A fascinating series opener that works particularly well as a YA/Adult crossover for the fantasy market!

As soon as I saw that The Atlas Six was pitched as The Secret History meets The Umbrella Academy, I was sold. And, to its credit, it reads exactly like the best of both of those things. The dark academia feel and secret, exclusive society of The Secret History with the magic/powers, strong characters, and general badassery of The Umbrella Academy. One of the things I love about the show The Umbrella Academy are the fight scenes, always set to unexpected music (think Istanbul Not Constantinople), and this novel managed to put that incredibleness into book format!! *screeches in happiness*

I’d heard about The Atlas Six long before I reading it, mostly due to its going viral on TikTok at the beginning of those long months of quarantine. I had wanted to read it ever since hearing about it (but really didn’t want to buy it from Amazon iykyk), and even though I’m mad at myself for waiting this long to read it, I’m so, so glad it’s finally in my hands— and it’s definitely worth it. It’s worth all the hype and, yes, it definitely deserved to go viral.

The Atlas Six is urban fantasy, part science fiction and technology and part ancient magic, with a fascinating ensemble cast of characters. Each of the characters feel so real, mostly because they all have very noticeable flaws and aren’t always likable, but you want to keep reading about them anyway. Not only are the characters excellent, but basically everything else about the book is solid as well— wonderful writing that reads very professionally, a carefully detailed and structured plot, plenty of mystery and conflict, and perfect pacing. This is almost certainly a book I’ll be recommending to anyone that will listen, and I already know I’ll be rereading this one many times to come. I can’t wait for the sequel that comes out later this year!!

Yes... I gave into the hype. The Atlas Six was a book I was incredibly wary to pick up, it turns out for semi-valid reasons, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be definitely picking up the sequel. Unless you've lived under a rock for the past few months then you will have already heard about this book so I'll make this a quick overview. 6 people picked by the Alexandrian Society for their skills, told they have one year to qualify for initiation when they will have the full wealth of knowledge the library holds open to them. The catch? Only 5 will make it. What follows is a story filled with vivid characters and a not too well built magic system, but a story that I loved nonetheless.

The strength of this book most definitely comes from it's characters. We spend a lot of time learning about their pasts and presents, what types of magics they have, how they came to be selected by the society. Libby, Nico, Tristan, Callum, Reina & Parisa are all selected because they have skills that no one else possesses, they are the elite in their own specific magical skill set's but personality wise, they couldn't be more different. Some characters I instantly bonded with, others took a little time and some I just never warmed too at all but they are all morally grey, some slightly darker than others, and they have all joined the society to further their own goals, for their own personal reasons. If Blake does one thing incredibly well it's write vivid & complicated characters that absolutely jump off the page, which is good because they absolutely save the book.

The magic system was... under-developed to say the least. We almost get chucked in at the deep end, there's no easing into the world, or magic and while I understood and enjoyed reading about most of the characters using their powers, there were some that I just couldn't get my head round. There's also a whole bunch of unanswered questions. Where does the magic come from? How come only certain people can access it? I should say that, even though we lacked a lot of information it never quite annoyed me enough to stop reading and, thanks to the strength of the characters, I found it near impossible to put down.

The writing style was a little too descriptive in parts and there was a whole bunch of introspection that just wasn't needed, didn't further the plot and could have easily been cut. So I guess I'm saying this book could be a whole bunch shorter and I would have enjoyed it more. It takes a big portion of the book before we get to anything really 'interesting,' and I do think that the fact one of the characters has to die should have been kept a secret because it just didn't pack the emotional punch I think it was meant to when it was revealed. That being said, towards the end of the book we get an additional POV that adds a spanner into the works and ensures that you and the characters question everything you've been told so far. This definitely made an impact on whether I would want to pick up the second book & made sure I raced through the last few chapters.

