Zorian Kazinski is woken up by his sister, argues with his mother and takes the train to school for his third year. The first month is perfectly normal until the summer solstice approaches and he dies. Only to wake up on the first morning before the train. Again. And again. And again.

I adored this. Zorian Kazinski is the fkn bomb. Plans upon plans. Devious, stubborn, determined, it's perfection. I love a good fanfiction with a time loop so it's not really much of a surprise I loved this. That said, I've only recently learned these progression stories exist outside of the realm of fanfiction. But they do and I'm finding them immensely satisfying. Something about reading about a character getting things done and winning at life just works for me. Granted, this is only my second series and apparently this is the pinnacle of the genre - so it's probably all downhill from here.

But Mother of Learning was an epic read. Zorian was a boss at accumulating knowledge and skills and although he was somewhat reserved at the start, I love how he comes out of his shell and begins to cultivate relationships with other people. I loved Zorian's sister, Kirielle and I loved Novelty (the large talking telepathic spider who helps to train him ). The meeting between them was hilarious. I loved how the aranea work with Zorian to disrupt plans and create a trap for the third time traveller. I really hope they're not permanently dead. They were my fav.

This ends on a major cliffhanger, but it's built up so well that I can't help but feeling like it ended exactly where it should. I think I'd be feeling less appreciative though if there weren't already three more volumes to read. Overall this was freaking incredible and has me hooked. I can't wait to read more. 5 stars. ( )

I meant to save this until next year to read but I started it and just couldn't stop.

I will confess that this isn't what I expected based on recommendations given to me but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing (it was a very pleasant surprise). I like the idea that the protagonist is thrown into the deep end without any real support but he does the best he can with the knowledge he has. He doesn't necessarily make the best decisions, but these are internally consistent (and avoids what I find all too frequently lately - a central character I wish would be punched in the face on a regular basis to bring them down to earth)

I would say that if anyone wants a fantasy that's an easy read with characters that don't get excessively annoying that this is a great read. ( )