A review by path_through_pages
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

My husband got me the first in the series and everyone always RAVES about how much they love it! 

If I'm being real, the first chapter felt like a manic run-on sentence. I had a really hard time liking the FMC until the last half of the book, and there was something about the overall writing style that just didn't fit in my brain (I can't tell you why because I just don't know). 

I'm also fully aware that the FMC is an angry, trauma filled, ball of teenaged rage and she absolutely is behaving as such so I am not faulting a teenaged character for acting like a teenager. 

Also the FMC mentioned at some point that she wants a daughter one day so I'm worried that's foreshadowing for later on in the series. There also is this weird emphasis on 'don't you want this place to be better for your kids one day?' Which to me is always weird. Why do we need to want things to be better just because we have a personal stake in the game? But anyway I'm going off topic here. 

So I was fully ready to give this book 3 stars, walk away, and not continue the series, and then the very last line of the book has me annoyingly interested enough to keep going. 

I guess we will see what happens!