The romance was messy, as you would imagine with a bunch of young people being stuck together for a year. It got a little steamy in parts, but there was only really one romance arc that had any true impact on the story. I've seen a few people's pairings and some of them I get, some of them I don't at all, so I'm intrigued to see where the authors going to take them in the second book.

For a book that lacked in pacing and could have done will significantly more development in parts I genuinely enjoyed it & gave it 3.5 stars. If you, like me, enjoy character focused reads then this is definitely the book for you. However, if you prefer a more plot focused approach, you might want to give this one a miss. I'm excited for book two, especially seeing as it's out later this year and will definitely be picking it up.

This book had strong character development with a fast-paced plot line. That is exactly what I look for in a book. I found the language a bit difficult at first, but as the story went on, I felt like I was there.

Wow. This was a great read. The magic was really interesting although sometimes parts I had to read through a couple times to understand. The timeline was kind of all over the place so I had to really be paying attention. There were some great little nuggets though that make you think and it left me with so many questions that now I need to read the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan/Tor, and the author for the chance to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

This is a hard one to review. It's a dark academia book plus magic - a little like Naomi Novik's scholomance series, but with six Els instead of just one, if several of the Els were actually occasionally self-involved assholes instead of just prickly and introverted. All six characters are so interesting and complex and you can't help but hate and love them all in equal parts (OK, maybe love some of them a little more, Reina, you mysterious miracle, you). Plus there's a giant LIBRARY which, come on, is basically catnip and kryptonite all at once.

I maybe would have liked to understand the magic and its structural system (medeians, witches, how does all this work exactly? I guess as a muggle/unmagical person, I would not know). And maybe a little more of a plot in motion, and less of themes? And definitely, definitely, more Reina. But overall, I really enjoyed this. I'd say three and a half stars solidly but I will HAPPILY round up to 4 for Reina. (REINA 4EVER 💜)

I actually looked into buying this book when I was looking for An Interesting Book to read for my Adult Self, Not For Reviewing, Just For Reading, For Fun, Remember When You Used to Have Fun Reading? (To be clear I also have a lot of fun reviewing, but I am also frequently very stressed about it.) Goodreads, however, had a lot of top reviewers pretty unimpressed with it, so I ended up buying IF WE WERE VILLAINS by M.L Rio. I am about ten pages into that book and really enjoyed those ten pages. Maybe this month I will read another ten pages. Anyhow, I was really intrigued by the fact that this book went BACK into NetGalley and is getting like, republished because it went viral?? “Now newly revised”? Because it was republished traditionally? I’m intrigued. But you know what, Chai of @proyearner (who is credited here as a “viral book reviewer”??) says that "The Atlas Six is a fantasy novel that understands that what the people want is more dark academia stories with flawless vibes and aesthetics and hot morally fraudulent characters who are constantly on the verge of either killing each other or fucking each other. I'm the people." So I guess I am extremely here for it??? (Also there is a great recommendation from Chloe Gong). Honestly, blurbs have never really mattered to me at all, but both of these are incredible forces in The Book World and also, honestly, of my heart?

ANYHOW. This book. Honestly? I feel like it has good bones. I feel like I would write good fanfiction of this book. It starts and introduces all these interesting concepts and characters and ideas, and it doesn’t really do anything with them? The stakes are kind unclear, and I would kill for like, a description every now and again and honestly I don’t often say that. Erin L. on NetGalley writes that “it’s mostly hot people being mean to each other”, which is honestly its strongest and most interesting feature. Plus it’s set in a dark academia vibes world! And there’s a sequel coming!

I was extremely into “The 100”, the CW television show, which is about hot people and good ideas being destroyed by the apocalypse, and honestly that is kind of what this book feels like? I’m really glad that it’s gone viral and is apparently very popular on TikTok, because I’m hoping that means it WILL become a CW show and I can read really good fanfiction of it instead. Or maybe the sequel will be better!

I don’t know! I have confusing thoughts about this book! I feel both frustrated and intrigued! Three and a half stars, rounded up to four for NetGalley!

