II was blown away by this book. Most titles do not live up to being compared to The Secret History, but this one does and then some. Compulsively readable. I need the next book now.

I loved this book. Secret societies, magic, plots within plots, and some great characters. We follow 6 magicians that are selected to be potential initiates of the Alexandrian Society. But access to the society has a requirement that may push the initiates to the edge. Along with the 6, there are a couple very important secondary characters that have their own plans for the initiates. What I enjoyed about this one is that we get POV chapters from all 6 of the initiates plus a couple from a secondary character. All of them are so different (except perhaps that they are all ambitious) that it makes a fascinating read. The interaction between magic, science and power runs through the entire book. But for me, it really is the characters that shine. I anxiously await the second book.

“Knowledge is carnage. You can’t have it without sacrifice.”

I've seen the atlas six everywhere on my bookstagram feed and fyp. This is the second dark academia book that I read and It gave what it was supposed to give. My brain couldn't understand anything at first especially that I rarely read dark academia and fantasy books but truly, the hype was worth it. This book was a masterpiece. Everything was beautifully written. And not gonna lie, I fell inlove with Olivie Blake's writing style. Overall, this book deserves more than 5 stars and reading this was soooooo worth it.

Can the book 2 come out already I don't think I can wait until October 25

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
4.5/5 🌟

Six of the worlds most sought after magicians, competing for entry in to a secret society.
Five will be initiated.
One must be eliminated.

THANK U to @netgalley & @panmacmillan for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
This was by far one of the most compelling and sophisticated fantasy books I’ve ever read 🤯

Perfect for fans of dark academia (but make it adult, and with no rules 🥵), complex magic systems, mystery and Sci-Fi.

The setting had ALL the things I look for in a fantasy/dark academia read— cozy libraries & reading rooms complete with ancient artefacts and fireplaces, sprawling gardens, *private* corners within stone castle hallways, four poster beds.

The banter, and dialogue in general, kept me hooked, but at times I wish the pacing had been a bit faster (in particular, the last 60 odd pages).

Aside from that, I would have loved to see more of Nico & Libby. Not only did their bickering have me in stitches, but I felt as though they really respected one another and had each other’s backs at the end of the day.

One of the my favourite things about this book was the multiple POV narrative 🙌🏽
It was the perfect way to literally get into the minds of each character and see the full picture, especially when there was so much mystery woven into the plot & subplots.

#theatlassix will be available on March 1, and after seeing the gorgeous artwork making the rounds (@littlechmura), I really recommend getting a physical copy!

Phew, unpopular opinion time.

I was actually quite intrigued by this book in the beginning. It starts off with enigmatic Atlas meeting all six of the characters and recruiting them to join this mysterious society because of their high levels of unique magic. Interesting, right? Where is this going to go, I thought? I was intrigued to find out.

Alas, by about 35% in I was contemplating DNFing, and by the end I knew I could have without missing anything.

Reasons I didn't enjoy this book:

* It's written like a philosophy essay submitted by an undergrad white man in a fedora. Long long passages of navel gazing, random discussion of abstract concepts, and using Extremely Smart ways of phrasing things instead of using direct language. You know those uni students that absolutely NEED you to know how extremely Smart with a capital S they are, no matter what they're discussing? Reminds me of my ex. Reminds me of this book.

* Extremely unlikeable characters. Literally all of them. Nico maybe marginally less so, but the rest are painfully unlikeable, to the point you're dying for their POV chapter to end, only to groan deeply when the next chapter is yet another horrible person (and some more interminable philosophising with a smattering of dialogue).

* Inconsistent and poorly developed magic system. They all have different and very specific magical specialties... But then they'll randomly wave their hand and summon things or make things happen in a way that doesn't fit with this system at all?? They literally study super hard to make "wormholes" which Nico uses to move between rooms... But then later in the story someone just waves their hand and transports another character to their bedroom?? It doesn't make sense.

