"There was only me to save me because no one else cared." 

The Scholomance is a school for the magically gifted. Survival is important. Failure means death. The students cannot leave until graduation, and there are monsters lurking everywhere. El possesses a dark power that has prepared her for the dangers within the school. 

The book follows our protagonist, Galadriel aka El, and how she navigates the Scholomance for survival. There are no professors and the school exists in some kind of void as there is nothing but darkness all around. Everyone follows their studies and must fight to survive their graduation in order to leave. 

The dialogue is a little cringe, but I didn't mind the characters. El is strong and powerful and chooses to be a loner, but realizes she needs allies if she is going to make it out alive. Orion is the heart-throbbing hero that everyone has on a pedestal. The two are an unlikely pair, but I liked the growth of their friendship. 

Due to the first person narrative, I feel like there was a lot of info dumping. I enjoy the complexity of learning a new magic system, but it should be experienced through prose and action. I understand the reason for it here, but there was too much tell and not enough show imo. 

Overall, I enjoyed A Deadly Education. The setting was perfect with arcane elements. It's a trilogy so I think I will eventually get the other two books to see how it all plays out.