3.5 stars

I read very few academia books, so I don’t have much to compare this one to, which in my eyes is an advantage. I enjoyed the setting of the secret society, and I think the characters were fairly well fleshed out, for the most part (Reina being the exception). One thing that people may struggle with is that most of the characters are quite unlikable, but I’m sure they were written that way on purpose. To be honest, I think the majority of the book is overwritten. There is a lot of philosophical discussion that doesn’t really progress the story. But the last 20% or so of the book really picked up and hooked me for sure. Overall, I think this is an entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I received an ARC of The Atlas Six from Macmillan-Tor/Forge in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always intrigued when a self-published phenomenon such as The Atlas Six gets picked up by a traditional publisher. Why did this book blow up? How will going through the channels of traditional publishing change it (Tor Books describes this edition as “newly revised and edited … with new illustration material”)? And, of course, the most important question of all: is it actually good? The answer, for me, is no. I confess myself baffled as to the popularity of The Atlas Six, which in pitch sounds like something I would love—a dark academia with a splash of Hunger Games as six magicians of dubious morality vie for inclusion in a secret society which serves as caretakers for a wealth of supposedly-lost knowledge from antiquity. Sign me up! But what works in pitch does not always work in practice, and I found myself struggling to stay interested.

The Atlas Six follows six characters with various magical powers: Libby and Nico are able to manipulate the physical world; Reina can control plants; Parisa is a telepath who can read thoughts; Callum is an empath who can play with emotions; and Tristan has the ability to see through illusions. It’s an interesting and diverse set of powers, and the process of discovering those powers and their potential for interaction in the early chapters is the most rewarding part of the novel. There’s a sort of X-Men: First Class energy to it, and I was absolutely there for it.

But it quickly becomes apparent that The Atlas Six is the skeleton of a book—the characters provide the framework, but that framework doesn’t have anything to support. The powers wielded by the characters are their only distinguishing qualities; their personalities and behaviors are, with the exception of Libby, almost universally interchangeable. They are bitter people with unceasingly acerbic dialogue, and while I don’t have a problem with unlikeable or unsympathetic characters (I recoil whenever someone uses those words as criticisms), I do have a problem with characters who are bland or one-note, and that’s the case here. I desperately wanted them to reveal additional dimensions, even if only to the reader, or to say something—anything!—that didn’t sound like an inane comment from a Philosophy 101 class or a D-tier comic book villain.

Blake’s writing, although a bit strained and desperate to impress, is competent. The biggest problem is the lack of physical descriptions. Dialogue and internal narration abound, but I never had a good sense of where the characters were or what their surroundings looked like. There are few things that put me off a work of fiction more than being unable to shake the sense that the characters are inhabiting a sort of blank nebulous dreamscape where the physicality of the environment doesn’t matter, like the King’s Cross of Deathly Hallows. This is compounded by the magic system, which doesn’t seem to generate any meaningful consequences for either the characters or the world around them. It is never clear what is and isn’t possible, and it therefore becomes difficult to determine what exactly is at stake at any given time.

I was about ready to dismiss The Atlas Six as a total loss when I got to the ending. Suddenly, in its last pages, it pulls back the curtain and finally sparks to life: it introduces a complex, dynamic character, and for the first time, starts to wrestle with engaging themes such as environmentalism, imperialism, trauma, and regret and its relationship to time. Why Blake saves her most interesting ideas for the end of the story when they are desperately needed hundreds of pages earlier is beyond me, but I admittedly found myself compelled to find out what she has planned for the rest of the series. (I may have just answered my own question….)

The Atlas Six is a bit like a trashy show on The CW (no, that’s not redundant—there have been non-trashy shows on The CW): it’s mostly hot people being unnecessarily mean to one another, it doesn’t have much in the way of real substance, and you feel mildly disappointed in your life choices when you finish it. But it does have the occasional imaginative moment, and it does end on a high note. I am intensely curious as to where Blake will take the story in the sequel—I just have no desire to actually read it. That said, I am glad this book has found its audience.