*Somehow this book manages to have a threesome in it and still be incredibly boring. Quite the achievement. These characters are all sleeping with each other constantly but there's not much actual on page sex so it kind of just got annoying to me?

*About halfway through a "twist" is revealed that's literally spelled out on the front cover. 70% into the book and were still talking about something the reader has known since they first saw the tag line.

*The very end is kind of a big twist I guess, but by that point I was so bored and irritated I just couldn't have given the slightest crap about any of it. To understand the twist, we have to go back and read whole bunch of life backstory about a character in the second to last chapter, at a point that is meant to be the climax? and it's just... tedious!

Look, I kind of feel a bit bad for this slating because I know this started out as an indie book. But I'd like everyone who apparently hyped this book up on TT to come and tell me what exactly they liked about this book?? I'm honestly at a loss.

I'm glad some people have enjoyed it. Not for me. I can recommend some far better indie books to get this kind of high level marketing and publicity.

After seeing so much about The Atlas Six on booktok, I wanted to love this book so badly! Unfortunately, it just didn't hit the mark for me. The book started off strong and I loved the concept of this story, was intrigued by the main characters, and LOVED the magic system. However, that excitement really just plateaued and I found myself skimming way more than I would have liked. The book is extremely character driven, which may have been why it was too slow paced and underwhelming for me. For a character driven story, I have to really love the characters or the relationships between them and that aspect was also lacking for me. There was so much potential in the storyline but there were so many parts where I thought to myself "what did I just read and why is any of this important?". Overall, this book was hard for me to get through and I personally won't be rushing to buy the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for sending me an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I need the next book like right now! Ugh I'm sad I have to wait but it looks like it should be coming out soon (this year sometime) so that's good. Really interesting magic system/world, I love how different all the characters are and how they interact with each other. And oh man did things get interesting at the end!

Six powerful young individuals are brought together by Atlas Blakely, the keeper of the Alexandrian society, an exclusive society tasked with preserving the world's lost knowledge. Each of the Six has a unique magical skill that distinguishes them from other medians. They enter the society knowing that only five of them will make it to the initiation, which they will only get once. When they learn that one of them must be eliminated before the end of the year, their distrust grows. But if they want to succeed, they must work together.

Because of the hype around it, I had great expectations for it. I enjoyed the set of characters; each one has its own set of strengths and flaws, and each one is unique. However, there were other characters I hated. Their thoughts frustrated and angered me. Their motivations were selfish. For a novel that I anticipated to have no romance, The Atlas Six was also unexpectedly hot, and I loved it.

My only concern was that there was no description of the setting or even the characters. I didn't get a lot of information on what the actual setting was. I had no idea what these commonly discussed drawing rooms looked like in reality. I also believed that the physical description of the characters was not well depicted. Overall, it’s an interesting and fun read. I’m looking forward to the next installment and seeing where this series will go in the future.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC for an honest review.

3.5 (4 stars)

The Atlas Six is the first of the series of a fantasy-science fiction, dark academia series. It follows a selected six powerful magicians brought together to the Alexandrian society, to protect the lost knowledge of the world. Five of the six would be initiated and one would be eliminated at the end.

This book has multiple perspectives, following the six unreliable narrators and you would find yourself questioning every character. Each of the characters is so distinct. I found myself rooting for different characters in each chapter. The tension between the characters in this book is amazing.

It is a heavily character-driven book. The plot is forced on the characters and there isn't a set conflict, climax, and resolution to the book. Because the plot is character-driven, the pacing of the book is slow and takes a while to pick up.

The strongest point of this book is the character, and if you love really character-driven stories, this book is for you.

There was so much hype for this book so I guess I should have lowered my expectations. I have to agree with other people's reviews - the characters are pretentious and redundant and most of the book could have been cut out. The beginning started or promising with the characters different magics but it took forever to introduce them all and then there was not really a plot? Where is the murder? The dark academia? Overall, it did not interest me and I will not be reading the second book.

