and for a book this frustrating, it wasn't fun to burn my physical reading time on it. While the book worked slightly better on paper—especially since the audiobook narrator felt so performatively abrasive that it was tough to listen to—the rambling problem still stands. I have read plenty of books with this same level of intricate worldbuilding that don't constantly derail the main plot.
Regrettably, that main plot has a ton of issues. With a title like A Deadly Education, I expected the main character to be in constant, harrowing danger. Instead, it felt like a cynical, cyclical romantasy with great lore and almost no actual tension. Most of the narrative is spent on an uninteresting, whiny will-they-won't-they dynamic that feels completely detached from what is promised on the back cover. By the time a few interesting events finally happened at the end—though the story still didn't feel standalone—I wasn't invested enough to care about the sequel. With a different title, marketing strategy, and set of expectations, I'd be less disappointed, but I still wouldn't recommend it.
The Brighton's Bookshelf Verdict
Brighton's Bookshelf Score - 3.5/10
Letter Score - D
A Deadly Education has fantastic worldbuilding with linguistics, enclaves, maleficaria, and other hard magic concepts. However, its incredible ideas and high-concept premise—a school on a killing spree—get lost in an uninteresting romance that's far less tense than a murderous school should be, and the main plot ends before it really starts. On top of that, endless tangents interrupt the pacing instead of building the world naturally. I'm all good with an exposition dump here and there. Sometimes, life does give us exposition dumps. But this isn't an exposition dump: it's an exposition landmine-laden landfill.
Interested in checking out some of my other reviews? Check them out below!
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