So this is an edited rerelease of the original book. When I saw this as an arc opportunity I jumped on it! I’ve heard nothing but great things and this book did not disappoint.

Dark academia vibes, twists that I never expected, honestly it gave me the academics vibes without being pretentious and cheesy. The characters have depth and motivation it’s just an all around enjoyable read. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc for an honest review!

So imagine that the library of Alexandria didn't exactly burn down, and the archives were saved. But by whom? By a secret society that involves itself with magic. And every few years, six candidates are selected, from various fields of magic, to be trainees. But only five of them will become a part of this Society. So the question is: what is exactly this Society? And why doesn't it is exactly what it seems like?

This was a great Dark Academia book. It was not the basic setting of a school with gory stuff happening. It had a great narration with a broad variety of characters that anyone could relate to even to one. The development of the story was gradually ascending, without it being considered as unclear or confusing. Every action had a logical reaction and result.

All of the characters had actual depth and they had a different development. Two of my favorite characters were probably Libby and Nico, mostly because of their constant bantering and their dynamics contributed to the storyline. Also, Reina was the quiet wolf in sheep clothing and she had a power that a lot underestimated. I wanted to punch Callum in the face throughout the whole book, and I'm looking forward to see what the next book has in store for him. My feelings for Atlas Blakely are mixed, but I think he's one of the morally gray characters whose actions are justified only on some ways.

The plot-twists were not expected, but they were pioneering and it makes me want to read the next book more.

Thank you NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!

A dark academia book to fall in love with, with atmospheres and characters that are not easily forget!
I waited a long time for this book and I was so excited to read it for the first time.

I loved the setting, the Alexandria library, just as much as the plot, animated by the changes in the point of views of the different characters.
I think the story is well written and even if it's not perfect it's definitely a great book to read!

Reading it brought me back to a "the ninth house" kind of vibe of if you liked that book you can definitely give a shot to this one too.

Ever read a book that made you feel like an absolute moron but you LOVED it? The Atlas Six was that book for me. The writing, the language and subject matter had me dizzy at times despite the generally slow pace of the book. Character backstories were built well and their interrelations were interesting to follow along. It's hard not to get attached to them when you get to know their desires and problems so intimately (special shoutout to Parissa and Callum for that). Excited to read the sequel to see where the overarching plot goes because I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it yet.

Dark academia vibes abound in this unique novel about magic, distrust, and power. Six talented magic users are invited into a secret society, though only five with be allowed to join. The knowledge the society offers could change each of their lives, though the dangers of the society's enemies and the rivalries between the candidates are deadly. The characters are rich and complex, the relationships between them are lush and well-imagined, and though details would spoil the most delightful surprises, I can say I cannot wait for the sequel.

This was my favorite release of 2021, and will undoubtedly be my favorite release of 2022, as well. Olivie Blake is a masterful crafter of characters. Each of The Six is so perfect you might imagine them carved from stone, and so real you might imagine them sitting alongside you as you read. Her prose is sumptuous, indulgent and intellectual. The updates made from the self-published edition increased both clarity and concision. I plan on buying a hard copy of the new release tomorrow and cannot wait to see the new art in-print.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the e-ARC of this book. I couldn't be happier to have received it. Expect updated reviews on the hardback book over the next few days, as well.

If you were offered the opportunity of a lifetime, would you take it? Who would you trust? The goody-two-shoes American girl next door who loves rules as much as breathing? The cocky, jack the lad South African who thirsts for power more than anything else? The introverted Japanese girl that is more than she seems? The English lad who craves authority and authenticity along with power and respect? The Brazilian boy who has more secrets and ego than anyone alive? The femme fatale Iranian girl with Parisian style and honesty that you did not want to hear? The Atlas Six is a page turning book of intrigue, intricate plots, and shadowy intents as the characters decide if the lifetime opportunity is worth the price of admission and who can be trusted along the way. As deeply intense as the story became it flowed freely and interestingly without feeling forced or manufactured as some books become when they have to service multiple viewpoints. An all-around enjoyable read, that left me wondering when would I be able to read the sequel.