This book was everything I love. A dark academia fantasy story with intrigue and twists and turns. I absolutely LOVED how it developed, with little hints towards the final hook at the very end, but juuuust enough information missing that it’s impossible to put together until the final exposition.

I have to say, I have been a fan of Olivie Blake for YEARS. literal years. I’m talking “a commoners guide to bedding a royal” years.

I’m so happy to see authors I’ve read online having their own independent works published finally!!! Her work is wonderful, and her writing is deeply descriptive. The characters are not exactly likeable? But are very compelling. I absolutely devoured this book in one day. It was a stay up late to finish type of novel. I already cannot wait for a sequel.

𝙇𝙞𝙗𝙗𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤. 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙.

𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚.

𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙧. 𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙙.

𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣.


I'm not entirely convinced the author isn't some sort of wizard of her own because writing a book of such magnitude of knowledge surely required some Einstein level mastery.

- ~ -

If I were to describe the entire plot in three words I'd say 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗣𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹 would just about cover it.

Now I don't want to get into writing scriptures for all characters because that's exactly what they'd be - scriptures, not descriptions. But I will say:
𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗯𝘆 owns my heart, body and soul. That's all I've got for her.
𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼 bless him is the sweetest rival. I just hope he soon comes to the best conclusion for his fragile heart.
𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻, my man, is British. And regardless of however many people may contradict this - his accent is sexy so for me he's just plain hot.
𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗮 was in 𝘯𝘰𝘵 any better terms of the word, mostly boring. Her POV was the one I dreaded the most, not because I hated her. It's just that as readers, we don't get much information on her which leads to her being a bit disconnected from the rest of the crew. But tbh she's pretty antisocial which means the others don't know much about her either so fair play I guess.
𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗮 can crush my heart and I'd let her. She was the seductress and I guess nothing short of phenomenal on her job if she managed to charm me across the span of a few chapters.
𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘂𝗺 is the most debatable character by far. I don't not like him but I do hope his ethics have a chance to redeem his character in the sequel. But if not then I'll still love him, mothers don't just abandon the black sheep of the family I suppose.

Now that you know how I feel about the Atlas 6 crew, please note that you were cautioned that despite the morality imbalance you'll fall heads over heels for each character. Or I guess not if your ethics are too strong but this is just fiction so we can all chill I think.

- ~ -

Now the romance aspect of the story is something that brings visible confusion to my face and not at all because it's non-existent, it's just there are too many options and any of them will soothe my heart. Because see:
*minor spoilers ahead*
There's Libby and Nico, who if they were to be  endgame, that'd be satisfying given their history.

But if the author were to bless us with the Tristan and Libby ship that's be bliss as well, although, I'm not sure if Parisa warped their feelings for each other and now their attraction is just a consequence of the tampering and not how the reality.

PS. The author was really out to kill with the threesom. So now 𝗦𝗲𝘅𝘆 is one more word I'd use to elucidate the story.

- ~ -

Also I'd like to mention that while this book has many revelations, some plot twists and a hell of a lot magic and trickery, there isn't any adrenaline rushing thrills, save for maybe one or two incidents. It's a bit slow paced but in this case, it was totally to my liking for I was too exhausted to be able to connect with something fast paced anyway.
So for anyone going into this with a dark, blood rushing thriller in mind, please know the above.

Lastly, if the snippets I read after stalking the author's Instagram page for the sequel to this book are any indication, then we can be sure the The Atlas Paradox just as The Atlas Six is going to be another sensational banger.

- ~ -

Overall: A masterpiece.
Every diverse character with varying degrees of trauma takes you on a ride of a lifetime which not only makes you question your morality but also your very reality. Strap on your seatbelts ladies and gentlemen, it's a hell of a ride.

4.54 /5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯-𝘛𝘰𝘳/𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 & 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

Every day since I first read this book in July, I wake up and hope that I would be able to read this book for the first time again. And yet, this is the third time I have read The Atlas Six and the emotions I feel are the exact same.
Words cannot even describe what a masterpiece Olivie Blake has crafted. Incredulously thrilling and intelligently fucked up in the best ways possible, The Atlas Six will hold on to your throat and never let go. Honestly, disaster academics running around, plotting murders, and planning world domination? I fucking love it.

