girl. i hated reading this. this was literally such a chore to read that i skim-read the last 150 pages or so. i was so done with the unnecessary exposition. i like world-building as much as the next person but were those random facts serving the story? no. speaking of story, it made up for only maybe 30-40% of this book, because the rest was just el infodumping at every chance she gets. naomi novik u're a terrific writer but i did not sign up to read a 300 page dissertation on ur special interest i.e. the lore of this book series. i just need a 10-15 slide presentation girlie that's all i need coz this world doesn't warrant this much seriousness. n e ways, for the salad of the plot i got... it was actually pretty fine. my favourite part was the fkin patience-fortitude megamonster at the end oh boy u could feel el's terror. AND THE CLIFFHANGER!? ORION NOOOOOO. he was by far my favorite part of this book (and the last book). he's so... him. this eccentric weirdo. no swag no aura just immaculate vibes. i love him. el's insults for him are so creative lmfao. where else am i gonna see a girl refer to her boyfriend (that she won't admit is her bf) as a "cart-wheeling donkey"? her avoidant-attachment approach to him is hilarious. and he's a loser in love with her. orion is the only reason i'm reading this book series istg. and i think it's gonna be worse reading the final book in the trilogy coz he won't be around and i'll have to deal with more of el's exposition all alone. ughhhhhh. i did get that nostalgic-melancholic feeling as they were all leaving the scholomance at the end tho. i think i js never want to get out of a school coz i associate it with uhh safety and fun and learning and friends.