After seeing this book blowing up everywhere on BookTok, I was curious enough to try it out myself, especially after seeing that it had been acquired by Tor. In the past, recommendations from there have been hit or miss, and unfortunately, this one was a bit of a miss.

“Nature is chaos, magic is order, but they are not wholly unrelated.”


Every decade, six medeians – magicians – are picked by the secretive Alexandrian Society (yes, as in the Library of Alexandria) to compete for a chance to win a place. Former initiates have gone on to reach the heights of society, from CEOs to politicians, while some instead chose to stay and learn everything they can. While they’re competing against each other – only five will be inducted after a year – these six wildly different people must also work as a team to protect the Society. But as with most secret societies, what they have been told isn’t the entire truth. Figuring out what they haven’t been told may be just as illuminating as what they have been – if they can survive that long.

Each main character gets their own POV, which presents the first challenge. For the most part, I found all the characters interesting. Some of them are particularly stand out – heeeey Parisa – while others were obviously not the author’s favorites. The first two we’re introduced to, Nico and Libby, have just graduated from a magic university in NYC. Both adept at manipulating physical elements, they’ve been rivals from the start, and my romance brain kept waiting for it to turn into enemies-to-lovers relationship. But, alas, while there are some romantic relationships, that one is never explored. I also adored Reina and wished there had been more from her POV.

“What everyone else was seeing—illusions, perceptions, interpretations—were not an objective form of reality at all, which meant that, conversely, what Tristan could see… was.”


The introduction to the characters, and their first few days at the Society, are interesting, with a good mix of action and seeing how the characters interact. And then it starts falling apart. The world building is extremely uneven. There are magic families and magic companies but it’s not entirely clear whether “mortals” – non-magical people – are aware that magic exists. There’s bits of text which could be read either way, and while it’s a minor thing, it was disproportionately frustrating to me. Continuing with the dearth of world building, except for a few notable examples, the magic lessons are glossed over. We get the basics of what the characters can do, just enough to provide characterization. And this leads directly to my next issue.

The lion’s share of the book is focused on the characters and what they think of each other. There’s alliances and squabbles and seduction but there’s not really a ton of other plot. And don’t get me wrong, I love usually love character interactions! But it’s a ton of telling versus showing. One character’s falling for another? Better make sure another character explicitly tells us that in their POV! There’s several twists that are basically so heavily foreshadowed because of that telling that they’re ruined. There is a cliffhanger ending but, honestly, by the time I reached that point I was only mildly interested.

So, overall, this book didn’t work for me. While the characters and the beginning was strong, there wasn’t enough to make me want to keep reading.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Okay, I didn’t expect this book to be as complex and heady as it was, but I love it! It takes dark academia to a whole other level; like Ninth House but with more science and more spice. I admire the way that each of the six character’s perspectives are showcased at different points, and I also like that we find out more about the other characters through one character’s perspective. Intriguing and obsessive and I can’t wait for the sequel!

I love this book! The vibes are immaculate and the pace was perfect for me. The hype for this book was well worth it and I am so happy that I picked it up. What more could one want from a story, six magical people brought together to be part of the elite and secret Alexandrian Society where only five will be initiated? Yes, please! I am ready for the second book to be out now and I cannot wait to read what happens next. The multiple points of view kept the story flowing so well and I loved seeing how differently and similarly the characters thought and acted. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Olivie Blake for an eArc version of this book!

This was a very interesting read. There was a lot of world building which was hard to follow at times but overall I enjoyed the characters and the plot. I’m curious to see what happens next in the series.