Plot-wise, there aren't many things to say. Six exceptionally gifted academics are invited by the Alexandrian society for their decade-ly initiation of new members. They are promised wealth, privileges, and most importantly, unlimited knowledge of the world that is guarded so preciously in society's dare. But only five of them are selected, and thus begins a story of twists and shifting alliances that can threaten the equilibrium of magic itself.

I understand that people find the plot lacking, because this story is heavily character-driven, if not entirely. Our six main characters are the skeleton of the book. Yes, the plot is intriguing, but this plot will not hold if not for the amazing cast. I love every single one of them (yes, even Callum)
because Blake's characterization is *CHEF'S KISS*; Whether it is Reina, Parisa, Callum, Tristan, Nico, or Libby, their story has a lot of depth. Their motivations are very solidly founded (which is very rare for the first book in a fantasy series) and their backgrounds make sense for the current people they are.

Moreover, Olivie Blake's writing has the ability to capture attention very quickly. I am not kidding when I say that I worship her. Blake's astonishing way of words never failed to steal my heart, and this is no exception. Pretentious and embellishing in the best ways possible, this book fulfilled its promise of an excitingly dark academia fantasy by its writing alone. However, I do recognize the polishing done by Tor helps with the flow of the reading, although it wasn't really evident.

Finally, let's talk about la crème de la crème: NicoLibby.

"I know exactly what shape she takes up in the universe," he pleaded in explanation. "If anyone can recognize her, it's me."


My love. My binary stars. My universe. Ever since I have known them, I have loved them. I rarely connect with ships this way, but NicoLibby will forever have a place in my soul.

To conclude, The Atlas Six is not a perfect book (unlike NicoLibby) but I will literally die for it. Therefore, I apologize in advance for the person I will become when The Atlas Paradox comes out because that ending is just criminal.

Most sincere regards to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing me this advanced copy in exchange if my honest review.

Woah...just woah. This is going onto my favorite book list. I don't know where to start. The story is amazing, the characters are interesting (if not always likable, which I think is the point), the world building awesome. I felt so immersed in this story that I could not put it down. I actually even read during a meeting, with my kindle hidden under a notebook so I won't get caught no paying attention. But if I did get caught, it would be totally fine because I would gladly lose my job for this book!

The book tells the story of 6 people with different magical talents that are asked to join an exclusive secret society. The really cool thing about how this book is written, is that each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the 6 initiates, with there specialized magic revealing secrets about the other people in book. For instance, the telepath can read minds, so we know what other characters may be thinking or hiding during her chapters.

This book has lots of twists and turns and ends with a big reveal. Still many unanswered questions, but I expected that since this is just the first installment of a trilogy. Very well written and and very engaging. I would highly recommend!!

While I liked this book, I didn’t love it. And when I say liked, I mean that I liked the last hundred pages of the book. Everything before seemed to be a lot of fluff. However I did really like the authors writing style and how different the magic seemed to be. What I love most about reading is being able to connect with the characters and immerse myself in the book but that was not the case with this since it changes between 6 perspectives.

I flew through reading this one. While the premise itself isn't anything too groundbreaking (a group or ragtag young adults who may or may not like each other must band together to save the world), it still felt fresh while reading. The alternating perspectives were written distinctly enough to have a good feel for which character was which at all times and gave a great pace for unfolding the larger story.

I will definitely be reading the sequel as soon as it comes out in a few months especially as I did not see the end twist coming.

Disclaimer: I received an advance reader copy of this book through NetGalley. I am under no obligation to review the book. All opinions are my own.

This book, how to start my review? I was a bit lost reading the first 100-200 pages? Well, who doesn’t feel that way when reading a fantasy/dark novel? Right? Lol. However, the book started to pick up during the initiation part. I’d never thought I’d LOVE and HATE all the characters at the same time but I guess did. I love Nico’s character and Libby, only when she’s not overthinking… but hate the way the banter at times. Then Parisa, who seems to be so selfish and thinks so highly of herself, but she’s crazy enough and you can’t help but love her character. Callum on the other hand, I can’t still decide. Then there’s Tristan, who I ended up liking more than the rest. I have to admit there are times where I feel like the characters are disconnected with the each other, or I don’t feel the chemistry at all, but I also can’t decide who to drop because some parts of the story won’t function well without that character.

There are parts where I get so lost again, or maybe I just need further explanation regarding the so called “society” hoping the sequel can discuss that part clearer. And then part of the story started to pick up again with the plot twist, then another one. OMG. Then suddenly why is the book already ending??? Why??? I hope I won’t have to wait that long for the sequel!!!

Overall, I love the book and can't wait for my preordered copy and also the sequel. It has those morally gray characters you can't help loving in the end. Well except for Callum. He needs to be redeemed in book 2 for me.

Still a 5/5!!!!

I was so lucky enough to get an ARC of this PHENOMENAL book. Before you ask, YES this book is already out and YES I already read it but this is an updated version of the beloved book we already have! What I think was done here was Olivie Blake making tweaks to better prepare the audience for the sequel and it did just that!

For the most part everything is exactly the same (like 95%), the added content is so beautifully subtle and adds even more substance to this story. The tension, the bonds and the connections between all of the characters - stunning, amazing, magnificent. I sing nothing but praises for this story!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillian/Tor Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I had such high hopes for this book and it did not fill them. Which granted, having such high hopes probably set me up for failure, but still. Sad.

This story had SO. MUCH. POTENTIAL. Six magical academic geniuses, only five can survive, but they have to decide which one of them will die?? Immaculate. Incredible. Amazing. Where it fell short was the characters. I didn’t like a single one of them. The suspense for me was simply in which character I wanted to die more, which is not very enjoyable to read.

You have Libby and Nico, who can do basically anything (teleport? Control time? Shapeshifter? Telekinesis? Change water to wine? You name it.) and hate each other more than anything. I didn’t dislike the two of them as much as I disliked the rest.

Then there’s Callum, who would be my first choice to die as he’s cruel, arrogant, and manipulative. Intentionally so on the part of the author, but still. He doesn’t care about anybody but himself.

There’s Parisa, who again had SO MUCH POTENTIAL as a character but ended up just? Basically raping like three of the other characters? You can’t tell me that using your super powerful manipulation mind powers to force someone to want sex with you right after they said they did NOT want to have sex with you isn’t rape. “But they wanted it” NOT BEFORE SHE FORCED THEM TO??? She had no personality beyond “I will have sex with everyone in this room for the sole purpose of getting what I want, oh and I’m better than you lolz”. Ugh.

Then there’s Reina and Tristan, both of whom are so bland and forgettable that all I know about them is Plants (Reina) and Sees Things (Tristan). Not much going on there.

The entire story was just the six of them fighting and Parisa thinking about sex. Which was VERY DISAPPOINTING when I was promised cool magic murder dark academia!!! VERY SAD.

Overall I’m still giving it three stars because it was interesting at least?? If I didn’t dislike the characters so much I think I would’ve enjoyed it. And also if one of the main characters wasn’t a rapist. I would’ve enjoyed it more then too.

Now You See Me meets X-Men meets The Magicians

This was one of my most ancipated reads of 2022 and unfortunately it was disappointing. The storyline about a magical secret society sounded really interesting more than it actually was. The story focused on each character way too much, drowning the plot with excessive dialogue and angsty melodrama. There wasn't enough world building and the characters hatred and suspicion of each other was redundant. The story had potential to be a dark mystical academia mystery because it was slightly going there but never quite made it for me.

This book has been hyped a lot on social media which I attribute to the excessive sexual tension between the characters and ruthless Hunger Games vibes.